Ranma, the Second Time Around
by kayemsi
Summary: This is an continuation fiction, where Ranma goes back into his past with a chance to fix the problems in his life, and probably make a ton of new ones in the process.
1. Prologue and Return

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video. I have no ownership to these characters, or names. It is just for my amusement

Author's Note: This is going to be an AU fiction. It starts somewhere after the end of the manga. This Ranma is therefore older and possibly a bit wiser (or not).

Prologue and Return

The horrific battle was over. The victory was won. The demon had finally been defeated, but at a horrible cost. Ranma's final strike had managed to kill the beast, but in the demon's death throws, it had managed to give Ranma a mortal wound.

As the bruised and battered survivors gathered around his body, Akane fell to her knees, sobbing bitter tears of grief. Holding her fianc's body in her arms, she screamed to the uncaring skies, "NO! Ranma can't be dead! I never got to tell him how much I loved him. I wish I could have told him!" She collapsed, sobbing over his body.

Ranma knew as soon as he was hit, that the wound he had received was mortal, yet at least his friends were safe. He knew that his final strike had killed the demon. His only regret as he felt his life ebb away was that he had never mustered up enough courage to tell Akane the truth. 'I'm sorry, Akane. I tried. I just wish I could have told you how much I loved you,' he thought as the darkness fell.

Suddenly, a bright light shone all around him, and a loud voice said, "Wish Granted!" Then the voice snickered and said, "Besides, I wasn't done having fun with you, Ranma Saotome." The sound of the voice laughing was the last thing Ranma heard as the light vanished and the darkness fell again.

* * *

"Come on boy. It's time to wake up and get your lazy carcass moving. Another short walk and we'll be at the training ground," a voice growled.

Slowly, Ranma's eyes opened and he saw his father standing there in the old, stained gi that his father had last worn over a year ago. Ranma distinctly remembered Kasumi finally consigning it to the trash, deeming it beyond even her considerable skills at repairing it, saying it was so stained that it wasn't even worth trying to use any of it for rags. 'What's going on here? Where am I? Where are Akane and the rest? Why aren't I hurting all over? More importantly, why aren't I dead? ' he thought to himself, 'The last thing I remember is fighting that demon and then hearing that weird voice.'

Ranma rose from his sleeping bag and began to gaze around him, seeing a small clearing beside a dusty road. On one side, was a sheer cliff wall; on the other side of the road was an impenetrable forest. To one side of the clearing was a small pond formed from a waterfall coming down the cliff.

Suddenly, he recognized the scenery around him, and he gasped. His mind racing, he thought, 'Wait a minute; this is the campsite where we stayed the night before we reached Jusenkyo. That voice, it granted my wish. It must have sent me back in time!' As he packed his belongings, he ate the meager fare his father had given him for breakfast, barely staving off his pangs of hunger.

The two of them walked in silence down the trailed marked on the guidebook of training grounds his father had 'obtained' somehow. While they were walking, a light rain began to fall. Ranma's mind was filled with delight as he saw that the rain had no affect on either of them. 'Yes! We're on our way to the training grounds. Of course we haven't been cursed yet! Maybe I can fix some of the craziness! We don't have to get cursed!' he thought to himself. Lost in these thoughts, he continued, blindly following his father until finally his father stopped.

Ranma awoke from his reverie and looked up. To his horror, he saw that they were at the top of a small rise, overlooking a valley filled with pools of water. Scattered across the valley floor were innumerable poles of what appeared to be bamboo, sticking vertically up in the air. Some of the poles were on dry land, but the vast majority of them were in the pools of water, forming an interesting place for combat. With an air of satisfaction, his father said proudly, "Well here is the famous training ground of Jusenkyo! It don't look too tough!"

Ranma asked, "Hey, Pop. What do ya know about this place anyway?" 'Come on Ranma, think of something!' he thought to himself, 'How do I stop this?'

"Just the little bit I've gleaned from this guide book. It says only the best martial artists should train here. That's why we came. We are the best, after all!" Genma replied as he strutted off down the hill.

Ranma followed him reluctantly, saying, "Pop, I'd like ta know a bit more about this place before we do something stupid!"

As Genma neared the middle of the hill, he met a man standing outside a small hut. The man was dressed as a Chinese soldier, complete with the red star on his fatigue hat. He said, in broken Japanese, "Welcome to accursed training ground of Jusenkyo, honored visitors. Let this humble person tell of dangers." Genma dropped his backpack on the ground.

"Pop!" Ranma yelled as his father ignored the guide and pushed past him heading toward the valley floor. "Let's listen ta what he has ta say. Maybe what he's trying ta tell us is important! Something about curses!" Ranma yelled in desperation. Ranma dropped his pack on the ground next to his father's.

"Boy, are you getting soft? Don't tell me you're gonna believe in fairy tales and magic?" Genma scoffed as he sprang up onto one of the poles. "Come on boy, what are ya waiting for?" he continued as he jumped onto another pole. Ranma looked on in anguish as that pole broke in half, dropping his father into one of the pools below.

"Oh no! Honorable guest not listen. He fall into Shonmaoniichuan, the spring of drowned panda. Ancient Chinese legend tell of panda who drown in pool two thousand year ago. Now whoever fall in pool become cursed to become panda," the guide stammered, "So sorry, he not listen!"

The spring boiled and then a figure sprang out, roaring in anger. A large panda appeared.

"Pop!" Ranma hollered, "Stop!" To no avail, as the maddened panda came chasing after Ranma, swinging its arms wildly. Ranma started running, thinking, 'I tried to warn him, the fool. Well at least I stayed away from the springs.' He carefully ran away from the dangerous valley, back the way they had come, continuing to dodge the irate panda following him. As he ran, he cursed as he realized that he had made a wrong turn and that the only path before him was heading for a small cliff overlooking the valley below. As he ran, he saw a figure staring at the two of them, looking at the panda in shock.

"Watch out!" Ranma said as he ran past the boy. The boy stood there stunned at the sight, until the panda carelessly knocked him backwards toward the cliff edge. Ranma cursed under his breath again as he saw what was happening. 'Not this time!' Ranma thought as he jumped over his father and ran back toward the figure that he had recognized as Ryoga, just as almost in slow motion, he slid backwards and toppled headfirst off the cliff, toward the pools below. Ranma jumped over the edge, pushing Ryoga back toward the safety of the cliff wall, and the dry ground before the pool. Unfortunately, the trajectory resulting from the collision, forced him toward several of the pools himself. As he soared toward one of the pools, he screamed, "Oh Shit! Why me, Kami?" With a loud splash, he ended up in the pool.

Ranma rose spluttering from the water, and opened up his shirt. As he gazed down at his, no now her, milky white breasts, Ranma screamed in a lovely soprano voice, "Pop, ya better run. Now I'm gonna kill ya, ya misbegotten fleabag!" She slowly pulled herself from the pool, only to be met by Ryoga who had rushed over from where he had landed.

"Miss, are you all right? That was a nasty fall you took," Ryoga said as he neared. Then he noticed the loose shirt, barely concealing Ranma's new, very prominent assets and his nose began to bleed.

"I'm fine, just fine," Ranma said with a disgusted shrug. Unfortunately, that was too much for her top, as it slipped off one shoulder, exposing Ranma's left breast. Ryoga's eyes rolled back into his head and he promptly fainted, blood gushing from his nose. Ranma cursed under her breath again, and adjusted her shirt and securely buttoned it. "Baka," she muttered staring at Ryoga, not sure if she was talking about him or herself.

The guide approached and stammered, "Oh no! Honorable guest fall into Nyannichuan, spring of drowned girl. Ancient Chinese legend tell of girl who drowned fifteen hundred year ago."

Ranma interrupted, snarling, "I know. Now whoever falls into spring takes on the form of a girl when splashed with cold water. Hot water will change me back." She thought angrily, 'Been there, done that, got the damned t-shirt!'

"Honorable guest correct. Follow me to hut please! I can fix," the guide said. Ranma slung Ryoga over one shoulder and followed the guide up the hill to his hut.

Ranma spoke to the guide in Mandarin, #Honored Guide, is there a spring of drowned man?# Ranma thought to herself, 'Well it looks like I remember everything from the first time I lived through this. I'm sure glad I had Mousse teach me Chinese.'

#Legend says that there is a spring of drowned man, Nannichuan, but I don't know where it is. Our map of the springs was damaged many years ago and that section of the valley is now unknown,# the guide said as he put some water on to boil.

'Damn, I don't have time to look for it. I've got to find Pop before he gets hurt,' Ranma thought. Then as she stared at Ryoga, she grimaced. 'I don't have time to mess with Ryoga either. If he sees me in my true form, he won't listen to reason and will want to finish our fight. I've got to stay like this until he wanders off somewhere. And here I was thinking I could change things! Damn it Pop!' she thought. Finally she asked, #Sir, which way did my idiot of a father go?# Ranma asked.

The guide frowned and said, #It's very bad, young miss. He headed off toward one of the nearby villages, that belonging to a tribe of Chinese Amazons.#

Ryoga woke up from his faint to see the beautiful red-haired girl who had saved him from a nasty fall talking to a strange man. The girl asked, #Can you lead me there? I need to rescue my father before he does something else stupid!#

#Miss, what is this about rescuing your father?# Ryoga asked.

"Good, you're back," Ranma said, "It's a long story that we really don't have time for right now."

"Yes, honorable guests! I lead you there quickly. We must go now, if wish to be in time!" the guide said.

"I'm coming with you. If you're going into danger, I, Ryoga Hibiki, will help you. It is the duty of a martial artist to always help others," Ryoga said, "I just need to pick up my stuff at the top of that overlook. I'll protect you, Miss!"

Ranma rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, Ryoga. Come with us. I didn't want ta leave ya here anyway. Just follow us and stay away from the water." They followed the guide out of the hut, where they waited long enough for Ranma to get her pack and the guide to get Genma's backpack as they walked up the hill.

They followed the guide up a path to where Ryoga had left his huge backpack. As he put it on, he gazed at the girl standing next to him, thinking, 'She gorgeous, with that brilliant red hair. She's brave and strong too. I wonder what she's like. I owe her a lot; I could have really gotten hurt badly the way I was falling. If she hadn't managed to push me back toward the cliff, I would have hit headfirst.' As they walked along, Ryoga couldn't help but notice how athletic the young girl was. 'I wonder who she is. She reminds me a little of someone,' he thought to himself as they made their way down a tree-lined path. Lost in thought, he failed to notice where he was going. He looked up and paled as he realized that he had lost sight of the other two and hadn't even gotten the young girl's name. "Where am I now!" he screamed in anguish.

After a few minutes, Ranma turned as she realized that she hadn't heard anyone walking behind her for a while. She cursed as she saw that Ryoga had managed to wander off. "Crap, I don't have time to look for him. I hope he stays away from the valley, that baka!" she said under her breath. While she was following the guide, she thought about what to do next. 'I need to not fight any of the Amazons. Let's see if I can at least fix this. If I don't challenge Shampoo, she and I won't fight and then she won't give me the Kiss of Death. Damn, I gotta keep Pop in line. He can't eat the banquet, that's what got Shampoo so mad before. My head hurts trying to remember all of this. Okay, what else? Yeah, Pop and his attitude about women. Don't let him insult any of the Amazons. Yeah, right, like I can stop that. Maybe I can brick his mouth up,' she thought as they walked along.

After another hour of traveling through the heavily wooded area, with Ranma lost in her thoughts about how to fix her future and not repeat the same mistakes, the rains came down again, instantly soaking everything and destroying the faint traces of her father's panicked flight through the woods. Ranma asked the guide, #How much farther to the village?#

Suddenly, before the guide could answer, they heard the sounds of combat ahead of them, including the roaring of some strange beast. Ranma ran forward, leaving the guide behind, to a clearing where she saw several girls trying to fend off a panda. The panda had grabbed one of the girls and wrapped his arms around her, using the squirming girl as an impromptu shield against the long spears of the other girls.

Ranma exploded out from where she was standing, and touched the paralysis point on the back of the panda's neck, hoping it was roughly in the same place in a panda as it was in a human. Fortunately, it was, and the panda released the girl and fell down. As the others closed in for the kill, Ranma jumped in between them and their prey, screaming, #Wait. He's my father, don't kill him please!#

The women stopped and the girl who had been used as the shield stood up shakily. Ranma looked on in dismay as she recognized the girl as Shampoo. #My name is Xian Pu,# she said, #Thank you for your help. Did your father fall in a spring at Jusenkyo?#

As the guide burst into the clearing, Ranma replied, #Yes, Xian Pu, he did. The guide tried to warn him, but the idiot wouldn't listen. I guess the shock of the change made him panic. I'm sorry he attacked you, but it looks like you are unharmed.#

#Yes, I'm fine. Only my pride is hurt, allowing him to grab me like that. He snapped my favorite pair of bonborris like they were matchsticks. Come, sister, you are welcome in our village of Joketsuzoku,# Xian Pu replied.

#Sister?# Ranma said in shock.

#Yes, it's an ancient Amazon tradition. If an outsider woman save an Amazon warrior from danger, then Amazon tribe must adopt woman. Come, we must hurry. Our big tournament is tomorrow and I must get rested for it,# Xian Pu said proudly.

Ranma stood there in shock and then remembered her manners. #I'm not sure about this tradition, Xian Pu. However, my name is Ranma Saotome and this tub of lard is my father, Genma. I would like to visit with your Elders so that I may ask them what they may know about the curses of Jusenkyo. We can talk about being an Amazon, but I can't really stay here long. I need to get back home to Japan,# she responded.

Ranma turned to the guide and said, #Thank you, honored guide for leading me this far. If you see that young man Ryoga, try to keep him from falling into one of the pools.# She bowed politely to the guide. One of the warrior women took the backpack from the guide, while two others tied the panda to two of their spears and carried him off. The guide watched as the strange safari made its way down the path out of sight.

Ranma followed the Amazon scouting party, her mind racing as she thought, 'Okay, I gotta stay female while I'm in the village. The males have little or no status unless they are major warriors. I can't stay long though; we gotta get back to Nerima.'

As they approached the village of Joketsuzoku, Ranma saw a neat collection of houses, some large, some small, and grouped around a central common area. The village was surrounded by a low palisade that looked more like it was intended to keep the several children she saw wandering around contained than it was to keep people out. The Amazons had cleared several acres of the forest away from the palisade, allowing clean lines of sight for some distance. A small stream flowed into the cleared area, and lapped around one side of the palisade, forming a further barrier on that side. A barrier however, that was crossed by several wooden bridges, all of them ornate with carvings. Off on one side of the common area was a large log, suspended in the air, supported by ropes tied to two large triangular A-frame structures. Near the log were several tables. That was the area were the tournament was held, as she recalled from her past life.

A small, wizened old woman, followed by several Amazon warriors, approached the scouting party. As she neared, she asked, #Xian Pu, child, what is going on? We got your message back about a panda attacking your patrol and were coming out to see what the trouble was.#

#Elder Khu Lon, we were attacked by what we thought was a panda. It turns out that it was actually this girl's father, who fell in a cursed spring at Jusenkyo. This girl, Ranma, saved my life but for some reason, she's reluctant to accept the honor of being adopted into our tribe,# Xian Pu reported.

Khu Lon stared at the young girl standing proudly before her. While she was small, Khu Lon could tell she would be a formidable martial artist.

#Elder, my reluctance is because of two things. One, of course, is that I already have a family in Japan that I wish to return to. The other concern that I have is I don't know what it means to be a member of your tribe. I certainly meant no disrespect for the honor Xian Pu was wishing to bestow,# Ranma said slowly.

Excellent, you speak a version of our language, young Ranma, Khu Lon said, #We can talk more about this later. I promise not to force you to do anything you don't want to do. I'm sure right now you're more interested in food and a bath, not necessarily in that order. Am I correct?#

#Yes, or at least some hot water for this foolish old man. He does not speak your language at all,# Ranma said with a smile.

#Fine, come with me. We have a small, unused cottage that you two may share. That's the least that we can do for someone who saved my great granddaughter,# Khu Lon said as she led the way to a hut on one side of the village, We will bring some food later then you and I will talk.

#I would like that very much, Elder. As you may guess, I have many questions about Jusenkyo that I hope you may be able to answer. As far as saving Xian Pu is concerned, I was glad to help, but I'm sure she would have gotten away from him without it,# Ranma responded.

The two warriors carrying the panda brought him into the small, two-room cottage and tied him securely. After leaving the backpack, the warriors that had escorted them to the cottage bowed respectfully and left. Ranma gazed around the cottage, seeing a comfortable living area, with a small kitchen nook to one side. One portion of the large room was set up with a couch and two comfortable looking chairs, while another side had a small table and four chairs surrounding it. There was a door in one wall, which Ranma assumed led to a bedchamber and hopefully a bathroom.

#Now child, we'll leave you to get cleaned up and change your father back. There is a small bath off the bedroom that is through that door. Is there anything else you might need before we meet again for dinner?# Khu Lon asked.

Ranma thought for a while and then replied, #No, Elder Khu Lon. I think that takes care of everything for now. We should have clean clothing in our backpacks. Thank you for your hospitality.# She bowed politely. Khu Lon smiled briefly and the she and Xian Pu returned the bow and left.

After closing the door, Ranma waited for a few minutes to ensure that the Amazons had indeed left. While she was waiting, she went into the kitchen and set some water to heat up in one of the kettles she found there. When she returned, she found that her father had recovered from his paralysis and was trying to break the ropes. When the panda saw Ranma, he began growling.

Ranma said, "Is that any way to greet your daughter, Pop? Yes, Pop, I'm Ranma. Those pools at that training ground give ya a curse if ya fall in them. Don't panic!" The panda was frantically trying to free itself, growling in panic. "Pop, just shut up! Hot water will restore ya ta human, but it's not a cure. Cold water will still turn ya back into a panda."

The panda's eyes grew even wilder at what he was hearing. He whined at Ranma.

"I'm making some hot water. Don't worry. Now, we're at the village of those girls ya attacked. For now at least, I'm going ta be your daughter, Ranma, ya got that. Men have little respect here and are subservient ta the women. So long as they think I'm female, we should be okay. But ya need ta promise ta behave. If ya don't, I won't change ya back and you'll stay tied up until I'm ready ta leave! Understand me, I'm serious about this. Ya don't want ta mess with these women!"

The panda nodded quickly. By that time, the water had heated up, so Ranma poured it over her father, changing him back.

Ranma said, "I'm gonna go take a bath and get cleaned up, Pop. Ya need to stay in here and behave while I do that. If ya want, ya can change into some clean clothing. Ya gonna behave now?"

Genma replied, a little surly, "I said I would before. Now, untie me, boy, and let's get out of here!"

"Pop, they're gonna feed us in a little bit and I'm hungry. The Elder said she would tell us what she knows about the curses at dinner, and we both need to learn everything we can. Anyway, I don't think we'd get too far before they'd bring us back. We need ta keep on their good side, understand?" Ranma said forcefully.

"All right, you win, ya ungrateful boy," Genma growled.

"I'm a girl right now, Pop. Don't forget it again," Ranma warned as she began to untie her father. After untying his hands, she said, "Ya can do the rest, Pop, while I get cleaned up and changed." Ranma picked up her backpack and carried through the bedroom into the small, well-equipped bathing area. She was gratified to see that while the village might look primitive, the bath was well appointed with a small shower that had both hot and cold water. Quickly take off her damp clothing, Ranma adjusted the water to the temperature she liked and entered the shower, sighing in relief as she changed back into male form. 'Okay, this day officially sucks. Here I though I was gonna escape getting cursed. Damn that old man for dragging me here,' he thought angrily. After washing his hair and body, and rinsing all of the soap off, he turned the hot water off, allowing the cold water to transform him back into female. After the transformation, Ranma stepped out of the shower and stared at her body in the full length mirror attached to the back of the door. She saw that it was no different than the one she'd had in her previous pass through this life. She used one of the thick towels to dry herself off with. After finding a clean, dry set of clothing, Ranma quickly got dressed. Wrapping her long red hair in the towel, she began looking for a comb. Once she found one, she walked back into the main room to find Genma staring at the old woman Khu Lon and her great granddaughter Xian Pu.

#Hello again, young lady. I see we returned in good time,# Khu Lon said.

#Hello, Elder. Yes, I think that you did. Would it be possible to speak Japanese? As I mentioned before, I'm afraid my father has never learned your tongue,# Ranma responded.

"Certainly, my child. I speak many languages fluently. Shampoo is not very proficient, I'm afraid, so we may have to translate for her," Cologne said.

"Pop, this is one of the elders of this tribe of Amazon warriors. Her name is Cologne," Ranma began. Then she stopped and said, #I'm sorry, Khu Lon, that's as close as I can come to saying your name in Japanese. Please don't take offense.#

"Don't worry child. I've heard my name in your barbaric tongue many times. Your pronunciation is actually very close to correct," she said, with a twinkle in her eye. Then Cologne continued, saying, "As your daughter has said, I am Cologne of the Joketsuzoku, Elder and Matriarch of the tribe. This is my great granddaughter Shampoo, who is one of the preeminent warriors of our tribe. She tells me that she was as much at fault as you for the incident this afternoon. She thought you were a rabid panda and was simply trying to protect her village," Cologne said.

Genma began to speak, only to be interrupted rudely by Shampoo, who said loudly, "Silence, male. Do not speak when warrior's talk!"

"Pop, why doncha be quiet for a while? You're in enough trouble as it is. We're not in Japan at the moment so we need ta be polite and not upset these people. They've been here a long time and may know more about the curses at Jusenkyo. Just let me talk ta them for a while, okay?" Ranma said in exasperation.

"Your daughter speaks wisely, old man. If you wish to keep your head attached to your shoulders, then keep silent!" Cologne commanded. Genma shuddered at the look the old crone gave him and wisely, for once, managed to keep his mouth shut. "We of the Joketsuzoku do know a great deal about the cursed training ground of Jusenkyo. We often use the waters as punishment for members of our tribe. Our belief is that the curse one gets there reflects the personality of the person who was cursed."

Ranma's eyes widened as what Cologne said registered and then thought, 'I can't think about that now!' She asked, "Do you know if there are ways ta undo the curse? Is there anything else we need ta know about it?"

"According to legend, there is Nannichuan, the spring of drowned man lost somewhere at one end of the valley. No one now living knows where it is right now, but it's possible that somewhere in our archives we may have a record," Cologne said, "Allegedly, that would break the original curse. I believe that it would, since when we wish to restore our sisters who have been punished, Nyannichuan, the spring of drowned girl, does indeed cure them."

"The guide said much the same. He was unaware of the spring's location as well and since I needed to find my father, we couldn't spend any time looking for it," Ranma replied.

Cologne said, "Child, I would be more than happy to tell you the little more that we know about the springs at dinner. Now, however, we need to discuss more important things. We need to discuss our laws as far as outsiders like you are concerned."

"Why do I think this will take a long time?" Ranma muttered, "Why don't we sit down and get comfortable?" The three of them sat down in the comfortable chairs, except for the diminutive elder who remained content to sit on one of the wooden stools.

"As my great granddaughter told you before, because you saved her life, our laws demand that we should adopt you into our tribe. However, since I can understand your desire to return to your family, there is the possibility of making you an honorary Amazon. That way, you would be free to return to your home in Japan when you wish. That also would prevent some of the other difficulties an outsider would have in our tribe," Cologne said.

"What difficulties might that be, Elder?" Ranma asked trying to keep a straight face. 'Yeah, kiss of marriage and kiss of death. Maybe if Pop hears about those from her, he'll be easier to keep in line,' she thought to herself.

"Well, our laws say that if outside woman beat Amazon warrior, warrior must give Kiss of Death. That mean Amazon woman not come back to village until outsider woman is dead. Very bad for Amazon woman to lose. If outsider man beat Amazon woman, Amazon woman must give Kiss of Marriage. They are husband and wife," Shampoo replied.

"So are there any other rules I need ta know about before I decide? Of course, I wouldn't be challenged ta any fights by any of your warriors if I decide against the adoption, would I?" Ranma asked.

"Of course, no one would challenge you," Cologne said with a sugary sweet voice, "As for other rules, no there would be nothing else for you to worry about. You have my word as an Elder of the Amazons on that. No, this status is what we give to the local rulers that we deal with, there are no strings attached."

Ranma gazed blankly into space for a while, her mind racing as she tried to remember everything she had painfully learned about Amazon laws. Finally, she looked at Cologne and answered, "I would be honored ta accept an honorary adoption by your tribe. I think I'm getting something I don't particularly deserve, though. Shampoo would have escaped from my father by herself soon enough."

"Maybe yes, maybe no. Shampoo not know," Shampoo said, with a shrug.

"We'd like you to stay for a few days, Ranma. I can teach you several techniques that only an Amazon may learn," Cologne said.

"Pop, how soon do we have ta be in Japan, anyway? Ya never told me," Ranma asked her father.

Genma looked at Cologne, who smiled at the panicked look on his face and then nodded. "We can stay for a few days, but we really need ta be in Nerima by mid April," Genma replied nervously.

There was a knock on the door and two servants walked in bringing dinner for the four of them. After dismissing the two males, Shampoo served the Elder and Ranma and then herself, leaving a small amount for Genma. Ranma hid a brief smile at the look of outrage, quickly followed by the look of fear on Genma's face.

While they were eating, Cologne returned to the conversation that had been interrupted, "If you could stay for a week to ten days, there are several things that I can teach you. As a member of the tribe, even though only honorary, I'll provide you money for passage back to Japan so you won't miss your appointment."

Ranma asked, "I'm a little curious. Why are ya willing ta teach me? Surely, ya have many demands on your time."

"I can tell that you are a good martial artist, and I enjoy a challenge. Truthfully, once you've lived as long as I have, you need to find reasons to get up in the morning. Going to the council meetings gets to be a bit boring after a bit," Cologne replied, "Besides, I like your spirit."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "I guess we'll stay for a week. Do I call you sensei now?"

Cologne chuckled and responded, "Only while I'm training you. In private, you may call me Cologne."

"Thank you, Cologne. Now what can ya tell us about Jusenkyo?" Ranma begged.

"The cursed springs don't usually change personality, except for a few, like Fuushanniichuan, the Spring of Drowned Priest, or Shannannichuan, the Spring of Drowned Virtuous Man. If you get cursed, you do seem to pick up the physical abilities of your cursed form quickly. For instance, your father was immediately able to move and fight in his new form. Similarly, if he had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Duck, he would immediately learn how to fly," Cologne said.

Ranma thought for a moment and then asked, "Those two springs ya mentioned, Spring of Drowned Priest and Spring of Drowned Virtuous Man, those wouldn't cure him, would they?"

"No, only the missing Spring of Drowned Man would remove the curse entirely," Cologne replied, "The other two would simply replace the existing curse with the new one."

"Is there anything else about my curse that I need ta know, Elder?" Genma asked politely, "Do I have any danger of forgetting my humanity and staying as a panda?"

Cologne replied, "That's a good question, Genma. The answer is no, you'll always know that you are human. You won't pick up any animal behavioral traits, either."

"Well, none that he doesn't already have," Ranma said, with a giggle. The Elder managed to keep a straight face, but Shampoo joined her in giggling.

His father growled angrily at that, but kept his peace.

"When would ya like the adoption ceremony, Cologne?" Ranma asked.

Shampoo leaned forward and kissed a surprised Ranma on the forehead. She smiled and said, "How about now?"

Cologne chuckled briefly and said, "That's really all there is to it. We made you the offer, you accepted it, and then our best warrior kisses you on the forehead. That makes you our honorary sister or daughter. The only thing left is to come up with an appropriate Amazon name for you. Shampoo will provide new clothing for tomorrow to indicate your new status and I'll have your new name by then as well. Now if you'll excuse me, Shampoo and I need to get our rest. The Tournament of Champions is tomorrow and I'm not as young as I used to be. It starts very early in the morning and you are welcome to watch, daughter of Amazons."

Ranma clenched her jaw slightly, and then replied, "Thank you. I look forward to seeing Shampoo in action. I'll be rooting for her to win."

Shampoo and Cologne left, taking the empty dishes with them. Genma growled, "Boy."

Ranma interrupted menacingly, "**POP**, don't blow this. Ya saw how they treat their males around here. If we are ta get out of here in one piece, ya better treat me as your daughter. Or do you want ta be a slave ta them the rest of your life?"

"Okay, Ranma," Genma agreed sourly, "Ya made your point. All I was gonna say was learn those techniques as quick as ya can. It's time I got ya back ta Japan."

"Fine, Pop, ya know me. I pick things up pretty quickly," Ranma said with a smirk. 'I wonder how much of what I knew before is still there. My mind seems to know the techniques, but I bet my body isn't ready for some of them,' she thought. Then she asked, "Why are we in a hurry ta get back ta Japan now?"

"I, er, no real reason, I promised a friend that we would come by his house then is all. I wanted ya ta meet his dau… I mean him. Tendo teaches the other school of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Genma stammered.

"So this Tendo person has a dojo in Nerima, didn't you say? Is he a good friend of yours?" Ranma asked, inwardly enjoying herself. 'Ha, Pop, let's see how long you can keep this up without spilling the beans,' she thought to herself.

Genma answered, "Yes, that's right. Soun and I are very good friends, we knew each other before you and his daughters were born."

Ranma smirked and asked, "How many daughters does he have? And why do you want me to meet them?"

Genma sighed and gave up, thinking, 'How did he get so smart? And when did he learn Chinese?' "Tendo has three girls all about your age. One of them is supposed to be your fiancée," Genma said, cringing at the anger he expected to see from his son, er daughter.

To his surprise, Ranma just laughed and said, "Well that's probably a good enough reason to get there then. I wouldn't want to compromise your honor after all. So which one should I pick?"

Genma paled and said, "No idea. I've never met any of them, and Soun hasn't written me much about them. He does have one daughter that practices Anything Goes, though. His letters told me that."

Ranma giggled, and looking significantly down at her chest, said, "Well I'm sure I'm going to be everything they're looking for in a man. It's late, Pop, and I'm too tired to talk more about this. I suggest you think about anything else I should know and tell me in the morning. I'm going ta bed. You can make do on the couch."

"The couch?" Genma protested.

"Yeah, Pop. I'm the Amazon warrior, remember, not you. Besides, I wouldn't put it past them ta have us watched tonight, so don't try ta sneak off. We don't need any trouble," Ranma said. She left her father and went into the bedroom and closed the door.

After climbing in bed, Ranma finally allowed the excitement of the day get to her. 'Let's see. I wake up from the dead, back in my past. I still get cursed, but at least I saved Ryoga from getting one, that's gotta count for something. I just hope he didn't go back there by accident. Made it to the Amazon village, and got adopted into the tribe. So far so good, I guess. At least this way, I don't have ta worry about Shampoo trying ta kill me or marry me. Note to self, remember, keep Pop away from Shampoo's prize. Cologne is gonna teach me some Amazon techniques. It they're the same ones from before, I gotta remember not ta learn them too fast,' she thought as she finally succumbed to her exhaustion and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a certain tomboy that she couldn't wait to meet again for the first time.

* * *

Author's note: As you can see, this is another of the fictions where someone gets sent back in time to fix all of the problems in the Ranma story, while of course, making new problems along the way. I haven't seen one where it was only Ranma going back, so this story started percolating around a few months ago. While the concept has been used before, I think (hope) I have something a bit different. Anyway, I had to get this one written because it wouldn't let me be. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are not only allowed but are encouraged. Please read, review, and hopefully, enjoy. 


	2. Learning Old Techniques

Chapter 2 Learning Old Techniques

Morning rolled around in the village of Joketsuzoku, located in the wilds of China. Ranma was awakened by the sound of her father's angry voice coming from the main room. Shaking the sleep from her eyes and her mind, she realized where she was and that it wasn't all a weird dream inspired by Akane's cooking. Rising from her bed, Ranma threw on a silky robe she found hanging in the closet, and strode into the main room, where she found an angry Genma staring at a servant. The male servant was standing between Genma and a tray full of food. When the servant saw Ranma, he bowed deeply to her.

"Shut up Pop! He's just doing his job. He knew I was here and am supposed ta be fed first," Ranma said angrily, "Besides, there's a good chance he doesn't understand a word your saying anyway." Turning to the servant, she said, #I apologize for this unworthy person. When he is hungry, my father loses all of his manners. In fact, I'm afraid that he only thinks with his stomach.#

The man widened his eyes in surprise and unsuccessfully tried to hide a smile. Then he pointed to a bundle of clothing sitting on the table. He then bowed again and left. After glaring at her father some more, Ranma relented and allowed him to sit at the table and they ate silently. Genma tried once to steal some of the food from Ranma's bowl, but Ranma snapped her father's chopsticks with a blow from her hand. "Pop, I'd like ta start eating like a civilized person, and actually taste my food. The next time ya try that, I'll drive my chopsticks through your hand," she growled angrily.

Genma stared wide-eyed at the girl in front of him and snapped, "I can't believe you're acting so girlish, Ranma. I need ta get ya away from here before ya go soft."

Ranma's eyes grew cold, as she stared at her father. "Pop," she said ominously, "Just because I'm tired a putting up with your bull, doesn't mean I'm getting soft. If ya don't believe me, I'll take ya outside and toss your lazy ass around for a while. Or ya can shut up and eat your breakfast. Your choice."

Genma stared at her and gulped as he realized that the person sitting across the table from him had changed somehow. Ranma wasn't the same, easy going, martial arts obsessed person. Instead, Genma saw a young woman exhibiting a newfound maturity, confidence and self-assurance that he had not seen in his son. Then Genma realized what had eluded him in his panic yesterday. This Ranma had the same air about her as his wife Nodoka and that scared him. Genma finished his meal in silence, wondering how the tables had been turned and he was no longer in charge. He began wondering to himself, 'Now that Ranma knows about the engagement, will he even allow me to take him to the Tendo's home? What's he gonna do to me now that he does know about the engagement?'

Ranma finished her meal, welcoming the chance to savor the food she had eaten and glad she had decided to end the ridiculous sparring match Genma had insisted on as speed training and situational awareness training. She said softly, "I'm gonna get dressed Pop; then ya can use the bathroom ta clean up. Make sure the water in the shower is hot enough so ya don't change. I wouldn't want ya ta get stuck in the shower. Oh yeah, use plenty of soap, too, ya need it." She picked up the clothing from the table and headed into the bedroom to change.

Ranma recognized the outfits as leggings and blouses in the same style that Shampoo had always worn around Nerima. Quickly changing into the outfit, after putting on a fresh pair of boxers, Ranma winced at the tightness of the blouse across her chest. 'If these are Shampoo's, no wonder she always looked like she was trying ta bust out of her top,' Ranma thought, 'either that, or I'm built bigger than she is.'

Ranma left the bedroom and waited for her father to clean himself up. After waiting for what seemed like forever, Genma finally reappeared, though he still hadn't changed his gi. Grimacing at the thought of how it would look, Ranma finally shook her head in disgust. "Pop, why didn't ya change your clothing? When was the last time ya wore something else?" she asked. Getting no answer, Ranma sighed wordlessly and then led the way outside where she found that the tournament had already begun. The common area was filled with Amazon women of all ages, most them gazing intently at the two warriors battling on the challenge log. Many men were there as well, some talking to the women, others looking on with interest at the fight, and some dressed as servants bringing food out to the table where there was a sign in Chinese saying 'Grand Prize.' Ranma eyed her father warily and said, "Don't go near that table. It's the first prize for the winner of the tournament. If ya touch any of it, I'll present her with a panda-skin rug." Genma gulped and edged slowly away; avoiding the odd looks he was getting from the women.

After watching this set of contestants for several minutes, Ranma smiled to herself. 'This must be the very preliminary rounds. Those fighters wouldn't last five minutes against me,' she thought with disdain, 'Shampoo would take them out in ten. Shoot, even Akane when I first met her could beat these clowns.' A servant came up with a tray of meat rolls and offered her a selection. Ranma smiled politely and selected a few, more out of politeness than real hunger. After all, she **had** eaten the lion's share of the breakfast this morning.

#Ranma, there you are!# Xian Pu said as she approached her through the crowd. Today, she was dressed for combat, with a leather vest covering her blouse, and bracers on her arms. She hugged Ranma briefly in greeting and continued, saying, #I don't fight for several hours, and so great grandmother suggested I find you. She wanted to talk to you some more and give you your Amazon name.#

#That sounds good. Do we need to do anything about Pop? Is it safe for him to wander around without a keeper?# Ranma asked with a smirk.

#Probably not. Though I can't imagine anyone being that desperate, I suppose someone might challenge him in order to lose to an outsider male,# Xian Pu replied.

#Even though he's already married?# Ranma asked in surprise.

"She not here, she not count," Shampoo retorted.

"Tell ya what, why don't I teach ya how to speak Japanese better. Right now, you sound a little backwards because of some of your word choices," Ranma offered.

"Shampoo like that," she answered eagerly.

"That would be, 'I'd like that' Shampoo," Ranma said as she followed Shampoo through the crowd, pausing long enough to grab Genma by the arm and drag him, protesting, in her wake. "The Elder wants ta talk ta me, and if ya think I trust ya out of my sight, your dumber than I thought ya were," Ranma said, ignoring her father's outburst.

Genma snarled, "Ya wound me, Ranma!"

Ranma smirked and replied, "No, I **know** you, Pop."

As they reached a small dais near the challenge log, Ranma saw Cologne surrounded by several other old women, whom Ranma supposed were the rest of the Amazon Elders who made up the ruling council. Hopping over to them on her staff, Khu Lon smiled and said, #Good morning, Ranma. Or should I say, Xiao Mei.#

#Good morning to you as well, Elder,# Ranma said politely, #I see you have excellent weather for your tournament. How many warriors are entered?# 'Hm, how do I get Pop to call me by my Amazon name. If Ryoga shows up, it wouldn't be good for him to hear Pop call me Ranma. That baka would spill the beans and let the Amazons know I'm really a male,' she thought. Suddenly an idea popped into her head.

#We have fifteen of our best warriors. As last years champion, Xian Pu doesn't fight until the second round,# Khu Lon replied, #Xiao Mei, tomorrow, after Xian Pu and I wake up, the three of us will go train you in some of the techniques that I promised you. I'd like to see you spar against Xian Pu first, because that will give me an idea of your ability and show me where you need to improve.#

#I appreciate that, Elder. I look forward to training under your instruction,# Ranma said with a brilliant smile, #I must warn you though, I learn things relatively quickly.# 'Especially if I already know them,' she thought.

#Then I definitely look forward to having you as my student,# Khu Lon replied calmly.

#Xian Pu, I need your help. I'd like to fit into the village while I'm here. Thanks to your gift of clothing, I look the part, but I want Pop to call me by my Amazon name. I'd like to tell him that your traditions require that. When I do that, would you scowl at him please? Also, if you hear him call me Ranma, scowl at him then,# Ranma asked.

Xian Pu looked puzzled. Khu Lon cackled and replied, #You want us to put the fear of the Amazons in him, do you, Xiao Mei?#

Ranma smiled and replied, #Yes Elder. You honored me by adopting me into your tribe and giving me a new name. It only seems proper that I use that name while I am here.#

Khu Lon smiled evilly and said, "Genma Saotome, while you are here in our village, you no longer have a daughter named Ranma. We have given her a proud Amazon name of Sho Mei. It would be best for you to remember to use that name in this village when talking about your child. Do you understand me?"

Genma cringed at the menace in the old woman's voice and nodded wordlessly.

Ranma spent the rest of the day watching the tournament. Several of the contestants were highly skilled, but still well below what she thought she remembered of Shampoo's capabilities. She smiled as she watched Shampoo dispatch the first of her opponents with a single swing of her bonborris, knocking the overmatched opponent easily off of the log onto the soft ground below. Shampoo's second opponent fared only marginally better. Shampoo actually had to work up a bit of a sweat taking her out, but in the end, the bout still only lasted a few minutes before Shampoo was once again triumphant.

Shampoo's third opponent was almost her match. Ranma vaguely remembered watching this fight the first time she came through the village. As it had happened then, Shampoo's opponent was a huge, hulking Amazon woman who towered over the much smaller Shampoo. Shampoo was using both of her bonborris to fend off the larger woman's mace. Using her speed and superior skill, Shampoo was able to successfully parry the ever more frantic blows from the mace, until finally Shampoo connected and sent the other woman soaring high into the clear blue sky.

Shampoo smiled broadly at the acclaim she received for winning the tournament again. Jumping lightly down to the ground, she beckoned to Ranma, who joined her along with Cologne and the rest of the Elders. After making sure her father was still behaving himself, Ranma relaxed. Cologne and the other Elders pronounced Shampoo the winner of the tournament and then Shampoo invited Ranma and several of her friends, including a young man, dressed in a long white robe, with long black hair, to join her at the victory table.

* * *

The next day dawned bright and clear with Shampoo visiting them by early morning to roust Ranma out of a dreamless sleep. Ranma awoke to the sound of someone banging on her bedroom door, so she groggily got out of bed and put her robe on. Staggering to the door, she opened it to find out who was making all of the racket. 

Xian Pu said, #Nihao, Xiao Mei! Great grandmother is waiting to train you.#

#Just let me get dressed and talk to Pop and I'll be ready,# said the now wide-awake Ranma. She shut the door and quickly changed into the second set of clothing that Shampoo had provided the other day. Walking out of the bedroom, she glanced at her father and said, "Pop, I'm gonna go train with the Elder and Shampoo. Ya behave while I'm gone. Don't accept any challenges from any of the women, or ya might end up married ta one of them. You'd be safest if ya just stayed in the cottage; I'm sure they'll bring ya something ta eat during the day."

Genma glared at his red-haired daughter, furious that she was talking to him that way. 'That ungrateful boy, after all that I've sacrificed for him. Once I get him away from this village, I'll set him straight,' he thought angrily to himself. He nodded his understanding of what Ranma had said.

Ranma stared at him for a few seconds more and then decided she didn't have any choice but to trust him. "Okay Pop, don't make me regret this. If ya cause any problems for me, ya'll spend the rest of your time here as a panda in chains," she said. Then she followed Shampoo out of the cottage, after snatching a large handful of meat rolls from a breakfast tray sitting on the table. Eating as she walked, Ranma followed Shampoo to a small clearing in the woods outside the area the village was in. There they met Cologne who was waiting patiently for them in the middle of the clearing. To one side of the clearing was a small fire, fully contained in a fire pit.

#Good morning, Xiao Mei. First I want to see you fight with Xian Pu. That way I can judge how good you are. Do you fight armed or unarmed?# Khu Lon asked.

"Good morning, sensei," Ranma said as she bowed in the traditional sign of respect for a teacher of martial arts, "I can fight either way. The school of Anything Goes means exactly that. I've learned several different weapon styles as well as many unarmed combat styles. As a martial artist, however, I must confess that I prefer unarmed combat."

"Why that?" Shampoo asked.

"That's 'Why is that', Shampoo?" Ranma corrected. She thought for a second. "Because it's harder ta seriously hurt someone in unarmed combat. In armed combat, a single moment of inattention could kill," she replied, "While I may eventually be placed in a position where I have no choice in the matter, I want it ta be a deliberate decision on my part ta kill, not something I did due ta my carelessness."

Khu Lon cackled in amusement and said, "Your sense of honor does you credit, Sho Mei. Now, can you back up your words with your deeds?"

Ranma eyed Shampoo warily and answered, "I think so. Shampoo is very skilled. No crippling blows, I assume? This is just a sparring match ta see how good I am, right?"

Shampoo grinned evilly as she manifested her twin bonborris. "Shampoo go easy on sister. Not hurt too bad," she said cockily as she got in her stance.

"That should be 'I will go easy on my sister' sister Shampoo," Ranma corrected with some amusement, "I think ya talk that way on purpose."

"Okay, children, enough banter, begin!" Cologne said.

Shampoo started forward watching Ranma warily. She was confused since Ranma hadn't settled into stance. Ranma was just standing in this relaxed position with an arrogant smirk on her face.

Shampoo closed, bringing one of her bonborris in for an uppercut to the chin. She sighed to herself, thinking, 'She's too weak. This attack will finish her before our match even gets started. Great grandmother will be so disappointed.' Then to her surprise, Ranma blocked her bonborris by grabbing it with one hand. With her other hand, Ranma punched Shampoo in the stomach. Shampoo folded over with the blow. Ranma followed up with an uppercut to Shampoo's chin, knocking her up into the air, to land hard on her back.

Angrily, Shampoo growled to herself, 'I underestimated her. She's fast.' Shampoo charged again, only to see another fighter jump in front of her, swinging a red umbrella. The umbrella connected with one of Shampoo's bonborris, breaking the shaft of the weapon with the force of the blow. Before she could react, a fist came out of nowhere, crashing into the side of her head, knocking her out cold.

"Ryoga, stop!" Ranma said, just too late, "This was just a practice. The Elder was wanting ta see how my skills matched up ta Shampoo."

Ryoga turned to Ranma and said, "Oops! Sorry, Miss. I didn't know. All I saw was you being attacked by someone with a weapon, and I guess I overreacted."

Ranma turned to Cologne and said, #I'm sorry, Khu Lon. This is an acquaintance of mine named Ryoga Hibiki. He was at Jusenkyo when Pop got cursed and volunteered to help look for him. Somehow he got lost following us to the village. Ryoga, this is Khu Lon, one of the elders of the village of Joketsuzoku. I am called Xiao Mei, by the way. The girl you knocked out is Xian Pu, the great granddaughter of Khu Lon.#

Ryoga bowed politely to Khu Lon, and said, #I beg your forgiveness, Elder. I didn't understand what I was seeing.#

Khu Lon sighed, and said, #Ryoga, have you ever heard the saying, fools rush in where angels fear to tread?#

Ryoga knelt down next to Shampoo. After pouring some cold water on his handkerchief, he placed the wet cloth on her forehead.

Xian Pu. woke up to see a strange boy staring intently at her. The boy spoke, #I'm sorry Xian Pu. I didn't mean to knock you out.#

Xian Pu looked at her great grandmother, with tears in her eyes. The Elder nodded gravely. Xian Pu sighed and kissed Ryoga on the lips. Ryoga's eyes grew wild as she broke the kiss and breathed, "Wo ai ni, Airen."

"Congratulations, Ryoga. You now have an Amazon bride," Ranma said. She giggled at the expression on Ryoga's face.

He exclaimed, "What? You're kidding me, right?" as he sprang away from Xian Pu, looking extremely confused.

Cologne cackled, and said, "I'm afraid she's right, son-in-law. Our laws say that if an outsider male defeats one of our warrior women in battle, then she must marry him."

"But I don't love her. I can't marry her, I lu…er," Ryoga stammered.

'Ryoga loves someone else. I wonder who that could be," Ranma thought.

#Xian Pu, take your husband to the village. I will train Xiao Mei without you,# Khu Lon ordered.

#Yes, great grandmother,# Xian Pu said. Then she added, "Shampoo so happy. Shampoo make Airen too good wife."

'Better him than me,' Ranma thought with a smirk. "You mean, 'I'm so happy. I will make Airen a very good wife,' Shampoo," she said. She turned to Ryoga, and added, "Help her with her Japanese, Ryoga. That's what I'm doing."

Shampoo ran over and hugged onto Ryoga, with an industrial strength Amazon glomp. Ryoga's nose began to bleed as he found himself that close to the Amazon girl's ample breasts.

Ryoga looked helplessly at Ranma and then followed Xian Pu to the village, wondering how on earth he had gotten into this mess. 'Ranma Saotome, this is all, no wait a minute, this can't be his fault, he isn't even here. I haven't even seen him since I set the fight. Maybe he didn't make it here after all.' Ryoga thought, as a major paradigm shift occurred in his thinking. Maybe there were things that happened to him that weren't Ranma's fault. Ryoga's head began to hurt, and a trickle of blood came out of one ear.

Ranma waited until Ryoga got out of earshot and then began laughing. She laughed so hard, that tears began to come out of her eyes. Finally, pulling herself back together, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Cologne, who was unsuccessfully trying to keep a large grin from her face as well. "Did you get that out of your system, finally?" Cologne asked. Ranma nodded, not trusting her voice. "Good, what I want to teach you today is a technique that requires a great deal of speed to perform. We call it Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, or Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken. The idea is to place a handful or two of chestnuts in the fire, and then using your hands, pull the chestnuts out without getting your hands burned," Cologne said.

"There's the fire, I assume. Where are the chestnuts?" Ranma asked.

Cologne tossed her a bag, and said, "There's twenty chestnuts in there. Put them all in the fire and see what you can do."

"I hope ya have some good burn ointment, Elder. I suspect I might need it before I'm done," Ranma muttered, as she headed over to the fire. After throwing the chestnuts onto the coals of the roaring fire, Ranma closed her eyes and gathered her concentration. 'Make this look good, my mind knows the technique, but I can't possibly be fast enough yet,' she thought. Finally, she opened her eyes, and grimly began moving her hands as fast as she could. She managed to get all of the chestnuts out, but at the price of burning her hands some.

"Again!" demanded Cologne. Ranma glared at her, to Cologne's amusement, and then threw the chestnuts back in.

* * *

Two days later, Ranma and Shampoo were following the stream that flowed around the village through the woods, looking for herbs and medicinal plants. Cologne had given Ranma the morning off, muttering to herself that she hadn't expected her to learn that technique quite that fast. Ranma smirked to herself, remembering the look on Cologne's face when Ranma had suggested that another way of learning the technique was to try to pull small fish from the water without getting wet. She had suggested that on the morning of the second day that she had tried to learn the technique and had promptly walked over and begun demonstrating it in this same stream. By late afternoon that very day, she had shown Cologne that she had mastered it, first in the stream, and then later on using the fire. Ranma made a private bet to herself that Cologne would integrate that method of training. 

'I wonder what the old woman is going to teach me next. If she holds true to form, it will be Hiryű Shōten Ha. We've only got a couple of days before we need ta leave, though,' Ranma thought to herself.

Ranma smiled to herself, and then asked, "What have you done with Ryoga, Shampoo? I haven't seen him since ya gave him the Kiss of Marriage." 'It's a good thing Pop never met Ryoga. I'm also glad Cologne convinced him that he needed to call me by my Amazon name in the village,' she thought.

"I keep him busy learning duties of husband. He faint too much when I hug him," Shampoo said with a pout.

"I think he's shy with women, Shampoo. Maybe you're trying too hard. Just be friendly," Ranma said, "Don't be so aggressive with him, if ya didn't hug him so hard, maybe he'd come around."

* * *

As Ranma and Shampoo returned to the Amazon village, laden with the herbs and medicinal plants that Cologne had sent them after, they ran into Ryoga who was nervously waiting outside the cottage that Shampoo shared with the Amazon elder. As was his practice, he was wearing his backpack. #Nihao, Airen!# Xian Pu said cheerfully as she saw him. She leaned over and gave him a passionate kiss, promptly turning Ryoga beet red in embarrassment. 

#Xian Pu, I've asked you to stop that,# Ryoga protested, #I don't care what your laws say. I can't marry someone I don't love.#

#If you don't love me, then there must be someone else,# Xian Pu said angrily, #If I find out who it is, she's dead. After all, obstacles are for killing!#

Ryoga sweat dropped as he said panic-stricken, #There's no one else, Xian Pu. I just don't love you is all.#

#Ryoga, would you take these into Khu Lon with Xian Pu? I need to head on home,# Ranma said as she handed him her basket. Then she thought, 'And check on what mischief Pop has gotten into.'

#Sure, Xiao Mei. My pleasure,# Ryoga replied, with a bashful smile.

Ranma smiled and said, #Thanks, Ryoga. See you tomorrow, Xian Pu.#

Xian Pu hugged her and said, #Get a good night sleep, Xiao Mei. I think great grandmother has something planned for you tomorrow.#

Ranma hugged her back, and then headed back to the cottage she was sharing with her father. 'It's amazing how much nicer she is when she's not chasing you. I actually like her a lot better than before,' Ranma thought, 'I'm glad she never figured that a carrot works better than a stick. Her chasing after me like she did always turned my stomach.'

* * *

The next day saw Ranma working with Cologne in the same clearing where they had trained before. Several of the other warriors were there to train her in the technique. Cologne had drawn a spiral on the ground. She said, This technique is called Hiryű Shōten Ha, or the Flying Dragon Ascend to Heaven Strike. The trick is to draw your opponent along this spiral. The first thing you will learn is to walk the spiral, while keeping your emotions under control. 

Ranma stood at the entrance to the spiral and waited. She thought, 'I need ta pretend ta have problems with this for a while. I can't learn it too quick.'

The Elder said, #Begin!#

Ranma began moving around the spiral, with the warriors throwing insults at her, usually about her appearance. Ranma smiled to herself as she deliberately stepped out of the spiral, her face showing anger. Cologne hit her over the head with her staff.

"What didja do that for, Elder?" Ranma demanded angrily, rubbing the back of her head.

"What do you think dimwit? You allowed your anger to control you. You won't master the technique if you get angry. You must keep a heart of ice and let nothing anger you," Cologne snapped back at him.

They spent the rest of the day working on the technique until Cologne was satisfied that Ranma had mastered it.# Finally, Xiao Mei. You have mastered the first level. That's enough for today. We will pick this up tomorrow.#

* * *

The next afternoon, Ranma was summoned to the clearing again. Today, the Elder had some sort of strange harness next to her on the ground. As Ranma approached her,# Khu Lon asked, #Are you ready to move to the next level, Xiao Mei? I warn you this level will be much harder than what we did yesterday.# 

#Bring it on, sensei! I'm ready to learn,# Ranma said brashly.

#Then put this harness on. It will help you learn to control your anger,# Khu Lon ordered. Ranma shrugged the harness in place and then waited. #The harness reacts to your anger. The angrier you get, the tighter the harness contracts. If you want to move, you must remain calm and collected,# Khu Lon continued.

Ranma began to move around, sparring with one of the warriors that had accompanied Khu Lon. #Remember, retain your composure, Xiao Mei,# Khu Lon called. The warrior continued trying to hit Ranma, who danced out of the way of each blow. #That's right, Xiao Mei. Using this technique does not require offense, continue!# Khu Lon commanded.

Gradually, Ranma led the warrior in the shape of a spiral. She began to sense the angry battle aura growing in the warrior she was facing. The warrior was young, and inexperienced, with a great deal of strength and stamina, yet she had never landed a blow on the dancing figure in front of her, who was seemingly mocking her. As Ranma reached the center of the spiral, Khu Lon said, #Now combine her hot chi with your cold chi, Xiao Mei!#

Ranma called, "Hiryű Shōten Ha!" and struck the ground the warrior was standing on with her cold chi. The combination of the two chi's created a whirlwind-like effect, lifting the warrior into the air, and sending her some distance away. Ranma collapsed to her knees, falling into the small pit she had created with her strike.

#Excellent, Xiao Mei! The secret of the Hiryű Shōten Ha is to use your opponent's anger against her. The angrier her battle aura becomes, the more powerful the attack,# Khu Lon said, #Do you understand what you did?#

#Yes, sensei, though I'm completely wiped out now,# the exhausted Ranma said, as she thought, 'I don't remember this taking this much out of me before. I need to develop a lot more stamina.'

A young warrior came running into the clearing and bowed to Khu Lon. She began speaking extremely fast to Khu Lon, in a dialect that Ranma didn't quite understand. Whatever she was hearing did not sit right with the elder as her face grew angry for a second and then went completely expressionless. When the warrior was finished, Khu Lon turned to Ranma and said, I'm sorry. Something has come up at the village. Several valuable items appear to be missing, and I am needed to help with the search. Ranma took the harness off and handed it to Khu Lon and then followed the small party back to the village.

As she entered the cottage, she saw that her father was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, she noticed that next to the tray of food were a small box and a note. Curious, she picked up the package and opened it. The only thing in the box was a wad of cotton. From the indentation in the cotton, it was obvious that at one time it had held some sort of pendant. She picked up the note and saw that it was addressed to Xiao Mei. The note said, Xiao Mei, please accept this gift as a token of my gratitude. I want to thank you for probably saving my life. Signed Ryoga Hibiki

'That's odd. I wonder what happened to, wait a minute, where's Pop? I bet he opened the box,' Ranma thought, 'I can't believe he was that stupid. Why didn't he just throw this stuff away? I would have never known about it otherwise.'

The door opened and an Amazon warrior walked in dragging her father, who was all tied up. Her father looked much the worse for wear. Genma begged, "Sho Mei, tell her ta let me go, please? I'll give ya the pendant back; just don't let them punish me anymore."

#What did he do?# Ranma asked the warrior.

The warrior said, #The servant who brought the dinner and the present saw this man open the box and steal the contents. Being a brave male, he attacked the thief and subdued him, and brought him before the Elder Council. Since you weren't here, they sent him to me, Loh Shon for chastisement. Now that he has confessed to you, any additional punishment is for you to determine.# She handed a ruby pendant on a gold chain to Ranma.

'Ryoga gave me this? Why? This is way too extravagant for what I did,' Ranma thought. Just leave him by the couch while I decide what to do with him, Ranma said with a wintry smile. The warrior returned the smile and dumped Genma on the ground. Lotion then bowed and left. "Pop, why'd ya take this? I can't accept it from Ryoga," Ranma said.

"You don't have a choice. It's extremely rude ta reject a gift like this, especially once you've opened it. You wouldn't want to hurt his feelings after all," Genma answered, "That's why I took it, so ya wouldn't know about it and I could have sold it later."

"Yeah, then ya would have drunk up the money ya got for it. I don't think so. But you're right, it would hurt his feelings immensely if I returned it," Ranma replied, angrily, her battle aura flaring above her shoulders. She glared at him for a second and then a horrid thought came to her. She went to her father's backpack and began searching it, ignoring her father's protest. As she suspected, she found several small items that she recognized as valuable. Wrapping them in some cloth, she went in search of Khu Lon. Fortunately, the elder was just leaving her cottage when Ranma found her. #Elder, are these what you are missing?# Ranma asked, handing her the cloth-wrapped items.

Khu Lon unfolded the cloth, and visibly trembled. #Yes, Xiao Mei. These are all of the items that vanished over the last two days. Where did you find them?# Khu Lon asked eagerly.

#I'm afraid my father has abused his welcome, Elder. Ryoga had left me a gift, and Pop was discovered stealing that. I decided I better find out what else he might have lifted, and searched his belongings. I found these,# Ranma said angrily, #It's obvious that he can't be left unguarded here, Elder, so perhaps we should return to our journey.#

Khu Lon replied, #Is it your wish that he escape our justice?#

#He's not much Elder, but he is the only father I've got. I don't know exactly what your punishments would be like, but I can imagine them being severe. It's a long trip to Japan, and I'd rather not do it with him being injured, and I'm sure you don't want me to leave him here,# Ranma responded, #With your permission, I'd like to leave as soon as possible tomorrow.#

Khu Lon said tiredly, #That might be for the best, child. Are you sure you can control him?#

#Yes, that won't be a problem,# Ranma smirked.

#Very well then. I'll see you off in the morning with the money I promised you, as well as some provisions for the trip. If you'll excuse this old woman, I need to return these to where they belong,# the elder said.

#I'm sorry that he caused you so much difficulty, Khu Lon. This has been an otherwise pleasant time, I'm sorry it has to end on such a sour note,# Ranma said a bit sadly.

#As do I, Xiao Mei. I was looking forward to teaching you other techniques,# the elder said with a sigh. Then she sighed and headed back into her cottage, leaving Ranma to head back to where she was staying.

Ranma sat down at the table and began eating, pondering what she should do. After finishing her dinner, Ranma stood up and said, "I shouldn't have trusted ya, Pop. We're leaving tomorrow. Fortunately, I talked Cologne out of giving you any punishment, but don't give me any trouble or I let her have ya. Now get some sleep, I need ta pack." She walked into her bedroom and closed the door.

The next morning, Ranma walked out of the cottage to see Xian Pu waiting for her. She was standing by several boxes of food. #Elder Khu Lon is waiting to see you, Xiao Mei,# Xian Pu said as she led Ranma to Khu Lon's home.

Khu Lon's face was an unreadable mask as she approached the young girl who had learned every technique that was thrown at her. The speed at which she had learned had astonished the Elder. The fact that by mid-afternoon yesterday she had mastered the Hiryű Shŏten Ha was uncanny. It was almost as if Xiao Mei had learned the technique before. Khu Lon said, #You will always be welcome to return, Xiao Mei. I rarely have seen a student as able to learn. I am going to miss you.#

Ranma bowed politely to the Elder and said, #Khu Lon, I appreciate everything you have done for me. Though I imagine you'd prefer I leave the Panda Man at home.# Khu Lon answered with a wintry smile. Then Ranma surprised the elder by hugging her.

Khu Lon handed her a small purse and said, #As I promised, here is sufficient money to pay for your passage back to Japan, as well as a bit more. Even though your adoption was honorary, you are still a member of our tribe and we take care of our own.#

Ranma turned to Xian Pu and said, "Don't forget ta practice your Japanese, Shampoo, now that I'm gone. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you, too, Sho Mei," Shampoo said, as she hugged her friend. Then she handed Ranma several small packages, saying, "These are gifts from the village Elders in thanks for returning our treasures, and then the top one is from me."

Ranma bowed and said, "I guess I'd better get going. I'm sorry again that he did what he did. Once we get home, I'll try ta write and let ya know where I am." She bowed again, and then headed back to the cottage to finish packing. 'Can't let Pop know about the money. Besides, the Tendo's are gonna need whatever is left over from the trip. I don't want to be a freeloader this time,' she thought, 'I wonder how soon it'll be safe to change back.' She entered the cottage and went into the bedroom, startling her father. "Pop, did ya think I wouldn't have the pendant with me, baka," Ranma said in disgust, "Now get out and finish eating. I need ta finish packing. There's some boxes of food outside the front door, make sure you get that packed." Her father grumbled, but left the room. Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment and then closed the door. She began opening the various boxes that Shampoo had given her. Most of them were mementos of some sort, but a few were pieces of jewelry. Then she opened the small purse. Her eyes widened as she saw the amount of money that was in it. 'That's a lot more than we need to fly back to Japan. Definitely can't let Pop see this,' she thought. She lifted her blouse high enough to open up a money belt strapped around her waist and put the jewelry and money in it, next to the pendant that Ryoga had given her. She put the mementos in her pack, and then lifted it to her back. Squaring her shoulders, she left the bedroom and gathered her father. The two of them left the cottage and headed toward the road that would lead them home.

Ranma smiled as they left the village of Joketsuzoku behind. She thought as she walked along, 'This didn't turn out too bad. I made a friend out of Shampoo and Cologne. She's not chasing me; she's after Ryoga. I feel bad for him, but still, better him than me. I've gotta week to figure out what to do when we get to the Tendo's. I can't wait to see her. I've really missed Akane. It feels like I've been gone from her forever, even though it's only been a week.'

* * *

Ryoga found Xian Pu staring at the road leading out of the village. #Xian Pu, where's Xiao Mei? I haven't seen her all day, and when I went by her cottage, it was vacant.# 

#She's gone. She and her father had to leave and go home to Japan. She's only been gone since this morning and already I miss her,# Xian Pu replied sadly, a tear trickling down her cheek.

#Why'd she leave so quickly?# Ryoga asked, his heart breaking in two.

Xian Pu replied, #Her father stole several things, and when she found out, she was so ashamed by his dishonor that she felt she needed to leave. They were planning on going to someplace called Nerima soon anyway. Why is Airen so sad to see my Amazon sister leave?#

#I liked her. She was nice to me as well. I'm going to miss her, too. I just wish I could have told her goodbye,# Ryoga answered. He walked off, lost in his thoughts. When he looked up, he didn't recognize anything. "Now where am I!" he screamed.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews, all of them are appreciated. I'm glad that so far everyone seems to like it. Hopefully this chapter continues that trend. 


	3. Here's Ranma

Chapter 3 Here's Ranma

Ranma walked up the street to the modest, but well-maintained home. The house was surrounded by a low white-washed stone wall, and was situated on a small lot in the ward of Nerima. While the grounds were small, they were immaculately groomed, with flowering plants bordering the pebbled walkway that led from the front gate up to the house. Ranma reached the front door and knocked on it. As he waited for a response, his feelings vacillated between hope and trepidation. The door finally opened and an attractive, auburn-haired woman, dressed in a kimono stood revealed.

The woman asked, "May I help you, young man?"

Ranma simply said, "Hello, Mom."

"Ranma!" Nodoka gasped, partly in disbelief.

"Yes Mom, I'm Ranma," he replied.

Nodoka grabbed onto him in an enormous hug, rivaling the worst glomp that Shampoo had ever given him. She held onto him for several minutes, tears spilling from her eyes as she said, "I've missed you so much. I've longed for this moment, to have you back in my arms."

Ranma finally gasped, "Mom, can't breathe!" as his face turned an intriguing shade of blue. Nodoka released him with a sheepish look on her face.

"Welcome home, son!" she cried as she led him into the house. Then her face grew puzzled and she asked, "Where's your father, Ranma? Why isn't he with you?"

"That's a long story, Mom. I've got a lot ta tell ya," he replied as he followed her into a pleasantly appointed family room, with scattered pieces of western furniture. One wall of the room was taken up by a small fireplace, which had a small mantelpiece above it. On the mantel, he saw his mother's katana blade resting in a stand.

Nodoka said, "Sit down, Ranma. I'll pour us some tea." Ranma sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, while his mother bustled off, returning shortly with a teapot and two cups of tea. After handing him one of the cups, and setting the tray with the teapot on the table between them, she said, "Ranma, tell me everything."

"Well, I'll start with Pop. He's currently in jail in a small town on the island of Hokkaido," Ranma began.

"In jail!" Nodoka exclaimed, "What's he doing in jail?"

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "As it turns out, Pop isn't the most honorable man in the world, Mom. He was caught trying to con a farmer out of some food on our way back from China. When they ran his name through their records, it seems that he had been there many years ago, before you two got married, back when he was traveling with his master, Happosai. They found that he was wanted for many petty crimes, mostly being a peeping tom, but also for helping his master steal women's underwear. He even groped the current mayor's wife when she was a young girl. When they found that out, they decided to hold him for a while."

"Oh my, that doesn't sound like the man I married," Nodoka said, worriedly, "But why did you leave him there?"

"He told me ta leave him; he wanted me ta come back ta Nerima," Ranma replied, "I didn't much want ta, but he kinda insisted."

"It's too late to do much about that today," Nodoka said, "I'll look into that in the morning. Come, tell me about you. You certainly grew up manly enough. Are you a good martial artist like your father wanted you to be?"

"I believe so, Mom. We trained in a lot of different places over the ten years we've been gone. I don't know how often he mailed ya, so I don't know how much ya know. Some of what I gotta tell ya isn't gonna be very flattering ta him, though, Mom," Ranma replied. He then began to tell her the highlights of the ten years that he had been separated from her. She nodded in recognition of some of the stories. Apparently, Genma's letters and postcards had told her a few things, but obviously he had hid many of the details. She started to get angry.

Then he began to tell her about learning the Neko-Ken. "Mom, Pop decided to train me in a invincible martial arts technique. He forgot to read the next page unfortunately, which basically said only a moron would teach this, that it could make the subject crazy. He dug a pit, filled it with c-c-c, those things that chase mice, let them starve for a couple of days, wrapped me in fish paste and threw me in. I was ten years old when he did that. He kept doing it until I learned the technique. Unfortunately, I can't control it, and if I see a c-c-c, one of those animals, I basically start acting like one," he said. Nodoka began to seethe with rage.

Then he hesitated. "Mom, there's something else you need to know. My life is kinda messed up right now. While I've tried to become an honorable man, a martial artist better than any, I've come to realize that Pop isn't very honorable. He sold me several times for food, promised my hand in marriage to multiple women for their dowry, and stole more often than he worked for a living."

Nodoka's eyes grew cold, "I see I have much to discuss with my husband. Perhaps we should leave him where he is for a while, so I am less likely to harm him when I talk to him." Nodoka hesitated, and then saw what time it was. She said, "It's getting close to dinnertime. Why don't you come into the kitchen while I cook, and you can tell me more." She stood up and took the tray containing the teapot and the cups back toward the kitchen, with Ranma following her reluctantly.

Nodoka began filling a pot with cold water. She said, "I thought I could make some soup, and there's some fish in the refrigerator that I can grill."

As he leaned against the kitchen counter, he hesitantly said, "There's only one other thing I need ta tell ya, Mom. While we were training, we went to the cursed training grounds of Jusenkyo. There are many springs there, and the legend is that if you fall into one of the springs, you are cursed."

Nodoka spun, the pot in her hand as she asked in alarm, "Cursed, what do you mean by – Oh dear." She stopped suddenly as she saw the very wet red-haired girl standing in front of her where her manly son had been standing. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.

Ranma dove for her and caught her before she fell. She held her mother in her arms and waited for her to come around. Finally, Nodoka opened her eyes to see Ranma staring back in concern. "Who are you, and what did you do to my son?" Nodoka asked anxiously.

"Mom, I'm still Ranma. I was trying ta tell ya," she began only to be interrupted by Nodoka.

"No, you can't be my son. My son has to be manly. Get out of my house, whoever you are!" Nodoka demanded in a panic.

Ranma stared at her in disbelief, and then said, sadly, "I'm sorry, Mom. I know this is a shock ta ya."

"No, stop calling me Mom! You aren't the man among men my husband promised me! Get out!" Nodoka screamed. She began struggling to get out of Ranma's arms.

Ranma stood her up, and then let go. "If this is what ya want, I'll leave. Goodbye, Mrs. Saotome," Ranma said sadly. 'This isn't what happened the last time, why is she acting like this?' she thought. Ranma took one last look at her mother, retrieved her backpack and left the house behind her, tears streaming down her face.

----------------------

It was a dreary afternoon in the ward of Nerima, a small part of the much larger city of Tokyo. The clouds, which had promised rain all morning, had finally fulfilled their promise. The steady downpour had driven away all but the most intrepid shoppers, so only a small number of people were around to see a small and attractive, red-haired girl walking down the main street of the shopping district. The young, buxom, girl was dressed in a red Chinese shirt and black trousers, and was carrying a large backpack, apparently without strain on her back. That alone would have made her worthy of attention from the few males on the street, but the fact that she was talking to herself as she walked down the street drew notice from several of the others.

"Man, oh man, I really didn't want them ta see me like this first. Stupid rain! Why did I let Pop make me promise on my honor that I would meet the Tendos today? What was I thinking? Think Ranma, remember what you planned, how ya were gonna fix what happened. I hope it goes better than it did with Mom. Why did she overreact the way she did?" the girl said angrily to herself in a low mumbling voice. Guiltily, she looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear her rambling. 'Pull yourself together, baka. Ya don't want people ta think you're crazy, do ya! Talking ta yourself like that! Think, what went wrong that first day. Remember, ya had Pop with ya the last time complicating things. This time it should be easier, I hope. I won't have him pushing Mr. Tendo into doing something rash. Do I try to find some hot water and change back? Hm, wait a minute; wasn't Nabiki real disappointed when she thought I was a girl? If I show up as a boy, I might end up with her!' Ranma thought with a shudder. 'No, don't want that to happen. Okay, first thing, right, how could I forget? Akane walking in on me in the furoba, twice even. I can't let that happen this time! I don't want us ta start the cycle of insults that neither one of us really knew how ta stop all over again. And then there's the biggie, her getting forced into an engagement ta a boy she just barely met, one she was convinced was a pervert ta boot. Maybe if she had decided to accept it on her own first, before her sisters dumped it on her, but the way it happened, she always resented it. So how do we get around that? Maybe if she gets ta know me first before they can cram the engagement down her throat. But how do I pull that off?' Ranma thought

----------------------

At a large home, situated in the middle of some pleasant grounds, complete with koi pond and dojo, in the ward of Nerima, an attractive, young woman, with medium length brown hair, was working diligently in the kitchen, humming to herself as she prepared a pot of tea for her father. As she gathered up the tray carrying the teapot, she noticed that a postcard addressed to her father, Soun Tendo, had come in the morning mail. She placed the postcard on the tray, so she could bring that to his attention. She left the kitchen, and walked into the family room, where a tall, middle-aged man, with long, black hair was busily reading his newspaper.

"Here's your tea, Daddy. And also, this postcard came in the mail this morning addressed to you," the young woman said in a pleasant voice.

"Thank you, Kasumi. This tea will be most welcome," Mr. Tendo replied. Curious, he took the postcard from the tray and looked at it. On the front was an odd picture of a panda. On the back, the message simply read, 'Hi, bringing Ranma from China, signed Saotome' and a date. The man looked at the date and realized with a start that the date was today. "Daughter, I have news of great import for the family. Could you bring your sisters here, please?"

"Of course, Daddy," Kasumi said pleasantly as she left the room in search of her two sisters.

'Well Saotome, it looks like it is finally time for the Tendo School to be joined with yours,' Mr. Tendo thought to himself, 'I hope the girls take the news well.'

Soon Kasumi walked in, followed by two younger girls. While Kasumi was dressed conservatively, in a medium length dress, covered by her favorite apron, the other two were completely different. One girl was wearing short shorts and a tight, low cut top, showing a portion of her cleavage. She had her brown hair cut in a pageboy style. The other girl was wearing a white gi, with her medium length hair rivaling her oldest sister in length. Her hair was black, so black that it almost looked like it had blue highlights.

"Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, we are about to have some guests," Mr. Tendo said, "My old friend and training partner Genma Saotome is coming to visit us today. He is bringing his son Ranma with him. They will be staying with us for a while."

'Oh my, how nice!' thought Kasumi, 'I enjoy cooking for company. I hope they appreciate good food.'

"Not more people, we can barely pay the bills as it is," groaned the middle daughter Nabiki to herself.

The youngest daughter, Akane thought, 'Not a boy living in this house. I hate boys!'

"It is my dearest wish that one of you fulfill a promise that Genma and I made when we were younger," Tendo continued, "A promise that one day one of my daughters would wed his son so that the two schools could be joined. If one of you three girls were to marry Ranma and carry on the training center, then the Tendo family legacy would be secure."

"A fiancé! Wait a minute!" growled Akane, "Don't we have some say in who we marry?"

Kasumi added, "Akane's right, Daddy. We've never even met this Ranma person."

"That's easily fixed," Mr. Tendo said with a laugh, "As I said, they're coming today. Ranma and his father have been on a training trip. Recently it seems they crossed into China."

"China, wow!" Nabiki said, as she thought, 'Maybe that means they're rich!'

Akane growled, "What's so great about walking to China?"

"Is he cute?" Nabiki asked, trying to get back to the more important questions.

Kasumi asked, "How old is he? Younger men are so boring. What kind of person is this Ranma, anyway?"

Tendo laughed and said, "No idea."

Nabiki yelped, "No idea!"

"I've never met him," Mr. Tendo admitted.

At that moment, they heard the sound of someone knocking on the front door. "Oooooo! It might be Ranma," Nabiki squealed as she and her father ran to the door to open it.

"Saotome, my friend. We've been waiting for you!" Tendo said as he left the room, leaving Kasumi and Akane staring at each other in disbelief.

Kasumi prayed, 'Oh, I hope he's older.'

'Boys, how depressing,' Akane thought as the two of them finally followed their father down the hall to see their father standing at the front door.

Mr. Tendo opened the door to find an attractive, red-haired, pig-tailed person standing there.

Mr. Tendo asked, "You wouldn't be?"

"Ranma Saotome. Are you Mr. Tendo?" the person replied. Ranma stared at Akane hungrily and thought, 'Kami, she's beautiful. I've gotta make this work!'

Mr. Tendo cried, "At last! You've come!" Then he glomped onto Ranma with a big hug.

Nabiki said, "Ooooo! He's cute!"

Mr. Tendo squeezed Ranma tightly, saying, "It's so good of you to come, so …" Suddenly he realized there was something strange about the young man he was holding, as he said, "What?"

Nabiki also noticed something odd about the person standing in front of her and pushed Ranma's chest.

Ranma asked politely, "Could you stop prodding me, please?" 'Well, this isn't much different from the last time,' she thought.

"He is a girl!" Nabiki said in disbelief.

Mr. Tendo fell to the ground in shock.

Kasumi said sadly, "Oh, poor Daddy, he's so disappointed."

"He's disappointed? Some fiancé this is," Nabiki complained as she prodded Ranma's chest again.

"Stop it, you two. He, no she is our guest!" Akane said.

Nabiki screamed, "This is all your fault Daddy! You should have made sure!"

"Well, Genma said he had a son," Mr. Tendo said weakly from his position on the floor.

Nabiki squeezed Ranma's breast, saying, "Do you see a son here? Hm, do you?"

Soun passed out from the shock to his system.

Ranma protested, "Hey, I really wish you'd stop that! We haven't even been introduced properly yet! At least let me explain!" She began looking a little lost and forlorn.

Akane gazed at the red-haired girl. Seeing the lost look in her deep blue eyes, Akane's heart went out to her. "Nabiki, stop that. You're being extremely rude!" she said, "She's a guest in this house. Ranma, why don't you join me in the dojo? I'm Akane, want to be friends?" Akane smiled at her.

Ranma's eyes lit up and her expression changed completely. "Sure, I'd love ta be friends with ya. I don't have any right now," she replied with a big grin.

"Come on then, follow me," Akane said smiling. Ranma nodded and allowed Akane to take her by the hand and lead her to the dojo.

Ranma bowed politely to the shrine sitting on the shelf on the far wall. The dojo was nicer than she remembered it being, in much better physical shape than she recalled. Then she thought with a mental slap to herself, 'Of course it looks better; it hasn't had all of the patches required because of all the damage we did to it in the future. A future that I hope we can change for the better.' Hanging on the walls were several banners and trophies from various tournaments that Akane had won. In one corner was a pile of broken cinder blocks.

"You do Kempo, right?" Akane asked.

Ranma smirked and admitted, "A little."

"Then let's have a little match. Just for fun. I won't hurt you," Akane replied.

Ranma smiled and said, "If ya say so." 'Okay, you can do this. You knew this was coming. Just pull your punches so she doesn't get hurt too badly. Remember how much she resented not being taken seriously before,' she thought.

Akane readied herself in a defensive stance, while Ranma stood there looking relaxed. Finally, Ranma motioned for Akane to attack.

Akane blinked in surprise. 'Doesn't she know how good I am?' she thought. She shook herself and then charged Ranma. Ranma dodged the attack and lightly tapped Akane on the ribcage as Akane went by.

Ranma thought to herself, 'That wasn't too bad, maybe I can do this!!'

Akane attacked again. This time Ranma allowed the blow to land, though she hit Akane in the stomach, folding her over with the blow. Ranma stepped back and then chopped down on the back of Akane's neck with the blade of her hand, giving Akane a light tap to simulate a killing or disabling blow. Then Ranma waited for Akane to straighten back up.

Akane smiled broadly when she saw the grinning girl standing in front of her. "Hey, you're pretty good!" Akane exclaimed as she hugged Ranma. "I'm glad you're not a boy, I don't mind losing to a girl," she continued. Akane felt the smaller girl stiffen in her arms and stepped back to see that the brilliant smile had disappeared and was replaced by the forlorn look again. "What's wrong, Ranma?" she asked, worried about her friend.

"It's about what you said, Akane," Ranma said with a sad expression on her face, "I'm not a girl, I'm really a guy." 'Here goes nothing, I hope this works and she believes me,' Ranma thought.

Akane broke out laughing and said, "Sure! Right! Not with that figure! You're built better than I am."

"Akane, I'm serious," Ranma insisted, "I really am a boy. I just have this stupid curse that turns me into a girl when I'm splashed with cold water. Hot water turns me back. I've had it for a few weeks now, and I don't know of a cure. If ya don't believe me, go get some water and I'll show ya!"

Akane stopped laughing and her face paled. "You stay right here. I'll be back," she said as she quickly left the dojo. Soon, she returned with two containers of water. Handing one of them to Ranma, she watched as Ranma poured the hot water over her head. Akane gasped in disbelief as the girl standing in front of her transformed into a taller, well-built young man with jet-black hair. "Ranma, is that really you?" she asked in shock. 'He really is a boy,' she thought in dismay.

Ranma nodded sadly, ready to turn away and leave, seeing the look of shock on Akane's face. Akane stopped him by reaching out and holding his arm. She held his gaze for a second, staring into his eyes. She saw the same blue eyes looking back at her that she had seen before, filled with a mixture of hope and fear of rejection. 'He's a boy! I hate boys, don't I,' she thought, suddenly unsure of her feelings, 'Baka, he's still Ranma. You liked her, don't reject him!' To Ranma's surprise, Akane finally smiled in acceptance and then lightly hugged him. She poured the other container of water over him, watching him turn back into the girl she had befriended. "You were really telling me the truth," Akane said softly in a voice filled with wonder.

Ranma nodded again, and turned to leave, saying, despondently, "I'm sorry, Akane. I know ya don't wanna have anything ta do with a freak like me." A single tear slowly made its way down Ranma's face. Akane's heart nearly broke hearing the pain in the other girl's voice.

Akane grabbed her in another hug, squeezing her tightly this time. Akane replied, "You're not a freak, Ranma. You're my friend! I won't let you leave me looking this sad. Besides, you're so cute when you smile!"

Ranma stiffened in shock and then the absurdity of the situation caused her to giggle. She thought, 'That's supposed ta be my line.' Akane joined her in the giggling, as Ranma intoned ponderously, "Guys aren't supposed to be cute. We're supposed to be handsome." Then to her surprise, Ranma started weeping copiously.

"Ranma, what's wrong now?" Akane asked, "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know, Akane. I'm just glad ya still wanna be my friend. I didn't know how lonely I was until I met ya, and then ya asked me ta be your friend. Growing up the way I did, always on the move, I didn't get a chance ta make too many. I was so afraid that ya would think I was a pervert or a freak or something," Ranma said, angrily wiping away the tears. 'What's wrong with me? Why am I so emotional this time?' Ranma thought, 'I should be happy, Akane likes me!'

"Ranma, I'm just glad that you trusted me enough to tell me this. That took a great deal of courage. I can't imagine what it's like for you! Just thinking about if the situation was reversed and I turned into a boy sends shivers down my spine," Akane said quietly, her eyes still filled with concern.

Ranma smiled weakly and replied, "Thanks, Akane. That means a lot to me. Of course it's not the worst thing that could have happened. There were other curses that I could've gotten that are much worse. At least I stay human."

Akane blanched as she thought about that. Then Ranma asked gently, "Why were ya so glad when ya thought I wasn't a boy when I beat ya? I mean, if ya want ta tell me." 'I know why, but she's gotta tell me, or she'll start wondering,' she thought, 'I gotta really be careful around Nabiki.'

Akane stiffened in anger and said, "Because all boys are perverts!" Seeing the stricken look on Ranma's face, she immediately paled as she realized what she had said. "Well, maybe not all boys," she admitted. "Ranma, I'm sorry for what I said," Akane apologized, "It's just that most of the boys that I know at school are perverts. There is a group of them that try to beat me up every morning to get me to go out with them. Doesn't that make them perverts or worse?!"

Ranma frowned. "Well, I can't really argue with ya there. If you've gotta bunch of jerks trying ta beat ya up, I can see why ya think they're perverts. No wonder ya gotta poor opinion of boys," she replied. She hesitated for a moment and said sincerely, "Akane, I promise that I will try ta never do anything ta hurt ya like that. At least not on purpose. Do ya trust me?" She tensed, unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer.

Akane replied, "Ranma, you trusted me. It'll be hard for me, because of those other guys, but I'll try real hard to trust you."

Ranma relaxed, and then said, "Then let me teach ya some of what I know. You're not a bad martial artist, but I've been doing this a long time, training long hours every day, so I have some skills that ya haven't been exposed ta yet. Some I can teach ya like this, but eventually, you'll have ta spar with me when I'm a boy."

Akane swallowed nervously, and said, "I know and that scares me, to be honest. I've been afraid ever since school started this year, that one day some boy will beat me in a fight, and I won't be able to keep him from doing whatever he wants with me."

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous gesture and replied in an intense voice, "Akane, I'm probably the only guy that can really understand that fear. When I'm in this body, I'm just as vulnerable as you are. Believe me; you have nothing ta fear about me. Ya will probably get hurt if we train, but that's the only way for ya ta get better. I will never take advantage of ya."

Akane relaxed and hugged Ranma again, who thought, 'I could really get used ta this. We should've done it much more often the last time.'

Suddenly Akane's face fell as she realized something that had eluded her. She said weakly, "Oh my! Oh shit!"

"Uh, what's wrong, Akane?" Ranma asked.

"You do know that as soon as Daddy finds out that you really are a guy, you'll end up being engaged to one of us?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied easily, "I suppose that's true, Akane. After all, that's why Pop sent me here in the first place."

"And being engaged to a girl that you don't know doesn't bother you? Doesn't it make you angry that you have no say in who you wed?" Akane asked, her voice rising in anger.

Ranma looked lost in thought, 'She's got a point. Last time I didn't accept the engagement any easier than she did.' She replied, "Yeah, it would. I was just thinking I didn't have a choice in the matter since Pop made it a matter of family honor. But you're right. I really wouldn't be happy being forced into an engagement with someone I didn't at least like. And I would really like ta know her for a while first before I got engaged, anyway. But how do we keep that from happening?"

Akane gazed at her and then asked, "Can you pretend to be a girl for a while and not let Daddy know that you're really a guy? At least until we can convince him that it's a bad idea?"

Aghast, Ranma stared at her in dismay. Finally she said, a little angrily, "But I'm really a guy Akane! Ya don't know how much I dislike having ta pretend, having ta lie ta people about who I am! Ya don't really know what you're asking me ta do!"

"Please Ranma, would you do this for me? I wouldn't ask you if there was another way out," Akane pleaded, a hint of moisture in her eyes.

Ranma hesitated and then said, softly, with more than a hint of desperation in her voice, "Akane, I like you. I wouldn't mind if we were engaged, but I don't wanna force ya into something you'd resent either." 'Damn, I never could stand it when a girl started ta cry,' she thought.

Akane blushed prettily, but answered, "Ranma, I think I'm beginning to like you a little. But neither of us really knows the other. I'm just not ready for any of this."

'I didn't think it would work, but it was worth a try,' Ranma thought. She said, "I don't like the idea of lying ta your family and friends about who I am. Eventually, they'll find out, and then things will be a mess. I don't wanna lose your friendship, but maybe the best thing for me ta do is leave." 'Where can I go though, Mom already tossed me out of her house, and I don't have anywhere else,' she thought miserably, 'Have I screwed everything up here as well?'

"Ranma, I don't want you to go!" Akane cried. "But I don't want to be forced into an engagement, either. And knowing my sisters, it would probably be me," she continued sadly.

Ranma took a deep breath, and then sighed noisily. "All right, Akane. I don't really wanna go anyway; I don't have anywhere I can go. I'll agree ta try ta hide what I am from your family, but only because I want us ta get ta know each other. Maybe something'll come out of it, and maybe something won't. I don't wanna lose your friendship just ta gain a fiancée who hates me," Ranma said, "But I can't stay like this all the time. Ya gotta let me change back some when it's safe."

"Thank you, Ranma," Akane breathed, "We'll work something out, I promise."

"Do we tell your sisters?" Ranma asked.

Akane frowned and replied, "No, Nabiki would just use your secret to force you to do things for her that you won't want to do. Kasumi would be safe, but I think she would have a hard time keeping a secret from Nabiki. I think for now we should use the old saying that three people can keep a secret, but only if two of them are dead, as a guide. Let's keep it between us."

"Okay, Akane. You know your sisters better than I do, of course," Ranma replied. 'Though I do know them better than you think I do. She's right about Nabiki. She'd use my being a guy to blackmail me into doing all sorts of things. I need ta have a talk with her anyway. I need ta keep her from selling pictures of Akane and me, especially to Kuno,' Ranma thought.

"It's probably time for us to go back in, Ranma. I'm surprised that they haven't sent out a search party for us," Akane said with a smile.

Ranma breathed, "Kawaii. Akane, ya know, you're really cute when ya smile, too." Akane blushed with pleasure, as Ranma held out her hand. Akane entwined her fingers in the outstretched hand and they headed back to the house.

Kasumi saw them from the kitchen door and called them over, saying, "I'd wondered what happened to the two of you. Ranma, you looked a little unhappy, before. Are you all right now?"

Ranma smiled at her and replied, "I think I am now, Kasumi. Akane and I had a couple of good sparring sessions and we've each found a friend."

Akane agreed happily as she said, "Ranma agreed to work with me. It'll be so much fun to have a sparring partner. She's so much better than me; it'll be good. I needed the challenge."

"Ya didn't have the questionable advantage of training with my Pop, Akane. While I may have gained a lot of skill because of my training trip, I envy the fact that you've had a home and a family. It's just been me and Pop since I was six. If it had been ya on the trip with him, you'd be just as good as I am. Course, I wouldn't wish some of what he did ta me on my worst enemy, much less a friend like ya," Ranma said wryly. Then she added, "I bet ya catch up ta me once we get serious." 'I hope I can get her trained quickly. She needs ta be able ta protect herself if she ends up facing the same things we faced before. But I sure hope we can avoid most of the craziness,' she thought.

"That's nice you two. I'm glad you're getting along. If you hurry, you two will have time for a bath. Both of you need one. Then Daddy wants to talk to us before dinner," Kasumi said pleasantly.

"I need to get something to change into. I'll go do that while Ranma takes her bath," Akane said quickly as Ranma panicked. The two of them went into the house, where Akane showed Ranma where the furoba was. Ranma entered the changing room, while Akane left to go upstairs.

Ranma quickly took her clothing off, and folded them neatly. She found a big, fluffy towel, and wrapped it around her body. She left the changing room and entered the bathing room proper, where she found it empty. Shutting the door behind her, she rinsed herself off first with a bucket of cold water. Then using the soap she had found, she cleansed herself with the soap, and several buckets of hot water, the first of which triggered her transformation back into her male form. Ranma sighed, partly in vexation, as he thought, 'I guess this is better than nothing. It's not what I hoped would happen, but at least we started off better.' He stood up and began to dry himself off. Once he was dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist. Opening the door to the changing room, he retrieved his clothing from where he had left them. After stepping into his boxers and trousers, he paled as he realized that they weren't the same pair that he had worn into the room. He shrugged, not knowing what else he could do, and then realized that Kasumi must have brought clean clothes from his pack. As he reached for his shirt, the door opened and a breathless Akane walked in carrying her change of clothing. He blushed and said, "I'm sorry, Akane. I must not have put the sign out on the door." 'Oh shit, not again. At least we're dressed,' he thought in panic.

Akane joined him in the blush and replied, "It's just as much my fault, Ranma! I should have known that you were still in here." 'That's funny; I don't feel threatened by him. I think I **am** beginning to trust him,' she thought. Then as her eyes roved over his shirtless chest, she thought, 'He's really cute! Wait a minute where'd that come from?' Then she blushed even redder.

Ranma filled a glass with water from the sink. He wasn't really sure what all the expressions he saw moving across her face meant, and he was really curious about why Akane had gotten so red.

She held his arm for a second and then deliberately hugged him once more. "Okay, Ranma, you can change back now," Akane said. Ranma ducked his head under the sink, and poured the cold water over his head. Akane stared in amazement as she saw Ranma's body change again back to a girl. Ranma toweled her hair dry and then put her shirt on.

Akane said in wonder, "If I wasn't seeing this with my own eyes, I never would have believed it."

"It was a shock ta me the first time it happened, too. Ya should see it from where I'm standing," Ranma said with a wry smile, "Are ya still okay with this?"

Akane took a deep breath and then said, "It's going to take some getting used to. I've got some bad habits that I'm going to have to unlearn. I told you that I was your friend, though, and nothing has changed that."

'You can say that again. Of course, I wasn't any better. I just won't give you any reason to stay mad at me this time, I hope,' Ranma thought. "Thanks, Akane. You really don't know how much hearing ya say that means ta me," Ranma replied, "I'd better go so ya can bathe. Don't forget, your father wants ta talk ta us." She opened the door, and stepped out, taking the occupied sign with her, leaving Akane still bemused. Ranma shut the door, and then placed the sign on the door. She turned, and almost ran into Kasumi, who frowned slightly at the younger girl.

"Sorry, Kasumi, I didn't see ya standing there," Ranma said apologetically.

Kasumi smiled briefly and replied, "That's not what I was frowning about. I took your pack upstairs to the guestroom, Ranma. When I unpacked it, I only found boy's clothing. Don't you have panties or bras? You're a healthy girl; you really need a bra for support." Her eyes twinkled in silent amusement at something.

Ranma blushed, thinking fast. She said, "I just like boxers, I guess, especially ta sleep in. That's all Pop ever bought me growing up so I just got used ta them. As far as a bra is concerned, it wasn't something I really needed before."

"You're in Japan, now, not China. You need to dress more appropriately here," Kasumi said calmly.

Ranma gulped and said, "But I really don't want…" She stopped, seeing the slight frown mar Kasumi's face. Ranma sighed as she thought, 'It's not as if I didn't wear them before. It's just gonna be a lot longer and by my own choice. Remember, this is for Akane. She's worth it!' She slumped her shoulders in defeat and said with a sigh, "I guess a couple of sports bras wouldn't hurt." She was rewarded by a brilliant smile from Kasumi. 'Damn, she did it to me again,' Ranma thought, 'I couldn't ever do anything that would disappoint Kasumi.'

"We'll go shopping for some more clothing for you tomorrow," Kasumi said, "After you and Akane get back from school."

Akane opened the door and stepped out, her hair still slightly damp from her bath. "What are you two talking about?" Akane asked, "What was that about going shopping tomorrow?"

"Kasumi doesn't think much of my taste in clothing, Akane," Ranma said with a faint hint of distaste.

"She'll need to borrow one of your bras for school tomorrow. She'll need a sports bra for gym as well," Kasumi said brightly.

Akane made a face and said, "That won't work, sis. You didn't look at her close enough. She's bigger in the chest than I am. She'll need to borrow one of yours or Nabiki's." Akane saw the look of sheer terror on Ranma's face and decided to change the subject by asking, "Didn't you say Daddy wanted to talk to us?"

"Yes, he's waiting for us in the family room," Kasumi said, "We'd better join him." Kasumi led them into the family room where they found Nabiki and Mr. Tendo waiting.

"There you are, finally," Nabiki said, "I've got things I need to be doing."

Mr. Tendo asked, "What happened to your father, Ranma? The postcard I got said both of you were coming from China."

Ranma grinned mischievously and replied, "Once we got back into Japan from China and started heading here, Pop's past caught up to him. It seems that we wandered through a small village that he had visited before in his youth. He tried to scam someone out of some food and they arrested him. Then they looked back into the records and found that he was wanted for all sorts of petty thefts and misdemeanors."

"That's horrible, Ranma. We need to get your father out! Is there a fine or something that we can pay?" Mr. Tendo asked.

"Daddy, we really don't have that kind of money lying around!" Nabiki protested.

"What were the crimes he was charged with?" Akane asked.

"Our honor says we must help my friend," Mr. Tendo said before Ranma could talk, "The sordid details don't matter!"

Ranma snickered as she said, "I believe they were charges left over from when he was training with his master. They're still looking for the master and another disciple, I understand. The charges have something to do with peeping in the woman's bath and stealing their underwear, I believe."

"Of course, if we don't have the money, we don't have the money. I'm sure Saotome will understand," Mr. Tendo said as he sweat-dropped.

"Oh my, how unfortunate for Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said with a straight face.

"Yes, you can't imagine how unhappy he was. Anyway, he insisted that I come here ta wait for him. He should be out in six months or so. They really can't hold him on the old charges, at least not for long, since they're long past, but they wanted ta make him squirm," Ranma said with a chuckle. 'I wonder if Pop has figured out that I'm the one who set him up in the first place,' Ranma thought smugly.

Mr. Tendo replied, "Even though my dreams of uniting the schools through the marriage of one of my daughters to you obviously can't happen, Ranma, you're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like."

'Great, a freeloader,' Nabiki thought as a look of displeasure flashed across her face.

Ranma saw the look, and made another mental note to talk to Nabiki soon. 'I've gotta get her working with me, not against me,' Ranma thought. "That's very nice of ya, sir. I'd like that very much. But we can still join the schools," she said.

Nabiki said, smirking, "Yeah, you and Akane could become engaged. After all, she's a tomboy." Kasumi giggled, and Mr. Tendo frowned.

Akane protested, saying, "Nabiki, that wasn't funny!" Her face turned an interesting shade of red as she blushed, however.

Ranma growled, "There's nothing wrong with being a tomboy, Nabiki. I like tomboys; as a matter of fact, I'm one myself." Then she relented and said with a smile, "Actually, what I meant was, with your permission of course, was for me ta teach Akane in my branch of the school, while the two of ya train me in yours. That way the schools will be joined with two people who know both schools."

Akane flashed a look of gratitude at Ranma and added, "Daddy, I'd really like that. I can tell from the session we had today that she can teach me a lot. She's really fast. Please, Daddy, can we?"

Tendo looked at the pleading expression on his daughter's face and melted. He replied, with a smile, "I don't have much of a choice do I, Akane? You know I can't refuse you when you look like that. Ranma, you have my permission, and my blessing, to train Akane. I'm a bit rusty, but I'll need to train you and Akane both in the Tendo School. I'm afraid I've neglected her training for some time. Since you'll be living here, we will need to make arrangements for you to continue your education. Nabiki can arrange for you to go to Furinkan High School with her and Akane, and get you enrolled in Akane's class as well. We've found some school supplies for you, and Kasumi has some old school uniforms that she will alter to fit you."

"Don't rush the uniform on my account, Kasumi," Ranma pleaded, "I'd much rather wear trousers than a skirt. It's a little hard to do balance training with a skirt on, especially if the wind is blowing."

"I wasn't going to get to them today, anyway," Kasumi replied. Again her eyes lit up with some sort of hidden amusement. "I need to check on dinner," she continued, "Akane, will you show Ranma where the guestroom is?" Kasumi left heading for the kitchen, while Akane led Ranma upstairs. At the top of the stairs, Ranma saw an L-shaped hallway. The short leg of the L leading from the stairs had a door in it, and the long leg had a door visible. Each of the two doors that she could see had a little duck hanging on them. As the approached the first room, she saw the duck had her name written on it.

"That's nice of someone," Ranma said with a heartfelt sigh. 'Someone else thinks I belong here,' she thought.

Akane looked puzzled, and then saw the sign. She smiled prettily and said, "That's Kasumi for you, Ranma. It looks like she approves of you, too." They opened the door and then walked in to see a large room, with a futon against one wall. Across the room were a small dresser and a closet door.

Akane asked, "I meant to ask, what scared you earlier when we were talking to Kasumi? Does the idea of a bra bother you that much?"

Ranma looked worried and replied, "No, I can handle the idea of a bra just fine. I'll just think of them as an athletic supporter for my chest. What got me so upset was when Kasumi mentioned girl's gym."

"What's so bad about girl's gym, Ranma? It's just simple athletics and sports, after all," Akane asked, not understanding Ranma's concern.

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous manner, and then replied, "The class itself isn't the problem. It's the girl's locker room that I'm worried about."

"So, I don't understand. You'll just go in there to change into gym uniform and then shower afterwards, …, Oh, damn!" Akane said as she saw what Ranma was getting at. Akane thought for a few minutes and then said, "Gym is the last period for our homeroom. You could just change in the bathroom, instead. No, wait, that wouldn't work, someone might get suspicious."

"Maybe not, Akane," Ranma said as she thought of something, "Why can't I be shy? I could use that as a reason ta change in the bathroom. Either that, or ya could tell me when it was safe ta come into the locker room."

"We can try saying you're body conscious," Akane replied. She hesitated and then continued, a little sadly, "I'm sorry I'm causing so much trouble for you Ranma. If I had let you tell everyone the truth, you wouldn't have to do all this."

Ranma snorted in amusement. "Do ya think it would really be any easier? As soon as any of the boys at school found out about my curse, what do ya think would happen? Especially in the shower in the boy's locker room. After all, most boys are perverts, remember?"

Akane couldn't help it; she began giggling at the note of disgust in Ranma's voice. "I didn't think about it that way, Ranma," she replied, once she finally brought herself back under control. "And I guess you were worried that I might think you were a pervert after all, wanting to go in the girl's locker room and peep at the other girls. Peeping in the girl's locker room would be most boys' dream, after all."

"That had crossed my mind, Akane. I don't ever want ya ta think that I'm like those boys that harass ya," Ranma replied. "Remember though, a girl's body isn't any big mystery ta me. Unlike other guys, I don't need ta sneak a peek in the girl's locker room. All I need is cold water and a mirror," she said bitterly.

Akane winced at hearing the bitterness in her friend's voice. All she could think of was to say, "Don't feel bad, Ranma. Things will get better, you'll see. You've got us now." She briefly hugged Ranma again, hoping to remove some of the pain.

Ranma hugged her back, saying, "Akane, I know this will sound kinda corny, but meeting ya today has been the best thing that could have happened to me." Akane blushed prettily at that. Then they heard Kasumi calling them down for dinner.

When they got downstairs, they found Soun and Nabiki already seated at the table. Akane and Ranma sat down next to each other on the open side of the table, while Kasumi finished bringing in the meal. After everyone had received their portion, they began to eat. "Kasumi, this is very good. You're an excellent cook," Ranma said after she savored several bites.

Kasumi blushed prettily and said, "Why, thank you Ranma. I'm glad you like it."

Soun asked, "What can you tell us about your travels, Ranma? I'm sure you've seen some fascinating things during the time you were training with your father."

Ranma thought for a while, getting her memories straight. Then she replied, "Well, as the postcard told ya, I was in China most recently. We were there several weeks, going from training ground ta training ground, and dojo ta dojo. I spent about a week in a village of Chinese Amazons. I met some nice people there, though Pop didn't really enjoy it. They're mostly a race of female warriors, and the men mostly don't have much status. He didn't like that much, especially since he had ta defer ta me. I got the chance ta learn a few interesting technique there as well. Because I saved the life of one of the warriors, they made me an honorary Amazon, as well."

When dinner was over, Kasumi asked softly, "Ranma, would you mind helping me with the dishes?"

Ranma smiled, thinking, 'I don't wanna be considered a freeloader this time around. I gotta help out more.' "Sure, Kasumi. Ya wash and I'll dry," she said. She stood up and helped Kasumi take the dishes into the kitchen, while the other two girls disappeared upstairs.

Kasumi began washing the dishes in the sink, humming a tune as she handed the dishes to Ranma to dry. After a few minutes, she waited until Ranma had set down the plate she was drying and then asked, softly, "Ranma, how much hot water does it take to change you back?"

Ranma sweat-dropped, then asked, "What do ya mean, Kasumi?" 'This isn't gonna be good,' Ranma thought sadly to herself.

Kasumi admitted, "I saw you in the dojo with Akane, Ranma. I was curious about you, especially after I unpacked your things. Then when Akane came running into the kitchen and got the two containers of water, I decided to follow her."

"So how much did ya hear, Kasumi?" Ranma asked quietly.

Kasumi blushed, and replied, "Enough to want to know more. Why did you agree to hide who you really are when it was obvious that you didn't want to?"

Ranma answered, "It's complicated, Kasumi. What would have happened if your father knew the truth? Who would I most likely be engaged ta?"

Kasumi nodded in appreciation. "I would have shoved you onto Akane and so would Nabiki," she admitted.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. She would have hated it, and hated me probably, because of it, wouldn't she?" Ranma asked bitterly.

Kasumi's eyes dropped in shame as she realized Ranma was right. "Yes, she would have hated being forced into an engagement, and that would have caused problems between you," Kasumi said, "So why did you agree?"

Ranma swallowed, wondering how much she could safely tell Kasumi. Finally, she replied, "Partly because I don't have anywhere else ta go. I already went by and saw my mom. I hadn't seen her since I was six, and I just knew she would take care of me. Instead, when she found out about the curse, she threw me out of the house. So I came here expecting ta be thought a freak or a pervert, Kasumi. But I was wrong, I found someone who is trying ta accept me for who I am. I know she's more comfortable with me looking like this, but soon, I hope she'll understand I'm the same person either way. I really care for Akane, and I hope that maybe one day…"

"Maybe one day, what?" Kasumi asked gently.

Ranma hesitated, and then replied, "Maybe we'll fall in love." 'After all, I'm already in love with Akane,' she thought. Then she asked, "Why haven't ya told your father the truth about me, Kasumi?"

Kasumi smiled and said, "I wanted to talk to you and Akane first. You obviously intended to tell everyone when you came here. It wasn't until she convinced you otherwise that you changed your mind. And I hoped that you did that because you cared for my sister. I'm aware of what is going on at school and I've talked to Daddy about it. He doesn't understand what it's doing to her, so he won't do anything. I guess I wanted to see if she could find in you someone she could trust."

"You're right about what I intended to do when I came here, Kasumi. I think Akane is beginning ta trust me, but the situation at the school has got her scared of boys. Not that I blame her. It's a lousy situation for her. I told her this, and maybe you heard me, but I would never try ta take advantage of her. Her friendship means too much ta me," Ranma replied, "But, I have ta admit, I have an great ability of sticking my foot in my mouth. There's a real good chance that I'll say something dumb, or not use quite the right words."

"You've got two friends in this house, Ranma," Kasumi said, "What little I can do to help you and Akane, I will do. I think for now you should go ahead with your pretense. We both know that Daddy would try to force you two together, if you didn't, and that's the last thing your relationship needs."

"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma replied, "I'm glad ta know you're on our side. Does Nabiki know about me?"

"Not from me she won't. I don't approve of a lot of what she does to help us survive. Akane's right about her, she wouldn't hesitate in forcing you to do things you wouldn't want to do." Kasumi replied, "Be careful around her, she is very bright."

Ranma nodded and said, "I intend ta. I'm afraid I had a long day getting here, and I'm tired. If it's all right with ya, I think I'm gonna go find my room. Thanks for the nameplate, by the way. It made me feel like I was accepted by your family. Good night, Kasumi."

"Good night, Ranma. I'll see you in the morning," Kasumi said. Then she hugged Ranma. Ranma left the kitchen and headed upstairs to her room, leaving Kasumi to ponder the events of the day. "Oh my, things are going to be interesting around here now," Kasumi thought as she left the kitchen.

----------------------

Author's Note: Again thanks for all of the reviews. As always they are appreciated. I hope all of you continue to enjoy the story.

A.Nonomyous – Thanks for the suggestion of the vile sorcerer Ryoga. I'll have to figure out how to use that..


	4. I Hate Boys

Chapter 4 I Hate Boys!

Ranma woke up the next morning very disoriented. Shaking the cobwebs from her mind, she finally remembered that she was back at the Tendo home and today was her first day of school. She glanced at the clock and swore mildly. "Damn, it's early," she said, "I bet Kasumi's the only one awake. Well, I'm not gonna get back ta sleep, so I might as well get up and face the day." She crawled out of the futon, and folded up the blanket and the futon neatly and placed them in the corner. 'There, the least I can do for Kasumi is pick up after myself this time around. I can't believe how long I took what she did for granted. I'm not gonna be as big a burden on her this time around,' she thought with a great deal of satisfaction.

On top of her dresser she saw a stack of clothing that hadn't been there when she went to sleep. Walking over to the dresser, she saw that someone, probably Kasumi, had left her a set of the Furinkan girl's gym clothing, a sports bra and a pair of panties. Along side the stack was a lacy, black bra that was much too frilly for her tastes. After looking at the gym shorts, she realized that she couldn't wear her boxers to school. They just wouldn't fit under the gym shorts.

She pulled a pair of shorts on over her boxers, and gathered up a change of clothing. Reluctantly she also took the panties and the two bras with her as she headed downstairs. As she walked by the kitchen, she heard the sound of Kasumi moving around, beginning her morning ritual of getting the household ready for the coming day. Ranma stuck her head in the door, and said, cheerfully, "Good morning, Kasumi. Do ya need a hand?"

Kasumi smiled pleasantly and replied, "Good morning to you, Ranma. I don't need any help, but I wouldn't mind some company while I work on breakfast."

"Okay, I'm gonna go get cleaned up and change. Then I'll come back and we can talk while ya cook," Ranma answered, "Are we the only ones up?"

"Yes, it's still a little early for anyone else. Akane will be up soon so she can do her morning jog, but Nabiki and Daddy won't be awake for another hour," Kasumi responded, "I'm actually a little surprised to see you up this early."

Ranma smiled and said, "So am I, Kasumi. I don't normally get up this early, though, so don't get used ta it. I guess because I went ta sleep so early last night I just couldn't stay asleep any longer. See ya in a little bit."

"Akane likes to soak in the furo when she comes back from jogging. I haven't had a chance to turn it on yet. Would you mind doing that while you're in there?" Kasumi asked.

"Sure, no problem, Kasumi," Ranma said as she turned to leave.

"Did you find the clothing I left you?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma answered, "Yes, I did, Kasumi, thanks. Though I'm not sure about this bra. I don't think that it's really me." She held up the offending garment.

Kasumi giggled, and said, "No, I can't see you wearing that. Nabiki must have left that one. I asked her to let you borrow one of hers. It probably isn't the best choice for you, is it?"

Ranma smirked and said, "Not really. It's definitely a bit too girly for me. I'm just glad that it wasn't ya, Kasumi. I was afraid that ya might have picked it out."

"No, I would have been more sensitive to your tastes," Kasumi replied. 'After all, you're really a boy. I can't imagine what it's like for him,' she thought.

"That's a relief," Ranma said with a quick grin, "I was worried about our shopping for clothing this afternoon if ya thought this was something I would wear." Kasumi returned the smile; glad to see that Ranma had a sense of humor about the situation he/she was in.

Ranma headed off to the furoba and opened the door to the changing room. She made sure that she hung the occupied sign on the door, and then closed it behind her. She placed her clean clothing on one of the shelves and then went into the bathing chamber to light the heater for the furo. She went back into the changing room and took her clothing off, placing them in the hamper for Kasumi to wash later. After getting a towel off the shelf, she re-entered the bathing chamber and shut the door behind her.

Ranma rinsed her self off with some warm water, triggering the transformation back to his male form. After washing his body and rinsing off with more warm water, he reluctantly filled a bucket with cold water. Hesitating, he thought, 'Am I sure I want to do this? I can still back out.' Finally, he sighed to himself as he thought, 'I can't do that to Akane. I promised her that I would do this and I don't wanna go back on my word.' He squared his shoulders and poured the cold water over his head, causing him to change back. After drying herself off, Ranma went back into the changing room and started getting dressed. After staring at the two bras for several minutes, she decided to wear the sports bra as the lesser of two evils. After putting another one of her red Chinese shirts on, she pulled her pair of black trousers on over the panties. She opened the door and returned the occupied sign to its usual resting place and then headed back to the kitchen.

When she got to the kitchen, Kasumi was finishing up the bentos for their lunches at school, and was putting the final touches on the meal she was preparing for breakfast. "Good, you're done. Akane should be back home soon; I heard her leave shortly after you headed for the furoba. Everyone else is still asleep."

Ranma asked, "Are ya sure I can't help?"

"Thanks, Ranma, but I'm nearly done. You can set the table in a little bit, but I wanted to talk to you. How are you handling all of this?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma hesitated and then parried, "What do ya mean, Kasumi?"

"The curse, us, the whole situation you're in. That's what I was asking about," Kasumi said softly.

"There's not much I can do about changing forms, Kasumi. I'll have ta learn ta live with it unless I find a cure. And from what I've been told, there ain't one. I'm the same person, though, no matter what I look like, I know that much," Ranma replied, "I'm still the same boy. Listen, Akane needs ta hear this too. Can we wait until we go shopping ta talk? It is gonna just be the three of us, right?"

"I suppose you're right. Yes, Nabiki won't be coming. I was planning to meet the two of you after school, and then we would go to the mall. One last thing, if you need someone to talk to about all of this, please let me help, okay?" Kasumi said.

"Sure, Kasumi. Isn't that what big sisters are for?" Ranma said with a smile.

Kasumi teared up, asking, "You think of me as a sister?"

"If that's okay with ya, I'd like ta. I never had a family growing up, and I could sure use a sister right now," Ranma whispered softly. 'Yes, Kasumi, I've thought of you as my sister for longer than you know,' she thought.

Kasumi smiled angelically, and said, "I'd like that, Ranma."

They heard the front door close and then the sound of footsteps, running through the house. "That must be Akane," Kasumi said.

Akane walked into the kitchen, still in her jogging outfit, with a towel draped around her neck, and said, "I'm back. Good morning, you two."

"Morning, Akane," Ranma said, "Did ya have a good run this morning?"

"Yes, I managed a kilometer longer today," she replied.

Kasumi said, "That's nice, Akane. You better hurry or you won't have time to soak in the furo. Breakfast is nearly ready."

"Okay, I'll hurry," Akane said cheerfully, as she ran out of the kitchen.

Kasumi took out a cup, and put some instant coffee crystals in it, as well as two heaping teaspoons of sugar. Then she poured hot water in the cup and stirred it. She had just finished making the cup, when Nabiki staggered in; half awake, wearing a bathrobe thrown casually over her pajamas. Her hair was a tousled mess. Kasumi pressed the cup into Nabiki's outstretched hand. Nabiki promptly drank half of the cup, with her eyes still mostly closed. "Gaa," she said.

Ranma giggled and said, "Not a morning person is she?"

Nabiki finally opened her eyes, staring blearily around the kitchen until she focused on Ranma. After taking another sip of her coffee, she said, "Not really, Ranma. I need my caffeine in the morning." She finished that cup and began to fix another. By the time she finished drinking that one, she was wide-awake. "Good morning, you two. Gaa, it's getting late, I'd better get ready," she said, as she looked at the clock. She made a dash for the furoba.

Ranma and Kasumi looked at each other and smiled. They began setting the table with the dishes that they would need to have for the breakfast that Kasumi had prepared. Ranma took the teapot into the family room, and set it on the table, saying "Good morning," to Mr. Tendo who had appeared there, reading his paper.

"Good morning, Ranma," Tendo replied.

Ranma handed him a cup of tea, as Akane made her way from upstairs, carrying her book bag and dressed in her school uniform. "Ranma, are you ready for school?" Akane asked. Ranma yelped in dismay, and ran upstairs. She came back down shortly, carrying her book bag as well.

"I got too busy talking ta Kasumi, I forgot ta put my gym clothes in the bag. Thanks, Akane, for reminding me," Ranma said. Kasumi brought the breakfast in as Nabiki slid into her spot at the table, now dressed in her school uniform.

----------------------

Nabiki finished her breakfast and drained the dregs from her third cup of coffee. She then stood up, saying, "I'm off to school. See you guys later!" as she grabbed her briefcase.

Akane said, "Wait for me, sis, and I'll go with you!" as she began to stand up.

"Sorry, I can't wait. I need to get Ranma registered, remember, and you'll need to show her the way to school, anyway," Nabiki replied.

Ranma said, softly, "Nabiki, thanks for your help in getting me into school. I really appreciate it. I'll owe ya one." Nabiki looked a little startled, and then nodded her head and left.

Akane sat back down and said, "Sorry, Ranma. I forgot you didn't know the way to Furinkan."

"No problem," Ranma said as she finished her breakfast, "I'm done now, anyway. As soon as I take my dishes into the kitchen, I'll be ready ta go. Kasumi, that was another excellent meal." Ranma stood up, picked up her dishes as well as Nabiki's and headed into the kitchen. Akane scrambled to her feet, and got her dishes and followed Ranma into the kitchen. The two of them came back, Ranma carrying two bentos and Akane carrying one. After putting the bentos into their respective book bags, the two of them left.

----------------------

As they walked to school, Ranma said, "Akane, Kasumi found out about me." At Akane's look of dismay, Ranma hurriedly added, "Don't worry. She's on our side. We had a long talk last night while we were doing the dishes and she won't tell anybody."

"How'd she find out?" Akane asked.

"She got curious when she unpacked my bags and saw nothing but boy's clothing. I could have explained that away, but then when ya came and got the water, she decided ta follow ya ta the dojo. She saw and heard everything after that," Ranma replied.

Akane looked worried and asked, "Did she tell you why she'll keep it a secret?"

Ranma responded, "She said she wanted ta talk ta us before she did anything rash. Then she added that she hoped that you'd learn ta trust me. I think there's more ta it than that, though."

"That sounds like her. She tends to not interfere in things unless she has to," Akane replied.

They walked on in silence for a few minutes more. Then Akane asked, "Ranma, I need you to promise to stay out of my fight, okay?"

Ranma hesitated. "I'm not sure I can, Akane. You're my friend. If I see that you're getting hurt, I'm gonna have ta jump in and help. No one hurts my friends!" Ranma declared fiercely. Then she added a bit quieter, "I'll try not ta, though. I know it's your fight."

Akane sighed as she said, "I guess that'll have to do, Ranma. I can take care of myself during this fight. So far, no one has ever laid a hand on me."

"I need ta start training ya then so ya can continue ta say that," Ranma said with a lazy smile.

Akane's face brightened as she recognized the man walking toward them. They stopped and Akane said, "Ranma, this is Doctor Tofu Ono. He's been our doctor for as a long as I can remember. Dr. Tofu, this is Ranma Saotome. She's staying with us."

'Well, this is a bit different,' Ranma thought. "Nice meeting ya, Doctor Tofu," Ranma said.

"Nice meeting you, too, Ranma," Tofu replied. "Akane, you haven't been by lately. No new injuries?" he asked.

Akane blushed and replied, "No sir. I mean…I haven't been doing anything that would…" She halted, still blushing.

Ranma felt an unreasonable rush of hatred and jealousy. She just as suddenly felt ashamed, knowing that the crush that Akane had on the doctor wasn't returned. "Akane, we'd better get going. We don't wanna be late for school," she said. Akane looked at her watch and nodded.

They started running toward the school, when Ranma asked, "He's a martial arts master, isn't he?"

"Huh? How could you tell?" Akane asked, perplexed.

Ranma smiled and replied, "I just could."

"True, he's very good. But he doesn't look like he'd be, does he? Ever since I was little, he's taken care of my injuries," she replied.

"So, isn't he a man?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, so?" Akane asked.

"I thought ya said ya hated men," Ranma replied.

Akane stopped. After a few seconds of silence, she looked thoughtful and then said, "Well, I'm not sure that was ever really true." She started running, saying, "I hate boys though!" as she finally exploded through the gates of the school and began plowing through the crowd of boys waiting for her. Ranma looked out across the schoolyard. As far as she could tell, most of the boys were some kind of athlete, from a sumo wrestler, to baseball players, to a couple dressed in kendo outfits.

As Ranma jumped up on the wall surrounding the school, she heard Nabiki call from a second floor window, "Oh, Ranma! Ranma! Get in the school, now!"

Ranma sputtered, "But, But…"

Nabiki called, "Don't worry about Akane!"

Akane's battle aura flared almost incandescent, as she pin-balled from boy to boy, leaving someone lying on the ground severely bruised and battered in her wake. Soon all Ranma could see was male bodies scattered everywhere with Akane standing in the center of the melee. While she was breathing hard, otherwise she looked fine. She exclaimed, "For Kami's sake! Every morning. What a drag!"

Ranma jumped to the ground and walked over to her. Ranma asked, "Man, you're popular, aren't ya? Is this what ya told me about yesterday?"

"Yes. It's not over yet, though. Kuno hasn't shown up. Please stay out of the way. You'll get hurt," Akane said.

"What's going on?" the pigtailed girl asked, thinking, 'Yeah, right. Like I haven't seen this before!'

A voice said, "Truly a boorish lot!" A figure stepped out from behind a tree, dressed in a samurai robe, carrying a bokken in his right hand and holding a red rose to his nose with his left hand.

Ranma smiled pleasantly, "The only boor I see is ya. It's very rude ta interrupt a private conversation. Come on, Akane, I don't wanna be late my first day."

"Ranma, I can handle him," Akane said, getting slightly angry.

Ranma smirked and replied, "Who said anything about handling him? Why would I even wanna touch him? His rudeness might rub off, or something. We're gonna ignore him as the fool he really is!" Akane grinned in appreciation of the insult. Ranma took Akane by the hand and began pulling her toward the school building.

The bokken came slashing toward Ranma as the boy said, "You there! Hold! You're being extremely familiar with Akane!"

Ranma looked down her nose at the boy and said, "Of course I am, baka. She's my student. Who are you? Oh, wait. It was rude of me to ask without telling who I am. I am Ranma Saotome, of the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and Akane Tendo's sensei. Who are you and what business do ya have with my student?"

"My name is upperclassman Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, but my peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" As he finished the statement, the sound of thunder and the sight of lightning filled the air.

Ranma heard one of the girls around Nabiki say, "Blue Thunder?"

Another asked, "Have you heard that?"

Nabiki replied, "News to me."

Kuno continued, "I challenged Akane Tendo to a fight. If I win, she'll date with me!"

"Nonsense!" Ranma snapped, "As her sensei, I forbid it. Dating ya would detract from her training. It would make her soft. Come, Akane, let's leave this buffoon." Ranma began heading toward the school, pulling Akane along. Kuno stood there in shock, his mouth agape, allowing them to escape.

As they entered the school, Akane pulled her hand free from Ranma's grasp, and angrily said, "How could you? That was my fight! And where do you get off forbidding me to date?"

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck nervously and replied, "You're right. I shouldn't have interfered, but the jerk made me angry. And you're right about the dating thing. I had no business saying that. The thing is I just didn't like his attitude. Hurry up, we don't have time for this, ya can yell at me later." Akane looked at her watch, and grabbed Ranma's hand and pulled her along to the third floor.

They entered the classroom shortly before the last bell rang. Akane headed for her seat, still not exactly sure what had happened and still angry that Ranma had interfered in her fight. Ranma went over to the teacher, and told him who she was. The teacher announced, "Class, we have a new student. Her name is Ranma Saotome. Ranma, please tell us a little bit about yourself."

"Er, I'm Ranma Saotome. I'm a martial artist and I recently came here from a training trip to China. I'm currently staying with the Tendo family," Ranma said.

"Since you know Miss Tendo, why don't you sit next to her," the teacher ordered. Ranma walked over to the empty desk and sat down. The teacher began his lecture. Since Ranma had already been through this class, and she actually wasn't sleepy, she was able to understand what he was saying, though she kept stealing the occasional look at Akane to see if she had started cooling down.

----------------------

In another classroom, Kuno approached Nabiki Tendo and asked, "What can you tell me of this Ranma Saotome, who claims to be a sensei?"

Nabiki hesitated and said, "Five thousand yen, first."

Kuno grumbled and then handed Nabiki some cash. Nabiki said, "Ranma came to our house yesterday. My father was a student with Genma Saotome, Ranma' father. Each of them developed a branch of the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and then made a pact that one day the two schools would be joined. We thought Ranma was coming to pick one of us to be a fiancée."

"Fiancée! Ranma Saotome! Engaged to Akane Tendo," Kuno said, standing.

His teacher ordered, "Kuno, stand in the hall."

Kuno ran out of the room, saying, "I forbid it!"

Nabiki started laughing, and said, "Wait, Ranma's a, oh never mind, it's too late now."

----------------------

Suddenly the door to Ranma's classroom burst open and Kuno stalked into the room. He said, angrily, "I forbid it. I will not allow you to be engaged to the fair Akane Tendo, Ranma Saotome!" He swung his bokken around angrily, barely missing some of the nearer students.

Ranma stood up, and began unbuttoning her blouse, showing a lot of cleavage. She walked up to him, swaying her hips a little. She grabbed his bokken and said, "Do I look like some girl's fiancé to you? Maybe someone's fiancée. Not only are ya a fool, you're blind as well! Just can't see past the clothing somebody's wearing. Gee, I guess it's true, the clothes do make the man."

"You're a girl!" Kuno sputtered.

"This ain't no boy's body I got here, baka," Ranma said, with an evil grin, as she buttoned her shirt. "Now this ain't the time or the place for you to be waving your stick around. Especially since ya don't seem ta know what ta do with it anyway," she continued.

Kuno snapped, "Fine. At lunch, you and I will fight. And if you beat me, I'll allow you to date me. And if I win, I'll date you."

Ranma made a face, and replied, "That's not much of an incentive ta come. I've barely met ya, and already I despise ya on so many levels ya can't imagine. Now get out of here so the teacher can continue his lesson. Some of us come ta school ta do more than strut around looking like an idiot."

The teacher ordered, "Kuno, if you don't leave now, I'll have no choice but to suspend you from school." Kuno walked out stunned.

Ranma turned to the teacher and said, "I'm sorry for the interruption, teacher." She walked over to her desk and sat down. Then she said, "Don't believe anything that moron said. He's just a pervert, anyway. Obviously Akane and I aren't engaged. Like I told him before, I'm her martial arts instructor."

The buzz of conversation stopped and the teacher regained control of his classroom and continued his lesson.

----------------------

Ranma tried to catch up to Akane as she headed out the door for lunch, but she made it outside before Ranma could join her. Ranma could tell she was still furious with her. 'I gotta talk ta her, before that moron shows up,' she thought. Then she saw Akane talking angrily to Nabiki near one of the trees in the schoolyard. Ranma ran over to join them, carrying the two bentos from her bag.

"Nabiki, there ya are! Ya ran off so quickly this morning that ya forgot your lunch," Ranma said as she handed Nabiki her bento. Ranma carefully avoided the angry look that Akane sent her way.

"Ranma, you jerk!" Akane hissed, "How could you?"

Ranma sighed as she said, "Akane, I know you're mad at me. I'm pretty sure I know why, but can ya tell me what I did? I can't fix what I did wrong if I don't know for sure."

"You interfered in my fight with Kuno. I can take that idiot. He's the one that told the boys at the beginning of the school year that if they wish to date me, they must defeat me. He would permit no other terms," Akane said angrily, "But I've beaten them all, including him, until today. It's my fight, not yours."

Ranma sighed again in relief this time, and replied, "I hoped it was that. Listen, Akane. I'm sorry I butted in, but he really annoyed me. I shouldn't have let him get ta me like he did. I was wrong."

Akane answered, a little mollified by the apology, "Yes, you were. I thought we had covered that on the way to school."

Ranma said, "I admit, I didn't think; as usual, I just reacted. So you've fought with him every morning?"

Akane replied, calming down a little more, "Yes, and for some reason I always win!"

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck nervously and replied, "Well, some guys, when they fight a girl, well, they hold back. I think he lets up a lot."

"Don't underestimate me," Akane said, coolly.

"I don't, you're good, but he's better. I'm sure he'll come at me soon. Watch him, and see what ya think," Ranma replied calmly.

Ranma finished her lunch, as Kuno stalked up to her. "There you are, I finally found where you were cowering in fear," Kuno stated.

Ranma sneered, "I was talking ta my friends, something I'm sure ya don't get ta do, since a moron and a fool like ya can't possibly have any. I'm not gonna fight ya with the stakes ya proposed though. I wouldn't go out with ya if ya were the last man on earth! Instead, if I beat ya, you'll stop chasing Akane, ya won't even talk ta her unless she gives ya permission. Or are ya afraid ta face me?"

Kuno stared angrily at the pig-tailed girl, and said, "No one can defeat me!"

"So what do you call what I've done to you every morning?" Akane said angrily.

"A setback," Kuno said, "I accept your challenge!"

Ranma turned to Akane, winking at her and asked, flatly, "Do ya want him crippled, or dead?"

Akane asked, shocked, "What do you mean, dead?"

"I trained with some Amazon warrior women for a while, remember. One of them had an interesting idea. She always said that obstacles were for killing, and this fool is an obstacle to your happiness," Ranma replied, with a feral grin.

"You take me lightly at your peril, Saotome!" Kuno stated angrily.

Ranma moved away from the girls and stood waiting for Kuno to attack, near the outer wall of the schoolyard.

Kuno swung his bokken and slashed at Ranma and missed, driving his bokken deep into the wall. Kuno looked around, and found Ranma standing on the trunk of a nearby tree. Kuno thought, 'This girl is a good as Akane Tendo! No, better skilled, I need to turn it up a notch, or she'll beat me!' Kuno swung his bokken again, and Ranma again was out of the way, as the blade sliced through the tree. The trunk landed near the two girls, causing Akane and Nabiki to jump back, startled.

Akane thought to herself, 'He's used his bokken to cut through stone and that tree. How can he do that? Ranma's right, he has been holding back. The nerve of that jerk!' Her battle aura began to flare again as she started getting angry with Kuno.

Before Kuno could swing again, Ranma was inside his guard and said, "What kind of martial artist are ya, endangering people like that! Akane and Nabiki could've been hurt!" Ranma yelled, "Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken!" Suddenly, her fists blurred and Kuno finally staggered backwards, bruised and battered, but still unbowed.

Kuno swung his bokken again, papers flying out of his robe. Ranma jumped back, catching one of the papers and recognizing it as a photo of Akane. "Hey," Ranma said, looking around at the other papers and seeing that they were all pictures of Akane.

Kuno yelled, "You look elsewhere in the middle of a battle! You do not take me seriously!" as he swung his bokken again, causing Ranma to bend under the blade. Akane gasped, thinking that Ranma had been hit.

Ranma landed on her hands and then bounded away, landing back upright a few feet from Kuno. Kuno charged in, yelling, "Strike! Strike! Strike!" swinging his bokken every time. Ranma leapt out of the way, into the air and came down, landing on Kuno's head, driving him to the ground.

Ranma leapt back, as Kuno stood shakily up. Charging in again, yelling "Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken!" with a flurry of blows. This time when she was done hitting Kuno, the boy fell to the ground and didn't get up. Ranma walked over, and kicked the bokken out of Kuno's hand and then rolled the battered boy over. "Do ya yield, or do I have ta put ya in the hospital?" Ranma asked the groaning Kuno.

Kuno said shakily, "I yield, Saotome. The fair Akane Tendo will no longer need fear my attentions. I shall forsake my love for her. The challenge was made and fairly won." Then he collapsed back to the ground, unconscious.

Akane came up and asked, "Didn't he hit you once?"

Ranma smirked and said, "Oh that?"

"Yeah, that! Is it really all right?" Akane said as she touched the wound. Ranma bent over from the pain. Akane asked, "Say, what distracted you in the middle of the fight?"

Ranma showed her the photographs she had grabbed from the air.

"What?" Akane said, angrily, "Why do you have photographs of me?"

Ranma said simply, in disgust, "Not me, they're Kuno's."

Akane glared at Nabiki, who backed up saying, "Just making a little money on the side, Akane. No harm done, right?"

"My own sister," Akane said in disgust. She continued glaring at Nabiki, and then said, "You and I need to have a talk later about this!" Then she said, "Let's take you to Doctor Tofu. He needs to take a look at that cut."

Ranma nodded weakly and allowed Akane to help her walk to the clinic. Nabiki stared thoughtfully at Kuno and then dragged him to the nurse's office in the school.

Akane sighed and said, "I owe you an apology, Ranma. You were right, Kuno was holding back on me, a lot. I'm nowhere near good enough to beat him." She began getting angry again, just thinking about how Kuno patronizing her like that made her feel.

"Akane, don't you get tired of being angry all the time?" Ranma asked.

"That's my business!" she exclaimed.

Ranma shook her head sadly, and replied, "That's a real shame. I wasn't kidding when I said ya were cute when ya smiled. I'd like ta see a lot more of that."

Akane blushed and then asked, "What am I going to do about Kuno? Now that I know how good he is, he's got me worried."

"Don't worry, Akane. We'll fix that. Tell me, how much do ya train during the day?" Ranma asked.

"Well I jog every morning, and then usually work out for a couple of hours in the dojo, sometimes doing katas and sometimes breaking concrete blocks," Akane replied.

Ranma sighed, and said, "Akane, that's not enough if ya want ta get as good as me. When I was traveling with Pop, we trained at least ten hours of every day."

"Ten hours! I can't put in that much time, not and go to school, and everything," Akane said sadly.

"Probably not. On the other hand, while Pop didn't have many good ideas, he always taught that anything could be used for training. On the way ta and from school, we can practice on your balance, by running on the fence. Today was the first day in a long time that I didn't do any balance training like that. We can do other things like that, and then, if I can get your father's permission, we can go on some long weekends and really get some lessons in. I may not be able ta get ya as good as me; I don't know if ya have the ability, nor do I know if I can teach good enough. What I promise is that I will teach ya ta be the best that I can," Ranma said.

Akane helped Ranma into the clinic, where Tofu helped her get Ranma up onto one of the examination tables. "I'm surprised, Akane. Normally, it's you that I'm having to treat." Akane blushed, as she helped Ranma take her shirt off.

Tofu examined the wound in Ranma's side, just above her waist. "What caused this, Ranma?" Tofu asked, "It almost looks like a sword blade did this."

Ranma said, "In a sense it was. I was fighting Tatewaki Kuno, and one of the swings of his bokken created enough air pressure that it cut me."

Soon, Doctor Tofu had her all patched up. Ranma put her shirt back on and began buttoning it.

"Thanks Doctor Tofu, I appreciate this," Ranma said. Ranma and Akane left to head on home.

----------------------

Kasumi walked out of the Tendo home and saw Ranma sitting pensively on one of the rocks surrounding the koi pond, watching the fish swim lazily by. She changed course and joined her, asking, "Ranma, what are you and Akane doing at home so early in the afternoon?"

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "Ya know that Kuno kid who's been giving Akane such a hard time? Well, he and I had a bit of a fight at lunch. He attacked me and I defended myself. Unfortunately, before I could knock him out, he snuck a blow in and I got cut. We stopped at the clinic ta let the Doc take a look at it, and then came here."

"Oh my, you need to be more careful. Do you know why Akane was so upset?" Kasumi asked, "She ran off upstairs so quickly."

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck, not sure what to say.

"I was worried about Ranma. He took a nasty blow in a fight that really was mine. Everything finally hit me that he could have been seriously hurt and it would have been my fault," Akane said softly from behind them, "Are you two ready to go shopping? I understand we need to get Ranma a new wardrobe."

Ranma turned and looked at Akane. Akane had changed out of her school uniform and was wearing an attractive yellow dress. Ranma smiled at her and said, "That's a nice look for ya, Akane. Kasumi, I need ta get something, and then I'll be ready. How 'bout ya?"

"I'm ready," Kasumi replied.

Ranma shook her head, and replied as she left, "Not until ya take off that apron."

Kasumi looked at what she was wearing and blushed prettily. She then told Akane, "You need to be more careful with your pronouns when talking about Ranma, sis. You never know who might be listening. I'll go take this thing off, and tell Daddy we're going out." She walked into the kitchen and hung up her apron. Then she went into the family room and told her father, "Akane, Ranma and I are going shopping for clothes. Ranma needs a few things. We probably will be out late, so you and Nabiki may want to order out. We'll stop somewhere and get something to eat while we're out."

She walked out of the family room and joined Ranma and Akane. The three of them walked out of the yard and headed toward the nearest mall.

----------------------

Ranma, Akane and Kasumi were sitting in the food court of the mall. The seat next to Ranma was filled with sacks from several different stores. Kasumi giggled, saying, "I still can't believe that you talked me into that dress, Ranma."

Ranma looked amused and replied, good-naturedly, "Hey, I told ya the only way you'd get me in a skirt was if ya let me pick one out for ya, Kasumi. Besides, you're a good-looking girl; ya ought ta dress the part occasionally."

"She's right, Kasumi. You're only three years older than me, after all. I want to thank you for what you got me as well, Ranma. This is a really pretty bracelet," Akane said, as she gazed at the item on her wrist.

"I'm glad ya like it. Maybe it'll make up for some of the chaos I'm bringing into your life," Ranma said, bashfully.

Kasumi hesitated and then asked, "Ranma, how are you holding up? This whole situation has got to be rough for you. I started to ask you this morning, but you wanted Akane in on the talk as well."

Ranma replied, "I won't kid ya. This is real hard on me. I'm still a guy on the inside, at least mostly. When I'm like this, it's easier for me ta show my emotions, than when I'm a guy."

Akane's eyes narrowed and she asked, a little heated, "Does that mean you think girls are more emotional than guys?"

"If I was saying that, you may have proved my point, Akane. No, I was talking about Pop's training. He taught me that boys don't cry or show emotions. I learned that lesson too well, I'm afraid, so I can only cry easily when I'm a girl," Ranma said, "Other than that, as far as I can tell, I'm the same person in either form."

"How are you handling the physical aspects of being a girl, Ranma?" Kasumi asked, "I'm sure there are a lot of things that you have questions about."

"Are ya asking how complete a girl I am, Kasumi? If ya are, then the answer is this body is completely female. I haven't stayed this way long enough yet, but eventually, I'll have my first period. I'll need a lot of help ta keep from freaking out then, I'm sure," Ranma said shyly. 'After all, I did before,' she thought.

Akane eyes grew wide, as she gasped, "You weren't kidding me in the dojo when you were said you were just as vulnerable as I was, were you?"

"No, I wasn't. I can get pregnant, just like any other girl. Ya can't imagine how much that terrifies me," Ranma said even softer, with a quiet dignity.

They sat there in silence for several minutes, while the other two girls tried to digest what Ranma had said.

"Kasumi, the main thing that I need is some time when I can change back ta being a guy. I can't be a girl all the time, it'd drive me crazy. We'll need your help in letting me get those chances. Sometimes I can go somewhere after school, but I was thinking that Akane and I could eventually take the occasional training trip up in the mountains, as well. There's things that I need ta teach Akane that really need a lot more space than we can find here," Ranma said, "That's if you're wanting ta do that, Akane, and we can get your father ta agree."

Kasumi looked troubled, and said, "The after school times shouldn't be too hard; you can just ride the train somewhere and then catch a movie or eat out or something. For that matter, you could just find a safe place to change, and then you could wander around Nerima. After all, no one would recognize you. I'm not sure about the training trips, though. I'm not sure it's proper."

Ranma sighed and said, "I guess it all boils down ta whether ya want ta trust me or not, Kasumi. I know ya trust your sister. That's not something we gotta decide immediately anyway. Akane won't be ready for some time for the things I wanna teach her, anyway."

Akane bristled and said, hotly, "Are you saying I'm not good enough for you to teach?"

"Calm down, Akane. All I meant was that there are things we need ta work on first that are more important. I've only had the one sparring session with ya, and then watched ya fight the hentai horde, so I don't know what ya can and can't do. I know one thing is the balance training that I mentioned this afternoon. Remember ta wear some shorts under your dress in the morning," Ranma replied. 'There I go again, sticking my foot in my mouth,' Ranma thought with a mental sigh.

"Why do I need to wear some shorts?" Akane asked, a lot calmer.

Ranma smirked, and replied, "Because you'll be running on some fences, and I doubt ya want ta show the world the color of your panties."

Akane's face went bright red as she blushed.

----------------------

Author's Notes: Again thanks for all of the reviews. All of them are appreciated.:


	5. The Return of Kuno

Chapter 5 The Return of Kuno

At breakfast the next morning, Kasumi asked, "By the way, Akane on your way back from school, could you drop by Doctor Tofu's?"

Akane gulped.

"I borrowed this book from him, and I'd like you to return it," Kasumi said as she held up a medical book on human pressure points.

"Uh, Kasumi, could you, um, do it yourself?" Akane asked, "Today's just, um, not good for me."

Ranma looked puzzled as Kasumi replied, 'Really? Well, I guess I'll have to."

Ranma said, perplexed, "Come on, Akane, you know you're dying ta go."

Akane slammed the table and growled, "We're going to be late, Ranma!" She grabbed Ranma by the pigtail and pulled her out of the house."

As they left the gate, Ranma shouted, "Wait a minute! What are ya so heated up about?"

Akane stopped and slammed her against the wall of the Tendo compound. "Listen, Ranma, why don't you keep your big mouth shut?"

"What do you mean, big mouth?" Ranma asked.

"I mean about me and Doctor Tofu," Akane finally said.

"Sorry, Akane. I was just teasing ya. I shouldn't have done that," Ranma replied. Then she asked, "Didja remember the shorts like I asked you?"

Akane smiled and nodded, "Yes, I wouldn't forget. Not after I got so embarrassed last night.

Ranma said, "We'll start out on something easy. There are a couple of brick fences that looked pretty good on the way ta school. Eventually, after you get comfortable with that, then we can try the chain link fences, as well. Come on, we need ta run." She started jogging, followed closely by Akane.

When they got to the first brick wall, Ranma grabbed Akane by the waist and jumped up onto the wall, startling Akane into a yell.

Ranma said, "Sorry, Akane. I didn't think. Okay, now just face forward, then look straight ahead and walk."

Akane walked forward, with her eyes straight ahead; unaware of Ranma shadowing her carefully, ready to catch her if she wavered. After a few minutes, Ranma said, "Okay, now try walking a bit faster. We still wanna get ta school on time, you know."

Akane began walking faster, almost a run, until they reached the end of the fence. Ranma came up behind her again, and said, "Okay, I'm gonna jump down to the ground with you? Are ya ready?" Akane nodded, so Ranma held her by the waist again, and jumped lightly to the ground. "Okay, now we need ta run ta the next fence, Akane," Ranma said, "You're doing good." Akane's cheeks were flushed with exhilaration. The two of them started running, until the reached the next brick wall. This wall was a little higher, so Akane was ready for Ranma to carry her up to the top of the wall. Akane took off running, looking straight ahead, with Ranma jogging lightly to keep up. When they got to the end of this wall, Akane jumped down, but stumbled on landing. Ranma caught her before she could fall. "Okay, that's pretty good, still, Akane. Looks like I need ta teach ya how to land, and maybe ta fall. That's something we can do at the dojo," Ranma said, "I think this is real good for a first try. You ready ta get ta school?"

"Sure," Akane said with a big smile. She had actually done the fence walking and Ranma had said she had done pretty well. The two of them raced quickly toward the school.

When they reached the gate into the schoolyard, the usual horde of boys was waiting. Akane stepped forward and asked, "So! Who's first today?"

One of the boys said, "Akane, we shall no longer challenge you."

Another said, "Instead we shall all swallow our loss, and obey your sensei."

Ranma and Akane looked puzzled. Almost in unison they asked, "What in the name of …"

"So then, you have all heard this rumor, this falsehood," a heavily bandaged Kuno said, stepping from the shadows of a tree, "That Ranma Saotome defeated me!" Kuno laughed a manic laugh. "Upperclassman Kuno does not admit defeat!" he continued.

One of the boys said, "Kuno was the greatest fighter at Furinkan High"

Another continued, sotto voce, "And the greatest pervert!"

"Pervert!!!" Kuno shrieked.

"If you have chosen Ranma as your sensei, we give up. We can't possibly beat her," a fifth boy said, choking back a sob.

"Kuno shall not give you up!" Kuno said.

"I thought that might be the case, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said from behind them all, "Fortunately, I'm never without my tape recorder."

She pushed play, and the crowd heard the voice of Ranma ask, "Do ya yield, or do I have ta put ya in the hospital?"

And then they heard the voice of Kuno say shakily, "I yield, Saotome. The fair Akane Tendo will no longer need fear my attentions. I shall forsake my love for her. The challenge was made and fairly won."

"Sounds like not only did Ranma defeat you, but you admitted it. Will you be forsworn as well as defeated?" Akane said angrily.

"I will never admit defeat!" Kuno avowed.

"So ya have no honor, either! You shame both the robes you wear and the bokken you carry, you dishonorable cur," Ranma exclaimed. Then Ranma turned to Akane and asked, "My turn, or your turn?"

"You beat him up yesterday, Ranma. It's my turn today. Besides, you still need to let that cut heal a bit more before you overexert yourself, remember. Thanks for asking first though," Akane said with an evil gleam in her eyes. She rushed Kuno before he could defend himself and launched Kuno into the air with an uppercut to the chin. Kuno landed with a loud thud and lay still, groaning in pain.

Ranma and Akane walked off, Akane's head held high, while Ranma said, "Nice form. Need a little work on the follow through, though. He should have gone another fifty or sixty feet with as hard as ya can hit."

Akane giggled as they entered the school building and made their way to class. They sat down in their respective seats as the tardy bell rang. As the teacher was beginning to take roll, the loudspeaker came on and the vice principal said, "I have an announcement to make. One of our students has asked me to play the following:" Everyone heard the click of a tape recorder, and then the voice of Ranma ask, "Do ya yield, or do I have ta put ya in the hospital?"

And then they heard the voice of Kuno say shakily, "I yield, Saotome. The fair Akane Tendo will no longer need fear my attentions. I shall forsake my love for her. The challenge was made and fairly won."

"Thank you for your attention," the voice of the vice principal said. Then as the loudspeaker turned off, they heard, "Does that make us even, Miss Tendo?"

The loud buzz of conversation and speculation filled the classroom, as all of the students, especially the males, turned to look at Ranma in surprise. She simply smiled and waited for the instructor to begin class.

----------------------

Ranma was sitting in the grass with some of the other girls during gym class, watching the rest of the girls play baseball. 'Stupid Akane, she dragged me away from home so quick this morning that I didn't have my gym uniform. The gym teacher sure was mad that I couldn't dress out today, especially after missing yesterday,' she thought.

Akane's team was in the field. Ranma sighed as she watched as Akane made a nice athletic leap and caught a line drive ending the inning. As Akane's team got up to bat, Ranma's mind drifted as she thought about how cute Akane looked.

The next thing she knew, she was wearing a baseball in her cheek. One of the girls asked, "Hey, Ranma, you've got martial arts reflexes, right? I mean, couldn't you have dodged it?"

Ranma sighed and said, "I had something on my mind."

Akane ran over and asked, "I'm so sorry, Ranma. Are you all right? Let's take you to the clinic, okay." Akane helped her up, and the two of them went to the clinic, where they found Doctor Tofu free.

Tofu asked, "Not that I mind seeing you two, but this is twice in two days. What happened to your face, Ranma?"

Ranma grimaced and said, "A little baseball accident."

Tofu smiled and said, "I have a balm that does wonders. I'll go get it. Back in a jiffy." As he headed out of the room, the phone rang. "Darn, Akane, could you answer that?"

Akane picked up the phone and answered it, saying, "Hello, can I help you?" She listened for a second and then said,"Oh! Yes, yes, I see, okay, bye." She hung up the phone and said, "I need to leave, Ranma."

"Huh, is something wrong?" Ranma asked.

"No, nothing like that," Akane said, a bit sadly.

Ranma said, "So what's the big hurry? I thought you'd want ta stay here with"

Akane put her hand over Ranma's mouth, preventing her from saying anything more. "Shut up!" Akane said, "There's a girl, who Doctor Tofu likes! That was her on the phone. She's coming right over. The way Doctor Tofu looks at her, he must like her!"

Ranma looked sympathetically at her. At that moment Tofu came back in with the balm and some disinfectant. "What are you two talking about?" he asked.

Ranma said, "Huh, oh, nothing, right?"

Akane stared at the ground.

Tofu said, "Now let's see the wound. Hmmm, the impression of that baseball…Akane hit it, right?"

"Huh?" Ranma asked, "How did you know?"

"With an impression that deep, a bruise that big, who else could it be?" Tofu replied.

Ranma grimaced and answered, "Well, it was my fault for not paying attention."

"You mean Akane did hit the ball?" Tofu asked, "I was just joking." He applied the disinfectant and the balm. Then he asked, "When was the last time you had a real physical, Ranma?"

"Not in a long time, Doctor," Ranma admitted.

"I'll make an appointment for you then," Tofu said as he left the room to check his appointment book.

'I should have left,' Akane thought to herself.

Tofu came back in with a small slip of paper.

Kasumi walked in then, carrying a book in one hand and a small bag in the other, and said, "Good afternoon, Doctor!" Tofu's glasses fogged up.

"H-hello, Kasumi," Tofu said as he began to shred the paper in his hands, "What, uh, what brings you here?"

Kasumi said, "Um, the book I borrowed from you and this. I don't know if it's a fitting gift." She pulled a plate covered with a cloth napkin from the bag.

Tofu grabbed the napkin and placed it around his face, saying, "How nice, a mask. It's fitting very well, thanks."

"That's not what I meant!" Kasumi said, holding the plate of cookies in her hands.

Tofu took the plate from her hands and bit the plate, saying, "Oh! Very tasty!"

"That's the plate," Kasumi said. Then she said in an aside to Akane, "Doctor Tofu's so amusing, isn't he?"

Akane said brightly, "You think so? He's never this way when you're not around!" Akane smiled hugely, as her heart broke.

"Really?" Kasumi asked, surprised.

Akane said, quickly, "Well, we must be going, come on Ranma!" Akane grabbed Ranma by the arm and they ran off.

Kasumi said, "Akane? What's the matter with her? We could have gone home together."

----------------------

Later at the Tendo home, Ranma went hunting for Akane. She looked through the dojo window and found her, wearing her gi, breaking concrete blocks with her hand.

Ranma stared at her intently and said, softly, "She's crying." 'She really is pretty. I need to compliment her more. It should be easier; I won't have ta worry about getting married every time she and I get close this time. I won't have ta deliberately say things ta drive her away,' she thought.

Akane stood up and walked outside the dojo and put her head against the stone wall. "I can't let it hurt me," Akane said. Ranma walked over and held out her arms. Akane gazed at her and then allowed Ranma to hold her, while she cried.

Ranma said tenderly, "I'm sorry. I know this has gotta be rough on ya."

"Ranma, did you come to cheer me up?" Akane asked.

Ranma smiled, and replied, "You're my friend, Akane. Why wouldn't I want to cheer you up?"

"Thanks, Ranma. I'm glad you're here with me," Akane said. 'Ranma's really nice, even if he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes,' she thought.

"Are ya gonna be okay?" Ranma said hesitantly.

Akane replied, "Yeah, I'll be okay. It's not as if Kasumi knows that I **had** a crush on Tofu."

"Had?" Ranma asked, surprised that she was giving up on Tofu already.

Akane nodded her head, a bit miserably, and replied, "Yeah, had. I watched him with her today, and realized that I never had a chance. He's madly in love with her, and the funny thing is, she's completely clueless about him. Besides, to be honest, he really is too old for me."

"Akane, thanks for helping me today," Ranma said.

"Ranma, remember what you said. What are friends for, if not for helping each other?" Akane replied.

----------------------

Later that evening, Akane opened the door to Nabiki's room and walked in, surprising Nabiki. She asked, "What do you think you're doing invading my privacy like this, Akane? You know you're not supposed to come in here unless I invite you."

Akane said, bitterly, "You're one to talk about invading privacy. Just how long have you been selling pictures of me?"

"Since before Kuno made that ridiculous challenge, Akane. Between the pictures and the bets on the fights, I've made a pretty good amount of yen," Nabiki admitted.

"It stops now, Nabiki. I'm tired of the fights. And I won't be used in any more of your sick schemes," Akane said angrily.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow and asked, "What sick schemes are you talking about, sis?"

"Nabiki, you know how perverted those boys at school are? What do you think they wanted those pictures of me for? How would you like to star in their sick, perverted dreams? I'm very angry at you, right now, as well as extremely disappointed," Akane spat.

"What's it worth to you for me to do what you're asking?" Nabiki asked.

Akane glared at her and said, "I don't think you understand, sis. I wasn't asking, I was telling you. You're no better than a pimp trying to sell your sister as a prostitute. I won't allow it anymore!"

"So how to you propose we pay for the food you eat, and the clothes you wear?" Nabiki asked, coldly.

"Try something with a little dignity, like teaching in the dojo. Or maybe one of us could get a job. Or if you want to sell those perverted boys pictures, you can be the model! If I find that you've taken any more pictures of me, and sold them, then you'll suffer the consequences," Akane stated equally coldly, "And if I find out that you're the one that egged Kuno on to make that stupid challenge, then you'll learn to eat your meals with a straw." With that, she spun on her heels, and stalked out, leaving an extremely worried Nabiki staring fixedly into space. When Nabiki looked up she saw Kasumi standing in the doorway with an unfamiliar expression on her face, a combination of anger, and disgust, mixed with more than a touch of sadness.

"What is it, tell Nabiki off night?" Nabiki said.

Kasumi replied, "You might say that, Nabiki. Akane told me about the photographs. I came to tell you that I'm extremely disappointed in you for what you've done to her. I've been letting it slide up until now, because I know we needed the money, but some things aren't worth the price that they cost. You've caused Akane to mistrust boys, and think most of them are perverts. She was getting angrier at the situation every day, and eventually she would have seriously hurt someone. Is that worth what you gained from the pictures you sold? How long do you think those relatively innocent shots will suffice before you have to provide more risqué pictures? Is losing the trust of your sister worth what you've done? How much would it cost for us to heal someone if they were seriously hurt by her because of her anger?"

"Everything I've done has been for our family, Kasumi, you know that. But to answer your questions, do you think I enjoyed seeing what I did to Akane? But I'll do whatever it takes to keep a roof over our head and food on our plates," Nabiki replied.

Kasumi said sadly, "I'm not the one who needs to answer that question, Nabiki. You do. The sad thing is, Akane isn't the only one that you've hurt, nor is she the one that has been damaged the most. Once she finds someone else she can trust, aside from me, she'll start to heal. The one I'm more worried about is you. How long has it been since you've been able to look in a mirror and like the person that you see?"

"So you think I'm some kind of monster, do you? Do you think I want to be a cold-hearted bitch? Ever since Daddy lost his last student, I've had to somehow juggle the finances to make sure we could survive. I've sacrificed a lot since, and now you two are telling me to stop," Nabiki said icily.

"No, I'm saying that you need to take your sister's feelings and emotions into account. If you had wanted to stop that idiotic challenge, you could have. Instead you made money off your sister's pain. It's time you quit trying to do everything yourself, and let us help with what we can," Kasumi replied, "And you're not the only one who sacrificed yourself. What about a young girl, forced to fill the role of a mother, someone who at one time dreamed of going to college? I didn't want to grow up that fast, but I had to for your sake."

Nabiki looked properly abashed as she said, "I'm sorry sis. I guess I forgot what you had to give up. But I don't see how I can stop doing what I'm doing. How can I, especially now that we've added another mouth to feed? We don't need a freeloader living here."

Kasumi replied, gently, "As far as Ranma is concerned, why don't you talk to her and see what she can do to help? She's already volunteered to do some things for me around the house. She's training Akane in martial arts, and giving her something to focus her anger on. You have barely talked to her since she moved in. It's almost as if you're afraid to let someone else close to you."

"Fine, I'll go talk to her," Nabiki spat out angrily, "and see how she's supposed to solve all our problems."

"Oh my, I doubt she'll do that, Nabiki. She's only a martial artist after all, not a miracle worker," Kasumi said with a sad smile, "I think she's in her room, working on her homework, if you want to see her before dinner." With that, Kasumi turned and left the room.

'Why not! I might as well get it over with,' Nabiki thought as she left her room and headed to the guestroom. Through the open door, she saw Ranma working on a homework assignment. Nabiki asked, "Ranma, do you have a minute? I'd like to talk."

Ranma looked up, the relief evident on her face. "Sure, come on in. I could use a break. I've been fighting this homework all evening and I think it's winning! I could use someone to rescue me from it," she replied, "Besides, I've been wanting ta talk ta you, as well."

"I hope you weren't intending on giving me a lecture," Nabiki growled, "I've had my quota for the week already, thank you very much."

Ranma gave her a puzzled look and then said, as her face cleared, "Oh, Akane and Kasumi talked ta you about the photographs." She grinned at Nabiki and asked, "So, did they singe your tail feathers?"

Nabiki said stonily, "That's not really any of your business, Saotome."

"That's true enough. Sorry, Nabiki, I shouldn't have asked. Anyway, all I wanted ta do was to thank you for your help with Kuno today, especially when you played the tape over the loudspeaker at school. That was smart thinking on your part. I owe ya another one," Ranma said pleasantly, "Not that I expect it ta stop Kuno much, but at least it'll give the rest of the boys at school something else ta think about, instead of listening to that moron spout off." 'Come on, Nabiki, give me something to work with here,' Ranma thought.

Nabiki looked nonplussed. Finally she said, after she got over her surprise, "You're welcome, Ranma. I thought Kuno might have a selective memory. Looks like I was right. I'm happy I could help."

'Hm, nothing to work with there, I guess I'll have ta bring it up,' Ranma thought. "Yeah, so was I. Listen, Nabiki, I don't feel right about staying here without helping some. Kasumi told me that you're the one that takes care of the money around here. How much should I be paying ta stay here?"

Nabiki looked like she bit into a sour lemon. Then she said, "Nothing. Daddy invited you to live here. That makes you a guest. I can't charge you for that. His sense of honor won't let me." 'She doesn't want to be a freeloader. Damn, maybe I misjudged her, after all,' Nabiki thought.

"Well, I appreciate the thought, but I know my being here has gotta cost you something. I don't wanna be a burden to ya," Ranma responded. Ranma thought for a moment, and then smiled conspiratorially. "Nabiki, how much would ya charge me to not take pictures of me or Akane?" she asked, "For, say, about the next six months?"

Nabiki grinned suddenly and said, "How does sixty thousand yen sound to you?"

Ranma smirked and replied, "Sounds like you're pretty proud of your photographs, but the price isn't too bad." Then she admitted, "Though I'm afraid I don't have that much cash on me." She waited a couple of seconds, and then added, "Do ya mind a personal check?"

"Not if it's good," Nabiki said with a smile.

Ranma smirked again and responded, "It is, Nabs."

"Nabs!" Nabiki exclaimed, "What do you mean by Nabs? Nobody calls me that!"

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a wad," Ranma retorted, "I won't call you that, at least not too often." She lifted up her shirt to display a money belt wrapped around her waist. She pulled a checkbook out of one pocket and began filling in a check.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's with the money belt? Isn't that a bit old-fashioned?"

Ranma grimaced and said, "If ya knew my Pop, you wouldn't need ta ask that. If something wasn't nailed down, he would have stolen it. I've been meaning ta ask, do you know a good jeweler? I've got some pieces that I picked up during my travels that I'd like ta get rid of."

Nabiki smiled like a shark and said, "Yeah, I know a few people."

"Good," Ranma said simply. She pulled some things from the pouch and tossed them to Nabiki. "See what ya can get for these. Make sure ya take a decent agent's fee, as well," Ranma said, with an easy grin.

Nabiki shook her head and said, with a matching grin, "These are some nice pieces, Ranma. They should bring in a lot of yen. Tell you what, if you're willing to give me this kind of money, you can call me whatever you want." She hesitated, and then asked, "Ranma, where'd you get all this money, anyway?"

"Remember when I told ya about the Amazon village? The elder gave me the cash ta fly back ta Japan from China, the jewelry came from there as well. We swam back, instead of flying, so that gave me a bit of a nest egg ta work with. Coming back from their village, I helped a few people out, and picked up a few rewards from that. Pop entered me in some fights, and I won a few prizes that way, too. They also let people bet on the fights. I made sure I bet on me only as much as I was willing ta lose, but I got pretty good odds, so I won more than I lost. It's amazing how many people don't think a petite girl like me can fight," Ranma said with a snicker. Then she added, "I didn't let Pop in on any of that, so he didn't know how much I had on me. First chance I got though, I opened a bank account and put the money in it. Remove the temptation from him, as it were."

"I'm impressed, Ranma. You don't look like you would do that sort of thing. You must have learned from a master somewhere on how to con somebody," Nabiki said.

"You could say that, Nabiki. There's a reason I still talk like a country bumpkin, after all, and it isn't because I don't know any better," Ranma said with a smirk. 'The snake is biting its tail with a vengeance, Nabiki. I learned how to con from watching you!' Ranma thought with a mental snicker.

"One of these days you'll have to tell me about your teacher," Nabiki said, curious.

"I don't know Nabiki. A girl has to have some secrets," Ranma retorted, giggling.

Nabiki surprised herself by giggling as well, thinking, 'It's a shame she's not a guy. Sounds like she's got money, and has a good sense of humor.' "I think I'm going to like having you around, Ranma. You may have cut into my income with Kuno and the bets on Akane's fights, but I think we'll make out okay," Nabiki said, finally.

"Well, like I said, I doubt we've seen the last of Kuno. Make sure ya keep the odds in your favor on our fights with him, and you should clean up," Ranma replied.

"I'll let you get back to your homework now, Ranma," Nabiki said with an evil grin.

"Gee thanks, Nabiki. You're a real friend," Ranma said sarcastically, as Nabiki left the room. If she had looked back, she might have seen a satisfied grin on Ranma's face. 'That went pretty well. I can't solve their money problems, but at least I won't make them any worse,' Ranma thought. Then she groaned as she took up her book again and tried to make sense of what she was reading.

----------------------

Ranma walked over to Akane's room and knocked politely on the door. When Akane looked up, Ranma asked, "If you're done with your homework, why don't we spend some time training in the dojo? I wanna see what ya got, so I can figure out what you need to work on."

"Yeah, I'm about done. I'll change into my gi and come right down, Ranma," Akane replied.

Ranma frowned at her and asked, "Do ya expect ta always fight in your gi, Akane? Just change into something ya can move around in, like what I wear, instead, okay?"

Akane looked at her in surprise and said, "Oh, yeah, I guess you're right. Most of my fights have been in at school and I've been wearing a dress. I never thought of it that way."

"I'll be in the dojo when you're ready," Ranma replied. She left the room and headed down to the dojo. Ranma sat on the floor in a lotus position and allowed herself to relax. Taking several cleansing breaths, she started to meditate, allowing her mind to clear all distractions. After a few minutes, she gracefully rose to her feet, and began to perform a complicated kata. When she finished, she was startled by a gasp from behind her. Turning, she saw Akane gazing at her in wonder, her eyes shining.

"Can you teach me that, Ranma? That was amazing," Akane asked.

Ranma smiled and replied, "I hope so, Akane, but that may be months away. What I want ya ta do today is ta work on your speed. I know you have plenty of strength. I saw ya break those blocks, after all. But all the strength in the world doesn't matter if ya can't get the blow in. What I want ya to do is see how many times you can hit one of your training dummies. Just use one hand and then I'll tell ya to switch. Don't worry about how hard ya hit it; in fact, it'll be better if'n ya don't move it at all."

Akane walked over to one of the training dummies and began jabbing at it with her right hand. Ranma watched for a few minutes and then said, "Switch!" Akane began jabbing with her left hand. After several more minutes, Ranma said, "Switch, and faster!" Akane changed hands again, and tried to hit the dummy faster. Ranma continued to watch, and then yelled, "Switch!" one last time. Then she took a rope and tied it tightly about several pillars, so that it was about six inches off the ground. Ranma told Akane, "Okay, ya can stop now, and take a short break. I want ya ta come out here every night and work on that for about half an hour, trying ta get faster with your punches. Okay?"

Akane nodded her head and then watched as Ranma ran across the rope. "Okay, now it's your turn ta try the rope, Akane. I'll help ya balance for the first few tries, but then I'm gonna let ya go," Ranma said. Akane grinned at her and jumped up onto the rope. Holding one hand, Ranma walked with her as Akane put one foot in front of the other on the rope and slowly walked it. "Remember, look straight ahead, so ya can see what's coming," Ranma said. Akane made it to the end of the rope and then turned carefully around. "Okay, let's try this a little faster," Ranma suggested. Akane nodded and the two of them went faster down the rope. Again, Akane made it to the end of the rope without so much as swaying.

"Have you done some balance beam work in gym, Akane? You're picking this up pretty quickly," Ranma asked, pleased with things so far. Again, Akane nodded. "Okay, this time, I'm gonna let ya do it by yourself," Ranma said. Akane let go of her hand and she began to move faster down the rope, Ranma keeping pace with her. Ranma had her do it several times, each time moving faster, until finally, Ranma said, "That's enough. We'll do this for several days until you're comfortable with it at this height, and then we'll raise it a few inches at a time." Akane stood there breathing hard with the exertion, and her face flushed. "Akane, a few weeks at most of this and you'll be running on the chain link fences," Ranma said, "Though, we need ta spend some time on teaching ya how ta fall. My school is pretty much an aerial school of fighting; you spend a lot of time in the air, so ya got ta know how ta land. Isn't yours mostly ground based?"

Akane nodded, and said, "Yes, the things that Daddy started to teach me were all on the ground. He never said anything about aerial fighting."

"Okay, that's something we can talk about later. Do ya have any balls or clubs that ya can juggle?" Ranma asked.

"No, I don't think so, but we can get some tomorrow," Akane said, "Why, what good will those do?"

"Some more speed training, at least partially," Ranma replied, "Plus, trying ta juggle will increase your hand-eye coordination. Least that's what I was told when I did them several years ago. I haven't done it in a while, though, so I'm probably pretty rusty myself. Do you have any weapons training?"

"I know some kendo, though I'm not in Kuno's class. Daddy did say that I should be able to fight both armed and unarmed," Akane replied.

Ranma smiled, "My Pop said much the same thing; they must have picked that up from the same master. I prefer unarmed combat myself." Ranma coiled up the rope and put it away. "Do ya know this exercise?" Ranma asked as she performed a simple kata.

Akane watched intently and then replied, "Yes, that's one that Daddy taught me. I don't do it very often, though."

"Okay, that needs ta change as well. The reason for this kata is to improve your coordination again, and make ya more graceful. Ya don't wanna be moving awkwardly when ya get into a fight! They also allow ya ta focus and help work on your emotional control. Ya gotta stay in control of your emotions when ya fight. If ya allow anger, for instance, ta control ya, then you get sloppy. Sloppy people lose a lot easier," Ranma said.

Akane asked, "Can we spar a bit, Ranma? I haven't had a good person to actually fight with since Daddy quit having students."

Ranma replied, "That sounds like a plan. Don't be surprised if I mostly just dodge ya though. I still need to figure out your weaknesses and how ta correct them."

Akane got in her offensive stance, while Ranma stood there, muscles relaxed, waiting. They spent the next several minutes, Akane throwing kicks and punches at Ranma, who danced out of the way of each blow at the last second. Akane started getting a bit angry, and her blows a bit uncoordinated.

"Come on, fight me for real!" Akane shouted at the grinning figure in front of her.

Ranma stopped, and shook her head, catching the next blow in her hand. Ranma said, "That's enough, Akane. You're getting angry, and that's making ya sloppy. I can't teach ya like this. What did I tell ya about letting anger control ya?"

Akane hung her head in shame and replied, "I'm sorry, Ranma. You told me exactly what you were going to do and still I couldn't lay a hand on you. I shouldn't have gotten that angry. I just can't believe you're that much better than I am. Let's try again."

"Okay, but this time, focus on what you're doing. Try ta have fun doing this, that'll be a better emotion ta use anyway. Come on, let's dance," Ranma replied.

Akane got into her stance again, while Ranma watched her carefully. This time when Akane attacked, Ranma blocked the strike with her forearm, and then tapped Akane on the other arm as she turned into the block. "Ya left yourself open there, Akane, don't over-commit. Ya want to use just enough power ta make the hit count, but if ya put too much into it, I can take ya out of position easier," Ranma said as she bounced back onto the balls of her feet, smiling to take the sting out of the criticism. Akane grinned back at her, and tried a sweeping leg kick, that Ranma jumped over, tapping her on the head as she went by. Akane turned quickly, hoping to catch Ranma by surprise, only to find her ready, bouncing lightly on her feet. Akane attacked again, feinting with her right hand, willing Ranma to block, while she tried to slip her left by Ranma's defenses. Ranma allowed that blow to slide off her block, harmlessly to one side. They continued sparring like that for the next several minutes, this time with Akane keeping her temper under control, answering Ranma's grin with a smile of her own. Finally, she managed to slip a blow past Ranma's defense, and connect with her stomach, causing Ranma to let out a mild "oof." Akane stopped; surprised that she had actually managed to hit her. Then her eyes widened in shock as Ranma yelled, "Saotome Final Attack!" and lunged at her. Suddenly, she felt Ranma's fingers tickling her sides unmercifully, causing Akane to laugh until her sides ached.

"Hey, that's no fair," she protested, when she finally got her breath back.

Ranma laughed at her and said, "Hey, it's called Anything Goes, right? Seriously, ya did a lot better then, Akane. Could ya tell the difference in your focus this time?"

"Yes, I could. Is that what has been holding me back all this time, Ranma?" Akane asked quietly.

Ranma replied, carefully, "Akane, anger is a very powerful emotion. Ya can use it in your fighting, but if ya aren't careful, it will take over. Once it does that, you're not a martial artist anymore, but instead are just a common street brawler." She hesitated and then continued, "That didn't hurt ya when ya were fighting the horde of boys at school, but if ya were ta come up against some of the Amazon warriors I told ya about, it would get ya hurt if not killed. I'd hate ta see that happen because I didn't teach ya better."

Akane looked at her friend soberly and said, "And to think that I thought I was the best martial artist in Nerima before you came. I watched Kuno fight against you. He could have easily beaten me if he wanted to, couldn't he?"

Ranma simply nodded her head, and then replied, "The fact that ya can see that now is half the battle. You've got decent skills, Akane and an eagerness to learn. What you've lacked is discipline and focus. Now that I know that, I can show you what ya need to work on. But there's a deep core of anger buried down in ya, I'm afraid, and ya need ta figure out what is causing it. It will hold ya back if you can't get rid of it. I can't help ya there, except to give you someone to talk to, and maybe a shoulder ta cry on if'n ya need it. I think that's enough talking and sparring for one night. Why don't ya go find the furo and get cleaned up? I need ta get back ta my homework. That's something that seems ta be beating me."

"If you want, I can come by and help you, Ranma," Akane suggested.

"I'd like that, Akane," Ranma replied. Ranma watched with hooded eyes as Akane left the dojo. She sighed and then straightened up the things they had used and swept down the floor. Then she walked out and shut the door behind her.

----------------------

Ranma sighed as she climbed out onto the first floor roof of the Tendo home from her window and then jumped up onto the roof above her room. After pouring the water from the thermos she had brought, he laid back and watched the stars in the sky, thinking about his day. 'Akane's coming along fine with her training. It's really a shame that she let her anger hold her back as long as it has. She'd be a match to Ukyo already, and probably give Shampoo trouble if she'd learned to control it sooner. Once she learns the discipline she needs, I won't have to hold back as much. How did I miss that the first time? Was I just afraid of us getting too close before?' he thought with satisfaction. Suddenly, he saw a shooting star flash across the sky. 'I hope that's a good omen,' he thought.

----------------------

Author's Note: Okay, you can stop piling on about the grammar. I give up! Seriously, I think it's time for Kasumi to talk to Ranma. VBG. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I hope the story still keeps everyone interested.

By the way, I'm curious, who thought that Kuno would keep his word?


	6. The Hunter

Chapter 6 The Hunter

Nabiki entered the Tendo home after a long day at school. She went into the kitchen and found Kasumi already working in dinner. "Hi, Nabiki," Kasumi said, "How was school?"

Nabiki shrugged and replied, "Not too bad. A typical Wednesday, Kuno was dumb enough to confront Ranma and Akane again this morning, proclaiming his love for Akane. Ranma knocked him out, again. I wonder how they decide whose turn it is to use him as a punching bag. I cleaned up on the bets for that fight, not that it was much of a fight. Anyway, then, after I dragged Kuno back to the nurse's office, he paid me five thousand yen to deliver a letter to Ranma. Where is she, anyway? I didn't see either of them on the way home from school."

"Oh dear, didn't I tell you? They won't be home until late. Akane said something this morning about needing some things to train with, so she and Ranma were going to go find them after school. She wasn't sure when they'd get back, so she said just to eat without them," Kasumi said pleasantly.

* * *

Ranma spotted the restroom on the train just as it left the Nerima station. She walked to it quickly, thanking the foresight that had led her to exchange her panties for the looser boxers and to remove her bra when she changed back into her shirt and trousers after gym class was over. After walking into the restroom and using the hot water tap in the sink to change back into his male form, and adjusting his shirt so it fit better, Ranma walked back to the bench that he was sharing with Akane and sat down with a heartfelt sigh. 

"What was that sigh for, Ranma?" Akane asked as she gazed at the boy sitting next to her. She had only known him a couple of days, and already he was forcing her to reconsider some of her recent beliefs about boys; beliefs that she had developed over the last few weeks fighting off the horde of hentai boys at school. Because of her fights, and the ogling looks that they had given her, she had come to believe all boys were perverts, and yet, Ranma hadn't tried to use his curse as a way to walk into the girls' locker room and take peeks at the unclothed girls. In fact, he had been almost afraid of the idea. The relief in his, well at the time, her eyes when Akane had suggested changing in the restroom instead had been almost comical.

Ranma smiled sadly, and said, "This is just harder than I thought it would be, Akane. I'm so much more comfortable when I'm a guy, not having ta pretend to be something I'm not. I don't know how ta explain it any better than that."

"Ranma, I think I understand, at least a little. I know it's not the same thing, exactly, but once, when I was in Junior High, we did a play called Romeo and Juliet. I so much wanted to play the part of the heroine Juliet, but everyone wanted me to play the part of the boy Romeo. I know I'm a bit of a tomboy, but it hurt me a great deal to be picked to play a boy, especially since there were a lot of boys in the class. I, too, had to pretend to be somebody I really wasn't," Akane replied.

"Akane, maybe ya do understand, at least in part. I hope one of these days ya get ta have your dream and be Juliet. I know you'd make a wonderful one," Ranma said. 'And this time I'll be the Romeo you deserve!' he thought to himself, fiercely, making a promise both to himself and to her.

"Thanks, Ranma. That's sweet of you to say," Akane replied, blushing. 'He can be so nice,' she thought

The train pulled into the station at Nakano. As the train came to a stop, Ranma and Akane picked up their book bags and made their way to the door. Once it opened, Akane grabbed Ranma's hand, much to his surprise, and pulled him in the direction of the Broadway Arcade, where Kasumi had mentioned they could look for the supplies that Ranma had suggested. How Kasumi had known that there was a shop specializing in gymnastic equipment there, was a question that neither one of them had decided to ask.

They easily located the shop in the arcade and went in. Once they went in, Akane was strangely reluctant to let go of Ranma's hand as they wandered the aisle. Since Ranma seemed content to walk around hand-in-hand, Akane decided not to question her feelings. After several minutes of perusing the contents of the shop, Ranma selected some clubs like he had described the other day, but to her surprise, he also picked up several balls, a hoop, and a pair of twirling ribbons. At her unspoken query, Ranma had just smirked at her, and said, "These things will come in handy in your training later, Akane. Everything here will let ya work on your speed, control and balance." Ranma paid for their purchases and they wandered around looking for a place to eat.

Finally, they spotted a small café that looked promising and the two of them entered it. After being seated and placing their order, Akane said, with a laugh, "You know Ranma, a week ago, if someone had told me that I would be sitting in some café with a boy, I wouldn't have believed them. This is so bizarre; you coming into my life like this."

Ranma grimaced and replied, "Bizarre, that's a pretty good description of my life right now." He hesitated and then continued, "Akane, I can't image what it must have been like for all of those boys to be chasing you like they were. Hopefully, we put an end ta most of that. I'm just glad that you decided to trust me in spite of all of that. They must have really hurt ya though. Maybe because they were treating you as a prize to be won, and not thinking of you as the person you really are. I know I would hate ta be treated like that. Not that I can blame them completely, you are a very good looking girl, after all." 'I did it, I told her that I thought she was good looking, no stupid qualifiers,' Ranma thought with glee. While he was talking the waitress served them their meal.

Akane blushed down to the roots of her hair as she asked shyly, "You think I'm good looking?"

Ranma snickered at her and replied, "Stop fishing for a compliment, Akane. But to answer your question, yes, I think you're very attractive."

Akane froze and asked, "Do you really mean that? You're not just saying that are you?" 'He thinks I'm attractive,' she thought, 'No boy has ever told me that, except for Kuno, and he doesn't count, he's so creepy.'

Ranma finished his last bite, and then replied, softly, "Yes, I do. When I saw ya the first time, I thought you were cute. Since then, I've come ta realize that cute isn't good enough ta describe you."

"Thanks, Ranma, you're not too bad for a guy, either," Akane said, bashfully looking down at the table and gazing through her eyelashes at Ranma. 'Who am I kidding, if Nabiki saw Ranma like this, she'd be crawling all over him, especially with those deep blue eyes of his,' Akane thought.

Ranma grinned and answered, "Except for when I stick my foot in my mouth, Akane. I've been trying real hard not ta do that around you, but I sometimes have a hard time saying what I really mean, and the words come out sounding all wrong. Promise me that you'll try ta listen to what I mean, I eventually get there in the end."

Akane looked puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean by that, Ranma?"

"Well, you know your sister called ya a tomboy? I think you're a tomboy, too, but I mean it in a good way. You're into martial arts and everything. You're strong, proud and stubborn, and I like all of that. But I could have easily said that all wrong so it sounded like I meant ta insult you. Do you see how that could happen?" Ranma replied earnestly, "Or the other day, when I was sparring with ya, and you didn't think I was taking you seriously?'

"Yes, I think I see what you mean, Ranma. I need to pay attention to what you're saying or doing, and not jump to conclusions," Akane said as she finished her meal.

Ranma smiled in relief and said, "That's exactly what I was trying ta say, Akane. If you're done, what do you want ta do next? I'm not in any big hurry ta get back ta being a girl."

"Yes, I'm finished. Why don't you pay the bill, and then we can just walk around for a while and see what's around here?" Akane suggested. Ranma waited for the waitress to bring them their tab, and then he paid it. The two of them gathered their belongings and left the café, looking for some excitement. In one corner of the arcade they found a place with some video games but after playing a few of them, they soon grew bored. They headed out into the streets of Nakano to see what else they could find.

While wandering around, Ranma noticed the entrance to Tetsugakudo Park. "Hey, Akane, do ya want ta walk around in there for a while?" he asked, "If I remember correctly, it's supposed ta be haunted, maybe we'll see a ghost. I think we have about an hour before we need ta head on back to the station to catch our train."

Akane said, "Sure, why not? That might be fun. It looks like there are lots of people strolling around in there, and I'm in no hurry to get back either." They spent several minutes roaming the grounds, Akane admiring the flowers that lined the pathway, while Ranma admired Akane, at least when he thought he could get away with it. Then Akane looked ahead of her and saw a small tent, pitched in a clearing that was mostly screened from the pathway by the trees. There was a young man, sitting in front of a small fire, wearing a tunic over his trousers, with some sort of bandanna in his hair.

"That's funny. I thought the sign at the entrance to the park said they didn't allow camping in the park," Akane said, pointing at the campsite.

Ranma looked up and didn't see a figure, though he did see the tent and fire. "Hm, I don't see anybody there. Maybe that's one of the ghosts they were talking about," he teased. Suddenly, he sensed trouble, and looked up to see a figure hurtling down at him, holding a furled, red umbrella in front of him.

"Ranma, prepare to die," the figure screamed.

Ranma yelled, "Watch out," and pushed Akane out of the way and then dodged as the umbrella hit the ground causing a crater to form in the ground where Ranma and Akane had been standing moments before. Ranma and Akane stared in disbelief at the figure in front of them, Ranma angrily saying, "You!" as he recognized Ryoga. Ranma began moving away from Akane trying to get some separation between her and the enraged Ryoga, trying to keep her safe.

Ryoga snarled, "You haven't changed, Ranma! You're still good at running away!"

"Someone you know?" Akane asked from the sidelines as a small crowd began to gather to watch the action.

"Ryoga Hibiki, long time no see! What are you doing here?" Ranma said.

Ryoga replied almost calmly, "Just tell me one thing, Ranma." Then he raised his voice in anger, "Why did you run out on our man to man fight?"

"What do ya mean, run out?" Ranma asked.

"Answer the question!" Ryoga demanded.

"I waited three days for ya at the appointed place! You're the one who didn't show up!" Ranma said in disgust.

Akane gasped, "Three days!"

"Yes!" Ryoga exclaimed, "And when I came for you on the fourth day, you'd already run away!"

Ranma asked calmly, "Uh, Ryoga? Can I ask ya something? Why did it take you four days ta get ta the vacant lot behind your house?"

One of the boys in the crowd asked, "Bad sense of direction?"

"Very bad," another agreed.

"Very bad indeed," said a third.

"Do you think I was out for a casual stroll for four days! I suffered to meet up with you! Breaking a vow between men and running to China with your father!" Ryoga hollered, as he swung his umbrella at Ranma who leapt up over it.

"In other words, you want ta finish our fight?" Ranma said as he landed back on the ground. Ranma glared at him and continued, "The one you set the date for, the one you were late for! I was there waiting for ya. If I hadn't been so tired and hungry after waiting that long, my Pop would never have been able ta sneak up on me and knock me out. I remember that third day him telling me we had ta leave, and I refused. The next thing I remember is waking up on his back, halfway ta the coast. You have no one but yourself ta blame for missing the fight. But if this is what you want, let's finish this!"

"Finish our fight? This is revenge!" Ryoga screamed.

Ranma asked, puzzled, "Revenge for what?"

Ryoga snarled, "No matter what it takes, Ranma, I'll destroy your happiness!"

Ranma said bitterly, "Too late, Ryoga. Pop already beat ya to it."

"Enough chatter!" Ryoga said, "I attack!" as he charged him swinging his umbrella several times, Ranma dodging each attack.

"Wait a minute, Ryoga! What's this all about if it isn't because of you missing your fight?" Ranma asked as he jumped away. 'It can't be like it was last time. I didn't get him cursed, in fact, I saved him,' Ranma thought in disbelief.

Ryoga screamed in anger, "Because of you, I've seen hell!" as he charged again.

"What **are **ya talking about?" Ranma said in exasperation as he easily dodged another attack.

"Do you think mere words can describe the depths of my suffering!" Ryoga snarled as he snapped open the umbrella. He threw the umbrella as Ranma, who jumped away from it. The umbrella whirled like a top, coming perilously close to some of the spectators, several of which jumped back in alarm

Akane ran over to the umbrella and attempted to lift it and failed. "Watch out, Ranma," she called out in alarm, "This umbrella weighs a ton and yet he's throwing it around with one hand. He must be very strong, don't get in too close!"

"Because of you running away, and avoiding our fight, I've been chased all over China by some girl named Shampoo, proclaiming her love for me! I just barely escaped from her this last time," Ryoga said angrily, "Do you know the kind of suffering that's caused me?"

Ranma stopped in amazement, and asked, "Do ya mean this is all because some girl thinks she's in love with ya? Why is that **my** fault, anyway! What kinda stupid reason for a fight is that? Get serious, man, I'm done with this!" Ranma turned in disgust and began to walk away.

"Hey, every time she finds me, she hugs me, and my nose starts bleeding. Do you know how embarrassing that is?" Ryoga said a bit sheepishly. The entire crowd face-faulted.

"No, I don't! I just think you're pathetic!" Ranma said as he neared the crowd. Ryoga snapped off several of his bandannas and threw them at Ranma, who, being no fool, was still paying attention to the idiot boy. Ranma dodged all of them, but to his horror, one of the razor sharp blades headed straight for Akane. She turned to run, only to trip over the umbrella handle. The blade slid by her, apparently missing her, but all of a sudden Ranma saw red.

Screaming, "This ends now!" Ranma wheeled and suddenly appeared in front of Ryoga. Crying, "Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken," Ranma hit Ryoga several hundred times in the chest. Finally, one final blow drove Ryoga into one of the trees, knocking him down to the ground. "If you had hurt my Akane, you wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Ryoga!" Ranma said in a deadly, cold voice, "You call yourself a martial artist. You're no martial artist. If'n you were, you wouldn't have endangered all of these people. We defend the weak. If ya wanna try to bang on me some more, fine, we'll find a place where there ain't no people around. But no more risking innocent people!"

Ryoga stared up at Ranma in fear and passed out from the pain. Ranma dragged him back to his tent. He then ran over to Akane to check on her, as she slowly rose to her feet, unharmed, except for the hair on the back of her head, which had been neatly severed by the bandanna just above the hair ribbon she had placed in it this morning. Akane turned and saw the lock of hair on the ground, and froze.

Ranma stood in front of her and said, "Akane?" Seeing no reaction, he waved his hands in front of her face. Nothing happened. Ranma said in disbelief, "She's in shock?" 'Just like last time,' he thought, sadly, 'At least she's unharmed other than that. That baka Ryoga!'

One of the girls in the crowd yelled, "What do you expect!"

Another girl continued, "Caught in public, with a haircut like that! She's lucky she didn't just die of embarrassment!"

The first girl said, "But what would you know about something like that, you're just a guy!"

"Snap out of it, Akane! If it makes you feel any better, you can hit me!" Ranma volunteered, feeling extremely guilty about the whole situation.

Akane slapped him hard, and then she stormed off. Stopping long enough to pick up the lock of hair, and their belongings, Ranma ran after her, yelling, "Akane, wait for me!"

Soon he caught up to her, as she limped along. "Akane, did ya hurt your ankle when you tripped?" he asked quietly. Akane nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Here, hold this," he said, as he handed her the sack with the gymnastic equipment in it. He slung the straps of the book bags over his shoulder, and then swept Akane up in his arms, cradling her against his chest. "I'm sorry this happened, Akane," Ranma said sadly.

Akane sobbed for a moment and then replied, "It's okay, Ranma. I'm sorry I slapped you. It wasn't your fault. Just take me home."

"That's okay, Akane. I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't. I feel bad about the whole thing. If it wasn't for me and this curse, we wouldn't have been here," Ranma said bitterly.

* * *

As they rode on the train, Ranma asked quietly, "Are ya sure you're okay? Those girls made it sound like this was a real disaster, Akane." 

Akane stared into the distance and said, "Do you know why I started wearing my hair long, like Kasumi?"

"Ye – I mean, no, of course not, Akane. You've never told me," he replied gently. 'Damn, almost blew that,' he thought, 'Be more careful, baka!'

"It all started when I was much younger. I always was getting hurt and having to see Doctor Tofu. I guess I developed a huge crush on him then. I remember one time leaving his office with Kasumi and something she said had an impact on me. She accused me of acting like a boy, and warned me that if I didn't stop, then maybe Doctor Tofu would stop liking me. I guess I got to thinking that maybe if I started growing my hair out like hers, he would look at me differently. Silly, wasn't I?" Akane said sadly.

"Not really, Akane, actually I understand better than ya think," Ranma replied. 'We often do silly things for the people we love. I should know after all,' he thought. He looked up, and saw that they were nearly to Nerima. "I guess I better go get changed. Are you going ta be able ta walk, now?" he asked.

"I think so. I'll need to see Doctor Tofu, though, or I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow," Akane replied.

Ranma hesitated and then said, nervously, "I can take a look at it tonight after we get ya home, if you want. I do know a little about massage, and pressure points." He stood up without waiting for an answer, and walked to the restroom, hoping she didn't see how nervous he really was. After changing in the restroom, she walked back and sat back down, waiting for the train to arrive.

* * *

Ranma helped Akane into the kitchen, where Kasumi was finishing up. Kasumi asked, "Oh Akane, Ranma, how was your …" She stared in shock, one of the plates flying up into the air. 

Ranma dove to catch it, while Akane asked her sister, "Why do you have to overreact to everything, Kasumi?"

"But your hair!" Kasumi said in shock.

Ranma began to say, "I'm afraid it's my f…" when Akane interrupted her.

"I just felt like a change, that's all. Can you fix it for me?" Akane asked.

Kasumi took Akane up into her bedroom, while Ranma headed to her room. Sitting on her futon, Ranma stared miserably at the lock of hair she had saved. 'That damn Ryoga, how come he always screws up everything. I hope she doesn't hate me, now. But Akane always looked better with the shorter hair,' she thought. She waited as long as she could, and then headed toward Kasumi's room. Poking her head in shyly, she stared in amazement at Akane.

Akane asked, in surprise, "Why are you looking at me like that? Looks better now, doesn't it?"

Ranma gulped and answered, "Um, Akane, I'm sorry this happened."

"It's all right. I've been meaning to get it cut," Akane said.

"Akane, I just meant ta say, I like you're hair better this way. I mean, that is, not that my taste makes any difference. You look cuter this way," Ranma stammered.

"Thanks Ranma, that's nice to hear, even if you didn't mean it," Akane said with a little smile.

"Akane, I do mean it. This way it frames your face is nice and, I mean, like I said, you were cute before, but now, wow!" Ranma said. She went silent for a moment, looking at the blushing girl sitting in front of her and then asked, "You want me ta help ya ta your room, and see if I can do something for your ankle?"

"That would be nice, Ranma," she replied. She leaned on Ranma as they walked to Akane's room, leaving a secretly amused Kasumi.

After helping her to the bed, Ranma felt her ankle and then looked at it. Ranma sighed in relief and said, "I think I can help. You still ought to see the doctor tomorrow on the way ta school." She slowly began to massage the ankle, feeling the strain slowly ease.

"Thanks, Ranma. That feels much better. Maybe you can do it again in the morning," she said, her cheeks rosy, "Your hands are almost as gentle as Doctor Tofu."

Ranma blushed in return, and said, "Okay, I'll see ya in the morning, then." She turned and fled the room.

Akane stared into space thinking about what she had heard. 'He called me my Akane; he told that boy that if he had hurt me, he would have seriously hurt him. What does that mean? Is Ranma starting to have feelings for me?' she thought, a feeling of warmth beginning to envelop her.

* * *

Later that night, Ranma made her way back on top of the roof of the house, and changed. He sat there staring off into the distance, thinking about Ryoga. 'Man, I thought things would be better with him this time. I always thought of him as a friend, but this time, when I thought he really hurt Akane, I almost lost it. What was it I was telling Akane the other day about keeping your emotions under control? Yeah, what a joke!' he thought.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Nabiki woke up enough after her second cup of coffee to remember the letter that Kuno had given her for Ranma. She went back upstairs, and then came down with it and handed it to her. Ranma looked at it with a puzzled expression on her face, and then opened the letter and began to read. "Oh good, it looks like a letter from Kuno. Too bad, he wanted ta meet me last night at the park. What a shame I missed the appointment," she said insincerely, after she had finished it. 

"Must have been a challenge letter, Ranma," Nabiki said, "I'll need to make sure he knows that you did receive it from me. I do have a reputation to maintain, you know!"

Ranma smirked at her and replied, "Don't worry, Nabs. We wouldn't want to sully your reputation. Just tell Kuno I was out late on a date and didn't see ya until this morning." She gave Akane a wicked grin.

Nabiki's eyes grew wide, and then she exclaimed, "You went out on a date! But, Kasumi said you were with Akane!"

"She's just pulling your leg, sis. Ranma and I had some errands to run. She wanted some gymnastic equipment to help me train, so we took care of that after school," Akane interjected, while Ranma and Kasumi giggled at the expression on Nabiki's face.

Nabiki finally registered the change in Akane's appearance. "Hey sis, why the new look? You've been trying to grow your hair for the longest time. I have to admit, it looks good on you, though."

"I just needed a change, Nabiki," Akane replied, with a sidelong look at Ranma.

"Uh, don't forget, we were gonna leave a little early so ya could stop by the clinic, Akane," Ranma reminded.

"Could you massage my ankle again, first, Ranma?" Akane begged, "It sure seemed to help it a lot last night."

Ranma's eyes lit up and she replied, "Sure, Akane, I'd be glad ta do it. It's kinda my fault you hurt it last night, anyway." She moved over so that Akane could put her foot up in Ranma's lap. She began kneading the sore ankle, her face frowning in concentration as she worked out some of the tenderness, trying to find any damage. "You still need ta have Doctor Tofu take a look at it, but I don't feel anything wrong with the tendons or anything. I don't think ya sprained it, after all," Ranma said when she was done.

Nabiki gazed at the tableau in front of her, and pursed her lips as she pondered what she was seeing. Finally, she asked, "Where did you learn to do that, Ranma?"

Ranma looked up startled, a faint tinge of pink visible on her cheekbones. 'Hm, that's interesting,' Nabiki thought, 'I wonder why she's embarrassed.'

"I picked up a few massage techniques on the road, Nabiki. We couldn't always make it to a healer if one of us pulled a muscle or had a strain, so I learned what I could. Some of the places we trained at had a country healer living there, so what they would teach me I would try ta learn, and add to what I knew how ta do. I've also learned a few pressure points that help with pain as well," she replied.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you, Ranma?" Kasumi asked, with a mischievous look in her eyes.

Ranma smiled shyly and replied, "Well, you can't spend as many years on the road as I did without learning a few useful things, Kasumi. I'm a decent campfire cook, and can sew a little, and clean clothes. Sure couldn't trust Pop to do any of that, at least not if I wanted it done right, so I had ta learn. Picked up a few other useful skills like that as well."

Nabiki grinned at her and said in amazement, "So you can cook, huh?" Akane glowered, not sure exactly who she was mad at or why.

"Yeah, like I said, some. I can do a bit more than boil water, but I'm nowhere near as good as Kasumi, either. But, if ya ever wanna hand in the kitchen, or need a break, Kasumi, I can throw something together that won't be too bad," Ranma replied modestly. She looked at the time and squawked, "Now we're gonna be late, if we don't hurry, Akane!" Kasumi rushed into to the kitchen, and came back quickly with their lunches. Ranma helped Akane up onto her feet, and then grabbed the bento boxes and placed them in their school bags. Ranma slung both bags over her shoulder, and the two of them walked out the door, Akane barely limping.

* * *

Ranma held the door to the clinic open for Akane and then followed her into the waiting room. Doctor Tofu walked out of his office and asked, "Why hello, Akane, Ranma, what brings you two here?" 

"I tripped last night and my ankle is still a bit sore, Doctor. Ranma thought that you ought to take a look at it," Akane replied, "She massaged it some, both last night and this morning, so it's feeling much better, though."

"Could you help her up on one of the tables, Ranma, and I'll be right in there," Tofu requested.

Ranma followed Akane into one of the exam rooms, and then helped her up onto the exam table. Doctor Tofu walked in, and after finding out which ankle was sore, took the sock off of that foot. After kneading the ankle, he sat back with a smile and said, "I can't find anything wrong with it. The tenderness should be gone, between what I just did, and what Ranma had done before. I don't want you doing anything too strenuous for today, though, so I'll write up a note. Since you'll probably be late to the first class, I'll give you one as well, Ranma."

"Thank you, Doctor Tofu," Akane said.

He looked up and said, "You're welcome, Akane. By the way, I like your hair. It really makes you look cute."

"Really, you think so?" Akane asked shyly.

"Yes, I really think so. What do you think, Ranma?" Doctor Tofu responded as he wrote up the notes.

Ranma replied, "I like it like this, Doctor. It's a nice look for her."

Tofu asked, "Akane said that you worked on her ankle. Do you know massage?"

"I've picked up a few techniques, as well as learned several pressure points," Ranma replied, curious.

"I could use a little help around the clinic, Ranma. I was going to advertise a position, but it's yours if you want it," the doctor replied, "You'd help me with the filing and cleanup, and then I could show you some more of my skills, so that later on you could help with some of the exams. Some of my female patients would feel better if there was a woman helping, anyway."

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "I wouldn't mind helping some, I suppose, but-." She stopped, unsure of what to do, then frowned.

Akane interrupted and said, "He needs to know anyway, Ranma. You can tell him, it'll be safe."

"Are ya sure, Akane?" Ranma asked.

Akane replied, "I trust him, you should too."

Doctor Tofu looked extremely puzzled and asked, "Would one of you mind telling me what is going on here?"

Ranma sighed and asked, "Could I have some hot water?"

Tofu looked at her blankly and then filled a cup with hot water from the sink in the room. Then his eyes grew wide as Ranma emptied the contents of the cup over her head. Once Ranma had returned to his normal form, he winced slightly, and thought, 'Damn, these panties are tight.'

"What!" Tofu exclaimed.

Ranma replied, "I picked up a curse in my travels, Doctor. I'm really a guy, but when I get splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl. Since I didn't really wanna get engaged to some girl that I didn't know, and I really didn't want ta leave their home, Akane convinced me to pretend ta be a girl, at least for a while. Only Akane and her oldest sister know the truth, and now you, I guess." He winced again, and said, "Excuse me, this just isn't comfortable." He walked over to the sink and filled the cup with cold water and then transformed back. "That's better," she said with a sigh.

Tofu stared in fascination at the red-haired girl in front of him, and said, "The springs at Jusenkyo, I assume?" Ranma nodded. "I read about them in a guidebook a few years ago, but I thought they were a fairy tale. Well, my offer still stands, Ranma. I could certainly use the help, and you could probably use someone to talk to occasionally," Tofu continued.

Ranma replied, "Okay, I'll accept. I'll have to work my homework and Akane's training around my time here, but I suppose I can come here after school and help for a while. I need to earn some money, after all."

Akane pulled her stocking back on and then the two of them got ready to leave. "Thanks again, Doctor Tofu," Akane said.

Ranma added, "If it's okay with you, I'd like ta start tomorrow."

"That would be fine, Ranma. I look forward to having you here," Tofu replied. The two youths walked out of the clinic and headed off to school.

* * *

Kuno sat in the classroom, glaring at Nabiki. Finally she asked, "What's your problem, Kuno-baby?" 

"Ranma Saotome did not meet with me last night. I, Tatewaki Kuno, am not used to being ignored!" he replied.

"She didn't come home until late last night. I delivered the message this morning as soon as I saw her," Nabiki replied.

"Where was she then? Do you know?" Kuno asked.

"I'll tell you what I know for five hundred yen," Nabiki responded.

"Done!" Kuno agreed as he handed her a coin.

"She said she was out on a date," Nabiki said, with an evil glint in her eye.

Kuno grew pale and began writing another note. 'Heh-heh-heh! If she thinks she can defeat upperclassman Kuno and simply walk away, she thinks wrongly. And if she thinks she can ignore me for another, she thinks doubly wrongly!' he thought to himself as he wrote. He handed the note to Nabiki and said, "Deliver this to the pigtailed goddess, if you would be so kind."

'Another one,' she thought, 'Man, he's persistent.' "You want me to deliver this to Ranma? She is at school, after all," Nabiki asked.

"Certainly! It would be beneath the dignity of a true samurai warrior such as myself to stoop to deliver my own missives," Kuno declared proudly.

"This time the price is ten thousand yen," Nabiki said, icily. 'Beneath the dignity of a samurai warrior, my ass! Who does he think he is anyway?' she thought angrily behind her impassive mask.

"Your price is steep, Nabiki Tendo, but it is truly worth the cost," Kuno proclaimed as he gave her the money.

* * *

Ranma and Akane had found a nice shady spot under one of the larger trees in the schoolyard to eat their lunches. They had just opened their bento boxes when two girls walked over to join them. "Can we join you, Akane?" the girl with long, brown hair asked. 

"Sure, Yuka," Akane replied, "Ranma, this is Yuka, one of my best friends, and the other girl is Sayuri, my other best friend."

Ranma smiled politely to the two girls, and said, "Hi, nice to meet you two. Both of you are in our class, right?"

The other girl, Sayuri, who had short, black hair, with a small pony-tail, nodded and replied, "Uh huh, we're in the same homeroom. We've been friends with Akane since elementary school."

Ranma sighed and said, "That must be nice, Akane, having friends for that long. What with Pop moving us all around on that training trip, I never got the chance ta make any long term friends."

Akane smiled a bit sadly, and said, "Well, you've got us now, Ranma, for as long as you're here."

"Tell us about yourself, Ranma," Yuka urged.

Ranma grimaced and replied, "There's really not much ta tell. I've been traveling with my father since I was very young; learning all there is ta know about martial arts. Pop wants me to be the best. Because of that, I haven't had much of a chance ta get to know people very long. It was almost as if every time I made a friend, Pop decided it was time for us to pack up and move on. Fortunately, he's not here with us now, so it looks like I can put down some roots. Mr. Tendo is an old friend of Pop's; they trained together under the same master, so Pop heads the aerial version of the Anything Goes School, while Mr. Tendo knows the ground based version. He's allowing me ta stay with them while I teach Akane my school, and then he's gonna teach me his."

"That sounds like a pretty lonely life," Sayuri said softly.

Ranma's eyes went distant as she replied, "Yeah it was, and it meant I haven't seen my mother except once since we left on our trip. I didn't mind the travel much; most of that was pretty interesting, but I missed not having a stable home."

"So what do you think about Nerima, and Furinkan?" Yuka asked, "It's got to be pretty boring after all of the places you must have been."

Ranma replied, "I really haven't been here long enough ta have an opinion about Nerima. I wouldn't mind if it stayed boring, but I tend to attract trouble. I like being with the Tendos. Akane and her family are nice, even if her father is a bit too emotional for me."

"That's Daddy for you, Ranma. He's been that way for a long time," Akane said in defense.

"School's okay, though I'm struggling a little bit with a couple of the courses," Ranma continued, "I'm missing some of the background material that I really need. Akane's been helping me catch up, though, so that'll get fixed soon enough. I could do without Kuno harassing us everyday. That's gonna get old soon."

"Well at least you got the rest of the boys to stop chasing Akane," Sayuri said.

Akane smiled, and said, "Yeah, I'm glad that stopped. At least your boyfriends had better sense than to get involved in that mess. Daisuke and Hiroshi are pretty nice guys. You two are lucky."

"What about you, Ranma? Any boys got you interested?" Yuka asked with a giggle.

Ranma said, tongue-in-cheek, "No, I can honestly say that there's not a boy here that I'd be interested in having as a boyfriend." Akane began giggling, while the other two girls looked confused. The bell rang then, letting everyone know that lunch was over and it was time to head back to class.

* * *

Nabiki met Ranma and Akane as they left school. Akane's ankle had not troubled her all day. Between the magic fingers of both Ranma and Doctor Tofu, the damage had been repaired. Nabiki greeted Ranma by saying, "If nothing else, Kuno is persistent. He gave me another letter for you, Ranma." 

"He certainly is a pest," Akane agreed, "I've told him I don't know how many times that I'm not interested in him, and he still doesn't take no for an answer."

Ranma read the note out loud. "Sunday in the tenth hour, meet me in the north corner of the Shakujii Park. Signed, Tatewaki Kuno."

"Sounds like a challenge, huh?" Akane asked.

Nabiki replied, "Little Kuno just hates to lose!"

"Vengeful, hm?" Akane mused sarcastically, "I guess I hadn't noticed that before."

'No, this isn't a challenge. This is when Kuno tells me he loves me. Only the location is different,' Ranma thought. "I'm not interested in fighting that moron. He's a waste of my time," Ranma said, hoping to get out of the situation.

"Still, it's a challenge, Ranma. No true martial artist would avoid it," Akane said sternly.

"Fine, I'll go, but I won't enjoy it," Ranma agreed, pouting.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews. This one is kind of fun to write, so I hope everyone continues to enjoy. See below for specific comments. 


	7. The One That He Likes

Chapter 7 The One That He Likes

Akane stared wide-eyed at the two ice cream sundaes sitting in front of her and Ranma. "I can't believe you convinced the guy at the counter to give you an extra scoop of ice cream in your sundae. I could never flirt like that. Are you sure you're really a guy?" she said, and then giggled at the disgusted look the red-haired girl gave her.

"Of course I'm sure, Akane, but since I've got this curse, I might as well take advantage of it," Ranma replied, with a grin, "Besides, I didn't hear ya complain when he gave you an extra scoop, either." Then, it was Ranma's turn to giggle at the sheepish look Akane gave her.

"Thanks for inviting me, Ranma," Akane said, "I haven't had a chance to do this for a while. It's good to get out every so often."

"Akane, after all of the hard work we did the last three days working with the gymnastic equipment, plus all of the balance training you've done, I thought ya deserved a reward. You've gotten pretty good with the clubs, and the rest, and I've seen some improvement in your fighting ability when ya spar with me because of it," Ranma said as she ate some more of her ice cream.

"Just **some** improvement, Ranma?" Akane asked with an annoyed tone to her voice.

Ranma looked up from her ice cream and gulped. "Sheesh, Akane, I didn't mean it quite the way it sounded. But I've only been working with ya for most of a week now. While you're farther along than I expected ya to be, we still have a ways ta go before we're done," Ranma said, half in apology.

"That's different then," Akane said calming down, "I'm not sure why I got angry, anyway. You did give me a compliment, after all."

"That's okay, Akane. Say, I was thinking about changing into a guy and going to the arcade for a while. Do ya wanna come?" Ranma asked.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Ranma?" Akane asked coyly. For some reason, she felt warm.

Ranma blushed, and stammered, "Uh, well, er, I hadn't really meant ta, but-" Ranma had a major sweat-drop on her forehead.

Akane giggled seeing her friend so flustered, and replied, "I'm just teasing you, Ranma. But yes, I'd like to go."

"Okay, why don't ya head on over there, and I'll meet ya on the way once I change," Ranma said as she stood up from the table.

Akane nodded her head and walked out of the door.

Ranma dashed out of the ice cream parlor looking for Akane. He saw her waiting up ahead of him, so he hurried to meet her. They casually strolled up the street to the arcade and went in. Ranma glanced around, but he didn't see anyone he recognized from class. They spent the next couple of hours playing video games, with Akane beating him handily. Ranma smiled at the look of smug satisfaction on her face and said, "It's probably time to head on home, but I'm gonna demand a rematch soon."

Akane stuck her tongue out at him and replied, "You just can't believe you got beaten by a girl. Admit it."

Ranma shook his head. With a big smile, he teased her, "Yeah, it's embarrassing. It's an insult ta my manhood, doncha know?" Akane started giggling and the two of them headed back to the Tendo home. About halfway there, Ranma stopped at a small store and bought some water, and then found a convenient alley to change back into a girl. The two of them then continued their trip home.

"Akane, I had a good time," Ranma said, as she stopped at the door of her room, "Thanks for coming with me tonight".

Akane smiled and answered, "I had a good time, too, Ranma. I'm glad I went. I'll see you in the morning." She turned and headed to her room. 'He got so flustered when I asked him if he was asking me out on a date. Was it a date?' she thought.

* * *

Sunday morning found Ranma heading toward her rendezvous with Kuno in the park, grumbling to herself, 'At least Kuno disappeared somewhere the last two days and we haven't had ta deal with him. I gotta go meet him too, because if I don't, he'll complain ta Nabiki again, and she'll wonder why I didn't come,' she thought angrily, 'I don't want this to happen.' Reluctantly, Ranma headed toward the northern portion of the park, where promptly at ten, Kuno accosted her. 

"So you have come, pig-tailed girl!" Kuno said.

Ranma replied, "Kuno, ya just don't learn quick, do ya? What's it gonna take for ya ta understand I don't like ya?"

"How could any girl resist my charms?" Kuno proclaimed proudly.

'Gee a legend in his own mind,' Ranma thought. "Awfully confident of your attractiveness, aren't ya?" Ranma said with a smirk.

"Confident enough to give you this!" Kuno exclaimed as he tossed a large bouquet of red roses toward Ranma. As he turned to leave, Kuno added, "I love you," and then walked off, completely ignoring the fact that Ranma had made no attempt to catch the flowers and they had hit the ground.

"Kuno, you pervert!" she yelled after him, "Which part of I don't like ya, didn't ya understand?" 'It's like a train wreck, you can see it coming, but ya just can't stop it,' she thought angrily, 'Now he's gonna chase after both of us, just like before!' She ran after him, and stepped in front, saying, "Let's get this settled, Kuno. I don't like you, I won't date you! And it's not because I'm too shy to tell you my real feelings. My real feelings are total disgust and hatred every time I look at ya."

"It matters not, Ranma. My love for you will change your mind. I know we didn't get off on the right foot when we first met, but that was before I understood your passion," Kuno orated.

"What about Akane? I thought you loved her?" Ranma said flatly. 'What a complete ass!' she thought.

Kuno stopped and then replied, "You need not be jealous of the fair Akane Tendo. Fear not, I am man enough for both of you. I can love you both equally well."

"Ya don't just get it, will ya? I don't love ya. This is not a relationship that will ever work. Besides, I'm in love with someone else," Ranma said, in desperation.

"I will help you forget that love," Kuno replied.

"Kuno, ya just don't work with a full deck, do ya?" Ranma said, "Then if ya won't understand my words, maybe you'll understand this!" Ranma charged Kuno and hit him hard enough to send him out of the park.

Ranma stood there panting in her frustration and then just shook her head. As she trudged back toward the park entrance, her mind whirled, replaying the disastrous confrontation with Kuno. 'I can't believe he can't get a clue. I know he lives in his own world that barely intersects with reality, but this is ridiculous. How many times will I need ta tell him that I won't go out with him!' the red-haired girl thought, her stomach still revolted from the half-hour she had spent listening to him recite his love for her. 'He must be a masochist, that's the only thing that makes sense. He thinks he's in love with the only two girls who constantly beat him to a pulp each day,' she thought.

As she was about to leave the park, her lousy day suddenly got worse. Xiao Mei! I found you! the voice of Ryoga called from the right. She turned to see the Lost Boy running to meet her.

She groaned to herself as she saw him. As he got near, Ranma said, "Hello, Ryoga Hibiki. What are ya doing in Japan? The last time I saw ya, you were in China with your new wife, Shampoo. Is she with ya, somewhere?" 'I can't let him figure out who I really am. I don't need him coming around the house or the school. Akane, this is getting complicated!' she thought in panic.

"He-he," Ryoga laughed nervously, "Uh, I, uh, seem to have lost her. I was there in the village the day you left, and then I turned a corner somewhere, and then somehow I found myself miles away from the village and couldn't find my way back. Shampoo has been chasing me, but I always seem to be one step ahead of her."

"Why don't ya let her catch ya? She seems nice enough," Ranma asked. 'Please, stay out of our lives this time, Ryoga. I don't need ya to complicate things right now,' Ranma thought desperately.

"Er, well, you know," Ryoga began, bashfully, "I just don't feel for her the way she wants me to. I don't think she's really the one for me." Ryoga hesitated and then asked, "Did you like the present I gave you? You left the village so quickly that I didn't get a chance to find out."

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck nervously and replied, "Yes, I thought it was a pretty necklace. I thought it was way too extravagant a gift, though. Ya shouldn't have given me something like that, Ryoga. It's something that you should have given ta somebody like Shampoo, not me."

"Oh, I just thought you'd like it, Sho Mei. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Ryoga replied, "Why did you leave the village so fast?"

"Uh, my Pop was starting ta get in trouble with the Amazons. When I talked ta Elder Cologne, she and I sorta agreed that it would be best if we left before things got worse," Ranma replied, "Listen, it's been nice seeing ya again, but I'm late for something, and need ta get home. I'll see ya later, maybe."

"Can I come with you? I'd like to talk some more," Ryoga asked.

Ranma answered quickly, "Uh, no, not this time, I've got some people ta meet. I really gotta run."

"Uh, wait, I've got something for you," Ryoga said urgently, as he set his backpack down on the ground. Quickly rummaging through the top compartment, he found a small box and gave it to her. "This is a souvenir I picked up on my way here. I hope you like it," he said, blushing.

Ranma smiled nervously, and replied, "I'm sure I will. I'll open it later. Bye." Ranma ran off, hoping Ryoga wouldn't follow her. In the distance a tall figure in a samurai robe watched with hate-filled eyes.

* * *

When Ranma got to the Tendo home, she found Akane and Nabiki both waiting to ambush her as she entered the front gate. The two girls quickly dragged her off to the dojo to find out what had happened. 

Ranma sat there in silent embarrassment, her cheeks heating up.

"Okay, spill it, Ranma!" Nabiki ordered as soon as the three girls entered the dojo, "How much damage did you do to Kuno?"

"You didn't lose to that pervert, did you?" Akane asked in concern.

That comment stung Ranma into a response. "I never lose," Ranma growled angrily.

"Then what did happen?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma glared at the middle Tendo girl and then growled, "Nabiki, the only reason I'm gonna tell ya is because you'll find out soon enough anyway. Kuno didn't send me that letter as a challenge. He wanted ta meet me ta tell me he loves me. Then after I told him ta stay out of my life and that I hated him, I sent him on a trip out of the park."

Nabiki began to giggle.

Akane eyes bugged out and then she began laughing, uncontrollably. She began pointing at Ranma and saying, "But, you're"

Ranma interrupted her and said, "I'm glad ya think it's funny, ya two. That's all I need is a delusional boy chasing after me, too." 'Be careful, Akane,' Ranma thought, 'Nabiki's still here.'

"Good," Akane said finally, "He's given up on me!"

"Dream on, girlie! He's still deluded. He says he's man enough for both of us," Ranma growled again, "Now instead of just you in his sick fantasies, I get ta star in them, too."

Akane paled in rage at the thought of the delusional kendoist spouting his inane words at both of them now. "So he thinks he wants us both does he!" Akane spat, "The next time I see that jerk, he'll start singing soprano after I'm done with him!" Then she turned to Ranma and growled, with an angry look to her, "**What** did you call me?"

Ranma gulped, and replied, "Uh, sorry Akane, that wasn't the best choice of words was it?" 'Baka, baka, baka!' Ranma thought. She started backing away to get out of range, but then stopped as Akane's expression changed.

"No it wasn't, baka," Akane replied coolly, then she took a deep breath and continued, "So what are you going to do about Kuno?"

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck nervously and replied, "I don't have a clue. Basically try ta ignore him, I guess. If he gives ya something for me, Nabiki, could ya turn him down?" 'Knocking him into the next prefecture never seemed ta work the last time,' Ranma thought, 'and it never seemed ta help Akane with him either.'

"Did Kuno give you that gift, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, her sharp eyes bright.

Ranma grimaced and replied, "No, I ran into someone else as I was leaving the park. An old friend of mine, Ryoga Hibiki. You may remember him, Akane. We saw him Wednesday night, while we were out shopping."

"Yeah, I remember that jerk," Akane said, fingering her hair, "Why'd he give you a present?"

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Haven't a clue, Akane."

* * *

That night, Ranma woke up screaming, to find Akane, Kasumi and Nabiki gathered around her in her futon. The three girls were looking down in concern as she bolted upright with a look of horror on her face. Ranma shivered and then babbled, "I'm sorry. It was just a bad nightmare. Try ta get some sleep." 

Kasumi asked tenderly, "Are you sure you're okay now, Ranma?"

"Yeah, though I think I'll be up for a while trying to recover," Ranma replied, still trying to get her racing heart under control.

"Do you want to talk about it Ranma?" Akane asked.

Ranma shook her head, and replied, "Not really, Akane. I could use a little company right now though, if ya want ta stay."

Akane smiled, and said, "I can do that. Why don't you two go back to bed? I've got this covered." She sat down on the futon and hugged the still shivering girl.

"If that's so, then I'm heading back to bed," Nabiki said, "I hope this isn't a frequent thing, Ranma." Nabiki and Kasumi headed back to their bedrooms.

"Akane, I need ta get outside for a while. Could ya meet me on the roof with some hot water?" Ranma asked after several moments. Akane nodded her head, so Ranma went out her window.

Ranma crawled out onto the roof of the house and stared up into the starry skies. A noise behind her startled her and she jerked around to see Akane gazing down at her from the ridgepole. She had a couple of thermos bottles full of water.

"Here you go, Ranma," she said, as she handed her one of the bottles. Ranma poured the contents over her head. After changing back into his male form, he tried to forget the nightmare that had awoken him. The one where Kuno was chasing his girl form and Ranma couldn't change back. He shivered in spite of the warm spring night. "Hey, Ranma. Do you do this often?" Akane asked softly.

"Which, come up here and look at the sky, or have nightmares?" Ranma replied.

"Both," Akane answered simply.

"I come out here most every night if it's clear, with no rain. It gives me a chance to be a guy for a while, since no one knows I'm out here," Ranma replied, "I do have nightmares occasionally. This is the first time I've had this particular one, though."

"What I'm asking you to do is harder than you thought it would be, isn't it, Ranma?" Akane asked softly.

"Yes, and the nightmare I had tonight isn't helping any," he answered, just as softly.

"I think I asked the wrong question before. Ranma, do you **need** to talk about the nightmare?" Akane asked, hesitantly.

Ranma shivered again, prompting Akane to wrap her arms around him. "Thanks, Akane, I really, really need that right now," he said softly. He fell silent for several minutes and then said in a low voice, "I was sitting in a hot spring somewhere, as a boy, of course, when suddenly a giant Kuno appeared. He said, 'I love you!' I told him that he was an idiot, and to look at me, that I was really a boy. When I pointed to my chest, though, I wasn't, somehow I had turned into a girl. He asked me to go out with him, and I tried to swim away, but he reached down with his hand and picked me up. That's when I started screaming and you woke me up."

"This morning really shook you up then, didn't it?" Akane asked gently.

Ranma turned in her arms to look her in the face and replied, "Akane, it scared me to death, quite frankly. He's deluded enough that he'll try anything, and I might not be able ta stop him if he does." Ranma looked down at the roof for a while, and then continued, softly but intently, "That's true for you as well, Akane. He'll try anything ta get you too, and I think that scares me just as much."

Akane grimaced at that thought, and then said, "Thanks for worrying about me, Ranma. I think it's sweet of you, but I can take care of myself."

"My head knows that Akane. It's my heart that keeps telling me otherwise," Ranma replied in a soft voice. Akane bent down to look at Ranma, just as he lifted up his head. Their lips met, briefly, before they sprang apart, both faces red.

"Akane, I'm" Ranma began.

"Ranma, I'm" Akane said at the same time. As the two of them looked at each other, they blushed and began to laugh nervously.

"You first, Akane," Ranma suggested.

"That's not the way I imagined my first kiss, Ranma. One I got by accident," Akane said still blushing.

"Akane, I didn't mind that it happened. I haven't made it a secret that I find you attractive. When you're ready for a real first kiss, I hope it is with me," Ranma replied, in a quiet voice, "I think I'm ready to go back in. This little talk has kind of got me settled down a bit. Is that cold water in the other thermos?"

Akane nodded and handed it to him. He poured the cold water over himself, and changed back. She gazed into Akane's eyes, and said, "Akane, thanks for everything. This has gotta be hard on you as well." She lowered Akane down to the first floor roof, and then handed the two bottles down to her, and then lightly dropped down next to her.

The two of them went into Ranma's room, where Ranma hugged her briefly and said, "Now, my dreams will be pleasant. Thanks again, I'm glad I have a friend like you, Akane." Akane hugged her back, and then headed off to her room, leaving Ranma to lay down in her futon, with a smile on her lips, as she drifted off to sleep.

Akane slid back into her bed to try to get back to sleep. But sleep was elusive as she kept replaying that accidental kiss through her mind. 'Oh, I don't know what to feel about this. Ranma is my good friend in her girl form, but I'm beginning to find him attractive in his male form. This is so confusing!' she thought, her mind spinning.

* * *

As Ranma and Akane made their way past the school gate the next morning, Kuno met them, carrying a small doll. "Ah the fair Akane Tendo and the spirited Ranma Saotome," Kuno proclaimed grandly, "Are you come to confess your love for I, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High?" 

"No," Ranma said, flatly, "Now get lost, creep. Get out of my way." She shouldered past him roughly and headed toward the stairs, avoiding Kuno's grab for her arm.

"Ranma, don't you dare leave me with this moron!" Akane protested angrily as she attempted to leave, "Kuno, like she said, neither one of us wants you. Leave us alone!"

Kuno attempted to hug her, so Akane slammed her foot down on his instep and as he winced in pain, she sent him soaring into the sky, in the general direction of the baseball field. "What a jerk!" she said angrily as she hurried to her classroom. When she got there, she glared at Ranma, who shrugged back at her.

"Ranma, next time you leave me like that, I swear I'll tell Kuno you love him!" she growled.

Ranma blanched and apologized profusely, "I'm sorry Akane, but I told you I was gonna try ignoring him to see if that works. Your hitting him hasn't seemed to have done anything after all."

"That's true enough," Akane said with a sigh, "Though it does make me feel better."

"I'm beginning to think he likes pain. That might not be the best approach with him, but I'm not sure what else to do with him, either," Ranma said softly.

* * *

Tatewaki Kuno staggered into his classroom, his hair disheveled and out of place, his grass-stained samurai robe askew. He walked over to Nabiki's desk and dropped a small panda bear doll on her desk. Nabiki looked up from her reading and asked, "What's this?" 

Kuno replied, "A gift."

Nabiki looked less than impressed and said, "It's not my style."

"Did I offer it to you, Nabiki Tendo?" the bruised kendoist responded, "This sweet treasure is for the pig-tailed one, Ranma Saotome. Would you give it to her?"

"I'm so sorry, Kuno," Nabiki said saccharinely sweet, "I've been told not to accept anything from you to give to Ranma."

"What?" he yelled, "Who dared give you that command?"

"Ranma, herself," Nabiki said, in reply, "She asked me not to take anything from you. I think she's trying to tell you she doesn't like you, Kuno."

"Why would she not like me?" Kuno asked rhetorically, "I am Kuno, after all."

'What an egotist,' Nabiki thought. "I have no idea, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said, her face hiding her thoughts.

"Well, if you won't give her this for me, I'll have to find someone else. Perhaps, however, you can provide me some information," Kuno said, "There is someone she professes to love, though I find it difficult to believe that she can prefer anyone over someone as grand as myself. Be that as it may, I saw her with a boy yesterday in the park. Could you find out the name of the scoundrel who accosted her, so that I may provide him suitable chastisement for his pursuit of my beloved?'

"I know his name," Nabiki replied. 'Ranma certainly didn't seem to be too pleased to have run into Hibiki. I wonder who she loves, though, if it isn't him,' she thought.

"Excellent, my dear Nabiki Tendo. Who pray tell is he?" Kuno asked anxiously.

"Hm, that information will cost you dearly, Kuno-baby. Let's say five thousand yen for his name," Nabiki demanded.

Kuno pulled out the money and laid it on her desk. "Then let's have it," Kuno demanded.

"His name is Ryoga Hibiki. She said he was an old friend of hers," Nabiki responded.

"So that is the name of the fiend who has bewitched the spirited pig-tailed goddess," Kuno mused. His eyes sharpened and he asked, "Find out what you can of this monster. I must free my love from his clutches. Surely the gods themselves have sent this mission to me."

"Sure, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said sarcastically, "It'll cost you though."

"Doesn't it always, Nabiki Tendo?" Kuno said, puzzled.

* * *

As Akane sat down with her bento for lunch, her two friends Yuka and Sayuri joined her. 

Yuka asked, "Okay, who is he? Looks like we should have asked you if you had any boys you liked on Thursday, not Ranma."

"What are you talking about, Yuka?" Akane asked, puzzled, her eyes wide with confusion.

Sayuri replied, "Don't play innocent with us, Akane. Yuka and I were at the arcade Saturday night with Hiroshi and Daisuke. We saw you with a real cute boy playing some of the video games. Now who is he?"

Akane began to sweat drop, when from behind them a voice said, "Oh, he was just some boy we ran into at the arcade. I don't remember seeing you guys there. But as crowded as it was, I guess that's not too surprising."

Yuka looked up and saw Ranma standing behind them, with a smile on her face. "I don't remember seeing you there either, Ranma. So that boy wasn't anyone special?"

"No, like Ranma said, he was just someone we ran into there. He was nice enough, I guess, but I don't remember his name," Akane replied, thankful that Ranma had given her a clue.

"I think he said it was Keitaro, but I could be wrong," Ranma cut in, "I don't know if we'll see much of him again."

Akane was never as glad as she was when she heard the bell ring signifying the end of the lunch period.

* * *

That afternoon, the gym teacher broke the class into two teams for softball. Ranma was happy to see that she found herself on the same team as Akane, Sayuri and Yuka. 'I really don't like to lose, myself,' she thought, 'but as competitive as Akane is, she really doesn't take losing easily. That's a complication I could definitely do without. She's a good athlete; I don't want her to start feeling inferior to anyone.' 

At Ranma's suggestion, the team quickly selected Akane captain. Her team won the coin toss, and Akane quickly decided to be the home team, banking on having the final at bat. Ranma volunteered to play center field, where she knew her speed would come in handy. Akane and Yuka played second base and shortstop respectively, while Sayuri trotted out to the pitcher's mound and began to warm up.

At the teacher's call of "Batter Up!" the game began. Ranma hadn't really paid much attention to Sayuri before and was pleasantly surprised to see just how good a pitcher she was. She set the other team down in order in the first two innings, with only two ground balls being hit to the infield, both of them easy plays for Yuka to make and throw the runners out at first.

Akane came up to bat in the bottom of the first inning as the cleanup hitter. There were two runners on base, and only one out. The first pitch she saw, she drove over the outfield fence for a home run. As she trotted by the on deck circle, Ranma gave her a smile and a high five. "Nice one, Akane," she said as the other girl headed back into the dugout. Ranma strode up to the plate, and watched the first couple of pitches go by for balls. Obviously, Akane's home run had rattled the other pitcher. Then on the next pitch, she missed and left the ball over the plate, where Ranma promptly drove it out over the center field fence as well.

By the time the game was over, Ranma and Akane had made several spectacular catches, a couple of Ranma's after long runs. Both of them had hit the ball well, and their team won by a mercy victory, as they were up by a dozen runs. As their team came off the field, they surrounded Akane and Ranma and cheered them. Ranma smiled bashfully and said, "Hey, Sayuri and Yuka deserve some of this too. If it wasn't for her pitching and Yuka's fielding, it would have been a much closer game." Sayuri and Yuka flashed quick smiles at that praise. Then the class headed off to the locker room to change, while Ranma lagged behind. Once no one was watching, she snuck off and headed to the girls' restroom to change.

* * *

Nabiki stood at the doorway of what had become Ranma's room watching her sister and Ranma work on their homework together. Seeing them sitting next to each other, talking quietly to each other, brought a wistful look to Nabiki's eyes. She cleared her throat, startling the two girls and said, "Kasumi asked me to bring some snacks up for you two. Mind if I join you for a few minutes?" Ranma and Akane smiled a welcome as Nabiki walked in carrying a tray with three glasses of milk and a plate of cookies. Nabiki set the tray on the floor and then sat down next to them. 

After each of them had gotten a glass of milk and a cookie (or three), Ranma said, "Thanks Nabiki. This was nice of you."

"You're welcome, both of you," Nabiki replied. She hesitated and then asked, "Can you tell me some more about that Hibiki boy?"

Ranma smirked and replied, "Five thousand yen, first." She laughed at the expression on Nabiki's face.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes and then handed the money to the laughing girl in front of her.

Ranma began, "He was a boy I knew at my old junior high. I only stayed there for a few months while Pop worked for enough money to finance the trip to China, but we sort of became friends. I first met him in the cafeteria. The servers had a tradition that they would toss the last of the bread to the crowd, sort of like feeding the seals at the zoo. Anyway, I always managed to beat him to the bread, so we developed a bit of a friendly rivalry. Then I found out about his horrible sense of direction. I swear he could get lost in a closet with only one door. I found him at school, almost in tears, because he had been trying for three days to get home and couldn't find his way out of the building. I took pity on him and took him to his home, and then everyday while I still was there, I would walk him to school and back."

"That was nice of you, Ranma," Akane said quietly.

"Well, like I said, I felt sorry for the poor guy. We would occasionally spar together, since he was pretty good. Then one day, Pop announced that we were leaving. I was going to tell him I was leaving the last time we were to fight, but he never showed up for our meeting. He got mad when he got there late and I was already gone, so he followed us to China where I ran into him a couple of times. The first time, I saved him for a nasty fall, but then he disappeared while I was trying to track down Pop who had run off. The second time was at the Amazon village, where he accidentally got himself a wife. Somehow he blames me for that. Pop and I came back to Japan, and I guess Ryoga found his way back as well. Akane and I ran into him last Wednesday and then I saw him yesterday as well. With his sense of direction, I'm surprised I saw him that soon," Ranma continued, "I don't know if that makes him a friend or just an acquaintance."

"That's it?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and answered, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. All in all, I've known him for about six months or so." 'After all, this Ryoga isn't P-chan, so there's no need to get into that, this Ryoga won't really be the same as the one I remember the best,' Ranma thought.

Nabiki thought for a few minutes and then asked, "What happened to the country bumpkin manner of speaking, Ranma?"

Ranma blushed and said, slowly, "Well, Kasumi and I had a talk this morning while I was helping her with breakfast, and she sort of told me that a good Japanese girl wouldn't talk like that. So she made me promise to try ta do better."

Akane giggled, and said, "She actually told you that? I wish I'd heard that conversation."

Ranma replied with a smile, "Yeah, kinda shocked me, if you wanna know the truth. The thing is a lot of that was what Pop expected me to sound like. He never liked me to sound as educated as I really was. I just got into a bad habit. To tell you the truth, though, trying to talk correctly has a couple of benefits. First, I actually have to pay attention to what I say, which means I'm a little less likely to stick my foot in my mouth. The other one is I'll sound a lot less like my Pop."

"Thanks for the info, Ranma," Nabiki said, "I'll leave you two to your homework." She stood up and then left the room; pondering the information she had obtained. 'That didn't sound like she was in love with Ryoga. I wonder who it could be,' Nabiki thought, 'Though knowing Kuno, he could have misunderstood what he heard.'

* * *

Late that evening, after everyone else had gone to bed, Akane joined Ranma for his regular vigil on the roof of the Tendo home. Ranma smiled a welcome to her as she sat down next to him. After a few minutes of silence, Akane said, "Now I see why you do this, Ranma. It's very peaceful." 

"Yeah, I can sit up here and relax, and then think about things," Ranma replied.

Akane paused for a moment, and then began, "Ranma, about what happened last night-" She stopped, and began to blush.

Ranma reddened and then asked, "About the kiss?"

Akane nodded wordlessly. She stared into the sky trying to collect her thoughts. Finally she said, "I'm very confused right now, Ranma. It's been a real weird school year already and it isn't even May, yet. Ever since the first day of school in April, I've had to fight off those boys because of Kuno until you came. Last year, the boys didn't notice me like that, but their actions this year made me very angry with boys in general. I never felt safe with them. I started beginning to believe that all high school boys were like those perverts. But you're different. Sure, I've gotten angry because of something you've said, but I always feel safe around you. Then we kissed last night. Even though it was an accident, I couldn't stop thinking about it."

Ranma reached over and held Akane's hands with his. He looked into her eyes and said, heartfelt, "Akane, I've liked you ever since I saw you the first time. But, I know you're still unsure about your feelings about everything. When you're ready for a real first kiss, I want it to be with me. I know I want my first real kiss to be with you. But only when you're ready."

The two of them sat there peacefully for several minutes, Akane making no attempt to remove her hands from Ranma's. Then she looked up and said, "I think I need these back, Ranma," as she gently tugged her hands.

Embarrassed, he let them go, stammering, "I'm sorry, Akane. I just was enjoying holding them, I guess."

Akane hesitated and then asked, "Ranma, I'm puzzled about Ryoga. What's the deal with him, anyway? He tried to kill you last Wednesday and then yesterday he gave you a gift. What's with that?"

Ranma sighed and said, "It's kinda complicated, Akane, like most things about my life apparently. Like I told Nabiki, I met him at the Junior High School last year. We sorta became friends. Then he got mad at me for some reason and wanted ta have that man to man fight. Well, you know me, I never could turn down a challenge, so I agreed. You know what happened about that."

"Yeah, you waited for him for three days, and then your father dragged you off to China," Akane agreed, "So why does he want to kill you?"

"I really don't know, Akane. The baka followed us to China somehow, and ended up at Jusenkyo, which is the training ground where I picked up the curse. Pop had fallen into the spring of Drowned Panda, and was chasing me. He knocked Ryoga over the side of a cliff, and I saved Ryoga from landing in one of the springs, but in the process, I fell into the spring of Drowned Girl. He didn't realize it was me; all he saw was the girl he knows as Sho Mei coming out of the spring."

"Sho Mei?" Akane asked, puzzled.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I haven't told you about that, have I? When Pop ran off after knocking Ryoga down, we ended up chasing after him and found him fighting with some of the Amazon women. I ended up saving one of them, so they made me an honorary Amazon, and gave me an Amazon name, Sho Mei. That's how we ended up at their village for a little while. Then when I ran into Ryoga, I told him my name was Sho Mei, because I didn't want the Amazons to know I really was a guy, and I really didn't want to mess with him anyway. They don't treat their men very good unless they're great warriors, so it was safer to pretend to be a girl. Anyway, while we were there, he accidentally got engaged to one of the Amazon woman, and I guess he blames me for that."

Akane looked bewildered, and asked, "How do you get accidentally engaged?"

"I was sparring with Shampoo, and Ryoga misunderstood. He came out of nowhere and knocked her out. Well, according to Amazon law, if an outsider male beats an Amazon woman, she has to marry him. It's even worse if it's an outsider woman, then the Amazon has to try to kill her," Ranma replied.

"Let me get this straight. He dislikes Ranma for some reason, but he has a debt of gratitude for Sho Mei. Is that what you meant?" Akane asked.

"That sounds about right, Akane," Ranma agreed.

Akane sat silently for a few minutes and finally asked, "You told me last night that you occasionally have nightmares. Do you know what causes them?"

He hesitated for a few moments and then said, tonelessly, "Pop tried to train me in an unbeatable technique when I wasten that kinda backfired on him. He forgot to read the next page unfortunately, which basically said only a moron would teach this, that it could make the subject crazy. He dug a pit, filled it with c-c-c, those things that chase mice, let them starve for a couple of days, wrapped me in fish sausage and threw me in. He kept doing it until I learned the technique. In my nightmare, I don't learn and I can't escape and they keep attacking me. That's when I wake up screaming."

Ranma began to shiver. Akane reached over and hugged him until he stopped. Then he continued, in the same flat voice, "Unfortunately, I can't control it, and if I see a c-c-c, one of those animals, I basically start acting like one. I don't remember what happens when I go under, but from what I've been told, there's only one way for me to get brought out of it, and that's to find someone I really trust. When I do, I end up curling up in their lap and going to sleep. If I do go into Neko-ken, try to keep me away from anyone else. I'll probably come looking for you to bring me out. Just anybody won't do, it has to be someone I really like."

"What a baka!" Akane said angrily. 'When I see Mr. Saotome, he's dead!' she thought.

Ranma chuckled weakly and replied, "Well, you just described Pop perfectly. Thanks for being here for me, Akane. I'm glad I have a friend like you."

Akane's eyes misted. She said softly, "I'm glad you're here with me too, Ranma."

* * *

Ryoga was wandering a road traveling through a heavily wooded area, lost as usual. As he walked, he thought to himself, 'Oh Xiao Mei, even though I am traveling here in the wilds of Africa, I can't stop thinking of you. How I wish I could tell you how I feel. When will I ever see you again? I don't even know where I was when I saw you. I think it was in Kyoto, but I'm not sure. Oh this horrible curse I have!' 

Dream sequence:

"Sho Mei, I'm home!" Ryoga called as he entered the modest, but well maintained home.

An attractive, red-haired woman came running in from the kitchen, wearing an apron over a demure knee-length dress, wearing heels, and pearls. "Oh, Ryoga!" she said as she kissed him, "How was your day, dear?" Following in her footsteps were several children, all yelling, "Daddy, play with us!"

End Dream sequence

The dream was interrupted by the sound of a truck, carrying a load of black piglets, honking behind him, with the driver motioning for him to get out of his way. Lost in his vision, he had missed the sign saying 'Okinawa City 15 kilometers.'

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. Constructive criticism is not only welcomed, it is encouraged. I've gotten a couple of nice ideas that I'm trying to work into the story line as well from them. 


	8. Looking for a Weak Spot

Chapter 8 Looking for a Weak Spot

Ranma looked uncertainly at Akane and asked, "Akane, are you sure you're ready for this? You've only been rope walking for a week after all."

Akane growled at her and replied, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Ranma. If I fall, I'll fall. Besides, you'll be up there with me telling me what I'm doing wrong." She hopped up onto the chain link fence and began walking rapidly down the fence, carefully watching where she was putting her feet. Ranma waited for a few seconds, her eyes showing her concern, until she saw how stable Akane appeared. Eventually, she jumped up onto the fence and followed along behind.

* * *

As they neared the school, Akane jumped off of the fence, followed by Ranma. Akane stopped, and turned to wait for her, a happy smile on her face. Ranma walked up, her face split by a wide grin. She exuberantly grabbed Akane and swung her around a couple of times, saying, "You did great, Akane! You only fell off a couple of times, and both times landed perfectly. I'm so proud of you, I could burst!" 

"Thanks, Ranma. That was a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again," Akane said. Then she noticed the time, and said, "We need to run, or we'll be late!" Ranma set her down and Akane grabbed her by the hand and the two of them started running to class. As they neared the school gate, they saw Kuno standing there waiting for them.

"Akane, Ranma, date with me!" Kuno said.

"We don't have time for this, Kuno," Akane growled as she swung her book bag into the kendoist's chin, knocking him out, "We don't want to be late for class!" The two girls ran over his body, with Akane taking care to place a foot where it would do Kuno the most good, and then grind it in carefully. Ranma winced as she saw that happen, then snorted, figuring if anyone deserved a foot in the groin, it was Kuno. Akane looked at her friend and then began giggling at the expression on her face, as well as the shocked expression on all of the boys that had been watching. Ranma gave up and began giggling as well as the two girls raced through the open doorway and up the stairs to class, leaving the bruised and battered idiot in their wake.

* * *

Nabiki looked up from her desk in the classroom where she was reading her manga to see Tatewaki Kuno standing there impatiently, looking much the worse for wear. "Nabiki Tendo, have you discovered the information I desire about that fiend Ryoga Hibiki who holds my beloved Ranma Saotome in thrall by his sorcerous ways?" he asked. 

"Kuno-baby, I'll tell you what I know, but like I told you before, it'll be expensive," Nabiki replied.

"Any price is acceptable so long as I discover the hold that cur has on my love," Kuno orated.

"This information is worth twenty thousand yen," Nabiki responded, thinking, 'What an idiot!'

Kuno winced and then pulled out his wallet and paid the requisite sum. "I hate you, Nabiki Tendo, did you know?" he snarled.

"Kuno-baby, you don't know how happy that makes me to hear that. Now, Ryoga Hibiki is an old friend of Ranma's. They went to the same junior high school for a few months. Ranma used to walk with him to school and back, and they ate together in the cafeteria. They would occasionally train together as well. When Ranma's father took her off to China for a training trip, Ryoga apparently followed them. Ranma says she saw him there a couple of times in China including a stay together in a village. She also has seen him a couple of times since she moved back to Japan," Nabiki replied, "Based on the way she was talking about him though, I'm pretty sure she just thinks of him as a friend."

"Thank you, Nabiki Tendo. Your service in this matter will not be forgotten. How clever that fiend is, my poor beloved does not even know how he has ensnared her in his coils of deceit," Kuno replied, half to himself.

"By the way, Kuno-baby, did you know that there are footprints on your clothing and forehead? How did they get there?" Nabiki asked.

Kuno snarled as he walked gingerly back to his desk.

* * *

As was becoming a common scene, Ranma, Akane, Yuka and Sayuri had met for lunch under one of the larger trees in the schoolyard. Ranma was only half-listening as the two girls regaled Akane with tales of their dates with Hiroshi and Daisuke. She had been very surprised the first time they mentioned some of the details of those dates. 'No wonder those two boys were such perverts before, always asking if Akane and I had done **it**. Damn, at the time, I didn't even know what **it** meant,' she thought, 'If this is what Akane was hearing from these girls before, no wonder she thought I was a pervert.' 

Ranma was shaken out of her reverie by Yuka repeating her name. "Ranma, are you listening?" she asked, as she shook Ranma.

"Huh? Sorry, Yuka, I must have been off in another world or something. Did you ask me a question?" Ranma asked.

Yuka said, "We were just curious about where you disappeared to after gym yesterday. We wanted to take you to get some ice cream, but you had vanished. We got to talking, and realized we'd never seen you in the locker room."

Ranma blushed and looked down at the ground. Then she sighed and said, "It's kinda hard to explain, Yuka. You see, Pop basically raised me as if I were a boy, so I'm real self-conscious about seeing other girls with no clothing on. Plus, I'm real bashful about my body so I just change in the restroom instead."

"How did he raise you as a boy with that figure?" Sayuri asked in surprise.

"Well, I didn't look like this until relatively recently, and it's amazing what you can get away with if your clothes are a bit loose. Remember, Kuno didn't figure out I was a girl until after I showed him," Ranma replied, "I'm sorry you missed me, I really like ice cream, don't I, Akane?"

Akane giggled and replied, "You sure do, Ranma. Plus you always manage to get an extra scoop."

"Yuka,Hiroshi and I are going to catch a movie Saturday. Do you think you and Daisuke can come?" Sayuri asked.

"Sure, that sounds like fun. I'll ask him," Yuka replied.

"Hey, Akane, are you gonna eat that pickle?" Ranma asked.

"You're still hungry?" Akane asked in shock, "Kasumi already puts more in your lunch than she does in mine." She handed the other girl her pickle. As Ranma finished the pickle, the bell rang.

* * *

That afternoon, Ranma stood at the gate of the schoolyard, waiting for Akane to join her. She looked to see the bane of her existence standing there, holding a bouquet of red roses. "Kuno, what are you doing here?" she asked. 

"I followed you here to ask you to date with me," Kuno stated grandly.

Ranma stared angrily at Kuno and replied, "Kuno, I've told you a million times, I'm not interested in you. I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last man on earth! I will never go out with you! If you don't start leaving me alone, I'm – urhg!" She fought for control, thinking, 'Don't kill him!' Finally, she spun on her foot and walked off to find Akane, her breasts heaving with emotion.

Kuno stood there in shock, watching Ranma stalk angrily away. "What a wondrous beauty she is! So proud, so spirited, so fearless!" he exclaimed.

"All people have fears," a voice timidly murmured from behind him.

Kuno turned to see a scrawny, somewhat cadaverous looking, young man standing there. "Who are you to speak to I, the illustrious Tatewaki Kuno, the leading light of Furinkan High School?" he asked condescendingly.

"No one, it's just me, Freshman Group F, Hikaru Gosunkugi. You wouldn't remember me, no one does," the young man stammered.

"Oh yes, I remember you now. You're the person who has been providing me photographs of my two loves since that wretched Nabiki Tendo stopped giving them to me," Kuno replied, "What did you mean by all people have fears?"

"I was just thinking," Gosunkugi stammered, "Er, if you knew what she was afraid of –"

"Yes, I see, of course. I could swoop in like a knight in shining armor and rescue my damsel in distress from where she cowered in fear! Her gratitude would know no bounds!" Kuno exclaimed, "An excellent plan that I thought of. But quickly, what is my pigtailed goddess afraid of? You must find out, my good Gosunkugi!"

"Me, why me?" the poor boy whined.

"Because if you don't, I'll let Nabiki Tendo know that you are the source of the pictures that she is tracking down." Kuno replied coldly. 'After all, he is only a peasant,' Kuno thought with satisfaction.

* * *

Gosunkugi stopped Nabiki as she was walking into the local electronics store. He asked, "Miss Tendo, what is Ranma afraid of?" 

"Ranma's fear? Buy me a CD player and I'll tell you," she replied.

"Er, I don't have any money," Gosunkugi whined.

Nabiki said coolly, "Then don't waste my time." She brushed past him and entered the store.

Gosunkugi ran off, and spotted Kasumi entering the local grocery store. He asked her, "Miss Tendo, what is Ranma afraid of?"

Kasumi smiled angelically and replied, "Ranma, she'll eat anything. There's certainly no food she can't handle."

* * *

Nabiki stopped at the door to the dojo in surprise. She had expected to find Ranma and Akane in there practicing together. Instead, Akane was alone, working on a complicated kata. Nabiki watched in awe as her sister moved gracefully through the forms. When Akane finished, Nabiki applauded and said, "That was wonderful, Akane. I haven't seen you do that one, when did you learn it?" 

"Ranma taught it to me a couple of days ago," Akane replied, "She says I need to use it to help me find my center. First, she has me meditate so I can put away any problems I might have had that day, and then do a kata or two. After that, we usually work on speed training, some coordination exercises and then balance training. You ought to do some of it, you might enjoy it."

"Where is she, anyway? I needed to tell her that some kid from school was asking Kasumi and I about any fears she might have," Nabiki asked, "She might have a new admirer."

Akane rolled her eyes at that and said, dryly, "Ranma will be thrilled to know that another boy may be chasing her. She won't be home until later; she told me at school that she was going to run some errands after she was done at the clinic." She walked over to the gymnastics equipment and began juggling four of the clubs.

* * *

Ranma was happily walking down one of the more remote streets in Nerima, whistling as he walked, taking in the sights. He had finished the little bit of shopping that he wanted to do, and was looking for a place to eat. 'Now that I'm working at the clinic, and Doctor Tofu is in on the secret, I can change there and no one is the wiser,' he thought gleefully, 'Maybe I can work there as a guy some of the time as well. I need to think about that some more. Damn, I can't stay away too much longer tonight, though; I need to get home so Akane can help me with my algebra homework.' 

"Ranma, prepare to die!" a male voice cried from his left.

Ranma looked to see Ryoga charging him, swinging his red umbrella. "Hey Ryoga, nice seeing you around, pal," Ranma said as he dodged the umbrella, "Why don't we talk about this, huh? I'm sure that girl is really nice and all, so why are you trying to kill me?" Ranma jumped up and over Ryoga, causing Ryoga to stumble.

"Shut up and die!" Ryoga snarled, "Because of you, I've seen hell!"

Ranma laughed as he dodged another blow and replied, mockingly, "So the great big Ryoga is afraid of a woman? Why don't you just tell her to leave you alone?" 'Right, like that ever worked with Shampoo,' he thought, blowing a silent raspberry at himself. Ryoga threw the umbrella at Ranma who leapt over it.

"Damn you, Ranma, fight me!" Ryoga growled.

"You're kind of a friend, Ryoga. Why would I want to hurt you?" Ranma said, trying a different approach.

Ryoga faltered for a moment, and then shook his head. "Quit trying to trick me, you coward. Face me like a man!" he roared.

Suddenly, Ranma heard the sound of thunder and he began to see some rain falling. "Sorry, Ryoga, I don't have time for this," Ranma said as he ran down one of the side streets.

"Ranma, you coward! Quit running away from me!" Ryoga cried as he tried to follow Ranma. He stopped to pick up his umbrella and open it as the rain was really beginning to come down in sheets. As he turned the corner that Ranma had just rounded moments before, he skidded to a stop. There was no sign of that coward anywhere. "Damn, where did he get to?" Ryoga snarled. As he ran down the street looking for Ranma, a young red-haired woman breathed a sigh of relief from the window of the shop she had darted into.

* * *

Kuno waited impatiently at the school's kendo hall. Gosunkugi sidled in. Kuno snapped, "Well? I trust you've uncovered my goddess's weak spot?" 

Gosunkugi replied, "For the past week, I've been secretly photographing her every move."

"Let me see," Kuno demanded as he snatched the pictures from the scrawny boy. Kuno scowled as he scanned all of the pictures, and then threw them to the ground. "You idiot, she's been posing in every shot!"

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Kasumi stood on the steps of the house calling, "Hanachiyo! Hanachiyo! Where are you?" 

"What are you doing, sis?" Nabiki asked.

"Oh my, help me find Hanachiyo. I'm taking care of her for a friend. I just took my eyes off her for a second and she disappeared," Kasumi replied.

Ranma was walking from the house to the dojo. "That stupid Gosunkugi. I can't relax for a second. If everybody else finds out what I'm afraid of, I'll never hear the end of it," she said to herself. She was almost to the dojo when she heard a rustling in the bushes outside of the dojo.

She walked over to the bushes and said, "Gosunkugi, give it a rest." She parted the bushes and then started screaming.

Akane was waiting for Ranma in the dojo for their practice session. While she warmed up doing some katas, she heard a loud scream. She rushed out of the dojo to find Ranma crouched on the steps, her teeth chattering as she stuttered, "C-c-cat!" In front of Ranma was a gray tabby cat, peacefully minding her business, cleaning her fur.

Kasumi came running from the front of the house and saw the cat. "There you are, Hanachiyo," she said in relief.

"Honestly, Ranma, it's just a cat!" Nabiki said from the steps of the house.

"It's okay, Ranma, I won't let the cat hurt you," Akane said quietly, "Come into the dojo where you'll be safe." She stepped in front of Ranma and began shooing the cat away. Ranma eased herself backwards, into the dojo, never taking her eyes off of the cat. Kasumi ran over and picked up the cat.

"What's the matter with her?" Nabiki asked.

Akane replied, angrily, "Because of her father's training methods, she has a morbid fear of cats. I swear if I ever see that idiot, I'm probably going to kill him"

"Ranma's afraid of cats?" Nabiki asked in surprise.

"Yes. When Ranma was ten years old, her father attempted to teach her the Neko-ken, or Cat-fist. You take a fish sausage and wrap it around the trainee, and then throw the trainee into a pit of starving cats. That idiot didn't read the entire manual. On the next page it said that anyone who tried to teach that technique was a complete idiot. Every since then, she's had a morbid fear of cats. I better go check on Ranma to make sure she's okay," she replied. Nabiki surprised herself as she started feeling angry as she heard the story of the training. Her fists clenched as she thought about the vengeance she needed to obtain.

"Oh my, how horrible," Kasumi said, a tear dripping from her eye.

An unseen figure slowly crept away, as Gosunkugi thought, 'At last, a weakness. I can't wait to tell Upperclassman Kuno. He'll be so grateful! And if he gets the pigtailed girl, maybe I can get Akane Tendo to notice me.'

Akane walked back into the dojo, where she found Ranma crouching on the floor, shivering in fear, her eyes wide with fright. Akane rushed over to comfort her friend, and knelt down on the floor of the dojo. Akane pulled Ranma into an embrace, and began soothing the frightened girl. Akane cooed softly, "It's okay now, Ranma. Kasumi took care of Hanachiyo. You're safe with me now." She continued to hold Ranma until she finally quit shivering.

Ranma smiled wanly and said, "Thanks, Akane. I owe you a big one."

"You ready for our training session, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready, Akane," Ranma replied, "I thought we'd just spar for a while."

The two girls separated, with Akane standing in the same relaxed stance that Ranma was using. Ranma smirked at Akane as she recognized that stance. Akane answered back with the same confident expression that Ranma saw often in the mirror. "Ha, getting a bit cocky are we, tomboy?" Ranma said with a grin.

"You betcha, girlfriend," Akane shot back quickly, with a matching grin.

Ranma sputtered "Girlfriend!" and just shook her head as the two of them sprang at each other. They traded blows for several minutes, with each blow either being dodged or blocked. Finally, Ranma spotted a pattern in Akane's attacks and waited for the pattern to begin to repeat. When she saw the opening, she slipped a punch through the hole in Akane's defenses and hit her in the stomach causing her to fold over.

"Okay, stop for a second," Ranma said quickly as she waited for Akane to straighten up. She continued, "I saw a pattern emerging in your defenses, Akane. That's how I was able to land that blow. You need to watch for that so you don't make that mistake again."

Akane gasped for air for a second and then replied, "Yes, sensei."

"Don't worry, you're doing pretty good, Akane," Ranma said with a smile. Then her face changed as she had a sudden idea, and asked, "Say, I was thinking, after we get cleaned up, do you wanna go get dinner and maybe catch a movie?" She nervously rubbed the back of her neck waiting for Akane's answer.

Akane looked around quickly and then asked, softly, "Are you asking me out on a date, Ranma?"

Ranma blushed and replied, "Yeah, this time I am, Akane."

Akane thought for a second and then answered, "I'd like that, Ranma."

"Good," Ranma said with a sigh of relief. Then she asked, "You ready to go another round?"

"Yes," Akane said simply.

* * *

Kasumi stood at the door to the dojo, watching her sister sparring with Ranma. The two of them had been at it for over two hours and they were still going strong. They were both wearing matching grins as they traded blows. While Kasumi had given up on the art shortly after her mother had died, she still remembered some of what she had learned. She could tell that Akane had gotten much better in the short time that Ranma had been training her. Finally, the two girls broke apart and then bowed to each other. 

"Good session, Akane," Ranma said, "You should be proud of what you've accomplished."

"Thanks, Ranma, but I had a good teacher," Akane replied, as she blushed slightly. "When are you going to stop holding back with me though? I'm not going to break," she asked quietly.

Ranma frowned slightly, and replied, "Not for a while, though I'll be able to go all out with you sooner than I expected. I think if we can get away for a long weekend and really train for several days, then you'll be ready."

"Hey you two," Kasumi said, "I made some lemonade, in case you were ready for a break." She walked in carrying a pitcher and three glasses on a tray.

"Thanks, sis," Akane said, "Yeah, I know I'm ready for a break." She sank down onto the floor, glad for the rest.

"Actually, I think we're done for the day, Akane. Kasumi, Akane and I won't be here for dinner," Ranma replied, as she joined Akane on the floor, "We're going out tonight."

Kasumi smiled happily and said, "That's nice. You two have a good time."

"Ranma, why don't we meet at the clinic?" Akane suggested, "That way you can get changed without anyone else being the wiser."

"That's a good idea, Akane," Kasumi said. Then she asked, "Did I hear you say you wanted to get away for a long weekend?"

"Yeah, to really get her where she wants to get, I need to spend more time with her than we can get here. Also, there are some techniques of the school that really require more space than we have here. I can at least get her started in those if we go on a trip into the mountains," Ranma replied.

"We have a long weekend in two weeks, in fact, we're off both Friday and Saturday, so we could leave right after school on Thursday," Akane said excitedly, "I'll ask Daddy if we can go." Akane finished her lemonade and ran out of the dojo to find her father.

"I really need to get away for a while, Kasumi, so I can be myself," Ranma said softly, "I hope you understand."

Kasumi smiled tenderly and replied, "Ranma, I trust both of you. I won't stand in your way. If Daddy gives his permission for her to go, I don't have a problem with it. In fact, after watching the two of you together in here, you have my blessing. You're a good teacher. Akane doesn't seem to get as angry as she used to."

"She's just getting better at controlling her anger, Kasumi. There's still some core of anger that she hasn't gotten rid of. But she really wants to be a good martial artist, and when I made it clear that I wouldn't teach her unless she learned to control it, she decided she'd better learn how. That gave her the incentive she needed. There's also not as much of a reason for her to get angry at school anymore. With the exception of Kuno, all of the rest of the boys that were attacking her have backed off and leave her alone now. The training we're doing also lets her get rid of some of her aggression," Ranma stated. 'Plus I don't go out of my way to make her mad like I did before,' Ranma thought. She stood up and said, "I better go get ready for this evening, as well, Kasumi." She left Kasumi looking thoughtful, sitting on the floor of the dojo.

* * *

Ranma walked out of the examination room in Doctor Tofu's clinic where he had changed to find Akane and Tofu waiting for him. "Thanks, Doc for letting me borrow the room to change in," Ranma said with a smile to the young doctor. 'I got to do something to help him with Kasumi,' Ranma thought, 'Maybe if I taught him the Soul of Ice technique, that would allow him to keep his emotions under control. Hm, maybe just try to make him less jumpy around her.' "You look beautiful tonight, Akane," Ranma said bashfully, as he gazed at the young girl in front of him. Akane's suggestion that they meet at the clinic had meant that he hadn't seen what she was going to wear. She had obviously spent some time working on both her hair and her makeup, as well as selecting an off the shoulder dress that very definitely flattered her figure. She was also wearing the bracelet that he had given her. 

Akane gazed at the handsome young man standing in front of her. Ranma had obviously taken some care in selecting what he was going to wear. Instead of his normal attire, he had picked one of his nicest shirts, and his best pair of slacks. She blushed as she realized that the shirt was one that she had picked out. She remembered Kasumi commenting on how nice that shirt would look on Ranma, and she was right.

Ranma hesitantly held out his hand, and Akane grabbed a hold of it. The two teenagers stared at each other for a moment longer, and then started as Tofu cleared his throat. "I think you two make a very nice couple," Tofu said, "But if you don't hurry, you'll be late for your reservations, Ranma." They both blushed and then to Tofu's amusement, they bowed to him and left. Tofu stared after them, with a wistful expression on his face. 'Baka, why do you go crazy every time Kasumi is near you? She must think I'm an idiot,' the young doctor berated himself.

As they walked to the restaurant that Ranma selected, a thought struck him. "Uh, Akane, how did you manage to get out of the house dressed like that?" he asked, "Uh, I mean, you look wonderful, but it obviously looks like you were going out on a date."

Akane blushed, and replied, "I had Kasumi run interference with Daddy, so he didn't see me go out like this, and Nabiki was still in her room when I left, so she didn't either."

"Oh good! I was worried that they knew about our date," Ranma said, "If they thought you were going out with a boy, it would make things a bit complicated right now."

"But I am going out with a boy, Ranma," Akane said as she squeezed his hand.

Ranma grinned as he returned the squeeze. Then he replied, "You know what I mean, Akane. It's bad enough that Kasumi is gonna pump you for what happened tonight. Just think what it would be like if Nabiki knew you were out with a boy. And then your father, 'Oh, my little girl is growing up,' and then the waterworks."

Akane giggled as she pictured her father in her mind. "You're right, Ranma. Daddy would be so impossible. And Nabiki would want to sell tickets, at least once she got over the shock of her man-hating sister going out on a date with a boy," she said, still giggling.

"Aw, Nabiki isn't quite that bad. She'd just want the movie rights is all," Ranma retorted. Then he surprised himself by giggling. Ranma's eyes opened wide in shock. 'Oh man, I need to spend more time as a guy,' he thought, 'Guys don't giggle, we laugh.' Fortunately, they arrived at the restaurant, so he was able to put that aside. He gave his name to the hostess, and they were seated at their table after a short wait.

After they ordered, Ranma asked, "What did your father say about a training trip, Akane?"

"He hesitated for a few moments, but I batted my eyes at him, kind of like when you're going after that extra scoop of ice cream, and he melted. He said we could go. So tell me what we're gonna do when we get there," Akane replied.

"Well, I think you'll be ready to do speed training. You're almost as fast as I was when I first starting learning Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken, so you shouldn't have any trouble with it. Though I'm gonna teach you the way I think it should be taught instead of starting off trying to pull chestnuts out of a roaring fire," Ranma replied, "Then, there's a ki attack that I wanna try to see if I can do. If I figure it out, then I'm gonna show you how it's done. The place where I wanna go has got a lot of room, so we can do some good sparring. We both need to toughen up a bunch so we can take more damage."

"That sounds like fun, Ranma. You're actually taking me seriously as a martial artist. You don't know how much that means to me," Akane said, her eyes practically glowing.

Ranma chuckled, and said, "That's my beautiful tomboy. Most girls would want to talk about something romantic on a date. You wanna talk about martial arts."

Akane sniffed, sadly, and said, "I can be romantic too, Ranma."

Ranma looked stricken and tried to apologize, but stopped when Akane started giggling. "Gotcha, Ranma," she crowed as he blushed in embarrassment.

"That was so uncute," he teased. He paused as the waitress brought their meal to the table.

The two of them began to eat, then Akane asked, "Where are you planning on taking us for the training?"

"There's a small secluded valley up in the mountains that Pop and I stumbled across while we were traveling around. It's kind of a steep climb up to it, so not too many people know about it as best as we could tell. It's pretty nice, with a lot of trees surrounding a meadow where we can pitch a couple of tents. Then there's a small lake and a hot spring-fed pool, so you'll want to bring a swimsuit," Ranma replied.

"I can't swim," Akane admitted reluctantly.

"That doesn't matter this time. The lake would be too cold to swim in anyway," Ranma replied, "The swimsuit is for the pool, so we could share if we wanted to. If we go there when it's warmer, I'll try to teach you to swim."

As they finished their meal, a small combo set up next to a little dance floor that was at one end of the room. The band began to play dance music, and several couples headed toward the dance floor. Ranma caught the wistful expression on Akane's face and asked, "I'd love to dance with you, Akane. Would you like to?"

"Yes, I really would, Ranma," Akane asked, her eyes wide. At his nod, the two got out of their chairs and walked over to the dance floor. At first, Ranma was a little stiff with Akane, but she moved into his arms and then laid her head against his chest. He loosened up and began to glide around the dance floor, holding her tightly.

* * *

As they walked through the park from the movie theater, Akane sighed happily as she held Ranma's hand. He glanced down at her and asked, "A yen for your thoughts." 

Akane snickered and said, "Hey, I'm not Nabiki. Seriously, I was just thinking how nice this was. I had a good time tonight. The food was good, and I enjoyed the dancing a lot. We need to do that again. The movie was a lot of fun as well."

As they neared the exit to the park, Ranma headed them over to the fountain. He said, reluctantly, "I guess I better change, Akane."

Akane grabbed his arm and prevented him from getting any closer to the fountain. She hesitated for a second, not quite sure why she was doing this, but then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

Ranma froze in surprise and then responded, holding her tightly as he returned the kiss. After a few seconds, they broke apart, both of them blushing furiously. 'Man, I could really get used to that,' Ranma thought, 'But what got into her?'

Akane looked up shyly and said, "That was nice, Ranma. I'm glad my first real kiss was with you."

"Akane, I liked it too," he said with a faint smile, "We need to do that some more as well." He sighed and then splashed some water onto his face, triggering the change. "Unfortunately, it's time for us to go home," she continued, with a pout on her face. The two girls headed back to the Tendo home. Once they got there, Ranma grabbed Akane by the waist and jumped up onto the wall of the compound, and then from the wall, she jumped to the balcony outside of Akane's room. Akane went into her room, while Ranma dropped back down to the ground and entered the house through the kitchen. She grabbed her containers of water and headed upstairs to her room.

* * *

Ranma smiled a welcome as Akane joined him again on the roof. She had changed out of her dress and was wearing her pajamas. She sat down next to him and said, "Ranma, I enjoyed our time tonight. I hope you did as well." 

"Akane, I had a great time. You're a good dancer. I hope you want to go out again, soon," he replied. He reached over and held her hand.

Akane smiled and replied, "I think that can be arranged, Ranma. I'm actually looking forward to another date as well."

Ranma paused and then asked, "Akane, not that I minded or anything, but why did you decide to kiss me?"

"Ever since we kissed by accident, Ranma, I've been dreaming about what happened. I couldn't get it out of my mind. Tonight, I wanted to find out what it would be like if we really wanted to kiss," she replied, softly, her cheeks heating up. Blushing she added, "It was everything I wanted it to be, Ranma." She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Ranma, the other day you said you've only seen your mother once since you went on the training trip with your father. When did that happen?"

Ranma's face froze. He sat still for several minutes and then said, "I stopped at her house the day before I came here. I hadn't seen her in so long that I wanted to see her. It started off nice enough, though Pop probably ought not to go by there any time soon. I think Mom was ready to take his head off right there if she saw him. Then just as I was gonna tell her about the curse, I got splashed and changed in front of her. She didn't take that very well, and ordered me out of the house. I haven't seen her since; I'm sure she has no clue where I am."

"So we've both lost our parents, haven't we, Ranma?" Akane asked.

Ranma thought for a second and replied, "Well, I still have hopes about Mom. Don't get me wrong; when she threw me out of her house, it hurt. I thought she had rejected me. I've thought about what happened several times since, and I hope she'll eventually accept me for who I am. Of course, we both still have our fathers. Your dad isn't that bad, Akane."

Akane's aura began to glow as she stated hotly, "Yes he is, Ranma. When Mommy died, I lost both my parents."

Ranma gulped and then slid over so he was sitting next to her. He put his arm around her and asked softly, "Is there anything I can do, Acchan?"

"Acchan?" Akane asked.

Ranma grinned wryly, and said, "That sounded better than tomboy, or Akane-chan. Do you mind?"

Akane snickered, her momentary anger forgotten, then she replied, "So long as I can call you Ranchan." Then her eyes grew bleak as she said, "When I needed Daddy the most, Ranchan, he disappeared from my life. He didn't take her death well, and turned into the person he is today. At first, he tried to continue teaching, but he slowly lost interest. Kasumi was forced to grow up too fast so she could take care of us. Nabiki took over handling the money. I threw myself into martial arts hoping that he would teach me, but he refused. Eventually, he returned to the land of the living and started taking an interest in what was going on around him, but by that time the damage was done. I was angry with him for abandoning us like he did, and I was angry with myself for being angry with him. I got trapped into that vicious cycle and couldn't find my way back." Tears began streaming down her face as she cried. Ranma looked at her helplessly and then pulled her into a hug and allowed her to cry on his shoulder.

"Is this the first time you've talked to anyone about this, Acchan?" Ranma asked gently.

"I tried once to talk to Kasumi when I was younger, but she didn't understand what I was talking about. She just looked at me in horror, as if I had done something wrong," Akane replied, softly, "I've never tried since then."

"Maybe you ought to try again with her. I think you'll find her ready to listen this time, Acchan. And I'm here for you as well," Ranma said.

Akane smiled briefly. She said warmly, "I appreciate the thought, Ranma. You've turned into a pretty good friend. I'm a little surprised at how quickly that happened."

"Well, I think the fact that we have these talks is part of it. I'm glad you started joining me out here; it makes it easier for us to get to know each other," Ranma replied, "Plus there's no one forcing you to do something you don't want to do." He yawned and said, "I think it's time for me to get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Akane said, her eyes twinkling, "Yeah, you need your beauty sleep. That cute redhead doesn't need bags under her eyes. Night, Ranma." She leaned over and kissed Ranma on the cheek and headed back to her room.

Ranma poured the cold water on his head, and went back into her room, shaking her head. 'I'll never understand women, no matter how long I live,' she thought.

* * *

The next Monday, Gosunkugi met Kuno at the school and said, "Upperclassman Kuno, I have found out what Ranma fears." 

Kuno whirled in surprise and exclaimed, "What! You've done it! You've discovered my goddess's greatest fear? Is this true, Gosunkugi?"

"You'll see when you come to the gym this afternoon!" the dyspeptic freshman replied.

Kuno began gloating as he thought, 'At last. Ranma will be mine! When I rescue you from that which you fear most!' He began laughing, and exclaimed in glee, "A date at last!" as he lost himself in a fevered dream where he and his pigtailed goddess were madly in love.

* * *

That afternoon, Ranma and Akane were walking from their lockers, when suddenly Ranma shivered. "What's wrong, Ranma?" Akane asked in concern. 

"I don't know, Akane. It was just a sudden chill," Ranma replied.

"Anyway, I want to know who wrote this stupid note and shoved it in your locker," Akane said heatedly, "I mean really, who would be stupid enough to fall for this!" She looked at the note in her hand and re-read it, 'Ranma, Help ME! Terrible villains are holding me hostage in the girls' gym! Signed Akane'

"Obviously some sort of clever trap," Ranma said sarcastically, and then she giggled, and added, "Do you want to go spring it?"

Akane grinned suddenly and replied, "Sure, why not! I want to find out who this moron is anyway!"

Akane and Ranma entered the girls' gym, and saw a figure dressed in a Furinkan High School girl's uniform, tied up with a rope, sitting on the stage at the far end of the room. They both stopped in shock, as the figure cried, "Oh Ranma, I knew I could count on you to rescue me. It's me, Akane, please hurry and free me before they come back!"

Akane glowed blue with anger as she seemingly teleported to the stage to confront the fool who dared impersonate her, especially so badly. To her surprise, it was a cadaverous young man that she sort of recognized, with deep sunken eyes. "What do you think you're doing!" she exclaimed angrily.

Gosunkugi sighed happily as he thought, 'She spoke to me! At last!'

Ranma arrived at the stage and she asked, "Now what the hell is this all about, Gosunkugi? Have you finally lost your mind?"

"Aha! You've fallen for my fiendish, carefully laid out trap!" Gosunkugi exulted as he pulled a rope opening a trap door in the stage floor. Unfortunately, Akane was the one standing on the door when it gave way, dropping the angry young woman to the floor of the room below. "Uh oh," Gosunkugi said in dismay as he peered over the edge to see a furious Akane brushing the dust off of her dress.

"What is this?" Akane fumed.

"Uh, just who were you planning on dropping into the pit?" Ranma asked. Then she suddenly remembered this happening before. She quickly asked, "Akane, are you all right down there? Are there any c-ca, you know, those creatures, down there?"

"Yes, there are several. Don't come down here, I can just walk up the stairs and go through that door," Akane replied.

"Don't open that door!" Gosunkugi cried, as Ranma jumped down into the pit. Ranma ran over to try to stop Akane, but then froze as she saw the horde of cats in the pit.

Ranma's eyes grew wide as she tried to face her fears, but she tripped over some debris on the floor and was quickly surrounded by the cats. She could feel the fear begin to overcome her as she gasped to Akane, "Akane, try to lure me home, and then hold me. That should bring me out of it. Don't let me hurt anyone, please!" She could feel her mind begin to go as Akane reached the door and opened it.

A Bengal tiger sprang out of the room. "What's this?" Akane shrieked.

Gosunkugi said from above, "I thought the tiger might frighten Ranma!"

"It would frighten anybody!" Akane screamed.

Suddenly, a yowling figure sprang into the gap between Akane and the tiger. Hissing and spitting, the cat-like Ranma stood crouched on all fours, facing down the tiger. The tiger turned tail and fled, as Ranma reached out with an invisible claw and swiped at the tiger, just missing, but shredding the door as if it were paper. Ranma raced after the tiger, with Akane slowly following behind. Akane saw the tiger, as well as all of the other cats, explode out of the room, into the boys' gym, where she saw Kuno standing there in his normal samurai garb, carrying his bokken. The tiger fled in panic, landing on Kuno, who calmly said, "I already love someone else!" Kuno threw the tiger off of him, just in time to see a figure come blurring out of the room, bouncing off of the walls and landing on the gym floor in front of him. Kuno's eyes opened wide with happiness as he recognized the pigtailed girl crouching in front of him. "Oh happy day, Ranma! You've come for me! I'll rescue you from these horrible creatures," Kuno exclaimed.

Ranma spat and hissed and then swiped with her claw, shredding the bokken that Kuno was carrying.

Kuno backed up, and said in shock, "Ranma Saotome, have you gone mad!" The tiger took one look, and fled out of the gym to parts unknown.

Ranma hissed angrily, and then clawed the bewildered kendoist, shredding his robes and leaving him standing only in his boxers. The embarrassed boy backed up, as the rest of the boys began to snicker at the unfortunate young man. "Look, his boxers have red hearts all over them. Isn't that sweet?" one of them teased. Ranma began stalking Kuno all around the gym, playfully batting him around with some sort of invisible paw.

Akane ran in front of Ranma, who immediately began to calm down. "Come home with me, kitty," Akane called. Kuno turned and fled. Ranma yowled at the other boys, who promptly broke and ran for the door.

Akane began to back away, only to have Ranma pounce on her, knocking her to the ground. Akane's eyes opened wide in fright, until she realized that Ranma was curling up in her lap, and beginning to purr. Then she began to blush as Ranma reached up and kissed her on the lips, and promptly settled down and began to purr louder. Then Ranma fell asleep.

Gosunkugi crept away, camera in hand. Then he stopped as he bumped into Nabiki Tendo. She stared at him, her eyes cold, and simply held out her hand for the camera. He hesitated for a moment, and her eyes turned even colder. Gosunkugi gulped and handed her the camera. Nabiki said, icily, "Stop spying on my sister and her friend. You better not take any more pictures of them. If I find that you've done it again, I'll make your life a living hell." She turned the take-up reel in the camera until all of the film was back in its cartridge, then opened the back and palmed the film cartridge. She closed the camera and dropped it in Gosunkugi's outstretched hands. After placing the film in her briefcase, she walked over to her sister and Ranma.

"Are you two okay, Sis?" Nabiki asked softly.

Akane looked up and said, "I'm fine. Sis, I'm going to take her over to the clinic. I want Tofu to take a look at her to see if he can sense anything in her aura." She struggled to her feet, with Nabiki's help, and then started heading toward the door with Ranma held securely in her arms.

Nabiki said, "I'm going to stay here and do some damage control. There's no telling what kind of nonsense those boys will spread and Kuno is just plain crazy. I also want to track down that kid Gosunkugi and find out what he thought he was doing. I'll meet you at the clinic later."

Akane smiled her thanks and the two girls separated on their respective missions.

* * *

Akane finally staggered into the clinic, carrying the smaller girl, startling Tofu. He looked up in alarm and asked, "What happened to her?" as he led the way to one of the examination rooms. 

Akane sat down in one of the chairs, still holding Ranma tightly in her arms against her chest. "His idiot excuse for a father trained Ranma in something called the Neko-ken when he was very young. Ever since then he has had a morbid fear of cats and when he sees one and can't get away, he turns into a cat in his mind," Akane growled, "Well, some moron at school found out about his fear and attempted to scare Ranma, He bit off more than he knew and Ranma went cat."

"Neko-ken huh, I've never heard of it before," Tofu mused, "I'll have some friends of mine do some research. Meanwhile, what do we do with him? His chi levels are all messed up right now, though he seems pretty peaceful."

"He warned me that this might happen, and said that he would track down someone he trusted. Once he did that, he would curl up in their lap and fall asleep. Then when he woke up, he would be back to normal," Akane replied.

Tofu stroked his chin thoughtfully and then said, "I want to try something. He hasn't had the curse very long, so he probably hasn't had this occur. I wonder if the shock of changing would bring him out of the Neko-ken." He went to the sink and got a bucket of hot water. He poured the water over the sleeping figure, triggering the change.

Ranma's eyes opened wide and he blushed when he realized he was cuddled up against Akane's breasts. "Did I hurt anyone, Akane?" he asked, to hide his embarrassment.

"You're back, Ranma!" Akane squealed in delight as she hugged him tighter.

Tofu chuckled and said dryly, "You'd better let him go, Akane, he's turning an interesting shade of blue."

Akane blushed and let Ranma go. He slid over onto a different chair, as she answered, "Aside from embarrassing Kuno, you didn't hurt anyone. As soon as you saw me, you pushed me down and got into my lap. Then you went to sleep, purring." The memory of the kiss was something she wasn't sure she was ready to share.

"It also looks like triggering your change will snap you out of the Neko-ken state as well, Ranma," Tofu said, "Your chi levels are back to normal. They were all messed up while you were in the Neko-ken state."

Ranma looked thoughtful and replied, "That's good to know. That could come in useful in the future. I'm glad you figured that out." 'Yeah, I'm really glad he figured it out, that was something I couldn't tell anyone without causing suspicion,' he thought.

"You had some sort of invisible claws when you were in the Neko-ken, Ranma. You used them to shred Kuno's bokken, and then his clothing. The funny thing is you didn't draw a drop of blood. Then you batted him around the gym for a while, until you saw me," Akane said.

Ranma sighed in relief and said, "I guess I have some control after all, Akane. If I can just play with someone I dislike as much as Kuno, then maybe I won't seriously hurt anyone in that state."

"Hello, Doctor Tofu! Ranma, Akane, is anyone here?" Nabiki called from the waiting room.

Ranma quickly ran to the sink and poured cold water over his head, triggering the transformation. Grabbing a towel, she began to dry herself off. "We're in here, Nabiki," she called once she got her heart to stop pounding.

Nabiki walked into the examination room, carrying a photograph, wearing an odd smile.

"Did you find that jerk Gosunkugi?" Akane growled.

Nabiki grinned evilly and replied, "Yes, I did sis. I convinced him to keep his mouth shut about what he saw. He decided that was the better part of valor, especially after I told him what I would do to him. I found out that he set the whole thing up as a way for Kuno to rescue Ranma from her worst fear, with the idea that Ranma would be grateful to Kuno and go out with him. Gosunkugi said he hoped that if Kuno ended up with Ranma, then he could go after you."

Ranma and Akane both looked ill. "That's ridiculous. I'd never go out with a guy like him," Akane said angrily.

"And what kind of moronic plan was that! There's no way I'd ever date Kuno," Ranma protested, the thought making her ill.

"What is the rumor mill saying about what happened?" Akane asked.

"I've got that taken care of. I just told them the truth that Ranma has a morbid fear of cats based on a failed training technique and that she gets this ki ability when she goes into the Neko-ken," Nabiki replied.

"Was that wise?" Ranma asked.

"Trust me on that, Ranma. No one who was in that gym will give you any problem. They saw what you did to Kuno. You could have really hurt him, but you didn't," Nabiki replied, "More importantly, I got Gosunkugi so afraid that he'll keep his mouth shut about what happened afterwards, too. He won't say a word about you kissing Akane."

"I did what?" Ranma exclaimed.

Akane blushed and answered, "When you knocked me down onto the floor and curled up in my lap, you reached up and kissed me." Nabiki smirked as she handed Ranma the photograph showing her kissing a shocked Akane on the lips.

Ranma turned and looked at Akane and asked, "Why didn't you tell me about this? You know I don't remember anything about what happens when I go c-c-cat."

Akane hung her head and confessed, shyly, "I don't know Ranma. I wasn't sure what it meant, and I was trying to sort it out in my own mind first, I guess."

"Why did you kiss her, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, her eyes bright.

Ranma thought for a minute and answered, "I'm not sure, Nabiki. I only know what I've been told in the past. From what I understand, my feelings come out easier when I'm in the Neko-ken. The feline knows who I like and care for, and who I really dislike and reacts to that. The only way that I know of to come out of the Neko-ken was to find a person I cared for and trusted. Subconsciously, I must have known that Akane was my friend and was someone safe. Why that prompted the c-c-cat to kiss her, I haven't a clue." 'Liar, sure you have a clue. You love Akane, that's why you kissed her and you know it,' she thought to herself. Nabiki gazed at Ranma with a speculative look in her eyes.

"So anyone you liked would have worked?" Akane asked slowly.

Ranma shot her a worried look. Akane looked like she was unhappy. Ranma replied slowly, "I don't think just anyone would have worked, Akane. It has to be someone special, I'm pretty sure." As Akane's expression cleared, Ranma breathed a silent sigh of relief. She looked at Tofu, with her eyes begging for help as she said, "Listen, we can talk about this later, I kinda need to get to work. Don't I, Doctor Tofu?"

"Um, yes, that's right," the doctor agreed.

"In that case, I'll see you at dinner, Ranma. Come on, Nabiki," Akane said, "I want that picture, by the way. See you later, Doctor Tofu." The two girls left Ranma and Doctor Tofu and headed home.

"What was that all about, Ranma? Why'd you need the rescue?" Tofu asked quietly.

Ranma stammered, and then replied, "Nabiki was asking some questions that I really didn't want her to get the right answer for. I need to talk to Akane by herself. I know exactly why I kissed her, but she's the one who needs to hear it, not Nabiki."

Tofu smiled and replied, "Good, I'm glad there's someone for Akane. I was hoping she'd find someone more suitable. That crush she had on me was beginning to get tiresome."

Ranma face-faulted and said in surprise, "You knew about that?"

"Yes, I was aware of it. She didn't hide it very well from me," the young doctor replied, "I wouldn't have been much of either a doctor or a martial artist if I didn't realize that she had a crush, would I?" The doctor grinned at the flabbergasted young girl.

Ranma shook her head and then grinned in response. "Well, what are you gonna do about her oldest sister?" she asked, "You need to do something about that crush of yours, you know."

"What do you mean, Ranma? I don't have a crush on K-k-kasumi," the doctor protested.

"What was that you said? Something about not being much of a martial artist if I didn't realize you had a crush. I think the doctor needs to take some of his own medicine," Ranma replied, with an easy grin. Then she relented and said, "Seriously, Doc, you need to do something about the way you behave around her. I know she likes you, least, I think she does, but unless you can control yourself, you're gonna lose her to someone else. I think you're a good man for her, but you gotta do something soon."

Tofu sighed and looked miserable. He replied, "I'm not sure why I behave the way I do around her, Ranma. It's like my brain turns itself off, and I go crazy as soon as I see her, or even hear her voice."

"But what happens if she's the one that needs your help, Doc? If there's something I can do to help, let me know. I can teach you something called the Soul of Ice, that would allow you to control your emotions some, but it has some drawbacks. You can't use it forever, without causing major problems," Ranma said.

"There's some pressure points that I can teach you that should allow me to retain my sanity around her, Ranma. That might be better," Tofu replied.

"You think if once you date her a few times that you'll be over whatever is causing you to act silly around her?" Ranma asked.

Tofu smiled sadly and replied, "I don't know, but I don't want to lose her either. It's worth a try at least."

At that moment they heard the sound of the front door open, and a voice called, "Doctor, I'm here for my appointment."

Tofu looked at Ranma and said, "We'll talk about this later, Ranma." He left the exam room to meet with his patient.

* * *

Author's Notes: Again, thanks for all of the reviews. They are always welcome, and encouraged. Specific comments have beeb removed. 


	9. Kodachi, the Black Rose

Chapter 9 Kodachi, the Black Rose

Ranma was walking back from her job at the clinic, heading home for dinner, when she heard the sounds of an altercation coming from an empty lot that she was passing by. She turned to look, but a tall concrete wall that bordered the lot blocked her vision. Her curiosity aroused, she jumped up to the top of the wall to see three heavily bandaged people in Furinkan school uniforms confronting a demurely dressed girl with long black hair.

The girl, who Ranma recognized as Kodachi Kuno, asked coolly, "Pardon me, but you are from Furinkan High School, are you not?"

One of the girls replied, "No more talk!"

"We've got you at last!" a second exclaimed.

Ranma suddenly remembered this scene. 'It's the Furinkan girls gymnastics team. She'll slaughter them if I don't interrupt,' she thought.

"We're finishing you off here and now," the third figure cried.

"Please, there's no need to rush on my account. After all, we'll be having our match in one week," Kodachi replied calmly.

"Hold it girls!" Ranma thundered, stopping the three girls in their tracks as she jumped in front of them. "Why doncha stop playing with these three? They're so far below your league that it just ain't fair!"

"Insolent wench! How dare you spoil my fun?" Kodachi screamed in anger, "For that you shall pay!" She pulled a black ribbon from out of nowhere, and attempted to lash Ranma with it. Ranma calmly caught the ribbon with one hand, and held it fast.

Ranma said coolly, "Doncha think you've hurt them enough? You've won already, after all."

"You caught that ribbon as if it were nothing!" Kodachi exclaimed in surprise. Her eyes narrowed as she continued, "If you'll forgive me, you seem to be no ordinary girl."

Ranma smirked and replied, "I suppose you could say that, Kodachi!"

"Wait a minute, how do you know my name? We've never met!" Kodachi asked.

"Your reputation preceded you. Besides I know your brother, the Blue Blunder," Ranma replied, "I'm Ranma Saotome."

Kodachi smiled briefly as she said, "Blue Blunder! How apt. So you're one of the girls he's been obsessing over. I take it that you don't return his affections?"

Ranma made a sour face and replied, "To put it bluntly, no. Your brother is a baka who won't face reality. Neither Akane nor I like him at all!"

"My dear older brother can be a bit of a nuisance, can't he?" Kodachi agreed with a laugh. "Well, since you won't let me entertain myself with these girls, I'll bid you adieu," Kodachi said gaily, as she threw a black rose to Ranma, "Remember me until we meet again, Ranma Saotome. They call me the Black Rose of St. Bacchus School for Girls. Kodachi the Black Rose." She bounded off out of sight, soaring over the wall and landing on the rooftop, leaving a manic laugh behind as the only other sign that she had been there.

Ranma turned to the three girls and said, "You're safe now. Are you hurt badly?"

The three girls burst into tears, with one of them crying, "How humiliating!"

"Hey, what's with all the crying? Kodachi's gone," Ranma asked, perplexed.

The girls ripped off their bandages to reveal their battered faces. One of them said, "We're what's left of the Furinkan Rhythmic Gymnastics team." Ranma recognized Hitome, Kaori and Megumi from her class.

Kaori said, "We were on our way to see you and Akane, when Kodachi ambushed us."

"She should be home; why don't we go find her?" Ranma suggested. 'It's a good thing I thought to have her start practicing with the equipment,' she thought smugly. She led the three girls to the Tendo home, where they found Akane working on her homework in her bedroom.

Ranma said, "Akane, these girls wanted to talk to you. Do you got a minute?"

"What is it, girls?" Akane asked.

"Akane! We've been so humiliated!" Hitome replied as the other two girls burst into tears again, "Every member of the team has been injured!"

"We were ambushed!" Megumi said angrily.

Kaori dried her eyes and added, "Now, we'll have to withdraw from the match!"

"Not if we can find someone to fight in our place. That's when we thought of you," Hitome said.

Akane looked at them thoughtfully and then asked, "So, you want me to take your place?"

"Please Akane! There's nothing else we can do. You see, the next match is Rhythmic Gymnastics Wrestling!" Hitome replied, "Where the schools' champions fight with the techniques of Rhythmic Gymnastics!"

"Well, I'm not really sure I get it, but all right! We will avenge you," Akane cried.

The three girls hugged Akane and said, "Thank you!"

Ranma said, "If the match is in a week, you need to spend a lot of time in serious training, Akane. We'll need some help as well. You girls will need to work with her, especially while I'm working at the clinic."

"There's no time like the present," Akane replied, "Let me change into my leotard, tell Kasumi that we'll miss dinner and I'll be right out." Ranma led the three girls down to the dojo, where she set out all of the gymnastics equipment.

As soon as Akane walked in, Hitome said, "In Rhythmic Gymnastic Wrestling, it's forbidden to attack barehanded. The match is in a week. Let's see what you've got, Akane."

Akane shrugged her shoulders and accepted a pair of clubs from Ranma. She began juggling them. Once she got a good rhythm going, Ranma tossed her a third club and then a fourth. She gradually picked up speed until the clubs were moving almost in a blur.

The three girls' eyes grew wide as they watched her juggling skills. Then Ranma got in on the act. She starting juggling with two more of the clubs, and then the two of them began tossing the six clubs back and forth, staying at the same blurring speed.

"Wow, you two are great! How come you never tried out for the gymnastics team?" Kaori asked.

"We only started this a little while ago. It's a good thing you didn't see us that first day. We were absolutely dreadful. Both of us were dropping the clubs all over the place, and Ranma broke the hoop the first time she tried. But my sensei here is a very hard taskmistress, and wouldn't let us quit," Akane said as the two of them stopped juggling and caught the clubs. She continued, "Ranma said it would help with our coordination and speed, so that's why we're doing it. I never thought of doing this at school."

"Have you tried using the clubs as a weapon or a blocker," Hitome asked, her eyes bright with excitement.

"No, we were just using them as a training tool," Ranma answered, "That's why we need you to show us how it's done. I think I can see how to do some of it, but I don't think I can teach it. You'll need to train us both. That way Akane will have an opponent she can practice with."

"How are you with the rest of the equipment?" Megumi asked, seeing the ribbons and other tools lying in a pile where Ranma had dropped them.

"Pretty good," Ranma replied, with a smirk, "Akane almost never gets tangled up in the ribbon anymore."

Then she took off running as Akane started chasing her, yelling "Baka!" The other three girls started laughing at their antics. After a couple of laps around the dojo, Akane joined them.

"Now that that's out of your system, let me show you how to use the ribbon as a weapon," Kaori said. She picked up the ribbon with her left hand and drew a portion of it out taut with her right hand. Suddenly she snapped it forward like a whip, hitting one of the training dummies scattered around the dojo with a sharp 'Crack!' knocking it over.

* * *

As evening drew to a close, and night began to fall, a dark figure watched the dojo from her perch on the wall of the Tendo compound. Kodachi thought to herself, 'So, they've asked for help. Those Furinkan High gymnasts are sore losers.' She began to laugh her manic laugh, and then said, "Akane Tendo, Kodachi the Black Rose will cripple you!" Placing a black rose in her mouth, she doffed her black cape, showing that she was wearing a black leotard. She pulled a large mallet from somewhere and stalked off.

* * *

Hitome finally said, "That's enough training for today." 

Akane replied, "Thanks for showing me all of this," as she stood panting with exhaustion.

Kaori said, "You handled the ribbon really well. I think you're making good progress."

"Thanks girls for all of the help," Ranma said, "Don't forget to come by tomorrow to work with her. Akane, why don't you go soak in the furo for a while? I'll bring some food up to my room since we worked through dinner, and then we can snack while we finish our homework together." The three girls said their farewells and left the dojo.

"Akane, about this afternoon," Ranma began. She hesitated, not sure how to say what she needed to say.

"What about this afternoon?" Akane asked.

Ranma blushed, and said, "I wouldn't have kissed just anyone; I wanted you to know that."

Akane blushed, and replied, "I didn't think you were that kind of person, Ranma."

Ranma hesitated and then said softly, "Actually, you're the only one I would have kissed, Akane." She was blushing furiously as she spoke.

Akane smiled prettily, and said, "I think I knew that already, Ranma. I think I'd better find that furo, before I stiffen up anymore." Ranma and Akane headed back to the house.

"That was a lot of fun, Ranma," Akane said as they entered the kitchen.

Ranma smiled and said, "You did good Akane. I don't how good Kodachi is, but I know she'll be in for a shock when you face her."

"You really think so, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Wouldn't have said it if'n I didn't mean it," Ranma replied. She was reward first by the most dazzling smile that she had ever seen, and then Akane hugged her, easily besting any of the hugs that Shampoo had ever given. Finally, the two of them separated, with Ranma staying in the kitchen to throw some snacks together, while Akane made her way to the furoba.

Akane wearily made her way up the stairs from the furoba, already dressed in her favorite pair of yellow pajamas. As she neared the door to Ranma's room, she smiled as the aroma of Kasumi's cooking wafted through the air and reached her nose. Following that scent, she entered Ranma's room, where she found the other girl impatiently waiting, as she hovered over two plates heaped with food.

"You look exhausted, Akane. Those girls really worked you over in the practice," Ranma said, as she saw how slumped Akane's shoulders were, "Come get something to eat. That will make you feel better."

Akane sank to the floor next to Ranma and replied, "I'm just glad we've been training as much as we have with those toys. I dread to think what it would be like if I had never seen them before tonight." She started eating from the bowl of rice that was in front of her.

"Oh, I have faith in you, Akane," Ranma said, kindly, "It's a week until the tournament. That would have given you enough time to master the techniques you need to beat Kodachi. How long had you been practicing before I came home tonight?"

"I had done all of the exercises that you had laid out for me to do. That took me until nearly dinnertime, so it was a couple of hours, I guess. I worked on homework for a while waiting for you to get home," Akane answered.

"Okay, and then we worked with the girls for another three hours," Ranma said, as she finished the last of her food. She thought for a few minutes and then said, "If we keep up with that regimen, you shouldn't have any problem in wiping the floor with Kodachi. Are you ready to study?"

Akane finished the last of her food and poured herself some more tea. "Yeah, I think so. I'm a bit more awake now then when I first got out of the furo. That hot water was sure making me sleepy," she replied. Ranma put the dishes up on the tray on her dresser and then dragged their books out. The two girls started working on their algebra homework. After about a half hour, they were done with that subject and Akane pulled out her history book. Ranma took it away from her and began to read the assigned chapter out loud. After a few minutes, Akane asked, "Ranma, could you massage my back and arms. I guess I'm a little too sore to study, after all."

Ranma looked up from the book she was reading and flashed a quick smile. "Sure, Akane. Why don't you roll over on your stomach and I'll loosen you up," Ranma suggested. Akane laid down on her stomach on the futon and Ranma began massaging her arms and upper back. After several minutes of that, Akane closed her eyes and began to slowly drift off. "Akane," Ranma said quietly. When she got no response, she looked at Akane's face and saw that Akane had gone to sleep. She pulled her blanket over Akane and let her rest. She gathered up the tray of their dirty dishes and carried them downstairs to the kitchen. After she washed, dried and put them away, she went back upstairs to finish studying. After a couple of hours, she turned her light off, and went back downstairs for her jugs of water. She climbed up on the roof and poured the hot water over herself.

Ranma stared at the stars that he could see in the sky over the dojo. Things were moving along well, Akane obviously liked him as a guy. That kiss the other night and the hugs proved that. 'I need to take her out some more. It looked like she really enjoyed my company,' he thought to himself. He was woken rudely out of his reverie by the sound of a loud thump and some cursing that sounded like it was coming from Akane's room. As he stood to run across the roof to her room, he stopped as he saw Kodachi climb out onto the balcony off of Akane's room and then hop across to the surrounding wall. Even in the dim moonlight, he could see the expression of rage on her face.

He snickered to himself as he realized what must have happened. 'Kodachi must have fallen asleep waiting for Akane to come to bed. When she did, she must have fallen and hit the floor,' he thought. Ranma poured the cold water over himself and allowed the transformation to occur. She climbed back into her room and left the jugs on the floor while she headed into Akane's room. There she found the room to be empty, but it was covered with Kodachi's black roses. "Great," she groaned, "Who's gonna clean up this mess? Kodachi, you'll pay for this!"

Ranma looked up to see Kasumi standing in the doorway. "Where's Akane?" Kasumi asked.

"She fell asleep on my futon while we were studying, Kasumi. I decided to leave her there, and I'd just curl up in a blanket on the floor. Then I heard a thump from in here, and came and found this mess. Looks like that crazy girl Kodachi decided to pay Akane a visit," Ranma replied.

"Just go to bed, Ranma. I'll take care of this in the morning," Kasumi said firmly. Ranma started to protest, but one look at Kasumi's face changed her mind. She wearily made her way back to her room, and pulled out a spare blanket and made a bed for herself on the floor. She glanced back over at the girl sleeping in her bed and smiled tenderly again. She leaned over and whispered, "Sleep tight, love," and lightly kissed her cheek. She curled up in her blanket and promptly went to sleep, dreaming of Akane.

* * *

The next morning, Akane woke up in an unaccustomed place. As she opened her eyes, she realized that she was on the futon in Ranma's room. She rolled over and saw Ranma's red head sleeping on the floor next to the futon. A tender smile crept over Akane's face as she gazed at the other girl. 'I must have fallen asleep, and Ranma didn't want to wake me,' she thought tenderly. She slid out of the futon and gave Ranma a quick peck on the cheek and then headed toward her room. 

Ranma opened her eyes as she sensed Akane had left her room. She reached up and touched the spot on her cheek where Akane had kissed her, and smiled. She rolled out of her blanket and stood up and walked over to her dresser to get clean clothing. Then she made her way downstairs carrying her change of clothing. She stopped in the kitchen long enough to say good morning to Kasumi and to let her know that Akane was awake and had gone to her room. Ranma headed off to the furoba. Once she got there, she checked to make sure no one was using it and placed the In Use sign on the door to the changing room. As was the ritual that had become established over the weeks she had lived with the Tendo's, she went into the bathing chamber and turned on the heater for the furo for Akane's bath when she got back from her jogging. Then she went back into the changing room to disrobe. As she removed her boxers, she noticed a stain of blood on them. She stood there for a moment in panic and then said to herself, "Baka, you knew this was gonna happen if you stayed as a girl for this long. It's not as if you haven't had a period before." Ranma mechanically walked into the bathing chamber and began washing herself off.

Once she was finished, she began drying herself off with one of the big, fluffy towels that Kasumi always managed to stock in the changing room. She walked back into the changing room and rummaged around in one of the cabinets until she found the pads that Kasumi had shown her several days before. She placed one in her panties and them pulled them on. She quickly dressed and then rinsed her boxers in cold water and set them in the basket for Kasumi to wash later. Ranma then left the furoba and took down the In Use sign and placed it back in the changing room where it was stored. She then made her way back to the kitchen where she was greeted by a huge hug from Kasumi. Ranma took a look at what Kasumi was cooking and saw a pot of red beans. With bleak eyes, she looked up at Kasumi and said, "It's started this morning Kasumi. My period."

"Yes, Ranma, I know," Kasumi replied, "That's why I'm cooking red beans and rice for you. My mother made them for me when I had my first one, and I've prepared them for Nabiki and Akane. It's your turn now."

Ranma shivered and said, softly, "I know you mean well, Kasumi, and I thank you for it. But I'm still scared. I have this voice inside of me screaming, 'You're a guy, this isn't supposed to be happening.' I knew this was gonna be rough, but I didn't think it was gonna be this bad."

Kasumi looked at the girl in her arms, and replied, "You mean the great Ranma Saotome can't handle what every woman goes through every month?" Her eyes twinkled as Ranma looked a bit indignant.

"Hey, there's nothing I can't handle, Kasumi," Ranma said with an arrogant smirk. She paused as she realized what she had said, and then continued, sheepishly, "Stop using my own beliefs against me."

Kasumi giggled at the expression on the younger girls face. Ranma looked at her sourly for a second, and then giggled as well. "Okay, Kasumi, you win," Ranma said, with a fond smile, "I guess all of those books on psychology you've read have taught you something, haven't they?"

* * *

As Akane and Ranma entered the schoolyard, Akane was greeted by a horde of girls. Several of them called, "Good Morning, Akane!" 

"Good morning," Akane replied.

Yuka said, "I hear you're going to represent us in the Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament!"

Sayuri chimed in, "Don't let us down!"

Akane said with a confident smile, "Don't worry, you can leave it to me!"

"Yeah, Akane's pretty good," Ranma interjected, "She's just about mastered the tools. Now it's just a matter of getting enough practice in with them as weapons."

Suddenly, Akane sensed danger. A voice exclaimed from above, "Akane Tendo, prepare yourself!"

Akane looked up to see a girl with long black hair, dressed in a school uniform that she recognized as that of the St. Bacchus School for Girls, swooping down at her from on high. The girl was slashing forward at her with a shinai.

Akane reached out with one hand and caught hold of the shinai, stopping the other girl in her descent. Her aura showing, Akane growled angrily, "Who are you? Ambushing me first thing in the morning like this!"

"She's Kodachi Kuno. She calls herself the Black Rose of St. Bacchus School for Girls," Ranma replied, "She's also the Blue Blunder's sister."

"I see the resemblance," Akane whispered to Ranma in an aside.

"I shall be your opponent this week in the tournament," Kodachi said as she tried to free herbamboo swordfrom Akane's grasp. "So let us both do our best to fight in all fairness!" she exclaimed.

"You call this in all fairness!" Akane exclaimed as she used theshinai to throw Kodachi away from her. "You're the one that has been ambushing our team, aren't you?" she asked.

"Ambush? What a nasty way of putting it," Kodachi replied, "I simply believe in fighting in all fairness before the match!"

Ranma snickered at her and said, "Did you wait a long time in Akane's room last night, Kodachi?"

"What do you mean, Ranma?" Akane asked, puzzled.

"After you fell asleep in my room while we were studying, I heard a loud thump from your room. When I went in there, the room was covered with black roses," Ranma replied.

"Yes, I was waiting to see how good you were, Akane. You just didn't play by the rules," Kodachi answered.

"Oh, you mean I'm supposed to lie down and let you beat me up, like you did the other girls? I don't think so; you'll have an opponent this weekend. You'll actually have to fight for your title this time," Akane growled.

"That's a nice bruise that you're trying to hide with your makeup there, Kodachi. Kinda looks like the head of a mallet did that," Ranma said with a smirk, "Did you have a training accident, or something?"

Kodachi glared at Ranma and then said, "We'll meet again, Akane Tendo." She bounded off, leaving the sound of her maniac laugh behind her as well as her trademark black rose petals.

Tatewaki Kuno stood watching the tableau for a moment, and then said to himself, "I can see her so clearly, in all her gymnastic grace." A vision of Akane in her leotard flashed through his mind. He walked over to Akane and said, "These red roses are a sign of my encouragement for you in your coming conflict with my twisted sister. Really, that girl is such a deviant." He stood lost in thought for a second and then continued, "I admire my sister for being so wicked, so nasty, so spiteful, and so thoroughly twisted. Please, Akane, try not to let her injure you." He handed the bouquet to Akane, and then continued, as he walked off, his bokken over his shoulder, "She doesn't like to lose, she'll surely try something evil in the match."

* * *

Tofu stuck his head into the back room of his clinic to see Ranma immersed in filing the patient charts that had accumulated over the last several days. "Ranma, why don't I show you those shiatsu pressure points I was talking about the other day," Tofu suggested. 

Ranma grinned widely, and stood up from where he had been kneeling on the floor. "Okay, Doc, if you think you're ready," Ranma replied, "I could use the break anyway." He followed Tofu into one of the examination rooms, where he found Akane waiting. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be practicing for the gymnastics match with the girls?" Ranma asked.

"They had to go home early to work on a school assignment, so I though I'd come by here to see if you could get off early and work out with me instead," Akane replied, "Then Doctor Tofu asked if I would mind being a guinea pig for some technique that he needed to show you."

Ranma looked worriedly at the girl he loved and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? Did he tell you what it's supposed to do?"

"Yeah, something about helping him not go crazy when he's around my sister," Akane replied, then she blushed as she continued, "He said those points would help me control myself as well, so I decided that it wouldn't hurt for either of us to learn them."

Tofu was busily thumbing through an illustrated book looking for the correct page. "Finally," he said in relief, "I knew the ones I wanted were in this book." He turned the book around and showed the two youths with him the figure he had found. The picture showed a combination of points on the back of the neck. "There shouldn't be any side effects from this," Tofu said, "But I want you to tell me what you feel when we do this, Akane." He then showed Ranma where the points where on the back of Akane's neck, using his hand to guide Ranma's hand to the correct spots. "Okay, Ranma, go ahead and press them lightly," Tofu continued. Ranma pressed the four spots.

Akane sagged at the knees for a second, and then straightened up. "That was interesting," she said, calmly, "I feel a little funny, maybe a bit light-headed."

Tofu turned her around and stared into her eyes for several seconds, and then nodded his head in satisfaction. "She looks like she's all right," he said, "I guess it's my turn, now. Make sure you watch, Akane."

Ranma placed his hand in the appropriate spots and then waited for Tofu to nod his head. He then pressed the spots. Tofu sagged at the knees, and then his eyes refocused. "I think that may have done it," Tofu said, evenly.

"Why don't we find out for sure? Tell you what, Doc, I think you're eating dinner with us," Ranma said, "That way if you act normal around Kasumi tonight, we'll know that it worked."

"Eat dinner with Kasumi," Tofu said, "That sounds like a good idea. I think we'll close early today. Why don't you go change, Ranma, and then we can leave?"

Ranma went and changed and then the three of them headed to the Tendo home. Once they got there, Akane went into the kitchen to let Kasumi know that Tofu was going to stay for dinner. Kasumi blushed prettily and then went into the family room to see Tofu standing there talking to Ranma. "Hello, Doctor," Kasumi said.

Tofu turned and saw Kasumi standing there, looking as lovely as ever. His glasses began to fog up, and then suddenly, they cleared. He cleared his throat and then said, "Hello, Kasumi, Akane invited me to dinner. I hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not," Kasumi said, shyly, "There's plenty of food, though Ranma might not be able to eat thirds like normal."

"Hey, I'm a growing girl," Ranma protested, weakly, "I need to eat a lot. Being a martial artist, I burn a lot of calories. Speaking of which, I believe my student and I need to go work out in the dojo. How long is it until dinner?"

"Actually, it's almost ready now. I'm afraid you'll have to postpone beating on Akane until after dinner," Kasumi replied, with a smile, "You'll just have time to set the table and wash up." Ranma and Akane raced to the furoba and then ran back to help set the table and bring in the meal.

Ranma watched Tofu carefully as the young doctor talked to Kasumi about some of the books that she had borrowed in the past. Tofu was amazingly still talking coherently, as well as pleasantly to the young woman he loved so desperately. Still, Ranma couldn't help but worry that the shiatsu points that they had applied would wear off, though she had noticed that Akane had seemed to be much calmer than normal as well. Nabiki had teased her younger sister about the upcoming match with Kodachi several times, but the normally hot-headed teen had managed to sally back in kind.

Finally, dinner was over. Tofu cleared his throat and said, "I'd like to thank you for a wonderful dinner, Miss Kasumi. Would it be possible for me to repay the favor Saturday night?"

Kasumi blushed prettily and asked, "Why Doctor Tofu, are you asking me for a date?"

Tofu blinked and then replied, "Yes, Kasumi, I believe I am. Would seven o'clock be acceptable for you?"

"I'd like that, Doctor," Kasumi replied. Ranma and Akane turned to each other and grinned.

Soun began to wail, "My little girl is growing up!" Tears sprang from his eyes, soaking the floor.

Nabiki protested, "Daddy, stop that! You're making a mess!"

* * *

Saturday finally arrived, the day scheduled for the match between Akane and Kodachi. Akane and Ranma walked onto the picture perfect grounds of the St. Bacchus School for Girls. As they made their way across the closely manicured lawn to the gymnasium where the match was to take place, they heard an announcement over the loudspeaker, "This afternoon at one o'clock, in the gymnasium, there will be a Rhythmic Gymnastics Match between our champion, Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose, and the champion from Furinkan High School." 

As they entered the gymnasium, they met Kodachi who had not yet changed into her leotard. She smiled politely at them, with a smile that did not touch her eyes, and said, "I'm looking forward to our match, Akane Tendo. May the best girl win." She held out her hand for Akane to shake.

Ranma growled, "Hold it!" and grabbed her hand, turning it over to reveal several thumbtacks hidden between her fingers.

Kodachi blushed and said in shock, "My my, how on earth did those get there?"

Ranma pulled Akane back away from Kodachi and said, "Can't you ever play fair, Kodachi? Or are you so unsure of your own skills that you don't think you can win a fair fight?"

"I've never lost a match yet, Ranma. I'm not about to start now," the other girl replied angrily. She stalked off, leaving Akane and Ranma gazing at each other in disbelief.

"Come on Acchan, you need to get changed," Ranma said. She saw a cardboard sign hanging on a door that read, 'Furinkan H.S. Dressing Room.' Ranma led the way there, saying, "Man, you can't let your guard down for a moment around her!"

Akane opened the door and the two of them entered the dressing room. Ranma spotted a bouquet of black roses sitting wrapped in paper a long table against one wall. A small tag on the bouquet read, 'Good Luck from the Black Rose.' She said to Akane, "I'd leave those flowers alone, if I were you. I'm sure she's got them booby-trapped somehow."

Akane disappeared behind a small screen and quickly changed into her leotard and then came back out. Ranma walked over and hugged her and then said, "Go get her Akane. I know you can take her. Avenge our classmates!"

Akane smiled briefly and then replied, "Thanks, Ranchan. That means a lot to me that you believe I can do this."

Ranma held her eyes for a second and said, "It's not whether I believe it. It's whether you believe it that matters, Akane." Akane hugged Ranma back and then headed out of the dressing room. Ranma began to follow, but then Ranma suddenly stopped. She got an evil look in her eyes and then walked over to the bouquet and picked it up with a towel. Gingerly carrying it as far away from her body as possible, she walked over to the ring and lifted the skirt that hid the space below the canvas. She tossed the bouquet under the platform and thought, 'That should take care of those girls!' She walked over to stand next to Akane by their corner of the ring, taking her station as second.

The announcer spoke into her microphone and said over the loudspeakers, "And now the champions of the schools!"

Kodachi entered the gymnasium, followed by her second. She turned and saw her brother sitting in one of the box seats and said, "Well, well, Elder Brother!"

Kuno replied gracefully, "Greetings, younger sister!"

Several of the girls from St. Bacchus oohed and ahed at Kuno. One of them was bold enough to say, "He's so fine!"

One of the boys from Furinkan overheard her and snickered. He nudged one of his friends and said, "Looks like ignorance is bliss, doesn't it?" All of the boys sitting in that section of the stands began to laugh.

The announcer said, "In this corner, the champion of St. Bacchus School, the Black Rose, Kodachi Kuno!"

Kodachi leaped gracefully into the ring, wearing her trademark black leotard, with a black rose clenched in her teeth. She waved to the crowd as the girls from St. Bacchus cheered, calling her name. She visibly glowed listening to the crowd roar their approval.

The announcer continued, saying, "And in this corner, the champion from Furinkan High, Akane Tendo!"

Akane jumped into the ring, wearing a form-fitting blue leotard. She waved her clubs over her head as the crowd from Furinkan roared, "Akane! Akane!"

The referee called, "Champions to the center of the ring!"

Akane and Kodachi joined the referee at the center. The referee said to them, "Okay, now shake hands!"

Akane reached out to shake Kodachi's hand. Kodachi pointed behind Akane and exclaimed, "Look there!"

Akane smiled briefly and said, "You'll have to do better than that, Kodachi!" as she saw Kodachi bring her left hand around with a manacle in that hand. Akane grabbed her with her hand, and squeezed hard, Kodachi winced in pain and dropped the manacle. As it fell, the chain and a five-kilogram ball fell onto Kodachi's left foot.

Kodachi glared at Akane and then limped back to her corner. Akane grabbed the chain and tossed it outside of the ring, and then walked back to her corner.

The announcer said over the loudspeaker, "Today, Martial Rhythmic Gymnastics! The rules, no time limit, no bare-handed blows. The match ends when one contestant is completely knocked down, and if either contestant falls out of the ring, she will be an immediate loser!"

"Beating up girls isn't really my style, Kodachi," Akane growled, "So I'll knock you out of the ring before you get hurt!" She attacked with her ribbon, slashing at Kodachi.

Kodachi slashed back with her rope, cutting Akane's ribbon in two. Kodachi laughed, and then said, "Thank you for your concern."

The announcer said, "Just what we've come to expect from the Black Rose, the Flower of Martial Arts Gymnastics. She handles that rope as if it were a rod."

Kodachi lunged with her rope, with Akane dancing out of the way. "Wait a minute that is a rod, carefully disguised as a rope!" the announcer called.

"Hey, Ref, that's against the rules!" Ranma protested.

The referee looked over and replied, "So long as it is not a bare-handed blow, it's legal!"

Kodachi lunged with her club, and Akane danced back. As she did so, spikes shot out of the club, just missing Akane's face. "Hey, Ref, that club has spikes!" Ranma called.

"Spikes, I don't see any spikes," the referee replied.

Kuno said from the stands, "A club with retractable spikes, what magnificent cowardice, if I may say so about my own sister."

Akane swung one of her clubs, hitting Kodachi in the hand, causing her to drop the club. Akane kicked it out of the ring.

Kodachi called to her second, "Hoop!" Her second tossed her the hoop. Kodachi exclaimed, "I, Kodachi the Black Rose, shall punish you!" She threw the hoop at Akane, who dodged it, jumping up onto one of the ropes surrounding the ring. Ranma stared in disbelief as the hoop flew across the ring, and sliced through one of the posts supporting the ropes.

"A razor blade!" she exclaimed.

Ranma tossed another club to Akane. Akane glared at Kodachi and exclaimed, "If you can't understand plain words, than I'll just have to make you lose, won't I?" She began spinning the clubs around like nunchuks.

"Heh, how laughable!" Kodachi sneered, "Now witness the secret technique of the Black Rose! The Blow of a Thousand Hands!" She rapidly began juggling her own set of clubs. Then she attacked, screaming, "At full frenzy!" The clubs blurred as she charged.

"Amazing, it looks like she is using twenty clubs!" the announcer gasped.

Ranma tossed the ball into the ring, and Akane leapt up into the air and kicked the ball into the blurring mass. Kodachi screamed in pain as she dropped the clubs. They rained down for several seconds. "Hey, she was using twenty clubs!" Ranma said, "She's taken foul play to a new low!"

Kodachi grabbed one of the clubs, and exposing its spikes, she attacked Akane. Akane dodged the attack, and then doing a handstand, she grabbed the club with her feet, and flipped Kodachi up into the air, out of the ring. "What a pain!" Akane said, "But it's out of the ring for you!"

Kodachi somersaulted in mid air, and blew a whistle. She laughed and said, "Out is an impossibility for me!" Then her face grew furious as she realized that the ring wasn't moving, as she landed hard on the gymnasium floor.

The crowd gasped as they realized that Akane had won. Kodachi stared in disbelief, tears streaming down her face. The announcer gasped, "Ko… Kodachi Kuno is out of the ring!"

The referee raised Akane's hand and declared, "Akane Tendo is the winner!" The crowd from Furinkan all cheered.

Kodachi walked unsteadily to the ring, and lifted up the skirt surrounding the base of the ring. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw her teammates all asleep. Then she saw the bouquet of flowers sitting amidst the girls and her eyes grew angry. Kodachi stalked over to Ranma and snarled, "You cheated; you used a sleeping powder to knock out my teammates! That's against the rules!"

Ranma stared at her in disbelief, and replied, "You're crazy, you know that Kodachi. With all of your dirty tricks, accusing me of cheating! Face it girl, you lost to someone who's better than you. If you would spend more time actually practicing the art, instead of cheating, you might actually become a decent martial artist. The way you are now, you are less honorable than your delusional brother!"

At that moment, the delusional brother made his appearance as he rushed Akane. "Magnificent! Akane Tendo, you were magnificent! You must date with me!" As he attempted to hug Akane, she stepped back and drop kicked him out of the gymnasium. Then she jumped down to land beside Ranma.

"What a moron!" she said as she looked at the soaring figure.

Kodachi laughed and said, "For once I agree with you, Akane Tendo. My brother is indeed a moron. It was a good match, but I will have my revenge!" She laughed evilly, and leapt away, scattering her black rose petals. "I will take my vengeance on you both, you evil girls!" she exclaimed as she vanished from sight.

"Acchan, I'm proud of you. You did good," Ranma said with a smile as she hugged Akane. The two girls headed back to the dressing room so Akane could change back into her clothes.

* * *

Akane glared at the nearly empty house. After her sister and father realized that Kasumi wasn't going to be cooking dinner, and that Akane intended to make dinner, they had both disappeared. First Nabiki had made some excuse about needing to see a 'business client', and then her father had snuck out while her back was turned. Kasumi was still here, but she was busily getting dressed for her first date with Doctor Tofu. Ranma was at the clinic working and had promised to make sure Tofu was there promptly at seven. Akane angrily stomped up the stairs to her room, mad at the implied insult about her cooking. As she passed by Kasumi's room, heading toward her own room, she heard the sound of weeping. Akane opened the door to her sister's room to find Kasumi dressed only in her slip, crying on her bed. Akane rushed in, shocked to see her normally placid sister crying. 

"Kasumi, what's the matter?" Akane asked quietly, her anger completely forgotten.

"I can't do this," Kasumi wailed, "It's been so long since I've had a date. I don't know how to act." Akane sat down on the bed next to her sister, who promptly collapsed into her arms.

Akane held her, saying softly, "Don't worry, Sis. You can do this. Just be yourself, that's all you need to do. Besides, Tofu loves you very much. Just take a deep breath and calm yourself down." She began rubbing her sister's back, trying to get rid of the tension she could feel in Kasumi's shoulder blades.

Kasumi slowly relaxed under her sister's ministrations. Finally, she began giggling.

Akane raised one eyebrow in inquiry and asked, "Okay, exactly what are you laughing at?"

"It's supposed to be the other way around, Akane. I'm the calm, cool, collected adult, and you're supposed to be the emotional girl," Kasumi replied, with a wry smile.

Akane began giggling as well, and replied, "It's about time you got to remember that you're allowed to have a good time, Kasumi." Then her expression grew sad as she continued, "We've taken advantage of you entirely too long, Sis. It's sad, but until Ranma showed up and started helping around the house, I didn't really pay attention to how much you really did. I guess I thought the house just ran itself. You've sacrificed a great deal for us, and we need to set you free. Listening to you talk to Tofu the other night, I think you need to go to college. It was obvious to me that you like medicine." Akane looked her sister in the eye and then asked, "Are you over your jitters now?"

Kasumi nodded meekly. "Okay, now let's get you ready. You **are** going to wear the dress that Ranma picked out for you, aren't you?" Akane asked.

"But it's so revealing," Kasumi protested.

"Sis, if you've got it, you should flaunt it," Akane said sternly, "You're an attractive woman, going out with the man she loves. You deserve to wear a pretty dress, and now that he's gotten up enough courage to ask you out, he deserves to see you in it."

"Yes, Mommy," Kasumi responded, with a giggle. Kasumi pulled the new dress on over her slip, and modeled it in front of her full-length mirror. She blushed and said, "Oh my!" as she ran her hands down the smooth fabric.

Akane smiled at her and said, "It looks good on you Sis. If that doesn't give Tofu a nose bleed, the poor guy must be dead."

Kasumi stared at her sister in surprise and then began giggling.

* * *

Ranma glared at Tofu as they neared the Tendo home. "Doc, you are going to take Kasumi out tonight and you're going to have a good time," she said sternly, "You two belong together. Get over your cold feet already." 

"But, I don't deserve to go on a date with her. I'm not worthy," Tofu replied nervously. Tofu could feel the palms of his hands sweating, and sweat beading up on his forehead as well.

"Doc, if you stand her up, she'll never forgive you and Akane will kill us both," Ranma replied, irritably, "Come on, you're supposed to be the adult here, not me!" Ranma dragged the young doctor through the front gate of the courtyard and then spun the doctor around so she could reach the back of his neck. Ranma pressed the shiatsu points and watched as the doctor regained his equilibrium.

"Thanks, Ranma. I think I'm okay now," Tofu said calmly.

The two of them entered the house, and Ranma called out, "We're here!"

Akane walked down the stairs and said, "Hello, Doctor Tofu. Kasumi will be down soon. She's almost ready. Ranma, it looks like it will be just you and me tonight. Nabiki and Daddy ran off as soon as they heard that I was going to cook dinner."

Fortunately for Ranma, at that moment Kasumi began her descent down the stairs. Ranma smiled in appreciation, and secretly congratulated herself. 'I sure picked a good dress for her,' she thought. Kasumi stood there in a very attractive dark blue dress that hovered just above her knees, and had a plunging neckline showing just a hint of cleavage, well maybe a bit more than a hint. Ranma glanced over at Tofu and saw him turn to stone. 'It's a good thing it's just a little cleavage showing,' Ranma snickered to herself, 'Otherwise he'd be drooling right about now.' Ranma said under her breath, "See something you like, Tofu? You better say something nice!" as she elbowed the doctor in the ribs.

"Y-y-you look wonderful, Kasumi!" Tofu stammered. Kasumi blushed prettily as she made her way over to the doctor.

"Thank you, Doctor Tofu," Kasumi said softly.

"For tonight, can you just call me Tofu?" he asked. He held his arm out to her and escorted her towards the door.

"Now, children, don't stay out too late," Akane said with a laugh.

Kasumi turned and deliberately stuck her tongue out at her sister, as they vanished out the front door. Ranma turned to Akane and said, "Well, if it's just gonna be us tonight, I'm gonna be a guy tonight. Let me put some water on to heat up, and then we can start cooking dinner." Ranma headed off to the kitchen to make some hot water. Akane followed her into the kitchen, and watched as Ranma quickly put a teakettle on the stove. Ranma looked around the kitchen and found the cookbook she wanted. Opening the book, she stopped at the recipe for miso soup. "Okay, Akane, we can do this. Just remember to follow the directions," Ranma said.

"What do you want me to do?" Akane asked.

"Well, can you find a medium saucepan? We'll need that for the soup. Then fill it with five cups of cold water," Ranma said, reading the directions. She opened the cabinet and found the red soy bean paste, a bottle of dried bonito flakes, a package of dried shitake mushrooms, and a box of somen noodles. Then she went to the refrigerator and found a square of tofu, some pork, a large piece of kelp and the scallions she needed for the recipe. While Ranma was doing that, Akane found a saucepan and filled it with the water.

Ranma checked the teakettle and found that the water had warmed up enough. She poured some water over her head and transformed. "That's better," he said. Then he sighed as he asked, "Did you measure the water you put in the pan, Akane?"

Akane blushed and shook her head. "Does it matter, Ranma?" she asked.

Ranma replied, "These aren't suggestions here in the cookbook, Akane. Until you really know what you're doing, you should always follow them exactly. Now dump that water out, and measure five cups of water."

Ranma watched as Akane did what he had said. "Okay, now we need to cut up the pork into cubes," Ranma said, "Get out a cutting board, and then we need to use a sharp knife to cut the meat." While Akane was doing that, Ranma prepared the rice cooker and started the rice. He also began to soak the mushrooms in some of the warm water that was left over in a small container.

Ranma sighed as he turned to see the havoc that Akane was causing with the pork. "Okay, Akane, that's enough. We want the pork cubed, not pureed," he said. He walked over and stood behind her and guided her hands. "Okay, cut it like this," he said. Akane began to blush as she felt his body up next to hers, and felt his breath on her neck. After a few slow strokes of the knife, Akane began to get the hang of what was needed. The two of them finished cubing the pork, and Ranma had her place the meat into the water and set it on the stove to cook. He went back to the cookbook and read the next steps.

"Okay, now we need to cut up the tofu and chop the scallions. The tofu needs to be in one inch squares," Ranma said. Again, he stood behind Akane and guided her movements. "Okay, Akane, you chop up the scallions, while I check on the pork to see if it is tender. Remember, take it slow and just cut the scallion into small pieces," Ranma said. He turned to the saucepan and checked the meat, and then checked the rice to see how it was doing.

"How am I doing, Ranma?" Akane asked.

Ranma turned and smiled at her. "Those look great Akane," he replied. He checked on the mushrooms, and discovered that they had softened. He drained the water off of them, and then rinsed them thoroughly. After cutting out the stems, he brought them over to the cutting board to be sliced. "These need to be thinly sliced Akane," he said. After showing her how he wanted them cut, he turned back to the pork and got rid of the oil floating on the top. He added a bit more water, and then added the mushrooms that Akane had finished slicing. He set the stove up higher to bring the broth to a boil.

"Okay, that's it for now until the broth boils, Akane," Ranma said, reading the remainder of the recipe. "Oh wait, we need to cook the somen noodles in a few minutes," he said once he had finished reading. He filled another pan up with water and set it to boil.

"Why don't I make some water for tea?" Akane suggested.

Ranma shrugged and said, "That's sounds like a good idea, Akane." He watched as Akane filled the teakettle back up with water and set it to boil. "See, this is the secret to cooking. Reading the recipe, and following it carefully, being patient, and then tasting before you serve," Ranma said, "That's really all there is to it. When we go camping on our training trip, I can show you some other things as well."

The broth came to a boil, so Ranma added the rest of the ingredients to the broth. He reduced the heat and let it begin to simmer. After a couple of minutes, he tasted the broth, and then gave Akane a taste. Akane started the green tea to brew, while Ranma dumped the somen noodles in his other saucepan and let them cook. Once the noodles were done, he drained the noodles, and poured them into two bowls, and poured the soup over the noodles, and then garnished the bowls with some more of the chopped scallions that he had reserved. The two of them took their bowls into the family room, and Ranma served them both some rice, while Akane poured tea for both of them.

After taking a few bites, Akane's eyes grew wide. "This is good, Ranma. I can learn to cook!" she said, excitedly. She threw her arms around Ranma and hugged him hard. Ranma's eyes grew wide and he hugged her back. They stayed there in each other's arms for several minutes, then Ranma pulled back, breathing hard. He gazed into her eyes searching for permission. He bent his head down and gently pressed his lips against hers. Akane returned the kiss, and then her stomach growled. Then that was echoed by the sound of Ranma's stomach growling in reply. The two of them sprang apart, blushing, as Akane giggled. "I guess we'd better eat," she said. The two of them sat back reluctantly, and returned to eating their dinner.

* * *

Author's notes: I appreciate all of the reviews. I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this tale. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. And trust me the insanity will continue for Ranma. 


	10. Of Training Trips and Other Things

Chapter 10 Of Training Trips and Other Things

Akane waited anxiously in the front hall for Kasumi to come back from her date with Doctor Tofu. Akane hoped that her sister had a good time on her date. She had been so pretty in the dress she had worn. After much talking, she had reluctantly worn the dress that Ranma had picked out for her. At first, Kasumi had refused, saying it showed too much of her legs, and bosom, but Akane had insisted and she finally had acquiesced.

Suddenly, the front door banged open and Kasumi came running in, obviously upset. In fact, she was so upset she hadn't changed into her indoor slippers. Akane intercepted her before she could run up the stairs. Akane looked at her and then held out her arms. Kasumi fell into her arms, and began crying. Akane hugged her hard, and then asked, softly, "What happened, sis?"

Sniffling, Kasumi looked down on her younger sister and replied, "Everything was wonderful at first. When we went to the restaurant, we sat and talked about all sorts of things. He seemed a little odd in the restaurant, maybe even a little cool. Then we walked in the park and he showed me some of the constellations. That was nice; he seemed to warm up a bit then. It wasn't until he walked me home, and we got to the gate that everything went wrong. I went to kiss him on the cheek, and he went berserk. He started dancing down the street and disappeared. I used to think that behavior was cute, but now I just think he hates me."

Akane giggled. Kasumi glared at her sister, who said, "I'm sorry, Kasumi. But Tofu doesn't hate you; he has a crush on you like you wouldn't believe. That's why he acts up like that. Come on; let's go raid the freezer for some ice cream and you can tell me all about the evening." Akane dragged Kasumi toward the kitchen, as the older girl half-protested. "Kasumi, there's nothing so bad that a gallon of chocolate ice cream can't fix it," Akane teased. Then she added, "Guess what, Kasumi, Ranma helped me cook tonight and it turned out good."

"Oh my poor kitchen!" Kasumi exclaimed.

Akane glared at her sister and said heatedly, "There's nothing wrong with your kitchen, we cleaned everything up. We didn't even make that much of a mess to start with, anyway, so there. Aside from me trying to shred the pork, it went pretty well. Just don't tell anyone else. This way, I can still run everyone else off and we can have some time alone."

Kasumi began to giggle, and then asked, "So are you beginning to have feelings for Ranma?"

Akane blushed, and replied, "I really like him, Sis. He's actually pretty nice for a boy. He still puts his foot in his mouth some, but then he'll do something like what he did tonight for me, and I feel so happy."

"That's good. I like him too, and I think you'll make a nice couple," Kasumi said with a smile.

"Now, tell me all about your evening with Tofu," Akane insisted.

* * *

Ranma walked into the kitchen from the direction of the furoba to find Akane and Kasumi demolishing a carton of chocolate ice cream. She asked innocently, "How was the date, Kasumi? Did you have a good time?" 

Akane glared at Ranma as Kasumi looked distressed. She demanded, angrily, "Ranma, find Tofu, now!"

Ranma looked on in surprise as she saw Akane manifest a demon-head. 'Man, she's angry! I never saw her do that before!' she thought. "But, where is he? What happened?" Ranma asked in shock.

"The last time I saw him he was dancing down the street, babbling nonsense," Kasumi replied sadly.

"Oh shit, he didn't!" Ranma exclaimed and then she saw Kasumi's head nod sadly. "Okay, I'm on it," she replied as she ran out the door to look for the young doctor. 'I'm so gonna kill him!' she thought to herself, 'No, that's not for me to do. But he hurt Kasumi's feelings! Nobody does that to her!'

When Akane finally got her anger under control she said, "Sis, there's something that I've been needing to talk to someone about for a long time. I finally realized why I'm always so easy to anger. When Mommy died, I lost both her and Daddy. You know how he fell apart when she died; well, I took that very badly. I felt like he had deserted me, and I got so angry at him for leaving me the way he did." Akane began crying, as Kasumi held her in her arms. "And, then," Akane blubbered, "I got so mad at myself for being angry with him. I got so caught up in some sort of spiral of anger that I couldn't free myself from it."

"Why didn't you talk to me about this before, Akane?" Kasumi asked, her voice filled with pain. 'How did I let this happen? How did I miss this?' Kasumi thought in anguish.

"I tried once a long time ago, but you didn't want to listen. I've buried how I've felt, but I can tell that I need to get rid of these feelings. I talked to Ranma a little bit about this, and he suggested that I should try talking to you again," the younger woman said softly.

Her eyes filled with sadness and self-reproach, Kasumi began to weep. "I'm so sorry, Akane, that I failed you before. I promise, this time I'll listen," she said. 'Thank you Ranma,' she thought. She hugged her little sister, and waited for her to continue.

* * *

Ranma finally found the disheveled young doctor, sitting on the floor of his office, banging his head against his desk. When Ranma walked in, Tofu looked up, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, his face anguished. "She hates me, doesn't she?" Tofu whispered. 

"I don't know how Kasumi feels right now, Doc. I didn't get a chance to ask. Akane's the one who sent me after you, and I know she's not thrilled with you. She wants you at her home right now, and I'm not gonna disappoint her. I'm not real happy with you myself as a matter of fact, so you're coming with me one way or another," Ranma replied.

"I'm not sure I can face Kasumi," Tofu said sadly.

Ranma frowned and then said, "Well, there's a special technique of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts that might help. I don't like using it myself, but I think it's called for tonight. It's called the Crouch of the Wild Tiger."

"How can a martial arts technique help me with Kasumi and win her forgiveness?" the doctor asked, his curiosity aroused.

"It's a technique my Pop developed over the years that he used to get out of many bad situations. Basically, you get down on your knees and bow, saying, repeatedly, 'I'm sorry'. That's all there is to it," Ranma replied. She giggled at the expression on the doctor's face. "If you want to have a chance with Kasumi, you'd better come. Now are you coming, or do I have to convince you?" she asked, cracking her knuckles to emphasize the point, her face fierce.

Tofu stood up and looked down at the girl facing him. He sighed and asked, "I guess I don't have a choice do I? Let's go, so I can face the music." The two of them left the clinic and headed off to the Tendo home. Just as they were about to enter the house, Ranma pressed the shiatsu points again on the back of Tofu's neck.

Akane met them as they walked into the family room. Tofu asked, "Where's Kasumi? I need to apologize to her."

"**You're** going to talk to me first, Tofu," Akane said, angrily, "Now sit down here!' She pointed to the floor in the family room, and situated Tofu so his back was to the kitchen. Then she turned to Ranma and ordered, "You, in the kitchen, now!"

Ranma took one look at the expression on Akane's face and winced. "What did I do?" she complained.

Akane saw the hurt look on Ranma's face and she softened slightly and replied, "I'm not mad at **you**. Sorry, Ranma. I just want to talk to this jerk alone."

Ranma essayed a weak smile and went into the kitchen where she saw Kasumi standing, eavesdropping on the conversation in the family room. Ranma walked over and hugged Kasumi and said softly, "I'm sorry, Kasumi. I thought he would make it through the evening."

"It's all right, Ranma," Kasumi replied fondly, "It wasn't your fault. Now, hush, I'm trying to listen."

* * *

Akane glared at Tofu and asked, "Just what do you have to say for yourself, Tofu? Do you know how badly you hurt Kasumi's feelings? She thinks you hate her." 

"NO! I don't hate her. I love her so much it drives me crazy," Tofu protested, "You know how I always behave around her. I hoped the pressure points I showed Ranma would help keep me from acting so crazed. It almost worked, at least until she tried to kiss me. She's the only woman for me, and I'm so scared that I'll drive her away."

"If you don't want to lose her, you better get over your nervousness or whatever it is that causes you to act so weird around her," Akane warned, "I won't let you hurt my sister again. She's just as nervous about this relationship as you are. You are going to do right by my sister, aren't you?"

Tofu hung his head in dismay and replied, "Akane, all I can promise is to try. Like I said before, I love her, and I would never deliberately hurt her. I'm just so afraid that she doesn't return my affection. She's so nice to everyone that I may not mean anything special to her."

Akane's eyes narrowed as she considered that. "Hm, maybe that's your problem then. You're afraid that she doesn't love you, so you act crazy around her so you won't find out. If you don't tell her how you feel, why do you think she should tell you? It's a two-way street."

* * *

Kasumi stood there in the kitchen, her eyes wide in surprise as she heard Tofu pouring out his feelings in the family room. She had finally heard enough. 'Tofu loves me!' she thought happily, 'But he's afraid that I'll reject him! I can't let him believe that.' She pulled herself away from Ranma and ran out of the kitchen to find Tofu sitting on the floor facing Akane. 

Tofu turned when he heard the sound of footsteps from behind him and saw the widening of Akane's eyes. Once he turned, he saw Kasumi standing there, her eyes filled with warmth and wonder, and Ranma peering out from the door, looking a bit sheepish. Tofu threw himself down on his knees, and began bowing deeply, almost touching the wooden floor with his forehead. "I'm so sorry, Kasumi! I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" he cried.

Then he felt Kasumi kneel down and place her hands on his shoulders, pulling him upright. "Tofu," she said warmly, "I could never hate you. I've always cared for you a great deal." Then she stopped, her eyes appraising the man before her. Then suddenly, to Tofu's surprise, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug, and hungrily kissed him. Tofu's eyes grew wide in shock, and then he placed his arms around her and lost himself in her kiss.

Ranma watched from the doorway, ready to intervene in case Tofu started acting crazy. She relaxed as she saw that Tofu was still in control of his emotions. She stepped into the family room and walked quietly over to Akane, who was staring at her sister in surprise. Ranma heard a gasp from the hall and looked up to see Nabiki standing at the entrance, staring at the tableau in the room, her hands twitching as if they were looking for a camera. After a long moment, Ranma murmured softly to Akane, "Is it just me, or is it beginning to get a bit warm in here?" She began to fan herself.

Akane began to blush furiously as she watched the couple in front of her. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, earning her an odd look from both Ranma and Nabiki. She smiled tenderly as Kasumi finally pulled away from Tofu and caressed his face.

Kasumi smiled warmly, as she gazed into the warm, brown eyes staring back at her through the amazingly clear lenses of his glasses. Kasumi then realized that they were the center of attention, and she blushed.

"Why don't we leave these two alone," Akane suggested, "I think they need to talk." She grabbed Ranma by the hand and dragged her out of the family room. She looked at Nabiki who got the hint and headed upstairs. Akane and Ranma made their way upstairs as well, leaving Tofu and Kasumi kneeling on the floor.

"Kasumi, I don't know why I react the way I do around you. It's like my mind turns itself off when you're near. I'm really surprised that I'm as calm as I am right now," Tofu said.

Kasumi smiled wickedly, and purred, "Well, then, I suppose the only thing to do is get you comfortable around me." She pushed him into a sitting position, and then crawled into his lap. "Now, hold me," she demanded. Tofu complied with alacrity as she continued, "I've spent the last several years taking care of my family. I don't regret that, though there are things that I've postponed because of it. It's time I stop putting them off," she said softly, "And one of the things that I have delayed is us getting together. I've loved you for several years, my dear doctor."

"Then I think we both owe Ranma a debt of gratitude, Kasumi. He and I talked several times about us, and he's the one who convinced me I'd better do something about you before you found someone else," Tofu said quietly.

"So you know his secret as well," Kasumi stated, with some surprise.

Tofu replied, "Yes, Akane thought that I should know, and he agreed. It gives him another safe haven for changing if he needs one. And someone else he can talk to. He really needs that. His father isn't the best person in the world from what I've been able to gather and he won't really talk about his mother much."

"She didn't take his curse very well when she found out, and ordered him out of the house," Kasumi replied, with a brief frown, "Ranma trusts us both, Tofu. I think the best way we can thank him is to continue to be a friend to him. He and Akane are getting very close as well. He's been good for her."

"I'd say he has. She isn't nearly as prone to violence as she once was. The training she has been receiving has allowed her to learn some self-control," Tofu responded. He smiled and then said, "I doubt that they want us to talk about them right now. I imagine that Akane at least would be disappointed if we don't spend some more time talking about us."

Kasumi giggled as she said, "I expect you're right, Tofu. I want you to know I enjoyed the evening out, and I expect us to do that often. Now that we've admitted what we feel for each other, we can begin to build from there." She turned in his lap and then sighed happily as he bent down and kissed her. 'Good,' she thought happily, 'I was afraid that I was going to have to be the aggressor.'

* * *

Akane smiled a welcome as Ranma joined her at the restaurant that they had picked for their date the following evening. "Sorry I couldn't meet you at the clinic, but Nabiki caught me as I was leaving my room," Akane said as Ranma put his arm around her waist. 

"That's all right, Acchan. Kasumi saw what was happening and called the clinic to let me know what was going on. She said to meet you here at the restaurant," Ranma replied, "What did Nabiki want?"

"Oh, she was just curious. You know how she is. She wanted to talk some more about what was going on with Kasumi. Did you know that Kasumi went to Daddy and said that she wanted to apply for college?" Akane said.

"Good for Kasumi!" Ranma answered, "Is she going to be able to?"

"That's what Nabiki wanted to talk to me about. Then when she found out I was going to meet you for dinner, she wanted me to talk to you about it as well," Akane replied.

"Well, you can fill me in on all of the details once we're seated. We'll have plenty of time before the movie starts, so we can talk about several things," Ranma said. The two of them followed the hostess to their table. As Ranma had requested some privacy, he was pleased to see that it was in a small alcove, partially screened from the rest of the dining area.

After the waitress had come by and taken their order and brought back the pot of tea that they wanted, Akane continued, "She saw me as I left my room, all dressed up, and wanted to know who I was going out with. I told her that I was meeting you, since you wanted to celebrate beating Kodachi yesterday. Anyway, what she was telling me about Kasumi was that there's some money for her to go to college, but things will get a bit tight."

"Well, I don't mind helping around the house some more, maybe even do some of the cooking if that will help Kasumi out. Your father won't let me pay anything, though," Ranma said, "But I'll talk to her and maybe we can figure something out."

"She really wasn't worried about the money. There are still several months before the fall semester starts, after all, so we can take steps. I think it was more trying to take some of the housekeeping burden off of Kasumi, so she can get ready. Plus we want to make sure she can spend time with Tofu," Akane replied. She hesitated and then said, "I wanted to thank you for helping with Kasumi and Tofu. I'm glad they finally admitted their feelings for each other. I can't imagine why it was so hard for them to do."

Ranma chuckled dryly, as he thought, 'That's pretty funny coming from you, Akane. Neither of us was real good about that.' He replied, "I was happy to do it, Acchan. I'm just glad it didn't end up the disaster I was afraid it might have been."

"Me, too. Watching them last night in the family room made me realize that I wanted that kind of a relationship one of these days," Akane said, a bit wistfully.

Ranma reached for her hand and held it, as he said, "Watching them last night helped me understand something as well. I don't want to rush our relationship, Acchan, but I hope that one day we'll be that close. I know I've only been in your life for three weeks, but I'm pretty sure about how I feel about you."

Akane blushed prettily, but was saved from having to answer by the waitress bringing the meals over. She stared down at the table, her cheeks rosy, as she waited for the right moment to continue their conversation. Finally, the waitress left, leaving them to their privacy. Akane then said, "I've been thinking about us for a while, Ranma. I don't want to rush into anything, either, but I know I really like you. It doesn't feel like it's only been three weeks. I know we've only been on one and a half dates so far, not counting tonight, but I don't want us to just be friends anymore. I think I'm ready to go to the next step and be your girlfriend."

Akane was rewarded by a huge smile as Ranma's eyes lit up. "Akane, I was hoping you would say that. I wanted our friendship to turn into something more, but I was waiting for us both to be ready for the next step. I'd like being your boyfriend," he replied. They sat there in silence for a few minutes while they ate dinner. After eating a few spoonfuls of his soup, Ranma began to chuckle.

Akane looked a question at him. Ranma smiled and answered, "I think I like the soup we made better. That struck me as funny for some reason."

Akane giggled, then said, "I'm glad you went along with things this morning with Nabiki and Daddy. I didn't want them to figure out that I actually made something edible last night. So long as they think I still can't cook, they'll find excuses to leave when I ask to cook dinner."

"So that's why you told them I cooked after you ruined dinner! I was wondering about that," he replied, "That's pretty smart."

The two of the finished their meal, and then headed off to the movie theater.

* * *

Ranma walked into the darkened theater carrying a couple of drinks and a large box of popcorn. He made his way over to where Akane was sitting, and sat down next to her and handed her one of the drinks, and then set the other drink in the cup holder in his chair. "Ranma," Akane teased, "I can't believe you're still hungry." 

Ranma blushed, unseen in the dark, and replied, "Well, I guess I picked up some bad habits when I was on my training trip with Pop. I never had enough to eat back them, so I guess I got used to always eating when I got a chance."

"Have I told you lately that your father was an idiot?" Akane asked.

Ranma chuckled, and said, "Not lately. Though I guess he did one thing right. If he hadn't made the agreement with your father, I wouldn't have met you." He slid his arm around her shoulders, and she laid her head against him.

"That was sweet of you to say, Ranchan," Akane whispered happily, as she blushed.

They sat there in companionable silence as they watched the movie unfold on the screen in front of them. Occasionally, they would both reach for the popcorn at the same time, and their hands would touch, causing both of them to blush.

* * *

Ryoga gazed into the night sky, and saw the stars shining down above him. The warmth of the campfire felt good, protecting him from the loneliness in his heart. "Oh, Sho Mei, where are you? I am on my way back to Nerima, I hope to find you again," he cried, "I need to see you, to tell you how I really feel!" 

From the underbrush, a pair of eyes narrowed angrily, as Xian Pu thought to herself, 'Xiao Mei, you will pay for stealing my husband away from me!' She rushed into the clearing, ready to hug her husband. She cried, "Wo ni airen!" only to see him turn, and grab his backpack and flee. #Ryoga, come back husband, I love you!# she sobbed as she chased after him only to lose him as he turned down a path and vanished.

#Nerima,# Xian Pu said, #So that is where she is!#

* * *

As Ranma and Akane walked through the park, hand-in-hand, the stars shining down from the darkened sky, Ranma sneezed, and then shivered. 

"Someone must be talking about you, Ranma," Akane teased gently.

Ranma grimaced and said, "Yeah, I think you're right." Then he smirked, and said, "I felt a great disturbance in the Force."

"That's the last time I let you take me to a Star Wars movie," Akane said with a giggle.

Ranma pulled her behind a large clump of trees and held her in his arms and kissed her hungrily. Akane melted into his arms and returned the kiss. They stood there, holding each other. Finally, Ranma broke the kiss, and said, "Wow! That was something else!"

"I thought so too," Akane murmured happily. As they gazed at each other in wonder, they were interrupted by the sounds of someone running through the trees.

"Wasn't that that boy you fought, Ryoga wasn't that his name?" Akane asked as she recognized the boy who flashed by them in panic.

Ranma stared at the figure as he disappeared from sight and replied, "It sure looked like him, Akane. I wonder what was chasing him." The two of them shrugged, and then Ranma said, "I guess we'd better head on home, Akane. I still have a little homework due tomorrow." He looked a little sheepish as he admitted that.

Akane punched him lightly in the shoulder and said, "Baka, I thought you said you were done last night."

He blushed and replied, "I was having too much trouble concentrating with you sitting next to me. That's why I ending up changing back into a girl and went into the dojo to work out."

Akane smiled happily and said, "That's okay then. I forgive you." The two of them started heading home, when suddenly Akane's foot slid out from under her, and she almost fell down. Ranma caught her around the waist and half carried her to a nearby bench.

He sat her down on the bench, and then knelt on the ground in front of her. He felt her ankle through her sock, but fortunately not finding anything wrong. He massaged it for a few minutes, and then helped her up. "It looks like you're okay, Acchan," Ranma said, as they walked down the path toward home.

Up in one of the trees, a darkened figure chuckled evilly, eyes glaring at the two of them as they walked out of sight. "I will have my vengeance," the figure said and then vanished.

* * *

As Ranma and Akane neared the schoolyard, they were surprised to see Kodachi Kuno waiting for them with her brother at the front gate. Kodachi smiled pleasantly as they neared. "Akane Tendo, I've come to warn you. I will have my vengeance! That handsome, pigtailed boy you were with last night will be mine! I will ruin your happiness!" Kodachi exclaimed. 

"What, the fair Akane Tendo was on a date! Never! I, Tatewaki Kuno, won't allow it!" Kuno proclaimed.

Akane glared at the brother and sister, and said, angrily, "Shut up Kuno. As for you, Kodachi, I don't know what you're talking about!" She rushed past both of them, leaving Ranma behind.

"My beloved Ranma, I will date with thee!" Kuno exclaimed.

Ranma glared at him and replied, "When hell freezes over first, Blue Blunder. Now, I suggest you leave us both alone!"

"Ha, brother dearest, it seems that neither of your fair maidens care for you," Kodachi exclaimed. She turned to Ranma and said, "And as for you, Ranma, you shouldn't have helped Akane." She jumped to the top of the wall, and then vanished out of sight.

Kuno made the mistake of grabbing at Ranma, attempting to hug her. She swung her book bag and hit him hard in the stomach, causing him to fold over and then she grabbed him. "Here! I'll help you get to class on time, sempai!" she said. She threw him toward the school, aiming for the second floor window that opened up into his homeroom class. Kuno sailed high into the air, and crashed into the side of the building, just to the right of the window. He stayed flattened against the building wall, and then slowly slid down to the ground below.

"Ouch, that hurt," Kuno moaned as he lapsed into unconsciousness. Ranma gazed at him, her eyes cold, and then she ran up the stairs to her classroom, reaching her desk just before the bell rang.

* * *

Kuno regained consciousness in the nurse's office. As he raised himself up on one elbow, he saw Nabiki Tendo standing there. "Kuno-baby, what am I going to do with you?" she asked, "Haven't you figured out by now that they don't want you?" 

"Never," Kuno replied, "The fair Akane Tendo and the fiery Ranma Saotome are just too shy to express their feelings for me. I will woo them both until they are able to show their love for me."

"Whatever," Nabiki replied, dryly, "Anyway, you owe me for dragging you up here. Usual fee."

"Fine," Kuno snapped, "However, I need you to find something else out for me. My twisted sister claims to have seen the beauteous Akane Tendo out on a date last night. Obviously she is mistaken, as your sister would never willingly go out with someone other than myself. But, I would like you to find out who the cur is that my sister saw her with."

"Are you sure that is what your sister said?" Nabiki asked, her eyes showing her confusion if you looked hard enough.

"That is what Kodachi said. I find it hard to believe myself, but I must know the truth. IF there is some truth to the tale, then I will find the black-hearted fiend who dares come between my beloved and myself," Kuno avowed.

"I'll see what I can discover," Nabiki replied, reluctantly, as she left the office, her mind troubled.

* * *

As Nabiki headed toward her classroom after the lunch period was over, Kodachi Kuno stopped her. "Brother dearest tells me that you know everything that goes on around this school," Kodachi said. 

"People say that," Nabiki admitted, "What can I do for you?"

"I want to know who the pigtailed boy is that your sister is dating," Kodachi stated.

"As far as I know, Akane isn't dating anyone. I don't know any pigtailed boy, either. Besides, do you really think I would sell out my sister to someone like you?" Nabiki said.

Kodachi smiled evilly and said, "For the right price, the word is you would sell out anyone. I'll pay you fifty thousand yen for whatever you can find out about him."

Nabiki's eyes grew cold as she said, "You heard wrong, Kodachi. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class."

Kodachi replied, "How about one hundred thousand yen, then?" Kodachi didn't even see the hand move, but she felt the pain as Nabiki slapped her across the face.

"Which part of that didn't you understand, bitch?" Nabiki said, her voice icy.

Kodachi drew back her hand to hit Nabiki only to have it stopped. "Leave her alone," Ranma growled, "No one hurts my friends."

"Thanks, Ranma," Nabiki said as she escaped to her classroom.

Kodachi spun to see Ranma glaring at her, her eyes flashing with anger. "Leave my family and friends alone, Kodachi. You lost fair and square on Saturday," Ranma growled.

"I want the pigtailed boy," Kodachi replied, her chest heaving.

Ranma thought despairingly, 'Oh no, here we go again! How do I convince her not to start this?' She sighed resignedly, squared her shoulders and then said firmly, "I was with Akane all last night, Kodachi. There is no pigtailed boy for you to chase."

"You wicked, wicked girl, I see it all so clearly now. You want him for yourself. Well, I'm going to take him away from both of you," Kodachi exclaimed. She tried to pull her arm free, only to fail.

"Are you truly as delusional as your older brother, Kodachi? I actually thought better of you than that," Ranma asked softly, "You're an attractive girl, surely there is someone else that you can find?"

"You don't understand, Saotome. It's a matter of vengeance. I am nothing if I'm not the best in gymnastics. Your Akane Tendo has taken that away from me," Kodachi snarled.

"Then I suggest you go back to practicing your gymnastics more, and cheating a lot less," Ranma said, sternly, "You have the potential to be good, but you spoil it by cheating. Your family comes from a long line of samurai as does mine, so you know as well as I do that nothing comes easy in martial arts. Why do you think gymnastics would be any different?"

Kodachi pulled her arm away and gazed at the redheaded girl, her eyes troubled. Then she ran off.

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck and said, "That was interesting. No flowers for a change, and no odd laugh."

* * *

Ranma stood waiting by the main door to the school, waiting for Akane to join her after gym class was over. As she did so, Hiroshi walked up and stood there, looking a bit bashful. Finally, Hiroshi stammered, "Uh, Ranma, I was, uh, wondering, I mean, that is, are you doing anything Saturday night?" 

Ranma's eyes widened as she thought, 'Oh damn, not you too.' Her eyes looked at him coldly, and she replied, "I thought you were going steady with my friend Sayuri."

Hiroshi gulped and then replied, digging himself into a deep hole, "Well, yeah, I guess we are. I mean, yeah, she's my girlfriend. But she's gonna be out of town and I thought maybe."

"You thought wrong, Hiroshi. I think you better just stay with Sayuri. She's a nice girl, and my friend. What gives you the idea that I would want to hurt one of my friends?" Ranma said. 'Man, I didn't realize he was such a jerk before, hitting on one of his girlfriend's friends,' she thought with disdain.

"You don't seem to be dating anyone, so I guess I thought you might be lonely," Hiroshi stammered, digging the hole that he was in even deeper.

"Wrong answer, Hiroshi. I'm not that kind of girl. I don't betray my friends. Besides, I have someone I'm seeing," Ranma replied, "Now get out of my sight, jerk!"

Hiroshi took one look at the expression on Ranma's face, and decided to take her advice. He ran off, while the getting was good. Akane came up to Ranma with a puzzled look on her face. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"I just got asked out on a date!" Ranma fumed, "Come on, I need to work this off, and I need a punching dummy."

"Eek!" Akane replied, looking a bit worried.

Ranma looked sheepish and said, "Sorry, I meant a real dummy, not you."

* * *

Nabiki walked into the dojo, where Ranma and Akane were just finishing up their practice. "Hey, sis, you're getting pretty good!" Nabiki exclaimed. The two martial artists turned from where they were standing next to each other. 

Akane stopped wiping her face with her towel, and replied, "Well, I've had a pretty good teacher. It's amazing what you can learn when you're getting instructions instead of trying to pick it up from what I remembered when Daddy had students."

"Hey, I came by to ask about this morning. What was all that nonsense that Kodachi was spouting? About seeing you with a boy and that she is planning on stealing him away from you," Nabiki said, "I thought the two of you went out to eat to celebrate your victory. Do you have a boyfriend that I don't know about?"

Ranma giggled, and said, "She must have seen us at the park, Akane. Remember, when you stumbled and I caught you. I put my arm around your waist and then helped you walk to the bench."

"Oh that's right. And then you knelt on the ground so you could take a look at the ankle. She must have thought you were a boy," Akane agreed, blushing.

"Well, I was in heavy tomboy mode, with that cap I was wearing, so in the dark, she wouldn't have been able to see my face. And, my hair would have looked black as well," Ranma continued.

Nabiki giggled, and said, "So she's planning on stealing Ranma away from you, huh, sis?"

Akane replied, "Looks that way. Of course, she's a Kuno. They don't have a real firm grasp on reality anyway." The three girls giggled together for a few minutes.

"What were the two of you doing in the park anyway?" Nabiki asked curious.

Akane got a mischievous look in her eyes and said, "Well, isn't that the place where couples go if they want some privacy?" She scooted next to Ranma and pulled her close. Ranma smiled lazily and leaned her head on Akane's shoulder.

"We did want a little quality time," Ranma purred, "I mean, really, people wander into the dojo all of the time! Where else could we find a place for some kissing?"

Nabiki's eyes got wide as she face-faulted. "You mean the rumors about you are true, Akane? You really do like girls?" Nabiki gasped.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and then broke out laughing. "Sorry, sis, you're just too easy," Akane replied, "No; we were just pulling your leg."

"Akane, you are too much. It's a good thing I saw the look in your eyes, or I wouldn't have known to play along," Ranma added.

Nabiki smiled toothily at the pair in front of her and said, "Just wait until I get my revenge on you. We'll see who laughs last then."

Ranma and Akane turned to each other with identical looks of fear and said, "Uh oh."

Then Akane remembered something and asked angrily, "Rumors? Who's spreading rumors about me?"

Nabiki sweat-dropped and replied, "Well, you know all those weeks you kept yelling you hate boys. Well, some of the girls I guess got jealous of all of the attention that the boys were giving you and starting saying then you must like girls."

"I want their names!" Akane spat.

"It's only a few of them, Akane. Most of the girls at school knew about your crush on Doctor Tofu so they ignored what they were saying. The story Kodachi spread this morning will take care of them anyway," Nabiki replied.

"Just let it go, Akane. In fact, why don't you let Nabiki take care of those girls? She can do a better job of squelching any rumors. If you beat up on them because of what they are saying, it'll just cause some people to believe there might be some truth to what they were saying," Ranma urged.

Nabiki looked at Ranma in respect and replied, "That's a good plan, Ranma. I figured you'd be in the beat people up and ask questions later category."

Ranma shrugged, and replied, "Violence isn't always the answer, Nabiki. It's not working with Kuno. Besides, you really can't fight rumors with physical force. You have to be more subtle than that, and you're the Queen of Subtle, Nabs."

Akane looked at the other two girls and said, "I guess I don't have any choice in the matter, Sis. If you and Ranma both agree that you need to handle it, then I'll leave it to you. If it gets worse instead of better though, I may change my mind."

* * *

Thursday afternoon had finally arrived. Ranma and Akane rushed home from school, and ran up to their rooms to change clothing. They ran back downstairs, carrying their backpacks to be greeted by a smiling Kasumi. She hugged Ranma and said, "You take good care of my sister while you two are gone." 

Ranma blushed and said, "I'll do my best, but she can really take care of herself. You know that."

Kasumi giggled and then hugged her sister. She said, "The same thing goes for you, Akane. You take good care of my brother."

The two girls hugged Kasumi and then left, racing for the train station. Once they arrived, Ranma made her way through the ticket line and paid for their fare. The two of them impatiently waited for the train to arrive. Once it got to the station, they climbed aboard one of the cars. They placed their backpacks on one of the benches, and then Ranma made her way to the restroom to change. Once Ranma had changed back, he adjusted his clothing so it would fit better, and made his way back to where he had left Akane. She was glowing blue in anger as two boys where accosting her.

Ranma came up behind them and asked, evenly, "Were you bothering my girlfriend?"

The taller of the two turned around and sneered, "And what if we were, punk?"

"Then I'd suggest you apologize before you have no need of a woman ever again," Ranma said, with a smirk.

The boy stared at Ranma and then paled at whatever he saw in Ranma's eyes. "I'm sorry we bothered you, miss," he said as he backed away down the aisle. Once he was out of Ranma's view, he ran to the door to the car, and went into another car. The second boy, feeling deserted, slowly backed up as well, and then turned and ran off.

"I could have taken care of them, Ranma," Akane growled.

Ranma shrugged and rejoined, "I know you could, Acchan. I just didn't want you to be too sore when we hike up the trail tonight. We have a ways to go, you know."

"That's different, then. I forgive you," Akane replied.

The train pulled out of the station at Nerima, heading up the tracks toward their destination. Ranma and Akane settled back, and watched the scenery go by through the window. The two of them slowly fell asleep, Akane curled up next to Ranma, with her head on his shoulder.

As they pulled into the station servicing the small village at the foot of the mountains towering above, Ranma nudged Akane awake from where she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "We're at our stop," Ranma said with an eager smile. They gathered up their backpacks and climbed down from the train into the station and then made their way to a small grocery store that Ranma vaguely remembered. After buying a few perishables that Ranma placed in an ice chest. Ranma slung the ice chest over one shoulder, and they headed up a well-marked trail that headed toward the mountains. After hiking about thirty minutes, the trail narrowed and appeared to vanish completely. Akane followed Ranma, as he crossed over a small ravine and then walked around a large set of boulders. Once she did that, she saw another trail had started that lead up to a saddle between two towering mountains. Once they reached the saddle, Ranma paused to allow Akane to catch her breath and to gaze down into the valley below. She saw a vista of tree-covered slopes, surrounded on all sides by towering hills, partially filled with a dark blue tarn. "See that clearing down there to the right," Ranma said as he pointed, "That's where we're stopping."

"This place is beautiful, Ranma. How did you find it?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "Pop knew about it. We've stayed here several times while we were training. He never said how he stumbled across it, but knowing him, he was probably hiding from someone at the time. You ready?"

Akane nodded and the two of them headed down to the clearing below. After a strenuous descent, the two of them reached the clearing. Ranma led Akane over to one end of the clearing, where the remains of an old fire pit were present. He set the ice chest down, and then gladly took off his backpack and placed it on the ground as well. Akane dropped her pack on the ground and collapsed.

Ranma looked at her and smirked, "Come on tomboy, we need to get the tents up while it's still light out."

Akane looked at him with angry eyes and growled, "Give me a minute, will you? I thought I was in better shape than this."

Ranma hung his head and then said, "I didn't realized I had walked you into the ground, Akane. You should have said something earlier." He pulled a tent out of each backpack, and carried them over to where he wanted to pitch them. After making sure that there weren't any rocks or debris, he began setting up one of the tents.

Akane cursed under her breath and hobbled over to help. "You're sadistic, did you know that, Ranma?" she said as they got the first tent set up, and began working on the second tent. Once they got that one set up, Ranma cleaned out the fire pit and began looking for some firewood, while Akane collapsed back on the ground.

Ranma came back with a load of deadwood and placed some of it in the fire pit. Quickly lighting it, he fed the small fire until it would stay lit. He turned to Akane and suggested, "Let me take a look at your legs. I can probably work out most of the stiffness, and then we can soak in the spring after dinner." Ranma ran down to the lake and brought back a large pot of water, and set it on a bed of coals.

"Once this boils, we can use some of it for dinner, and then the rest to wash up," he said.

"Let me change into something else first. You won't be able to work on my legs through these jeans," Akane replied as she crawled into her tent. Ranma brought her backpack over and set it next to Akane's tent. Then he carried his backpack over to his tent and laid his sleeping bag out under the canvas. He looked through his backpack for the salve he had brought, knowing that Akane would probably need it.

"Okay, Ranma, I'm ready now," he heard Akane say from her tent. He walked over and ducked his head to find her wearing a pair of shorts instead of the jeans she had been wearing. He pulled a small amount of salve out of the jar, and began rubbing it into her legs with smooth, strong strokes. At first Akane groaned with pain, and then she realized that between the lotion he was using and the massage, her legs were beginning to feel better. She rolled over and sat up and said, "Thanks, Ranma. That stuff is amazing. What is it?"

"It's something I stumbled across during our training trip," he replied, "One of the healers that I worked with swore by this stuff. Ever since then, I keep some of it around for sore muscles. I showed it to Tofu when I started working for him, and he makes sure that he always has a supply around. That's where I got this jar."

"I think I'm ready for some dinner. Can I help?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "Do you think you can make that miso soup again? I wrote the recipe down from that cookbook, and brought it as well as several other simple meals."

"Just simple recipes?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged and said, "Hey, you gotta crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. Besides, I like simple things, so that's about all I know how to make."

"So you're still at the crawling stage, huh," she smirked.

"Well, toddler stage compared to Kasumi, anyway," he admitted, with a chuckle.

The two of them left the tent and headed over to where Ranma had left the food and cooking utensils. He pulled out the ingredients for the soup, as well as the recipe and handed them to Akane. "Okay, Acchan, remember, you need to read this first, and then follow it exactly," he said, mentally crossing his fingers, "I'm gonna grill the fish we bought while you make the soup."

Akane frowned in concentration as she began to cut up the ingredients that Ranma had given her, while Ranma placed the fish filets in a metal fish basket. He prepared a bed of coals for both the soup and the fish, and then set up a small tripod on either end of the coals to support the basket for later. He glanced over at Akane and quietly smiled his approval as he saw that she was slowly and methodically following the instructions he had written down. Once she had the soup ready to place on the coals, he added the fish to the tripod and the two of them settled down to watch. Soon, everything was ready and the two of them settled down to eat.

"The soup turned out fine," Ranma said after he had a few spoonfuls.

Akane grinned and said, "Actually I think it's a little bland. It needed a little something. The fish tasted good, Ranma. What did you put on it?"

"Just salt and pepper," he replied, "I think you're just hungry."

Once they finished dinner, Ranma used the rest of the hot water to wash the dishes and set them out to dry. "You ready to soak in the hot spring, Akane?" he asked.

"Yes, let's get changed into our suits, and then you can show me where they are," she replied. The two of them went to their respective tents and then came back out. Akane was wearing her yellow one-piece bathing suit, while Ranma was in a set of trunks, and his undershirt. The two of them walked down a path, until they reached the spring-fed pool. At one end of the pool were some smooth rocks that someone had shaped into two reclining seats. They entered the pool and waded over to the seats and sat down in them, leaning back against the smooth stone.

"Akane, there's something else we need to talk about. I finally had a chance to read Pop's journal, and I ran across some stuff that surprised me," Ranma said.

"Like what?" she asked.

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "Well, it turns out that your family isn't the only one that Pop made some agreements with. You were just the first. There are several other potential fiancées out there for me, including one that really surprised me when I first found out about her. With any luck, none of them will track me down, but I felt like you needed to know."

"Why'd you tell me that?" Akane asked sadly.

"I don't wanna have any secrets from you, Acchan," he replied, "I don't remember any of the others, anyway, except for the one that surprised me. When I was six, I used to play with this boy named Ukyo. He was my best friend then. Of course, he was my only friend as well, so that made it easy for him to be my best friend. Well, according to Pop's journal, Ukyo is really a girl. Pop promised her father that we would wed, also. The bad part is that Pop took her dowry and sold it, so she does have some claim on me."

Akane looked downcast as she asked, "So what happens if one of them finds you?"

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "Acchan, as far as I'm concerned, there's only one girl I'm interested in, and I'm with her right now. The rest of them are Pop's problem, not mine. All I can take care of is my honor, he's responsible for his." 'And I wish I'd realized that sooner the last time,' he thought, 'It would have made things so much easier between us. My not wanting to hurt the other girls caused us all sorts of pain. I'm not gonna make that mistake this time.'

Akane looked up, her face radiant with her smile. "That means a lot to me, Ranchan," she said simply.

The next morning dawned early. Ranma opened his eyes to the sound of birds chirping in the trees and Akane's face inches away from his as she drew back from the kiss that she had given him. "Morning, sleepyhead," she said, as he blinked his eyes in surprise.

"Well, that certainly is a better way of waking up than Pop used to do. I never did like a bucket of cold water in the morning even before I got my curse," Ranma said with a chuckle.

The two of them quickly prepared a simple breakfast, or more accurately, Ranma fixed a simple breakfast while Akane watched carefully, with Ranma explaining exactly what he was doing. After they finished eating, Ranma sat back and said, "I think you're fast enough now to learn the Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken, or Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. He took twenty chestnuts from a small sack and tossed them into the open fire that he had laid when he first got out of bed. After gazing at the fire for a few seconds, he began grabbing the chestnuts out, his hands blurring with his speed. After a few seconds, he showed Akane all of the chestnuts. "This is how the Amazons originally taught the young warriors this technique. I created a variant on it that's a little easier on the hands," he said.

"I want to try it this way first," Akane insisted.

Ranma gazed back at his girlfriend and sighed. Then he replied, "They're your hands, Akane." He tossed the chestnuts back into the blaze and got out of her way. She stared intently at the fire, and took a deep breath and began to try to get the chestnuts. Her hands moving rapidly, she got several of them out, but by the time she had gotten about a quarter of them, she had to quit. Ranma glanced at her hands and quickly poured some cold water from the lake over them. "Let's go put some burn ointment on them, and you can try the other way," he said, "For what it's worth, I didn't do it the first time either. Your hands don't look as red as mine did."

After spreading some ointment on her hands, Ranma took her down to the lake carrying two pots. He filled both pots with water, capturing about a dozen minnows in one of them. "Okay, this is how I really learned. The idea is to get the minnows out of this pot without getting your hands wet," he said. He sat down in front of the pot with the minnows in it, and began pulling the fish out of them rapidly, dumping them into the other pot. Once he was done, he ostentatiously held his hands out showing that they were dry. He stood up away from the pots and said, "Okay, it's your turn."

Akane sat down and stared at the pot. Her hands moving fast, she grabbed all of the fish and placed them into the other pot. Once she was done, she looked at her dripping wet hands. A slightly irritated soprano voice said from behind her, "Not bad for a first start. Why don't you try to keep the water in next time."

Akane turned around to see a somewhat annoyed, very wet, female Ranma standing next to her, her mouth set in a rueful grin. Akane started giggling, and said, "Sorry, Ranchan, I guess I didn't do too good, did I?"

Ranma shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Hey, I didn't get it the first several times either. Just keep trying, while I work on something else." Ranma stepped back a few paces and sat down and began to meditate. Once she grounded herself, she sat there for around thirty minutes, remembering how her ki attacks felt, and how she first learned them. 'Okay, you know how to do this, it's just a matter of focus, remember,' she thought. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her chi energy, imagining it flowing up to her fingers. She began to feel a sense of pressure building up in her hands. She opened her eyes to see a glowing white ball in her hands. Pleased, she turned her palms outward and cried, "Möko Takabisha" and the ball shot off, hitting one of the trees. 'Wow, that drained me a bit,' she thought, 'My chi reserves must be lower than I realized.'

Akane turned and stared at her and asked, "What on earth was that?"

"That was a ki attack that I call Möko Takabisha, or 'fierce tiger domineering.' It's a confidence based attack that uses the positive emotion of confidence to fire a ball of ki energy," she replied, "How are you doing on the Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken?"

"I'm getting there," Akane replied. She spent the rest of the time until it was time to fix lunch trying to transfer the fish.

Ranma watched her intently, encouraging her each time. Finally, she called a break and said, "It's time to fix lunch, and I want to change back. Akane, just practice that several times today and tomorrow. It looks like you're starting to get it," Ranma said.

Akane went back to practicing with the minnows, while Ranma did some katas. While he was exercising he thought about what he needed to do to improve. 'I hate to admit it, but I need Ryoga around to fight with. He's still about the only guy I know that's tough enough for me to go all out against,' he thought, 'I need to toughen up as well. I wonder if I can learn the Bakusai Tenketsu technique. After all, the real purpose of why Cologne taught Ryoga that was to toughen him up. I need to think about that for a while.'

After a couple of hours, they started sparring together. Ranma started smiling at Akane as he realized how much faster Akane had gotten with her punches. Finally, both of them were sufficiently tired, that Ranma called a halt. They both went and got cleaned up, and soaked for a while in the hot spring fed pool.

Ranma smiled at Akane and asked, "How you doing, tomboy?"

"I'm a little sore, Ranchan, but it's a good feeling. I think I'm getting better. What's that saying, No pain, No gain?" she replied.

"That's what Pop always said, though I'm not crazy enough to teach you the way he taught me. Some of what he did was plain sadistic now that I know what that word means," Ranma said.

After dinner, the two of them stayed outside for a while watching the stars come out into the night sky. Akane was content to lie back against Ranma while he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He sighed in contentment. The night air began to turn colder, and Akane was grateful for the warmth of Ranma's body, but finally she began to shiver. After exchanging a kiss, the two teenagers said goodnight to each other and went to their respective tents, and snuggled up in their sleeping bags.

* * *

Author's notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive comments are welcomed and encouraged. Thanks for all of the reviews. 


	11. The Golden Pair

Chapter 11 The Golden Pair

Ranma and Akane got off the train once it stopped at the Nerima station. The two girls wearily made their way from the rail station toward the Tendo home, both of them looking forward to one of Kasumi's meals. Akane couldn't believe how tired she was from the intensive training that Ranma had put her through, but she also couldn't believe how happy she was about that same training. All of the aches and pains that she had accumulated over the two and a half days they had been together were worth it. As she glanced over at her boyfriend, well currently, girlfriend, she smiled and said, "Ranma, in case I haven't said it enough, I had a great time. You're going to be a good sensei, if that's what you decide you want to be."

"Thanks, Acchan," she replied, "But a lot of that was your willingness to listen and to learn. Even when you were so exhausted yesterday, you still wouldn't quit. I think that's why we're a good pair in a way. Both of us refuse to be beaten. You're almost as stubborn about that as I am. I'm sure that if you keep working on the Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken you'll get it working. With all of the speed training that we've done, I don't think it will take you a lot longer. For what it's worth, it took me about a week to learn it myself, and I was only a little faster than you were when I first started."

"So I shouldn't be discouraged if it takes me a while to learn Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken, is what you're saying?" Akane asked.

Ranma thought for a few minutes and then replied, "Everyone learns differently and at their own pace. You'll get there when you're ready, just like I did. Don't use me as a meter stick to measure your progress."

Akane grimaced and said, "But you're so much better than I am at martial arts. I have to admit I'm still jealous of that. I thought you were going to be able to spar with me full out, but I can tell you still have to hold back."

Ranma stopped and held Akane by the shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Akane, you have nothing to be jealous of. You have the talent and ability to learn. You just haven't had the kind of training I had. Remember what my life has been like. There's a lot that I haven't told you about what he did, but trust me, the things Pop did to train me aren't anything to be jealous over. As for me holding back, yeah, I'm still doing that. That's partly because of the way Pop taught me. He always said not to outclass the person you're fighting, so that they have an incentive to fight back. In your case, consider what I'm doing as a way to give you a goal to reach. That way, you'll have an incentive to continue to improve," she said.

"That almost makes sense as a teaching technique," Akane said, with a laugh in her voice.

"Didn't think I could be that deep, huh?" Ranma retorted, with a smile. She let Akane go and the two of them headed toward home, their pace quickening as they walked, thinking of Kasumi's cooking.

----------------------

As the teacher walked by and set the test paper down on Ranma's desk, she said, "Nice job, Saotome. Your best yet." Ranma promptly turned the paper over and stared at it in disbelief. There, right below her signature, the number 89 was written in red ink, with the word 'Excellent!' written below it. She had spent a lot of time with Akane several nights before the test last week in extended study sessions, so she had expected to do decently, but this was beyond her wildest dreams.

Ranma glanced over at Akane and saw that she was staring at her test with a frown on her face. Ranma was a little concerned; Akane had been out of sorts all day. It had started at breakfast…

Flashback

Akane grimaced as she sat down for breakfast the next morning. Ranma saw her wince in pain and asked quietly, "Are you okay, Akane?"

"My legs are a little sore today," she admitted, "I may have overextended myself while we were on the training trip. Most of the bruises from our sparring are gone, though."

"Bruises! Did you hurt my daughter? You shouldn't be hitting my baby girl!" Soun cried, as he swelled up into his demon-head.

"Daddy, really! How am I supposed to get better if Ranma can't hit me?" Akane fumed. She glared at her father angrily.

"Ranma, I expected you to take better care of my little girl," Soun said heatedly.

"Daddy, I can take care of myself. Ranma didn't do anything that I didn't want her to do," Akane said heatedly, her battle aura beginning to show.

Soun backed down, his demon-head deflating like a balloon stuck with a pin. He began crying, saying, "Wah! My baby girl yelled at me!"

Nabiki came in from the kitchen with her second cup of coffee and sat down across from Akane. She said, "Akane, I almost forgot. Kuno was on a rampage all weekend because you and Ranma were gone. You'd better be careful with him today."

"Grrr," Akane growled, "Why won't that baka ever learn!"

End Flashback

Then it continued on once they had gotten to school…

Flashback

Kuno stepped forward and said, "Ah, the fair Akane Tendo and the spirited Ranma Saotome. Have you come to declare your love for me, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High?"

"Don't you have any other lines, Kuno-sempai?" Ranma asked in disgust, "This is getting real old. To answer your question, I don't like you. In fact, I'm beginning to absolutely detest you!"

The delusional kendoist reached forward and hugged Akane. "Oh, Akane, I will allow you to date with me!"

Akane glowed bright red as she pushed him away. "Kuno, get out of my face!" Akane snarled, "I'm not in the mood for your crap!"

"But-" Kuno began, only to hear Akane scream, as she charged him. Suddenly her hands were blurring almost too fast to be seen as she pummeled him unmercifully. Kuno fell to the ground, as Akane glared at him angrily.

"I swear Kuno, you make me sick! I don't like you. I wouldn't date you if you were the last man on earth," Akane screamed.

Kuno said, "I will save you from that pig-tailed boy, my beloved." Then he lapsed into unconsciousness.

Ranma looked at Akane and asked, "Wasn't that a little too much?"

Akane stood there breathing hard and then glared at Ranma. "I left him alive, didn't I?" she snapped as she stalked off. Ranma swallowed hard and then followed after. When Ranma got into the school and reached into her locker for her school shoes, she found a note. After changing into her school shoes, she opened the note and read that it was an invitation to a party on Saturday night. She entered her classroom, still carrying the note as she sat down next to Akane.

"What's that, Ranma?" Akane asked, her momentary bout of anger forgotten now that she was away from Kuno.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Nothing much. It's just an invitation from Mitsume. She wants me to come to a party this Saturday." 'Not that I want to go anyway. I'd rather spend Saturday night somewhere I can be male with Akane,' she thought.

'Mitsume invited Ranma to a party? I didn't get an invitation,' Akane thought, 'When did Ranma get more popular than me?'

"What's the matter, Akane?" Ranma asked, noticing that Akane appeared to be unhappy about something.

"Oh, nothing, Ranma," Akane replied, "I was just lost in thought, I guess."

End Flashback

Then it got worse at lunch…

Flashback

Ranma was sitting with Akane, Yuka and Sayuri under the shade of one of the large elms that were scattered around the schoolyard. They were peacefully eating their lunches. Yuka asked, "Akane, have you heard about the party that Mitsume is having this weekend? I've heard that it's going to be a blast. She's got a band coming to play, and everything. Sayuri and I can't wait for Saturday to show up. Are you going to be able to come?"

'What's going on?' Akane thought to herself, 'I thought Mitsume was a friend.' "I don't think I can come. I've got some other plans already," she said quickly. A frown flashed across her face as she spoke. Ranma looked at Akane in surprise.

"Oh that's a shame, Akane. What about you, Ranma? Can you come?" Sayuri asked.

Ranma shook her head and answered, "No, I've got something else to do that weekend, as well." 'What's going on with Akane?' she thought.

End Flashback

As they walked out of the classroom and headed toward gym, Akane asked, "How'd you do on the test, Ranma?"

"I got an 89," Ranma replied, proudly. Akane gasped and then ran off. 'Now what?' Ranma thought as she ran after Akane. When Ranma got downstairs, however, Akane was nowhere to be found. 'Damn, where could she have run off to? Did she go home?' Ranma thought, with a confused look on her face. Worried, Ranma changed shoes and headed home.

----------------------

Kasumi was in the family room, cleaning the floor, when she heard the front door open and then slam shut. She heard the sounds of footsteps as someone ran upstairs, accompanied by the sounds of crying. Kasumi ran up the stairs just in time to hear a bedroom door slam shut. Kasumi headed toward her sisters' bedrooms, and saw that Akane's door was closed. Kasumi knocked on the door and asked, "Akane, what's the matter? Do you want to talk?"

Kasumi heard the sounds of someone approaching the door. Akane's tear-streaked face appeared as she opened the door to let her sister in. "Sorry, Kasumi. I just had a lousy day. First, Daddy went all protective this morning. Do you know how demeaning that felt? Dammit, I'm a martial artist! How am I supposed to get better if I don't get hit? If Ranma doesn't spar with me seriously, I'll never get any better. Then, Kuno showed up and tried to grope me! That pervert, I hate him!" she screamed.

----------------------

Ranma rushed into the Tendo home and ran upstairs just in time to hear Akane scream, "That pervert, I hate him!"

Ranma froze in shock as she heard those words. 'She thinks I'm a pervert, she hates me!' she thought in disbelief. She turned around and headed back downstairs, her head hung low, a tear trickling down her cheek. Sadly she made her way to the Ono clinic to work on her filing.

----------------------

"And then, there was this stupid party that everyone but me got an invitation to. I thought Mitsume was a friend. She barely knows Ranma, but she got one. For some reason, I really felt hurt, and angry. I almost got mad at Ranma, even though I knew it wasn't her fault. I was jealous of the fact that she was invited and I wasn't. Then I got my test score back from that big English test from last week, you know the one that Ranma and I spent so much time on. I only got an 82, but Ranma got an 89. Not only is he a better martial artist, a better cook; now he's doing better than I am in school," Akane said, tears streaming down her face, "I can't compete with him!"

"Oh my! That does sound like a dreadful day. But why did you run home?" Kasumi asked.

Akane blushed and replied, "I just couldn't face anyone there. I could feel myself becoming so jealous of Ranma and I didn't want to get angry with her and say something that I would regret later, just because of my anger. I had to get away! She looked so confused and a little hurt when I ran off, I didn't know what to do."

----------------------

Ranma came home from the Ono clinic and wearily made her way into the kitchen to tell Kasumi that she was home. She started to walk in and then stopped when she saw that Akane was talking to Kasumi. "Kasumi, I'm not real hungry. I'm gonna just go upstairs and work on my homework," Ranma said. She turned and started to leave.

"Ranchan, what's wrong? You not eating isn't right!" Akane asked in surprise.

Ranma closed her eyes in pain and replied, coldly, "Nothing." Then she continued on upstairs, not seeing the hurt look in Akane's eyes.

Akane and Kasumi exchanged looks of puzzlement. "What was that all about, Akane?" Kasumi, "I've never heard Ranma be that cold to anyone."

"I don't know, sis. Ranma was fine at school. I wonder if something happened while she was working," Akane replied, "I think I'd better go check on her." Akane hurried after Ranma. When she got upstairs, she found the door closed. She knocked on the door and asked, "Ranma, can we talk? I'd like to know what's wrong. Did something happen at work?"

Ranma came and leaned against the door but didn't open it. She said, "Go away Akane. You don't have to pretend to care anymore."

"What does that mean?" Akane asked, her voice rising, "I'm not pretending to care. I'm your friend and I want to know what's wrong. Ranma, open the door, please."

"No, just leave me alone, please. I don't want to talk to you right now, because if I do, I'll just say something wrong and make you angrier with me," Ranma said. She heard the sound of Ranma walking across the floor, and then the sound of the window opening. She opened the door to see Ranma disappear through the window. She ran over to the window, but by the time she got there, Ranma had vanished from sight.

"Ranma!" Akane yelled. 'What happened to us,' she thought, sadly, 'Why wouldn't he talk to me. Why does he not think I care for him? What did I do?' As she stood there at the window, she began to cry.

----------------------

Ranma stared up at the night sky looking at the stars, later that evening. He sighed unhappily as he thought about the lousy day he had just had. 'What went wrong, Akane?' he thought, 'I don't even know what I did!'

A sad voice asked from behind him, "Is this seat taken?" Ranma turned around to see Akane standing there, her face tear-streaked.

"Hey, it's your roof," he replied with a shrug, his face expressionless. Akane winced at the coolness in his voice.

"We need to talk, Ranchan," Akane said.

"Yeah, I guess we do," Ranma replied.

Akane sat down next to him. She took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry Ranchan. Somehow I hurt your feelings and I don't know what I did."

Ranma replied, his voice filled with pain, "I overheard you talking to Kasumi. I thought you and I were doing so well together, and then you said you hated me. What did I do to deserve that?"

Akane got a strange expression on her face. "Ranma, I never said I hated you. The only boy I, oh, wait. You thought I was talking about you. It was Kuno I said I hated, you must have misunderstood me. I don't hate you; I like you a great deal."

Ranma looked a bit sheepish as he said, "Oh boy. You mean I've been feeling this bad because I jumped to a conclusion?" 'That's what I always accused Akane of doing before,' he thought to himself, 'Baka!'

Akane smiled sadly and replied, "Yes, you baka. I wasn't even mad at you, anyway. This afternoon, for some reason, I felt so jealous of you, I just had to run away."

Ranma looked bewildered as he asked, "Jealous of me? What for?"

"You're this great martial artist that came swooping out of nowhere to show me up. I thought I was one of the best until you came. The fact that you're training me helped with that, but then Daddy ruined that this morning by the way he reacted just because I had a few bruises. I used to think I was popular, but then I didn't get invited to that stupid party. So now I'm competing with you for my friends, and I got upset because of that," Akane replied and then took a deep breath to try and calm her raising emotions. Then she continued, "And then you did better than I did on that English test. So now you're a better student than I am. You're showing me up everywhere and I snapped."

"Hey, I barely even know Mitsume. Besides, you know I'd rather spend time with you than go to a party," he replied, "And as far at the test was concerned, don't you think you overreacted? It's just one test, after all. You'll always be a better student than I will. I can barely keep up with you. You just had a bad day when you took it, that's all," Ranma said softly.

Akane sighed and answered, "Yeah, I know I blew it out of proportion. It was just the final straw, I guess. I was mostly mad at Kuno and Daddy, and that just made the whole day horrible. Can we just forget about what happened?"

Ranma smiled at her and said, "Yes! When I thought you hated me, I felt so empty. I never want to feel that way again. I'm just glad I didn't say something stupid back, this time. I could have made the situation so much worse if I had. I knew something was bothering you, I just didn't know what it was. And then I almost screwed things up because of a misunderstanding."

Akane slid over until she was next to Ranma. She pulled his head closer and kissed him, with her lips parted slightly. Ranma wrapped his arms around her and held her as if he was a drowning man, holding tight to a life preserver.

----------------------

As Akane entered the gates of the school, she was greeted by the familiar sight of Tatewaki Kuno. However, to her surprise, he did not greet her with his annoying proclamation of love. Then she saw why. As she neared him, she realized that his jaw was wired shut. "Did I do that, Ranma?" she said to the young girl next to her.

Ranma replied softly, "Yes, Akane. You did that yesterday when you attacked him."

Akane bowed slightly to Kuno and said, "Kuno-sempai, I apologize for losing my temper yesterday. However, never attempt to hug me again, or I will do more damage next time. I do not wish to date you, so please leave me alone."

"What she said goes for me too, Kuno," Ranma added, "I have no interest in dating you either."

Kuno held out a note to Akane. She frowned and let it fall to the ground. "Seriously, upperclassman, find some other girl. Your health depends on it," Akane said as she left.

Ranma looked pityingly at Kuno and said as she walked past, "Kuno, you look like you're in some pain. I'd leave her alone if I were you."

Kuno followed the two girls with his eyes, an odd light in them. Gathering the remains of his dignity, he made his way to his classroom, where he stood in front of the mercenary Nabiki Tendo.

Nabiki looked up and hid her dismay as she saw Kuno. He held out a note to her. She took it and read, 'Have you found out any more information about the pig-tailed boy?'

"Kuno, as I told you last week, Akane and Ranma both swear that they were together in the park and that it must have been them that your sister saw," Nabiki replied, "I don't know any more than that. I'm sorry."

He scribbled another note and handed that to her, along with a photograph. She read, 'Then explain this picture that my twisted sister gave me.'

She looked at the photograph and saw grainy shot of what appeared to be her sister kissing someone behind a tree. Her eyes widened slightly and then she replied, "Well, the picture is of low quality. The person who took it obviously doesn't know how to use a camera. The exposure was set wrong for the light available, they used the wrong shutter speed, and were slightly out of focus. My guess is they were using a very cheap Canon camera. Obviously, not a picture that I took, it must have been an amateur."

Kuno's eyes tightened and then he wrote another note. 'I meant about the subject, not the quality of the photo!'

Nabiki said reluctantly, "It does look like Akane in the picture, though the quality is so bad it might have been anyone. You can't really see her face, after all. It is just a side shot. You also can't make out anything about the other person."

He wrote again and handed her the note. It read, 'Just find out what you can, Nabiki Tendo. There is some fiend coming between me and my beloved. He must have some evil influence on her, how could she resist my charms otherwise. That sweet, shy sister of yours would never have harmed me like she did yesterday.'

Nabiki rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "What a delusional idiot!" She looked up and replied, "Sorry, Kuno-baby. I've decided that I'm done with all of that. I've fed your fantasies for the last time. This needs to stop before someone gets seriously hurt, and from the looks of things, I think it'll be you that gets hurt. I've decided that I don't need that on what passes for my conscience any more. I only told you the little that they told me because it wouldn't hurt any one."

Kuno's eyes grew furious as he wrote one final note. He left it on Nabiki's desk and stormed off to find his own. Nabiki picked it up and read it, 'Very well. I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder, understand. You too have fallen under the evil spell of either the pig-tailed boy or that fiendish sorcerer Hibiki. Never fear, even though you have the heart of a mercenary, I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall rescue you from your thralldom.'

Nabiki felt ill, as she realized that now she was enmeshed in Kuno's delusion.

----------------------

Akane looked up to see her sister Nabiki standing in her doorway. "Sis, you got a minute?" Nabiki asked.

"Sure, Nabiki. I could use a break from this homework, anyway," Akane replied, "Come on in."

"Kuno showed me something interesting this morning," Nabiki said as she handed Akane a photograph. Akane glanced at the picture and paled. "Do you have an explanation for this, sis? This sure looks like you. Did you lie to me when I asked you about last Sunday night?" Nabiki asked, coldly.

Akane hesitated and then replied, "No, Nabiki. I didn't lie to you. I don't know where this picture came from, but I can assure you I was with Ranma all evening."

"So who are you kissing in this picture?" Nabiki asked. Then Nabiki's eyes widened as she said, in shock, "Wait a minute, you're kissing **Ranma**, aren't you?"

"That's a pretty big stretch, Nabiki. I admit the person in the picture does look a little bit like me, but you can't see the face of either of the two people," Akane said, "And remember, you said you got this from Kuno. He's not the most reliable of witnesses, now is he? I'm not even sure he lives in the same world that we do." Then she got a thoughtful look on her face as she giggled. "Come to think of it though, I'd much rather kiss Ranma than Kuno," Akane said, "How about you sis? Wouldn't you? Ranma's more of a gentleman than Kuno ever will be."

Nabiki started in surprise, and then smiled. "True, Kuno is the one who gave me this picture. And he got it from Kodachi. Neither of them are the sanest person in the world. I'm glad I told him that I wasn't going to sell him any more information. He's starting to get a little scary," Nabiki replied.

"You just now figured that out now, Nabiki? I thought you were smarter than that," Akane retorted, "He's always been scary. I'm just glad that Ranma has been training me. When I saw how much Kuno was holding back when he fought her, it was an eye-opener for me. The only thing that was saving me was Kuno's warped sense of honor. I have to give him credit for that. In his own way, he is an honorable man. Now, his sister on the other hand is just plain crazy."

"I guess I need to let you get back to your homework, sis. Sorry I bothered you about this," Nabiki said. She walked out of the room, thinking, 'Something still feels odd about this.'

----------------------

Ranma was again enjoying a rare moment of freedom as he strolled around Shakujii Park. He had grabbed a bite to eat at one of the kiosks and was wandering the park, looking for a convenient place to exercise. An odd moment of introspection during the training trip that he had had with Akane the past weekend had caused him to realize that he needed to spend more time training in his male form as well. While he hadn't lost any skills, he could tell that the time he had spent as a female had not completely carried over. There was just too many things different in the way his body felt when he was female. His sense of balance had felt off, and he could tell that his reach was different. Finally, he found a small, secluded clearing and began performing one of his more elaborate katas. After around an hour, he began to sense that he was not alone. He looked up as he gracefully finished to see Kodachi Kuno sitting on the ground, her eyes following his every move.

Ranma groaned to himself, and then said, "Hello, can I help you?"

"I was just enjoying the scenery," Kodachi replied, looking up and down at him in appreciation, "My name is Kodachi Kuno, and I just wanted to tell you that what you were doing was magnificent."

"Why thank you, Miss Kuno," Ranma replied, "You look like you must be a martial artist yourself."

"Why yes I am. I practice Martial Arts Gymnastics," she replied. She frowned and then asked, "May I have the privilege of knowing your name?"

"Oh, I'm just a wandering martial artist, Miss Kuno. I doubt you've heard of me," Ranma replied thinking furiously, "In fact, I'm afraid that I must leave soon. I've spent too much time here in Nerima as it is."

"You look somewhat familiar," Kodachi said, "Have we met?"

"I don't believe that you've ever seen me before. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really do need to leave. I'm late for an appointment, I'm afraid," Ranma said, waving his hands in front of him nervously. He turned and began to walk away.

"Say hello to Akane Tendo for me the next time you see her," Kodachi said, "Remind her of what I said about the pig-tailed boy."

Ranma turned back thinking 'You won't trick me that easily', and responded, "Akane Tendo? I don't believe I know that name. Am I supposed to know her?"

"Weren't you here in the park last Sunday evening with her?" Kodachi asked, her voice showing her amusement.

"I'm afraid that you may have me confused with someone else," Ranma replied. He walked off, and disappeared from Kodachi's eyesight. Ranma thought quickly, and ran over to the fountain and changed forms. Then she began to head home.

As Ranma neared the main gate, she saw Ryoga. Unfortunately, Ryoga saw her as well. Ranma sighed to herself, thinking sarcastically, 'Great. Now all I need is for the Blue Blunder to show up to make this a perfect evening!' "Hello, Ryoga," Ranma said resignedly.

"Sho Mei, what a surprise to see you here on Hokkaida," Ryoga said.

Ranma responded with a sigh, "Ryoga, this is Nerima ward, in the city of Tokyo. You aren't on Hokkaida; you're on Honshu."

Ryoga looked puzzled and said, "Then how did I get here? The last thing I remember was leaving a small café in Sapporo where I had some of the best okonomiyaki that I have ever eaten."

"Ryoga, you must have the world's worst sense of direction," Ranma said with a giggle, "I don't know how you could have gotten from Sapporo to here without realizing it. After all, there's a sea in the way. Have you seen Shampoo lately?"

"Er, uh, I saw her a couple of days ago. I'm not sure where she is right now," Ryoga stammered. His face reddened as he blushed. He stared down at his hands as he tapped his forefingers together in embarrassment.

"She's a nice girl, Ryoga. I'm not sure why you're running away from her," Ranma said, "Why don't you just stop somewhere long enough for her to catch up to you and then talk. You might find out that you like her. Stranger things have happened after all. Anyway, I need to get back home. I'll see you around."

"Wait, I have something for you," Ryoga stammered. He hurriedly searched through his backpack and found a wrapped present. He handed it to Ranma.

"You don't have to do this, Ryoga. I'm your friend, but I never have anything to give to you," Ranma said, "Thank you. I guess I'll see you around." Ranma waved to Ryoga and then walked off.

As Ranma disappeared, Ryoga sighed and said to himself, "Baka, why can't you tell her how you feel about her? Blast this cursed shyness that won't allow me to tell her that I love her!"

As Ryoga walked off and disappeared, a shadowy figure ran up to the gate. #Airen, why do you keep leaving me? Why are you in love with Xiao Mei? You belong to me!# Xian Pu said to herself, #I must find where she lives. After all, she is an obstacle. So long as Airen thinks he loves her, she will be in the way of my happiness. I can't return to the village without my husband. I will be the laughing stock of the entire tribe if I lose him.#

----------------------

Ranma grumbled to himself as he followed Akane through the door into the building containing the ice skating rink. "I can't believe I let her talk me into this," he groaned under his breath. The two of them had spent much of the morning having a good time exploring the arcade they had discovered in Suginami ward. Ranma had been enjoying himself, but then Akane had discovered the sign for the ice skating rink. His protests had fallen on deaf ears, and then she had looked at him as she pleaded with him to go skating. That look should have been registered as a deadly weapon, he had thought. Seriously, when she pouted like that, it was enough to make the strongest man weak at the knees.

As he followed her over to the counter to rent his skates, he smiled at the way she was hugging the prize that he had won for her at one of the arcade games. Ranma had almost hurt himself laughing when he was handed the doll, a black pot-bellied pig, with a yellow bandana with black polka-dots tied around its neck, especially when Akane called it P-chan.

The two of them got their skates and walked over to one of the benches to put them on. Reluctantly, Ranma followed Akane out to the sheet of ice and gingerly stood there, holding onto the guardrail. "Akane," he said, "It's been a long time since I did this, so I'm gonna be real rusty. Don't you dare laugh at me when I fall down."

Akane smiled encouragingly and said, "Don't worry, Ranchan, I'm sure you'll do fine." She held out her hand, and Ranma grasped it. The two of them began to slowly make their way around the skating rink, only Akane's strength keeping Ranma from falling. They spent the next half hour skating around the rink, with Ranma flailing around. Finally, to his relief, Akane said, "Let's take a break, Ranma. I could use something to eat."

They sat down at one of the tables in the concession area, putting their food trays down on the table. Akane set her doll down on the table as well. The two of them began eating their snacks. Akane teased, "You know, maybe in a month or two, you might actually be able to stand up on those skates. Finally, something I'm better than you at."

Ranma smirked and retorted, "Yeah, right. If it was a martial art, then I would learn it."

She smiled and replied, "Narrow minded aren't you?"

"I prefer focused, myself," Ranma said with a chuckle.

"Oh, how cute! My darling Charlotte!" a voice squealed. The next thing Akane knew some overly cute girl had swooped down and grabbed her doll, crushing it against her body. Akane narrowed her eyes in anger as she stared at the short girl, with long, curly, sandy brown hair, dressed in a short, pink, ice-skating costume, with a ruffled collar, and a bow in the back. She snorted, thinking, 'The pink bow in the hair, and the little pink bows on her socks are so over the top!'

Ranma looked up, his eyes wide. 'NO, not the Golden Pair. Well, there isn't any way I'm gonna get kissed by that pervert, this time!' he thought angrily.

"P-chan!" Akane exclaimed in anger, as she attempted to snatch her doll back from the saccharinely cute thief. "Gimme back my doll!" she exclaimed.

"Oo!" the other girl exclaimed, "What are you doing! She's my widdle Charlotte!"

"He's my little pig P-chan!" Akane said angrily, her face getting red.

The other girl exclaimed, "No! This is Charlotte! Charlotte!"

Suddenly a tall, well dressed, young man, wearing a pale blue sweater, with dark brown hair, and icy blue eyes, appeared. He grabbed the doll out of the girl's hands and presented it to Akane and said, "Excuse my companion's rudeness."

Akane blushed and replied, "That's all right. Thank you!"

The girl began to beat on the young man, screaming, "Give back my Charlotte! Give back my Charlotte!"

The boy ignored her and said to Akane, "Her hobby is collecting things."

The girl grabbed a bowl and began beating the boy on the head. She screamed, cutely, tears beginning to flow from her eyes, "Give her back! Give her back!"

The boy shrugged off the attack and continued, "When she sees something cute, she names it on the spot and takes it home."

Ranma growled and said, "Isn't that illegal?"

The girl grabbed a chair and began hitting the boy with it. "Gimme! Gimme!" she screamed as she threw a temper tantrum, tears streaming down her face. Somehow, she still managed to look cute as she did so.

"Would you cut that out? You idiot! That hurt!" the boy exclaimed, his fist clenched.

The girl screamed at Akane, "I challenge you!"

Akane smirked and replied, "So you want to fight me?"

"Fight? How nasty! My challenge is to a skating match!" the girl exclaimed, pouting cutely.

Ranma interrupted and said, "Sorry, ditz. You challenged Akane. You should know the rules better than that. As the one challenged, Akane gets to set the time and the place, not you!"

"Fine!" the girl snapped, "If I win, you give me back my widdle Charlotte!" Tears continued to flow down her face. She added, "I, Azusa Shiratori, challenge you to a fight! Wait, what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't, but my name is Akane Tendo," Akane snapped angrily.

"Azusa," the boy began, "I don't think fighting her is such a good idea. Are you from Furinkan High School, Miss Tendo?"

"Yes, I am," Akane admitted.

"Azusa, you definitely don't want to challenge her," the boy said.

"Why not, Mikey?" Azusa whined.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that! My name is Mikado! And as to why not, she's one of the best fighters at Furinkan High School. My second cousin Hikaru told me she used to regularly beat up thirty or forty boys every morning. The only one who is supposed to be better is some girl named Ranma," Mikado replied.

"Feh, I can beat her!" Azusa exclaimed, "Widdle Charlotte will be mine!"

The boy turned to Akane and said, "I'm sorry. My name is Mikado Sanzenin. My partner has caused you much trouble. By way of apology…" He bent down as if to kiss Akane. Akane's eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in anger as she began to bring her fist forward, pushing him away with her other hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The last boy who tried to touch her when she didn't want it still has his jaw wired shut," Ranma drawled.

Mikado jumped back in shock and glared at Ranma. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked.

"No one of consequence," Ranma replied with a smirk.

"Ranchan," Akane said, "Don't tease the animals."

Ranma smiled and replied, "As you wish, Acchan." He smiled thinly at Mikado and growled, "I'm her sensei, and more importantly, her boyfriend. No one kisses her but me!"

Akane felt an atavistic thrill run up her spine at the possessive sound in her boyfriend's voice. Ranma began to rise from his seat, his battle aura beginning to show. Akane smirked and said, "Sit boy! I'll handle the pervert."

Ranma glared at her for a second, and then said with an evil smile, "I don't know about that Akane. I know at least one girl who swore off men after Mikado kissed her. I don't wanna run that risk with you!" 'Yeah, like I was ever interested in men, before,' Ranma thought.

"No girl would do something like that after I kissed her," Mikado spluttered in outrage, "I have kissed nearly a thousand women and none have complained."

"I don't know about that Mikey. I know this girl pretty well, and she swore vengeance because you kissed her," Ranma said, an evil glint in his eye, "In fact, she said it was like kissing a dead frog."

Mikado grew white with rage as he heard Ranma. "No one insults me like that! I challenge you!" he exclaimed.

"Not a smart move, Mikey!" Akane said, "Ranchan is indeed better than I am. So what does that tell you about his skill?"

"Don't call me Mikey!" Mikado exclaimed. He took a deep breath and asked, "What about it? You gonna accept my challenge or what?"

Ranma looked up at him and said, "You're not worth my time, Sanzenin. I'm not gonna go out there and try Martial Arts Skating and I don't think you can fight off of your skates, so why don't you just walk away while you still can? I wouldn't want to mess up your hair, and that pretty face of yours. As for your girlfriend there, why don't you just go win her one of these dolls?"

"She's not my girlfriend! She's just my skating partner. We're the Golden Pair of Kolhoz High School, champion martial arts figure skaters," Mikado retorted.

"Hey, you still wanna fight, or what?" Akane asked Azusa who was pouting at being ignored.

Azusa shook her head. "I just remembered. I don't fight unless I'm on skates. I guess I'll have to withdraw my challenge," Azusa replied. She looked over at the skating rink and said, "Mikey, it's time for our practice. I guess we can't play anymore. The hockey players are getting a bit impatient."

Mikado glared at his partner and then sighed in vexation. "You haven't heard the last of this," he said angrily to Ranma as he stalked off with his partner.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think I've had enough fun for the day," Ranma said with a smile. "Why don't we head on back to Nerima? I can change on the way, and then I think there's an ice cream shop that's calling my name."

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Ranma and Akane were sitting at one of the booths in their favorite ice cream parlor. Ranma was busily wolfing down one of the ice cream sundaes that she had ordered. In the background, they could hear the television broadcast, but neither of them was paying much attention to it. Akane said, sarcastically, "Don't you think you ought to slow down so you can at least taste what you're eating? After all, a real girl wouldn't eat it like that."

"I can eat it anyway I want to, Acchan," Ranma retorted. Akane noticed that Ranma did slow down a little bit. Suddenly, Ranma's attention was caught by the broadcast. She had distinctly heard the word Joketsuzoku. She turned to watch the television to see that the camera was panning around a familiar village. "Hey, I know that place. That's the Amazon village I stayed at for a little while."

She continued to watch the broadcast as the on-air report continued. Suddenly, the reporter turned to look to one side and said, in panic, "What's that?"

As he did so, the wall to the ice cream parlor caved in and there in the opening stood a lavender haired girl, in a light pink blouse, with a red vest and purple tights carrying two strange weapons. As the dust from the cave-in settled, the girl glared around. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted the girl she had been looking for.

"Shampoo!" Ranma cried, "What are you doing in Japan?"

"You know this girl, Ranma?" Akane asked in surprise.

"Sho Mei, Shampoo Kill!" Xian Pu responded. Xian Pu ran toward Ranma, swinging her bonborri. Ranma ducked, and the mace-like weapon hit one of the walls.

#What are you doing this for?# Ranma asked in surprise as she dodged another blow. She grabbed a tablecloth, and threw it at Xian Pu, blocking her vision.

Xian Pu cursed as she pulled the tablecloth off of her. Her adopted tribeswoman had vanished.

Akane pointed and said, "She ran out that hole."

Xian Pu bowed politely, yelled, "Sho Mei!" and ran through the hole, hoping to catch up to her prey.

Once she was gone, Akane walked over to a battered cabinet and knocked on it. The door opened and Ranma crawled out. "What was that all about?" Akane asked.

"I haven't a clue," Ranma replied, "The last time I saw her was in China. She and I were friends.

The shop owner rushed over and asked, "Who was that girl? And who's gonna pay for this mess?"

"She's a Chinese Amazon," Ranma replied, "I don't know what got into her. Come on Akane, we'd better get out of here before she decides to come back." Akane grabbed her stuffed pig and the two of them headed out of the shop.

As they walked past the park, Ryoga burst through one of the walls and ran down the street away from them, and turned a corner and disappeared from sight. A purple blur raced after and then stopped in the middle of the street, gasping for breath, and attempting to find the other figure.

Ranma looked in disbelief as she saw the lavender tresses of her Amazon sister Shampoo. She was carrying both of her bonborris, though one of the heads looked like it had been badly damaged by something. Shampoo finally turned and looked in their direction. She asked, "Which way did Airen go?" Then her eyes widened as she realized the person in front of her was the girl she knew as Ranma, carrying a small pack on her back.

Shampoo's eyes narrowed in anger and she charged. "You Shampoo kill!" she called, surprising Ranma. Ranma pushed Akane to one side out of the way of the angry Amazon. She pulled her backpack off and threw it at the feet of the charging warrior. Shampoo stumbled and fell, the bonborris flying out of her hands as she attempted to break her fall.

"What's this all about, Shampoo? Why are you so angry?" Ranma asked as she danced out of the way of the bonborris.

"You stole Airen!" Shampoo accused, as she dusted herself off.

Ranma stammered, "I don't know what you're talking about, Shampoo. I didn't steal Ryoga away from you. I consider him a friendly rival at best."

"It's true, Shampoo!" Akane exclaimed, "Ranma isn't interested in Ryoga that way."

Shampoo glanced over at Akane and saw that she had readied herself to fight as well. "Shampoo heard Airen say himself that he loved Sho Mei," Shampoo argued, just a little uncertainly.

"That's ridiculous!" Ranma snapped. Then she began to think of the presents, the bashful behavior, the stammering that Ryoga did every time he saw her. Her eyes widened in shock as the blinders fell from her eyes. 'Oh my, I didn't see. It's just like before, but now he's chasing me instead of Akane,' she thought. As she realized the truth, her stomach churned and her face paled. Covering her mouth with her hand, she gasped, "Excuse me!" and ran off behind some bushes. Akane and Shampoo looked at each other as they heard the sound of Ranma being violently ill from behind the shrubs. After a few minutes, Ranma walked back, wiping her mouth off, her face still ashen. "Shampoo, believe me, I didn't realize that he felt that way. I would never come between the two of you. I have absolutely no interest in him. I promise you on my honor as a martial artist," the obviously shaken girl said.

"You still obstacle," Shampoo replied, slowly, not quite sure what to do now. Xiao Mei was her friend, her Amazon sister. "It not good for Amazon sisters to fight over man," she said, trying to put her thoughts into words.

"I'm not gonna fight you for him. I think he's the perfect man for you," Ranma stated with conviction. She glanced over at Akane to see the mirth in her eyes. Ranma continued, "If you want, I'll help you catch him." 'Oh man, have I really screwed up. I have to tell Ryoga the truth the next time I see him. That poor, unlucky bastard! When I tell him it'll really hurt the poor guy,' she thought to herself.

#I think I made a mistake and jumped to a conclusion I shouldn't have, Xiao Mei. I'm sorry I thought you wanted Airen,# Xian Pu said.

#That's all right, Xian Pu,# Ranma responded, #I know all about jumping to conclusions myself. Anyway, I have someone else that I care a great deal for.#

#You care for shield-sister?# Xian Pu asked, glancing at Akane and seeing the way the two girls were protecting each other.

#Shield-sister? What does that mean?# Ranma asked.

Xian Pu giggled, and replied, #That's what we call two girls who love each other. It's not uncommon in our village, since there aren't usually enough men to go around.#

#Uh, we care about each other, but it's not exactly the same. She's not interested in girls that way,# Ranma replied, as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. 'Thank goodness Akane doesn't understand Chinese,' Ranma thought to herself.

Xian Pu arched an eyebrow and replied, #Xiao Mei didn't say she's not interested in girls.#

Ranma blushed in embarrassment as Akane asked, "What are you two talking about? You know I don't speak Chinese."

"Shampoo ask if you are Sho Mei's girlfriend," Shampoo said with a knowing look.

Akane looked confused as she replied, "Of course I'm Ranma's girlf – Oh!" Akane blushed. 'Oh great, now she'll think I like girls,' Akane thought as she groaned. Ranma began to giggle at the expression on Akane's face.

"I told you that it's not like that, Shampoo," Ranma said, sternly. However the tone of her voice didn't match the amusement in her eyes.

Shampoo smiled and then said, "Shampoo glad she wrong about Sho Mei, but now need to hunt down Airen."

"You do know about Ryoga's poor sense of direction by now, don't you?" Ranma asked, "After all, you've been trying to follow him around for a few weeks."

"You know, the best thing for you to do is stay here at our home. Ryoga seems to keep coming back to Nerima every few days," Akane said.

'She's right,' Ranma thought, 'It's like he homes in on something. Oh yeah, he's homing in on me, just like he used to do with Akane.' "Akane has a point; Ryoga does seem to pass through here often. I'm actually surprised you almost caught up to him this time," Ranma agreed, "Plus I wouldn't mind us having another sparring partner. With your help, all three of us will only get better."

"Shampoo like that!" Shampoo replied.

"Hey, what did I tell you about proper Japanese?" Ranma teased, "Obviously, I'm gonna have to start all over with you." Ranma hesitated and then asked, "Is Elder Cologne coming here?"

"No, this my hunt. Why need Elder?" Shampoo asked.

"I may need some additional training. I learned the name of Pop's master. I think I remember hearing about him in your village as one of your greatest enemies. I'd like to get that information to the Elder so she can decide what to do," Ranma said, "Pop and Mr. Tendo sealed him up in a cave many years ago. Pop's journal shows where it is, in case she wants to do something about him. According to what I overheard and what's in Pop's journal, I doubt I could fight him right now and win."

"Shampoo send letter to great grandmother, and see what she say," Shampoo said, "If what you say is true, then she surely will come. For now, Shampoo stay with tribeswoman and her shield-sister."

Akane looked at Ranma, who mouthed, "I'll explain later." The three girls headed toward the Tendo home.

As they walked into the Tendo home, they went in search of Mr. Tendo. They found him staring at his shogi board, studying a particular problem, and contemplating his next move. "Mr. Tendo, this is Shampoo of the Joketsuzoku. She is a friend I met while I was in China with Pop. She's here looking for her husband, Ryoga Hibiki, and I was wondering if she could stay here for a little while. She's the village champion and a real good martial artist, so I thought maybe she could help Akane and I train."

"I don't see why not, Ranma. She can share the guest room with you I suppose," Soun said. Ranma and Akane suddenly looked a little nervous.

"Shampoo thank you," Shampoo said, "Shampoo pleased to meet friend of my tribeswoman."

"Tribeswoman? Oh my," Kasumi exclaimed as she walked up behind them.

"Kasumi, this is my friend Shampoo from China. Shampoo, this is Kasumi Tendo, the eldest sister of this family," Ranma said.

#It's nice to meet you, Xian Pu,# Kasumi said in slightly accented Mandarin, #I would be honored if you would sleep in my bedroom. It would allow me to work on my Chinese at night.#

#Thank you, Clan Chief,# Xian Pu responded, #I would like that. You can help me with my Japanese as well. Ranma tried to teach me, but I've forgotten much of it.#

#Clan chief?# Kasumi said with a blush.

Xian Pu looked at the older girl, and said, #You are the oldest female in the family, that makes you the head of your clan according to my people.#

#Oh my, Daddy may not like hearing that, but I suppose it is true in a sense,# Kasumi replied, looking thoughtful.

Ranma looked at Kasumi and said, in surprise, #I didn't know you spoke Chinese, Kasumi. I see that you're full of surprises.#

"Yes, I speak some Chinese. Shampoo let me show you where my room is. Do you have any other clothing?" Kasumi asked as she led Shampoo away, "I'm sure you're ready for a nice bath as well."

Ranma and Akane exchanged glances, and then shrugged. "You ready to work out some in the dojo, Acchan?" Ranma asked.

Akane smiled happily and said, "Just let me go change and I'll meet you in the dojo." They walked upstairs and then separated. Ranma went to her room, where she dropped of the small backpack that she had been carrying. Akane headed on to her room to change.

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Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Ego stroking for the author is also nice as well. For those of you who are reading my other stories, I have finally managed to break the horrific writer's block that I had with A Different Path. I hope to have the next few chapters of that ready shortly.


	12. The Return of Cologne

Chapter 12 The Return of Cologne

Nabiki stared at the account book in front of her. Her reaction when she found out that they had picked up another boarder had not been pleasant. Shampoo had diffused the situation somewhat when she offered to pay for her stay, and to help out in the kitchen. Looking at the accounts, Nabiki relaxed a little bit. The additional money that Shampoo had offered would actually more than offset the extra expense. Then her ears perked up as she heard her sister Akane through the common wall between their two bedrooms. Akane was moaning, just loud enough to hear. Then Nabiki heard, "Harder, Ranchan! That feels so good! Yes, right there! Harder!"

Nabiki face-faulted. 'My little sister? Ranma? Are they doing what I think they're doing?' she wondered to herself. She crept out of her room, and listened at her sister's door, for a moment, and heard the moaning continue. Nabiki slowly and quietly opened the door to see if what she thought was going on really was. As she peered around the door, she saw her sister on the bed, with Ranma kneeling beside her, whistling tonelessly.

"Yes, right there, Ranchan. That's the spot!" Akane almost shrieked. Then she heard a thud from behind her. Ranma and Akane turned to look to see Nabiki leaning against the wall.

"Hi, Nabs. Is dinner ready? We've worked up quite an appetite. Tell Kasumi we'll be down soon, we're almost done," Ranma said cheerily. She returned to massaging Akane's lower back, pressing hard against the muscles on either side.

"I thought, I mean, it sounded like…," Nabiki stammered.

Akane giggled to hear her normally calm and composed sister acting so confused. "What did you think we were doing in here?" Akane asked, with one eyebrow arched.

"Er, uh, nothing," Nabiki replied, in an unconvincing manner.

Ranma began to giggle, as she rolled off the bed to stand on the floor. She helped the bikini-clad Akane stand up. "It was all that moaning you were doing, Acchan. Gee, I didn't think you had such a dirty mind, Nabiki," Ranma said with a quick smile.

"Gaah," Nabiki replied, intelligently.

Akane blushed, and then began giggling as well. She walked over to her closet and pulled on her gi. "Shame on you, sis! I didn't know that you were such a pervert," Akane said. Then she walked up to Ranma and hugged her, saying, "Thanks, sweetheart for the massage." Akane looked at Ranma and winked at her.

"Gaah," Nabiki repeated. She gathered up the remains of her dignity and beat a hasty retreat followed by the sounds of Ranma and Akane giggling like maniacs. The two girls made their way downstairs to the kitchen, still giggling, where they observed Kasumi and Shampoo working seamlessly in the kitchen. Kasumi had borrowed some clothing from Ranma for Shampoo to wear, since she was the closest in size.

Kasumi turned and asked, "Okay, what's got you two giggling like that?"

Akane's face turned red as Ranma answered, "Akane got a little sore while we were working out, so we were in her bedroom where I was giving her a massage. Apparently, she was really enjoying it, because she started moaning. She also cried out a few times as well. Anyway, Nabiki came bursting in. I guess she must have thought we were doing something perverted. The look on her face was priceless."

Shampoo began to giggle, as Kasumi put her hands to her cheeks and said, "Oh my." Then Kasumi began to giggle.

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That evening, Ranma was in his usual place on the roof. Unfortunately, tonight was not a good night for watching the stars. The winds had blown from the wrong direction all day, and the air was filled with a significant haze, blocking all but the strongest of stars from his view. Akane soon joined him and they sat there in silence for several minutes just admiring the view. Finally, Akane asked, "What's a shield-sister?"

Ranma gulped and then replied, "That's what the Amazons call women who are lovers."

"Oh dear!" Akane exclaimed, "Then what I said this afternoon really didn't help, did it?"

Ranma smiled and said, "Not really. It's kind of true in a way, though, Akane. I know I care for you the same whether I'm male or female. I know when I'm a girl I'm not attracted to guys." Then he chuckled, and added, "I guess that makes me some sort of heterosexual lesbian or something."

Akane giggled and replied, "Well, I feel the same way about you. The curse doesn't matter, because you're the same person inside."

Ranma got a warm glow when he heard that and leaned over to kiss her. "Thanks, Acchan. I'm glad to hear that, you don't know how much that means to me," he said.

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Monday morning found Ranma and Akane doing their balance training on the fence on the way to school. Shampoo was effortlessly following them, carrying her book bag and bento as well. Initially, when Kasumi had told her about school, Shampoo had balked, but then settled down, as she too ran into the Kasumi effect. When Shampoo had started to protest, Kasumi had simply ignored the protest and continued talking about getting her ready for school, assuming that her will simply would prevail. Shampoo was no match for her, and quickly resigned herself to the fact that she would indeed go to school.

As they reached the gates to the schoolyard, Akane groaned to see Kuno standing there in all of his glory. He posed for a second; hand on his bokken, his shoulders back, his chest thrust proudly forward, his hair whipping around by the gentle breeze and his eyes completely empty of all intelligent thought. He declaimed, "What do my eyes see before me? Three such lovely maidens fair! What wondrous bliss is this, that I, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, should be so blessed to have such lovely ladies vying for my affection? Come, I would date with thee!"

#What bokken-boy mean by that?# Xian Pu asked.

#He's the biggest pervert at the school and he has been hounding both Akane and I for a date. We generally just beat him up and then ignore him,# Ranma replied, in an annoyed voice. 'Damn, I had hoped that we wouldn't have to listen to him for a while longer. I thought that jaw would still be wired shut. He heals too damn fast,' Ranma thought.

"Bokken-boy, it not very honorable to want to date a married woman. Shampoo already have Airen. Leave Shampoo alone, or you won't live to regret it!" Shampoo stated.

"Haven't we had this conversation before, Kuno?" Ranma asked, "I am not interested in you at all, moron."

"And as for me, I already told you what would happen if you touched me again," Akane snarled, "Next time I won't settle for just breaking your jaw."

Kuno rushed them, only to fold over in pain as Shampoo hit him with one of her bonborri, then he flew back and crashed into the wall as she hit him across the head with the other. "Ouch," he said, "That hurt, you know." He lapsed into unconsciousness, just as Nabiki arrived, shaking her head.

"When are you going to learn, Kuno-baby? It's a good thing you have a hard head, that last blow would have killed a normal person. You know, I don't think they like you very much," Nabiki said to herself. She dragged him off to the nurse's office.

"What are you staring at, Ranma?" Akane asked under her breath. 'Ranma better not be looking at her chest,' Akane thought.

"I'm trying to figure out where she hid those weapons. One moment they weren't there, then they were and now they're gone again," Ranma replied, in a like manner.

Akane frowned slightly at watching the Amazon girl. "Shampoo, couldn't you have worn a sports bra, at least? I swear, half the class will have nosebleeds when you walk in!" Akane growled.

"Shampoo is wearing bra, see!" Shampoo said as she began to unbutton her top.

"Shampoo! Don't you have any modesty," Ranma hissed, "Don't give any of those pervert boys a peep show." Akane face-faulted at hearing Ranma say that.

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The teacher announced to the class, "We have a new student joining us. Miss, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Shampoo walked into the front of the room. All of the boys immediately began to drool at the hot new babe that had just walked in, while all of the girls, except for Akane and Ranma, of course, began to bristle. Most of the girls sat straight up, with their shoulders back. As Akane had foretold, many of the guys had little trickles of blood running down from their nose. Akane blinked in surprise as a couple of the girls made furtive moves and grabbed a handkerchief and pressed it against their nose, as if to stifle a sneeze.

Shampoo hesitated and then said, "My name is Shampoo of the Joketsuzoku, a tribe of Chinese Amazons. Shampoo is here searching for her Airen, Ryoga. Shampoo is martial artist, and staying at home of friend Akane and sister Ranma."

"Well, since you are friends with Miss Tendo and Miss Saotome, please sit in the desk next to them," the teacher directed. Shampoo walked over to her desk and sat down, glaring angrily at the boys as she did so. Soon, her desk was piled with notes. Ranma and Akane were mildly amused, until they too began to have notes handed to them. The teacher sighed and began to ponder the advisability of hunting for the bottle of sake he kept in his bottom drawer. When he had gone to college to get a degree in education, they had never told him about days like this.

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At lunch, Yuka and Sayuri joined Ranma, Akane and Shampoo. The five girls sat down on the grass under their elm tree and began chatting. Ranma had been surprised at first that they hadn't been bothered by anybody, until she saw Nabiki at the steps handing out brochures. Obviously, she was making some money selling the information about Shampoo. Yuka asked, "Shampoo, what is a Chinese Amazon, anyway? And how is Ranma your sister?"

"Our ancestors came to China as a refuge from the fall of Troy, led by our greatest queen, Gabrielle, and her warrior friend. We settled where we are some three thousand years ago, and have live as a warrior society ever since. Most of the women are trained from birth to be great warriors. The Council of Elders, all of which are women, leads our people, now. My great grandmother is one of the Elders, one of the leading Matriarchs. Shampoo is village champion. Ranma saved Shampoo from a ferocious panda bear, and Elders made her an honorary Amazon, so she my sister. All Amazon women are sisters," Shampoo replied.

"So why are you here in Nerima?" Sayuri asked.

Shampoo replied, "Shampoo hunting her Airen, what you would call husband. He very bashful, and has a bad sense of direction, and somehow got lost from village. Shampoo follow him here, and run into sister and her friend Akane. They invite me to stay, since Airen has shown up several times in Nerima."

"That sounds so romantic," gushed Sayuri.

----------------------

Akane sat in the chair at the movie theater, with her head resting on the arm that Ranma had draped across her shoulders, watching the movie. She sighed in contentment, as she pondered the changes in her life in the six short weeks she had known Ranma. 'Another Saturday night, another date with my boyfriend. It's amazing how much things have changed,' she thought, 'Here it is, almost the end of May, and my whole life has turned almost upside down. After the boys at school started attacking me, I never thought I could actually have a boyfriend, but here I am with one. I actually have a martial arts instructor now; Daddy never would take me seriously, even though he said I was his heir. Nabiki has stopped selling photographs and information about me to anyone who asks. Kasumi has gone out on several dates with Tofu. If my suspicions are correct, I bet I have a brother-in-law soon. I've even managed to learn how to cook a few things."

"What are you thinking about, Acchan?" Ranma asked quietly, as he pulled her closer to him.

"Nothing really, just about how much my life has changed for the better since you came," Akane replied, blushing.

"I'm glad you think it's for the better, Akane," Ranma said with a smile. The two of them watched as the movie ended with the hero rescuing the heroine from a fate worse than death. Then as the credits began to roll, they stood up and left the theater and began heading back to the clinic so Ranma could change, with a small detour through the park so they could find some privacy. The two of them found a bench in a secluded part of the park, and spent several minutes of quality time together. As they reluctantly broke apart from their last kiss, both of them breathing a little heavy, neither of them noticed a shadowy figure hiding in some tree branches at one end of the clearing they were in. They headed out of the park and made their way into the clinic.

Kodachi followed them as they walked to the clinic. 'Oho, that boy lied to me. He obviously does know that wretched Akane Tendo,' she thought angrily to herself, 'I need to find out who he is and where he lives, so that I can seduce him away from her!' She waited, hiding in the shadows, and then saw the Tendo girl come back out of the clinic, followed by the Saotome girl. The two girls headed up the street away from Kodachi. The gymnast stood there in indecision, trying to decide if she should follow the two girls or wait for the young man to leave. After several minutes had gone by and there was no sign of the boy, she walked across the street and tried to enter the clinic, only to find the door locked, and no sign of any lights.

When the two girls reached the Tendo home, Ranma and Akane leapt up to the top of the rear wall, and then down to the ground by the dojo. Akane grabbed Ranma by the hand and pulled her over to the back wall of the building. "Thanks for another wonderful date, Ranchan," Akane purred as she bent down and kissed Ranma, holding the other girl close. Both of them were oblivious of the figure standing in the window of Akane's room, watching them both.

Ranma blushed as she kissed Akane back. Then the two of them headed to the house, entering it through the kitchen. Kasumi looked up from where she was reading and asked, "Did you two have a nice date?"

"Yes, we did, sis. How about you?" Akane replied, "I'm a little surprised we got home after you did. Usually, Tofu keeps you out later than this."

Kasumi giggled and replied, "Yes, we had a good time, but Tofu has to get up early tomorrow. Something about his mother coming for a visit and he wanted to make sure everything was ready for her. I'm supposed to go over there to meet her on Monday."

Ranma smiled and said, "That sounds like a good sign, him wanting you to meet his mother and all."

"Oh my," Kasumi teased, "I didn't think of that." Her eyes danced with amusement, however.

"Right," Akane drawled, sarcastically, "I'm sure you didn't."

Ranma yawned and said, "Well, I don't know about the two of you, but I'm ready for bed. I'll see you two in the morning." She hugged Kasumi and Akane and made her way up the stairs to her room.

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Sunday had turned into a gorgeous day. The day had turned out to be nice and sunny, and Nabiki had started a competition. She had gone upstairs after lunch and changed into an almost non-existent bikini and then laid a towel out by the koi pond and proceeded to bask in the warm afternoon sun. Shampoo had grinned widely and then changed into the swimsuit that she had bought when Kasumi had taken her shopping for clothes. While technically her bikini had more material than Nabiki's, it was covering a more voluptuous body, so the overall coverage was about the same. She lay down next to Nabiki and soon was almost purring as she sun warmed her.

Ranma had seen Akane looking wistfully at her sister and said, quietly, "I think it's time you had a chance to relax and enjoy yourself, Akane. You've worked hard at the training. Besides, it's time that you learned the Martial Art of Sunbathing." Akane giggled and the two of them left the family room where they had been watching Nabiki, and walked upstairs to their respective rooms. When they reappeared, Akane was wearing a slightly daring bikini, while Ranma had shocked her by wearing one with almost less material than the one Nabiki had donned. The two of them walked downstairs and joined the other two girls, only to find that Kasumi had beat them to it.

Both of them face-faulted as they saw her. Her swimsuit left very little to the imagination. "Okay, who are you and what did you do to the real Kasumi," Akane asked with a little laugh.

Kasumi smiled and said, "It's just us girls, Akane. Shampoo talked me into this one when we went shopping." "Swimsuit too too good for attracting men, Tofu not know what hit him," she quoted, with a giggle.

"Shampoo, you need to be careful when we find Ryoga," Ranma said as she and Akane laid down next to her. Ranma continued, "Remember how bashful he is, so if you push him too fast he'll run again."

"What does Ranma mean?" Shampoo asked, her face showing her confusion.

"I remember how you acted around your Airen before," Ranma replied, "You were always glomping onto him. You didn't notice, but every time you did that, he got this panicked look in his eyes. You need to be less aggressive with him. Start off by just being his friend, and work up from there. You know, like just holding hands, that kind of thing."

After approximately an hour of relaxation, Nabiki went back inside the house to work on her accounting. The other four girls continued lazing in the sun, though Kasumi was beginning to feel a little guilty about leaving the housework undone.

Suddenly, the quiet was broken by the sound of an eerie laugh. "oh-ho-ho-ho," Kodachi laughed from the top of the wall surrounding the Tendo home. "You wicked, wicked girl," Kodachi cried, "Still hiding the pig-tailed boy from me!"

"What do you want now?" Akane growled, her battle aura beginning to show.

"I saw you last night with that wonderful man in the park," Kodachi said, "But when I followed you to the clinic, he never came out. I stayed there all night and I never saw him leave. I checked with the young doctor this morning but he denied that there was a pig-tailed boy staying there. Even after I questioned him more strenuously, he wouldn't change his story. How did the young man get away without me seeing him?"

At this a curious Nabiki stuck her head out of the upper story window.

"What clinic was that?" Ranma asked.

"The Ono clinic, I believe. That's where you work, is it not, Ranma Saotome?" Kodachi asked, "Perhaps you know where he went, you were there last night too."

To everyone's surprise, Kasumi began to get angry. Of course, for her, that was signified by a slight frown. Kodachi, of course, completely missed the sign. The only two she was concerned with were Ranma and Akane. The other girl she dismissed as no threat at all.

"Anyway, when I saw you and the pig-tailed boy kissing in the park, I realized where I had seen him before. I ran into him a few days ago, and he lied to me," Kodachi continued. As she did so, she was smashed into the wall by a bonborri where she stuck in the impact crater she had made.

Kasumi sat back down, handed the bonborri back to Shampoo and dusted off her hands. "Thank you for the use of your weapon," she said politely, "Oh my, I guess I need to go check on Tofu." She stood up and ran toward the front gate. The other girls sat there in stunned silence.

"Uh, Kasumi, unless you're planning on him passing out from blood loss, you might want to consider changing," Akane said, drily.

Kasumi blushed, saying, "Eep!" She rushed back to the house in a blur and then rushed back out almost immediately, dressed in her usual housedress. As she passed by them, the wind from her passing ruffled the water of the koi pond as she vanished through the gate.

The remaining girls woke back up from their shock. Ranma walked over to the unconscious Kodachi, and pulled her out of the dent in the wall. She carried her over to the koi pond and unceremoniously dumped her in it, waking Kodachi up. As Kodachi rose from the depths of the pond, sputtering in anger, Ranma just looked at her in annoyance, and said, "Kodachi, I think you may have outstayed your welcome. Why don't you go home?"

Akane walked up and said, "I think I'll help her get there!" She wound up, and slammed Kodachi in the stomach, lifting her up high in the air, in the general direction of the Kuno estate.

Nabiki pulled her head back in from the window, frowning in thought. 'Who is this pig-tailed boy? This is the second time that Kodachi has said she saw Akane with him. But I sure thought I saw her with Ranma last night hiding behind the dojo. What's going on with you, sis?' she thought. Her eyes gained a wicked gleam as she considered her options. 'I will get the truth from you, sis,' she thought.

----------------------

That evening, Kasumi walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl, wrapped up in a cloth. "Ranma, could you take this over to Tofu? What with all of the excitement this afternoon, I thought he would be to busy to cook for himself, so I made a little extra," she asked.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Sure, Kasumi. I'm feeling a little restless for some reason, anyway." She walked over and took the package from Kasumi.

Akane jumped up from where she had been watching television and said, "I think I'll go with you."

The two girls ran out of the house, with Ranma balancing the package on her head.

They quickly reached the clinic, Akane skipping happily along the top of the fence, while Ranma ran behind her. The two of them walked into the clinic. "Hey, Doc! Where are you?" Ranma called.

Tofu walked out of his office, and greeted them, "Hello, Ranma, Akane. This is a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Kasumi sent us with some dinner for you," Akane said, "Plus we wanted to make sure you were okay from your run-in with Kodachi."

"Yes, I'm fine. She just caught me by surprise with a paralysis drug. It had mostly worn off by the time Kasumi left," he said. He took the bowl away from Ranma and headed toward the kitchen. "Kasumi is so kind isn't she? I'll just put this in a different bowl, and then you can take this one back with you. Wait right here, okay?" he said as he disappeared into the back.

"Okay, Doc," Ranma replied. They walked over and sat down on one of the couches in the waiting room.

Akane smiled as she said, "He's really crazy about her, isn't he?"

Ranma was about to reply when she heard a noise from outside.

"Hello, hello! Is there anyone here?" a quavering voice asked. Ranma looked up to see a shadow on the front door. She walked over to it and opened the door to see a large Buddhist shrine standing at the door. The second the door was opened, the shrine came toward her. She jumped out of the way, and watched as the shrine walked into the room.

"Is any one here?" a quavering voice asked from behind the cabinet.

Tofu walked out from the back, carrying the bowl and some chopsticks. "Hey, what's that noise?" he asked, "Oh, a family shrine! No thanks, I already have one."

"Have you forgotten me already, dear?" the voice asked.

"T-that voice! It can't be!" Tofu stammered.

The shrine was carefully set down, popping the doors to the cabinet open. There they saw a picture of a young man who looked like a slightly older version of Tofu, a pair of pewter candlestick holders, complete with white tapers, and a small chime. A small elderly woman peeked over the top. She exclaimed, "Hello, son. Did you miss me?"

"M-mother!" Tofu said in surprise, "I didn't expect you until tomorrow. Why didn't you call and let me know you were coming early?"

"So I forget. Never mind about that. Come here and pay your respects to your father," she ordered.

Tofu picked up the striker and rang the chime several times, with the others bowing in respect. Tofu then turned to his mother and said, "There mother, it's done. Now tell me why you're here, please?"

"Can't a mother visit her only son once and a while," she replied. Then she pulled out a tan folder and exclaimed, "All right son, take a look at this!"

"What is it?" Tofu asked as he accepted the folder from his mother.

"They're matchmaking photos, of course!" his mother exclaimed, "What did you think they were?"

"What!" Tofu exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out, "Matchmaking photos! You mean they're for me? Oh-no!" He hesitated and then handed the folder back to his mother. "I don't need to see them. I already have a girlfriend."

Suddenly Akane jumped up in the air and shrieked as she felt someone feeling up her hips. "Not bad, not bad at all. You've got a nice set of hips here. Son, you certainly like them young. That's good. As young as she is, and as good a set of hips, she'll give me plenty of grandchildren," the old woman said from behind Akane. Ranma began giggling.

Akane glared at Ranma and exclaimed, "It's not me that he loves!"

Ranma backed away and added, "It's not me, either."

"Mother, behave yourself," Tofu said, "Ranma and Akane are just friends of mine. They brought over some dinner for me."

"Yes, the one he loves is," Akane began.

"Oh hello, may I come in?" Kasumi said from the doorway, holding another bowl, "I'm so sorry, Tofu. I realized I made a mistake and used sugar instead of salt in the pork dish, so I made you a new dish."

"Oh you shouldn't have," Tofu said as he ran over to meet her, "But I like sweetened spicy pork and tofu." He took the dish from her and set it on the counter. "Mother, this is Kasumi Tendo. Kasumi, this is my mother Kin," he said.

Kasumi blushed, as she ran her hands down her apron covered housedress. "Oh my," she said softly.

Kin ran over and asked Kasumi, "You there, what are you to my son? Are you his special friend?"

"Special friend?" Kasumi said, puzzled.

"Mother, Kasumi is my fiancée. I asked her to marry me this afternoon, and she accepted," Tofu replied.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Ono," Kasumi said.

"Please dear, call me Mother," Kin replied.

"Come on Ranma, I think we're in the way," Akane whispered. Ranma nodded her head and the two girls snuck out.

----------------------

Several days later, Ranma was roof-hopping on her way home from her afternoon at the Ono Clinic, anxiously anticipating one of Kasumi's excellent dinners, when she sensed someone coming rapidly toward her. She turned and saw a diminutive figure, jumping from roof-top to roof-top, pogoing on a staff, toward her. She waited patiently and as she suspected soon recognized the figure as the Elder from the Joketsuzoku village, Khu Lon.

#Hello, Elder Khu Lon. Welcome to my country,# Ranma greeted politely.

Khu Lon cackled and replied, #So you still know your manners, I see.#

"Thank you for coming, Cologne. I know I'll need to have a lot of additional training if I hope to face Pop's old master. According to Pop's journal, he is highly skilled, though he wastes it using his abilities in a perverted manner. But first, there's something I need to tell you about, that might change your mind about assisting me."

"The curse you received at Jusenkyo, you mean. Sonny boy, you'll have to be a lot older than you are now to fool me. I knew something was strange when you showed up at the village. You were entirely too interested in curses for only your father to have picked up one. And of course, when I checked with the Guide, he confirmed my suspicions," she replied.

"You're not angry with me because of my deception? The only reason I did it was I knew how your people treated males, and I did want you to train me," Ranma asked.

Cologne cackled again, and replied, "I haven't had this much fun in years, Ranma. I bear you no ill will for what you did, in fact I applaud you for it. As far as my people are concerned, you're still an honorary Amazon and are welcome in the village at any time. You'll have to come like you are now, but that's the only thing I'll ask of you."

"I'm sure you're anxious to see Shampoo. She should be at the Tendo home. The only thing I ask is that you don't let them know that I'm really a male. Pop and Mr. Tendo had made a vow that I would marry one of the Tendo girls, so only Akane and Kasumi Tendo know the truth. Mr. Tendo and Nabiki can't be told," Ranma said.

"I think there's more to the story than that, Ranma, but I won't blow your cover. It should be amusing to see how you handle that. I will insist that you tell Shampoo, however. She is still worried that you are after her Airen. Finding out that you really are male will ease her mind," Cologne said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will. The only thing I have to do is survive when Ryoga finds out the truth. He apparently thinks he's in love with Sho Mei. I'm not looking forward to telling him, but now that Shampoo has told me what she has, I can't let him continue thinking I'm a girl," Ranma replied.

"Oh sonny boy, this is going to be so much fun. I expect I'll be laughing more this next several months more than I have in years," Cologne said.

Ranma smiled wryly and replied, "Well, I'm glad someone finds my life amusing. Come on; think you can keep up with me?"

"Bring it on, sonny boy," the old woman retorted, "This old woman can still run rings around a young whippersnapper like you." The two of them took off toward the Tendo home.

----------------------

As Ranma and Cologne reached the Tendo home, Shampoo met them at the front door. #Great Grandmother, you came!# she exclaimed.

"I'm glad to see you as well, great granddaughter, but you're in Japan now. Speak their language," the old woman ordered, "Yes, I had to come. If there is a chance to rid the world of that old pervert, then I must take it. He defiled our village so many years ago when I was but a young woman, but still the memories of what he did are graven in the minds of all of the Amazons present on that day. Our honor and pride must be restored to us!"

"I'll let Mr. Tendo know that he has a guest. I'm sure we can find someplace for you to spend the night," Ranma offered.

Cologne smiled briefly and replied, "I thank you for your offer, but there is no need. Your excellent Nabiki Tendo has already made arrangements for us, for a quite acceptable fee, I might add. That's one of the reasons I delayed my arrival from China. Shampoo and I will be opening a Chinese noodle restaurant. It's a bit of a cliché, I know, but it is a good cover, and besides, I like to cook."

Ranma smiled at some private joke, and then said, "Yes, I imagine you can do quite a few things in the kitchen, Elder. In that case, follow me and I'll introduce you to the family."

----------------------

The atmosphere in the family room was very friendly as the Tendos gathered around the dining table for the evening meal with their guests. Cologne, Shampoo and Kasumi were quietly comparing recipes, with both Cologne and Kasumi taking copious notes. Soun was still in shock at hearing why the Elder was here. He had managed to put the existence of his perverted master out of his mind for the last twenty years and the idea that he might still be alive had frightened him into silence. Ranma's calm assurance that she was willing to face the old man had brought some measure of peace to his beleaguered mind, however. Nabiki was busily taking everything going on around her in, doing her best imitation of the cat that had swallowed the canary. While she had been initially surprised at the phone call she had gotten from the Amazon Elder several days ago, the negotiations for her services had been quick. She had even surpassed herself in arranging the lease on the building for Cologne, and the Amazon Elder had expressed her satisfaction at the location in glowing terms. She had even modified the terms of their original agreement with Nabiki; so as a result, Nabiki now would be receiving a larger portion of the net income from the restaurant. Akane was excited at the idea of having another martial arts master in town. Cologne had agreed to help Ranma train Akane in several different Amazon techniques, saying that anything goes in an attempt to destroy the old pervert. Finally, the meal was over and Cologne said, graciously, "Thank you for inviting us into your home, Mr. Tendo, and for allowing my great granddaughter to stay here for the last few days. We'll take our leave for the evening. Ranma, I expect you at the restaurant tomorrow as soon as you can get away."

Kasumi bowed gracefully and replied, "Elder, the pleasure was ours. Shampoo was a delight. I know I will miss her help in the kitchen. I also enjoyed our conversation. I look forward to many more with you."

"Kasumi, I also enjoyed our talk. I also understand that you are interested in medicine. I know of several interesting herbal remedies that you may wish to learn," the elder replied.

"Another reason for us to continue our talks," Kasumi responded, "Yes, I am very interested in medicine. I hope to get into college this fall and begin my studies toward some medical career. Our local chiropractor, Tofu Ono, would also be interested in your methods as well. I'm going to invite him to dinner tomorrow, if you would like to join us."

"Kasumi, could you tell him that I will be late to work? I really need to go by and see Cologne right after school," Ranma asked.

Kasumi nodded. Cologne and Shampoo said their goodbyes and made their way out of the house, leaving Ranma and the Tendos behind.

----------------------

Ranma walked down the busy street, heading for the building that Nabiki had leased for Cologne in Nerima Ward. As she arrived, she smiled quickly, thinking to herself, 'Well, this is different. It's not the same building that they had before. That's good. I had some bad memories of that place.'

She opened the door of the soon-to-be restaurant, and walked in. Shampoo looked up from where she was scrubbing the floor and smiled a greeting. "Nihao, Ranma. Welcome to the Nekohaten!" she exclaimed.

'Oh great. It's still the Cat Café,' Ranma thought in disgust, 'Just like before.' "Hi, Shampoo. How did you come up with that name? Isn't that a little odd for a restaurant?"

Cologne hopped in from a back room that Ranma assumed was the kitchen. "Hello, sonny boy. I like cats; it's as simple as that," Cologne answered, "Do you have a problem with the name?"

"Well, sorta, Elder. My idiot Pop trained me in the Neko-ken, and since then I don't like those animals," Ranma replied, a little uneasy.

"Moron," Cologne grumbled, "Don't they ever read those scrolls!" She shook her head in disgust.

Ranma grinned briefly and then asked, "Why did you ask me to come by today, Elder? Are you ready to start my training already?"

Cologne replied calmly, "You know what you have to do first, sonny boy."

Ranma gulped and then asked, "Okay, but if she attacks me, I can defend myself, right? No Kiss of Marriage, no Kiss of Death?"

Cologne nodded and answered, "You have my oath as an Amazon Elder on it, Ranma."

Shampoo looked at the two of them, confusion plain to see on her face. "What Ranma and Great Grandmother talk about?" she asked.

Ranma sighed and said, "Okay, Elder. I don't have any choice in the matter anyway. I need you to teach me or I won't stand much of a chance against the old man." She toyed nervously with the back of her neck. "Shampoo," she began hesitantly, "There's something I've been hiding from you. Pop wasn't the only one to pick up a curse at Jusenkyo. I did as well."

"Aiyee! Ranma turn into cute animal like fat man?" Shampoo asked, her eyes bright.

"Ah, no. Actually, I fell into Nyannichuan, the spring of drowned girl," Ranma replied.

"That not matter. Ranma already girl, no pick up curse then," Shampoo said.

Cologne whacked Shampoo on the head with her cane. She groaned at the stupidity of her great granddaughter and then mumbled, "Idiot girl!"

"Uh, I'm really a guy," Ranma said.

"What Ranma say? She too cute not to be a girl!" Shampoo whined.

Cologne whacked her on the head again and handed Ranma a pot of warm water. She said, "Amazons don't whine, Shampoo. Stop that!" Ranma hesitated for a second and then poured the water over herself and watched as the warm, friendly eyes of Shampoo turned flat and expressionless.

"If only I were a couple of hundred years younger," Cologne murmured half to herself as she gazed thoughtfully at the handsome, muscular young man now standing in front of her.

"Gee thanks, granny," Ranma said acidly, earning him a whack on the head. "Okay, I deserved that," Ranma muttered.

Shampoo growled angrily, "It's not nice to fool Amazon women."

Cologne whacked Shampoo a third time and said sharply, "Child, behave yourself!"

"Shampoo, I'm very sorry that I deceived you. My only defense is that I was desperate for both training and acceptance from your people. I was afraid that neither would happen if you knew I really was a man," Ranma said, sorrowfully. Then he grimaced as he continued, "At least you know that I'm not a threat to your relationship with Ryoga."

Shampoo grinned slyly and said, "Now Shampoo know why Ranma get so sick when find out Airen has crush on you."

"Yeah, of course, when he finds out the truth, that I'm also Sho Mei, that will only give him one more reason to hate me. I will have to tell him the next time I see him. I owe the poor guy that," Ranma replied, somewhat despondently.

"Great Grandmother, Shampoo not know what to think. Shampoo like girl-type Ranma. She good friend. How should Shampoo feel about boy-type Ranma?" Shampoo asked in bewilderment.

Cologne replied, slowly, "I had a lot of time to ponder this question and to decide what to think about what Ranma did, Shampoo. While he did deceive us as to his true gender, he did not do anything to bring dishonor on either himself or us. He did rescue you as well as return the artifacts that his father had stolen from us. He acquitted himself well while he was in our village. And when you arrived, he did befriend you, in spite of your misunderstanding about son-in-law. He also helped convince the Tendos to let you stay with them. Because of that, and because I think he's the best hope to get rid of our old enemy, the enemy of women everywhere, I decided to forgive him his little deception and treat him as an Amazon warrior. I ask you to do the same."

"Yes, Elder. Shampoo do as you ask," Shampoo replied. Then she flashed a quick smile and said, "Ranma make cute man too. Maybe Ranma should find good Amazon woman to marry, no?"

Ranma sighed noisily and then replied, "Shampoo, I already have a woman that I love and wish to marry. I'm just waiting for her to realize how she feels before I ask her."

Shampoo nodded wisely and replied, "Shampoo only teasing. Shampoo know Ranma love friend Akane. Shampoo hope Akane figure it out soon though. Ranma look like prime catch, right, Great Grandmother? Almost as good as Airen."

Cologne cackled as she replied, "So the wind blows in that direction does it, sonny boy? Does she know how you feel about her?"

Ranma blushed and replied, "We're at the dating stage, Elder. I haven't told her that I love her yet, but I've made it pretty clear that I care a great deal for her. She's a little skittish about the word 'love' right now because of that moronic kendoist Kuno, so I'm trying to be careful with her. I don't wanna scare her off like he did with his stupid proclamations of love."

"Ranma not foolish like stick-boy," Shampoo said, "Stick-boy not live in real world. And if he tries to touch Shampoo again, he really won't live in this world, either. Shampoo let him meet ancestors, early."

"Still friends, Shampoo?" Ranma asked, shyly.

Shampoo took a deep breath and then replied, "Shampoo try. Only male friend before was Mousse. He big pest. Not know how to treat Ranma as male friend."

"Well, I won't be chasing you around proclaiming my love for you and hugging trees, or people, or other things thinking they are you," Ranma said, with a laugh, "If that helps any." Shampoo giggled at that, remembering how Mousse always acted around her in the village.

Then Ranma got serious and said, "Shampoo, neither Nabiki nor Mr. Tendo can know that I'm really a guy yet. Akane, Kasumi and Tofu are the only three that do. Akane doesn't want her father to know because then he will force her to be engaged to me because of a stupid promise between her father and Pop. When we get married, I want it because the two of us agreed, not because of that promise. Nabiki would just use the truth as a way to get money out of either Akane or myself. Can you keep it a secret, at least for a while longer?"

"I still want to know the truth about why you agreed, Ranma," Cologne said.

Ranma glanced at her and then played with his pigtail, twirling it with one finger. "Elder, I knew I loved Akane the moment I saw her standing there behind her father. Unfortunately I was a girl at the time. Akane dragged me into the dojo to spar and we got to talking. Once she found out that I really was a guy, she asked me not to let her family know, since she didn't want to be forced into an engagement to a person she didn't know. After thinking about a bit, I had to agree she had a good point. Besides, sixteen is just too young to get married, anyway," Ranma replied, "This way, at least we've gotten to know each other without the pressure of having an engagement hanging over our heads.

"Okay, I can understand that I suppose. Now as far as the training is concerned, I can show you some things in the evening. But for the kind of intensive training that we need to do, we'll need some privacy. How often can you get away?" Cologne asked.

"We should be able to get away most every weekend for most of Saturday and all of Sunday. It'll be a long day coming back. I think there are a few long weekends coming up as well. We won't get a long break until mid-July," Ranma replied.

"We?" Cologne asked.

Ranma stammered for a second and then replied, "Well, Shampoo is going to school with us, and well, er, I was hoping Akane could come, too. I've been training her some, but she's got a ways to go to get where I think she can get. I mean, I kinda wanna train her to be my partner, not just my wife. If that's okay with you?"

Cologne pondered that for a few moments and then said, "I don't see why not. If you are serious about the girl, then she needs to be able to keep up. Besides, do you think an Amazon would object to training a girl to be a warrior?"

Ranma smiled briefly and replied, "No, I don't. I'm really more surprised that you're willing to train me, to tell you the truth." Ranma glanced at the time and said, "I guess I need to change and get to work. I wanna thank you for this, Elder."

"Thank me after you see how I train you, sonny boy," Cologne said, then she cackled.

Ranma splashed himself with some cold water and said, "I'll check with Mr. Tendo, and let you know about Akane. See you at school tomorrow, Shampoo." The girl waved goodbye and then left the restaurant, leaving a somewhat bemused Shampoo behind.

"How good a fighter is Akane Tendo?" Cologne asked.

"Shampoo not sure. Ranma has been training her for several weeks, and she does appear to know what she is doing. She managed to break that idiot Kuno's jaw," Shampoo said slowly, "When we sparred the last few days, she managed to surprise me a couple of times, though I usually beat her. I couldn't defend myself against Ranma, even though I could tell she wasn't going all out. She didn't go all out against Akane either."

"Interesting. By the way, I approve of you going to school. You also need to work on your Japanese, you sound like a bimbo," Cologne said. She stopped to think for a moment and then snapped, "That floor isn't going to clean itself, you know."

Shampoo glared at the older woman and mumbled under her breath, "Where's Mousse when I could really use him."

----------------------

Ranma waited on the rooftop for Akane to join him. The evening ritual had become important to them both, allowing them the chance to talk in privacy with each other about the day's events. Ranma thought to himself, 'If only I had done this with her more often. Of course, before every time we looked like we were getting close, the idiot fathers would spoil it by wanting to get us married. Bakas, both of them!'

Akane came over the peak of the roof and settled gracefully beside Ranma on the rooftop. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly to him. Smiling, he said, "Cologne knew about the curse, and wanted me to tell Shampoo about it today. It went better than I expected. Cologne is definitely willing to train me. I think our fathers' master must have really done something pretty bad to them. She said that there are some things she can show me at night, but for really intensive stuff we'll have to go somewhere else."

"So when are you going on a trip with her?" Akane asked, her voice trembling a little. 'I'm not worried about Shampoo. Just because she's prettier than me,' she thought.

"**I'm** not, **we** are. I asked if you could come along and she agreed. We need to talk to your father but what she wants to do is go on short trips each weekend. I think she can teach us both a great deal," Ranma replied.

Then he gasped for breath as Akane squeezed him tightly. "Ranma, that's great," Akane said.

"Akane, I kinda need my ribs," Ranma said with a gasp.

Akane blushed and relaxed her hug. "Sorry, Ranchan, I guess I forgot my own strength," she said, sheepishly.

"That's okay, tomboy," Ranma teased.

----------------------

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. It looks like everyone enjoyed the previous chapter. I hope the reaction of Cologne and Shampoo meet with everyone's satisfaction.


	13. Ranma's Secret

Chapter 13 Ranma's Secret

Akane, Shampoo, Cologne and a male Ranma, were walking through the woods, heading for the village where they were going to pick up the train back to Nerima. Akane was bubbling happily; Cologne had said she was pleased with Akane's progress and had complimented her on close she was to learning the Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken. The four of them had made excellent progress and the three young adults had become closely knit because of the training they had undergone.

They were nearly out of the forest, when suddenly Ryoga appeared. He cried, "Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" As he charged Ranma, he threw one of his bandannas at them.

"Airen!" Shampoo cried happily, as she started to run to greet her husband-to-be. Akane blanched as she saw the bandanna head toward the oblivious Amazon. Without thinking, she dove and tackled Shampoo out of the way, just as the bandanna whizzed past.

"Sorry, Shampoo. But Ryoga gets a little careless sometimes with his toys," Akane said, "I didn't want you to get hurt!"

Ranma glared at Ryoga and began to lead him away from the other three, yelling, "Hey, Ryoga, you idiot, you're gonna get someone hurt!"

"That's the idea," Ryoga snarled, "Because of you I've seen hell!"

"You keep saying that! Would you at least tell me what I've done to you to get you this angry?" Ranma asked, as he dodged another bandanna.

"Because of you, I got lost in the Colombian jungle, chased by angry drug runners, had to escape from irate natives in Borneo, wandered the Australian Outback, and just missed being boiled alive in Yellowstone Park," Ryoga exclaimed.

"Uh, why's that my fault?" Ranma asked, then said, "Oh yeah, how can I forget, everything that happens to you is always my fault!" He dodged another bandanna and then rushed Ryoga. Yelling "Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken!" he pummeled Ryoga several hundred times, his fists blurring to near invisibility. Finally, one final blow connected, sending Ryoga crashing into one of the trees on the far side of the clearing.

Ryoga shakily got to his feet, sneering, "Is that all you've got?" He threw his battle umbrella at Ranma, who dodged it. The umbrella, acting like a boomerang, began returning toward Ryoga, except it struck a tree trunk, shearing the tree off, and causing it to topple toward the irate youth. Ryoga, in his desire to hit Ranma, was oblivious to the danger.

Ranma yelled, "Watch out Ryoga!" With a burst of speed, he ran forward and knocked Ryoga partially out of the way of the tree, but one of the heavier limbs hit Ryoga on the head, knocking him out.

Shampoo screamed, "Airen!" and ran to where Ryoga was trapped under the tree. Her face pale, she was trying to pull the tree off, without success.

The other three ran up. Ranma, Shampoo and Akane lifted the tree off of Ryoga, while Cologne pulled him out from beneath it. She began to examine him, and then sat back. "We need to get him some medical attention. He's out cold, but his right leg is broken," she said.

Ranma broke some branches off of the tree that were reasonably straight and pulled a couple of undershirts from his pack. Cologne quickly splinted the broken leg. Ranma looked at her and said, "There's a clinic in the village. You guys meet us there." He picked up Ryoga and vanished.

"Wait! Shampoo come too!" Shampoo called as she ran off after them as fast as her legs could carry her.

----------------------

Ranma slowly opened the door to the hospital room and walked into the darkened room. His grim visage softened as he saw Shampoo sitting by the bedside, her head resting on the bed, with her hand grasping the free hand of the occupant of the room. Both Ryoga and Shampoo were fast asleep, with the only light the display from the monitor that was keeping track of Ryoga's vital signs. The sound of the gentle beep from the machine was the only thing that disturbed the silence.

Ranma walked over and gently shook Shampoo. She slowly raised her head and whispered, "What is it, Ranma?"

"Cologne wants to see you," Ranma replied. He hesitated for a second and then asked, "Do you really love him, Shampoo?"

Shampoo looked at Ranma, her tear-streaked face looking wan, and replied, "Yes, Ranma, Shampoo love him. It's not just that stupid law. Shampoo not know what it was, but something about him just makes me melt inside."

Ranma smiled gently and responded, "That sounds like love to me, Shampoo." His face grew grim as he continued, "I'm so sorry about what happened. But Ryoga is strong. He'll wake up eventually."

"It's not your fault it happened," Shampoo said, "And you got him to the clinic quicker than anyone else could. Airen will be fine, I know he will. He just needs to stay in bed until he heals." She hesitated and then asked, "Will you stay with him while Shampoo see what Great Grandmother wants?"

"Of course, he's my friend too," Ranma replied. Shampoo smiled and then got up and left the room.

Ranma sat down in the chair that Shampoo had just abandoned and said softly, "Sorry, buddy. I wish you'd seen that tree coming. I hate seeing you like this." He stared at the badly injured young man, hoping that he would soon come out of his coma. "Shampoo needs you. She damn near died inside when she saw you," Ranma continued, feeling guilty for what had happened.

Shampoo walked back into the hospital room, and said, "You might as well go home, Ranma. Shampoo call you if something changes."

"Sure, Shampoo. You need to take care of yourself. It won't do for Ryoga to wake up and find out that you got sick," he replied. He gave her a brief hug, surprising both of them, and then let himself out of the room. The last thing he saw before he shut the door was the worried look on the Amazon girl's face.

----------------------

Ranma walked reluctantly into the hospital room and sat down in the chair facing Ryoga. "What do you want?" Ryoga growled, "Did you come here to gloat?"

"No, Ryoga, I came here to apologize," Ranma said slowly, "It's my fault you got hurt. If we hadn't have been fighting, you wouldn't have had that tree fall on you and break your leg."

Ryoga sighed, his anger melting away. "I started the fight, Ranma. It wasn't just you. Besides, you almost got me out of the way of the tree. If I hadn't have been so blind with my anger, I would have realized what you were doing, and wouldn't have struggled like I did," he said.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I do to you?" Ranma asked quietly, "It can't have been the bread fights in the cafeteria."

Ryoga lost himself in thought and then replied, "No, the bread fights really have nothing to do with it. I guess I started out being jealous of you. You aren't cursed like I am with this horrible sense of direction. I really didn't like you because of the bread fights, but then you started walking me to school and back. You would spar with me and I could tell you were so much better. Then I didn't make it back for that man-to-man fight, and I blamed you for not being there. It was easier to blame you for everything that was wrong with my life, than to admit that I had any control over it. Then I followed you to China, and things started looking up, I thought. I met this wonderful girl that I started liking, but then I managed to get a different girl interested in me. Somehow, that became your fault too. If I hadn't have followed you, I wouldn't have ended up at an Amazon village, but on the other hand I wouldn't have met her, either."

Ranma started looking sick as he heard Ryoga talk. "Now I know you're really gonna hate me, Ryoga," he began, "I should have told you before, but I just kept making excuses not to. It was just easier not to tell you, I guess." Ramna stumbled to a halt still unsure how to proceed.

"Come on and spit it out already," Ryoga groused.

"Ryoga, remember when you were at that training ground in China, and got knocked over a cliff by a panda?" Ranma said looking everywhere but at the injured boy in the bed.

"Yeah, I remember that, that's when I met Sho Mei the first time," Ryoga replied dreamily.

Ranma swallowed and continued, "That panda was my Pop. The training ground has cursed springs and if you fall in one, you change into whatever drowned in that spring. Pop fell in the spring of drowned panda. He was chasing me when he knocked you down." Ranma closed his eyes, knowing he was going to hurt Ryoga, but said, "When I saw that, I couldn't let you fall into one of the pools, so I jumped back and knocked you away from the valley floor."

Ryoga's face took on a look of dawning horror. "You mean you fell into one of those pools," he said.

Ranma opened his eyes and looked at Ryoga with eyes filled with sorrow. He said sadly, "Yes, Ryoga, I did. I fell into the spring of drowned girl."

Ryoga just stared at him stupidly. Ranma sighed and walked over to pour some water over his head from the pitcher on the side of the bed.

Ryoga gasped as he saw Ranma turn into the girl that he loved. "Ryoga, I'm so sorry. If I had realized what was going on, I would have told you sooner. This is so unfair for you, I know," Ranma said. Ranma winced as she heard the sound of Ryoga's heart break in two.

Her sweet voice filled him with fury. Ryoga said coldly, "Get out. Get out of my sight, you bitch!"

Ranma froze in anguish as she replied, "You're right, Ryoga. I deserve that. I deserve every bit of that. I should have told you as soon as I could, but I didn't know that you were beginning to fall for who you thought I was. I never wanted to hurt anyone like this."

"Why did you do this, Ranma? Were my feelings something for you to play with?" Ryoga asked bitterly.

Ranma gazed sorrowfully at him for a second, not liking the pain she saw running across Ryoga's face. She said, "At first, I didn't want you to know who I was because I didn't have the time to waste. I needed to find Pop, and I knew that if you knew that the girl was me, that you would try to fight."

Ryoga glared at her and then admitted, "You're probably right about that. But why didn't you tell me at the Amazon village?"

"You saw how they treated most of the men there. I wanted them to train me, and it was easier to continue to be a girl," she replied. She sighed and continued, "And I wasn't sure you would keep my secret from them. It was bad enough just keeping Pop from saying things he shouldn't say."

"No, I would have kept your secret. That would have exposed a weakness in a martial artist, and that wouldn't have been honorable. Besides, once I realized that I was the cause of you getting cursed in the first place, I would have protected you from being exposed," Ryoga protested, "In fact, I'll still keep it a secret if you need me to."

"Damn," Ranma said, "I guess I misjudged you. Sorry about that." Then she stared at the walls for a few moments and then continued, "But once I saw you here, there wasn't any excuse not to let you know the truth. It had just become easier to hide from you. Ryoga, up until recently, I never made the connection about you. I was too blind to see that you were having feelings for me, I mean for Sho Mei. When I figured it out finally, I promised myself that the next time I saw you I would tell you the truth. Unfortunately, you attacked me before I had a chance to tell you, and then you got hurt. This is the first time you've been conscious since then; you've been out for several days. I've always considered you a friend; I would never have deliberately hurt you like this. You can't begin to believe how sorry I am about all of this."

"Do you think saying you're sorry makes up for any of this?" Ryoga asked, despondently, "I thought I had found someone I could love."

"No, of course it doesn't," Ranma replied. She hesitated and then said, "I know you don't want to hear this now, especially not from me, but Shampoo really loves you. She's told me that several times, and I believe her. You're a good person, Ryoga. I'm sorry I did this to you; you deserve better than this." She turned to leave.

Ryoga asked, "Shampoo loves me? It's not just the silly Amazon law?" A strange expression came and went across his face.

Ranma replied, "She says she does. She's really a nice girl; once you get past all of the glomping she likes to do. She's been staying with you every night while you've been here, making sure you're okay. Talk to her, I think she'll surprise you." Ranma left the room, leaving a despondent Ryoga behind.

Ryoga stared into space, his mind reeling from the all the shocks he had just received. He looked up as the door opened and Shampoo poked her head in. "Can Shampoo come in, Ryoga?" she asked softly.

"Sure, Shampoo. I think we need to talk," he replied.

Shampoo walked over and sat down in the chair next to the bed. Ryoga reached over and held her hand and said, "Ranma told me several things that we need to sort out. He told me that you spent every night here while I was unconscious. Why did you do that?"

Xian Pu smiled tremulously, and replied, #You are my Airen. A good wife should stay with her husband when he is ill.#

#That's not the only reason is it?# he asked, his heart heavy, following her lead and speaking in Chinese.

Xian Pu blushed, and replied, #No. I would have been here even if the law didn't require it. Ryoga, I have fallen in love with you. Every time I see you, I feel good inside. I chased after you because I wanted to, not just because I had to. I was very jealous when I thought Xiao Mei had stolen you from me, and was very happy to find out the truth.#

Ryoga darkened at the mention of Sho Mei and then sighed. #Finally something that really is Ranma's fault, and I can't even get mad at him properly. He saved me from getting cursed and then he probably saved my life when the tree fell on me,# Ryoga said.

#True, you owe him a great debt,# Xian Pu replied. She hesitated and then asked, #He considers you a friend, did you know that?#

#Yes, I think I did. He didn't have to walk me to school and back everyday,# Ryoga replied, #and while he teased me about my sense of direction, he was never malicious about it like most of the other guys. They could be very cruel.#

#As his friend, or if you prefer, rival, please keep the fact that he really is a guy a secret. The family he lives with, and the friends he has at school, all believe that he is really a girl,# Xian Pu said.

#Why is he doing that?# Ryoga asked in surprise.

Xian Pu replied, #Because the girl that he loves asked him to. Akane's not ready to get married this young, and if her father knew that Ranma was a boy, they would be engaged at least. If you won't do it for Ranma, please do it for her.#

#Is Akane the girl that was with you the other day?# Ryoga asked.

#Yes, she was. Elder Khu Lon is training all of us. We were on our way back from a training trip when you ran into us,# she replied.

#I'll think about it, I guess. I thought I recognized her. I owe her a debt, since I accidentally cut her hair. If she hadn't moved, I might even have killed her,# Ryoga said. He hesitated and then asked, #Ranma doesn't do anything dishonorable, like go in the public baths or the locker room at school to look at the girls, does he?#

#No, he doesn't take advantage of his cursed form that way. As he said, if he wanted to see a nude girl, all he needs is cold water and a mirror,# she replied.

Ryoga surprised himself by laughing. #That's true, I suppose. I hadn't thought it through like that,# he replied. Then he sobered up and said, #Xian Pu, I don't know how I feel about you. At first, the whole marriage thing scared me, and you were so ardent in your pursuit. I'm not ready for that kind of relationship with anybody. But, now that we're together, I'm willing to be friends with you. I'm just not sure what you see in a guy like me.#

#Ryoga, you're a good martial artist, you're cute, especially those little fangs, and you're a pretty nice guy when you're not obsessed with killing Ranma,# she replied. Ryoga began blushing furiously.

#I don't really intend to kill him,# Ryoga admitted, #I just want to be able to beat him.#

#I can understand that. He is a bit arrogant,# she replied with a smile.

Ryoga laughed and replied, #More than just a bit!# Xian Pu surprised him by giggling merrily.

----------------------

Cologne opened the door to the hospital room to find Ryoga and her great granddaughter in an animated conversation. "Good news, son-in-law. The doctor has cleared you and said you could be discharged," the old woman said, "As soon as you get dressed, we can leave and go back to our restaurant."

"Shampoo help Airen get dressed," Shampoo bubbled happily.

Ryoga blushed furiously and stammered, "T-t-that's okay, Shampoo. I can get dressed by myself."

"How are you planning on putting your pants on without help?" Cologne asked dryly, "You'll never get them on over that cast otherwise."

Ryoga grumbled under his breath, something that sounded surprisingly like, "Damn that old ghoul." Then he sighed in defeat and replied, "All right, Elder," he said, "You're right. I can't argue with you there. Even with help, we'll still have to slit the seam so they'll go over it anyway."

Cologne cackled, and said, "All ready thought of that, son-in-law." She tossed Shampoo a pair of pants and hopped out of the room, leaving a red-faced Ryoga and a gleeful Shampoo behind.

"You don't really have to do this, Shampoo," Ryoga said in embarrassment.

Shampoo sighed, as she replied, "Shampoo do this because it right thing to do. We are friends. Friends help friends."

Ryoga pulled the blankets from his legs and then swung them out over the edge of the bed. Shampoo slid the pants up over his legs and then helped Ryoga stand up as he finished putting them on over his boxer shorts. Ryoga refused to look at Shampoo as she supported him. Then he took off the hospital gown and put on a yellow shirt that she had handed him. To his embarrassment, she put her arm around his waist and then pulled his arm over her shoulders, as she helped him walk out of the room to find Cologne waiting impatiently.

"Where's my backpack?" Ryoga asked, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen it in the room.

"Ranma took it to the restaurant when he left to go back to Nerima, yesterday. It'll be there waiting for you when you get there. I expect you to behave around him from now on. We are training him to defeat his father's master, and I won't tolerate any distractions that you two fighting would cause. I'm just sorry that it'll take you several weeks to heal. Ranma could use another good sparring partner," Cologne replied.

"Yes, Elder, I'll try not to cause any trouble," he responded. Then he smiled wryly and said, "Not that I would be much of a challenge to him right now. What's so important about defeating this master?"

The three of them slowly walked to the train station while Cologne decided how best to respond. After several long minutes of silence, she said, "A long time ago, when I was still a young woman, this young martial artist visited our village to learn our arts. We refused to train him, since we kept our secrets to ourselves then, but he managed to find out a few things by watching us. We finally chased him away from our village, and told him never to come back." She briefly closed her eyes and then continued, "The Elders of that time made a mistake. They sent a small party of warriors to kill him, since he had managed to anger them. Only two severely wounded warriors came back from that disaster, and they warned us that he had sworn to seek his revenge."

"That doesn't sound like the smartest thing to have done. Why didn't they just leave him alone?" Ryoga asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

"The reason he was told to leave was that he didn't just spy on us during our training, though that was bad enough. He was caught watching the younger woman bathe. That was what finally infuriated the Elders. Anyway, a few nights later, he came back, and killed several of the women guarding our treasures, and took off with many of them. Some would be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Many of our younger warriors sought to make a name for themselves by trying to track him down and defeat him. We have lost many brave warriors doing that, the last being my granddaughter," Cologne said.

"Shampoo not know that! Only know that mother died in battle. Why great grandmother not tell Shampoo before?" Shampoo asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Because I didn't want to lose you as well," Cologne replied, gazing at her with a rare show of affection. The old woman shivered and said, "That is why when Shampoo wrote of Ranma's offer to fight the old man, I had to take him up on it. It may sound ruthless and cold of me, but I will sacrifice almost anything or anyone to get our vengeance."

"I want you to train me as well, Elder. If this person is as bad as you make him sound, Ranma will need my help to get the skill he needs," Ryoga said, "But how can you trust him?"

"Ranma impressed me greatly when he was in the village. He also took care of Shampoo when she first arrived here while she was trailing you. Then he brought you to the clinic after you were injured. All these things are signs of an extremely honorable man. How can I not trust one so honorable?" Cologne replied.

Ryoga said almost to himself, "True, and he received his curse saving me."

"He considers you to be a friend, Ryoga, not an enemy. Maybe you need to reconsider your hatred for him," Cologne suggested.

Ryoga looked a bit sheepish and then replied, "I don't really hate him, to be honest. It's mostly an act. I'm just envious of his skill."

"Then you must work hard to be a worthy challenge for him. He would like that as well, I know. He is pushing himself hard so that when the evil one comes, he will be able to defeat the old pervert," Cologne commanded.

Ryoga fell silent, pondering her remarks.

----------------------

Ranma was enjoying himself, practicing his balancing act while walking on the chain link fence that separated the canal below and to his right from the street on his left. He slowly began to pick up his pace until he was actually running across the top of the fence. He looked ahead and saw that up ahead in the distance, about five hundred meters was one of the bridges that crossed the canal, creating a break in the fence.

As he continued running, he landed on one section of the fence that was loose. It began to topple, just as Ranma jumped to the next section. Sighing in relief, he said, "That was close!" Then, before he could move, that section fell, dropping him into the cold waters of the canal below.

"Well, this sucks," Ranma groused to herself as she stood up, wringing the water as best she could out of her shirt.

"Are you okay, young lady?" a kindly voice asked from the street above. As Ranma looked up, she saw her mother standing there.

"Oh, it's you," Nodoka said in an entirely different voice, as she frowned.

Ranma replied, icily, "Yes, it's me. Still not ready to accept me, I see." She ran off down the canal toward the bridge, where a ladder led up from the canal to the street.

"Wait!" Nodoka cried.

Ranma hesitated for a second, and then her shoulders stiffened and she climbed up the ladder to the street and vanished from her mother's sight.

Nodoka tried to run after, but the kimono she was wearing didn't allow her to run, so she soon gave up the chase. She wandered sadly around for a few minutes, not really paying any attention to where she was going. Nodoka walked slowly by a construction site. "Oh, Ranma," she lamented as she wandered past a sign reading 'RADIUM SPRING CONSTRUCTION.' "How I miss you! I was such a fool!" she cried as she put her sleeve to her eyes. She then sat down next to a sign that read 'HOT SPRING WATER MAIN -- DO NOT SIT.'

"Lady, get out of there!" a voice yelled. Nodoka looked up, just as she heard the rumble of water coming out of the boiler, and in time to get caught in the geyser as it carried her into the air.

Ranma heard the sound of a large "WHOOSH!" She turned around and saw a giant plume of water gushing high into the sky. To her horror, she saw a figure being propelled up by the wash of hot water

"What is that?" a bystander said.

Another one answered, "A water eruption!" a random bystander noted

"MOM!" Ranma exclaimed. She started running toward the plume of water, thinking, 'No!'

Nodoka started regaining consciousness as she began to fall toward the street far below. Ranma rushed forward, almost flying over the street, and then soaring high up onto the rooftops, racing faster than she had ever raced before. "Mom! Mom!" she called as she jumped into the plume of water, changing instantly back into his male body.

'Ranma?' Nodoka thought as she saw someone coming toward her through the spray of the water surrounding her. She saw a black-haired, pig-tailed boy reach out his hand and grab her, pulling her into his strong arms.

"Mother..." Ranma said as he held his mother in his arms. "Mother...Mother…" he said again.

"Ranma?" Nodoka stared at his deep blue eyes in recognition. "RANMA!" she cried out, as she hugged him deeply and fainted away. Ranma landed carefully on the ground, and set his mother down on the grass. He stood over her unconscious body, staring wistfully at her with pain-filled eyes.

The sky darkened as one of the ever-present rain clouds blew in from the sea, heading towards the mountains. "Mm...Ranma..." Nodoka tried to say as she started to wake up.

"Oh, moth..." Ranma began, just as the clouds opened up and the rain came pouring down, accompanied by the loud crash of thunder.

Nodoka woke up. "Ranma? Did you save me?" she said, her voice toneless. 'What's wrong with me?' she thought.

"Yes, Mom. I couldn't let you fall and hurt yourself, maybe die. I would never have forgiven myself if I had let that happen," Ranma said. She turned and began to walk off.

"Wait! Ranma! Are you well?" Nodoka asked frantically.

Ranma stiffened her shoulders and replied over her shoulder, "As well as can be expected, Mom. Take care of yourself." She ran off, refusing to allow the tears in her eyes to fall.

"RANMA!" Nodoka screamed as she vanished out of sight. Nodoka struggled to her feet and said, sadly, "At least I know he is here in Nerima. Maybe one day he will be able to forgive me." She walked home; her shoulders slumped in despair, unaware of the eyes watching her from one of the rooftops.

"Soon, Mom," Ranma sighed, "Soon, I hope. Can we both swallow our pride long enough to talk to each other? Can you ever really accept me the way I am?" She allowed her tears to fall as the figure of her mother vanished from her sight.

----------------------

Kasumi watched as Ranma came walking dejectedly into the yard and made her way towards the dojo. "Ranma, I've made some cookies," she called, "Would you like some?"

Ranma looked up and answered, listlessly, "No thanks, Kasumi. Maybe later, I'm just not hungry right now."

'Ranma, not hungry! Now I know something is wrong,' Kasumi thought. She walked out of the kitchen and entered the dojo, where she found Ranma going through the motions of one of her katas. 'Something is really troubling him," Kasumi thought. Ranma stumbled to a stop, and collapsed on the ground.

Kasumi rushed over to the young girl, and knelt on the floor next to her. Ranma looked up, her eyes filled with tears, and Kasumi reached out and held her. The tears came pouring out of Ranma's eyes as she began to cry. As she cried, she said, "I saw Nodoka, I mean, Mom today. She got in an accident, and could have died, but I saved her. But she didn't look happy to see me. I miss her so, why can't we be together? Why can't I talk to her without getting so angry at her?" Her voice choked with her emotion, Ranma quit talking and just buried her head in Kasumi's embrace.

Kasumi thought to herself, and then her expression firmed. 'This has gone on long enough,' she thought, 'It's time I did something about this. He is really hurting and I can't imagine his mother is feeling any better about the situation.' "Don't worry, Ranma. It'll get better, trust me," she said, soothingly, "Big sister will take care of you."

Ranma looked up at Kasumi through teary eyes, and whispered, "Thanks, Kasumi-chan. I know you will. I love you for it too, big sis."

"Hey, what else is family for?" Kasumi replied, her eyes misting, "You're my little brother, as well as my friend."

----------------------

Kasumi stood irresolutely at the door of the modest home, and then firmed her expression. She knocked on the door and waited for the owner to appear. The door finally opened and an attractive auburn haired older woman appeared, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"Hello, are you Nodoka Saotome?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, do I know you?" Nodoka replied.

Kasumi said, "My name is Kasumi Tendo. I'm a friend of your son. I'd like to talk to you about him."

Nodoka's eyes grew wide and she exclaimed, "Please, come in. I need to know all about him. I miss him so much." Kasumi followed Nodoka into the family room, where the two of them sat down.

Kasumi said, "Mrs. Saotome, Ranma is hurting very badly right now. He misses you a great deal, and wants you to be a part of his life. But he's afraid to swallow his pride and come here."

"How much do you know about my son?" Nodoka asked.

"He thinks of me as his older sister," Kasumi replied, simply, "He came to us on a matter of honor. Did you know that your husband and my father had been students together, and that they had pledged to unite the two families through their children?"

"That's right; you said your name was Tendo. I vaguely remember Genma talking about his old friend Soun, but I didn't know about any pledge," Nodoka replied. She noticed the ring on the younger woman's finger and asked, "So is my son engaged to you?"

Kasumi giggled and said, "No, I'm engaged to someone else. Ranma isn't actually engaged to any of us. When he arrived at our house the first day, he was in his cursed form. My youngest sister found out the truth, and convinced Ranma not to reveal that he really is a boy, in an attempt to avoid being engaged. So neither my father nor my middle sister knows the truth. Ranma reluctantly agreed, so for the last several months, he has lived at our house as a girl, with occasional opportunities to get away and be male."

Nodoka's face grew stern and she asked, "Why did he agree with that? It doesn't sound very manly."

"Oh but it is, Mrs. Saotome. Ranma fell in love with my sister Akane the moment he laid eyes on her, but Akane had a problem with boys. If Daddy had realized that Ranma was a boy, the two of them would have been engaged in an instant. Ranma knew from what Akane said that if that had happened, the two of them would have hated it, and would have fought it and possibly each other. He agreed to my sister's ruse in the hopes that Akane would begin to care for him as much as he cares for her. This way, the two of them were allowed to become friends first, without the pressure that my father would have placed on them," Kasumi said, soothingly, "Ranma temporarily gave up his manhood so that he could win the woman he loved. I don't know what is more manly than that."

Nodoka relaxed, her face losing the stern expression she had been wearing. She said wearily, "I thank you, Miss Tendo. I'm glad you've taken care of my son. I've made many mistakes with him, but none so horrible as my reaction to his curse. How is he handling that?"

"Better than I expected, actually, Mrs. Saotome," Kasumi said, "By the way, please call me Kasumi."

"Only if you call me Nodoka," the older woman replied, "Tell me more about him, or I guess her."

"Ranma is a very good martial artist. She has been teaching Akane her school, and in the process, taught my sister how to control herself. She has been very good for Akane. If I have any complaints about Ranma, it is that she is still very rough around the edges. As a girl, Ranma is very much a tomboy, as you might suspect. Your husband didn't believe in the finer things in life, I'm afraid, and it's taking Ranma a while to overcome that. I had to have a bit of a discussion on some of that. Happily, Ranma took what I said to heart, and has cleaned up her grammar and is making decent grades in school. I convinced her that if she wanted to teach martial arts, she needed to know how to learn so she could teach."

"You love him too, don't you?" Nodoka said suddenly.

Kasumi thought for a second, and then answered, "I think of him as a sibling. He's the brother I've always wanted, and a third sister to cherish. So yes, I do love him, and want to see him happy. That's one of the reasons I came here today. Your absence from her life is hurting her and she really needs her mother, especially now."

"I miss my child as well. I didn't handle things well, and I need to make it up to him. Do you know where he is?" Nodoka asked.

"She took Akane to the ice cream parlor downtown. They do that often," Kasumi replied, "They should be there for a while."

"Thank you, dear. I believe I have a craving for some ice cream, myself," Nodoka said. The two women smiled at each other, and then left the house.

Kasumi said, "I have a few errands to run. I hope to see you again, Nodoka."

"I have a feeling you will, Kasumi," Nodoka replied. They separated, Kasumi heading to the Ono Clinic while Nodoka headed to downtown Nerima.

----------------------

Nodoka's eyes widened as she saw the scene in the window of the ice cream shop. She recognized the laughing, red-haired girl as her son Ranma. She was obviously having a good time talking to the young woman sitting next to her at the booth in the shop. Nodoka hesitated for a long time, not sure if she was ready for this confrontation. Finally, she carefully schooled her expression into one of calmness, belying her inner turmoil, and opened the door.

"Admit it Ranma, you're jealous that I got more ice cream than you did this time," Akane teased, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Ranma flashed a quick grin and replied, "You won the bet fair and square, Akane. I can't believe I got beat by a tomboy like you." Then she giggled at the expression on Akane's face as Akane mock glowered at her before giggling as well.

Ranma felt someone stop at their table and then a voice asked, "Excuse me, Ranma. Could we talk?"

Ranma looked up from her ice cream sundae to see her mother standing there. Nodoka almost broke down as she saw the open, good-natured, alive face that had been there just a moment before close down and become rigid. Ranma replied, in a voice with absolutely no expression in it whatsoever, "Of course you can. This is my friend Akane Tendo. Akane, this is my mother, Nodoka Saotome." Ranma motioned for Nodoka to sit down.

Nodoka complied and said, "Nice meeting you Miss Tendo. Have you known Ranma long?"

Akane replied, "Ranma has lived with my family since she came to Nerima in April, Mrs. Saotome. The two of us have become good friends."

Nodoka winced slightly at the choice of pronoun that Akane had used. As she had feared, this was going to be a difficult conversation. "Could I talk to you for a moment alone, Ranma?"

Akane made to stand up, but Ranma held her arm and replied, "I'd rather you stayed, Acchan. I will have no secrets from her. In fact, she's the only reason I'm still here in Nerima. Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of her."

Akane interjected, "That's okay Ranma, I can move to a different table. I don't mind."

"You don't understand, Acchan. I need you here with me," the other girl replied, fervently.

Nodoka sighed and said, "If it's that important to Ranma, then please stay Miss Tendo. I was only trying to save myself some embarrassment." She hesitated for several seconds and then said, "Gomen Nasai, Ranma. I made a horrible mistake when I found out about your curse. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"You mean ordering me out of your house? The one person I knew I could count on to help me!" Ranma said bitterly.

Akane reached for Ranma's hand and clasped it. "Ranchan, calm down, she's trying to apologize, baka," she chided gently.

"Thank you, dear," Nodoka said gratefully. Then she continued, "I admit it Ranma, I panicked. All of a sudden, the manly son that I thought I had rediscovered turned into a girl. I didn't stop to think; I just reacted. I have had a long time to think about my actions that evening, and wanted to find you again to tell you that I'm sorry. The few times I've seen you since, you've always run away before we could talk. I guess our pride got in the way."

Ranma looked up, her eyes filled with hope. She asked softly, "Does that mean you accept me for who I am?"

Akane held her breath as she waited for Nodoka to answer this most important question. Nodoka sat there then took a deep breath as she answered, "Ranma, I can't help but accept you. I'm your mother and it's past time that I should be part of your life. It looks like I have both a son and daughter to take care of now." She reached out and placed her hand over their joined hands.

"What about Pop's promise to bring me back a man among men?" Ranma asked quietly.

Nodoka froze in consternation, surprised that Ranma knew about the seppuku pledge. Then she answered, "That was a pledge between your father and me. I didn't want him to take you away from me, so he came up with that promise. I only agreed to it because I hoped it would keep him from doing anything foolish. From what you told me that night, I shouldn't have let him take you. I don't know if he managed to teach you to be a man among men or not. That's something I can't judge after only our few short meetings. However, you did save my life at considerable risk to your own, so that tells me that you are selfless and brave."

"Mrs. Saotome, Ranchan is a very honorable person. In either form, he has protected me from harm. I have heard him say on more than one occasion that the duty of a martial artist is to protect the defenseless. The maddest I have ever seen him get is when someone endangers an innocent person," Akane said, "I don't know what a man among men is supposed to be, but I would trust Ranma with my life."

"Ranma, I'd like to get to know my child better. Would you consider living with me at my home?" Nodoka asked.

"Mom, I'll have to think about that. I've made some commitments to Mr. Tendo to teach Akane our school, and I need to meet that promise. I'm going to school with Akane, and I sure need her help with my schoolwork, and I work for the local chiropractor, Tofu Ono. I don't know if I can do all of that and still live at your house," Ranma replied, softly, "It wouldn't be honorable not to meet all of the commitments that I have made."

"Can I at least come visit you until you decide?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma hesitated and Akane answered, "Mrs. Saotome, there's a little complication. When Ranma first came to our house, Daddy was expecting to meet the Saotome son and have him engaged to one of his daughters. However, Ranma was a girl when she showed up at the door, so I convinced Ranma to pretend to be a girl to keep the engagement from happening."

"Why would you do that, dear?" Nodoka asked.

"Akane is the only one of the girls that practices martial arts, so she knew that her father would force her to be my fiancée," Ranma said quietly, "Neither one of us wanted to be forced into an engagement with someone we didn't know, so I agreed to the ruse."

"Oh my, that doesn't sound very honorable," Nodoka said frowning, wanting to find out from them what their reasoning was. 'I know what Kasumi thinks, but what is the truth?' she thought.

Akane replied quickly, "It was my idea, Mrs. Saotome. When Ranma showed up, I really wasn't thrilled with boys. And I wasn't happy about one living in my house. But I've come to realize that Ranma isn't the same as the perverted boys at school."

"That's good to know, dear," Nodoka said dryly, "Being a pervert doesn't sound very honorable at all."

"Actually, I'm not sure Ranma even knows what being a pervert means," Akane said, giggling.

Ranma smiled back and replied, a bit wryly, "I don't know about that, Acchan. I've gotten a pretty good idea after listening to Yuka and Sayuri talk to you. Mom, I'd rather Akane and I visit you at your house, if that's okay. That would give me some more time to be her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Nodoka asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Saotome, Ranma and I are dating. We've come to care a great deal about each other," Akane replied. Nodoka saw that the young girl's feelings ran deeper than that.

Nodoka admitted, "I have to confess to both of you. Your sister Kasumi came and found me today and told me where you two were. I already knew about the situation at your house from her, Akane, though she hadn't told me how you felt about my son."

"I'm sure my sister knows. She doesn't miss much that goes on around our house," Akane replied, "But she also wouldn't tell anyone what she knew unless there was a very good reason."

"It sounds like I owe Kasumi big time," Ranma added, "Remind me to thank her. Because of her, I have my mother back."

"Ranma, Akane, please come home with me, tonight. We could eat dinner, and talk some more. I have over ten years to catch up on and I would really like to get to know both my son and his girlfriend," Nodoka begged.

Ranma shared a pleading look with Akane. She nodded. Ranma smiled hugely and replied, "Mom, we'd love to. One of us needs to call Kasumi to let her know." Then she rose from the booth she was sharing with Akane and hugged her mother. Nodoka cried silent tears of joy.

----------------------

That evening, Akane was in the kitchen with Nodoka, helping her with the dinner. Akane was being very careful, following Nodoka's instructions to the letter. Ranma had grumbled silently when his mother had made it plain that she wanted to talk to Akane privately. Once Ranma had gotten some hot water and changed, he stalked off to the family room to sulk.

"Akane, how do you feel about my son?" Nodoka asked out of the blue, surprising Akane.

Akane blushed and replied, "I think I may be in love with him, Auntie. He makes me feel so warm inside every time I'm with him."

"What about his curse? Doesn't that bother you?" Nodoka asked.

Akane stared into space, thinking carefully about how she wanted to answer the question. Then she replied, "I've never known him without the curse, so no, it doesn't bother me that he can turn into a girl. He doesn't change inside and that's all that matters to me. Even if he can never find a cure, I won't care."

Nodoka thought to herself, 'Ranma has chosen wisely. How manly he must be to be able to win her love even when he is a girl.' "Akane, I will be honored to have you as my daughter. Ranma has chosen well, I think," Nodoka said.

"What do you mean by that, Auntie?" Akane asked.

"My son loves you Akane. It's obvious to those who know what to look for. I think the only reason he hasn't told you is because he is afraid of rejection. From what he has told me about how Genma trained him, and what I did to him the when I first found out about the curse, he has good reason to feel concern," Nodoka answered, "He needs to feel that he is worthy of being loved."

Akane looked thoughtful, and then said, "He's not the only one afraid of rejection, Auntie. Thank you for telling me what you did. I knew he cared for me; why else would he put up with being a girl for so long? But, I was afraid that he didn't love me the way I love him. Now that I know the truth, I think I can have the courage to tell him."

----------------------

Meanwhile, across the town at the Nekohaten, another girl was struggling with her feelings as well. Shampoo sat on the roof of the restaurant, pondering her fate. On the train ride back to Nerima, Cologne had waited until Ryoga fell asleep, and then had quietly cautioned her not to be too aggressive in her affections toward the shy young man. As skittish as he was around women, that would be the wrong approach. Cologne had thus unknowingly reinforced the suggestion that Ranma had made several days ago. Shampoo had to admit that if both of them had independently come up with the same conclusion, then there probably was some merit in what they said. After what seemed like hours, Shampoo nodded her head, as she made her decision.

Cologne frowned to herself as she considered her next move. Shampoo had been hiding for a long time, first up on the roof, and then once she had come back into the building, she had promptly gone into her room and firmly closed the door. Cologne wearily climbed the stairs to her great granddaughter's room to see what was bothering her. As she reached the door, it opened, as Shampoo walked out of the room. Cologne raised an eyebrow as she saw what Shampoo was wearing. Instead of her usual tight, low-cut blouse, and skin-tight leggings, that displayed her considerable assets, she was wearing a modest blouse, fully buttoned up to the neck, and a mid-length skirt. She had taken her hair down from her normal buns, and allowed it to hang loosely down her back.

"Child, what game are you playing now?" Cologne asked.

"Shampoo think long and hard about what Airen say and what you and Ranma tell me. He hurting and embarrassed from having feelings for Ranma. Right now, Airen need friend more than wife. Shampoo be friend first, then maybe Airen look at Shampoo like Ranma look at Akane," Shampoo replied.

"So you intend to chase him in a different way?" Cologne asked shrewdly.

"Airen too too shy. He not like being glomped all of the time. Shampoo think maybe she should let him chase her. Then he not know what happen when Shampoo catch him," she said.

The two women exchanged smiles. Then Shampoo walked into Ryoga's room.

"Hello, Airen. How you feel?" Shampoo asked.

"I'm fine. That should be 'How do you feel' by the way," Ryoga replied.

"Great Grandmother bring food soon. After you eat, does Airen need anything else?" Shampoo asked.

"I could use some conversation, Shampoo. And that way, you could learn to speak Japanese a bit better too," Ryoga replied.

"Shampoo like that. Er, I would like that," Shampoo said, remembering finally some of what Sho Mei had taught her.

----------------------

Author's notes: Thanks for all of the kind reviews. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated.


	14. Mousse is Loose!

Chapter 14 Mousse is Loose!

Cologne grinned as she walked by the room where Ryoga was staying. 'Xian Pu was right. Her plan appears to be working,' the elderly Amazon matriarch thought as she listened to the sound of the two children talking. Ryoga was patiently correcting Shampoo as she spoke her sentences in Japanese, while the two of them sat at the desk working on her homework. It was strictly a coincidence that because of the smallness of the room, the two of them were sitting almost shoulder to shoulder while they worked.

Ryoga was in trouble. He knew it. The faint smell of jasmine coming from Shampoo's hair was driving him crazy. The only thing that was saving him was his need to concentrate on the homework assignment that the two of them were working. While his academic career was spotty, Ryoga had always prided himself on his knowledge. He had always read voraciously, so his book learning was extensive. He was also glad that Shampoo had changed her style of clothing; with the difference in height between the two of them, he would have been hard-pressed not to look down her blouse, and the resultant nose-bleed would have ruined the homework they were doing.

Shampoo smiled secretly to herself. 'It looks like he's starting to get comfortable with me sitting this close to him,' she thought. She turned to look at him, only to see him gazing at her, his face only inches away from hers, his eyes with a deer caught in the headlights look. He blushed and made to turn away, but then suddenly he pressed his lips against hers. She responded to the kiss, but didn't deepen it, secretly happy that he had made the first move, but not wanting to chase him away by responding too quickly.

His face flushed, he broke away and began stammering, "I'm sorry, Shampoo. I shouldn't have done that. It was just that we're sitting so close, and you're so cute. I couldn't help myself."

She swatted him lightly on the shoulder, and replied, "I've wanted you to do that for a long time, Airen. Never say you sorry for wanting to kiss me. It was well worth the wait; just don't take so long for next time." At that invitation, Ryoga leaned in again and kissed her.

'Now why was I running away from her if it feels like this?' he thought.

Cologne simply cackled as she walked past the door again. 'Excellent hunt, my young huntress. The prey captured itself,' she thought.

----------------------

Ranma was waiting with Akane at one of the booths at the carnival for the announcement of the winners of the raffle. Finally, the barker cried out, "Fourth Prize, number 4344." Akane looked at her ticket and squealed in delight. She rushed over to the counter and received her prize, a large pig. She hugged the pig and staggered over to Ranma.

Ranma teased, "What is it with you and pigs, Acchan?"

Akane glared at the smaller girl and said, "I've been wanting this. We can have this for dinner."

As they strolled down the street, an eerie laugh rose up around them. "Heh, heh, heh, Sho Mei, beloved of Ryoga Hibiki…" a voice said.

Ranma looked puzzled and then the light dawned.

"Now you will be my hostage!" the voice continued, again followed by the same eerie laugh. Ranma heard the sounds of chains coming toward them. She pushed Akane out of the way. They avoided being entangled in the chains; however, they watched as the pig was pulled struggling into the sky, furiously protesting all the while.

"Now I've got you!" the voice exulted.

Ranma dusted herself off, and glared at the figure she saw standing on a nearby rooftop. A strange man, wearing long Chinese robes, a white mask, with long, straight, black hair, on top of a unicycle. He threw a note at Akane, who caught it, and said, "Tell Hibiki that if he wants Sho Mei back.."

Ranma interrupted, and yelled, "Mousse! There's several things wrong with your plan, moron. First, that's not me you've got; that's a pig, you blind fool. I'm standing right here! Put your glasses on!"

The young man pulled the mask of his face and threw it to the ground and then put on a pair of thick glasses. He stared at the pig who oinked back at him. "Well, then, I'll just have to grab you instead!" he replied, heatedly.

"That's the second thing that's wrong with your plan. Ryoga could care less about me. He doesn't love me, that's for sure. He's living with Cologne and Shampoo!" Ranma yelled back.

Mousse's face fell. "Elder Cologne is here?" he asked in dismay.

"Yes, they're staying at a restaurant called the Nekohaten that they just opened up. Now, could you please give Akane back her pig?" Ranma said in exasperation. 'Well, this is different. He didn't try this until later the last time,' Ranma thought.

Mousse blushed and tossed the pig back to Akane, who caught it, but staggered back under the weight of the struggling pig. Suddenly a different ominous laugh was heard, as Kodachi sprang down next to Akane and wrapped her and the pig up in her ribbon. "Tell me where the pig-tailed boy is, your horrid, horrid girl!" Kodachi commanded.

Akane glowed red with battle aura and broke the ribbon. She swung her fist, and drove it into Kodachi's chin. The force of the blow lifted Kodachi off her feet and sent her soaring up into the sky in the general direction of Mousse. "Leave us alone, Kodachi. Ranchan doesn't want you!" she screamed in rage.

Kodachi began falling headfirst toward Mousse, who jumped up and caught her in his arms and then landed lightly onto the rooftop.

Mousse asked, anxiously, "Are you okay?"

Kodachi gazed at the young man holding her, and thought, "Oh! He's gorgeous!" She put her hands to her face and blushed. "I, I, I was so frightened!" She grabbed hold of Mousse and hugged him tightly.

"What?" Mousse said, puzzled.

'Oh, the gray, dreary life of a girl's school! I've given up hope of finding a man to love,' she thought, 'To think such a wonderful experience was awaiting me. My knight in shining armor!' "Please, kind sir, may I ask your name?" she asked.

"Name?" Mousse stammered, "Uh, my name is Msu Tse of the Joketsuzoku."

"What a wonderful name, Msu Tse of the Joketsuzoku," Kodachi gushed, "My name is Kodachi, Kodachi the Black Rose of St. Bacchus School." 'Msu Tse, the pig-tailed boy; the pig-tailed boy, Msu Tse,' she thought, 'How can I choose between two such gorgeous men. I must have them both!' Suddenly she froze, and thought to herself, 'I'm sounding just like brother dearest. I've obviously been spending entirely too much time around him.'

Kodachi whipped a bouquet of black roses out of nowhere and presented them to Mousse. "For you, my Msu Tse," she proclaimed. As she did so, a cloud of gas sprayed itself into Mousse's face.

'Paralysis powder,' he thought as his muscles froze.

"Now be brave, my Msu Tse, and taste these lips of mine!" she cried as she bent down and pressed her lips ardently against his. Then she sprang away, crying, "Remember me, the Black Rose."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and then shrugged. "We can't just leave him here," Ranma said. 'Better him than me,' she thought.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Akane answered.

Ranma jumped up to the roof and slung Mousse over one shoulder and then the two of headed off to the Nekohaten, carrying a silently fuming Mousse.

----------------------

Akane opened the door to the Nekohaten and Ranma staggered in still carrying Mousse on her back. Cologne hopped over as Ranma set Mousse on the floor and then collapsed into one of the booths. "I should have let you carry him with your brute strength," Ranma grumbled under her breath.

Unfortunately, Akane heard her and fired back, "Hey, you're the one who decided to get all macho and carry him by yourself. Anyway, I had the pig. Why didn't you think to get some hot water and change back?"

Ranma looked sheepish and mumbled, "Er, Uh, I didn't think of it?" She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

Akane collapsed onto the floor, laughing hysterically.

Cologne cackled at the antics of the two youths, and then asked, "What happened and why is the blind fool here?" She gazed at them and smiled briefly, as she saw their auras. 'Heaven help anyone who tries to come between those two, now. They are tied together by bonds of love that are as strong as any that I have seen,' she thought.

"He had some crazy idea that if he kidnapped her, that Ryoga would come running to rescue his beloved Sho Mei leaving Shampoo for him," Akane gasped, trying to get her breath back after laughing so hard.

"He ran into Kodachi Kuno, who apparently developed a crush on him. She has a strange way of showing her affections, however," Ranma continued dryly, "She gave him some sort of paralysis powder and then kissed him."

Shampoo giggled from where she was listening from the stairs and then grumbled, "Mousse here chasing me. He didn't take news of Airen very well. He have stupid crush on me since we were three. Silly Mousse, he never learn."

Cologne smiled thinly and said, "Well, it looks like you're doing something besides flirting with son-in-law up there. Your Japanese is still atrocious, but it is getting a little better. We'll just let this stuff wear off. He'll be fine in the morning, aside from being a bit stiff. Maybe this will teach him something."

Ranma hesitated and then asked, "How is Ryoga doing?"

"Physically, he's getting better. He won't be getting out of that cast any time soon, but the rest of the injuries are healing fine. The blow to the head doesn't seem to have caused any problems," Cologne replied.

"That's because his head is the hardest part of his body. It's solid rock up there," Ranma said with a grin.

"He's not angry with you anymore. He's still sad about Sho Mei, of course, but he says he understands why you did what you did. He still means to take a chunk out of your hide, though," Cologne continued. 'Of course, the tribal potion that I gave him to block most of the anger didn't have anything to do with it,' she thought with a great deal of satisfaction.

"I may let him. I don't like hurting people the way I did him," Ranma said softly.

The pig that was in Akane's arms chose that moment to say, "Oink!" surprising the other two who had thought the pig was a toy.

"What friend Akane do with cute pig?" Shampoo asked.

"I won it at the carnival. There's a butcher I know that I'm gonna give it to," Akane replied.

Shampoo walked over. She was holding a glass of water to take upstairs to give to Ryoga. As she neared them, she stumbled and poured the water all over Mousse. To their surprise, Mousse suddenly disappeared under his robes. As the pulled the robes away, they discovered a white duck, wearing glasses, lying there still paralyzed.

"Aiyee, idiot Mousse pick up Jusenkyo curse," Shampoo said in shock.

Cologne stood there shaking her head in disgust. "The boy just can't do anything right, can he?" she said.

"We'll leave him with you. We need to drop this pig off," Akane said. Ranma and Akane left the café, leaving the two Amazon women gazing dispassionately at the stupefied duck.

Cologne got some hot water and poured it over Mousse, changing the duck back. Then she threw the robe over the blind boy. "Mousse, what are you doing here? And how did you manage to get a Jusenkyo curse?"

"I came here to rescue my Shampoo from that woman-stealing Hibiki," Mousse said, "She is mine, no one else's!'

Cologne whacked him on the head with her cane and said, "You know the Law, Mousse. Son-in-law defeated her in combat, and she gave him the Kiss. The only way for you to win her is to first beat Son-in-law in combat for the right for her hand, and then to beat her. You can't do either. Now, how did you get cursed?"

"Several months ago, after Shampoo had left looking for that accursed Hibiki, I was off on a training trip to gain enough skill in my martial arts to win her back."

Flashback

"Here sir, is legendary training ground of cursed springs, Jusenkyo," the elderly guide said as they walked in the midst of the spring-fed pools.

"I shall train atop these bamboo poles for the defeat of Ryoga Hibiki!" Mousse said, as he took his glasses off, "And so I will take my first step to glorious victory!" Mousse turned and walked right into one of the pools.

The Guide exclaimed, "Aiyaaa! You fall in Yahzuniichuan! The Spring of Drowned Duck have tragic story of duck what drown there thirteen hundred years ago. Now whoever fall in same spring, take body of duck. Oh, very tragic!" He gazed down in shock at the white duck floating on the top of the pool. "I am guide here many many years, but you first one fall in spring on very first step!"

End Flashback

"You call that a glorious step?" Cologne asked.

Mousse glowered up at the Elder and replied, "The moment I fell in that spring, I devised my plan to defeat Hibiki."

"Oh, so you brought back some water from the spring to curse Son-in-law," Cologne said, "Well, I'm afraid I can't allow it, Mousse. You are to leave Son-in-law and Shampoo alone"

"Or what?" sneered Mousse. 'Old bag,' he thought.

"Or you'll stay a duck until I decided to change you back. I need Ryoga and Ranma to be able to work together to rid the world of that old pervert who has been a thorn in our side for so long. Both of them have great potential as martial artists and working together will bring that potential to fruition," Cologne replied, coldly, "I will do anything, sacrifice anyone to bring down Happosai. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Mousse looked at her with eyes filled with hatred and said, biting off each word, "Yes, I understand. I'll obey your command." 'For now, but I will have my vengeance, and I will win my Xian Pu,' he thought, 'No outsider is going to stand in my way for long."

----------------------

Shampoo knocked politely on the door to Ryoga's room. He said, "Come on in, Shampoo."

She walked in and asked, "How you know it was me?"

"One, I heard footsteps, not a woman hopping on a stick and two, I caught a faint scent of the jasmine that is in the shampoo you use," Ryoga said with a large grin, showing his two little fangs.

Shampoo giggled, and said, "Airen smart man." Then she sobered and said, "Shampoo." She stopped and hissed at herself. Then frowning in concentration, she tried again, "I came up to talk to Airen. Boy from my village, named Mousse, show up. He have big crush on me, since I was three. I don't like him like that, but he doesn't take no for answer."

Ryoga's eyes narrowed as he felt the pangs of jealousy. Then they widened in surprise as he realized what he had just felt. Ryoga growled, "Well, he'd better leave you alone. Can't Cologne do something about him?"

"She'll do what she can, but that not main problem. Cologne allow him stay here. She have no choice. But there is no spare room for him. I think maybe he give up on me if think we truly are couple. Great Grandmother suggest maybe Airen and I share room, while Mousse here," Shampoo said, her cheeks heating up as she blushed, "She also afraid Mousse may attack Airen but if you in room with me, no can do that. I can protect until leg is better." 'Am I a good actress or what?' she thought.

"The old woman is really worried that he might try something?" Ryoga asked. At Shampoo's nod, he added, "But she's letting him stay here. That doesn't make any sense."

Shampoo looked frustrated as she replied, "It Amazon tribal law. Mousse part of tribe and he asked for shelter. Elder can't refuse because of law."

Ryoga stared into space while he considered what she had said. He answered, "All right, I guess we can try, but there better be two separate beds."

Shampoo pouted prettily and said, in a little girl voice, "Airen doesn't trust me."

Ryoga blushed and replied, "It's not that, exactly. I'm just easily embarrassed, Shampoo. This is all new to me. I'm just not comfortable with how I am feeling." 'This is going to be hard. These feelings that I have for her,' Ryoga thought, as he squirmed uncomfortably.

"Is anything I can get Airen?" Shampoo asked.

"No, I'm fine. There is one thing you can do though. I have a perfectly good name. Could you call me that please?" Ryoga pleaded.

Shampoo batted her eyes at him and replied, "It bother you that much? Then I call you Ryoga. It is good name for you. You are good, and you have those cute fangs."

----------------------

Nabiki watched her sister and Ranma sitting with their friends at lunch in the school courtyard from the privacy of her second floor classroom. There was just something strange about their body language. Nabiki prided herself on her powers of observation and she couldn't help but worry about what she thought she was seeing. Her sister was definitely attracted to the red-haired girl, and it seemed that Ranma returned the attraction. 'I thought that I hate boys thing was just because of the hentaii horde attacking her every morning,' Nabiki mused, 'Then again, she had that severe crush on Tofu. She sure gave up on him awfully fast though. In fact, it was only a couple of days after Ranma showed up that she seemed to lose all interest in Tofu.'

One of her assistants came up and said, "Boss, there are some rumors floating around about your sister and Ranma. They're saying that the two of them are a couple."

Nabiki frowned slightly and said, "They are pretty close, I have to admit. Akane does like men though, remember back when she had that crush of Doctor Ono? She even changed her hair style in an effort to make him like her."

----------------------

Yuka waited at the main gate for Akane and Ranma to join her. Once they got there, Yuka asked, "Akane, I need to talk to you alone for a minute. Do you mind, Ranma?"

Ranma looked at Yuka and saw how serious she appeared. She smiled easily, and replied, "Not a problem. I need to get over to the clinic anyway. I'll see you at home, Akane. Don't forget that we promised to work with Cologne again this evening after dinner." Ranma headed off to the clinic leaving Yuka and Akane alone.

"Akane, I overheard some girls talking about the two of you. Are you in love with Ranma?" Yuka asked nervously.

Akane blushed and replied, "She's a good friend. She also reminds me of my boyfriend, since they have a lot of the same personality." 'Oops, now why did I say that,' she thought.

"Boyfriend? Since when did you have a boyfriend, and why have you been keeping it a secret?" Yuka asked in surprise.

Akane stammered, "For several weeks now, I guess. I met him through Ranma. As to why it's been a secret, well, I just didn't want Daddy to know. You know how overprotective he can be. But I guess if people are somehow getting the wrong impression about Ranma and me, maybe it's time for him to show up."

----------------------

As Ranma pulled himself up onto the roof above his room, he was pleased to see Akane already up there waiting for him. He walked over and sat down next to her, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She hesitated for a second and then stammered, "Ranma, I need to tell you something." She paused and blushed furiously, and then continued, in a rush, "I'vefalleninlovewithyou."

"What?" Ranma asked puzzled.

"I've fallen in love with you," she said a little slower. As the words registered, Ranma's face lit up brightly.

"That's great!" he exclaimed, "I've loved you for a long time, Acchan. I was just waiting to tell you that I did until after I made sure you felt the same way. I didn't want you to think I had pulled a Kuno on you or something."

Akane giggled and then replied, "You're nothing like that moron, Ranchan." She pulled him to her and then kissed him. After they kissed for several minutes, she reluctantly pulled away. Then she frowned and said, "There's something else. I guess the fact that we are in love has become obvious at school. Some of the girls are saying that we are lesbians. I was thinking that maybe my handsome boyfriend should meet me at the front gate once school is over."

"Who's gonna be the boyfriend?" Ranma asked, his eyes innocent.

"Baka, that's you!" Akane replied, a little angry.

Ranma smirked, and said, "Gotcha!"

Akane punched him lightly in the shoulder and growled, "Just for that, maybe I ought to ask Ryoga instead."

Ranma got a strange look on his face and growled back, "Forget it, Acchan. You're mine. And I'm yours. Besides, Shampoo wouldn't like it if she thought you were stealing her man."

Akane shivered at the possessive sound in his voice, and then smiled as she realized that she felt the same way. She said, "Just show up tomorrow and give me a big kiss when I run up. You'll need to miss the last part of school so you can change into some other clothes."

"I'll drop something off at Tofu's on the way to school tomorrow," he promised, then he said, "I think that's enough talking for now." He pulled her into an embrace, and then they kissed. 'I don't think the pig-tailed boy should show up. Thank goodness I knew better than to get the Dragon Whisker curse this time,' he thought, just before he lost himself in her kiss.

----------------------

School was finally over for the day and the students of Furinkan High School were beginning to leave the school building. As the first wave of students neared the main gate, several of the girls stopped in awe. Leaning against the wall was a certifiable hunk, a handsome young man, with his long, black hair loosely tied back in a ponytail. His open, friendly countenance, his piercing blue eyes, and his muscular physique were making most of the girls drool.

One of them, braver than the rest, got up enough nerve to approach him. She talked to him for a second and then came back to report to the rest, saying, "Sorry, girls, he says he's taken. He's here waiting for his girlfriend."

As more of the students poured out of the doors, the young man scanned the crowd. Suddenly his face lit up like a light bulb had turned on and he yelled, "Akane!"

Akane looked up from where she had been talking to her best friends Yuka and Sayuri, and her sister Nabiki. Her eyes lit up as she saw the young man standing at the gate waiting for her. She smiled broadly and said "See you guys later!" She took off running like a broken field runner through the crowd, parting it like Moses parted the Red Sea. As she neared the young man, she launched herself at him and glomped onto him, staggering him slightly. He bent down and kissed her passionately.

As the crowd stood there in stunned silence, several of the girls became weak at the knees, wishing their boyfriend would greet them like that. Others felt a strange sense of warmth. Nabiki was standing there in shock; the hug her sister had given the young man was bad enough, but to watch them in that fierce lip-lock was blowing every circuit in her brain. Finally the two separated and the boy handed Akane a bouquet of yellow roses. Then he picked her up in his arms and then leapt to the roof of one of the buildings and bounded out of sight.

Suddenly Nabiki was surrounded by her schoolmates, all of them clamoring for news. Nabiki sweat-dropped as she realized she didn't have anything to tell them about what they had just witnessed. She raised her hands for silence and then said, "I hate to admit it, but I'm just as surprised as the rest of you. I had no idea she was seeing someone. I guess all of the rumors about her and Ranma can't possibly be true." She slowly made her way through the crowd and headed home, her mind busily trying to make sense of what she had just seen.

----------------------

Nabiki came storming into the kitchen looking for her sister. "Kasumi, where is Akane? I can't find either her or Ranma," Nabiki asked.

"She came by for a minute, but just long enough to let me know that she was leaving again and wouldn't be back until dinner," Kasumi said, with an amused look in her eyes, "Why did something happen at school?"

"Yes, it looks like Akane has had a boyfriend that she hasn't told anyone about. He met her at school this afternoon, and when they kissed, I could feel the electricity all the way over where I was standing," Nabiki replied.

"Oh my, so that's what that was all about," Kasumi said, "But you're wrong. I know that she had a boyfriend. She calls him Ranchan. I've met him, he's very nice."

'Ranchan, that's the pet name she uses for Ranma sometimes,' Nabiki thought, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "So what can you tell me about him?" Nabiki asked.

Kasumi smiled and held out her hand, and said, "Five thousand yen."

Nabiki said, "Oh my!"

The two of them laughed and then Kasumi said, "He's a martial artist, a pretty good one. He's a bit rough around the edges still, but he's changed quite a bit for the better since I first met him."

----------------------

At dinner that evening, Nabiki was watching the family as they ate, her sharp eyes missing nothing. Something was definitely going on between the two girls sitting across from her. Ranma and her younger sister were sitting entirely too close and every time one of them 'accidentally' touched the other, both of the girls would blush. Nabiki glanced over at her father, but he was oblivious to what was going on, lost behind his newspaper. Then Nabiki glanced over at Kasumi, expecting to see her proper sister in shock at the scene in front of her. Instead, she found her older sister looking at the two girls with what almost seemed like an approving smile on her lips. Nabiki thought, 'I need to get to the bottom of this. I know she's seeing some boy, I've even saw them kiss! And what a kiss it was, too. Who was that boy? What is with my little sister? I'll just have to ask her tonight.'

----------------------

Nabiki knocked on the door to her sister's room, and walked in. Akane looked up from where she was working on her homework, and asked, "What took you so long? You looked like you were about to explode at dinner."

"Very funny, Akane. Who was that guy this afternoon?" Nabiki asked.

Akane smiled dreamily and replied, "My boyfriend."

Nabiki growled, "From the way you two were kissing, I kind of gathered that. Kasumi said his name is Ranchan, and that she's met him. How come I've never heard of him?"

"It wasn't any of your business, sis. I didn't want Daddy to know about him; you know how he would have acted," Akane replied.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes and said, "Yeah, he would have gone all weepy about how his little girl was growing up." Then she paused for a second and then asked, "What is going on between you and Ranma? The two of you were awfully touchy-feely at dinner, and sure seemed to blush a lot. It's almost like the two of you are an item. Do you like girls, too?"

Akane blushed and exclaimed, "Nabiki! That's not a nice thing to ask."

"So let's admit that right now I'm not a nice person. Just tell me what's going on between the two of you," Nabiki insisted.

"I can't tell you. At least not yet, but it's not what you think, that can I promise you. I'll tell you as soon as I can," Akane replied.

Ranma poked her head in the room and asked, "Are you about ready to go see Cologne, Akane?"

Akane colored and said, "Yes, we can go now, Ranchan." She stood up from her desk and headed toward the door.

"I'm not done with this yet, Akane. You just have fun with your girlfriend there, but I will find out what's going on," Nabiki said, coolly. Nabiki thought, 'Wait a minute, she called Ranma Ranchan, again. That's the same name as the boy. What are the odds of that, I wonder? Maybe Ranma really is a boy.' Then she laughed, as she remembered how Ranma's chest had felt the first day. 'Naw, not with that impressive set,' Nabiki mused, 'It's got to be a coincidence, is all.'

----------------------

As had become their custom, the five girls had sat beneath what had become their elm tree and began eating their lunches. Yuka and Sayuri were casting envious looks at the box lunches that Akane and Ranma were devouring. Shampoo smiled privately to herself as she watched the two of them, and thought, 'That was such a good act. They make such a good couple. I hope that Airen comes to love me as much as Ranma loves Akane.'

Sayuri finally had to ask, "Who was that hunky boy from yesterday, Akane? You ignored all of the notes and everything in class this morning, but you have to tell us."

Yuka nodded in agreement, and added, "He's so cute. How could you have hidden somebody like that from us for so long? I'm kind of hurt that you didn't tell us that you were dating someone. We're your best friends, after all."

"Was he really a good kisser? How far have you gone with him?" Sayuri asked.

"How did you meet him? Tell us all about it," Yuka gushed.

Akane stammered as she replied, "Yes, he's a good kisser, b-but that's all we've done. He's been a perfect gentleman. Not like your pervert boyfriends." She blushed and added, "I've known him for several months now, and we've gone out a bunch of times."

Unable to help herself, Ranma was also blushing furiously as she listened to the two girls practically drool over her guy side. She was trying very hard to hide the blush and not draw attention to herself.

"What friend Akane do with too, too cute boy after he carry you away?" Shampoo asked mischievously.

Akane was blushing madly, trying very hard not to look at Ranma as she remembered the rest of that afternoon and the detour they had taken on their way home from school. "N-nothing," she stammered as the other three girls giggled, while Ranma started thinking about how she could disappear, she was so embarrassed. They had done a bit more than just nothing after all.

As the girls sat there talking, a shadow fell across them. Akane looked up and frowned as she recognized the person standing in front of her as the idiot from the skating rink, Mikado Sanzenin.

"What do you want, Sanzenin?" she asked, "Did you lose your girlfriend somewhere?"

"She's not my girlfriend; she's just my skating partner! I want to know where the boy named Ranchan is. We have some unfinished business," Mikado replied.

"What will you do if you see him?" Ranma asked, her eyebrow quirked.

Mikado scowled, and replied, "He insulted me and belittled my challenge. Neither of those can be ignored. I must repeat my challenge and then defeat the wretch. Until then, I can't continue towards my goal of kissing one thousand women."

"Ooh, what a pervert! You're as bad as Kuno," Yuka said in disgust.

"Knave, who art thou that darest to talk to the fair Akane Tendo, the spirited Ranma Saotome, and the fierce Shampoo? I, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, will not allow it!" Kuno proclaimed from where he had walked up behind Sanzenin. He swung his bokken at Mikado who swayed out of his way.

Mikado turned around and sneered, "I am Mikado Sanzenin, one half of the famous Golden Pair, the champions of Kolhoz High School Martial Arts Ice Skating. No man tells me whom I may speak to, much less a mere lad like you. I accept your challenge. Next Sunday, at the ice skating rink, I will defeat you! Bring your partner, and Azusa and I will defeat you!"

"I accept, you wretch, and may Kami defend the right! Now, be gone from here," Kuno began.

Ranma exchanged glances with Akane and Shampoo. The next thing the two arguing boys knew they were flying through the air, courtesy of a punch from Ranma, a kick from Akane and a blow from Shampoo's bonborri. As they soared through the air, they heard the girls yell in unison, "And don't come back!"

"Ranchan, huh? Is that your boyfriend's name?" Sayuri asked.

Akane sat back down, blushing. "That's the nickname I use for him," she admitted. Then she was rescued from continuing as the bell rang, letting them know that the lunch period was over.

----------------------

After they came home from school on Saturday, Kasumi gathered the family for another nice meal. "Daddy, this postcard came for you in the mail, today," Kasumi announced at lunch, "It's from Ranma's father, saying that he's on his way here to see us." Soun burst into tears of gladness at the news that he would soon see his friend.

'Dammit, Pop! Why couldn't you stay away longer? I thought for sure that letter I sent him telling him that Mom knows about the curse, and that she wasn't happy with him would have kept him away for a long time,' Ranma thought, 'I can't wait any longer. I'll just have to ask her, tonight, on our date. I hope she says yes.'

"Isn't that good news, Ranma? I can't wait to see my old friend and I'm sure you can't wait to see your father again," Soun asked, the tears running down his face.

"Yeah, I can hardly wait to see the old man again," Ranma said, her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, "I bet he's pretty rusty after being cooped up in jail for these last few months. It'll be fun to help him get back in shape." She cracked her knuckles noisily, with an easy smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Akane looked a little pale at the news. 'What is Ranma going to do? I'm sure his father won't keep his secret, and as soon as Daddy finds out, he'll want to press the engagement. I just know he will,' she thought, her mind racing, 'But would that be such a bad thing, to be engaged to Ranma? I know I love him and he loves me.'

Nabiki simply thought, 'Great, here comes a freeloader for sure.' "Where is he going to stay, Daddy?" she asked, "It wouldn't be proper for him to share a room with Ranma, after all."

"We'll think of something," Soun said, "I'm sure we can figure something out. Maybe Akane could share a room with Ranma, for instance. They get along well."

'Oh my,' Kasumi thought as Ranma and Akane traded looks.

----------------------

After they had finished dinner at the restaurant, Ranma and Akane headed toward the park. Ranma guided Akane to a bench in a secluded area of the park and had her sit down. He stared intently at her for a moment, and then reached for her hand and held it. Finally he said, "Akane, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time, but the moment's never been right. I think tonight it is." He took a deep breath and then knelt on the ground before her. Then he asked, "Akane Tendo, will you marry me?"

Akane's eyes grew wide as she stared at the young man kneeling before her. She saw a man whose eyes were filled with hope and love. She smiled and said, "Baka, I've been waiting for you to ask me ever since I told you I loved you. Of course I'll marry you!"

Ranma sighed with relief as he pulled a small box from his pocket. Opening the box, he took the ring out and slid it on Akane's left ring finger. He had purchased the ring last week for just this occasion, but had not thought the opportunity to give it to her would occur so soon. "You've made me a very happy man tonight, Acchan," he said softly. Akane gently pulled him toward her and they kissed. After several minutes, they broke apart.

Akane asked, "Why'd we wait so long?"

Ranma stammered as he replied, "I wanted to make sure you were really ready. I mean, it hasn't been that long since we admitted we loved each other. So I was unready to risk you telling me no. But then we got that card from Pop, and I knew I had to take a chance and ask you." He leaned over and they kissed again.

"How soon do you want to get married, Ranma?" Akane asked, after they surfaced for air.

Ranma thought for a few moments and then replied, "We're still a little young, Akane. I'd like to wait until we're seniors, or maybe even out of high school. Though, that may be hard." 'Especially when Ukyo shows up,' he thought, 'What am I gonna do about her?'

Akane looked thoughtful for a few minutes and then said, "I think our senior year would be good. We both turn eighteen then, and that's old enough." She hesitated for a minute and then asked, "What are we going to do about our families?"

"I'd like to tell Mom tonight," Ranma said, "In fact, I thought we'd go by her house on the way home. Kasumi is supposed to be there as well. Mom was going to show her some recipes. With her help, we can break the news to your father." He kissed Akane again, and then the couple left the park behind.

Ranma and Akane walked through the streets of Nerima, heading toward the modest house where his mother had lived since their departure on the training trip so many years before. He smiled to himself as he heard the occasional noise from the person who had been following them all evening. As they reached the door to his mother's house, he glanced around the meticulous grounds and then knocked on the door.

The door opened after a few minutes. His mother smiled to see the two of them standing there at the door, holding hands. Then her smile grew even wider as she saw the engagement ring on Akane's hand. 'Oh my son is so manly,' Nodoka thought. "Come on in you two, and tell me everything. Kasumi is still here as well," Nodoka said. Ranma and Akane walked into the house, and took of their shoes and put on their house slippers. Then Nodoka reached out and hugged Akane and said, "Welcome to our family, daughter." The two of them followed Nodoka into the living room, where Kasumi was finishing a cup of tea.

Ranma smiled at the three people in the living room and then said, "There's one more person missing who needs to hear this. Let me go get her." He went out the back and came around to see a crouching figure at the living room window, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. He walked up behind her quietly, using the Umi-sen-ken that he had learned from the old man in a different lifetime. He reappeared and said, "Hello, Nabiki, why don't you join us in the living room. It would be much more comfortable than skulking out here in the bushes."

Nabiki stared in surprise at the mysterious boy who had been seen dating her sister, Akane, the man-hater. She saw a tall, attractive, muscular young man, with jet-black hair. His brilliant blue eyes shown with an amused look in them. He was openly smiling at her confusion. Admitting defeat, Nabiki snarled and said, "Very well, whoever you are. I'll join the party." Ranma led her into the house and then to the living room, where Nabiki saw both her sisters quietly talking to an attractive older woman with auburn hair.

"Mom, this is Nabiki Tendo, the other sister of my fiancée," the boy said. Nabiki jerked her head around and stared at her sister. More importantly, she looked at Akane's hand and sure enough she was wearing an engagement ring. Nabiki's eyes widened as she saw the happy smile on her sister's face.

"Nabiki, this is my mother, Nodoka Saotome," the boy continued with a smile.

Nabiki's mouth gaped open as she asked, "So you're related to Ranma Saotome?"

Ranma smiled and replied, "You could say that, I suppose! Actually, Nabs, I am Ranma."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed as she asked, "Then who is the girl who has been living at our house calling herself Ranma? And where do you get off calling me Nabs?" 'No, it couldn't be,' she thought.

Ranma's smile got even bigger as he replied, "You told me I could call you Nabs, shortly after I moved in." He began to chuckle at the confusion he saw on Nabiki's face. The giggles from both Akane and Kasumi were beginning to irritate Nabiki.

"I don't like not knowing what's going on here," Nabiki snarled, "But I know that I've never seen you in our house before, and I've never talked to you."

Ranma sighed and said, "It's a long story, Nabiki, but we've known each other for several months. Seriously, I'm the girl you know as Ranma. Sorry about this." He poured a cup of cold water on his head. Ranma smirked as Nabiki's eyes grew wide as she recognized the figure in front of her as the girl who had been living with them for the last several months. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted. Ranma dove and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "She took the news much better than I thought she would."

Nabiki regained consciousness to see her two sisters hovering over her, gazing at her in concern. 'Thank Kami, it was all just a dream,' she thought. Then her clever eyes spotted the engagement ring on Akane's finger and everything came crashing back to her. She turned to see the handsome young man standing next to an attractive older woman that she now knew to be Nodoka Saotome. Ranma was gazing at her, concern mixed with sorrow in his eyes. She pointed her finger at him and hissed angrily, "You lied to us, to me! How could you do that to my family?" 'I actually had figured it out and I couldn't make myself believe it,' she thought.

"It's my fault, Sis," Akane replied, "When Ranma showed up at the house as a girl, I was so relieved. I couldn't believe Daddy had made such a stupid promise, so when it appeared that Ranma was a girl, it was wonderful. Then Ranma told me the truth. I didn't want Daddy to know, so I convinced Ranma to pretend to be a girl for a while, hoping that eventually I could convince Daddy that he needed to forget about the engagement. I knew that if Daddy knew the truth, he would insist on honoring the pledge, and I also knew that if you and Kasumi knew he really was a boy, that you would have pushed him off onto me."

"And she wasn't ready for that kind of relationship, then. At the time, she was convinced that most of the boys at school were perverts because of what Kuno had done," Ranma added in a pleasant baritone that sent an interesting shiver up Nabiki's spine. Then he continued, "I'm really sorry we couldn't tell you the truth Nabiki, but the girl you used to be would have blackmailed us in a heartbeat. You would have threatened to tell your father the truth, and neither of us wanted to risk that."

Nabiki winced at that. 'I have changed since Ranma came to live with us. He's right, that girl would have done exactly that,' she thought in surprise. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that. I guess your sense of honor must be contagious," she said in an aggrieved tone. She hesitated and then asked, "I have to believe what I saw, but I don't understand it. I never believed in magic before. How did this happen? How can you change gender like this?"

"M-a-a-a-gic!" Ranma drawled with a smirk. Then he added, bitterly "My idiot of a Pop took me to a cursed training ground in China. It consists of a large number of spring-fed pools, and if you fall in one, you get cursed to change into whatever drowned in the pool. And before you ask, they don't know where the spring of Drowned Boy is."

Nabiki shook in head in amazement, then her eyes widened. "Kodachi was telling the truth about what she saw in the park the night after the gymnastics match; you **are** the pig-tailed boy that she saw kissing Akane that night!" Nabiki exclaimed, "And you were the boy at school."

"Yeah we needed to do something about the rumors that were swirling around school about Akane. We figured that if everyone saw a boy with Akane that the idea of Akane being in love with my girl side would fade away. It seems to have worked and now that we're starting summer break in a couple of weeks, there should be plenty of time for the whole thing to die down," Ranma said.

"I've gotten so used to Ranma in either form that sometimes it was hard not to show how much I cared for him, especially after I realized that I loved him. We got a little careless at school, I guess," Akane said, blushing a little.

Nabiki turned accusing eyes on her older sister and growled, "You knew all along, didn't you? That's why you were so accepting of how close the two of them were acting at home. I wondered why you weren't shocked at their behavior. My 'oh so proper' sister wouldn't normally ignore one of her sisters being in love with another girl."

"Yes, I knew from the very beginning. In fact I approved of Ranma pretending to be a girl, and even helped with some of the pretense. When I found out why he agreed to the deception, I knew I had to help. He fell in love with Akane the moment he saw her and I hoped it was just a matter of time before Akane returned that love. If either you or Daddy had known the truth, and tried to interfere, I'm not sure that would have happened, at least not as quickly as it did," Kasumi admitted calmly.

"Are you sure about this, Akane? I mean he does turn into a girl. Doesn't that bother you?" Nabiki asked softly.

Akane walked over and held Ranma tightly by the hand. "Sis, I've never been more sure of something in my life. I love him; I don't care what gender he is, he's still the same person inside. That's all that matters to me," she replied forcefully. Ranma squeezed her hand in response.

"Nabiki, we were planning on talking to your father tonight about all of this. We need your support when we do. I'm tired of the deception and I'm glad that we can finally be honest about everything," Ranma said.

Nabiki considered that for a second, thoughtfully tapping one finger against her cheek. She finally reached a decision and said, "Actually, it might be better if you were to tell him tomorrow after breakfast. Daddy is probably already asleep, any way. Your mother needs to be there with you, and it's late enough that she'd have to stay the night. Why don't you stay here with your mother tonight, and then come right after breakfast?"

Ranma looked at her for a second and then shrugged his shoulders. "I asked for your advice, so I'd look kind of silly not taking it. Okay, tomorrow it is," he replied.

----------------------

Soun looked up from his newspaper long enough to realize that he had not seen the newest member of his household all morning. It had only been his daughters with him at breakfast, and Akane and Nabiki were still lingering around the table while Kasumi had disappeared somewhere.

Kasumi came back into the family room to announce, "Daddy, we have guests." Behind her, Soun saw an extremely attractive, auburn-haired woman, somewhat younger than himself, dressed in a formal kimono, and carrying a long, thin object, wrapped up in a cloth. Soun thought she looked vaguely familiar. Standing next to her was a young man, of moderate height, but well built. His hair was jet black, and he had piercing blue eyes that reminded him of someone as well.

"Welcome to my home! I am Soun Tendo," he said, "Please join us, and let us know why you have chosen to grace us."

The two of them sat gracefully down. Kasumi headed toward the kitchen, and then returned carrying two large containers of water.

The woman bowed to Soun, and said, "I am Nodoka Saotome, Mr. Tendo."

"I thought you looked familiar. You are the wife of my old friend and fellow student, Genma," Soun said, tears of joy streaming down his face, "I can't believe it. I haven't seen you since the two of you were wed." Then he gazed at the young man and continued, "Who is this handsome young man with you? I've met your daughter Ranma and I didn't think that you and Genma had any other children."

The young man bowed and replied, "I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about all of this."

Soun looked stunned and asked, "Then who is the girl who has been staying here with us since April?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck nervously and replied, "UH, that would be me."

Soun suddenly exhibited his demon-head aura, and roared, "So you have been lying to my family all along! How dare you!"

"Daddy, that would be my fault," Akane admitted.

Kasumi stated firmly, "Daddy, I knew about it too, and agreed with him."

Soun deflated and asked, "How can this be? I don't believe you!"

"How to explain it? I guess the easiest way is just to show you. Kasumi, would you be so kind?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi walked over and poured some water over Ranma, then handed the red-haired girl a towel. Soun face-faulted and exclaimed, "What ? You weren't kidding. How?"

Ranma replied, "When we went to China, Pop took us to this training ground called Jusenkyo. He wasn't willing to listen to the Guide there and fell into a cursed spring. If you fall into the spring, you get cursed to become whatever last drowned in the spring. He fell into the spring of Drowned Panda, and went berserk in fear. He started chasing me around and I eventually fell into the spring of Drowned Girl."

"The legendary ground of accursed springs. It's true horror has always been shrouded in mystery, but now.." Soun wailed, "Oh, what a tragedy!"

"Yeah, I was prepared to give up my life for martial arts, not my manhood," Ranma replied, "But it could be worse. At least I stay human, instead of turning into some animal."

Ranma took the warm water from Kasumi and poured it over herself. Soun cheered up and said, "So when doused with cold water, you become a girl, but hot water turns you back into a boy!"

Ranma nodded his head. Soun said happily, "Well, then your problem isn't so terrible after all. My daughter, Kasumi, turning twenty, my daughter, Nabiki, turning eighteen and of course, my daughter, Akane, nearly seventeen. Pick one; she'll be your fiancée."

"Uh, Mr. Tendo, I know all of your daughters already, remember. I've been living here for months. Besides, isn't Kasumi engaged to Tofu?" Ranma asked.

"It wouldn't matter. Family honor would demand that she marry you if she's the one you pick," Soun said, oblivious to the flash of anger across Kasumi's face.

'No, not after everything I've done to get them together,' Ranma thought. "No, they're perfect together. I wouldn't consider ever coming between them," he said, "She belongs with Doc."

Kasumi smiled dreamily and said, "He's right, I already have a fiancé. He wants Akane."

Nabiki grinned and said, "I don't know. I think he's kind of cute. Why should she get him?"

Akane elbowed her in the side and growled warningly at her. "Stop it, sis," she hissed, in a low voice, "He's mine. I might overlook you stealing my clothing, but not my fiancé."

Nabiki winced, rubbed her side, and said, "Okay, okay, he definitely wants Akane. Can't you take a joke?"

Ranma raised his voice slightly and said, "Very funny girls. Mr. Tendo, I came here to tell you that I already asked Akane to be my wife and she consented." Akane held out her hand showing her father the engagement ring. Ranma rose and went over and sat next to Akane, placing his arm around her waist.

Soun began to weep, "The schools will be joined! We can have the wedding as soon as your father gets here."

"Uh, Daddy, we want to wait until we're seniors before we get married. We both think we're a little too young right now," Akane said quickly.

"They've got a point. While eventually I want lots of grandchildren, they need to be out of school before they start a family," Nodoka said in support.

Soun wilted and said, "Very well, if that's what you want. I guess I can wait that long."

Ranma said, hesitantly, "It's really not up to you, sir. It's our decision as to when we get married. After all, I asked her to marry me before we had this meeting, so it's not a matter of family honor fulfilling a promise between you and Pop. It's a matter of us being in love."

"I agree, Daddy. We're not doing this because of any arranged marriage," Akane replied.

"But," Soun began.

"I don't think you understand yet, Mr. Tendo. Your family isn't the only one that Pop made agreements with. There must be five or six women out there that are supposed to be engaged to me," Ranma said, beginning to glower, "In order to salvage my honor, I've had to renounce any agreements that the old man made. And that means all of them, including the one that he had with you."

"Saotome, how could you?" Soun wailed, "How could you betray your best friend and fellow student? Now the schools will never be joined!"

"Stop that Daddy!" Akane said angrily. Soun stopped crying immediately.

"Pop always did think with his stomach," Ranma smirked, "However, I promised that I would teach Akane my school and I asked Akane to be my wife. That is my honor talking and I will not compromise my honor. You have my word on it, we will marry, but it will be when we are ready, and not before then."

"And we're not talking horribly far off in the future, anyway, Daddy. Like I said before, we thought we would wait until our senior year in high school, is all," Akane said, throwing a bone to her father, "That way we would both be eighteen. We still have to go to college after that, but at least some of your dream would have come true."

"But what is Saotome going to say about that Ranma?" Soun asked, "He won't take ignoring his honor lightly." 'And I have a few choice words to say to my old friend when he shows up,' Soun thought.

"Oh, I'm sure Pop will try to make me change my mind," Ranma replied. Then he cracked his knuckles and smirked, "I'll just have to convince him differently. Though, Mom has first crack at him. I know she has a few pointed remarks to make to him, and I'm sure he'll be on edge waiting to see how cutting those remarks will be."

"Yes, I expect I'll have to talk to my husband rather sharply," Nodoka said. She smiled coldly as she caressed the silk-covered bundle in her hand. Ranma's smile widened with amusement as he heard the undercurrent of anger in his mother's voice. Akane smiled grimly as she realized that Genma might not enjoy that meeting.

"Mrs. Saotome, I'm not sure when Genma will arrive. He did send us a postcard saying he was coming soon. If you'd like, we can find a place for you to stay here until he comes," Soun asked.

"Please, since we're practically family, call me Nodoka. And yes, I think I would like that. I have many things to talk to my beloved husband about when I see him, and I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity," Nodoka said. She caressed the long bundle she was carrying around, exposing the hilt of a katana blade.

Soun thought for a moment and then suggested, "Since Ranma and Akane are now engaged, they can share the guest room, and you can move into Akane's old room."

"Daddy, that wouldn't be proper!" Kasumi protested.

Nodoka chuckled and said, "I don't have a problem with that. My son is manly after all."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other. Akane glared at her father and then said, angrily, "You're just trying to get us married, sooner, aren't you?"

"How can you think that?" Soun wailed, "My daughter doesn't trust her fiancé."

Ranma whispered to Akane, "I don't mind, if you don't. We can put up a screen or something. It's not like we have to share a bed, unless of course you want to."

Akane blushed and then giggled. "All right, Daddy, we'll do it. Ranma and I will share the guestroom."

"What are you going to do about school, Ranma?" Nodoka asked.

"He might as well finish the term as a girl," Nabiki replied, "There's only a couple of weeks until the summer break, so he wouldn't be able to get his records fixed anyway."

Ranma grimaced and then replied, "You're right, Nabiki. Besides, we need to break this to our friends somehow. If I wait until after the break, it will give us the next eight weeks to work something out on how I get the story out at school." Then he grinned and said, "Besides, Nabiki has to have time to get the story of my life printed out so she'll have something to sell."

Akane swatted Ranma on the shoulder. Nabiki glared at him and then giggled. "Okay, I guess that means you want me as your agent, huh?" she asked.

"Sure thing, Nabs. As long as your rates aren't too bad," he teased.

"Well, I'm gonna start moving my things into the guestroom. Ranma, I'll need some help," Akane stated, glad that things had gone as well as they had.

"Dear, I'll need to borrow Ranma as well. If I'm going to move in here for a while, there are a few things that I'd like to bring from home. I'd like a bed at least; I'm afraid that I've gotten out of the habit of using a futon," Nodoka said.

Ranma groaned as he realized that he was in for a day of manual labor as the two main women in his life promptly began to talk about how to rearrange the two rooms.

----------------------

Ranma gazed around the transformed guest room in disbelief. After several hours of work, they had converted the room into two smaller chambers by the use of a few small screens. As it turned out, his mother's bed was too large to fit in Akane's room, so they had set it up in the guest room, while Ranma had been content to stay with the futon he had gotten used to. They had found a second small dresser that was large enough for all of Ranma's clothing, so they had swapped things around and now the dresser that Ranma had been using was now full of Akane's clothing. Ranma had rearranged things in the closet and now it was full of her clothing as well. In a few short hours, he was going to be spending the night in the same room as his fiancée, and he wasn't real sure that he could handle that fact.

----------------------

"Ranma, are you still awake?" Akane's soft voice asked from behind her screen.

Ranma rolled over and replied, "Yes, I'm having a hard time getting to sleep for some reason." He heard the rustle of bedcovers, and then Akane appeared around the screen separating them, wearing her favorite pair of yellow pajamas, the ones with the little black piglets in the pattern.

She sat down next to his futon and then said, "I'm a little nervous about school, Ranchan."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Ranma replied, softly, "Your friends will be excited when they find out you're engaged."

"But what do I tell them about you. I'm tired of hiding you from my friends," she said back.

"Yuka and Sayuri are our closest friends. We should tell them first, anyway," Ranma said, "We just have to ask them to keep it a secret for a little while."

Akane bent down and kissed Ranma, who wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. 'This is going to be so hard,' Ranma thought, 'Sharing a room like this. She is so beautiful.'

Akane broke the kiss and laid her head down on his shoulder. "Ranma," she breathed softly, "Thank you for coming into my life." She rested there for a few moments, and stood up. She said, blushing, "Maybe now my dreams will be pleasant. Good night, Ranchan." She walked back and disappeared around the screen. He heard the sound of her climbing back into her bed.

Ranma whispered, "Goodnight, my beautiful tomboy." He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep; lulled by the sound of his fiancée's steady breathing.

----------------------

Author's Notes: Whew, my longest chapter ever. Once again thank you kind readers for all of the responses. All constructive comments and criticisms are welcomed and encouraged.


	15. Ice Skating for Dummies and Tea for Four

Chapter 15 Ice Skating for Dummies and Tea for Four

Akane woke up, just a little disoriented, to the raucous sound of her alarm clock ringing. Grumbling, she sat up and shut the alarm off, and then wondered at the unfamiliar surroundings; the different bed, and the painted screens surrounding her. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and saw the ring on her finger and then she smiled as she remembered where she was, in the bedroom that she was sharing with her brand new fiancé. She sighed contentedly and then an impish smile appeared on her face. She arose from her bed and walked around the screens into the separate bedchamber for Ranma. She stood in the opening and gazed at the sleeping form of her beloved, with a sense of wonder. Finally, she walked over and knelt next to his futon and gently shook him. Then she bent down and called lightly, "Good morning, Ranma. It's time to get up, sleepyhead." Unfortunately, this was Ranma, so she had to repeat the shaking and the calling, increasing both in the hardness of the shaking and the loudness of her voice.

Ranma gradually woke up to the somewhat loud and moderately aggravated voice of his fiancée Akane, saying, "Good morning, Ranma. It's really really time to get up now, sleepyhead." He opened his eyes to see her kneeling beside his futon, her face inches away from his. He smiled and then closed that distance, his warm lips touching hers. As he finally drew back, Akane murmured, "We should have done this weeks ago, if this is how you'll greet me each morning," her aggravation melting away.

Ranma grinned widely, and replied, "Yeah, this certainly beats the way Pop used to wake me up. I definitely like the Tendo Morning Surprise Attack better than the Saotome Morning Surprise Attack. Not to mention you're a much prettier sight to wake up to."

Akane giggled and then replied, teasingly, "I certainly hope so. I'll see you after I get back from my jogging. Don't you dare go back to sleep." She brushed his lips with hers again, and then left Ranma gazing wonderingly after her. He lay there contentedly in his futon, and then remembered her semi-threat and reluctantly crawled out of his futon. After straightening everything in his bedchamber up, he went to his dresser and pulled out a change of clothing and headed off to the furoba to begin a new day, with a definite spring in his step.

----------------------

Ranma walked into the kitchen after finishing his bath, dressed in his regular outfit, this time a blue Chinese shirt, and his standard black slacks. There he found his mother and Kasumi busily preparing breakfast. The evening before, Kasumi had gently protested the invasion of her domain, but Nodoka had told her not to be silly, and that as long as she was staying there she might as well make herself useful. "Good morning, Mom, Kasumi," he said cheerily, "Akane went out jogging like always, but I left the furo ready for her. Is there anything that I can do to help, since I'm up, or would I just be in the way?"

Nodoka paused in what she was doing, slightly shocked that her manly son was offering to help in the kitchen. Kasumi smiled at him and said, "Thanks, Ranma. It's always nice to have you help on those mornings that you get up early. You could make Nabiki her coffee in a few minutes. You're always so helpful."

"Is that really manly, my son?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'd rather help out than be considered a free-loader, Mom. That for sure isn't very manly. Just because I'll be a guy doing it instead of a girl doesn't change that." He walked over and gave her a hug.

Nodoka hesitated and then smiled, as she returned the hug and said, "Actually, now that you mention it, your great-grandfather always liked to help in the kitchen, and he was as manly as a man could be."

"Why are you up so early? I figured that you would sleep in today," Kasumi asked.

"Well, I had a pleasant wake-up call this morning," Ranma replied with a chuckle, "Like I told Akane, I like the way she woke me up. Sure beats the bucket of cold water Pop started using after I beat him up for kicking me out of bed."

Nodoka froze and asked, icily, "He would kick you out of bed, and when that didn't work, he'd throw a bucket of ice water on you? Another thing I need to have a talk with him about."

"Ah, don't worry about it Mom. I kind of got used to it after a while," Ranma replied. He waited until Kasumi was idle and then walked over and hugged her. As he did, he whispered, "In case I haven't told you before, thanks for everything, big sis."

Kasumi hugged him back, and replied, "I think that we're even, little brother. If it wasn't for you, I doubt that Tofu would ever have gotten his act together." 'Oh my,' she thought, 'That certainly feels different from when we did that while he was a girl.'

"Like you said before, that's what family is for," Ranma replied, "Speaking of family, that sounds like Akane is back," as he heard the sound of the front door open and close and then the sound of footsteps coming toward them.

Sure enough, Akane walked into the kitchen, her cheeks rosy from her early morning jog. She went over to Ranma and lightly kissed him and teased, "Did you miss me?"

Ranma replied, with a grin, "No, I was too busy flirting with your sister." He squawked as he dodged her, and then said, "Okay, okay, I was only kidding. Of course I missed you, you were gone a whole hour. Now go get cleaned up, you don't want to be late for breakfast."

Akane stuck her tongue out at him and then waved as she went out of the kitchen. Ranma began preparing a cup of instant coffee with the hot water on the stove and had just finished adding the two spoons of sugar that Nabiki demanded, when the middle sister staggered in from her bedroom, barely dressed in her bathrobe, her eyes still mostly closed. After guiding the cup to her hand, Ranma waited in anticipation for Nabiki to finish the first cup. As she did so, she did a double take as she saw the strange boy standing there. Then her mind refocused and she remembered the last two days events. "It's going to take some time getting used to seeing you like this Ranma," Nabiki admitted, with a lazy grin, "I'm too used to seeing you as a girl. Though I have to admit, this is a pleasant sight to see. You sure you don't have a twin brother out there somewhere?" 'Akane, you sure are lucky,' Nabiki thought.

"Fraid not, unless Mom hasn't told me everything," Ranma replied, slightly nervous as he turned around to avoid looking at her.

Nabiki said, as she prepared another cup of coffee, "Pity."

"What did I tell you about poaching, Sis?" Akane growled from behind Nabiki, startling the other girl, "Stop flirting with my fiancé. Go find one of your own. And tighten your belt on your bathrobe."

"Just a bit possessive there, aren't you, Sis?" Nabiki retorted, with an easy grin, as she looked down at herself, and pulled her robe closed.

Akane smiled tightly and replied, "Damn straight I am."

Nodoka just sighed as she watched the two girls teasing each other about her son thinking, 'My, how manly he is.' Ranma stood there, playing with the back of his neck, as he got more and more embarrassed by their behavior.

"Nabiki, if you don't hurry up, you won't have time for breakfast before school starts," Kasumi gently chided, "And stop teasing your sister." She waited a couple of heartbeats and then added, "I wanted to do that."

Nabiki face-faulted and then saluted her sister, and replied, "Okay, Kasumi. I'll leave these two to your tender mercies." She set her cup down and disappeared in the direction of the furoba.

----------------------

Soun watched as his daughters filed into the family room, closely followed by the two new additions to his household. Soun did a double take as he recognized Ranma. Even though he had been with the young man much of the previous evening, it was still hard for him to reconcile the image of the young girl that he had come to care for almost as a daughter the last few months with the muscular young man that had captivated his youngest daughter.

Flashback

Ranma stood there at the opening to the family room, watching as Soun studied his game board. Finally, he placed a piece, and jotted down that move on a small card, and addressed it to his play-by-mail partner. Soun looked up and grinned wryly as he asked, "So you finally were able to escape from your mother and the girls?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Yes, sir. I got all of the heavy lifting down for them, finally. Now they want to," he shuddered, "redecorate, so I decided that wasn't manly and escaped."

Soun laughed appreciatively at that sally, and waited for the real reason Ranma had searched him out.

The young man tugged his pigtail, nervously, and then said, "Mr. Tendo, I want to thank you for your hospitality since April. I'm sorry I had to hide the truth from you. I'm just glad everything is out in the open. I hope you can forgive me for what I did."

Soun sighed, and replied, "I've had some time to think about your actions while you were off slaving for my daughters and your mother, young man. While normally, I would be upset about what you, Akane and Kasumi did; I have to admit it probably was for the better. If I had pushed the two of you together, Akane would have resented the whole situation, and likely the two of you would not now be as happy as you are together. While maybe what you did wasn't completely honorable, you have made my daughter very happy, and I can't be angry with you because of that." He paused and then replied, a bit grimly, "I hope there aren't any more secrets that you two have kept from me."

"I don't know of anything else, sir. Thank you for being this understanding," Ranma replied, feeling a little better about things, "I'm glad the deception is over. Like you said, even though everything worked out, I always hated it. But I would have done almost anything to have Akane fall in love with me."

Soun gazed at the open face of the young man standing in front of him, and smiled. "Do you play?" he asked as he motioned at the board.

Ranma's eyes lit up and he replied, "A little."

Soun barked a laugh and set up a new game board in place of the one he was using. Ranma sat down across from him, waiting his opponent's first move.

End Flashback

Once breakfast was over, Ranma sighed as he gathered up his dishes and carried them into the kitchen, followed by Akane carrying hers. Shortly, Ranma returned, slightly damp, after changing, carrying the bentos for the three girls. She smiled at Kasumi and said, "Breakfast was excellent as always, Kasumi. You and Mom make a good team. I look forward to learning some more recipes from both of you." After handing the other two girls theirs, she placed her box lunch into her school bag and followed her fiancée out the front door.

Akane looked at her fiancée and asked, "What was that sigh for?"

Ranma replied, "I'll just be glad when I can start going to school as a guy is all. I'm getting tired of all the deception. You can't imagine how glad I was that we were able to finally tell your family the truth."

"It bothered you that much? Why did you do it then?" Akane asked.

"You should know why Akane. I did it for us, so that there would be an us," Ranma replied, "You were right the first day about what would have happened if your dad had known the truth. You heard him yesterday. This worked out for the best; I just hope there aren't more problems coming because of it."

Akane sighed as she said, "I hope so too, but we'll face them together, that's the important thing."

Ranma smiled and said, "That's true. Now, it's up on the fence for you, student."

Akane stuck her tongue out at Ranma and the two of them jumped up onto the fence and raced off.

----------------------

Akane was ill prepared for the reaction of her friends as she walked into the classroom. Yuka squealed excitedly and pointed at Akane's left hand, while Sayuri face-faulted. Akane looked down at her hand, and blushed, realizing that she had forgotten somehow about the engagement ring on her finger. 'It must just feel like it belongs already,' she thought. Akane sat down at her desk while Ranma made her way over to her desk, with an amused look on her face.

'If they only knew the truth,' Ranma thought as she sat down. She ignored the odd looks that she was receiving from some of the girls who had been most active in spreading the rumors about Akane.

"Okay, spill it," Yuka demanded, "Give us all of the romantic details!"

"You'll have to wait until lunch for most of them, but Ranchan proposed to me Saturday night and I accepted," Akane replied. She sighed in relief as the teacher called the class to order, though her desk quickly filled up with notes from all of the other girls.

----------------------

The five girls were sitting under their elm tree at lunch, surrounded by many of the other girls from their class. Shampoo had simply smiled her congratulations to both Ranma and Akane, knowing that they would appreciate her tact. Sayuri said, "Okay, tell us everything!"

Akane started to tell the story, "We went to a very nice, romantic restaurant, where we talked about all sorts of things. We even went dancing. Well, anyway, after we left the restaurant, we found a spot in the park, where he proposed."

"What were the words he used?" Yuka asked.

Akane replied, "He said, 'Akane, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time, but the moment's never been right. I think tonight it is.' Then he took a deep breath and then knelt on the ground in front of me and asked, 'Akane Tendo, will you marry me?' He was looking at me with those wonderful blue eyes of his, and I knew what my answer was. I told him, 'Baka, I've been waiting for you to ask me. Of course I'll marry you!' You should have seen the look on his face. Then he pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it to show me this ring. He took it out of the box and placed it on my finger. That evening we told his mother, and then yesterday they came over and told my father."

"That's so romantic, Akane. Don't you think so, Ranma?" Sayuri said.

Ranma giggled and said, "I could almost picture the scene, Akane described it so well. I'm sure he was sweating big time until he heard her answer." Akane giggled in response.

"So when are you going to introduce us to him, Akane?" Yuka asked.

"I thought I would have you over to the house later this week. It would be a little difficult to get together before then, I've got a lot of things to do first," Akane replied.

"How about you, Ranma? When are we going to meet your special someone? I remember that you've mentioned there's someone you care for, but you've never given us any details" Yuka asked.

"You'll find out at that same get-together. There should be some interesting news then," Ranma replied. Ranma, Akane and Shampoo traded odd smiles.

At that moment, Kuno came limping up after hearing the news. "I forbid it!" he proclaimed, "Akane Tendo, you shall not be forced to wed. I will save you from the fiend that has bewitched you." Kuno was obviously battered from the challenge that he had fought with Sanzenin yesterday.

Ranma and Akane simply rolled their eyes in disbelief. Akane growled angrily and said, "Kuno, I am not being forced to wed. I love my fiancé and he loves me. There is nothing that I want more than to be his wife. It is now a matter of our family honor, as well as my personal honor. If you interfere, I will be forced to seek damages. You are supposed to be a samurai, a man of honor. Do not seek to come between my love and I. He is a martial artist above all others, a man among men and a man of great personal honor, but he will not allow your foolish pursuit to last." 'Ugh,' she thought, 'I've been listening to him prattle too long!'

"Alas, say it is not so! Not after I defended your honor so successfully yesterday against that blackguard Sanzenin," Kuno orated.

Flashback

Kuno stopped short at the doorway into the room marked, 'Boys Dressing Room' and sneered, "So you had the audacity to come after all, you foul pursuer of the fairer sex. I, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High will prove your villainy by defeating you. To think that you would stoop so low as to try to steal a kiss from some unwilling maiden! I see that you are indeed a sex-obsessed neurotic!"

Mikado replied, heatedly, "My partner and I never lose, Kuno. I'll see you eat those words!"

"I trust the injury you received from the fierce Amazon Shampoo will not hinder you in this contest. Far be it from me to be so dishonorable as to fight a wounded man," Kuno asked, "That was a grievous blow you received from her bonborri."

"Feh," Mikado sneered, "I let my guard down with her for a moment that day. Otherwise she would never have touched me." Taking a comb from his pocket, he turned away and ignored Kuno while he ensured that his hair was perfectly arranged. He laughed as he finished and said, "But this match between us will be different. I won't let my guard down with you. You did find a partner, did you not? What is her name?"

Kuno frowned as he recalled the difficulty he had in finding a partner. None of his loves had agreed to help him, Ranma Saotome and Shampoo both saying they didn't know how to skate, and Akane Tendo begging off because she had a prior engagement. He had finally found a partner, though he cringed at what it had cost him. "Her name is Kodachi," Kuno replied.

"Ah, an interesting name. I can't wait to give her my formal greeting," Sanzenin said with a smirk.

"Greeting!" Kuno asked, puzzled, "And what might that be, you betrayer of women?"

"Allow me to make this proclamation!" Mikado exclaimed, as he pointed his finger at Kuno, "At some time during our match, I shall steal Kodachi's lips! You're girlfriend will not resist me!"

Kuno looked amused as he said, "As you wish, Sanzenin, as you wish. However, I'm sure my twisted **sister** will enjoy that much more than you will. You may regret ever kissing her. However, I was correct. Kissing is all that you can think about, isn't it?"

"Such thoughts are all my head can hold," the other boy agreed.

----------------------

"The Golden Pair versus the Blue Thunder and Black Rose," came the announcement over the loudspeaker, "A match of honor between these two couples!" The cavernous arena was only partially full as Kuno stood by the entrance to the rink with his sister Kodachi.

Kuno's eyes scanned the small crowd, his questing eyes searching for any of his three loves. His heart sank as he saw that none of them had deigned to come, even thought he was here to defend their honor. Sighing, he said to himself, "Alas, surely they are merely delayed. I know that they wish to be here to see my triumph over that despoiler of women. But no matter whether they witness my triumph. I fight not only for their honor but also for mine own. I shall fight in the knowledge of their love and adoration of me."

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this, brother dear," Kodachi said in disgust as she glared at her brother.

Kuno replied evenly, "You're one of the few girls I know that can ice skate as well as practice martial arts. Besides, he insulted our family honor and that is as important to you as it is to me."

Kodachi smiled coldly and replied, "True, though we have a different definition of honor. At least this outfit looks good on me." She was indeed correct; the ice skating costume that she was wearing was indeed flattering to her. Her long legs were displayed to their best advantage, while the outfit clung tightly to all of her curves. In her hair, she was wearing one of her trademark black roses. In an odd reverse, her black outfit had a white emblem of a dragon, rampant on her chest, and a white rose above her heart. Kuno looked remarkably handsome, in a uniform that was blue, with a black dragon twisting toward the right, with thunderbolts striking on either side.

"Now, let the lights be lowered!" the announcer exclaimed through the public address system. The lights dimmed, and then a lone spotlight picked out the figures of Mikado and Azusa as Mikado skated out from their side of the arena, with Azusa resting on his arm, with one hand holding onto Mikado's neck, and the other waving to the crowd.

"The Golden Pair of Martial Arts Skating! Azusa Shiratori and Mikado Sanzenin! Making a magnificent entry!" the announcer proclaimed. A large portion of the crowd cheered the popular pair as Mikado gently swept Azusa up into the air, and then down to the ice below.

"Bah, nothing but flash!" Kodachi sneered.

Kuno smiled thinly and said, "For once, Kodachi, we are in agreement. Well, we'll show them flash!" He held out his hand and asked, "Shall we, sister?"

She nodded and allowed her brother to sweep her up onto his shoulder. Kuno skated out, Kodachi waving both of her arms, relying on her gymnastic balance to stay in place on her brother's broad shoulder and his arm around her lower legs. As they came into view, the announcer proclaimed, "The Black Rose and Blue Thunder, Kodachi and Tatewaki Kuno."

Kuno screeched to a stop, his blades sending a sheet of ice crystals across the ice, dusting the legs of the opposing duo.

A bell rang, and the announcer exclaimed, "Let the match begin, a match for honor! A no-holds-barred match, that only ends in a complete knockout!"

Mikado swept Azusa up high above his back and began skating in a circle to pick up speed. Kuno grabbed Kodachi by one hand and the two of them began to skate rapidly as well. Kodachi exclaiming, "Winner's strike first, let's go!"

As they closed towards each other, Azusa launched herself into the air, while Kuno swung his sister toward Mikado, her skates coming perilously close to his skin. Azusa came down hard on top of Kuno, driving him backward and forcing him to release his sister.

Mikado caught her and spun her around to face him. He smiled and said, "You're very cute, did you know that!"

Kodachi fluttered her eyes at him. The announcer said, "Ah, Sanzenin, straight to his specialty kiss attack!"

Kuno staggered and crashed to the floor of the rink, Azusa straddling his chest. Mikado smiled happily and said, "Aha, an opening!" and bent down and kissed Kodachi on the lips.

Kodachi smiled briefly as his lips left hers and then she slapped his arms apart, causing him to let her go. As he did so, he began to feel his muscles locking up. "What did you do to me?" he gasped as all feeling left him and he was paralyzed.

Laughing wildly, she skated away and then picking up speed, raced back to Sanzenin. "That should teach you to kiss someone without their permission. No one touches my lips without my consent. My kisses are very potent! Or at least my lipstick is!" she exclaimed as she swept by him, grabbing him by the arms. As she did so, she began to spin, and finally, released him, tossing him across the rink, and through the wall. He came to rest finally on the walkway surrounding the rink.

Kuno bounced up, throwing Azusa off of him several yards. Tatewaki grinned at his sister and said, "Excellent move, my twisted sister! Shall we finish this?"

The two of them began to skate toward Azusa, who shrieked in fury, "You hurt Mikey!" As she began to skate toward them to get her revenge, she saw the paramedics reach Sanzenin and wrap him in a pretty blanket.

The announcer exclaimed in shock, "Is Mikado Sanzenin out of action? Look, Azuas Shiratori is approaching her partner, wracked with worry!"

As she reached Mikado, Azusa grabbed the blanket and cooed, "Oo! How cute! This blanket is so cute!"

"Hey, I'm cold, you stupid girl," Mikado said, as he pulled the blanket back.

"Give me back my Martina!" Azusa screamed as she clobbered him with an aluminum folding chair. The paramedics placed Mikado on a stretcher and began carrying him out, with Azusa following close behind.

Mikado collapsed, unconscious as the announcer said, "Azusa has named the blanket Martina! And the Golden Pair is out of the rink. They have forfeited the match! The Blue Thunder and the Black Rose have won in a stunning upset!"

End Flashback

Akane grinned and said, "Upperclassman, I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own honor. My honor demands that you stop this ill-fated pursuit of me. You can never have my love, that which belongs to another!"

"No, I refuse to believe that!" Kuno exclaimed, then catching sight of Ranma and Shampoo, he added, "The other loves of my life, say that thou wilt date with me!"

"Sorry, Kuno, I'm still not interested. I have someone else that I love, a much better person than you," Ranma said with a smirk.

"Aiyee, what did Shampoo tell you about flirting with married womans?" Shampoo growled. Kuno was then launched into the air, by Shampoo hitting him with her bonborri.

Ranma shaded her eyes and then said, "Nice form, Shampoo. I think you'll make the canal with that one. Next time, though, hit him in the head; it'll do less damage there."

The five girls began giggling. Then Ranma asked, "Speaking about married women, how is Ryoga?"

"He's healing well. Great Grandmother thinks he might be out of the cast soon. Then she say that all of us need to go on long training trip. Mousse not happy though," Shampoo replied with a giggle.

Akane asked, "Why, what's his problem?"

"He not like that Ryoga and I are sharing bedroom," Shampoo answered.

The other four girls face-faulted. "He sure moves fast. I thought he was a lot more bashful than that," Ranma growled. Then she realized, 'Baka, remember, he used to spend time in Akane's bed. This isn't much different. And you're one to talk anyway. Aren't you sharing a bedroom with Akane?'

"No, it my idea. This way, I can keep him company. Besides, it fun to watch him blush when I dress," Shampoo explained.

Ranma grinned and asked, "Aren't you afraid that he'll pass out from the blood loss?"

Shampoo giggled and then replied, "I'm slowly breaking him of habit. Would not do for husband to pass out on wedding night. That bad luck."

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch, and then five of them hurried back to class.

----------------------

Yuka and Sayuri made their way down the path from the Tendo home to the dojo; the formal kimonos they were wearing making swishing sounds as they took the tiny steps the kimono allowed them to take. They saw the immaculate grounds, not a stone out of place, all of the blades of grass bent at exactly the same angle. Neither of the girls were quite sure why Kasumi had insisted on them changing into the kimonos, but something about her demeanor had made them sense how serious the older girl was. The manner in which she had performed the ritual of getting them dressed, especially in the tying of the obi and the way that she had ensured that the material had draped properly had impressed them with the formality of the situation. Then she had said, "It is time," and held out a small stone basin of water. The two girls had purified themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths. Kasumi had then showed them to the back door, handed each of them a folding fan and motioned for them to go to the dojo through the simple garden along the freshly washed path.

Once they reached the dojo door, the two girls removed their shoes and knelt down in front of the sliding door. Taking a deep breath, Yuka placed her fan in front of her, and after waiting for Sayuri to do the same, she opened the door. She placed her hands on the tatami mat in front of her and entered the dojo, moving her fan in front of her. She felt Sayuri enter the dojo beside her. Once inside, they stopped as they saw that the dojo had been transformed into a small tearoom by the use of several small finely painted screens, and the floor had been completely covered by tatami mats.

Yuka silently blessed her mother who had taught her the way of tea. She wasn't quite sure why Akane was doing this, but she wanted to make sure she did her part in the ritual correctly. She took her fan in her right hand and then stood up, starting with her right foot and walked over to the small alcove near the door, where she sat down again. She placed her fan in front of her and waited for Sayuri to copy her moves. Then she bowed to the scroll. Her eyes widened as she recognized the scroll as Mu. She wasn't quite sure why Akane had selected that scroll, one consisting of all ideas and objects, even those that appeared to be mutually contradictory and opposing. She carefully examined the yellow roses that were sitting in a simple, yet finely made vase. She bowed and then rose, starting with her left foot, then walking carefully on the appropriate mats she knelt in front of the kettle where Akane was waiting, her face a mask of calm repose. Kneeling beside her was the young man that Yuka had seen briefly at the front gate of the school yard, the one she recognized as the young man she had seen so many weeks before at the arcade.

Akane waited for Sayuri to join them, and then she began to make the tea. She took a scoop of the powdered green tea from the natsume, and placed it into the decorative tea bowl, that was already filled with hot water. Then using the tea-whisk, she stirred the green tea as it brewed. Once the tea was ready, she turned the bowl clockwise twice with her right hand to show the front to the two girls who were her guests. She placed the bowl in front of Yuka. Yuka bowed to Sayuri and said, "Excuse me for going before you." Then she bowed to Akane and Ranma and said, "Thank you for the tea." She picked up the tea bowl with her right hand, and placed it in her left palm. Holding the bowl with her right hand, she made a small bow, and then turned the bowl clockwise twice, so that the front was no longer facing her. She took several dainty sips, and then wiped where she drank with her right thumb and index finger and then turned the bowl so the front faced her again. She set the bowl down in front of Sayuri.

Sayuri gulped and then performed the same ritual as Yuka, without quite the confidence that Yuka had shown. When she was done drinking the remainder of the tea, she placed the bowl down, with its front facing her and then, bent down to take a closer look at the bowl. She then carefully picked it up, with her elbows on her knees so she couldn't raise it too high, then set the bowl down again. She bent to examine it, and then turned the bowl so that the front faced the young man. He reached for the bowl with his right hand and then the two of them bowed. The boy placed the bowl in front of Akane, and then Akane and the young man bowed deeply, three times, their heads touching the tatami mat each time.

Akane collected all of the utensils and placed them on a small tray. Yuka and Sayuri looked confused, but Akane simply smiled and rose gracefully and led them to the door. She again bowed to her friends, closely mimicked by the young man. They led Yuka and Sayuri back into the house, the young man stopping to leave the tray in the kitchen and gathering up another kettle and then silently led them up to the second floor, where they stopped by what used to be the guestroom. Now, instead, there was a small wooden duck, hanging on the door, which read, 'Akane and Ranma.' Akane opened the door and led them into the room, where they saw several screens, partitioning the room into two smaller rooms. She knelt again on the floor, with the young man joining her. Quickly, Sayuri and Yuka followed suit.

"Thank you for being so patient with us," Akane said softly, "But we owed you an apology and I felt this was the best way to begin." She hesitated for a second, and then said, "We've been keeping a secret from you, the two of us, Ranma and me."

She hesitated again, and then the young man spoke, "It's my story, Acchan, why don't you let me tell it."

"Of course, Ranma," Akane agreed.

Yuka and Sayuri looked puzzled and then Yuka asked, "Ranma, I thought you said his name was Ranchan. Why does he have the same name as our girlfriend? Where is she by the way? I thought she was going to be here with her boyfriend."

"That's the secret that I was telling you about," Akane said.

Ranma bowed to both Yuka and Sayuri one more time and then said, "This is going to sound very weird and hard for you to believe. But what I'm about to tell you is the truth. You see, I'm a martial artist, and my Pop has had me on an extensive training trip, one that lasted for almost ten years. On this trip, just before I came back to Japan, we visited a training ground in China. Unfortunately, what Pop didn't know is that the training ground consisted of a bunch of spring-fed pools, and bamboo poles. If you fall into one of the pools, you are then cursed to take on the form of whatever drowned in that pool."

Sayuri gasped and said, in shock, "You don't just have the same name as Ranma, you are her!"

Ranma said softly, "Yes, I am. I fell in Nyannichuan, spring of drowned girl." He poured some water from a container that he had brought with him. Yuka face-faulted as she saw her girlfriend appear in front of her eyes. She continued, "And because of that, I turn completely female. And that's the secret that we've been keeping."

"But why didn't you tell us? Why did you pretend to be a girl all this time? You pervert!" Yuka cried. Ranma winced as she heard her friend call her a pervert.

"Pervert, why am I a pervert? Have I ever taken advantage of this body? Is it my fault that I got cursed?" Ranma asked, stung that Yuka would use that word.

Yuka looked abashed and she hung her head, as she replied, "No, you haven't except for scamming extra ice cream. You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"That's why you always changed in the bathroom, instead of in the locker room. That way you wouldn't see all of us naked, isn't it?" Sayuri asked, as all of the odd behavior began to make sense.

"Yes, I didn't want any of my friends think that I was doing something wrong when the truth finally came out," Ranma replied softly.

"And it's my fault that he pretended to be a girl. I never told you this, but the reason that Ranma first came to our house was on a matter of family honor. His father and mine had arranged for one of us girls to be engaged to marry Ranma, and I knew that it would fall to me to uphold the agreement. Ranma had come to the house as a girl, so I convinced him to continue the act," Akane said softly.

"I would have done anything for her, so I agreed. That's why we kept everyone in the dark about my gender. But when we fell in love, and I asked her to marry me, the reason to hide was no longer there," Ranma added, "You two are our closest friends so we wanted you two to be the first to know the truth, but next term, I'll come out of the closet as it were, and go to school as a guy."

"This is a bit much to take in," Yuka said, softly, "But that explains why you two were always so affectionate towards each other the last several weeks. Are you sure about this, Akane?"

Akane placed her arm around Ranma's waist and drew her close and kissed her. "Ranma is the same person, no matter what gender he is. I love that person. That's the only thing that matters to me," Akane said. "Though I enjoy kissing him more when he's male," she added with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Ranma poured some warm water from another container and transformed back. "We're sorry that we deceived you two for so long. I hope you can forgive us," he said softly, "You're my friends, and I hope this hasn't hurt that friendship."

Yuka swallowed and then reached out her hand to Ranma.

Sayuri reached out and placed her hand over their joined hands. She said, "Ranma, I liked who you were when I thought you were a girl. I don't think that's going to change just because sometimes you're a guy. I trusted you with some of my secrets, things that I wouldn't tell just anyone, and you've never betrayed that trust. I even know that you turned Hiroshi down when he asked you out." Then she giggled, and added, "Of course, now I know the real reason why you turned him down." Yuka simply nodded her agreement.

"Well, only one of the reasons. If I really were a girl, I still wouldn't have gone out with him. I wouldn't have wanted to betray our friendship. But you're right, even when I'm a girl, I don't like guys," Ranma said.

Sayuri giggled, and said, "I'm not sure I want you sitting around when we talk about our dates with the boys anymore, though."

Ranma smirked, and replied, "Hey, now it will be Akane that you're trying to pry the details out of. I may need to be there to protect my reputation."

"Why, are you afraid that I might not tell the truth about our dates?" Akane teased.

"No, I'm worried that you will," Ranma retorted, smiling.

The three girls giggled while Ranma laughed.

"How come you two are sharing a room? I mean, you two just got engaged and everything," Sayuri asked.

"It was our parents' idea," Akane admitted, "I think they are trying to get us married off sooner than we want. Ranma suggested the screens, so we agreed to try it for a while."

"Yeah, I figured that I would let Mr. Tendo have a small victory. He invited Mom to stay until my Pop showed up, so this was a decent compromise," Ranma replied, "Besides, this way, there'd be one less tent to carry on our next training trip." He winced as Akane elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, who'd want to share a tent with you?" Akane growled.

Ranma smirked and replied, "You would, tomboy."

Akane smiled happily, and answered, "Yep. I would."

Yuka looked at Ranma and Akane sitting there looking so happy together and sighed a bit wistfully. Sayuri looked at her a bit puzzled and asked, "What's wrong, Yuka?'

"Nothing, I was just wishing that Daisuke and I were that close," Yuka replied. She smiled and then said, "It's about time for me to head on home. Mom wants me back to help with dinner. Ranma, it's nice to meet the real you. And I think you two make a good couple. I have to admit though, Akane, for a girl who swore she hated guys, you sure found a cute one."

Akane squeezed Ranma harder and said, happily, "Yep, I think I did." Then she growled softly, "And don't get any ideas, Yuka."

"Hey," she protested mildly, "I don't go poaching boyfriends."

"I know, I was mostly teasing," Akane admitted, "But I do feel very possessive of him."

The two girls smiled and stood. Sayuri said, "I need to go, too. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Ranma and Akane followed them downstairs and waited while they changed out of the kimonos into their own clothing in the furoba. As they stopped at the front door, Sayuri hesitated and then she hugged both Ranma and Akane. Yuka followed suit and then the two girls headed out of the Tendo compound.

"That went well, I think," Akane said, as she stood there with her arm wrapped around Ranma's waist, her head leaning on his shoulder.

----------------------

Nabiki stared pensively out the window of her bedroom, pondering anew the major disruption that had occurred in the Tendo home. It was still difficult to believe that the spirited young girl that she had come to like was actually a handsome young man who was now engaged to her younger sister. Even though she had seen the transformation several times, it was still so amazing. Her worldview had shattered; instead of the universe she thought she knew, a rational world, one where things made sense, where things added up, she now knew that magic was real and it frankly scared her a little. And Nabiki Tendo did not like being scared, even a little bit. She was the one always cool, always in control, always in charge. As she reached her decision, she smiled. 'Alright, now how do I find out about the curse,' she thought, 'and how do I make it work for our family?' She thought for a few more seconds, and realized, 'Of course, I need to spend some more time with Ranma and find out everything that he knows. Then I can take it from there.' She resolved to go find him right then and begin the enquiry. As she rose from her chair, and started heading downstairs, a still small voice inside her head said, 'It doesn't hurt that he's a handsome rogue, either, does it, Nabiki?' She ruthlessly crushed that voice, refusing to dwell on what might have been. While at first she had been angry with her sisters and Ranma, all of whom had managed to hide the truth from her for so many weeks, she had seen the obvious love between the young couple. And in spite of appearances sometimes to the contrary, she loved her little sister and wouldn't do anything that would really hurt her. Even though it had cut in to her betting proceeds, she had been happy when the hentaii horde had given up on Akane and being able to stop selling pictures of her sister had actually been a relief. She had realized the tightrope that she had been walking and was aware that eventually she would have been faced with a decision on whether she should cross the line into more explicit pictures of her sister. She was elated when Ranma had come up with that solution, even though it had really been a clever way to pay some rent. She had come to see how much Ranma's honor meant to her, well now him, and that had actually rubbed off on her.

She found Ranma sitting on the rocks by the koi pond, staring off into space. Nabiki sat down next to her future brother-in-law, and sighed slightly. He turned and asked, "What was that for, Nabiki?"

Nabiki blushed, and replied, "Just thinking thoughts about what might have been. Could I ask you a question?"

"Why her and not you?" he asked quietly. Nabiki nodded, blushing deeper. Ranma gathered his thoughts for a second and then said, "Remember the first day we met. Here I was, this scared young girl, and believe me I was scared, walking into a strange house. My first impression of you was when this attractive girl came up and started playing with my chest. I really didn't know what to think. Then Akane protected me from you, and asked me to be her friend. She simply accepted me. And then, even when I showed her the truth in the dojo after we had sparred, she still accepted me. She still wanted to be friends. I fell in love with her that minute, and would have done almost anything for her to get her to feel the same way about me."

"That long ago," Nabiki mused, "So no one else would have stood a chance."

Ranma looked into the distance and said, in a slightly strained voice, "Yes, Nabiki, I fell in love with her a long time ago."

Nabiki sighed again, and said, a bit wistfully, "It's a little funny. Akane never had been interested in guys, and Tofu was always acting so crazy around Kasumi. I figured that I would end up with a real boyfriend first, even though I'm not really ready for marriage either. I want to be known as Nabiki Tendo, not someone's wife."

"So that's why you sounded so unhappy when you thought I was a girl," Ranma said with a chuckle, "Sorry I disappointed you."

Nabiki chuckled lightly, and replied, "I don't think you disappointed me half as much as you did Daddy. He had really gotten excited about joining the two schools." She hesitated and then asked, "What's it like?"

"Why?" Ranma asked, "Is it important?"

"Yeah, I think it is, brother-to-be. I have spent my whole life believing in a rational, logical world, and I have structured my life around those beliefs. And here you come and turn my world upside-down with this curse. I need to know what to believe in," Nabiki replied.

Ranma looked at Nabiki and saw for the first time that Nabiki was scared. "It's hard to describe, Nabiki. I've kind of gotten used to changing, but still, think about it. When I change into a girl, I get shorter, my whole body changes. I turn into a real woman, with all that that means. Then when I change back, the reverse happens. Think about what it would feel like if it were you changing into a guy, but still mentally being a girl. It's the same for me. As far as I can tell, I'm the same person inside, though I'm not sure I would notice the difference," he replied softly.

"So when this happens," Nabiki said, as she splashed the boy beside her, "can you feel it happen?"

Ranma gave the girl sitting beside her an irritated look and replied, "A little bit. If I'm not paying attention, though, or if something else more important is going on, then, no, I miss it happening. You could have just asked, you know. You didn't have to splash me."

Nabiki giggled and replied, "Yeah, I know, it's just that it's still so odd to see. I'm having a hard time getting used to it."

Ranma mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "I wish I had some Instant Nannichuan powder." Then she grinned and replied, "Try seeing it from my viewpoint."

"Thanks, Ranma. I think I'll pass. I'm quite happy being a girl. As a personal favor, I'll keep an eye on you and if you start acting weird, I'll let you know," Nabiki said.

Ranma thought for a while and then said, after a few seconds of silence, "If you want to know more about the curses, I guess you rally ought to talk to the Amazon Elder Cologne. She knows more about them than I do after all, and she can ask the Elders back in the village for more information. In fact, now that I think about it, I need to talk to her about something she said that first day."

"Okay, I may go see her tomorrow. Why is she here, anyway? I know she came to train you and Akane, but why?" Nabiki asked.

"Are you sure you need to know, Nabs? You might be better off not getting involved," she replied, softly. 'After all, Happosai really didn't go after you much the last time around,' Ranma thought.

Nabiki replied, equally softly, but impassionedly, "I don't see how I can avoid getting involved, if it affects my family. I may not be the martial artist that you are, but I can fight in my own way."

Ranma turned and appraised Nabiki. She blushed and asked, "Did you just do what I think you did? Did you just undress me with your eyes?"

"Yes and no," Ranma replied, "I'm just trying to decide how much I should tell you, and I needed to check you out." Ranma fell silent and then sighed, as she continued, "The person who taught your father and my Pop the school is a very evil, perverted man. He is very vengeful, and spiteful; only thinking of himself, and if anyone spoils his fun, he gets very petty and hateful. He also is an enemy of the Amazon tribe. Cologne is here to teach Akane and I enough that if the old pervert shows up, the two of us can stand up to him. In fact, she said that as soon as we get back from the beach, we're gonna go on a training trip for the rest of the break. Your father is terrified of him, and according to what Pop wrote in his journal, so is he."

Nabiki paled as she heard what Ranma had said, then her face firmed as she said, "It doesn't matter, Ranma. If he is as bad as you say, you'll need all the help you can get. I'm going on that trip. Between Cologne and I, maybe we can put a plan together."

Ranma looked at Nabiki with an expression of respect.

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Author's notes: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. As always, constructive criticisms are always read, and welcomed. Thanks for all of the reviews. Specific comments are below:

Lazeralk: That would be telling about who Ukyo ends up with. The demon may show up again, I've had some ideas about that. But for now, it was just the mechanism to kick off the story. There had to be some reason for Ranma to go back in time. If I can pull it off, I intend to have both Toma and Kirin show up. Thanks for the kind comments.

xero-ghost: Soun knows why Cologne is here, and yes, I need to bring him in soon. Gee, now I'm going to have to change my plot, no one was supposed to figure out that Ranma was going to go hunt Happosai. VBG. Yep, Shampoo isn't an airhead, just tightly focused. Once she figured out that her hunting Ryoga wasn't going to work because of his shyness, she was going to have to change the way she did it. The pigs are basically just what kept happening in the canon, but yes, there will possibly be a reason for Akari to show up. I've had several thoughts about that.

Materia-Blade: Sorry about the title. I couldn't resist the rhyme, and I had forgotten to come up with one. I realized just as I was about to post that I didn't have one.

Taechunsa: Ranma and Akane are both training with Cologne and Shampoo. I have made mention of it, but I haven't really dwelt on it much up to now. There will be a few scenes of them training in a later chapter, though. Of course, the real reason I haven't shown any new techniques is I'm still trying to come up with a cool name for them. VBG. I didn't intend to show Mousse as a malicious character. He isn't evil per se, though he will harm innocent people, (or if you prefer, pretend to) as shown in the second time he showed up when he kidnapped Akane. The last chapter, he had just been told to stay away from the woman he loved and to forget about hurting Ryoga. If someone had told me that, I probably would have said a few choice words about her as well. Don't' worry, I won't write him out of character, at least not intentionally.

Amasaki Reyoko: Thanks. Ukyo will be showing up in another chapter or two. Hopefully, what I do with her will meet with everyone's approval. VEG

Dogbertcarroll: Sorry about Cologne's thoughts. I had just finished reading some very WAFFy stories, and it tends to affect my thinking for awhile. I guess I should read something angsty before I get back to my stories. Really don't want the readers to get too much saccharine, after all. I've alluded to Nabiki changing some, remember the episode where Kodachi tried to find out about the pig-tailed boy, and Nabiki refused. It may have been a bit subtle. Yeah, I kind of blew Soun's reaction after going back and rereading that section. I need to think about that and see if I can fix it later. Thanks.

C. Rose: I think it may have taken a bit more than two days; it's a little hard sometimes to show exactly how many days have elapsed between scenes. But I should have shown more time elapse.

Hououza: Who said the skating match wasn't going to show up? VBG. This is what I had in mind all along. Sometimes the story isn't about Ranma or Akane, after all.

psycho king: Yes, when Genma shows up, we should have a great deal of fun.


	16. Discoveries and Explanations

Chapter 16 Discoveries and Explanations

Ranma squirmed uncomfortably in her chair at school. Ever since she had sat down at her desk, Yuka and Sayuri had stolen quick glances at her when the sensei wasn't watching. The few times that she had caught one of them looking at her, she could see the speculation in their eyes. Once she had even caught Sayuri looking at her with a very speculative, almost hungry look in her eyes. Their eyes had locked together, and Sayuri had blushed. Ranma sighed to herself, wondering not for the first time if possibly telling her friends the truth might have been a bit premature.

Hiroshi watched the byplay between his girlfriend and Ranma. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on.Sayuri had been oddly silent about what had happened the night before. She had been extremely excited yesterday afternoon, bubbling over at the idea of meeting Akane's fiancé, but when he had asked her what he was like, she had simply said he was a bit of a surprise. Hiroshi caught himself looking at Akane and wondered, 'What is so special about her? I felt so sorry for her because of all of the idiots that were chasing her, but that mostly stopped when Ranma showed up. And what's up with Sayuri? Why did she blush like that?'

'I wonder what it's like,' Yuka thought as she stole another glance at Ranma, 'I mean, changing genders like that. I can't even begin to imagine how Ranma stays sane.'

Sayuri berated herself as she thought, 'Pervert, stop thinking about him like that. Akane would kill me if she knew what I was thinking.'

'What's going on with those two?' Akane thought to herself as she once again saw her two friends glance over at Ranma, 'I guess I'll find out what's going on at lunch.'

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The lunch period found Ranma sitting beside Akane, with Yuka and Sayuri sitting beside them. Yuka glanced around and saw that no one was close to them. She said softly, "Ranma, I spent a lot of time last night thinking about your curse. I can't understand how you can be so calm about the whole thing. And to think that you spent almost four months pretending to be a real girl, I can't begin to believe you could do that."

Sayuri agreed, saying, "I'm with Yuka on that. What's it really like, changing genders like that? How do you stay sane?"

Ranma frowned as she thought, 'I would have had a very different answer the first time around'. Finally, she replied, "When I first got cursed, I was too busy trying to find Pop to worry about it. Then when I ran into Shampoo's people, and I found out that there wasn't a cure at Jusenkyo, I decided then that I would have to accept that this might be a part of my life from now on. Don't get me wrong, if there is a cure out there somewhere, I would take it in a heartbeat. But if I can't find one, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Having people who accept me for what I am helps. Akane and Kasumi both have been wonderful about it, and now that Mom has made her peace with it, I have all the support I need. The fact that the two of you have accepted this, and still want to be my friend, is great. I guess that's how I stay sane. That and the realization that there were worse things that could have happened."

"Worse things?" Yuka persisted.

"Well, yeah. There are several hundred springs there at Jusenkyo. What I haven't told you is that my Pop fell into Shonmaoniichuan, the spring of drowned panda. So he turns into a panda when splashed. That's how I got cursed; he fell in and then panicked. He started chasing me around and eventually I fell in a spring as well. Most of the springs are from some drowned animal, like pigs, ducks, that kind of thing. At least I stay human, and that helps more than you can imagine. The time I spent with Pop coming back to Japan, he spent more time as a panda than he did human," Ranma replied. Then she giggled, and added, "Though it's kind of hard to tell the difference. In either form, all he ever thinks about is feeding his stomach. His conversation is a little better when he's human, but that's about all."

Sayuri and Yuka both paled. "I see what you mean," Sayuri said, "I think that would be worse. Of course, since I'm a girl, I guess I'm a little biased."

"What's it like being engaged?" Yuka asked Akane.

Akane blushed as she looked at Ranma, who also blazed bright red. Akane said, softly, "It hasn't been that many days since Ranma asked me, so it's hard to describe the feeling. It just feels right, somehow, like we were meant to be together. The best thing about it is that he gets to spend more time as a guy, now. That and being able to cuddle more openly."

Ranma nodded her head and added, "That was the hardest part of the last several weeks. Trying to hide how we were feeling from the rest of the family, and obviously failing at it. You can't begin to imagine how glad I am that I don't have to hide who I am at home anymore, and I'll really be glad when the rest of the school knows."

"Are you two doing anything Saturday night?" Sayuri asked, "Yuka and I are going out on a double-date with Daisuke and Hiroshi, and we'd love for the two of you to come. We're going to go to a movie. Daisuke has been asking me to meet your fiancé, Akane. When he found out that Yuka and I had met him yesterday, he wanted to know all about him."

Akane looked over at Ranma, who nodded. "We'd like that," Akane answered.

Hiroshi frowned from where he and Daisuke were sitting, eating their lunches. His girlfriend had been acting a little odd when he asked her about Akane's fiancé. And now, she was over there sitting with her girlfriends. Then he saw Akane and Ranma both blush furiously, and that made him wonder what was going on over there.

'What on earth are they talking about that could have made both of those girls blush,' he thought, his eyes narrowing in concentration. He resolved to follow Ranma after school and ask her about this fiancé, since she was so close to Akane, surely she would know about the young man. Besides, he didn't want to face Nabiki and ask her, though he had heard the strangest rumor that she wasn't selling any information about Akane and her fiancé. 'I'm not sure which is worse though, facing Nabiki and asking her, or facing Ranma. She can be pretty scary. I still can't believe she toldSayuri that I had asked her out. I'm just glad Ranma thought it was funny for some reason, andSayuri thought I was just being kind,' he thought to himself, shuddering at how stupid he had been, jeopardizing the relationship that he had withSayuri for even thinking about a fling with Ranma.

----------------------

Ranma looked around the rooftop carefully, and then shared a quick kiss with Akane. She had been surprised when Akane had suggested the rooftop rendezvous', but had been perfectly willing to go along with the idea. Akane blushed and said, "It's getting harder to hide how I feel for you, Ranma. The way Yuka and Sayuri were teasing us at lunch and then some of the questions they asked while we were changing in the locker room, made me want to hold you so much." 'And don't think I wasn't paying attention, Sayuri,' Akane thought, 'I saw those looks you were giving Ranma today. You and I will have to talk!'

Ranma tugged on her pigtail in embarrassment, and then replied, "I know, Akane, but it's not much longer until the term is over. We have the half-day tomorrow, and then next week and it's done." They stood there holding each other for a few moments and then Ranma sighed and said, "Tell Kasumi and Mom that I'll be a bit late for dinner tonight. I want to run over to the Nekohaten and talk to Cologne about a couple of things after I finish at the clinic."

Akane replied, "Okay, but don't stay too late. Remember, she told us that we needed to get as much practice sparring together as we can work in. And we have that nasty English assignment to work on that's due Monday."

Ranma groaned and said, "I was trying to forget about that. Writing a three page essay on a chalkboard eraser, what is sensei thinking?" The red-haired girl shuddered.

Akane giggled and then kissed her fiancée again. Then the two girls made their way back downstairs. Hiroshi came out from behind the air-conditioning unit that he had been hiding behind and shook his head in utter confusion at what he had seen and heard. He carefully followed the two girls downstairs, keeping out of sight and watched as they separated at the front gate. Ranma began heading toward the clinic, while Akane jumped up onto the fence to begin her run home. Hiroshi swallowed nervously and then followed Ranma, trying to stay out of sight of the redheaded girl.

Ranma gratefully entered the clinic and made her way to the small kitchenette that Tofu used for his noonday meal on those days when Kasumi was at class and couldn't drop something by. There she unbraided her long pigtail, and brushed it out, and then tied it loosely back in a ponytail instead. Picking up the ever-present tea-kettle, she shook it experimentally and then poured it over her head, thinking as she did so, 'I'm sure glad I remembered about the Dragon Whisker soup, and didn't drink it this time. That innkeeper sure was grateful for getting it back, too. I sure ate good that night, and Pop didn't get any of it.' Ranma chuckled at the memory as he straightened out his clothing.

Hiroshi hid himself at the window of the clinic and then gasped in disbelief as he saw the attractive, well-built, pig-tailed girl transform in front of his eyes into a medium-height, black-haired young man. Suddenly, the memory of him asking Ranma out for a date returned and he felt nauseous. He stumbled against the building wall, and then collapsed to the ground as he felt his legs go out from under him, hitting his head hard against the window. Everything went dark.

Several minutes later, he became aware that he was laying on a bed somewhere, hearing the sound of two people talking. "His name is Hiroshi, Doc. He's in my homeroom. I'm not sure why he was outside the clinic, but I'm glad I heard the noise when he hit the window. That was a nasty bump on his head," a male voice said.

"Yes, it was, Ranma. But, he should be okay soon. In fact, I'm surprised he isn't with us. Right Hiroshi-san?" another male voice replied.

Hiroshi reluctantly opened his eyes to see Doctor Tofu standing there with the young man he had seen through the window, both of them gazing back at him with concern in their eyes. Hiroshi stammered and asked, "Who, no what, are you?" as he pointed at the young man.

"It's me, Hiroshi. Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this," Ranma replied, "As to what you saw, I got 'lucky' on my training trip and picked up a curse that changes me into a girl. As to why I pretended to be a girl for so long, that's kinda complicated. Akane asked me to, when we first met, so that her father wouldn't force her into an engagement."

Hiroshi began laughing almost hysterically and then said, "I see how well that worked. You're the guy she's engaged to, aren't you? I've seen the way you two act around each other when you think no one was watching. You two were obviously in love with each other and were trying to hide it from the rest of us."

Ranma looked a bit sheepish, and replied, "Yes, I am. And you're right; we did a lousy job of hiding our feelings."

Tofu chuckled and said, "Ranma and Akane aren't really trying to hide anything anymore. They just haven't told too many people yet."

"Well," Ranma said, as he massaged the back of his neck, his face slightly pink, "We told Yuka and Sayuri last night. And I had figured that I'd have to let you and Daisuke know when the six of us go out Saturday night. I mean, when the three girls call me Ranma that might be a pretty good clue to who I was."

"So, what's it like?" Hiroshi asked.

Ranma sighed and said, "Why don't we wait until Saturday? I don't really feel like going through the questions that many times. It's not something I really like talking about, and I do need to get some things done for Doc here."

Hiroshi chuckled and said, "Okay, I guess I can understand that." Then he grimaced and said, "I can't believe I asked you out on a date. Thanks for turning me down."

"Like I said, you weren't my type," Ranma said with a smile.

"Hiroshi, you should be able to go home as soon as you feel up to it, but I want to hear from you if you feel any dizziness," Tofu said sternly.

Ranma headed toward the door and then paused, and said, "You can tell Daisuke if you want."

Hiroshi shook his head and replied, "If I hadn't of seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. Why would you expect Daisuke to believe me? You'll have to show him. Besides, I can't wait to see the expression on his face."

Ranma thought for a second and then said, as he vanished through the doorway, "Good point. I guess I'll have to show him tomorrow."

----------------------

Shampoo came bursting into the Nekohaten to find Mousse busily mopping the floor of the kitchen. Mousse looked up and promptly tried to hug Shampoo, however, he instead, blindly groped a potted plant sitting by the entrance to the kitchen. "Shampoo!" he cried, "Please go out with me."

Shampoo glared at the myopic boy and growled, "Silly Mousse, if I go out, it will be with Ryoga."

"I forbid it!" Mousse cried, as he pushed his glasses down onto his nose and tried to glomp Shampoo.

She kicked the mop bucket so that it poured its contents all over Mousse. To his dismay, the water had cooled enough so that it triggered his change. She walked over and picked him up, and thrust him inside a cage. He quacked angrily at her as she shut and locked the cage. "Don't ever try to do that again, Mousse," she said heatedly, as she picked up the loose clothing on the floor and threw them into the cubbyhole that the sometime male was using as a room. Then she stomped off upstairs to find her Ryoga, so she could greet him properly before she had to change for her shift at the restaurant.

Shampoo went into the room she shared with her boyfriend to find him propped up in the futon he insisted on sleeping in alone, with a bemused look on his face, his leg, the one with the cast on it, stretched out in front of him. She walked over and kissed him, thoroughly, reveling in the feel of his lips on hers. She was even happier when he pulled her down next to him, so she could mold her body up against his. They shared a few minutes of peace, and then she reluctantly moved away as she heard her great-grandmother hopping by. "So did you miss me?" she asked with a pretty pout.

Ryoga smiled wryly and replied, "Yes. I had to listen to Mousse whine all afternoon about how much he loved you and why I wasn't worthy of you. He's still pretty irritated that we share a room."

"Yes, I know. That's part of the fun," Shampoo said, and then with a mischievous cast to her eyes, she pouted and said, "But Airen take all the fun out of it because he won't keep me warm in the middle of the night. Bed get very lonely then." She pulled herself away from the blushing Ryoga and sashayed over to her closet, swaying her hips deliberately. She reached in and pulled out one of her skimpier dresses and then dropped it on her bed. She slowly removed her school uniform, and then reaching behind her, undid the clasp on her bra, allowing it to fall to the floor. Turning around, she caught Ryoga looking at her with a deer in the headlights look, a small trickle of blood oozing unnoticed from his nose. He blushed and whipped his head around so he couldn't see her. Shampoo pouted again, and then put on her dress and sauntered back over to Ryoga, a clean cloth in her hand. She handed Ryoga the cloth and said, sexily, "Ryoga getting better. Only a little blood this time. Pretty soon, Ryoga ready to look at me. Maybe even touch." She reached down and kissed his cheek, and then headed back downstairs, leaving Ryoga in shock.

----------------------

Cologne was busy at the counter when a tall, slender, dark-haired, very attractive young woman girl swept into the restaurant with a haughty look on her face. She was conservatively and tastefully attired in a black cocktail dress that emphasized her charms by the understated manner in which the dress displayed them. Cologne asked, "Hello, Miss, would you like a table?"

#Actually, I was looking for someone,# the girl replied, in a rich vibrant voice, #I was led to believe that I might find Msu Tse of the Joketsuzoku here at this establishment. Is that true?#

The Amazon elder thought for a moment and then answered, #Yes, he is here at the moment. I am Khu Lon, an Elder of the Joketsuzoku. Can I tell him who is asking for him?#

"Oh, excuse me for my rudeness. I was unaware that someone of your stature was here in Nerima. My name is Kodachi Kuno, sometimes known as the Black Rose of St. Bacchus High School," Kodachi replied. 'An Amazon Elder here in Nerima. The limited research I was able to do on darling Msu Tse's village stated that they are the ruling power in the village. I wonder why she's here,' she thought. "Please if it isn't too much trouble, could I speak with him?" she asked, graciously.

"I believe he is in the back. Wait here and I'll go get him for you," the Elder replied, thinking, 'Well, well, maybe she'll make the fool forget about Xian Pu.'

Cologne cackled as she walked into the back. She headed over to the cage where Mousse was cowering in the back. Cologne smiled wickedly and said, "That Kodachi girl is here. If I let you out, will you behave?"

The duck nodded his head. Cologne opened the cage door, and allowed the duck to hop down to the ground. He waddled over to the small cubby he used to store his spare robes and waited for the old bat to bring him some hot water.

Cologne said, "I meant what I said, you behave." She poured the water over the duck and watched dispassionately as the duck transformed back into Msu Tse, who promptly scrambled into his clothing, and put his glasses on. With what remaining dignity he had, he walked out to the front where he was promptly glomped by Kodachi.

"Msu Tse, I have come to take you on a date. Please say you'll come with me," Kodachi pleaded.

Mousse sighed as he began to say, "I'm sorry, I've got some…" Then he saw Shampoo standing a few feet away, obviously trying to overhear what was being said. 'Ha, maybe I can make her jealous if I go on a date with someone else,' he thought, his mind latching on a plan to get his precious Shampoo. He gazed at Kodachi, and realized that the girl was actually extremely attractive. He smiled and changed what he was saying, "Actually, now that I think about it, I would love to go out with you. I'm not that familiar with this town, though. Where would you like to go?"

Kodachi looked flustered for a second, as if she hadn't expected Mousse to agree and then said, "There's a small restaurant I know that I'd like to show you."

Shampoo asked, "Where Mousse go?"

"I'm going out on a date with Miss Kuno here," Mousse replied. Then he added, "Don't wait up, Shampoo."

Kodachi smiled thinly and asked, "Did you call her Shampoo?"

Mousse replied, "Yes, her name is Shampoo. She is also from my tribe."

"Oh-oh, so you're one of the women my brother is infatuated with," Kodachi said, with a wicked laugh. Her eyes panned up and down her body and then smiled, as she said, "Well, it's obvious why he's chasing you. Certainly not for your sparkling conversation."

Shampoo's eyes narrowed as she realized that she had just been insulted. But then she smiled and replied, "Well, he not smart enough to know Shampoo not interested. She already have husband. Not need stupid bokken boy except for punching bag."

"That probably is the best use for brother dearest," Kodachi agreed. Mousse decided that he needed to get out of the middle of the impending cat fight. He offered his arm to Kodachi who took it and the two of them strolled out of the restaurant, heading to parts unknown.

Shampoo narrowed her eyes and then giggled, as she thought, 'Silly Msu Tse. You think you can make me jealous by going out with another woman. Maybe I'll let you think it works, so you keep going out with her.'

----------------------

Shampoo looked up as the door to the restaurant opened and a laughing Ranma walked in. He asked, "Did I see what I thought I saw? Was that Mousse walking down the street with Kodachi Kuno?"

Shampoo giggled and replied, "Yes, it was, Ranma. Kodachi asked him out, and he accepted. I think he thinks he can win my heart by making me jealous. Silly Mousse." She shrugged and said, "That not going to work, but, I think maybe Shampoo play along. Maybe make Mousse think it works so he'll keep going out with Kodachi."

Ranma laughed again, and said, "Make sure you tell Ryoga why you're pretending. He has a hot head. But if you can get Kodachi and Mousse together, I'd appreciate it as well. She keeps trying to find the pig-tailed boy. Good thing she doesn't know that's me."

"So that's why you wear your hair differently when you're a guy, now!" Shampoo exclaimed, "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, when I get the chance to fix it, I thought I'd wear it in a different style. At least that way it might confuse her," Ranma said, with a smile, then he asked. "Is Cologne in?"

Hearing her name, the diminutive Elder hopped in from the kitchen and said, "Hello, sonny boy, what brings you here?"

"A couple of questions. You got a minute?" he asked politely.

Cologne looked around the uncrowded restaurant and replied, "Looks like we have some time before the rush starts. Why don't we go into the back?" Ranma followed her into the kitchen, where they found Ryoga sitting on a stool, stirring a pot.

"Hey, pal, how's the leg?" Ranma asked, cheerily.

Ryoga scowled at Ranma and then relaxed. "If it wasn't broken, I'd be yelling 'Prepare to die, Ranma' as I kicked your butt," the other boy responded.

"Only in your dreams, Ryoga, only in your dreams," Ranma returned easily.

Ryoga chuckled and replied, "Actually, aside from it itching like crazy, it's not hurting. Cologne thinks the cast might be ready to come off in a couple of weeks."

"That's good, we could use another sparring partner, Akane and I. You're one of the few that I don't have to worry about holding back too much," Ranma said.

"You mean that, Ranma?" Ryoga asked in surprise.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Wouldn't have said it if I didn't." He grinned and said, "You're not as good as I am, but then who is?"

"Saotome!" Ryoga said, menacingly.

"Sorry, just teasing you, Ryoga. You're damn good, especially when you're tossing around that umbrella," Ranma replied. Then he smiled and asked, "How's married life treating you?"

Ryoga growled warningly, "Saotome, I'm not married."

"Oh, just living in sin, huh? Sharing a bedroom with Shampoo," Ranma teased.

The other boy blushed bright red and then chuckled nervously. Ryoga snapped back, "Yeah, and what about you and Akane? Huh?"

"Hey, it was our parents' idea!" Ranma protested, as he blushed.

Cologne chuckled at the two boys and then rapped them on the head with her cane. "I don't have all the time in the world, boy," she said.

"Sorry, sensei, Ryoga and I can tease each other some other time," Ranma said, rubbing the top of his head. "Anyway, I wanted to ask if Nabiki could go on the training trip with us."

"Nabiki Tendo came by earlier and asked the same question. I told her that I didn't have a problem with her coming. I didn't think she was interested in martial arts, though," the Elder said.

"She's not that interested, but I could tell she's kept some of it up. Her body tells me that she works out some; she just doesn't want anyone to know," Ranma replied.

Cologne said, "I think finding out about your curse has shaken her up. Of course, finding out that magic is real could do that to anyone. She asked me if I would teach her about magic. The talk you had about Happosai has her scared also. She wanted to help me come up with a plan to capture him, especially after I told her more about him."

Ranma frowned unhappily and replied, "I was hoping to keep some of that from her. But I guess you know best. She's very shrewd, and between the two of you, I feel confident you can come up with something. We just need to keep her away from the old pervert if we can. If what I remember from Pop's journal is true, he'll glomp almost anything female, and none of you deserve that." 'Yeah, and I never liked it when the old freak did it to me, I gotta keep that from happening to the girls. It just isn't right,' Ranma thought. He shifted uncomfortably, and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Something else is bothering you, isn't there?" the wise old woman asked.

"Yeah, I finally remembered something you said when I first met you," he replied, hesitantly, "Something about your belief's that the curse one gets at Jusenkyo reflects the personality of the person who was cursed."

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that question, sonny boy," Cologne said, kindly. She pondered for a moment and then answered, "Take your father for example. Isn't he in many ways a lazy creature, only interested in his own appetites, not really a man in many respects?"

Ranma reluctantly agreed, saying, "Yeah, there's not much difference when he's a panda," but then protested, "Does that mean I think I'm really a girl?"

"No, I think it's deeper than that. I think in your case, from what I saw when you were in the village, from what I've seen here, and the things you've said about how your father trained you, that you suppressed most of your, for lack of a better word, more feminine traits. Remember, everyone has some amount of both Yin and Yang in them. You just went too far in the one direction. I think you got your curse to help you overcome the teachings of your father in an attempt to bring you back into balance," Cologne replied.

"Sort of force me to embrace my feminine side then, you mean?" Ranma asked after a second.

"In a way. For instance, it's okay for men to cry, to be scared, to care for someone else. There's nothing wrong in liking an education, to appreciate art. There's more to life than just being a martial artist and unless you learn that, you'll be stunted in your growth," Cologne said.

Ranma sighed in relief and then said, ruefully, "Kasumi said much the same to me some time back. I know my manners aren't the best in the world, and I still tend to talk without thinking sometimes. Pop wasn't the best role model in the world, I figured that out early, but that's the only one I had. So basically, I got cursed because I hid all of my finer emotions. I guess what I think I hear you telling me is that it's time for me to grow up a bit."

Cologne smiled widely and then replied, "I think you've got it. The other thing that you may find, is that as you become more comfortable with your feminine side, the less you'll get changed against your will. You made a good start with it by spending so much time as a girl up front. In fact, I really was surprised that you did."

Ranma blushed and replied, "I had a pretty good incentive, Elder. I would have done almost anything Akane asked to be able to stay with her."

Cologne chuckled and said, "True love is wonderful, isn't it?"

Ranma blushed again and then said, "I better get home. I'm sure Kasumi is beginning to get a bit worried about me and dinner. Thanks, Elder." He bowed and then fled the restaurant, heading home.

----------------------

Mousse was surprised by the ease in which his date had arranged for them to be seated at what was obviously a very exclusive restaurant. The maitre'd had taken one look at Kodachi and immediately led them to a secluded table. Kodachi had treated his deference as if it was expected, but Mousse thought the fawning over them that the man had done was a bit demeaning. Mousse began to suspect there was more to this attractive young woman than he had at first realized.

"Msu Tse, what is it like to be a member of the Joketsuzoku? The little bit of research that I was able to do was extremely unclear," Kodachi asked, once the waiter had come and gotten their drink orders. Mousse raised an eyebrow at the fact that Kodachi had ordered a bottle of wine, and the waiter hadn't blinked at the fact that both of them were underage.

Mousse thought for a second and then replied, "My people are a proud tribe, a tribe of warriors. We have a history that goes back some three thousand years or more. But we are a small tribe, only a few thousand people all told. We are a society led by our Elders and our Matriarch, all females." Mousse was surprised at how well Kodachi pronounced his name, instead of butchering it like so many of the people in this country did.

"That sounds fascinating," Kodachi said, "But how do you fit in?"

"Well, Miss Kuno, I am a Master of the Art of Hidden Weapons. As such, eventually it will be my duty to find a wife and teach our children that art," Mousse replied.

"Please, call me Kodachi," she said, as she reached across the table to hold his hand, "Has anyone told you that you have the most wonderful eyes? It's a shame that you hide them behind those glasses."

Mousse blushed, as he thought, 'I wish Xian Pu would talk to me like this.' "Uh, no, I don't think anyone has. Unfortunately, my eyesight is not the best. If I wasn't wearing my glasses, I would probably be talking to a plant instead of you."

"Hm, have you ever considered getting your eyes fixed, or possibly wearing contacts?" Kodachi asked. She filled their wine glasses again.

"Contacts, what are they?" Mousse asked.

"Basically, little pieces of plastic that go in your eyes. They take the place of glasses. On the other hand, you could have them use laser to fix your eyesight," she replied.

Mousse shuddered, and replied, "The idea of someone coming near my eyes with a laser beam sounds scary. It's kind of a moot point anyway, since I'm sure that it is expensive, and my savings are low."

The waitress came by and delivered their meal. Mousse waited until she was gone and then asked, "Kodachi, I don't know anything about you. Can you tell me a little about yourself?"

Kodachi thought for a second and replied, "Well, I come from a reasonably wealthy family. My brother and I basically live on the family estate by ourselves. One of the things that we are proud of is that we come from a long line of samurai warriors. In fact, Tatewaki takes that to an extreme. He is captain of the Kendo club at Furinkan High School, at least when he's not chasing the women he thinks he's in love with."

"You don't have any parents?" Mousse asked in surprise, "So it's just the two of you?"

Kodachi looked away, her expression sad. Finally she replied, "My mother died when I was very young. Father vanished some time after that, and I don't know whether he is alive or not. So it's just my brother, Tatchi, and me. We do have a few servants, but other than that we are alone."

Mousse suddenly felt sorry for the lovely young girl across from him and said, softly, squeezing her hand gently, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Please don't look so sad, you're a very attractive girl, especially when you smile."

Kodachi smiled sadly and then said, "Thank you, Msu Tse. That was very kind of you." She paused for a second and then added, "You may remember I go to St. Bacchus School for Girls, which is a very exclusive high school. There I am the star of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Team; in fact, I am the captain. We practice a form of Martial Arts Gymnastics."

Mousse chuckled and said, "So you are a martial artist. Good, we have that in common then. I like that. We ought to compare styles."

Kodachi batted her eyes shyly, and said, "I'd like that, too. Maybe you could show me some of the hidden weapon techniques. I'm also interested in botany, especially exotic plants. I grow my own plants, including my roses, on our estate."

"Fascinating! Most of the girls that I grew up with were only interested in martial arts. It's nice to find someone who has other interests," Mousse said, with a smile.

Kodachi laughed and thought, 'If only he knew about my interests.' "Why don't you come by the estate sometime and I can show you my flowers," she asked.

"Why are you interested in me, Kodachi? I mean, I'm pretty much just a wandering martial artist that just ended up here in Nerima," Mousse asked suddenly.

Kodachi looked thoughtful and considered the question. Then she replied, "I'm not sure, Msu Tse. There was just something about you that intrigued me when you saved me from hurting myself the other day. Possibly the loneliness that I felt in you. And it doesn't hurt that I find you extremely attractive. That long hair, those eyes, the broad shoulders."

Mousse quickly downed the rest of his wine. Feeling the effects slightly, he said, recklessly, "Then it's not just a physical thing?" 'What are you doing, fool?' he thought to himself, 'Sure she's treating you nicer than Xian Pu, but'

"No, it's not just physical. I sense that you and I are kindred spirits," Kodachi replied. Then looking down at the table, as if she was being shy, she added, "But, the physical part would be nice. I wouldn't mind getting closer to you."

Mousse blushed furiously. Kodachi giggled and then called the waiter over to pay for the meal. Once that was done, Kodachi asked, huskily, "Shall we go find a more private place to continue this conversation, darling Msu Tse?"

Suddenly aware of the slightly predatory look that the attractive young woman was giving him, Mousse was about to refuse, but then he thought, 'I don't want to get to the café too early, now do I?' He rose and offered her his hand. Kodachi gracefully stood up and linked her arm with his and they left the restaurant.

----------------------

The restaurant was dark when Mousse finally staggered through the door. He carefully made his way through the main room of the restaurant, barely avoiding the furniture, using the dim light shining through the half-drawn curtains of the large window. As he made his way into the kitchen to find his little room, the lights came on as Shampoo stood in the doorway. Her eyes widened for a second as she saw the disheveled appearance of the young man. His robes were slightly askew, and his long hair was tangled, as if someone had been running their hands through it. His cheeks were flushed with something.

#Good morning, Msu Tse,# Xian Pu said, with a slight tinge to her voice, #Did you have a good time?#

#Er, uh,# Msu Tse stammered, #yes, I d-did. Dachi took me to a nice restaurant for dinner.#

#And it took all this time to eat?# Xian Pu snapped, #Where was the restaurant? On Okinawa?# 'Dachi, huh' she thought.

#Why do you care, Xian Pu?# Msu Tse asked, #Are you jealous or something?#

#Silly Msu Tse, of course not,# Xian Pu said, in an unconvincing tone, #It's just late, and you'll have to get up early to work in the restaurant. You know how Great grandmother gets when things don't get done just the way she wants them.#

#Oh, that's different,# Msu Tse replied, #I wouldn't want the old ghoul to get mad at me or something.# 'Ha, it's working, she's actually jealous,' Msu Tse thought with satisfaction.

#Get some sleep, I'm going to bed,# the girl said, #Next time, if you stay out so late, don't make so much noise when you come in.# Xian Pu turned away and smiled to herself in satisfaction. 'Good, now he'll think I'm jealous. I'm such a good actress,' she thought as she stormed out of the door and made her way back to the bedroom she shared with Ryoga.

----------------------

Kasumi opened the front door of the house in response to the polite knock that she had heard. There she found Akane's friends, Yuka and Sayuri, as well as two young men that she vaguely recognized as schoolmates of her youngest sister.

"Kasumi, this is my boyfriend, Hiroshi, and Yuka's boyfriend, Daisuke," Sayuri said in introduction.

"Hello, girls. Nice meeting you Hiroshi, Daisuke," Kasumi said in a kind voice, "Akane asked you to meet them in the family room." Kasumi led them to the family room and then slid the door closed behind them as she made her way to the kitchen. Shortly, however, she came back with a pitcher of milk, some glasses, and a plateful of freshly baked cookies, all on a large tray. She set the tray down on the table in the family room, when almost as if by magic, Akane appeared, followed closely by a handsome young man, who stopped nervously at the entrance.

"Hi guys," Akane said as she neared them, then she waved for the young man to come closer. "The rest of you have already met him, but, Daisuke, I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Ranma Saotome."

The girls giggled at the expression on Daisuke's face, while Hiroshi chuckled. Ranma smiled slightly and said, "I guess you three didn't tell him after all before you came over." He watched the play of emotions that flashed across Daisuke's face. Daisuke finally looked confused enough that Ranma took pity on him. Ranma smiled a bit sadly and added, "Yes, Daisuke, I really am the same red-haired girl that you know at school. Thanks to my idiot Pop, I have a curse that turns me into a girl."

"B-b-but," Daisuke stammered, "T-that's impossible! There's no way that can happen."

Ranma shook his head and then poured some cold water over his head, transforming into his female form. She shrugged and said, "Yep, it's impossible all right. Doesn't mean it isn't true, though." She got some hot water from Kasumi who had disappeared and reappeared with both the hot and cold water so smoothly that no one had noticed her absence. Ranma poured the hot water over her head and changed back, and then toweled his hair dry with the towel that also magically appeared. "Thanks, big sis," Ranma said.

Daisuke's eyes glazed over for a moment as he saw the impossible happen in front of him. Then he began to think of all of the possibilities and asked, "Well, if you're really a guy, you wouldn't mind showing me your…"

Yukaslapped him as Ranma simply glared. "Don't get any perverted ideas, Daisuke. Just because I'm really a guy, doesn't mean I'm gonna let you see what I look like. And, before you ask, when I'm a girl, I don't like guys that way, so you can forget about that too."

"Hey, give me a break; I'm not a pervert like Hiroshi. I wasn't thinking anything like that," Daisuke protested weakly.

"Yeah, right. Then explain the glazed look in your eyes and the trail of drool running down from your mouth,"Sayuri asked, annoyed with him for her friend's sake.

Ranma's stomach came to the rescue and growled loudly, breaking the tension that had arisen. He blushed in response and then suggested, "Why don't we eat some of the cookies. It would be a shame to let them go to waste while they're still warm."

"I'm still having a hard time with this. Why did you pretend to be a girl?" Daisuke asked. He was annoyed when everyone laughed at the expression on Ranma's face.

"Man, I really ought to print up flyers," Ranma muttered. Then he replied, "When I first came here, Akane didn't want to be forced into an engagement with some strange boy. Not that I can blame her, I didn't want to be engaged to some strange girl. She convinced me to pretend to be a girl so her father wouldn't force the issue. Anyway, I agreed, but now that we managed to fall in love and decide to get married, I want to live my life as a guy as much as possible. We just haven't told anyone else at the school yet because it was too close to the end of the term to get the classes straightened out."

"And before you ask, yes, I love him and don't care about the curse. He's still the same person gazing out at me from those brilliant blue eyes, no matter what the rest of the body looks like," Akane said, hurriedly.

"But why?" Daisuke asked, "I mean, isn't it a lot weird that he turns into a girl?"

Akane shrugged her shoulders and then replied, "Actually, it's kind of nice. Ranma knows at least some of what girls have to go through. It makes him a bit more sympathetic." She walked over and placed her arm around Ranma's waist and pulled him close.

"Hey, tomboy," Ranma said, tenderly, "I kind of need my ribs in one piece."

Hiroshi shook his head in amazement, and said, "You're really serious about him."

"Well, I think it's very romantic," Yuka gushed, "Just think of all of the things that they had to go through to find true love."

Ranma looked at the two boys and asked, "I know this is a lot to take in. I hope you can handle this. I could use some more friends. Are you two okay with all of this?"

Hiroshi took one look at the expression on Sayuri's face and realized that he had only one answer.She was going to be Ranma's friend, and if he knew what was good for him, he'd better say that he would be also. Hiroshi replied, with another nervous glance athis girlfriend,"Sure, Ranma. I'd like that. Maybe you can show us some of your moves from your martial arts."

Daisuke quickly agreed, especially afterYuka glared at him. "Yeah, it'll be cool to have you as a friend. It's obvious that Yuka and Sayuri have accepted you this way, and besides, I liked you when I thought you were a girl. Not that way, pervert." He punched Hiroshi in the arm as he saw the smirk. "I meant that I thought you were a real nice person, and I doubt that changes," he continued.

Ranma relaxed as he felt the acceptance from the two boys. 'Maybe school won't be too bad. I mean most of them came around when they found out about the curse. Well, except for Kuno. He never did get a clue,' Ranma thought.

After finishing the cookies and milk, the six young people left the house, after thanking Kasumi profusely, and made their way to the movie theater, or rather the three couples made their way, for they were definitely walking in couples, with Ranma and Akane leading, hand-in-hand. The other two boys were still somewhat stunned to realize that the gorgeous red-haired girl that had been in their classroom for the last few months, and if the truth be told, starring in some of their more x-rated dreams, had transformed into a much taller, muscular guy, who carried himself with confidence, and not a little arrogance. The two boys devoutly hoped that Ranma never suspected what they had occasionally talked about, and frequently dreamed. Neither one of them expected that Ranma would be gentle if he found out.

Ranma hid a smile as he occasionally intercepted the somewhat concerned looks that the two boys gave him. Finally, he chuckled lightly, low enough only for Akane to hear. She looked at him in an invitation to share the joke. He said, softly, "I think Hiroshi and Daisuke feel guilty about something. I bet they had some interesting dreams that they now wish they hadn't"

Akane giggled and replied, "I bet you're right. Of course, now they'll have different dreams."

Ranma scowled, and then said, "Well, so long as they don't ask me any perverted questions, they can keep their dreams to themselves." 'If they start acting the same as last time, I think I'll have a different response. Hell, I didn't even know what half the stuff they were asking me was before,' he thought, 'It's amazing what hanging around those girls has taught me. And Akane always accused me of being a pervert.' He snickered to himself, and continued, 'I'm just glad she never knew the kind of questions all the boys asked.'

They reached the movie theater and quickly found their way to the ticket counter and purchased their tickets. They walked over to the auditorium, with a brief stop at the concession stand for Ranma to load up with a small snack, well, small for him. For most normal people, his small snack would have fed a family of four. Then they found a set of six seats and promptly sat down, with Ranma and Akane in the middle, and Hiroshi and Sayuri sitting next to Ranma and Yuka and Daisuke sitting next to Akane. Akane narrowed her eyes as Sayuri sat next to Ranma but decided that there was no reason for her to be jealous. Akane leaned her head on Ranma's shoulder, and then promptly stole a large handful of his popcorn.

As the movie began, Ranma relaxed in his chair and prepared to enjoy the show. They had actually managed to come up with a decent compromise in the movie, one that promised some action for the guys and some romance for the girls. While they did sneak a few kisses during the show, much to the amusement of the other two couples, who truth be told were also stealing kisses, Ranma and Akane were quickly sucked into the plot.

The movie ended with the hero saving the heroine, and reaping his just reward, which caused all three of the girls to sigh as the handsome man kissed the girl passionately on the big screen in front of them. As the credits rolled, they rose from their seats, with the boys discussing the martial arts moves that they had seen. Ranma was quietly thoughtful, as he walked out holding Akane's hand.

They soon left the theater but before they had gotten too far, Ranma heard the sound of a truly wicked laugh. Suddenly they were accosted by the Black Rose, Kodachi, who jumped down in front of them. "Ho-ho, Akane Tendo, we meet again. And who pray tell is this delicious man with you. Do my eyes deceive me or is this the famous pig-tailed boy that I swore to steal from you?" she asked, her eyes dancing with glee.

Akane bristled and said, possessively, "Yes, Kodachi, this is my fiancé."

"Your fiancé! How marvelous! What can he possibly see in a peasant such as you?" Kodachi asked.

Ranma smiled easily and said, "I see a beautiful woman, with a large heart and a fiery spirit. I see the woman that I fell in love with."

"Tsk, what a shame for a wondrous person such as yourself to be wasted on her, especially when I'm available for the taking," Kodachi replied, "But please, pray tell me your name. Who are you and where have you been hiding yourself?"

Ranma said, "My name is Ranma Saotome."

"Hey, leave my fiancé alone," Akane growled as she began to get jealous at the attention Kodachi was giving her fiancé.

"That's amazing. That's the same name as one of the girls my brother Tatewaki thinks he is in love with," Kodachi replied, "Do you know her?"

"A short, well-built, red-haired girl?" Ranma asked with a grin as the other five began to smile.

Kodachi replied, "Yes, that describes her exactly."

"Yes, I know her quite well as a matter of fact. A very nice girl, certainly much too good for your brother. From what she's told me, she isn't at all interested in him. In fact, I believe she says she's turned into a lesbian because of him," Ranma said, trying to keep from grinning.

Akane was staring wide-eyed at Ranma, while Yuka and Sayuri were giggling like crazy. The other two boys were also looking at Ranma in shock.

Kodachi began laughing, a rich laugh, and said, "I must be sure to tell brother dearest that. I'm sure that will upset him no end. But come, why don't you dump these peasants, and let me show you a good time."

"Sorry, Kodachi, but I am taken. Besides, I think I heard that you are dating that fierce Amazon warrior, Mousse. I wouldn't want to give him any reason to be jealous," Ranma replied, "I'm sure he's the right man for you."

Kodachi got starry eyed and said, gushingly, "Yes, Msu Tse is such a wonderful man. What a wonderful kisser, and such gentle hands. However, I would be willing to see how you do. Shall we?" She glomped onto Ranma before he could get away.

Akane began to see red and then pulled Kodachi off of Ranma and threw her to the ground. "Akane, calm down," Ranma said, in an attempt to get out of trouble.

"Don't worry Ranchan. I'm not mad at you, I saw her jump on you; you didn't hug her back. I'm just going to teach her another lesson. When a girl comes onto another girl's boyfriend, especially when they are out on a date, that's the same as saying, 'Let's fight, bitch!' Which reminds me," Akane exclaimed, as she turned to Kodachi, "Let's fight bitch!"

Akane stood there politely for a second, waiting for Kodachi to get up from the ground where she has landed hard. "Nobody tries to steal **MY **Ranma from me," she growled, as Kodachi leapt to her feet, "Kodachi Kuno, **PREPARE TO DIE!**"

Ranma did a double-take as he heard that familiar cry, coming from an unfamiliar source. He started giggling and then swatted himself on the head. 'Guys DON'T giggle!' he thought.

"Oh-ho! Do I detect a little jealousy, my dear Akane Tendo?" Kodachi asked regally. Suddenly, she shed her dress, appearing in her black leotard, and then snapped a ribbon that appeared out of nowhere at Akane, who smiled happily as she caught it with one hand. Pulling with all of her brute strength, she tugged the surprised Kodachi off her feet and sent her forward, where Akane met her with a brutal punch to her stomach. Kodachi folded over the blow, gasping for breath.

Kodachi staggered away, and painfully pulled herself erect. Her eyes narrowed in anger. 'When did she get so strong?' the gymnast wondered, 'Have I bit off something I can't handle? No, I am a Kuno, we never lose!'

Then, to everyone's surprise, Akane screamed, "Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken!" Her battle aura flashed bright red, and became huge, as she rushed Kodachi and began pummeling her as fast as she could, her fists blurring in a credible imitation of Ranma's speed.

"When did she learn that?" Ranma gasped in surprise, and then remembered the last time her battle aura had flared so brightly. She had attacked Kuno that fast then as well, using her rage. 'She's using her anger to fuel her attack! Damn, I've got to get her trained to fight like this under control. She'll be a berserker if I can't!' he thought in shock.

Kodachi released her ribbon and sprang back, clutching her stomach. She snarled, making her face a hideous mask and attempted to close with Akane using her attack of a thousand clubs. Akane dodged most of them, but Ranma winced in sympathy as he saw several of them land hard blows on Akane.

"When I beat you, Akane Tendo, I'll show your precious fiancé what a real woman feels like," Kodachi gloated.

"Like hell you will!" Akane screamed as her battle aura flashed even brighter. Suddenly, she pulled a huge mallet out of nowhere and slammed it several times into Kodachi. The final time was a wicked undercut that sent Kodachi flying high into the air, in the general direction of the clinic.

'I wonder where she's been hiding that all this time. Not that I've missed it,' Ranma thought as he rushed over to catch Akane as she sank to her knees, 'And it's a lot more enjoyable to watch it in action than to be on the receiving end, that's for damn sure!'

"Not bad, Acchan, not bad at all, but we need to work on a few things," Ranma whispered tenderly to the girl he held in his arms.

She smiled weakly up at him and said, "Hey, I'm a martial artist too, you know!" Then she collapsed against his chest, unconscious.

"Yeah, I think you are Akane," he said tenderly, "But you've got to learn to pace yourself." He looked at the other two couples and said, "I need to get her over to the clinic." He stood up, carefully cradling Akane in his arms, and then took off toward the clinic, in a direct line as the crow flies, leaping from building to building.

Ranma banged loudly on the locked door of the clinic, impatiently waiting for Tofu to come downstairs from his apartment and open it. After several minutes, he heard the sound of the lock being turned, and the door opened wide. Kasumi took one look at the situation and said, "Hurry, bring her in!" She moved out of the way, as Ranma rushed in and placed Akane on a table in the first examination room. Tofu bustled in, all business like, and took one look at the situation.

Kasumi followed him in, and asked, "What happened to her?"

"Kodachi Kuno jumped us while we were on our date," Ranma spat, "And Akane fought her. Kodachi got a couple of good blows in on her side. Akane used a move she really didn't have any business knowing and then she burnt out her reserves with some sort of ki attack. At least I think it was a ki attack. She pulled a mallet out of nowhere and whacked Kodachi several times with it, and then sent her flying. In fact, the bitch should be somewhere in the area."

"Ranma! Language!" Kasumi protested.

Tofu turned and said, "I need to take her top off to look at her side."

Ranma blushed and turned his back. Then he calmed down enough to take a closer look at Kasumi. She was very flushed, and her normally immaculate hair was tousled, and her blouse was misbuttoned. "Oh my," Ranma asked, "Did we interrupt something?" His face reddened as he realized what they might have been doing.

Kasumi blushed even redder. Tofu finished his examination of Akane and said, "You were right, Ranma. Her reserves are low, but other than that, she's okay. She's going to have a few good bruises, tomorrow, but nothing is broken." He buttoned up Akane's blouse, and then added, "Just take her home and put her to bed. She'll be all right in the morning."

"Thanks, Doc. Sorry 'bout this," Ranma said, sheepishly. He picked his fiancée up, and headed out the door.

Kasumi smiled apologetically at her fiancé, and said, "Later." She blew a kiss at Tofu and followed the young couple.

Tofu cursed under his breath as he saw his fiancée walk out the door, and then chuckled at himself. 'You knew being a doctor would require sacrifice,' Tofu thought to himself. He headed toward the front door to lock it, when it opened. He recognized the two couples that walked in as friends of Ranma and Akane. His eyes widened as he saw the burden they were carrying. A very bruised and battered young woman, wearing what was left of a black leotard, was cradled in the arms of the two young men. All four of them were wearing expressions of panic. He waved them on into the exam room he had just left. "What happened to her?" he asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

"Kodachi tried to hug Ranma while we were walking back from our triple date. Akane didn't like that much, so they started fighting. We were running here to check on Akane when we stumbled over what was left of Kodachi," Yuka answered.

"Ranma said he was taking Akane here. Is she okay?" Sayuri asked.

"She's just suffering from exhaustion is all," Tofu replied, "Just leave Miss Kuno here, and I'll take care of her. Why don't you go on home, and leave things to me."

The four youths gratefully took the hint and left the clinic.

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Author's notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. I've commented on a few below, but all of them are appreciated. I'm glad that so far everyone seems to like it. Hopefully this chapter continues that trend.

WillLeung: I don't know how far I'm going as well. So long as the muse is there though, the story will continue. Ranma already is learning the Mouka Takabisha; remember he already knew it, so it's just a matter of getting his body and ki together. Ryoga will be a big help in bringing Ranma up to speed. We'll see what happens when Herb shows up.

Inferna: That will come soon. If not the next chapter, then the next.

Chrono, Time Lord: Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. I do think the Herb arc will be a bit different in this story.

dogbertcarroll: Yeah, I want them to be more than two-dimensional bit players. I have some plans for Kuno, we'll see how that goes.

Materia-Blade: This is still mostly a romance/comedy, but soon Genma will show up and that will bring some problems for the Ranma and Akane. Maybe Sayuri figured it out too quickly, but they had been given some clues. I don't know about them getting very angry, after all they had just gone through a very formal tea ceremony, as an apology for something. Ukyo/Mousse? I don't think so, probably Kodachi/Mousse is where I'm heading. Ukyo hasn't even shown up yet.

Lord Strife: Sorry, not this chapter. VBG. Yes, Taro will show up. I need someone else to pound on Ranma after all, don't I?

MysticalFlame: VBG (Very Big Grin), VEG (Very Evil Grin), Thanks for the comments, I appreciate them. I'm fine, just have to work in the real world sometimes, so the chapters sometimes comes slower than others.

Hououza: Thanks, I liked it myself. It's always fun to use someone's special tricks against them, isn't it. Plus, who says Kodachi can't be a hero?

Dana-san: I have some ideas about the Kuno's. There is a chance that they can be redeemed. Kodachi already has someone besides Ranma to obsess over.

Ivy: Yep, only Nabiki knows for sure, doesn't she?

Taechunsa: I did have a much longer fight, but then I looked at the manga and saw the very first time Ranma and Akane attacked, Mikado tried to steal a kiss. Since I knew how I wanted the fight to end, I had to change what I had written so it would work. As far as Kuno, there was a scene that I intended to write but forgot. Remember, he owed Kodachi something to get her to agree to participate. He was beaten up because of that. Ukyo will come in earlier than she would have normally. There's a reason that will become clear later why that happened.

Psycho King: Yeah, I haven't seen that kind of detail either. I hope that's one of the differences between this story and some of the others. Richness of detail. I wanted to have the Golden Pair do more moves, but as I said above, the very first attack had Mikado trying to steal a kiss. Oh well. I hope this was the reaction you expected from Hiroshi.

Xero-ghost: Thanks for the kind words. There may be some more angsty moments for Nodoka and Ranma later on down the road. Their relationship is still pretty raw after all. And yes, I think she's beginning to have some thoughts about Genma. VBG (Very Big Grin)

Dennisud: I actually liked the original Nabiki, the one in the first part of the story. Later on she started becoming a caricature. I wanted both Kasumi and Nabiki to be more than one or two dimensional walk on characters, and I hope I succeed.


	17. A New Boy in Town

Chapter 17 A New Boy in Town

Ranma woke up, feeling very warm. He suddenly realized in panic that he was in Akane's bed, and that she was hugging him in her sleep. 'I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!' he thought. He carefully tried to move her arms off of him so he could escape, but all she did was protest sleepily and pull him tighter.

Akane slowly began to rouse from a peaceful sleep. As she did so, she began to sense something was odd. There was a feeling of warmth radiating next to her, and she felt her arms were wrapped around something, something that made her feel safe. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw the panicked face of her fiancé, inches away from her, as they shared the same pillow.

Her eyes snapped open and then she began to growl, "You'd better have a good explanation for why you're here!"

"After I brought you home from the clinic and Kasumi put you to bed, you started tossing and turning in the middle of the night and woke me up. I came around here and you were talking in your sleep, saying, 'He's mine, bitch, you can't have him!' and then you started calling my name. I sat down on the side of the bed and you glomped onto me in your sleep. Once you hugged me, you settled down, but every time I tried to get away, you started crying out again. I finally gave up and laid down next to you, and I guess I fell asleep," Ranma explained hurriedly.

Akane thought about that for a second, and then remembered how she had felt when she woke up. Finally, she wrinkled up her nose impishly and then said, "Okay, I forgive you." She closed the distance between them and gave Ranma a passionate kiss. Ranma began to wrap his arms around her in return, only to feel her wince as he hit a tender spot.

The two of them separated and Ranma inched away. "Sorry, I must have hit a sore spot. I think you need to get someone to take a look at those bruises, Acchan. Doc said that Kodachi got you pretty good last night," Ranma said carefully.

"So how is that bitch, anyway?" Akane growled, as she remembered what had ruined the perfect date she and Ranma had been enjoying.

Ranma shrugged as he climbed out of the bed, and said, "I don't know, and frankly, I didn't care last night enough to find out. After you collapsed last night, you were the only person I was thinking about."

Akane blushed and said, "That's sweet of you." Then she sobered up and frowned, as she continued, "But still, I must have really hurt her. I hope she's okay somewhere."

Ranma looked properly abashed and replied, "Yeah, me too. While I don't like her, I don't want her hurt." They sat there, a little ashamed that they had been so unconcerned about the lunatic gymnast. Akane began to shift, as she prepared to sit up, and then felt all of the soreness in her side from the pounding she had received from Kodachi.

"Do you have some of that salve that you used on the training trips?" Akane asked, as she sat up, wincing at the soreness in her ribs.

Ranma thought for a second and replied, "Yeah, I think there's some left. Let me check my backpack." He walked over to the closet and knelt down on the floor and began rummaging through his pack. "Aha! Found it," he said in satisfaction as he pulled out a small jar, filled with a creamy looking substance.

He headed around the screen only to be stopped by Akane's voice, saying, "Could you toss me a bra first, and give me a second." Ranma blushed and grabbed the first bra he saw, and tossed it over the screen. Akane then said, half amused and half exasperated, "One of mine, Ranchan. Yours are too big." Blushing even redder, Ranma found one of Akane's bras and tossed that over, to the sound of Akane giggling. "Okay, it's safe now," she said, "You can come in."

Ranma turned the corner to find Akane sitting up, with her pajama top off, wearing the bra he had tossed her. He frowned at the several large bruises scattered up and down the right side of her chest, including one that seemed to be extending down below the cup of her bra. "She really did a number on ya, didn't she?" Ranma said, as he sat on the edge of the bed. He opened the jar, and gathering a small amount of the salve, he began to work it gently over the first bruise. "Lay back, so I can do this right," Ranma suggested. Akane complied, her cheeks just a bit rosy as Ranma began to massage a small amount of the salve into each of the bruises. Finally, his face bright red, he said, "There's only the one left." Akane got an impish smile on her face, and pulled the cup up higher, allowing Ranma to get access. Ranma gulped and worked a small bit of the salve into that bruise and the creamy flesh surrounding it and then jumped back in dismay as one of his fingers accidentally found her erect nipple, as his finger slipped under the cup.

"I'm sorry," Ranma said, as he backed away farther, finally falling off the edge of the bed and landing flat on his back in the process. 'Kami, I hope she doesn't start thinking I'm a pervert now, or something,' he thought, panic-stricken.

Akane sat back up, adjusting her bra as she did so and looked at the crimson-faced young man lying on the floor, a panicked look in his eyes. She stared wordlessly at him for a moment, and then to his total and complete surprise, began giggling.

Ranma began to relax as he found her laughter infectious. Soon his mouth began to quirk in a rueful smile. "It's okay, Ranma," Akane said finally, "I know you wouldn't do something like that on purpose. Not unless I told you it was okay. And I did tell you to put the stuff on me." 'And, not that I'll tell him, but I was definitely enjoying the feeling of his hands on me,' she thought.

Ranma's eyes got wide and his mouth dropped open in shock. Akane paled and asked, "Did I just say that out loud?" Ranma simply nodded, and Akane blushed. She said, "Eep", and pulled the blankets back over her head in embarrassment.

"Akane, I kind of liked it too," Ranma said softly, just loud enough for Akane to hear. Under the blanket, Akane began giggling. She also became aware of another reason to be embarrassed, as she realized that her panties were damp.

Ranma decided that discretion was the better part of valor and said, "See you at breakfast, Akane. I'll have the furo ready for you." Then he retreated to his dresser and grabbed the clothing that he would need to change into, and vanished out the bedroom door.

Akane pulled the blanket back from over her head and stared after her fiancé, her eyes looking just a little disappointed. She finally smiled and thought, 'Well, he's definitely not like the other boys at school." Then her smile got wicked as she thought, 'I guess that means that maybe I need to take the initiative.'

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After breakfast was over, Ranma and Akane headed over to the dojo to begin training. Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, not exactly sure what he wanted to say to Akane. Finally, he began, "Akane, about the fight with…"

Then he was interrupted by an exhausted Tofu, who said, from the doorway, "Akane, I need to talk to you." The two of them turned around, surprised by the sternness in his voice. Then Tofu barked, "Alone!"

Ranma gazed at Tofu for a moment, and saw the seriousness in the older man's eyes. Wordlessly, Ranma glanced back and forth between Akane and Tofu, and then nodded. He left the dojo, closing the door behind him, and stood guard to ensure that there were no interruptions.

Inside, Tofu continued to stare silently at Akane, who finally began to look a bit nervous. "Your friends brought Kodachi Kuno to the clinic last night after the two of you were gone," Tofu began, icily, "They were frightened of what had happened. Kodachi was severely hurt by your attacks. She has several cracked ribs, numerous bruises and a concussion. What did you do to the poor girl?"

Akane stammered, and said, "She started it. First, she insulted me and then tried to hug Ranma while we were on a date. Then she attacked me with her ribbon. I just defended myself."

"There's defending yourself, and outright brutality, Akane," he said sternly, "and I think you know that you crossed the line. I'm extremely disappointed in you. You're a sweet girl, but you do have a tendency to be a bit violent."

Akane asked, "Is Kodachi at the clinic still? I suppose I should apologize."

"Yes she is at the clinic. She'll be there for a while until I think she's recovered completely from the concussion. I got her cleaned up and the ribs taped, but I didn't like the way her pupils were dilated when I brought her around, so I made her stay awake all night. This morning she was still suffering from the concussion," Tofu said a bit angrily, "And of course you should apologize. You hit her so hard that you might have killed a normal person."

Akane stared at him in horror and then burst into tears. Ranma burst into the dojo, rushed over to Akane and wrapped his arms around her. Akane promptly began wailing on his shoulder. Finally, a wet and angry Ranma turned and glared at Tofu. "What did you do to her, Doc?" she asked coldly, all of the crying enough to trigger the change.

Akane clutched her fiancée's shirt and said, "No, I needed to hear that, Ranma. Don't be mad at him, dear. He was telling me about all I did to Kodachi. I nearly killed her."

Ranma stared at the doctor in shock, looking for him to deny what Akane was saying. When Tofu didn't say anything, she said, apologetically, "Sorry, Doc. Looks like I was overreacting. When I heard her crying, something came over me and I had to protect her."

"I know Ranma. I'd do the same thing if it was Kasumi crying," Tofu said, "She needs to come over to the clinic and see Kodachi."

Ranma sighed and said, "No, first I need to talk to her. Then we'll come over. I meant to have this talk today over what happened last night, but I haven't had a chance yet. I was about to just as you came in."

"So you didn't like what you saw either," Tofu stated.

"Doc, let me handle it. Frankly, you look like shit. Why don't you go on into the house and let Kasumi mother you for a while," Ranma said. She stared at the young doctor, until Tofu sighed and walked out of the dojo, shutting the door behind him.

Ranma released Akane from the embrace they were in. She paused to attempt figure out the right words to say. Then finally, she sighed and said, "Akane, right now this isn't your fiancé talking, this is your sensei." Then she continued, coldly, "You let your anger take over and you basically went berserk. You failed me, but equally, I failed you, and more importantly, you failed yourself. I thought the exercises that you were doing were helping you to control your temper. I was wrong and last night, Kodachi paid for that. You went after her like she was me or Kuno. She's not that tough." She hesitated again and then said, in the same cold voice, "Unless you can keep control of your anger, you'll be a danger to yourself as well as to others. If you continue to learn martial arts, and don't learn to control it, eventually one of two things will happen. Either you'll end up killing someone by accident, or you'll come up against someone who'll kill you. I don't want either of those things on my conscience, and I know you don't want that to happen either."

Akane looked at Ranma in shock, stung a bit by the coldness in the other girl's voice. She turned away from the red-haired girl and walked over to stare out the dojo window, her shoulders slumped. Ranma began to squirm as the silence grew and she became more and more uncomfortable. Just as she was about to break the silence, Akane turned, her tear-streaked face showing her distress, and asked, bitterly, "Do you want me to give up martial arts, then sensei?"

Shocked, Ranma stared at her in dismay, not knowing what to say. Akane's face fell, and she said, "Fine, then, I'll quit. The school's all yours." She turned to head out the door.

Ranma said, quietly, "The Akane Tendo I know and love isn't a quitter. She's a fighter and won't stop until she's won. So no, I wasn't asking you to quit. I'm just telling you we need to work harder on self-control. I know that you can master your anger."

Akane stopped in the doorway and whirled around in surprise. Her face grew calmer as she thought about what Ranma had just said. The confidence that Ranma had expressed, in saying that she knew that Akane could do it, made her feel warm inside. With a glad cry, she ran over and hugged Ranma, nearly crushing the other girl's ribs. "Thank you, Ranma," she said

"Okay, now that I've ripped you a new one for losing control, the other thing we need to talk about is that ki attack you pulled off last night, or rather both of them," Ranma said with an easy grin.

"What ki attacks?" Akane asked in surprise.

Ranma smirked and replied, "You're smarter than that, Akane! You were using anger ki to fuel the Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken as well as producing that mallet out of nowhere. That's why you collapsed! You burned out all of your reserves, especially with that huge mallet. You need to learn to pace yourself and somehow we need to build up your reserves."

"What mallet?" Akane asked, now completely bewildered, "What are you talking about? The last thing I remember before waking up here was the Kachû Tenshin Amaguriken."

Ranma stared at the other girl in disbelief. "You don't remember? That's what did the most damage to Kodachi. You made a mallet out of ki and hit Kodachi a bunch of times, until you finally lost it completely and sent her flying," he replied.

Akane's eyes widened in astonishment and she asked, meekly, "How do I control that Ranma? I didn't even know that I could do that."

"I was afraid of that, Akane. You must have gone berserk then. No wonder you don't remember what you did!" Ranma explained, "I can teach you how to control your ki attacks. Cologne and Doc can help as well. That old woman knows a lot more about ki than I do, that's for sure, and Doc's no slouch, either. I'm gonna suggest that Cologne work you hard on that on the training trip. That will help you build your reserves, also."

Akane grimaced and said, "Sounds like I'm going to be in a world of hurt on the trip then. Cologne didn't hold back much on that short trip we took. Now she'll have me for four or five weeks." She shuddered at the thought of what the old woman might do to her.

"Yeah, that's true," Ranma said sympathetically, "But on the other hand, I need to work on my toughness. That's gonna hurt big time, I just know it will. I wonder what that old woman knows that will do that." 'I've got to drop the old ghoul some hints about the Breaking Point technique she taught Ryoga before. I've seen it in action, but I never trained in it myself. Ryoga and Akane need to get toughened up as well, so we can practice with each other without holding back. I never realized how much all the hitting that Akane and Ryoga did on me before went toward toughening me up. But I sure don't want to have her start hitting me for no reason, that's for damn sure. That's one of the things that screwed up our relationship before,' she thought.

"Yeah, but I need to get tougher, too, Ranma," Akane said, "So I'm really going to get run through the wringer."

"Hey, my Pop always said, A martial artist's life is full of peril," Ranma retorted.

Akane snorted in derision and swatted Ranma.

"Okay, then on that happy note, let me go change, and then we need to go visit Kodachi," Ranma suggested. Akane nodded her head and Ranma left the dojo.

----------------------

Akane looked back at Ranma, her face showing her uncertainty, as she hesitated at the foot of the stairs leading up to the second floor of the clinic. He frowned slightly at her and then said, "You need to do this, Akane. I'll be right behind you." She wallowed nervously and then began the climb up the staircase. Too soon for her splintered emotions, she reached the top of the stairs, only the sound of Ranma's footsteps echoing behind her giving her the courage to continue.

She walked over to the open door of the room Kodachi was in and peered around the opening, still reluctant to enter and face the girl she had battered. Finally, a push from Ranma in the small of her back forced her to enter the room. Her face paled as she saw Kodachi lying curled up in the bed, apparently asleep. Lying there, her eyes closed, Kodachi looked so vulnerable, almost a different person. Then Akane saw the bruising marring the other girl's jaw, and she felt ill. "She's sleeping," Akane said softly, glad of the reprieve. She started to turn.

"No, I'm not, Akane Tendo. So why are you here?" Kodachi asked as she opened her eyes, "Did you come to finish what you started last night?" She slowly sat up in the bed, allowing the blanket to pool down around her lap, wincing at the pain she felt from her abused ribs. "Look at what your darling Akane Tendo did to me, Ranma!" she commanded as she pulled open her robe, and showed them her nude torso, wrapped tightly with bandages.

Ranma's eyes widened as he saw Kodachi's breasts, and he spun around, his cheeks flaming.

Akane bowed her head in shame and said, sorrowfully, "Kodachi, I came to apologize. I lost control last night and hurt you terribly. I'm so sorry." She fell to her knees and bowed low to the other girl.

Ranma turned around to face Kodachi, keeping his eyes staring straight at the ground. He said slowly, "This is partially my fault, Kodachi. I apologize as well."

Kodachi asked, "Why is that, Ranma darling? You weren't the one who hit me."

"True, but I'm the one who trained Akane. As her sensei, I'm responsible for any misuse of that training. She's always had a temper, but I had thought the katas that I had taught her had helped with that. Last night, however, proved that she needs more training as she fought like a berserker," he replied.

Akane sighed and disagreed, "No, Ranma, it was all my fault. You're mine and no one is ever going to take you away from me, but I still shouldn't have lost control like that. Please, Kodachi, can you forgive me?" She stood up and moved next to Ranma.

Kodachi laughed, a rich, deep laugh, and replied, "Akane, actually I can't really blame you for what happened. If someone had come on to my boyfriend the way I hit on Ranma, I would have done what you did, or possibly worse. So I can understand why you chose to fight me for him."

"Why are you chasing him in the first place?" Akane asked, "You barely know him."

"At first it was for revenge," Kodachi said simply, "You beat me in the gymnastics match, so I decided to steal your boyfriend away from you. And I have to say, he is good-looking."

Ranma blushed and said, "But that's not really a good reason to get obsessed with me." Then he said, under his breath to Akane, "Even if I am Kami's gift to women."

"Jerk," Akane said as she elbowed him hard in the side.

"Akane, I'll forgive you for what you did this time, but don't expect me to go quietly into the night. I still intend to take your fiancé away from you," Kodachi said.

Akane growled and said, "You can try, but it isn't going to happen!" She started towards the bed, but Ranma grabbed her.

"That's enough Akane. We've done what we came for," Ranma said. Then to Kodachi, he said, "Don't waste your time, Kodachi. There's nothing that will pull us apart. Why don't you concentrate on Mousse? Though I have to warn you, he's chasing Shampoo, so your work may be cut out for you."

Kodachi's eyes widened and she said, "Thank you for that information, Ranma. I wasn't aware that he was attracted to her. She's not much competition though, so I don't have much to fear. I will have him swear his undying love to me soon, never fear." 'But, I won't let you get away from me, either, Ranma. Now that I know who you are, I must have you,' she thought, 'I must have them both!'

"Believe me, Kodachi, that's one battle I hope you win," Ranma said with a grin, "We'll leave you now."

----------------------

Akane was busy pretending to study in the bedroom that she shared with Ranma, while her fiancé was out in the dojo working on a new exercise. On their way home from the clinic, she had finally broken her silence and asked him to give her a little space until dinner so she could sort out everything that she had heard and seen that morning. At first he had looked worried, but when she smiled at him and said she wasn't angry, he agreed and headed off to the dojo as soon as they had arrived home, only stopping long enough to grab a handful of cookies of the baking sheet that Kasumi had just pulled out of the oven. That had earned him both some slightly singed fingers as well as a sharp rap on the hand from the Kasumi's wooden spoon. He escaped to the sound of her giggling.

Akane stared at the wall, not actually seeing what she was looking at, as she considered what both Tofu and Ranma had said. Finally, she sighed to herself and said, "There's no help for it. They're right. My temper is holding me back. How many times has Kasumi chided me for letting my anger drive me? Whatever it takes, Akane, that's what you have to do to learn to control it, whatever it takes." Now that she had admitted to herself that she had a problem, she suddenly felt better. She resolved right then to go find Ranma and have him begin to help her with the additional training that she was going to need.

As she stood up to head downstairs to find Ranma, and to ask for his help, there was a knock on the door to the bedroom. When she opened the door, there, to her surprise, was her friend Sayuri, looking a bit nervous.

"Hi, Akane, could we talk?" Sayuri asked as she fidgeted slightly.

"Sure, come on in," Akane replied, "But how come you just didn't call on the phone? You didn't have to come all this way just to talk."

Sayuri followed Akane into the room and the two girls sat down, Akane on her desk chair, and Sayuri sitting on the bed facing her. She stared at the floor for several seconds and then replied, "Uh, I needed to talk to you face to face."

"About what?" Akane asked softly, "Does this have anything to do with the way you've been staring at Ranma?"

Sayuri flushed guiltily and exclaimed, "NO!" Then she added, "Well, not really. I mean it does but it doesn't."

"That made a lot of sense," Akane said with a giggle.

"This is hard for me, Akane," Sayuri said, with a slight frown. She hesitated and then said, "I likeHiroshi a lot, and what he does to me, the way he can make me feel, but-" She stopped, blushing.

"How far have the two of you gone? You're still awfully young to get too serious," Akane admonished.

"Not too far, really. Just to second base is all," Sayuri replied, "But I liked what we did." She hesitated and then continued, "The reason I keep staring at Ranma is trying to see what you see in her, I mean him. I thought that maybe if I could see why you fell in love with Ranma, then maybe it would help me figure out my feelings for Hiroshi. I want what you have with Ranma." She blushed and then continued, "And I was having some odd dreams about her. Now that I know that he really is a guy, the dreams got even odder."

"Do I want to know what those dreams were?" Akane asked.

Sayuri blushed bright red and said, "They were kind of x-rated. Don't worry though; I'm not planning on chasing him. Especially not after how possessive you looked last night. Like Yuka said, I don't go poaching boyfriends."

Akane grinned and said, "I guess having a reputation of being a violent tomboy has some advantages. I thought I had noticed you mentally undressing him a few times this past week. I'm glad I don't have to warn you off."

"It wasn't always him that I was dreaming about, Akane," Sayuri admitted, "I had felt some attraction to him when I thought he was a girl, and that had me a little worried. What do you think about his curse?"

"It doesn't really bother me. He's Ranma, and that's all that matters," Akane said, her eyes unfocusing for a second, "I love him, so I don't care what gender he is when we're together. I have to admit, I wasn't attracted to him when he was a girl; I just didn't like girls that way. Now that I have fallen in love with the person, it just seems natural. I've even initiated a few kisses when he's female, and it feels just as good."

"Wow!" Sayuri said, envious, "I definitely want whatever you have with Hiroshi." She giggled, and continued, "You've got it bad."

"Yep, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Akane replied, as she joined Sayuri in giggling. Then she sobered slightly and said "But you shouldn't try to force those kinds of feelings. If Hiroshi's the right one for you, they will just come."

Sayuri sighed and said, "I guess you're right. I'm just a little envious is all."

The two girls were interrupted by the soft voice of Kasumi saying, "Akane, Daddy wants you to join him in the dojo. He said to wear your gi."

"What's up, Sis?" Akane asked, her heart soaring as she hoped to hear that her father was prepared to train her once again.

"I don't really know," Kasumi admitted, "He just sent me up here to get you after he and Ranma talked for several minutes. I haven't seen him this focused and this determined for a long time."

Akane turned to Sayuri and said, "Sorry, I guess we'll have to continue this talk another time." She was grinning happily.

Sayuri grinned and shook her head. She said, "I've never seen someone who was about to get beat up look so happy about the idea. Akane, don't take this the wrong way, but you martial artists are just plain weird. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thanks for listening to me." She stood up and followed Kasumi downstairs.

----------------------

Akane entered the dojo to find her father busily sparring with Ranma. She smiled to herself as she recognized some of the moves that he was doing as the things that he had taught her just before he had lost her mother. While it was obvious that Ranma was holding back considerably, she was surprised to see just how well her father was standing up to the younger man. Ranma was watching her father intently, cataloguing every move that Tendo was making, a huge grin on his face. Then her father turned, and she saw an answering grin on his face. 'Daddy is enjoying himself,' Akane thought almost in shock, 'I was so afraid that he had lost the fire that made him a martial artist.'

Finally, Soun made a mistake, and one flashing blow from Ranma found its way through his defenses, sending him crashing into the dojo wall. Soun bounced off and then collapsed onto the floor on his knees, breathing heavily. His grin still there, Soun said, "I thought I almost had you there for a second, son. You'll have to show me what I did wrong later. For now, I want to show you and Akane some of the Tendo techniques. You'll need them for when you face the Master." 'I can't believe I let myself get so out of condition,' he thought to himself.

Akane's face lit up with joy. She made to run over to her father when suddenly he stood up and entered what she privately had called 'sensei' mode. His expression became remote and his eyes grew calmer. "All right," he ordered, "There are several katas that I want to teach you. Watch and learn."

Soun proceeded to run through a series of movements, flowing smoothly from one form to another, while Akane watched almost in awe. Once he was finished, he then ran through it in slow motion, and then directed the two of them to perform the exact same exercise. After several repetitions, the two young people were beginning to have the movements down pat, but to Soun's surprise, it appeared that Akane learned the exercise faster than Ranma. Then he saw the self-satisfied smile on Ranma's face when Akane wasn't looking and realized that Ranma was trying to boost his daughter's self-confidence. His opinion of Ranma shot up at the realization that the young man was going to help him push his daughter to better herself.

Akane smiled happily as she realized that she had learned that exercise and was performing it better than Ranma.

After several hours of practice, Soun sent the two youths off to clean up. After Akane finished in the furoba, she went in search of her fiancé. She found him helping Nodoka and Kasumi in the kitchen with dinner preparations. "What did you say to Daddy to get him back into the dojo, Ranma?" she asked, once she had ensured herself that her father was lost in his newspaper.

Ranma looked amused for a moment and then replied, "I'm afraid I bullied him a bit. Remember when I first came here, he promised to train both of us in the Tendo school. I just had to remind him about that promise." His smile grew wider as he remembered the argument.

Flashback

Ranma stood there in the doorway to the family room watching Soun play out several moves at the shogi board for the play-by-mail game he was involved with. Finally, the older man made his decision, and inked the move onto a small card that he slipped into an already addressed envelope. As he sealed the envelope, he looked up and saw Ranma watching him. "Thank you for the courtesy, Ranma," Soun said, "I appreciate you waiting while I worked this out."

Ranma smiled briefly and replied, "No problem, Mr. Tendo. I know how it's like when you're concentrating on a problem and don't want to be disturbed. If you've got a moment, however, we need to talk about something concerning me and Akane."

Soun looked worried for a second and asked, "You two aren't thinking about ending the engagement, are you?"

"No," Ranma replied, "That's not it."

"Oh you're ready to get married! The schools will be joined!" Soun cried happily, only to stop at the glare that Ranma gave him.

Ranma growled, "No, it's not that!"

"She's not pregnant, is she?" Soun asked, manifesting a demon-head, as a horrid thought flashed through his mind.

Ranma let a brief look of disgust flash across his face as he thought, 'He can sure jump to conclusions. Now I know where Akane got that from.' "NO! It's nothing like that," Ranma stammered, "We wouldn't do that until we were married!"

Soun deflated and asked, "Then what is it, son?"

"It's about your old master," Ranma began.

Soun paled and began to wail. He cried, "What about him? He's not here, is he?"

"No!" Ranma replied, hastily, "It's just that I need to learn as much as I can if I want to defeat the old freak. I've learned everything that Pop taught me about the Saotome school, plus I've learned several Amazon techniques from Cologne, and she is planning on teaching me and Akane what else she can. I've even learned a lot of shiatsu techniques from Tofu, and he has shown me a bunch of moxibustion points. I've even developed a few moves on my own." He hesitated for a second and then continued as he saw Tendo had calmed down, "What I haven't learned is any of the techniques of the Tendo school. You promised to train me and Akane and I think it's time you fulfilled that promise."

Soun looked at the floor and stammered, "I can't teach her. The reason I quit teaching her before was I couldn't bring myself to hurt her."

"Don't you think that's her choice to make? She's a martial artist, just as much of one as I am, and rightfully proud of that," Ranma retorted. He paused and then continued, softly, "And, I suspect that one of the reasons she gets so angry sometimes and doesn't have a lot of confidence in herself is because you didn't take her seriously. She's got the potential to be very good and I'd hate to see that wasted because you aren't enough of a man to teach her."

Soun glared at Ranma and demanded, "What right do you have to talk to me like that?"

"As the person who is going to marry her, I want her to be the best she can be," Ranma growled, "That's what gives me the right and I'd rather have her father teach her the right things than anyone else. If you don't teach her, she'll eventually want ta find a sensei who will." He glared at the older man and then said, "And she needs training that I can't give her. She was nearly out of control when she fought the Kuno girl, and she showed a couple of moves that she really isn't ready for. One, the Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken, I can work with her on. But the other is something that I had never realized she could do." 'I never picked up on the fact before that the mallet was a ki attack,' he thought.

"What move was that?" Soun asked.

"She created a mallet out of ki and nearly beat Kodachi to death with it," Ranma said simply.

Soun gasped and said, "I never taught her that. She must have remembered it from watching her mother."

"Her mother?" Ranma asked in surprise.

"Yes, Kimiko was a talented martial artist, too. That's what first attracted me to her. But her most fearsome attack was when she pulled a hammer out of thin air. I never could dodge it when she used it on me," Soun replied, "If Akane knows how to do that, you're right; I need to train her in the school. She has to know how to control it. Anger is definitely not the right emotion for that method." His face firmed and he said, "Okay, son, you and I are going to the dojo. I'll have Kasumi send Akane in to join us."

End Flashback

Ranma looked up to see tears in Akane's eyes. "That was Mom's technique?" she said in wonder, "How did I know it?"

"I think it must have been something that you saw her do before and when you got angry enough you remembered it," Ranma replied. He looked at Kasumi appraisingly, and asked, "Do you remember your mother using that move?"

Kasumi manifested a small mallet and shrugged. "This answer your question?" she asked, with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I think it does, big sis. What else are you hiding behind that placid exterior?" Ranma asked, teasingly, "Are you a magic girl or an idol star?"

Akane giggled as Kasumi blushed. Kasumi denied everything vehemently.

----------------------

Nodoka made her way back from the marketplace where she had been buying the groceries that Kasumi had asked her to find before she had gone to class. As she turned into the lane leading to the Tendo home, she began to feel the strangest sensation, as if someone was watching her. She set the basket of groceries down on the ground, and placed one hand on the hilt of the katana blade that was hidden in the silk bundle she was carrying. Warily, she turned and looked, but saw no one in the street, or at least no one that she recognized. After a few seconds, she shrugged her shoulders, and finished her journey, opening the gate into the Tendo compound. She entered the compound, and shut the gate behind her.

Once the gate was closed, a large balding man, wearing a dirty white gi and a bandana on his balding head materialized from where he had been hiding. Genma, for that was who the figure was, stared aghast at what he had seen. 'Nodoka, living at the Tendo home. Thank Kami I decided to break the seals on the Umi-Ken-Sen, and use those forbidden techniques. If she'd seen me,' he thought, shuddering. He had planned on talking to his old friend Tendo to find out the lay of the land before making his presence known to the rest of the Tendo family, and to Ranma, but seeing Nodoka there was going to prevent him from doing that. Not only was she living there, she was carrying her family sword. 'I need to leave Nerima and find a place to hide until she gets tired and leaves,' he thought, 'Damn that Kuonji girl for bringing me here. I hope she didn't let anyone know I was here.' Wrapping himself back up in the Umi-Ken-Sen, he masked himself, and made his way back to the building that girl had found to house her new restaurant. 'Maybe I can sneak in and get my backpack from her before she gets back from school,' he thought, 'I wonder where she stashes her money.'

----------------------

Everyone stared as a new boy entered the classroom and headed over to the teacher's desk. He was handsome, in a bishonen way, almost too cute for words, wearing an odd uniform, with a bandolier draped over one shoulder, holding what appeared to be nine or ten small spatulas. His hair was an attractive shade of brown, quite long, but pulled back into a ponytail. His expressive brown eyes were scanning the classroom, until he found a certain red-haired pig-tailed girl, staring back at him anxiously. Then he stopped, smiling oddly. Several of the girls cursed under their breath as they realized that Ranma had once again made another conquest. The boy handed the teacher a sheet of paper.

"Class, we have a new student," the sensei intoned, though he wondered privately at the wisdom of someone who would transfer to Furinkan High school this close to the beginning of the summer break.

Ranma stared in dismay as she recognized the figure standing at the desk as Ukyo. 'Ucchan, why are you here already? This is way earlier than the last time!' she thought, 'I wasn't ready for you yet! What am I gonna do now?' Her mind raced in circles as she tried to figure out what to do.

Ukyo pulled a portable grill out and set it up on the teacher's desk, and began cooking something. "My name's Ukyo Kuonji! My passion is okonomiyaki!" Ukyo said. Quickly, Ukyo served up okonomiyakis to the class.

As Ukyo was cooking, the teacher said, "Mr. Kuonji, when you're done, there's an empty seat next to Miss Saotome. Miss Saotome, would you raise your hand?"

Ranma reluctantly raised her hand. Ukyo's eyes narrowed slightly as if the smaller, red-haired girl had just confirmed something. 'Saotome!' she thought angrily as she whipped up one last okonomiyaki and tossed it onto Ranma's desk.

Ranma looked at the food in front of her and saw that it had a message written on it with the sauce. 'Meet me at the field behind the gym after school!' it read.

'Great! A challenge! Just like before! Now, how do I get out of this mess?" Ranma thought frantically.

Ukyo glared at the red-haired girl and stalked off, leaving a cryptic message behind her, "I have a special recipe that is just for you!" She left a befuddled teacher and a class abuzz with speculation as she shut the door behind her as she left the room.

----------------------

After school was over, Akane followed Ranma as she began walking toward the field. Akane grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward the school, out of sight of prying eyes. Then she asked, "What are you going to do, Ranchan? This is one of the fiancées you told me about, isn't it?"

Ranma sighed wearily and replied, "Yes, Ukyo is the friend that I thought was a boy. The one I played with and had as my only friend when I was six. Pop stole her dowry, the family yatai, so I can understand her being upset with me." She hesitated and then said, "Meet me on top of the gym. I've got a plan, but I'll need you there. You'll need to trust me, please." Her eyes begged for understanding.

Akane nodded and then gasped as Ranma vanished somehow from her sight. She quickly ran to the gym and climbed up to the roof, where she waited anxiously for Ranma to join her.

Ukyo was standing at one end of a large, raised platform that had ropes surrounding it on all sides forming a fighting ring. Leaning up against the ropes was a large spatula. She was anxiously scanning the large crowd that had formed. She saw a girl with short, brown hair, rapidly making her way through the crowd, obviously taking wagers on the outcome of what appeared to be a challenge. Ukyo chuckled inwardly as she thought, 'Well, Ranma, you're in for a big surprise. I'm going to get my vengeance today, one way or the other.'

Suddenly, she felt someone behind her press several spots on her back and one on her throat. She heard a soft voice whisper, "Sorry, Ucchan, we're gonna talk, not fight," then everything went dark. The crowd grew loud as they saw Ukyo vanish from sight, clamoring to find out what had happened to the boy that had been standing there.

----------------------

Akane jumped back in alarm as Ranma reappeared out of nowhere, carrying Ukyo in her arms. Ukyo's eyes were flashing angrily as Ranma set her down on the gym roof and disarmed her. Ranma said, her eyes full of sorrow, "Again, Ukyo, I'm sorry about all of this. Let me undo some of what I did so we can talk this over." She pressed a spot on Ukyo's throat, and immediately, Ukyo began cursing Ranma.

"Stop it Ukyo, that won't settle anything," Ranma said, in a pained voice, "There's no need for this! I didn't do anything to you!"

"What do you call running off and leaving me behind ten years ago?" Ukyo asked bitterly.

"We were six! I didn't want to leave you; you were my friend. That idiot Pop ran off without you. I didn't understand why we were leaving. I didn't understand why you were running after us, crying and I certainly didn't know why I was riding in your yatai," Ranma said evenly.

"You were supposed to be my fiancé," Ukyo cried, "and the yatai was my dowry."

"Look at me, Ukyo, I can't be your fiancé," Ranma said, spreading her arms wide, and pushing her chest out, "I'm a girl."

"Can it Saotome. I know the truth. I got your father out of jail and he told me the whole story. About how you picked okonomiyaki over me and how you deliberately picked up a curse that turns you into a girl so you could avoid the engagement," Ukyo growled.

"So you found Pop!" Ranma said hotly, her eyes blazing, "And he said everything was my fault, huh! Well, you can't believe anything that bastard says. I didn't know anything about an engagement. I thought you were a boy, for Kami's sake! I was shocked when I found out that you really were a girl, and I was furious when I read in Pop's journal that he had stolen your dowry. And I certainly didn't want this curse."

"So where is Mr. Saotome?" Akane asked.

"He's holed up at the restaurant I'm in the process of opening," Ukyo replied, wondering who this girl was.

"Why hasn't he been by to see Mr. Tendo? After all he did send that postcard saying he was coming," Ranma asked.

"He did go by the house shortly after we got here, but he came back quickly, his face pale. Apparently, he saw someone go into the house just before he got there, and whoever it was scared him to death," Ukyo replied.

"Good! He must have seen Mom. I know she wants to talk to him. When you see him next, tell him she's coming to see him. She has a contract she wants to discuss with him," Ranma said. She took a deep breath and then asked, "So why are you here?"

"When you ran off and left me, I swore to get my vengeance, to kill you and your father. Then I saw his name in an arrest report in a local Hokkaida newspaper and went and got him out of jail by paying the fines. He told me that you had gone to Nerima and left him behind. I did some digging and found out where you were, and, well, here I am. Expect no mercy from me! When you abandoned me, you made it impossible for me to ever again embrace my femininity!" Ukyo replied, angrily.

"Hey! I didn't abandon you. That was Pop! Anyway, don't you think you're overreacting?" Ranma asked.

"Since that day, I've sworn that I will never love another man!" Ukyo said coldly.

"What a waste," Ranma said, sincerely, "A cute girl like you! Who'd of thought that 'Ucchan' would grow up to be this cute?"

Ukyo blushed prettily, and said, "You're lying! I'm not cute!"

Ranma sighed and said, "I'm not lying, Ukyo. Anyone would tell you that you are cute."

Akane growled, "Ranma!" She felt the first stirring of an all too familiar feeling. She took a deep breath and got her jealousy under control.

"Sorry, dear," she said as she reached for Akane's hand and clasped it firmly. She remembered her manners finally and said, "Ukyo, this is Akane Tendo."

"**His fiancée**," Akane said firmly.

"His fiancée! Ha, I know all about the arranged marriage between your father and Saotome. Saotome told me all about it. He swore to break your engagement and honor mine in exchange for sparing his life," Ukyo said angrily, "Besides, I'd make a better wife than you anyway!"

"Yeah, right, if she was having a bad day," Ranma muttered under her breath. Then she said in a rough but affectionate voice, "Sure, Akane has a bit of a temper, her cooking is shall we say interesting and she's not as good as I am in martial arts, but on the other hand, I'm a rude, insensitive, arrogant jerk, who can put both feet in his mouth and still have room left over. I love Akane, not in spite of her flaws, nor because of them, but just because that's the way it is. I asked her to marry me, it has nothing to do with any arrangement between Pop and Mr. Tendo." Ranma squeezed Akane's hand and relaxed as Akane squeezed back, gazing at her with her eyes filled with understanding and love.

"And I feel the same way about this baka," Akane said as she hugged her fiancé, well temporarily, fiancée.

Ukyo's face fell as she heard the love and affection between the two of them. "What about me then? How do I regain my honor?" she asked, bitterly.

Ranma replied, her eyes filled with self-loathing that neither of the girls could understand, "Would you have preferred that I hadn't told Akane how I felt about her? Call her names, make fun of her and try to drive her away from me because of an agreement between our fathers? Would you want me to call you cute and lead you on to think that you had a chance to win my love? Would you want me to let you dangle for years and waste even more of your life chasing after me?" By this time, her voice was ragged with emotion, as she steadily had gotten louder. She stopped, her breasts heaving with emotion. Finally, she got herself under control and continued, "Ukyo, you were my friend when we were six, but I thought you were a boy, just like me. I'm sorry, but I'll never think of you as anything other than as a friend. I want to reclaim that friendship, if I can, because you are important to me, but I won't hurt you any more than I already have. I won't allow Pop to hurt you either. I can't allow you to try to compete in a contest that was over before it started. I love Akane, plain and simple, and there is nothing that will prevent us from being together."

"But your father promised me!" Ukyo cried in protest, "YOU OWE ME!"

"Father! I DON'T HAVE A FATHER!" Ranma exploded, her eyes flashing angrily, her fists clenched, "What father would drag his son away from his mother before he was even three years old, and then again at age six! What father would sell his son for a couple of fish, a rice ball, and some pickles, by the time he was three, just to feed his bloated belly! What father would steal the food off the plate of his son, stunting his growth, and call it training! What father would tie fish sausages to his son, and throw him into a pit filled with starving cats, just so he could learn a flawed martial arts technique! Do you know how many times he promised me in marriage? You aren't the first girl I was promised to, and you weren't the last! I don't have a father! That bastard you have living at the restaurant owes you! I owe him nothing! I refuse to honor any of the arrangements that baka made for me! None of them are valid!"

Akane pulled Ranma into a rough embrace, as Ranma started crying on her shoulder. Akane cooed, "It's okay, honey. You're safe with me. I won't let him hurt you, ever again!"

Ukyo paled at the obvious pain in the smaller girl's voice, and then her expression turned sickly as she heard the litany of horrors that Saotome had put Ranma through. "Ranchan, I didn't know," she sobbed, "I didn't know what he did." Tears poured out of Ukyo's eyes.

Akane glared at the other girl, angry that she was using the same nickname. Ranma felt her stiffen and said, "She used to call me that when we were six. I called her Ucchan." She pulled herself out of the embrace and situated herself in front of Akane. Akane gladly wrapped her arms around Ranma's waist and pulled them together. "Ukyo, I still want to be your friend; that is if you'll have me. I don't know how Pop can restore your honor, or even if he really would try," Ranma continued.

"I don't know what I should do, Ranma," Ukyo admitted, "This isn't what I imagined that I would find. Saotome never told me any of this, and the story he told was very different from what you said. I came here planning on beating you up, but now anything I could do would pale in comparison to the torture that he has already put you through." She hesitated and said, "I missed my friend Ranchan, and I think I want him, or her, back, but I'm not sure."

"All we can do is take it one day at a time, Ucchan," Ranma replied.

Akane said softly, "Ukyo, you look like you could use some friends. I'd like to be yours if you want. I'm sure that your life hasn't been the best, either." 'Maybe if the two of us become friends, she won't start chasing after him,' she thought.

Ukyo laughed softly, and replied, "Sugar, you wouldn't believe how screwed up my life is. I could **use** a few friends. I think we have several things in common. If nothing else, there's Ranma. We ought to be rivals, but what the hell!" She laughed again, and continued, "So sure, why not? I'd like being your friend." Then she got a puzzled look on her face. "Ranchan, why are you coming to school as a girl?" she asked.

"It's a long, boring, story. Basically, everyone thinks that I'm a girl right now. Now that Akane's family knows the truth, we'll fix that next term. I'm just finishing out this term as a girl," Ranma replied. She reached over and pushed a few points on Ukyo, who felt her muscles relax.

Ukyo stretched and then sprang up from the roof. She looked surprised as Ranma handed her the spatulas. As she walked off, she turned and smiled cutely, batting her eyelids, and said, "Let's let bygones be bygones, shall we? Let's be friends again, starting tomorrow. After all, that's what a cute girl would say, isn't it?" She walked down the stairs, leaving Ranma and Akane behind.

Akane turned to Ranma and said, "You must be very happy. It sounds like you regained your friend and she's given up on you as a fiancé." 'Down, girl, don't let Ranma know you're jealous,' she thought.

Ranma looked a little worried and said, "Uh, right. Yes, I'm happy." But she thought to herself, 'She gave up a little too easily. She's been obsessing over me for ten years; I don't think she would have quit like that. That's not the person I remember from the last time. What's your plan, Ucchan?'

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Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Specific responses are below:

FreedomGundam: As you can see, Ukyo and Genma have shown up. Let the fun begin.

Inferna: I'm basically following the manga, though I am moving some things around to suit my preferences. I'm at the point where Mousse has shown up for the first time, though I sort of melded his return into that scene. I won't be including everything, since some of it won't make sense, like the Phoenix pill for example, and I may pull in some of the anime. And as you can see, I have my own unique scenes that aren't from anywhere except my warped imagination. Romeo and Juliet will show up. I have several ideas about that.

Silverline Scimitar: Thanks. I'm glad you like this fiction. I like the Mousse/Kodachi pairing also. That seemed to fit. As far as the 'Let's fight bitch' line is concerned, I wish I could claim originality, but I'm almost positive that I've read or heard that somewhere before. It's still a good line though. I don't know about a Taro/Ukyo match. I don't know that I have to pair up all of the characters.

Materia-Blade: Yeah, Ranma still has to look back at his 'past' and try to keep some of the insanity from occurring.

BlazeStryker: As far as this fiction is concerned, the mallet is new. And now you've learned more about it. Of course, the mallet is kind of overused. I can barely remember anytime in the anime that she ever hit him with a mallet, and I don't remember any in the manga, though I haven't read all of them yet. But I figured I could have some fun with it, and give it a bit of a different twist. Mousse probably won't be happy about it. Kuno losing his mind? How would anyone tell the difference? But yeah, it should send him right over the edge.

Psycho King: Yep, Kodachi is Kuno's sister, all right, though I think she has a bit firmer grasp on reality. (I'm not crazy, I said just a bit – VBG) There are some storm clouds on the horizon, and I do intend to have our favorite incompetent voodoo priest involved. The two boys drag their mind out of the gutter, surely you jest, they are teen-aged bundles of hormones, after all.

Lord Strife: That she is, but I think she's still fun to play with. Just keep sharp objects away from her. And I intend to play with her for a while.

Taechunsa: I don't remember seeing a Mousse/Kodachi pairing either. I hope they stay in character, although they will grow some. As far as the nickname thing with 'Chan', I thought I had read somewhere something different. Oh well, I'm stuck with it now in this story, sorry.

Obeliskmon: I wish it were totally original. I'm pretty sure I've read it or heard it used somewhere before.

dana-san: Thanks. I kind of liked the Mousse/Kodachi pairing, as someone else wrote a pair of obsessives that deserve each other.

Desktop Creator: Yeah, full speed ahead on Mousse/Kodachi. It's at least different.

dogbertcarroll: Yeah, I knew that. It was supposed to be boy, not male. Oh well. Shampoo has to do something to get Ryoga used to female flesh. Could you imagine how embarrassed she would be on the wedding night, when he died of a massive hemorrhage? I wish the 'Let's fight bitch' was original. As I mentioned above, I'm almost positive I've read it or heard it somewhere before. That's the problem with reading as much as I do. It's still a good line, no matter where it came from.

Amasaki Reyoko: And here's Ukyo!

C. Rose: And maybe they're manipulating each other, hm? Yep, as she said, Akane's a martial artist too. One of my favorite gripes is how come she's usually the rescued, and can't be the rescuer. It's always fun to have the damsel in distress actually be the hero for a change. Tension? I believe there are a few storm clouds on the horizon. Can you say Genma?

dennisud2015: Different Path will continue for a while. I have several more ideas for it. Nabiki's Plan is basically done, unless I can come up with some sort of epilogue. I like Mousse/Kodachi, and I want to try to rehabilitate Kodachi.


	18. Okonomiyaki Means I Love You

Chapter 18 "Okonomiyaki" Means "I Love You"

Ranma stormed angrily into the Tendo home. She found her mother in the family room enjoying a relaxing cup of tea with Kasumi. Ranma had begun to regain her anger at the old man as she stalked back home from the school after the confrontation with Ukyo. Akane trailed her like the tail attached to a kite, trying to steer her in a different direction, but failing miserably.

Nodoka took one look at her son, no scratch that, her daughter, and raised one elegant eyebrow. She said calmly, "Calm down, Ranma. Take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong now. Did you two have a fight about something?"

Ranma took her anger with both hands and shoved it back down deep inside and then took a deep breath. She grinned a bit sheepishly and replied, "No, it isn't anything like that. Akane and I are fine; we just had a run-in with one of my other alleged fiancées. She ran into Pop and they are together now. That old man has sold me out again by telling her that he would break the engagement with Mr. Tendo and only back the one with her."

"Where is the old fool, now?" Nodoka asked, her eyes blazing.

Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma and hugged her. "He's at her new restaurant," she replied.

"It has to be an okonomiyaki place that either is about to open, or has only been open for a short time. Knowing her, she probably called it 'Ucchan'," Ranma added.

"Well, I guess I need to find my husband, don't I?" Nodoka said coldly, "I believe he and I have something to talk about."

Nabiki walked in and said, angrily, "I thought I heard your voice, Ranma. Do you know how much I lost on that challenge that didn't happen between you and the new boy?"

Ranma turned and looked at her, her eyes cold as death and said nothing. She simply glared. Then Akane joined in the silent stare.

Nabiki finally broke under the combined anger of the younger two. She smiled weakly and said, "Sorry, Ranma. I guess that was in poor taste."

"You're forgiven, Nabiki, but it does get a bit old knowing that people are betting on whether I get hurt or not, or can win a fight," Ranma replied, very coldly.

"We need to find out everything we can about Ukyo," Nodoka said.

Nabiki looked puzzled, and asked, "Why are you so concerned about the guy that Ranma didn't fight?"

Ranma replied, "Ukyo is actually a girl, Nabiki. I'm not going to fight her; she's been hurt by Pop too much already. He arranged an engagement between us when we were six and then stole her dowry. She has been searching for me ever since, vowing vengeance on the two of us. I think I talked her out of it, but we need to find Pop."

Nabiki face-faulted and said, "That was a girl? Ukyo sure looked like a boy the way she was dressed. I couldn't tell. All the girls were swooning over her."

Ranma snickered and replied, "Yes, didn't you see, she didn't have an Adam's apple."

Nabiki shook her head in disgust at missing something so obvious, then she broke out into a smug grin as she said, "Then I'm just the person you were looking for. I'll find out what I can. Five thousand yen."

Nodoka looked at her in disgust.

Kasumi simply frowned slightly.

Nabiki grinned weakly and said, "Okay, for family it's free."

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As Akane and Ranma raced through the gates of the schoolyard, the two girls groaned almost in unison as they saw Tatewaki Kuno awaiting them. "Good morning to you, the fair Akane Tendo and the spirited Ranma Saotome," he said, "I see two of the most beauteous women that have ever graced my vision."

Ranma began looking bilious as the words spilled forth from the mouth of the deluded boy in front of her. Rudely she said, "Kuno, that poetry you're spouting is getting kind of old. You know, some girls might go for that kind of crap, but it's making me sick."

Akane added, "What she said goes for me too."

Kuno halted his flood of words in mid-spate and actually looked affronted. Regaining his composure, he replied, "Alas that you do not appreciate my words, fairest of all women. However, it matters not for my heart knows whereof I speak. My dearest Akane Tendo, I would have words with thee, for I have spoken to my twisted sister upon her bed of pain and have heard news that I was loathe to believe."

Struggling to remain composed and not break out giggling, Akane asked, "What news would that be, Kuno-sempai?"

"My sister stated that you were the cause of her current misfortune," Kuno replied.

"If by that do you mean am I the one who beat her up? The answer to that is yes," Akane replied, "She intruded on my date with my fiancé and had the audacity to hug him in front of me. Of course, I took violent exception to that behavior."

"I do not recognize that engagement, and I certainly don't permit you to date that cretin," Kuno said pompously.

"Who gives a damn whether you agree with my engagement? And I certainly don't care whether you allow me to date someone. Who I date and who I marry is nobody's concern but my own. You can take your opinion and stick it…" Akane said angrily.

She was interrupted by Ranma placing her hand over her mouth and saying, "Language, Akane. I know it's hard, but remember who you're dealing with here. Kuno doesn't have a real firm grasp on reality, remember."

"It pains my heart to hear such foul words from such a fair flower as yourself," Kuno said, an actual tear rolling down his cheek.

"It's not your heart that is going to feel pain! Die, Kuno!" Akane said as she launched a massive blow to his jaw. The force of the blow sent Kuno flying into the stone wall surrounding the school, where he created a Kuno-shaped outline in the wall, with cracks radiating from the epi-center of the collision.

"That hurt, you know," he said as he collapsed on to the ground.

"Come on Akane, we don't want to be late," Ranma said as she grabbed her hand and began to run to the school.

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Ranma looked up as Ukyo sat down at the desk that she had been assigned to. "Hey, Ranchan," Ukyo said.

"Hi, Ucchan," Ranma replied happily as she looked at the okonomiyaki chef, still in her bishonen boy mode. The only difference today is that she was carrying her battle spatula strapped to her back. "What's that for?" Ranma asked, eying the weapon on her back.

Ukyo grinned and said, "I felt naked without it yesterday. I think if maybe it had been on my back, instead of leaning against the ropes, you might not have been as able to sneak up on me yesterday, sugar."

Ranma giggled and said, "Oh, I think I could still have gotten close enough."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a real cute girl, especially when you laugh like that?" Ukyo asked.

Ranma's eyes got wide as she blushed and replied, dryly, "Thanks, I think. I know I look pretty good, but that kind of comment makes me a bit nervous." 'I thought that was my line, Ukyo,' she thought.

Akane sat there next to Ranma and listened to Ukyo flirt with her fiancé. 'How dare she flirt with him!' Akane silently fumed to herself, 'I will not get mad at Ranma, I will not get mad at Ranma. I am so going to give her a piece of my mind. He's mine, bitch, back off! And the worst thing about it is that I really can't do anything about it without looking bad. How would it look if I objected to what the class thinks is a boy flirting with my girlfriend? I bet she's doing it on purpose, and Ranma is clueless enough that he isn't getting it.' Then she smiled as she thought of something. "Hey, Ranchan, come with me, I need to powder my nose," she said as she pulled Ranma out of her seat, dragging her off to the safety of the girls' restroom. Akane glared at Ranma, who cringed, not quite sure what she had done wrong. Then Akane relented and asked, "You don't have a clue about what Ukyo was doing, do you, baka?"

"What do you mean, Acchan?" Ranma asked, clearly confused.

"Well, generally, when a guy tells a girl that he thinks she's cute, that means the guy is flirting with her and trying to get the girl to like him," Akane explained.

"Well, geez, Akane, even I know that. But I'm a guy, and Ukyo's a girl," Ranma protested.

Akane pointed to Ranma's breasts and said, "You aren't right now. And everyone thinks that Ukyo is a cute boy. So the entire class just saw this attractive boy sit down next to you and begin hitting on the cutest girl in the class."

"Not the cutest girl in the class," Ranma said with a gentle smile, "Maybe second cutest after you. Okay, why do you think she's doing that?"

Akane had to smile at that comment. "I don't think she's really given up on you and is trying to push us apart," Akane replied, "And this morning just confirmed it. She's trying to make me jealous and look bad in front of you."

Ranma grimaced and tugged on her pigtail, nervously. Finally she said, sadly, "Yeah, I think you're probably right. I thought she gave up a little too easy yesterday. Damn, I wanted my friend back. But, if she thinks she's gonna break us up, she's sadly mistaken."

"Well, the other problem is that you looked like you were enjoying the flirting and were kind of flirting back," Akane said.

Ranma looked at her with a stricken expression. "I'm sorry, Acchan. I don't feel that way about her, I promise. I didn't realize it looked that way to you," the girl said in a panicked voice.

"I know that, but I was having a hard time not getting jealous," Akane said, a little shame-faced.

"Acchan, you're the only one for me," Ranma said gently. She looked around, and seeing that they were alone, she pulled Akane to her and kissed her.

After several long moments, Akane reluctantly pulled herself away and said, "You know, I think I might believe you. That's a pretty potent argument you have." She looked at her watch and said, "We'd better get back to class before we're late." The two girls ran back to class, getting there just before the bell rang. As Akane slid into her chair, she smiled smugly to herself as she saw how irked Ukyo looked.

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The five friends gathered at what had become the accepted spot for lunch. Once they sat down, Yuka teased Ranma about how the new boy had been flirting with 'her' that morning. "I can't believe that guy this morning, Ranma. He was really trying to make time with you," she said.

Ranma protested, a little defensively, "Hey, I didn't realize that was what Ukyo was doing. It's not like I get hit on that often."

"So that's why Akane dragged you off," Yuka said, "Boy, you're pretty clueless sometimes, Ranma."

"Won't he be surprised when he learns the truth about you," Sayuri said, with a giggle.

Ranma grinned back and said, "Actually, Ukyo is a girl. And once Akane explained to me what **she **was doing, I basically ignored it. Besides, she knows about me already."

"Hey, can I join you guys?" a voice from behind Sayuri asked.

Akane looked up and saw Ukyo standing there. She thought about objecting, but then decided that she could be magnanimous. 'After all,' she thought, smugly, 'Ranma's mine!' When nobody protested, Ukyo began to set up her portable grill that she was never without and began making okonomiyaki.

"How's the restaurant coming, Ukyo?" Akane asked.

"Pretty good. We should be ready to open soon. I'm supposed to meet someone named Nabiki today. I was told she could help me get all of the permits to open the place," Ukyo said.

"That's sounds like your sister, Acchan, always looking for some way to earn money," Ranma said. 'At least she's not selling pictures or information about me and Akane,' she thought happily, 'This is honest work.'

While she was cooking, Ukyo said, "Sorry about this morning, Akane. It's just that I'm so happy to have my old friend back.  Ranchan and I go way back, don't we sugar?" Ukyo handed Ranma an okonomiyaki on a paper plate to eat.

Ranma glanced down at the plate and saw that Ukyo had painted a heart on the okonomiyaki with the sauce. 'Damn, she **is** trying to cause trouble,' she thought, as she slipped the okonomiyaki into her bento and closed it while Ukyo wasn't looking. "Well, sort of. We were best friends when we were six, Ukyo. Yesterday was the first time I'd seen you since then," Ranma said, a bit coolly.

Ukyo glanced at the red-haired girl, wincing internally at the coolness in the other girl's voice. 'Maybe I went a little overboard this morning,' she thought.

As she was about to apologize, an unwelcome visitor intruded into the scene. "Hold varlet! How dare you impose your unwholesome attention on the fair Akane Tendo, the spirited Ranma Saotome or the fiery Shampoo!" said Kuno, "How dare you talk to any of these fair maidens?"

"What!?" Ukyo asked, puzzled.

"Kuno, Ukyo is a friend and is welcome here, you aren't!" Akane said, heatedly. 'Why can't he ever get a clue?' she thought in disgust.

"No, surely, it cannot be! You, you can't be the fiancé of my beloved Akane Tendo," the delusional boy protested.

"I'm not your beloved anything," Akane spat, "And no, Ukyo is not my fiancé."

"Then tell me that he is not your husband, my darling Shampoo," Kuno demanded.

Shampoo giggled prettily and said, "No, Ukyo is definitely not my type. Definitely not manly enough. Ryoga is my Airen." The girls all giggled, leaving Kuno looking baffled.

"You have fallen under the spell of that blackguard Hibiki!" Kuno said incredulously, "Another that I must save from that malicious sorcerer!" He mumbled under his breath for a second and then remembered why he was there. "Then you can only be here to attempt to steal my lovely Ranma away from me. You must be as vile as that rogue Hibiki, or perhaps you are in league with him. Never mind, I cannot allow it. I challenge you for the right to date her. You must beat me in fair combat, or forever leave her alone," Kuno demanded.

"Kuno, I'm not a prize, and you have no right to tell me who I can be with," Ranma responded angrily, beginning to stand up, her fists clenched.

Ukyo began to glow as she said, coolly, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, sugar. I think it's time someone took this smug bastard down a couple of notches. And I'm just the person to do it. Okay, whatever your name is, after school, in the field behind the gym." Now Ranma was visibly glowing with anger, her only problem was deciding whether she was angriest with Ukyo or Kuno.

"Ah, it was extremely rude of me to challenge you without revealing my identity, wasn't it? You have the privilege to be facing me, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High," Kuno orated.

"Fine, whatever. I am Ukyo Kuonji, of the Kuonji School of Okonomiyaki Martial Arts," spat Ukyo, unimpressed, "Now, why don't you dry up and blow away!"

Ranma growled, angrily, "Kuno, for the last time, I don't like you! Leave me the hell alone!" She swung her fist and caught Kuno under the chin, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying into the wall of the school building. Then she turned on Ukyo, and said, heatedly, "I'm not helpless, Ukyo. I don't need you to defend me from the likes of that buffoon!"

"Hey, Ranchan, calm down! He challenged me, remember?" Ukyo said backing away quickly.

Ranma glared at Ukyo for several seconds, breathing hard, and then she slowly unclenched her fists. She shuddered and replied, a bit more calmly, "Sorry, Ucchan. You're right. It's your fight this time. Be careful, he won't hold back with you because he thinks you're a guy."

Ukyo grinned widely and said, cockily, "Good. It wouldn't be any fun if it wasn't a challenge."

Ranma relaxed and sat back down next to Akane. Ranma smiled thinly and said, "Don't get too confident. He can take a lot of damage, and he has some sort of ki attack with that bokken of his." Akane put her hand on top of Ranma's hand and squeezed tightly. Ranma turned her hand over, and interlaced her fingers with Akane, and smiled back in thanks.

"I've been training for a long time, sugar. I can take the moron. But thanks for your concern," Ukyo said softly. Ukyo tried to ignore the fact that essentially Ranma and Akane were holding hands in front of her.

"We just didn't want a friend to walk into something she wasn't ready for," Akane said.

Hiroshi and Daisuke walked over and sat down next to their girlfriends. "Is it all right if we join you?" Hiroshi asked.

"Sure, I was starting to feel a bit outnumbered," Ranma joked, "All these girls and just me."

"Don't let Kuno know that you're a girl, Ukyo, or once you beat him, he'll start chasing you just like he's chasing the three of us," Akane advised.

"Yeah, I think Kuno is a bit crazy. He must like pain, because he only goes after girls that have beaten him in combat," Ranma said.

"Ugh, I wish I'd known that before I accepted the challenge," Ukyo groaned. She looked a bit ill at the thought.

Ranma giggled and said, "Tough choice isn't it? Throw the fight and ruin your reputation, or win and run the risk of him asking you out on a date. Of course, as clueless as that moron is, he may never figure out that you're a girl."

----------------------

Ukyo stood poised and ready in the ring that she had prepared yesterday, ignoring the clamor of the crowd. "I hear the new kid is gonna fight Kuno," one boy said. Another replied, "Yeah, we need to go see this." Again, that same brown-haired girl was busily working the crowd, taking bets on the outcome of the fight. The crowd grew louder as they began to check out the ring.

'Okay, moron, where the hell are you?' Ukyo thought to herself. Then she smiled a feral grin as she caught sight of the wanna-be samurai strutting his way through the crowd.

Kuno leapt gracefully to the floor of the ring. He smiled thinly and then said, "So you are man enough to face me after all. I thought perhaps you might be too craven to come. Remember the terms, the loser swears to leave the spirited Ranma Saotome alone and never speak to her again."

"Hah, we're here to fight, Kuno, not talk, or are you simply all hot air?" Ukyo said in response, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"We fight!" Kuno said as he charged swinging his bokken. Ukyo quickly pulled her battle spatula off of her back and parried the wooden sword. With a loud clang, the weapons made contact, the force of the blow causing the bokken to split asunder. "You dare destroy my weapon!" Kuno exclaimed, "Quickly, another!" One of the members of his kendo club tossed him another bokken. "Strike! Strike! Strike!" Kuno yelled as he charged Ukyo, who simply danced out of the way.

Ukyo pulled several of her small throwing spatulas out of her bandolier. "Take this," she cried as she flung them at the kendoist, who dodged them, but in the process, he stumbled. As he fell, he caught himself with one hand onto the surface of the ring.

Jumping up, he screamed in pain, yelling, "Eeeeow!"

The crowd gasped in surprise as Ranma snickered and broke an egg onto the black surface. The egg quickly cooked. "The ring is a giant griddle," Ranma explained.

"This is insane!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma shook her head and said, "Ukyo is a master of the Okonomiyaki School of Martial Arts."

"Now for my special recipe!" Ukyo exclaimed as she flung an amount of batter at Kuno, who dodged most of it, except that he landed in one large blob, which quickly congealed around his leg.

"What!" Kuno exclaimed as he tried to move.

"It's my special batter, deep dish glue. And this is," she explained as she threw several balls of noodles at Kuno, "My special rubber Yakisoba noodles." The noodles adhered to Kuno, gluing him to the ring. Ukyo soared high into the sky, and brought her battle spatula around with a loud cry, "Hyah!" She hit Kuno several times with the spatula and drove him back onto the hot surface, where the noodles quickly began to cook.

"Man, that yakisoba smells good!" Hiroshi exclaimed.

Sayuri responded, "My mother makes okonomiyaki with those noodles in it, too."

"Man, that Kuno is sure making me hungry," Daisuke exclaimed.

"Gee, I forgot to oil the griddle!" Ukyo exclaimed as she threw the contents of a bucket onto Kuno. "Mixed with gunpowder!" she continued, as the explosions began.

When the smoke cleared, Kuno staggered to his feet, only to be met with a barrage of the deep dish glue. Stunned by the explosions, the young man was quickly covered by the sticky mess. Then Ukyo threw more of the yakisoba noodles around him, tying his arms and legs together. She pulled on the noodles, and Kuno fell over, landing hard onto the griddle surface.

After a few minutes, Ukyo used her spatula to flip Kuno over, a rich brown coating showing. Then she finished him off with a garnish of her trademark okonomiyaki sauce. She walked over and flipped Kuno out of the ring, where he lay on the ground surrounded by the crowd.

Nabiki smirked at the sight and said, "It sure looks like Kuno got battered."

Ranma and Akane giggled, while Shampoo looked confused. "Nice fight, Ukyo," Ranma said to the triumphant chef.

Ukyo leapt down to the ground and said to Kuno, "That should teach you not to butt in where you're not wanted. No one tells me who I can be friends with, you arrogant ass."

Kuno looked around blearily and said, "I fight on!" Then his eyes rolled back into his head as he lost consciousness.

"Oh Kuno baby!" Nabiki said in disgust, "When will you ever learn!" Then she walked over to Ranma and handed her the winnings from her bet. "Congratulations, Ranma. You're the only winner. How'd you know?"

"Without his bokken, Kuno isn't much. If it wasn't for his stamina and quick recovery, Ukyo would have taken him out sooner," Ranma said with a shrug, "Of course, he'll conveniently forget that he lost."

"Not this time, Ranma," Nabiki smirked, "I got it on video." She held up the mini-dv camera in her hand.

----------------------

Akane stuck her tongue out at Ranma as she raced atop the fence towards her home from school.

Ranma growled, and said, "Don't stick that out unless you're planning on using it."

"Biii," Akane teased.

As they neared the canal, Ranma began to sense danger. Suddenly, from one of the rooftops, Ranma saw a hook on a chain come flying at Akane out of the corner of his eye. "Watch out, Akane!" he yelled. Akane dropped to the ground, allowing the hook to pass over her head. Ranma turned and saw Mousse standing on the roof. "Mousse, what the hell are you doing?" he yelled.

"I just came from the clinic, where I found out that she hurt Dachi," Mousse yelled back, "Die, Akane Tendo!"

"Hey, she attacked me first," Akane yelled back as she dodged another weapon. 'Dachi?' she thought, 'when did they become an item?'

Ranma roared, "Möko Takabisha!" A ball of energy flew from his hands, knocking Mousse into the canal below, transforming him into a duck. Ranma jumped down to the canal bank and fished the stunned duck and his robes out of the water, and glared at the transformed boy, carefully staying out of the water. "Listen, Mousse, Kodachi was trying to hurt Akane. All she did was defend herself, though she did go a bit overboard. Now are you going to listen to reason, or am I gonna have Peking Duck for dinner?" she asked.

Mousse quacked angrily, and tried to strike with his beak. Ranma sighed and climbed back out of the canal, and asked Akane, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, he managed to miss me," Akane said heatedly, as she glared at her fiancée, "I could have taken care of him, you know."

"I know that," Ranma replied quickly, "But you don't have any distance attacks yet, and his weapons could have really hurt you until you closed with him."

"So what do you want to do with him?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "I guess we'll take him to the café and leave him with Cologne." The two youths made their way to the Nekohaten.

As they entered the door of the café, Shampoo bustled over. "What silly Mousse do now?" she asked.

"He attacked Akane from out of nowhere. I knocked him into the canal as a way to stop the fight," Ranma said, annoyed, "He hit his head on the way down, so I had to go fish him out. I may be mad at him for attacking my fiancée, but that doesn't mean he needed to drown."

Cologne hopped out from the kitchen carrying a teakettle. "Would you like some hot water, sonny boy?" she asked.

"Please," Ranma replied, "Then maybe you can talk some sense into this fool."

Ranma placed the duck on the floor, and then dropped the robes on top of him. He grinned wickedly and then poured the boiling water over the duck. They waited politely until Mousse had finished dressing.

"Now why did you attack Akane Tendo?" Cologne asked, her eyes narrowed as she glared at Mousse.

"She hurt Kodachi," Mousse said sullenly.

"She attacked me over my fiancé. She's chasing Ranma as a way to get back at me for beating her in combat," Akane growled, "She hugged him while we were on a date and then when I objected, she attacked me with her ribbon. I have to admit I hurt her, especially when I broke a couple of her ribs, but Tofu says she'll be okay soon. She even forgave me for the attack."

"Is that true, Mousse?" Cologne asked angrily.

Mousse hung his head and replied, "That's what Kodachi said as well."

"So you attacked a woman for no real reason!" Shampoo gasped.

"Did you challenge her?" Cologne asked, with a worried expression in her eyes. Mousse's silence was more telling than any answer he could give. Cologne sighed in resignation. "You know the law, Mousse," Cologne said, her eyes burning in anger.

Mousse glared angrily at the Elder and then knelt on the ground. "I await your judgement, Elder," he said.

Akane looked worried and asked, "What law?"

"Unless there is formal combat or war, an Amazon man is not allowed to strike a woman," Cologne replied, sadly, "The punishment is death."

Akane gasped, and asked, "That's too much for what he did. He didn't even hit me with one of his weapons before Ranma took him out."

"In that case, since it was only an attempt, you are allowed to be merciful," Cologne explained, her face looking slightly happier for the first time since she had walked into the tableau.

"Mousse, if you promise to leave us alone, I will spare you," Akane said.

"Very well, Akane Tendo. You have my word as an Amazon," Mousse replied. He glared at Ranma for a second and then said, "I need to speak to you alone."

"All right," Ranma replied, as he led Mousse outside. After several seconds, Ranma asked, "What did you need to say to me?"

"I wouldn't really have hurt Akane Tendo," the sullen young man said, "If I had wanted to hurt her, I would have hit her on the first strike. I just had to make the appearance of being angry at her."

"Why?" Ranma said simply.

Mousse hesitated and then answered, "I like Kodachi, don't get me wrong. She's the first woman to show an interest in me, and it's very flattering, but I still want Shampoo. If I hadn't tried to take vengeance on Akane for hurting Kodachi, Shampoo would have gotten suspicious."

"That's disgusting. You're using Kodachi to try to make Shampoo jealous. That won't work. Besides, it's not nice to lead Kodachi on like that. And Shampoo won't ever want you as anything more than a friend. You should know that," Ranma stated firmly. 'That's the mistake I made,' he thought, 'If only I had been firmer with all of the girls before.'

"I know," Mousse replied, "But I can't think rationally around Shampoo. Tell Akane Tendo that I'm sorry."

"You need to figure out which girl you want," Ranma said. He paused for a second and then said, coldly, "If you ever pull another stunt like that and actually hurt Akane, there won't be enough left of you to bury. Understand?"

Mousse looked at Ranma and then gulped. While Mousse wasn't a blooded warrior, he had seen many of them in the Amazon village. Staring back at him was someone with the same bleak expression that he had seen in their eyes. The eyes of someone who would kill to protect the one they loved, even at the risk of damaging their own soul.

"You would kill to protect her," Mousse said softly.

Ranma's eyes got even colder, as he replied, equally as soft, "I will do anything to protect her, Mousse. Anyone who hurts her won't like what happens."

"Does the Elder know that you are a blooded warrior?" Mousse asked.

"What?" Ranma said in surprise.

Mousse replied, "I can see in your eyes that you have killed to protect someone you love. There's an expression in your eyes that reminds me of some of the warriors from our village, the one's who have actually had to kill to defend us."

"I haven't had to kill anyone yet. I hope I never do. I'm a martial artist, not a warrior," Ranma replied, "And I pray that I never have to cross that line." 'Though what am I gonna do about Saffron?' he thought, 'He wouldn't listen the last time.'

"Then it doesn't matter now. But my people treat a male who is a blooded warrior with equal respect to a female," Mousse replied, "If I had known that before, I would never have attacked Akane Tendo. It was a mistake."

"If it happens again, it will be your last mistake," Ranma warned in an icy voice.

"Don't worry. It will never happen again, Ranma Saotome," Mousse replied as he walked back into the restaurant. Akane came out shortly and they headed back home.

----------------------

Ukyo looked up from the grill when she heard the front door open. "Hello, we're not open yet," the chef said to the attractive, auburn haired woman standing in the doorway. Something about the woman struck Ukyo as a bit strange; she was dressed in an extremely formal kimono, and was carrying a long package covered in a cloth wrapping.

"I'm not here to eat, young lady," the woman said, "My name is Nodoka Saotome, and I understand my husband is staying here."

"You're Ranma's mother!" Ukyo said, excitedly, "I'm Ukyo Kuonji. Yes, your husband is here. He's probably asleep in the back, where I have him chained up. I'll show you the way." Ukyo led Nodoka into the back of the storefront, and showed her a small room off of the main kitchen that had been converted into a cramped bedroom. There, Nodoka found a large panda lying on its back, chained to a large ring sunk deep into the concrete, playing with a ball.

The panda held up a sign that read, 'I'm just a cute panda!'

"Why's he chained up, Miss Kuonji?" Nodoka asked.

"Oh, shortly after we arrived, he came back from the Tendo home and tried to run away. He thought he could renege on the promise that he had made. The chain is there to remind him of his promise to me," the young girl said. 'To think I wouldn't have been expecting him to run off, what an idiot. I'm just glad I came back early yesterday and caught him,' she thought.

"Miss Kuonji, could I trouble you for some hot water. Preferably boiling," Nodoka said, icily. Then she glared at the panda and said, "Hello, husband. You're looking much more handsome than I recall you being. The years have been good to you."

Ukyo handed Nodoka a teakettle full of water. Nodoka promptly poured it over the panda, which transformed into her husband. "Hello, No-chan, fancy meeting you here," he said nervously.

Nodoka frowned, and said, angrily, "Don't call me No-chan, you poor excuse for a husband!"

He promptly went into one of the Saotome Secret Techniques, the Crouching Tiger. He fell to his knees, and bowed low, several times, his head touching the ground each time. As he did so, he said, rapidly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SON?" Nodoka yelled.

Genma looked up and saw the image that had been haunting his nightmares ever since Ranma had fallen into the spring. Nodoka, her battle aura blazing, the bare steel of her family blade gleaming brightly, as she waited for his response. "It's not my fault," Genma replied, "He…" Genma froze as he felt the cold kiss of naked steel on the back of his neck.

"Wrong answer, husband," Nodoka said icily, "You forget. Ranma had your journal, and I have had ample time to read it. I don't know how Ranma managed to turn out as well as he has. What you did to him was nothing but child abuse. How many times did he go to bed starving because you stole his food? How could you have so little honor that you sold him for food? I thought that your promise to commit seppuku if Ranma did not come back a man among men would have been enough to keep you honest, but no! You had to prove me wrong. Tell me why I should allow you to live."

"Mrs. Saotome, you can't kill him. That wouldn't be right," Ukyo said, anxiously.

Nodoka glanced at the young girl and asked, "And why do you care about whether he lives or dies?"

"Because he promised to give me Ranma, and he can't do that if he's dead. Besides, I'd never get the bloodstains out of the concrete," Ukyo replied. 'Ooops, I shouldn't have said that,' Ukyo thought.

"My son already has a fiancée, Miss Kuonji. One that he is head over heels in love with," Nodoka said coolly.

"Ranma must marry Ukyo," Genma began, "My honor is at stake. Our honor is at stake." 'Actually, my life is at stake, that Kuonji girl scares me,' he thought.

"Your honor? Don't make me laugh; you have none. You are a coward and a thief, an arrogant blowhard who is incapable of admitting he was wrong about anything," Nodoka said, "Besides, which one of the multiple engagements is the most honorable for Ranma to fulfill? Ranma did the only thing he could do and that was renouncing all of them. He's not marrying anyone because of an arrangement that you made. He's marrying the young Tendo girl because they love each other."

"Then I will forbid him from following my school," Genma growled, "Then there will be no reason for Tendo to allow the wedding, since the two schools won't be joined."

"You are truly a fool, Genma. Ranma has been teaching Akane the Saotome School since he arrived in Nerima. The schools are already being joined whether you allow it or not. And I imagine Ranma would just ignore you if you told him he couldn't follow your school," Nodoka answered back coolly. She bowed to Ukyo and said, "I'm sorry that this man has brought dishonor to your name, Miss Kuonji. But my son has chosen his path. If you continue to pursue him, when all he offers is his friendship, then that is your decision, but eventually it will cause nothing but grief for all involved. My advice to you is to forget about the arrangement that this fool has with your father. I will consider if there may be a different way for honor to be satisfied."

"I either have to become a Saotome, or cause the death of both Ranma and his father. That was my father's demand, and my promise to him," Ukyo said, "Unfortunately, after meeting Ranma, I now realize that he had nothing to do with any of it."

"So your vow would require that you cause the death of someone completely innocent in this matter," Nodoka stated, "So you would destroy at least three people because of your quest for vengeance. Does that sound like justice to you?"

"What do you mean, destroy three people?" Ukyo asked, her face pale.

"If Ranma were to honor his father's promise and marry you, it would be a loveless marriage, and likely a short one. He would come into the marriage hating you. Akane would be heartbroken, and I'm sure you would find that your life would be lonely," Nodoka said, "So all three of your lives would be forever damaged. And if you killed him, Akane would again be heartbroken, and would either kill you or die trying. And you would have to live with your guilt. And if you tried to hurt Akane, he would protect her, even to taking your life. That would cause him to fall apart. So you see, if you continue this ill-fated pursuit, only bad things can come of it."

Ukyo looked troubled as she said, "I'm not a horrible person, Mrs. Saotome. I need to think about what I should do. As for your husband, you can take him with you and do with him as you will." Ukyo took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the large lock securing the chain to the wall.

"I was going to do that anyway, but thank you. Of course, I'm not sure how much longer he'll be my husband. I think he looks better as a panda," Nodoka said, "Come, Genma, we have much more to talk about, and this poor girl deserves her privacy."

Ukyo stared after them, her face showing the internal struggle she was having with herself. Then her eyes narrowed and her face firmed up as she made her decision. 'Somehow or another, Ranma Saotome, you are mine!' she vowed silently.

----------------------

The citizens of Nerima had seen many strange sights, but none stranger than the sight of a panda on a chain, walking down the street, closely followed by an attractive middle-aged woman, with auburn hair. Then things got even stranger, as it became evident that the woman was talking to the panda, and what was odder, the panda apparently was replying through the use of some signs.

"Genma," the woman said, "Why are you really trying to force Ranma to marry the Kuonji girl? I know it has nothing to do with honor."

'Nodoka, it was because she beat me up when she first found me,' a sign read, then it flipped over, 'She threatened to kill me if I didn't support her.' FLIP 'And she promised me a lifetime supply of okonomiyaki if I did.''

"So once again, you are only thinking of yourself," Nodoka sneered, "How did Ranma manage to turn out so well in spite of your poor influence?"

'What do you mean? If it weren't for my excellent training,' FLIP, 'he wouldn't be the person he is today.'

"Right, a young man, cursed to turn into a girl; with I don't know how many fiancées, a pathological fear of cats, minimal social skills, though he is getting better and I don't know what else," she growled, "That's what you trained him to be. I'm surprised he hasn't sold you to a zoo, or something."

As they entered the grounds of the Tendo compound, Nodoka heard the sound of combat coming from the direction of the dojo. She dragged the panda around from the main gate to see Soun, Nabiki and Kasumi standing in the doorway of the dojo watching something going on inside.

"Hello, Soun, look who I found," Nodoka said in greeting.

"Oh my, Daddy!" Kasumi exclaimed, "What a cute panda." She disappeared into the house, only to reappear with a teakettle in her hand.

"Hello Saotome," Soun said, dryly, "You don't seem to have changed much at all."

'Hello Tendo,' the sign in the panda's hand read, 'I take it the boy has told you the story?'

"Yes, Ranma has. He's told me everything," Soun began. Then his aura began to show as he continued, his voice getting angrier as he spoke, "Including about the other girls you engaged your son to, you dishonorable person. How could you have done that to your best friend, the person who stood by you during the travails with the Master?" Finally, he manifested a full demon-head, his head huge, eyeballs glaring, fangs dripping imaginary blood.

'Now, Tendo, remember, I'm just a cute panda!' the sign read, as the panda lay on his back and began to play with a large multi-color beach ball.

Kasumi walked over and poured the water over Genma, who screamed, "Ye-ouch! It doesn't have to be that hot, girl!"

Nabiki asked sarcastically, "So Daddy, why are you friends with him?"

"He wasn't like this before," Soun whined. Then he turned to Genma and said, "Saotome, I need to introduce you to my daughters. The girl with the teakettle is my eldest, Kasumi; she is engaged to our local chiropractor, who also is Ranma's employer. This is Nabiki, my middle daughter, and then the youngest, of course, is Akane."

"What I don't understand is how you could have taken your son to Jusenkyo," Kasumi said, "Didn't you know about the cursed springs?"

"I had a guidebook," Genma explained, showing it to her.

"It's in Chinese. Both the map and the guidebook," Nabiki said as she opened the book, then she narrowed her eyes and stated, "Something about Training Grounds."

Kasumi realized the truth and said, "You don't read Chinese, do you?"

A prize ball went off above Genma's head, and it said, "Correct!"

Kasumi glared at him and exclaimed, "You just went too far, Mr.Saotome!"

Nabiki said in agreement, "Yeah! Even for martial arts training!"

Then Nabiki noticed something even odder, as she turned the book upside down and read it the other direction. "You really are an idiot. It reads in Japanese from this direction." Genma wilted as Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki glared at him.

Soun turned to the door and called, "Ranma, Akane, Saotome is here."

The two girls stopped sparring and walked out of the dojo to stand facing Genma. "Hello, Pop," Ranma purred, with a wicked look in her eyes.

"RANMA, why are you a girl?" Genma asked angrily, his eyes nearly popping out.

Ranma got an evil glint in her eye and asked, saccharinely, "Why, what ever do you mean, Pop? Is there something wrong with being a girl?"

Genma froze as he heard the sound of steel being drawn. "Uh, no, there's nothing wrong with girls," Genma stammered, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"It's nice seeing you again," Ranma said, her voice so sweet that hearing it was giving Genma cavities, "Did you miss me? I've missed you. Akane's fun to spar with, but I can't go all out with her yet."

"Hey," Akane protested, "I'm getting better."

"True," Ranma admitted as she cracked her knuckles, "But I still don't like hurting you. On the other hand, I don't have that problem with Pop."

Genma felt the sweat pop out on his brow. "Uh, boy, let's not get hasty!"

"What have you always told me, Pop? A martial artist's life is full of peril," Ranma said with a smirk, "While you've been sitting around getting fat and out of shape, I've been training. I think it's time you got back in shape." Ranma giggled, the sound of which sent shivers down the old man's spine.

"Auntie, dinner is nearly done. Could you help me bring it out?" Kasumi asked sweetly.

"Certainly dear. I'm sure Ranma can take care of this fool," Nodoka replied. She handed the chain to Ranma who smiled evilly. Nodoka followed Kasumi into the kitchen.

"Pop, there are a few ground rules to establish if you end up staying here. One, no fighting in the house. I know Mr. Tendo is your friend and he'll look the other way, but his daughter, Nabiki, will make our life miserable if the house gets damaged in any way. And I don't intend to give her any reason to make my life miserable. Understand?" Ranma growled.

"How dare you talk to me that way?" Genma asked in shock, his eyes darting around looking for a way to escape.

Ranma narrowed her eyes and replied, "Easy. When Akane and I marry, then this will be our house and I don't want to see it destroyed. And I've been living with them now for several months and I like them and they like me. I'm not going to let you ruin my relationship with this family. The second thing is that meals are gonna be peaceful. Kasumi is too good a cook for you to fight over what she cooks and I enjoy tasting my food as it goes down. The third thing is I'm sharing a room with Akane and she won't like it much if you try to wake me up at sunrise."

Genma grinned hugely, and said, "Way to go boy. Already sleeping with your fiancée. I'm proud of you."

"It's not like that you fat fool! We are sharing a room, not a bed," Ranma barked angrily, "Now I'll show you where the furoba is so you can get cleaned up."

"You never answered my original question though. Why are you a girl?" Genma asked.

"Because I was sparring with Akane and we were working on her speed. I'm faster as a girl, so that gives her a bigger challenge. You got a problem with that?" Ranma replied, as she led the old man toward the furoba.

----------------------

Dinner that evening was a little strained. Genma had basically ignored what Ranma had said and had tried to steal some of the food off of Ranma's plate, only to draw back a pair of broken chopsticks.

"Pop," Ranma growled at the old man, "I warned you about that." She glared at her old man.

"Boy," Genma began, "How do you expect to stay fast if someone doesn't try to steal your food?" Suddenly to his surprise, Genma found himself flying through the air, only to land with a loud splash into the koi pond, scattering water and the carp all over.

"Nice one, Akane," Ranma said, "But your left elbow was a little high."

"Sorry, sensei," Akane replied, insincerely.

"Mr. Saotome, please could you put the fish back in the pond?" Kasumi asked politely.

The panda moaned as he saw his food disappear down Ranma's throat, but since he couldn't withstand the slight frown on Kasumi's face, he bent down and picked up the three or four carp that were flopping around on the ground and tossed them into the pool.

Nodoka frowned slightly and asked, "Ranma, why didn't you change back? You don't look very manly right now."

"Huh," she replied, and then looked at herself, "Oh this." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled thinly. "Because it's irritating Pop, seeing me like this," she said.

"Oh well, that's okay then. So long as you had a good reason," Nodoka said with a laugh.

The panda made his way back to the house only to be stopped by another slight frown from Kasumi. "Please, don't drip on the floor, I just cleaned it," she said, as magically, a plate of bamboo shoots appeared in her hands. She gracefully placed the plate in front of the panda.

Genma stared at the plate in disgust and then held up a sign, reading, 'Hot water please, Kasumi.'

"Of course, Mr. Saotome. Please wait there while it heats up. Don't forget to eat your vegetables first though. I'm sure you need the fiber," she replied sweetly.

"Soun," Nodoka said, "I want to thank you for your hospitality in allowing me to stay here for the last couple of weeks."

"It's been our pleasure, Nodoka," Soun replied, "The girls and I have enjoyed your company."

"Now that Genma has arrived, I think that we will be moving back to our house," Nodoka continued.

Akane looked sad so Ranma reached down and squeezed her hand. "Ranma can either come with us or stay," Nodoka said.

"If you think you can handle Pop, I would just as soon stay here," Ranma replied, "Besides, there wouldn't be much point in me moving anyway. Remember, we're going to the beach next week, and then Akane, Nabiki and I go on a training trip for the rest of break."

'A training trip?' Genma's sign read.

"Yeah, there's several things that Akane and I need to work on that we can't do here," Ranma replied. She hesitated for a second and then asked, "Do you remember the Amazon Elder Cologne? She's here in Nerima and has agreed to train Akane and me in some of their techniques."

Once the panda had finished his plate of bamboo, Kasumi walked over with a towel and a kettle of water. Again, Genma screeched as Kasumi poured the boiling water over the panda transforming him back. She handed him the towel and said, "There you go, Mr. Saotome. You can dry yourself off with this." Kasumi quickly removed all of the dishes from the table and carried them into the kitchen.

Genma looked annoyed, thinking, 'That's the second time she's used boiling water. Surely she's not that clueless.' Then he remembered what he had needed to talk to his friend about. "Tendo, about that engagement between Ranma and your daughter, there may be a bit of a problem," Genma began.

Soun grimaced at Genma and said, "Ranma and Akane wish to marry. Why would there be any problem?"

"Er, uh, it seems like I promised that he would marry someone else," Genma replied, "It's a matter of my personal honor."

"Well, anyone who would listen to that is foolish. Why should they believe in something that doesn't exist?" Ranma said simply. Then she glared at Genma and stated firmly, "It doesn't matter what you did or want, anyway. I asked Akane to marry me and she accepted. That is a matter of my personal honor. Don't worry Mr. Tendo; I always keep my vows. Unlike someone I could name."

Genma glared at his son, well daughter, and snarled, "You will do what you are told, boy! You're complaining like a weak girl."

"Well, gee, Pop. What do I look like right now?" Ranma retorted, then her eyes went cold as she continued, "Pop, you lost the right to tell me who to marry and what to do when you sold me to half a dozen women. I'm my own man and control my own destiny. If you don't like it, tough. I love Akane and that's the end of it."

Genma looked at Ranma with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "Why would you want to have her for a fiancée anyway? What's so special about her? I mean, she's pretty enough, I suppose, but look at her. Even you're built better than she is!"

"Genma NO BAKA!" screamed Akane as she flattened him with the dinner table.

Ranma broke down laughing. 'Better him than me,' she thought.

Nabiki said, "Now that he had coming!"

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Author's Notes: I appreciate all of the reviews and comments from all of you. I'm glad the story is amusing everyone. My thanks go to Taechunsa who offered to pre-read this story. Another set of eyes is always useful. Specific comments are below:

SilverBullet23: I haven't decided exactly when Happosai will show up. I have started scripting that scene in my head, but I haven't actually put it down on paper yet. I'm still sort of following the timeline in the manga so it will be a few chapters on down the road, I expect.

Lord Strife: No, Genma doesn't ever seem to learn. At least not from what I've seen in both the anime and the manga. Kodachi is smart enough to learn, I think. Later chapters will tell.

Dana-san: Thank you. Ukyo has a plan, whether it works or not? I actually have something different in mind for both Kuno and Ukyo.

Materia-Blade: Uh, yeah, that wasn't quite what I had in mind. No one was supposed to know about the secret romance between Akane and Daisuke. (Just kidding) That sentence didn't come across right at all, did it? As far as the training trip goes, it will show up some, but it would get pretty boring after awhile.

BlazeStryker: Thanks. Fortunately for Ukyo, she came home early and found Genma before he could take off. And Genma has abandoned all honor as you pointed out. I wonder if he can be redeemed?

Wonderbee31: Well he did get up close and personal with a sharp metal object in this chapter, didn't he? Ukyo will be a bit harder to convince, I'm afraid. To be honest, I think she's as obsessive as Shampoo and Kodachi, she's just a bit nicer about the whole thing so it's not quite as obvious.

Taechunsa: Thanks again for the comments in your pre-read. As you can see, I thought most of them were pretty valid. And yes, I'm not making Ukyo out to be quite as nice a person. She did spend a long time training to seek vengeance, so I always thought it was strange that she could turn around that quickly. She's just about as violent as Akane in many respects, at least in my opinion. And yes, if she keeps pursuing him, she deserves whatever pain she gets because of it. As far as the mallet is concerned, Ranma just thought it was a ki attack. I don't think I really want to know where Kodachi hides her equipment according to WFRose. I bet it's painful.

Gemini310: Thanks for the comments. I intend to clean up the mallet attack in a later chapter. I had already alluded to Ranma trying to figure out where Shampoo was hiding her bonborri once before.

xero-ghost: Thanks. Ranma blowing up was where that confrontation was leading up to. I felt like he had to realize that he was hurting everyone because of his inability to show that he had made a choice. I figured that this time around he wouldn't make that mistake.


	19. When Baka's Learn

Chapter 19 When Baka's Learn

Genma groaned as he felt a wet compress being placed on his head. "Oh my, welcome back, Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said kindly, "Are you okay? Don't think too badly of Akane. She's really a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac."

"Good one, Kasumi. That makes a **lot** of sense," Nabiki said, dryly, from where she was sitting cross-legged in the doorway.

"Where am I?" Genma asked, still a bit disoriented. He could tell he was on a futon, in a pleasantly appointed room.

"You're in the bedroom where Auntie Nodoka is staying. Ranma dragged you up here after dinner was over," Kasumi replied.

Genma opened his eyes the rest of the way, and sat up, then groaned as his head felt like it was trying to split open from the pounding in his skull. "Where's my son?" he growled.

"Ranma and Akane are in their room doing their homework, I suppose," Kasumi replied, "Daddy asked you to join him and Auntie in the family room when you woke up."

"I don't suppose you have something for a headache," Genma said, hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Saotome," Kasumi began.

Nabiki stared in shock and was about to say something, when Kasumi actually glared at her.

Kasumi continued, "But Daddy used the last of the aspirin this morning, and I haven't had a chance to go to market yet today and get some more."

"That's all right. I've had worse hangovers," he said as he stumbled through the door, just missing Nabiki as she moved out of the way.

Nabiki stared at her sister in amazement, "Kasumi, you lied to him! There's aspirin in my bedroom and you knew that."

"Yes, I suppose I did," Kasumi said, "Oh my, wasn't that horrible of me." She raised one elegant eyebrow at her sister and then continued, "But after listening to Auntie Nodoka while we cooked and finding out everything that he did to Ranma, I don't like him much."

"Kasumi!" gasped Nabiki, "I don't think I've ever heard you say anything bad about anyone. He must have done something horrible for you to feel like that."

"You don't know the half of it, Sis," Kasumi said.

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Genma walked into the family room where he found his old friend and training partner ensconced in front of his shogi board, playing against his wife Nodoka. Genma raised an eyebrow in shock, and then winced at the pain that motion caused. Nodoka was playing a cutthroat game that had Soun on the ropes. "Kasumi said you wanted to see me," Genma began.

Soun glanced toward the open doorway and glared at his friend. CLACK. He whipped his head around to see an innocent looking Nodoka watching the board, her hands primly folded in her lap. "Yes, Saotome, we needed to talk," Soun said, his voice cool, "Nodoka was telling me all about the young Kuonji girl."

"Uh, let me explain," Genma began, as he prepared to bolt.

"First, though, let's have a drink to celebrate your safe return from China and the end of your incarceration, as well as to the union of our two families," Soun continued as he pointed to the bottle of saké and the extra cup.

Soun blinked as Genma teleported to the bottle and poured a cup of the elixir that he had been looking for. After quickly tossing off the contents of the cup, he poured himself a second. "To the successful union of our family," Genma toasted.

Something sounding suspiciously like, 'Hypocrite!' came from the general direction of Nodoka.

"Now, why don't you explain about the Kuonji girl," Soun said, "And why were you telling Nodoka that she was a better choice than my Akane." Surprisingly, Soun managed to say those words in an even tone.

"Uh, well, you see, when Ranma was six, he used to play with the child of someone who owned an okonomiyaki cart. Basically the two of them would spar, and if Ranma won, he was given a free meal. Ranma almost always won," Genma began.

"What's that got to do with the Kuonji girl?" Soun asked.

"Well, one fateful day, I announced that it was about time for us to move on to Kuonji, the owner of the yatai. It turned out that his child was actually a girl named Ukyo, and that she had formed a crush on Ranma and would be unhappy to see him leave. He suggested that I take Ukyo with us as Ranma's fiancée. Well, I told him about the prior arrangement that I had with you, and said it wasn't possible. He understood about all of that, but then said that the yatai would be her dowry and that if I took her, the cart would come with her," Genma continued.

Nodoka interrupted, and said, "We know all of that. Ranma told us what you wrote in your journal, and then I read it for myself."

Genma gulped, and said, "It's not my fault. I asked Ranma which he would prefer, Ukyo or okonomiyaki, and he picked okonomiyaki. I had no choice but to leave the girl behind." He hesitated for a moment and then said, piously, "If only Ranma had picked Ukyo. The ungrateful boy, forcing me to leave his friend behind like that. As we went off into the distance, I could see the unfortunate girl crying her eyes out. It tore my heart to leave her like that." A crocodile tear rolled out from one eye as he poured himself another drink.

He froze like a statue as a pleasant soprano voice said from behind him, "Now, Pop, that wasn't exactly true, now was it? You abandoned my best friend and I never knew why she was crying until I read your journal. You really need to be more careful about what you record in it, you know?"

"Lies, all lies," Genma said in protest, only to see his wife draw her blade about seventy millimeters out from the scabbard.

"What, the stuff that's written in your handwriting, in your journal? Don't be ridiculous. But that's really not important anyway, husband," Nodoka said coldly, "What we are really wanting to know is why you were with the poor girl."

"Uh, well, when Ranma left me to rot in that horrible jail on Hokkaido, I resigned myself to my lot," Genma began.

"That means, when they arrested him, he finally had a chance to eat three meals a day. I hadn't been allowing him to steal my food, so he was getting hungry," Ranma said sweetly, "It also gave him a roof over his head for the first time in a long time. That's the only reason I could think of for why you stayed in jail for so long. Oh, and the fact that they had you chained to the wall, probably helped keep you there."

"Oh, why was he chained to the wall?" Soun asked, "Were they afraid that he might escape?"

Genma gulped another drink of saké and then said under his voice, "Apparently they remembered me from before." In a louder voice, he continued his story, saying, "Anyway, about a month ago, the Kuonji girl showed up and visited me. After I promised to help her find Ranma, she paid my fine. Then she had the audacity to beat me to a pulp for the next several nights while she told me her story about how she had been mocked for her fiancé running off and for having her dowry stolen by that ungrateful boy. About how she swore to seek vengeance and went off to the edge of the island to train against the uncaring waves, and then that fateful day when she read about my arrest in the local paper and came and rescued me from my imprisonment."

"Amazing story," Ranma said, caustically, "I wonder how much of it's true."

Genma shot Ranma an angry look and then gulped at the icy look the red-haired girl shot back. 'It's amazing how much she looks like Nodoka,' he thought, 'How does she get that glare down so well.' "Anyway, out of gratitude for my rescue, I agreed that she should be the rightful fiancée," Genma said. 'Well, that and to get her to stop beating me up. That spatula of hers leaves some pretty big bruises,' he thought.

"Oh and what about the lifetime supply of food she promised you? Didn't that have anything to do with your decision?" Nodoka asked sarcastically.

"Of course not!" Genma spluttered indignantly, "I was only thinking of the boy's best interest, that's all! She's an excellent cook, very attractive, a decent martial artist. What's not to like about her?"

"Stow it, Pop," Ranma said, her voice approaching absolute zero, "There's no way I'm marrying anyone but Akane. If you think anything different, then you need to have your head examined." She paused as a thought occurred to her and she cracked her knuckles loudly, and said, "Now that I think about it, that's not a bad idea. Let's open up your skull and see if there's anything in there." She approached Genma, who sidled away as quickly as he could, only to freeze his motion when he heard the scrape of his wife's sword leaving its scabbard.

"My son is certainly manly enough to choose his own wife, Genma," Nodoka said, "or would you like to object further?"

Genma turned to look at his wife, only to see the identical look in her eyes that Ranma was giving him. A look that promised a world of pain if he said one more word about engaging Ranma to anyone. Genma gulped as his courage deserted him. He stammered, "Uh, no dear. Ranma can pick his own wife. Certainly if he feels so strongly about Akane, I wouldn't want to stand in the way of his happiness. And, I'd really hate to lose my friendship with Tendo over something like this." 'Especially if he keeps me in saké,' he thought. He continued, saying, "We'll just have to work something else out with Kuonji." 'After all, I'm away from her and her spatula, now. She can't touch me,' he thought as he poured another drink and gulped it down.

"I'm glad you came to your senses, Pop," Ranma growled. 'Yep, that's my Pop all right. All the spine of an earthworm,' Ranma thought.

Soun smiled thinly, and said, "I'd hate to lose our friendship as well, Saotome. I was sure that after things were explained to you, you would do the honorable thing. I just knew that your promise to me would be the one you would honor. Otherwise, I'm afraid you would no longer be a welcome guest in my home."

Nodoka said, "I'm not sure that the Kuonji girl has given up on you yet, Ranma."

"You're probably right, Mom. I sorta got that impression when I talked to her today. I'm not sure how much plainer I can make it that I'm marrying Akane. I don't want to hurt Ukyo anymore than we have already," Ranma replied, a bit sadly, "but I will if I have to."

"I know you don't want to hurt her feelings," her mother said, "That's very honorable of you. But since you've made yourself clear about your feelings about Akane and about her, it's her own fault if she has hopes of stealing you away."

Ranma sighed and said, "I wish that made me feel better, but it doesn't. I can't help but feel sorry for her." She glared at her father and said, "And it's all your fault."

"Boy, that's all water under the bridge. What's done is done," Genma said piously, "We can't change the past, all we can do is worry about the future."

Ranma looked at him in disgust and said, "Do you have any more stupid platitudes you'd like to add?"

"Er, no, that's all the words of wisdom that I have," Genma replied. He looked hurt when the three others in the room began to laugh.

Nodoka smiled sweetly at her husband and said, "Now that you've returned home, I hope you don't plan on any more traveling for a while. I wouldn't like it if I had to go search for you again." Then her voice chilled as she added, "And you'd like it even less when I found you." She caressed the hilt of her blade to emphasize the point. She turned to look at the shogi board as she heard the clack of another piece hitting the board.

"You wouldn't be cheating, would you Soun?" Nodoka asked sweetly.

Soun sat there looking innocent, his hands lying primly in his lap. "Of course, it is Anything Goes Shogi, isn't it?" he replied.

The two of them grinned at each other as Ranma shook her head and made her way to the furoba to change.

----------------------

Ranma smiled happily as Akane joined him on the roof for their nightly ritual of stargazing and soul sharing. "I've kind of missed this, Akane," Ranma said softly, "We still don't get a lot of privacy even though we are sharing a room."

Akane sat next to him and put her head on his shoulder as he placed his arm around her waist. "What are you going to do about Ukyo?" she asked. She felt him stiffen in response to her question.

"There's not much I can do, Acchan. I've made it as clear as I can to her that I'm not interested in her that way, and that all I want to be is her friend. If she wants more, than she's to blame when she gets hurt," he replied.

"But what about your Pop?" she asked, "He's really pushing for her."

Ranma turned to her and said, "He's really got you worried, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid he'll tear us apart," Akane replied sadly.

"Mom's on our side and between the three of us we can keep Pop under control. He's not the bravest person in the world, and Mom really scares him with that seppuku contract. She hasn't told him that she thinks I've fulfilled my part of it. Besides, we got him to admit that it's my decision on who I marry, not his," Ranma replied. He chuckled for a moment and continued, "I think between Mom and I, we scared him enough to get him to admit that. But he does need to do something for Ukyo. He did take her dowry and sell it, so he owes her for that as well as the fine she paid to get him out of jail. Mom's sense of honor won't let him get away with abandoning her that way."

"What if…" she began.

"Akane, I love you. There's no more what if's," he said, as he turned her face up and kissed her.

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Shampoo and Ryoga were busily going over the homework that Shampoo had for class the next morning. The two of them were sitting side by side on Ryoga's bed, with her books scattered across the blankets. Shampoo turned to him and said, "We need to talk, Ryoga. I pretend to be jealous of Kodachi chasing Mousse. It not for real, but I need you to pretend to be worried over Mousse."

"Why are you doing that?" Ryoga asked.

"It too too good plan. If Mousse think him dating ribbon-girl make me jealous, he keep going out with her. Then they fall in love and leave Ryoga and Shampoo alone," Shampoo replied.

Ryoga pondered for a moment, and said, "I'm not so sure that will work. Mousse isn't stupid."

"Silly, you don't need to worry. Just wanted you to know what was going on if you see me act jealous. Don't want Ryoga to get too upset at Shampoo," she replied, "He coming back from date soon, so I need to go back downstairs."

To her amazement and joy, he reached over and kissed her hard. "Something to remember me by," he said softly.

'Aieee!' she thought, 'Maybe a marriage will come sooner than I thought.' She touched her fingers to her lips, and then headed downstairs to properly greet Mousse. She busied herself around the kitchen, finishing up the last bit of the cleaning and started turning out the lights. As she did so, she heard the sound of a key in the back door and walked into the kitchen to see a slightly inebriated Mousse walking into the kitchen.

"Where have you been?" Shampoo asked shrewishly, going into her act.

Mousse said, "Hello, Elder. If it's any of your business, I was out on a date." "Old bat," he mumbled under his breath.

"Silly Mousse, great grandmother not here," Shampoo said irritably. 'Really, how can he be that blind,' she thought.

Mousse pulled his glasses down and looked owlishly through them. "Where'd the Elder go?"

"She's in bed, getting her beauty sleep," Shampoo replied.

"Oh good, that means we shouldn't see her for thirty or forty years," Mousse mumbled.

"So did you have a good time on your date?" Shampoo asked coldly.

Mousse replied, "Why do you care? Are you jealous of her?"

"Who, ribbon girl? Ha, why should Shampoo be jealous of her? She is not Amazon warrior like me. Shampoo eat her up for lunch if fight her," Shampoo said proudly. Then she added, snippily, "I just don't know why you waste your time on someone like that. But, Mousse free to date any trash he want." She flounced out of the kitchen and headed back upstairs. She hid a smile as she fled upstairs, satisfied with her performance.

Mousse smiled happily as he thought, 'YES! It's working. Xian Pu is jealous of Kodachi. Soon she'll be mine!' He cackled evilly as he went to his cubby to sleep.

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The next morning, Ranma woke up earlier than usual to find Akane snuggled up next to him on his futon, her arms wrapped tightly around him. 'This is different,' he thought, as he waited for her to wake up, 'I wonder why she's here. She must have crawled in here after I went to sleep.' He gazed fondly down at her, thanking whoever was responsible for this second chance and that he had had the courage to tell her how he felt this time around.

Finally, he saw her eyes open. "Hey, tomboy," he said gently with a smile, "Good morning."

Embarrassed, Akane blushed as she realized she had been discovered. "Good morning, Ranma," she began, only to have Ranma bend down and press his lips against hers.

"You like to live dangerously," Ranma teased, "Not that I mind, but if any of your family saw you here, I bet we'd be in front of a priest by afternoon. And you never know when Pop will burst in here, even though I told him no more morning surprises."

"I had a bad dream last night," she said softly.

Ranma looked startled and pulled her closer to him.

"I dreamt that your father made you leave me for Ukyo, and when I woke up from it last night I just had to go find you to make sure it wasn't real," she continued, "And then I just needed to hold you to get over that fear."

Ranma replied, "I told you that was never gonna happen, Akane. You're stuck with me. I made a promise to you that we would marry, and I always keep my promises." He hesitated and then asked, "Why does Ukyo worry you so much?"

"Because she's known you longer than I have, and your Pop was so insistent last night," she replied with a sad smile.

"Hey, actually, I've known you just about as long. Pop never wanted to stay too long in any one place, so I only played with Ucchan for a few months before we left. And Pop really doesn't have a vote in who I marry. He gave up that right when he promised me to so many girls," Ranma said firmly. He smiled back at her, lighting up his eyes, and he continued, "But I think it's nice that you're jealous. It means you really care about me. Not that I want a lot of women chasing me, but can you really blame them?" He waggled his eyebrows at her, teasingly.

She giggled at him and punched him in the ribs, then shoved him out of the bed. "Arrogant, aren't you?" she said, a smile playing across her lips.

Ranma laughed at her from the floor, and said, "Ouch, my fiancée is so violent. She's gonna hurt me." Then his smile grew bigger as he said, "Now it's my turn. Saotome Secret Attack!" He lunged for her as she rolled off of the futon, and pinned her to the ground, tickling under her ribs unmercifully. "The Attack of the Flying Fingers!" he crowed as she started laughing uncontrollably. Finally, red-faced, she flipped him over, and straddled his chest, pinning him down, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"My turn," she said, an evil glint in her eyes, as she began to tickle him.

"Oh my," Kasumi said from the doorway. Embarrassed at being caught, the two youths sprang apart, both of them blushing furiously. Kasumi smiled beatifically and said, "That looked like fun. I haven't had a good tickle fight in years." Then she added, a mischievous look in her eyes, "If I didn't have to get breakfast ready, I would have joined in."

Ranma chuckled and said, "I'm not sure that would have been fair. The two of you against little old me." He stood up and asked, "Do you need a hand in the kitchen?" He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a change of clothing.

"That would be nice," Kasumi replied. She watched as he walked past her and headed downstairs to the furoba, her eyes following his every movement until he disappeared down the stairs. Akane heard something that sounded suspiciously like "Nice butt" followed by a deep sigh from the general direction of Kasumi.

"Huh? What was that, Sis?" Akane asked, confused as she made her way to her dresser to get her jogging shorts and a top. 'Surely I didn't hear what I thought I heard,' she thought to herself.

"Er, nothing," Kasumi replied, her cheeks slightly pink. She turned and said, "We're a pair of lucky women, Akane. We've both got a pretty good man for a fiancé."

"I know," Akane breathed, to her sister's private amusement. Akane quickly changed her clothes and the two of them walked downstairs, Kasumi to make her way to the kitchen, and Akane heading out for her morning jog. The only difference now from before Ranma came is that now Akane did her jogging on the fences.

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Kasumi smiled to herself as Ranma walked into the kitchen and put a spare apron on over her clothing. She deliberately picked the one that was the frilliest. "What can I do to help, big sis?" Ranma asked.

"I thought I would make an omelet for breakfast, so why don't I work on that while you make the soup, little sis. I've already got the rice cooker going for the steamed rice," Kasumi replied. She hesitated and then asked, "How come you changed into a girl already?"

Ranma giggled and replied, "Because it will really irritate Pop, and I figured I might as well get the explosion out of the way early. That way, once I toss him into the pond, we can eat breakfast in peace."

Kasumi shook her head and said, "Now that's not a nice way to treat him. Appropriate maybe, but not nice." She giggled at the expression of shock on Ranma's face.

Ranma went over to the cabinet and pulled out the dry ingredients that she was going to need for the soup, and then went to the refrigerator and found the tofu, pork, kelp and scallions. The two girls chatted companionably while they prepared the meal, ignoring the sounds of the rest of the household beginning to wake up. While keeping an eye on the soup, Ranma prepared for Nabiki's morning ritual by fixing her first cup of coffee. As Nabiki staggered into the kitchen, Ranma handed her the cup and then watched as Kasumi grilled the salted salmon.

Akane wandered into the kitchen after she had finished in the furoba, already dressed in her school uniform. "Akane, dear, could you get the pickles out and then set the table. We're just about done in here," Kasumi said sweetly.

Akane smiled happily and dashed to the refrigerator and pulled out the bowl of freshly pickled cucumber and cabbage. She squeezed out some of the excess salt and then placed them in a new serving bowl and carried it out to the dining table and placed it next to Kasumi's place. Then she set out the bowls for rice next to the rice cooker, and the plates and chopsticks out for the rest of the meal. After that, she sat down in her accustomed spot, as Nabiki, Soun, Genma and Nodoka joined her.

"Where's the boy?" Genma growled, "I couldn't find him to spar with this morning. He'll get soft if we don't train."

Akane unsuccessfully attempted to hide her smile. Nodoka saw her smile and said, "I doubt missing one more morning with you will spoil him, after all he's been training without you now for several months. Besides, I doubt you'll come over here every morning once we move home, so you might as well get used to training him at night. That's when he and Akane usually train anyway, once they've got most of their homework done."

"Homework, why is he wasting his time on schoolwork, instead of training? He's a martial artist, why does he need to know anything more than that?" Genma said angrily, "I didn't spend the last ten years of my life turning him into the best martial artist I could just to see him fritter that away."

"Well, assuming he decides to run a dojo, it would certainly help if he had an education. I've been to enough other schools to see that the senseis usually had college degrees," Akane replied, heatedly, "Besides, how can you say that school is wasted? Ranma actually does pretty good. Granted his formal education was pretty spotty before he came here, but once we started studying together, he caught up."

"Akane's right, Genma. I don't think it's very manly for him not to do well in school," Nodoka chimed in, chilling the rest of Genma's protest.

"Saotome, I agree with Nodoka and Akane. It's different from when you and I were first starting out. Nowadays, the best schools have degrees hanging all over the walls. It's expected. And I don't want our school to be anything but the best," Soun interjected, surprising the other two.

Kasumi walked in carrying a tray filled with food, followed closely by Ranma carrying the remainder. Genma's face flushed with anger as he saw his 'son' wearing a frilly apron. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BOY?" he yelled, the veins on his neck standing out.

"Helping Kasumi with breakfast, what does it look like?" she replied, her tone implying that she thought Genma was a fool for asking. Then she asked, dryly, "It wouldn't be very manly for me to be a guest and not help out around the house, now would it?"

The two girls set the trays down on the table, and began to pass around the bowls of soup. Then Kasumi dished out bowls of rice and passed them around, while Ranma handed out plates with the omelet and grilled fish. Then she made her way to her spot next to Akane, who smiled at her, gave her a brief hug and said, "Good morning, again. So what did you make?"

"The soup's mine," she replied, "Kasumi wanted to concentrate on the omelet and fish."

Genma nearly exploded as he asked, "NO, I MEANT WHY ARE YOU A GIRL!" His face was turning an interesting shade of purple.

"Uh, Pop, because I fell into a spring and picked up this curse," she replied, with a perfectly straight face.

"I KNOW THAT. I MEAN WHY HAVEN'T YOU CHANGED BACK!" Genma roared, rising half-way to his feet in his anger.

"This is how I always go to school," Ranma said, her face innocent, "Why, is there a problem with the way I look? Does my hair look all right, Akane?" She gave her father a wide-eyed look, as if worried about her appearance.

Nabiki began to snicker, while Akane giggled and replied, "No, you look fine. I wish I could get away with not wearing the school uniform like you do."

Genma slowly sank back to the floor sputtering, his face red.

Ranma began eating her food, slowly for her, deliberately savoring each bite.

After a few moments, the rest of the family joined her, while Genma glared at the girl sitting opposite him. Finally, he said, in a dangerous voice, "Ranma, you're acting like a girl. I can see that living here has made you weak. It obviously is a mistake to allow you to stay here."

Ranma raised one eyebrow and then moved in a blur. Within seconds, she had dragged her father outside, pummeled him severely, and tied him up in a knot. Then to add insult to injury, she threw him into the koi pond. She pulled the waterlogged panda out of the pond, and then stood there dusting her hands off. "Did ya have anything else you wanted to say to me? It looks like living here hasn't done me any harm. Feh, weak he said, who's weak now," she said as she turned her back on her father and sat back down in her place to finish her breakfast. As an afterthought, she stole her father's food and began wolfing it down as well.

After they finished, Ranma smiled at Kasumi and said, "Thanks for letting me help this morning. The omelet turned out great."

Kasumi blushed prettily and said, "You're welcome to help any time Ranma. I enjoy having you in the kitchen."

"My son is so manly, even when he's a girl!" Nodoka said, happily.

Ranma and Akane took their dishes into the kitchen and set them by the sink. Ranma took her apron off, and neatly folded it and left it where it belonged. After grabbing their bentos, they shared a brief kiss and then joined Nabiki at the front door and gave her box to her. Then, they took off running toward the school, quickly hopping up onto the first fence they saw and began their usual race toward the campus, leaving Nabiki behind as she sauntered slowly along.

"Well, Saotome, it looks like Ranma can take care of herself. Now, would you like me to take you over to Doctor Tofu's so he can straighten you out?" Soun asked.

'Yes, please,' the sign read. The panda sat there in obvious misery as Nodoka and Kasumi hid their amusement.

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As the two of them raced each other through the gates of Furinkan, and then up the steps of the building, Ranma couldn't help but feel something was amiss. It wasn't until she sat down in her desk that she suddenly realized what had felt so strange. She turned to Akane and asked, in a voice filled with wonder and amazement, "Was I not paying attention, or were we spared the honor of Kuno's presence this morning?"

Akane looked thoughtful for a second and then replied, "You know, you're right. He wasn't there waiting for us this morning. Why, did you miss his awful oratory or something?"

Ranma looked ill, and replied quickly, "No! It just felt weird is all. Kind of like when a pain that you've had for a long time finally goes away." Then her eyes got wide as she said, hopefully, "Maybe he's given up on us."

"We can only hope," Akane agreed.

Then as one they both said, "Nah, we can't get that lucky."

Ranma smiled briefly and changed subjects as she said, "I'm really looking forward to the beach Saturday. I'm glad your Dad agreed with Mom that we all needed a break. That'll be a great place for us to keep working with him on some of your school's techniques."

Akane replied, her eyes shining, "Yeah, I think it'll be nice and relaxing. I just wish I knew how to swim."

Ranma let a smirk appear briefly on her face and then suggested, "Tell you what, why don't I try to teach you how."

Akane's face lit up and she said, happily, "That would be great, Ranchan. I'd like that!"

----------------------

Ukyo hid a frown as she walked into the classroom and saw Ranma and Akane involved in an animated conversation, both of them smiling at each other and obviously enjoying each other's company. She walked over to her desk and sat down. "Good morning, Ranchan," she said, "Hi, Akane."

Ranma looked over briefly at her. 'Sorry, Ukyo,' she thought, her face not showing her sorrow. "Morning, Ukyo," she said coolly, and then turned back to Akane.

"Morning, Ukyo," Akane echoed. Then continuing on with their conversation, she asked with a giggle, "So you're really gonna bring that swimsuit with us? I can't believe you'd actually wear that in public."

"Hey, can I help it if I like the feel of the sun on my body when I wear that suit? Besides, it looks so good on me. You're just jealous that you didn't have the nerve to buy the yellow one like it," Ranma teased.

"Nabiki wouldn't even wear one like that," Akane retorted, "There's barely any material involved."

"What are you two talking about?" Ukyo asked, slightly miffed at being ignored and by the brevity and coolness of the greeting she had received. Then she realized, 'Mrs. Saotome told him what I said."

"Oh, Akane's just giving me a hard time about one of the swim suits I'm taking to the beach next week, is all," Ranma replied, with a laugh.

"Hmph, I'm just saying it's not something I could wear," Akane replied, "I've got more feminine modesty than you do is all."

Ranma waggled her eyebrows at her and replied, "Well, that's probably true. I can't imagine why that is."

Akane snorted and replied, "Sure, right."

The teacher entered the classroom at that moment, so further conversation had to end until break.

----------------------

Ukyo came to join what was coming to be known as the Akane Lunch Club around the tree in the courtyard. Already, Sayuri andHiroshi were sharing tidbits out of each other's lunch, while Daisuke and Yuka were looking on in bemusement. Ranma and Akane were leaning against the tree itself, their shoulders innocently touching, while Shampoo was watching the scene and sighing to herself, missing her beloved Ryoga.

"Hi guys," Ukyo said in greeting.

Ranma waved half-heartedly, while the rest smiled in greeting.

"Hey, sugar, do you want an okonomiyaki?" Ukyo asked Ranma.

Ranma steeled herself, and replied, "That's all right, Ukyo, I'm pretty full. Kasumi outdid herself today when she made our lunches." 'Not this time, Ukyo,' she thought, 'I'm not gonna let you do that anymore.'

Ukyo stopped in shock. Then a hurt look appeared on her face and quickly disappeared. Her eyes narrowed in anger and then she forced herself to relax.

Akane turned and stared at Ranma in surprise. 'Ranma not accepting more food. What's wrong with her, is she sick?' she thought.

Hiroshi said, "I wouldn't mind one, Ukyo. You make the best that I've ever had."

"Sure thing, Hiroshi," Ukyo said, her voice pleasant, "Coming right up."

"Are you guys going to be able to go to the beach?" Akane asked.

Yuka smiled happily and said, "Yes, my parents said that I could go, so long as your Dad and Ranma's Mom were coming."

Sayuri replied, her grin huge, "My Dad said it was fine with him. Just so long as we had adult supervision. I don't think he trusts this baka here to be a gentleman."

"Hey!"Hiroshi said in protest, "That's not fair!" Then he saw the teasing look that Sayuri was giving him, and he smiled sheepishly. He added, "I can come, though I'll have to come back before the weekend. They want to go up to our cabin for a quick vacation."

"I can come too,"Daisuke added, "I think we'll have a lot of fun. Hiroshi and I are sharing a room, right?"

"Yeah, that's what Nabiki said. Apparently she got a good deal on the beach house," Akane said.

"Great Grandmother say I have to stay to help at restaurant. We can only come couple of days," Shampoo said with a pout.

Ranma smirked and said, "Yeah, what a hardship. You'll spend most of your time making out with Ryoga, anyway."

"Not true. Ryoga still too too bashful to make out as much as Shampoo want," Shampoo said defensively.

"Ranma, stop teasing Shampoo. Besides, the two of them can't be gone the whole break. Can you imagine leaving Mousse in charge of the restaurant for the whole six weeks," Akane said.

"True. I'm surprised that she was willing to leave it for as long as she promised anyway," Ranma agreed, "I'm just glad that we'll have that much time to train."

Shampoo chimed in, and said, "Great Grandmother say she has to come back on weekends. Not need money, but don't want to lose business."

"I've said it before, you martial artists are weird. You two are actually looking forward to being beaten up by that old woman," Sayuri said.

Ranma turned to Akane and shrugged. Then she said, "It's the only life I've known, Sayuri. Training to be the best is what I want to do."

"What she said," Akane agreed.

"Ranma right," Shampoo chimed in, "A martial artist always must train. Otherwise, she get rusty. In my world, if one gets rusty, one gets dead."

Ukyo added, "They've got a point. I've trained most of my life, and I can't imagine what it would be like not to be constantly learning a new technique. That's just the way we are." She handed Hiroshi a piping hot okonomiyaki, and watched as he wolfed it down.

"Not that I'm complaining mind you, but has anyone seen the Blue Blunder?" Akane asked.

"Not since I laid him out last night at our fight," Ukyo replied.

"He was taken home by his sister. I saw her come by when I was done cleaning the classroom," Yuka said.

"Nice fight by the way, Ukyo," Ranma said, "I pretty much figured you could take him. I won a bundle on the fight. Nabiki was a little upset with me, until she realized that she had only herself to blame. She should have known better to take my bet on a martial arts contest."

"Well, I'm glad you had confidence in me, Ranchan," Ukyo said, as she smiled warmly at Ranma.

"I knew how he fought, and I figured once you got rid of his little stick that you wouldn't have much trouble with him," Ranma explained. 'Besides, I remember when I had to fight you that one time,' she thought.

----------------------

Ranma met Akane at the main gate, just before they separated for the afternoon. She said, "Akane, while I'm at the clinic, work on that exercise I showed you the other day. You know, the one to help with your temper. First, though, spend some time in meditation. You need to find your center before we go with Cologne. If you can't, then you may need to stay home, and I'd hate for that to happen."

"You're that worried about my temper?" Akane asked, an unhappy look on her face.

Ranma said in an extremely serious tone, "It would be wrong to train you in some of the techniques you are otherwise ready for if you don't learn how to control it. It would be like putting a loaded gun in the hands of a small child."

Akane looked suitably abashed as she sighed and said, "I really can't argue with you about that. I've admitted to myself that my temper is my own worst enemy. It has held me back in many ways." She smiled a little tremulously and said, "I'll do my best, Ranma."

"I know you will, and you're best is pretty good," Ranma said encouragingly. She thought for a second and then suggested, "If Pop is still there, you might try sparring with him. He's really pretty good and you need to get used to fighting different opponents."

The two of them separated, wishing they could do more than whisper, "I love you." Ranma headed off to the clinic, while Akane jumped up onto the fence for her run home.

Ranma hurried down the streets of Nerima heading for the clinic, and then turned off to take the shortcut through the park. To her surprise, the park was deserted, which was unusual for this time of day. But then she shrugged it off as she remembered that the day had been somewhat rainy. As she neared the center of the park, she walked by a dense copse of trees, lost in thought about how to suggest to Cologne about the Bakusai Tenketsu, when suddenly, she fell to the ground, stunned by a blow to her head coming from behind her.

As she staggered to her feet, Ranma stared groggily as a disheveled Kuno appeared, his robes dirty, his eyes wild and manic. Kuno roughly grabbed her and said fiercely, the spittle flying from his mouth, "I couldn't believe what my twisted sister said to me about you, but then I remembered all of the looks that you gave the fair Akane Tendo, and I realized that it must be true. I will turn you from your unnatural lust, my fiery Ranma Saotome, though it pains me that I must do it in such a manner. Once you have been awakened to the pleasures that a man can give you, I know that you will forswear your former lusts, and give your affections to me." He bent down and forced their lips together, kissing her hard enough to bruise her lips, and then forced her lips open with his tongue. Then he brought his hand up and began roughly caressing her breast through her shirt and bra. His other hand kept her head motionless.

Ranma froze, her mind still hazy from the blow to her head. 'This can't be happening to me,' she thought dazedly, 'I'm not a girl! I'm a guy!' She felt his lips against hers, kissing her hard, and then his tongue forcing its way into her mouth, the pain in her breast as he grabbed it. That outrage finally penetrated through the haze that had fogged her mind and she bit down hard, causing Kuno to recoil, tearing her shirt open as he fell back. Then Kuno gasped in pain as Ranma kneed him hard in the groin, causing him to bend over in pain. Ranma pulled Kuno up and said in an outraged voice, "No one kisses me without my permission, Kuno. Your sister was right though. I don't like men. No man will ever take me like this. I thought you were an honorable man. Have you stooped to assault? Die, Kuno!" With each word she punched him in the face.

Ranma battered the defenseless Kuno across the head and shoulders, driving the madman to the ground, until Kuno repeatedly whispered, "Enough."

Finally, the words Kuno was speaking broke through her rage. Ranma gazed at her bloody hands and stopped. She stared aghast at Kuno, his face was battered, and blood streaming from his face where she had broken his nose and tore his cheeks with her fists. Then her eyes turned cold as her mind raged, picturing Kuno attempting this with Akane. 'This is what Akane was afraid he would do to her,' she thought, as she called upon the Soul of Ice. 'If he had tried this with her, there wouldn't have been enough of him left to bury when I was done with him,' she thought.

Kuno turned to look at her, his eyes no longer glazed, the light of sanity returning. He looked at the furious girl in front of him, the torn blouse, and gasped in dismay. Kuno said in a voice filled with anguish and remorse, "What have I done, Ranma Saotome? What have I done?"

Ranma looked at Kuno and replied, coldly, "It's not quite as bad as it looks, Kuno. Fortunately for you, I stopped you from going too far. If you had gone much farther, you'd be dead now."

The coldness of her eyes chilled Kuno to the bone, as he realized just how far he had crossed the line, and how lucky he was the girl in front of him hadn't killed him. Kuno said frantically, "That doesn't matter. It wasn't what I did; it was what I attempted to do that was so wrong!" Shaking, Kuno gazed around, trying to avoid the coldly accusing eyes of the fair maiden in front of him. Taking several deep breaths, he finally controlled himself, and in an emotionless voice, continued, "I have dishonored myself and my family by this attack on your honor. Please, forgive me. I don't know what came over me. When I first heard what Dachi said, I refused to believe it. I stayed up all night thinking about what she had said, my mind awhirl, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was true. Finally, all I could see was a red haze as my mind burned as I thought of what I had to do to save you from yourself. I must have been crazy to think that this was the proper path."

"Kuno," Ranma said, gasping for breath, "What you tried to do is unforgivable. Do you think any woman wants to be forced like that?"

"Please, I beg of you, what penance can I offer for this disgrace?" Kuno pleaded, "I will do whatever you ask of me, only allow me to atone for this." He looked bleakly at Ranma and said, "If need be, my life is yours. If that is what you desire, my only request is that you be my second in the ritual."

"Seppuku, Kuno," Ranma said coldly, "I think not. That would be too easy an escape for you. You need to live with what you tried to do." She thought for a moment and then said, "You need help, Kuno-sempai. You're crazy, don't you know. Go see a shrink. You're a pitiful excuse for a man. You don't even know the meaning of the robes you wear."

"Leave me to my shame," Kuno said. Finally, he succumbed to the blows he had received, and the lack of sleep, and collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Not even you deserve to be left like this," Ranma said, as she staggered to her feet. Gathering her blouse and tying it closed as best she could, she pulled Kuno to his feet and began half-carrying, half-dragging him towards the clinic.

----------------------

Tofu looked up in shock as Ranma burst through the doors of the clinic, carrying a semi-conscious Kuno. He rushed over and helped her lead him into the exam chamber, where they laid him out on the table. "What happened here?" Tofu asked in dismay, seeing the damage to Kuno. Then his eyes narrowed as he saw the torn blouse and the angry expression on her face.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, get him fixed up," Ranma said, as she sank to the floor in exhaustion.

"Get yourself cleaned up, Ranma," Tofu ordered.

Ranma staggered to her feet, still numbed by what almost happened, and made her way to the sink. She stared at the mirror above the sink, not liking what she saw. The bleak look in her eyes was bad enough, but the bloodstained blouse was the final straw. Tearing the blouse from her body, she began to clean herself of the blood that had soaked through the material. Then taking some warm water, she transformed herself, and then tore the bra from his body. Drying himself the best he could, he walked over to the doctor.

Taking his eyes off of Kuno for a moment, Tofu looked at Ranma and asked, again, "What happened?"

"He found out from his sister that I liked girls. He doesn't know the truth about me, so he thinks I'm really a girl. That must have driven him crazy," Ranma said, his lips twisted in a snarl.

"What did he try?" Tofu asked, anxiously.

"Nothing that needs to concern you," Ranma said in response, "He's the one that needs help, Doc."

"You need to get out of here so I can patch him up. I don't need to have you collapse here. There's a shirt in my office that you can use," Tofu said.

"Thanks, Doc. I'll leave him in your hands then," Ranma said, as he turned to go to the office.

"Are you okay?" Tofu asked, concern in his voice.

Ranma smirked and said, "You know me, Doc. I'm fine." The young man left the room and headed toward the office. Tofu frowned at the bleak expression that he had seen in the young man's eyes. 'Ranma thought he hid what he was feeling,' Tofu thought, 'Damn, I don't have time for this. I need to clean this mess up.' Tofu thought for a long moment and then smiled grimly. 'Akane needs to know what I think. She can take care of Ranma while I take care of this bastard,' the doctor thought, as he quickly walked to the phone and dialed a number.

----------------------

Akane heard Ranma come storming into the house and then run frantically to the furoba. As she attempted to follow, she heard the sounds of Ranma being violently ill. Pushing the door open, she found Ranma on his knees, his face distraught. She reached for him, and pulled him toward her. "It's all right now, Ranma, you're safe with me," she said, trying to comfort him.

Turning horror-struck eyes on her, he whispered, "You know what happened? Damn, Tofu, he called you, didn't he?"

"Yes, Tofu called. He was worried about you. He didn't know for sure what had happened but he didn't like the dead expression he saw in your eyes," she said, gently. She hesistated, and asked, "What did Kuno try to do?"

"Nothing, he just attacked me like always," Ranma said, his expression telling Akane that he wasn't telling the truth.

"Baka, I can tell it was more than that! You look too upset for it to have been nothing. Can't you trust me?" she asked.

Ranma grimaced almost in pain and then gave in. "Okay..uhm, okay, he jumped me when I wasn't looking," he admitted, "and then kissed me, and fondled my breast while I was dazed from his blow. I think he thought that if he forced me, I would start liking guys."

Akane's face went pale as she realized what Ranma meant. 'I need to be calm for him, he's so close to breaking,' she thought. "I'm here for you Ranchan, let me help," she said softly, her eyes filled with concern.

Ranma shuddered and cried, "This isn't supposed to happen to me!"

Akane replied, calmly, "Just let it out, Ranma. It's okay to cry."

"It's not manly to cry," Ranma said, barely keeping his voice from breaking, "That's what Pop always said, anyway."

Akane replied soothingly, "And since when did he know what he was talking about, baka? Listen to me for a change."

Ranma's only response was to cling to Akane and cry openly as a guy for the first time since he was a small child.

Akane waited for the storm to pass, and then said, "When you're ready to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thanks," Ranma stuttered, and then he steeled himself as he asked, "You don't think I'm weak for falling apart like this, do you?"

"Ranma, you just had someone attempt to do the worst thing that can happen to any woman. There's no way that I would blame you for being upset. It's all I can do to keep calm myself and not march down there and kill him," Akane said softly.

Seeing the compassion in her eyes was helping Ranma come to grips with what almost had happened. The fact that she was angry for him was making him feel warm all over. After a few more moments relaxing in her embrace, Ranma said, "I think the way Kuno is feeling, he'd prefer that. He's not very happy with himself right now. I hope Doc is planning on keeping an eye on him, because I don't think it would take much for Kuno to kill himself. He feels like he dishonored himself just for the little he did do. After all, it was only a kiss and some groping. After that, I fended him off, well, more like beat him to a pulp."

"I can't believe you, Ranma. It sounds like you almost feel sorry for that bastard," Akane said angrily.

"No, I don't feel sorry for him. Now that he's in his right mind though, he knows that he went way too far," Ranma replied, his voice still a bit tight, "Well, as much as he has a right mind, anyway."

As Akane drew Ranma into her embrace, she missed the bleak, troubled expression that passed through his eyes as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

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Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Ego stroking for the author is also nice as well. A special thanks to Taechunsa for his comments. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

SilverBullet23: You're welcome. I always thought that Genma got away to easily for screwing up everyone's life.

Zenkimuyo: I don't see Ukyo as selfish, just obsessed. Remember, she's spent the last ten years of her life wanting vengeance, or something. And remember, in many ways she's as violent as Akane.

Lord Strife: Yep, he's stored up a lot of bad karma. It's time for some of what he did to come to haunt him.

Psycho King: True, to a certain extent, Ukyo is closer to what passes for normal in Nerima. If it wasn't for her obsession with Ranma, she would be the nicest of all of the girls. She still treats him as a possession though. And you're right, her life that she dreams of just isn't possible with the trouble magnet that Ranma is. Genma will get a second chance in this story, it just hasn't arrived yet. I hadn't considered him going on the training trip, but that might work. I'll have to think about that.

Dana-san: Thank you. Nodoka does have some odd ideas about manliness. We'll see where that gets us in later chapters. And there's still some sort of resolution that needs to happen with Ukyo, but that will be much later.

Hououza: I'm sure that Nodoka will have many things to 'say' to Genma. As Ranma said in an earlier chapter, she has several pointed remarks to make to him.

Taechunsa: Thanks for the pre-read. As you can see, I took most of your suggestions. I think they definitely made the chapter better. As to Kuno, he won't always be the punching bag. Though, I don't think Kasumi or Nabiki have punched him out yet. VBG

JohnnyG: Thanks. Your stories are very good as well, and I always like reading (or re-reading) them. As far as the relationship between Soun and Genma, as you can see in this chapter, now that Genma is away from Ukyo, he's back to ingratiating himself with Soun. But then what would you expect for a man with all of the moral fiber of a Kleenex? Real life can be a problem. I find that now that I've started writing though, I have to a least jot the ideas with me wherever I am. Then I can expand the idea for the story at my so-called leisure.

Wonderbee31: There is some pain coming in Genma's future. I've always wondered how he and Nodoka got together as well. Hm, sounds like a flashback to me.

Dennisud: Only a little Genma bashing, really. Not too much more than what happens in the manga, right? But a little (okay, maybe more than a little) can go a long way. VBG. I have several possibilities in mind for Ukyo. It just depends on how the story plays out in my head. And Tsubasa will make his appearance, just to make her life miserable.

ColdCypher: I like Ukyo as well, though in some respects she really an Akane who can cook. And remember, it wasn't just Shampoo trying to ruin the wedding at the end of the manga. Ukyo did several things in the story to try to break Ranma and Akane apart. Uh, yeah, there needs to be some more Neko-ken. As far as the Happosai battle is concerned, I have that scene plotted out in my head, it just needs to be written down and expanded.

Adyen: Of course, wouldn't you? VBG It just seemed to work so well there.


	20. Actions and Reactions

Author's Note: This chapter has a mild lime scene in it. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 20 Actions and Reactions

"Are you willing to talk about it some more?" Akane asked, her eyes filled with concern, "What did you feel when he attacked you?"

Ranma grimaced and replied, "Well, I was dazed for a few seconds from his blow to my head. Once I finally was able to figure out what he was trying to do, I felt angry and disgusted."

"Is that all you felt?" she insisted.

He stammered, and replied, "Well, maybe a little fear. And then once I beat him up, I really got scared. More because of what I did to him, though. I totally lost control, and if he hadn't gotten my attention, I would have really hurt him." He grimaced, and said, "That would have been kind of ironic, after the talk I had with you just a little while before about how worried I was about your lack of control."

Akane squeezed him harder against her body, trying to show the love she felt for him through the power of her embrace.

Ranma leaned into the hug, hoping to warm the icy void in his soul.

"Ranma!" Genma called, "Where are you boy? It's time for us to train!"

Ranma stiffened as he heard his old man calling. "I don't want to deal with his crap today, dammit!" Ranma said, angrily, "He's too much to take after Kuno."

"I can tell him you're not here," Akane suggested, silently damning the interruption. She had just about managed to get Ranma to relax in her arms, but the moment he heard his father's voice, he stiffened up, undoing all the good she had accomplished.

Ranma grimaced and replied, "No, I don't want you to lie. Besides, now that I think about it, I miss pounding on the panda, and that just might be what I need to get rid of my anger. It'll do you some good to watch us in action, too. You can learn some more of our moves that I couldn't show you by myself."

"Are you sure about that, Ranma?" Akane asked, with concern in her voice, "You were pretty shaky when you first came home."

"Yeah, I know. But thanks to a wonderful woman, I'm feeling a bit better. I just have the need to break something right now. You know, kind of like you and your concrete blocks when you get upset," he replied, with a chuckle.

"You jerk," she said, her eyes dancing, knowing that he was teasing her.

He looked at her a bit sheepishly and said, "Sorry about the rinse bucket. I'll take care of it."

Akane smiled briefly and replied, "Don't worry about it, Ranchan. I'd rather we just have to dump the bucket than try to clean up the floor. There's a spare bucket, so we can just toss this one away if we want."

"There's just one more thing I need from you," Ranma said. He leaned forward and kissed her, startling her with the passion that she felt in his kiss. Then, to her disappointment, he released her and stood up. Cracking his knuckles, he smiled wickedly, and said, "Now I'm ready to go play pound the panda." Ranma kissed her on the forehead, and walked out of the furoba, searching for his living and breathing punching dummy.

Akane smiled briefly, as she thought, 'That's a far cry from the man who ran in here. I hope he's really feeling better.' Then her smile dimmed as she thought about what Kuno had done. 'This was what I was always afraid would happen when he made that damn proclamation at the beginning of the school year,' she thought, 'I just knew that one day he would snap.' She jumped up and ran after Ranma, only to be intercepted by Kasumi.

Kasumi asked, "Is he all right now? He sounded pretty upset when he ran into the house. What happened to him?"

"You know Ranma, he just had a lousy afternoon," Akane replied, "He just needed some time to vent."

"You two didn't have a fight or something, did you?" Kasumi asked, her eyes showing her concern.

"No, it had nothing to do with me," Akane replied, reluctant to tell Kasumi what had happened, "He had an unfortunate encounter with Kuno, and it got him a bit upset. He left that moron at the clinic after he battered him a bit, and came on home."

"I think it's a bit more serious than that, or Tofu wouldn't have called to talk to you and warn you that Ranma was on the way home," Kasumi said, strangely insistent.

"It's not my story to tell, Kasumi, and Ranma wouldn't appreciate it if I told even you what happened. I don't want to betray his trust. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you. Until then, it'll be between him and me. And I'd just as soon Nabiki not hear about it," Akane said.

"Hear about what, sis?" Nabiki asked from the kitchen, where she was standing in the doorway, eating a bar of chocolate, her eyes focused intensely on her little sister.

"It's not really any of your business, Nabiki," Akane said, "I need to check on Ranma." She left her sisters, and went looking for Ranma. She found him in the back, already sparring with his father. Her father was sitting on the steps of the house, watching the two of them go at each other. Akane gaped in surprise as she watched Ranma fight, his body flowing seamlessly as he dodged his father's attack. 'He really holds back with me,' she thought in shock, mixed with a little bitterness at how much farther she had to go to be at his level.

"You're hitting like a weak girl," Genma growled, as he was struck by several blows.

Ranma smirked and replied, "I'm just holding back, Pop. I can tell you're out of shape from all the leisure time you had. I wouldn't wanna hurt you too bad."

Genma growled angrily and charged his son, only to see him dodge out of the way. As Genma rushed by, Ranma booted him into the pond. Then Ranma cursed, as the water splashed him, triggering his change as well.

The panda leapt from the pond, scaring the fish, trying to lash out at Ranma. However, Ranma had anticipated the attack, and only received a grazing blow from the enraged animal. "Hey, Pop, you're getting slow," Ranma taunted, as she snap-kicked her father in the shin. Then the two of them took the combat to a higher level as both of them soared into the air, trading blows. At the apex of their flight, Ranma smirked again as she noticed her father was getting tired. She said, "What's the matter, Pop? Is this weak girl beating you?"

The panda shook his head wearily, as he panted, trying to regain his breath. As they began to head back toward the ground, he tried to trade blows with his son turned daughter.

As they landed on the ground, Ranma grinned happily. She charged her father, her fists blurring with the speed of her blows as she pummeled him unmercifully. Finally, one last blow dropped the panda back into the pond, where he collapsed in pain.

Ranma shook her head in disgust and pulled the panda out of the pond, and dropped him onto the lawn. "Pop, all that easy living you did sure got you out of shape," Ranma said, "Looks like I need to have Akane start training you."

'That's not nice,' the panda's sign read. FLIP 'She's just a girl.'

"This little girl just beat the shit out of you," Ranma said cheerily. Then she felt a wave of heat from behind her. She turned to see Akane glowing bright red with anger.

"GENMA," Akane growled as she advanced, her eyes fierce.

Ranma caught her as she tried to get to the panda, and said, "Now dear, it's not nice to kick him when he's down like that. Wait until tomorrow and you can beat on him all you want."

"I wasn't going to kick him while he's down," Akane growled, "I just thought I'd turn him into a pretzel."

'I'm not gonna,' FLIP, 'train with her,' FLIP, 'It would be too easy!'

"Oh, in that case, go right ahead. If he's gonna insult both of us like that. Looks like you just made another mistake, Pop," Ranma said as she let Akane go.

'Ouch' FLIP 'Take it easy on me' FLIP 'This Hurts!!!'

Ranma watched in silent satisfaction as Akane proceeded to fold, spindle and mutilate the panda, leaving him tied up in a knot. "Hmm," she said, "I'm not sure he's supposed to bend like that. Good job, though, I don't think I could have done it better." She then hugged Akane.

"That's right, Mr. Saotome, I went easy on you," Akane purred, "It wouldn't do for me to really hurt you. That's for Auntie Nodoka to do." She leaned back against Ranma's body and relaxed, relishing the feel of Ranma's arms around her waist, holding her tightly.

Ranma slowly nuzzled the back of her neck, causing Akane to squirm slightly, and then blush.

"I think she's been waiting for the right moment to talk to you about your training methods, and I wouldn't want you to miss any of what she wants to say," Akane continued. Reluctantly, she said to Ranma, "You need to go bathe, you smell like pond water. And you smell like a wet dog, Mr. Saotome."

The panda's eyes opened wide in fear and whimpered at the thought of what Nodoka would do to him. He had been surprised that she had waited as long as she had already.

Ranma giggled, and added, "And he looks like a drowned rat." She stopped for a moment, lost in thought and then said, "If you can stomach being around me for a while longer, we ought to go work out. Remember we need to practice what your dad showed us the other day some more."

Akane smiled and replied, "That sounds like a good idea. Then after we're done, we can go take a bath before dinner."

Ranma widened her eyes and asked with an impish grin, "Together? What would Kasumi say?"

Akane giggled and quoted, "Oh my, that wouldn't be proper." Then she got an impish look on her face and teased, "Hm, maybe if you're good we can."

The two of them walked off, headed to the dojo. As they passed by Soun, Akane asked, "Dad, do you wanna help us out? We're going to practice the moves you showed us the other day, and it would be nice to have someone watch us."

Soun looked at the bedraggled panda and shook his head in amusement. "Only if I'm just watching. I don't want to end up like Saotome," he replied.

"I doubt you'll make a stupid comment about weak girls," Ranma answered.

Soun chuckled appreciatively and replied, "Oh, Kimiko pretty much beat that nonsense out of me early in our marriage."

"Oh, so **that's** where Akane gets her violent nature from," Ranma teased.

"You're **so** going to pay for that Ranma," Akane growled.

"Biii-da!" Ranma said, sticking her tongue out at her fiancée.

"What was that you told me, oh yeah, 'Don't do that unless you're planning on using it,' wasn't that right?" Akane asked as she started chasing Ranma.

"Help! Save me, Mr. Tendo!" Ranma yelled as she ran toward the dojo.

Soun followed the two youths as Akane chased Ranma, both of them giggling as they ran.

----------------------

Kasumi came out to the dojo and called through the open door, "Dinner is nearly ready, you three. Akane, you and Ranma have just enough time to get a bath if you hurry."

"Thanks, sis," Akane answered, "I needed the rescue anyway. This slave-driver wasn't letting up on me at all." She walked stiffly out of the dojo, her gi sweat-stained, and her face flushed from her exertion.

Ranma followed close behind her, a look of pride in her eyes. She said, "Akane, you were doing great in there. I'm proud of you."

"If my arms weren't so tired, I'd probably hug you for that, Ranma. Thanks," Akane replied, her eyes lighting up at the compliment.

Ranma shrugged and said, "A few months ago you wouldn't have been able to keep up. Now look at how far you've come in such a short time."

Soun echoed the comment and said, "I agree with Ranma. But you did fine, too, Ranma. I'm impressed with how well both of you are picking up the Tendo school. Pretty soon I won't have anything more to teach either of you."

Ranma shook her head in disagreement, and replied, "I don't know if I agree with that or not. I think there'll always be something more that you can teach us."

The two youths headed off upstairs to get their change of clothing, while Kasumi went back to the kitchen. Soun made his way back to where Genma was still tied up in a knot and shook his head. "Old friend, you just never learn," Soun said as he began to unwind the tangle that was the panda.

----------------------

Ranma and Akane raced into the family room when they heard the call from Kasumi that dinner was ready. Ranma was surprised to see that his mother was there for dinner, as he thought that his parents had moved back to her home. He walked over and kissed her cheek and said, "Hi, Mom. I thought the two of you were moving back to your house." Then he went to his place next to Akane and gracefully sat down.

"Oh, we haven't left yet. I forgot to ask Akane if I could take her bed home with me," Nodaka replied.

"My bed?" Akane asked, "I thought you would want to take your bed with you." Ranma and Akane exchanged puzzled looks.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were going to want to keep sharing a room with Ranma," Nodoka replied, "and I'm sure you'll need a large bed sooner than I will." Nodoka glared at Genma just to make sure everyone got **that** message.

"Oh my, that wouldn't be proper," Kasumi said. 'Have to keep up the act,' she thought, 'I don't want anyone else to know that they've shared a bed the last couple of nights.'

Akane blushed prettily as her mind flashed on the last several nights. "I hadn't planned on moving out. I guess I've gotten used to listening to him breathe at night," she admitted, "It's been kind of nice having him there."

Nabiki asked, "Ranma, how come you came back so early from the clinic? You couldn't have been there anywhere near long enough to work a full shift like normal."

"Doc sent me home early, Nabs," Ranma replied, his voice flat, "I kinda had a run-in with Kuno on the way to the clinic, and well, I lost control. Not particularly proud of that, by the way. I dragged him to the clinic, and Doc didn't want me underfoot."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes in thought. 'There's more to this than that. He was sounding pretty upset when he first got here. I just wish I could have heard that talk in the furoba.' "You certainly sounded angry when you got home," she said, "There's got to be something else. Surely just Kuno asking you out again wouldn't have caused that. I mean he does that every morning, and one or both of you knock him out. He must have done something else. Did Kuno hurt you?"

Ranma paled slightly and said, "Nah, he didn't even touch me. I guess I'm just tired of his act."

"Just leave him alone, sis," Akane growled, "Why do you always have to stick your nose into everyone else's business?" 'Don't pick on him right now, sis, he's too fragile,' Akane thought desperately.

"Why, sis, I'm just showing my concern over my little brother," Nabiki said, sweetly. "Why are you defending him like this? Oh, yeah, you and Ranma sure spent a long time in the furoba after he stormed into the house," she said. Then she asked, in an insinuating tone, "What was that all about?"

"You two were sharing a bath?" Nodoka asked, happily, "That is so manly, my son."

"No, it wasn't like that," Akane replied, blushing, "I just wanted to talk to him and that's where we ended up."

"Right, sis. First you started sharing a bedroom, then a bath. What next, sharing his bed?" Nabiki said sarcastically.

"Nabiki! I've already said that wouldn't be proper until they're married," Kasumi exclaimed.

"You hear that Tendo, soon the schools will be joined," Genma said, as he began to dance around in a lumbering step.

"What gives you that idea, old man?" Ranma growled, "We're planning on waiting until our senior year in high school before we get married."

"Why wait so long?" his father asked, "We can get a priest and you can get married during break."

Akane slammed her hands down on the table and growled, "Because I'm not seventeen yet, and that is too young to get married. That's why we want to wait."

"I think it's reasonable for them to wait for a while," Nodoka replied, calmly, "I agree with them, they're both too young right now. I can wait for grandchildren that long."

"And then once you graduate from high school, you two can run the dojo," Soun added.

"Why can't you people just leave us alone? We'll get married when we're ready and have kids when we want. It's our life, damnit, let us live it!" Ranma cried, angrily. He abruptly stood up and ran out of the family room, leaving the rest of the family stunned at his reaction.

"That ungrateful boy," Genma began, only to be interrupted by Akane.

"Ranma's right!" Akane said, her eyes glaring at Genma, "Things were going so well between the two of us before you came. Why can't you just leave us alone?" She stood up.

"Akane, apologize to Saotome. He's a guest in this house," Soun said.

Akaneglared at her father and replied, "You just don't understand, Daddy." She turned and headed off after Ranma.

"Oh my!" Kasumi said. 'I wonder what's wrong with those two. Though it'snice to see Akane so protective of Ranma,' she thought.

----------------------

Tofu stood at the door of the exam room in his clinic, watching Kuno. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked finally.

Kuno tightened his mouth into a grimace and replied, "Not really. I dishonored myself and my family by my actions. Isn't that enough for you to know?"

"Why did you do what you did?" Tofu asked, his eyes piercing deep into the depths of Kuno's soul.

"Because I'm a fool," Kuno admitted, "When my twisted sister told me that Ranma wasn't interested in boys, and was only interested in girls, I went crazy. I had this red haze clouding my mind. Somehow I thought that if I took her, she would change her preference. Fortunately for both of us, she was able to fight me off."

"If you'd actually succeeded in your assault, she probably would have killed you," Tofu said, keeping his cool with a great deal of difficulty, "And if Ranma truly likes girls, that's the way her brain is wired. You can't do anything to change that. You really need to get over your obsession with her, as well as Akane."

Kuno stared bleakly at the older man and replied, "You can't know what it's like. My heart burns with my desire for both of them, as well as for the Amazon girl, Shampoo. They are so spirited and no one is worthy of them but someone of my magnificence."

"You can't have any of them," Tofu replied, "Akane is engaged to a fine young man, definitely worthy of her. Shampoo is in love with young Ryoga. And you know about Ranma's preferences. You would definitely be better off forgetting about all of them."

"How can I leave Shampoo in the clutches of the evil sorcerer Hibiki? At first I thought he was after my beloved Ranma, but Shampoo insists that she is his wife. Even the mercenary Nabiki Tendo refuses to help me," Kuno replied, getting a bit distraught.

"I know someone who can help you with your obsession over Ranma," Tofu suggested, "You ought to talk to him about all of this."

Kuno sighed wearily, and replied, "I suppose I owe that to her at least. I can't promise you anything, but I will talk to this person. Now, if it is acceptable to you, I would like to return to my abode. I have much to think about tonight, and a great deal of soul-searching as well. Besides, I am reluctant to leave my twisted sister by herself for long. There's no telling what mischief she could get into."

"I'll set up an appointment for you. I should be able to get you in tomorrow, or possibly Saturday," Tofu replied, "I'll leave a message later this evening."

"On my honor, or at least what's left of it, I will accept your assistance in this matter. This may be a portion of my penance for what I did," Kuno said, as he staggered to his feet from the bed he was lying in. He bowed politely to Tofu and said, "Thank you for your help, Doctor Ono." Kuno then headed out the door, battered but unbowed, yet sickened by what he had almost done.

----------------------

Akane looked all over the house and couldn't find Ranma. Then she went outside, and sure enough, Ranma was sitting on top of the roof over their bedroom. Akane rushed back in, and after going through the window of their room, she pulled herself up onto the roof and walked over to him. "Want some company?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Only if it's you. I don't think I could handle anyone else right now."

"I'm sorry about Nabiki. She gets on my nerves sometimes too with the way she just won't stop digging," Akane said.

"It wasn't just her, Akane. It was Pop and Mom trying to run my life," Ranma said. Then he rubbed his side as she elbowed him in the side. He grinned wryly, and said, "Okay, **our **lives."

"Are you sure you're okay? You looked a bit rocky again in there when Nabiki started in on you," Akane asked.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm not even sure what I'm the most upset about. I mean Kuno assaulting me was bad enough, but I'm supposed to be this great martial artist and I let him jump me without noticing that he was there. What does that say about me? Or even worse, if he could try that with me, what happens if he tries with you? I think that's what has me the most upset," Ranma replied.

Akane grimaced and said, "Now I'm not sure whether to be mad at you for implying that you're better than I am, even if it's true, or thinking that it's sweet that you were worried about me."

"Which is more likely to get me a kiss?" Ranma asked with a grin.

"Thinking it's sweet that you're worried about me, baka," she replied, with a winsome smile. She puckered up her lips in an obvious invitation. Ranma, not really being a complete idiot, accepted the invitation and leaned into her, kissing her.

After several long moments, Ranma pulled away and said, "This is what makes all of the crap worthwhile. I'd go crazy if it wasn't for you."

"I think that's one of the kindest things you've said to me," Akane said, a tear making a way down her cheek. She sniffled, and said, to the worried look on his face, "Don't worry, they're tears of joy."

"You know, even though I'm sometimes a girl, I'll never figure out women," Ranma said.

Akane giggled and said, "They did make a good point though. We've never really talked about what we want to do."

"I know. I've been so busy trying to make sure they can't run our lives that I haven't decided what I really want to do. I know that I want you to be my wife, my partner, but beyond that I don't know," Ranma replied, blushing just a bit.

"Well, what do you want to do after we graduate from high school? Are you interested in college, or do you want to teach in the dojo?" Akane asked, "We've never even talked about children. Do you even want any?"

"Whoa, slow down, Acchan," Ranma said, feeling just a bit overwhelmed. He thought for a while and then replied, "I think I want to try to go to college, if I can get in. If nothing else, that will give us a chance to move away and be by ourselves. To be honest, I know we have to teach the combined schools, so I guess we'll eventually have to come back and run the dojo. After all, what's the point in learning what we have learned, if we don't pass it down?" He hesitated and then continued, "Children, that's a scary topic. I haven't had the best role model for being a father. What if I can't be a good parent? But, I want to learn to be a good husband before I have to worry about being a father, so I hope you don't mind waiting for a little while after we get married."

Akane sighed a sigh of relief, and replied, "That's what I was hoping you would say. I want to learn how to be a good wife before I worry about children too. I do want children, just not real soon. And I like the idea of getting away from our families for a while. I love my sisters and Daddy dearly, but they can be a bit controlling."

"Not to mention my parents," Ranma said with a wry smile, "Pop can't stop interfering with my life. Of course, that's all he really has. And while I know Mom thinks she isn't trying to control me, she's just as convinced that she knows what's best for me as he is."

"Okay, so that sounds like we've figured out where we'll be after high school, at least for a little while. Now all we have to do is pull it off," Akane said.

"So long as we work together we should be able to. After all, they can't really make us do anything we don't want to," Ranma replied.

----------------------

Akane woke up suddenly and gazed sleepily around the moonlit room, not quite sure what had roused her from her sleep and the wonderful dream she had been having. Her cheeks burned as she remembered what she had been dreaming about. It had seemed so real; the touch of his hands running across her body, the feel of his lips as he gently kissed her lips. Then she woke completely as she heard the noise again. A whimper, or maybe a low cry, worked its way through the thin partition separating her bed from Ranma's. Curious, she listened, and then heard him thrashing wildly around in his sleep; the cry slowly resolving itself into words she could almost understand. Worried about her fiancé, she climbed out of her bed, and raced around the screen, remembering the last time he had a terrible nightmare, one that had left his throat raw from the heart-wrenching screams it had caused.

As she neared the wildly tossing boy, his bedding shoved to the ground, exposing his boxer-clad body to the night air, she saw the sweat glistening in the dim moonlight shining through the windows, his face locked in an expression of horror. As she bent down near him, she heard him crying, repeatedly, "Stop. Kuno, no! Don't touch me, you bastard. I won't let you do this!"

Sighing, she thought to herself, 'I knew what Kuno tried to do scared him. That baka, refusing to admit anything was wrong and saying that he was fine. Refusing to even really talk about it much. I could have helped!' She crooned softly in his ear, "It's okay, Ranchan. I'm here, I'll protect you." As she spoke, his movement calmed down and he began to relax. His face slowly returned to a peaceful expression and he almost seemed to smile in the moonlight, a smile that caused a sudden ache in her heart.

Moved by some sort of instinct, one that she didn't even consider questioning, Akane joined Ranma on the futon, pulling the covers back over them. Rolling him over onto his side, facing away from her, she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him tightly against her pajama-clad body. As she continued her low croon, repeating the words that had brought him back from his nightmare, his breathing deepened and he settled back down into a peaceful sleep.

Akane nestled against him, enjoying the warmth of his body against hers. Soon, the steady sound of his breathing relaxed her enough that she joined him in sleep.

----------------------

Ranma slowly woke up, feeling a strange weight on his chest. As he opened his eyes, he looked down and saw a head of bluish-black hair. Ranma sighed in contentment as he realized that Akane had crawled into bed with him after he had gone to sleep. As he watched her sleeping peacefully, her head on his chest and her body cuddled up next to him, he thought, 'I could definitely get used to this.' He glanced down at her, and saw that her pajama top had slid up a little, exposing her stomach. Impishly, and a bit daringly, he reached across and gently caressed the small patch of skin. "You're so beautiful," he said softly, "I can't believe we're here together."

Akane listened to Ranma talk, her eyes closed as she pretended to sleep. The feel of his fingers, gently caressing her stomach, was causing sparks to fly from where he was touching her. 'His touch is so gentle, it's hard to believe that this is the same person who could do so much damage,' she thought. As she lay there, she began to realize that his touch was beginning to excite her. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, and said, "Good morning. I'll give you thirty or forty minutes to quit what you're doing."

Ranma froze until Akane placed her hand over his, and resumed the circular motion. "I like this, Ranma. I was so afraid that you would never start something like this with a tomboy like me," she sighed, "It feels so good." She scooted up a little and then kissed Ranma, pressing her body hard against him, pulling him around so that they were facing each other.

Ranma kissed her back, and then stiffened as he realized that he was enjoying it entirely too much. Everywhere Akane was touching him, his body felt aflame. Embarrassed, he tried to pull away, but Akane would have none of that. She pulled him in tighter, deepening the kiss. He could feel her erect nipples pressing hard against him through the top she was wearing.

Akane opened her mouth slightly, allowing her tongue to touch Ranma's lips. As she did so, she began to feel a pressure against her leg. Blushing, she realized what that had to be and then felt extremely warm, as a fire bloomed between her legs, in reaction.

Ranma felt his body react, and in an extreme act of self-control and willpower, pulled away from his fiancée. "Wow!" he breathed.

"Wow, yourself," Akane said with a little pout.

"We'd better stop, Akane. There's some things that I want to save until we're married," Ranma said, breathing just a little hard.

Akane blushed, breathing just as hard, and stammered, "I-I think we should wait too." 'I wonder if we can wait until we're seniors, if that's what it feels like,' she thought.

Ranma quickly rolled away from Akane and climbed out of the futon and walked stiffly away, hunting for a change of clothing. 'And to think that if we'd done that before, she would have called me a pervert,' he thought, with a happy smile that he hoped he was hiding.

----------------------

Akane nearly groaned out loud as she saw the hated figure of Tatewaki Kuno standing at the gateway to the schoolyard, wearing his most formal set of samurai robes. As she neared him, she saw that his face was bruised and battered, with most of the damage evident around his nose. She took one look at Ranma and saw the bleak expression in the other girl's eyes.

Ranma began to tremble, whether in fear or anger, Akane was unable to tell. Then as she stared closer, she realized that Ranma was furious. 'Ranma would never forgive himself if he seriously hurt that bastard, even if he had it coming,' she thought. She stepped in front of Ranma, to protect her from Kuno, as well as to protect Kuno from Ranma. Then in an icy cold voice, she hissed, "What do you want this time, asshole? Didn't you get enough yesterday?"

Kuno winced slightly at the earthy question coming from the mouth of the angelic girl standing so protectively in front of Ranma Saotome. The blinders actually came off of the delusional boy as he realized, 'I've lost whatever chance I may had with her by my actions.' He said softly, yet fervently, "With your permission, Akane Tendo, I must have words with the fiery Ranma Saotome. On what's left of my honor, she has nothing to fear from me. Not now, not ever again."

"Fine, but you try to hurt her again, and I'll turn you into a eunuch," Akane growled angrily, her eyes blazing in hatred. She stepped out from between the two of them, and then back to give Ranma what support she could.

"Thank you, Akane Tendo," Kuno said simply. Then to everyone's surprise, he sank gracefully to his knees, and then bowed, his forehead touching the ground, three times. "I crave your forgiveness, Saotome-sama. I have caused your honor to be blemished by my actions. I know not how I can atone for my dishonorable behavior toward you," Kuno said softly, his eyes showing his contrition.

A hush fell over the courtyard as the spectacle of the proud Samurai wanna-be abasing himself before one of the girls he had been chasing so ardently slowly made itself known to the inhabitants. Nabiki stared in utter disbelief, nearly stunned into immobility, from her vantage point on the second floor. "What happened to Kuno? His face is all beat up. More importantly, what is that moron doing?" she asked, maintaining her calm. She turned to one of her assistants, standing there equally shocked, and continued, "Get down there and find out what's going on." The assistant, an attractive sophomore girl, shook herself out of her bemusement, and ran off.

Kuno removed the scabbard and belt from around his waist. Lifting the sheathed sword in both hands, he said, "In token, I give the Kuno honor blade into your keeping until such time as you deem that I have sufficiently made amends for my behavior. I am unworthy to hold this fine weapon until the blot on your honor as well as mine own has been removed."

Ranma reached out, almost in shock, and accepted the scabbard, allowing the belt to drape to the ground. Placing her hand on the bejeweled hilt, she drew the blade out far enough to examine the blade, and the engraving upon it.

Akane gasped as she saw the quality of the blade. The workmanship alone that it had taken to fabricate the blade was exquisite. 'It must have taken the swordsmith months to make it,' she thought.

Ranma slid the blade back into the scabbard and stood there in silence for a moment gathering her thoughts. "I accept your honor blade as a symbol of your promised atonement, Kuno," Ranma said in a solemn, yet gentle voice. Moved by the action of the young man in front of her, she added, in a voice that was beginning to crack with emotion, "Kuno, I don't want your death on my conscience. That would not cleanse the stain on my honor. That is one of the reasons that I told you seppuku was not an option. I will not forgive you if you die. I truly hope you find the help you need ta allow you to come to understand the true horror of what you attempted to do. I trust that the next time we see each other you will have received that help. "

"I think I understand, Saotome-sama," Kuno said simply, "Your kindness that first appeared so cruel may be the one thing that I need to regain myself."

"I don't know if forgiveness is possible, but I will allow you a chance to atone for you have done. Perhaps, that will be possible if you can truly change your ways. I always believed that you were honorable in your own deluded way, just terribly misguided. After all, if you had really wished to defeat Akane, you could have, and yet you held back. Of course, you would have a much harder time doing that now that I have trained her. If you attempted to spar with her now, you would lose," Ranma said.

Kuno sighed and said, "Saotome-sama, I can not ask for more than that. Your heart is good. The esteemed Doctor Ono has graciously provided me the name of a person to seek counsel from. I go there immediately, and will not return until I have mastered my obsessions. I now know that my attention was distasteful to both you and Tendo-sama." He turned to Akane and continued, "I wish to apologize for my actions toward you as well, Tendo-sama. I truly did not realize the error in my judgment. You see before you a sadder, and perhaps wiser man. One day, I hope that you too may forgive me for the dishonor that I inadvertently caused you."

Akane politely inclined her head. "Ranma, we need to get to class," she said.

"Good luck, Kuno. Sorry about the nose," Ranma said softly, as the two girls walked past Kuno and headed for their classroom.

As they sat in their classroom, Ranma ignored the buzz of conversation from the classmates around her. The speculation was rampant as to what the scene in the courtyard was all about. For lack of anything better to do with the sword, Ranma had leaned it against the back of the chair, looping the belt around the chair back to secure it. Her eyes were distant as she pondered exactly what had just occurred. 'Is it possible that he was as shocked at what he tried to do as I was?' she thought, 'Maybe this was what needed to happen, as distasteful as it was, for him to come to his senses. He sounded pretty serious, what with giving me his family sword. Damn, I can't let Pop know I've got it. He'd pawn it in a heartbeat and then drink up all the money.' Then she frowned as she thought of a different problem, 'Damn, how am I supposed to get the damn thing home anyway. It's been illegal for an ordinary person to carry a sword in public since shortly after the beginning of the Meiji era.' She hit herself lightly on the side of her head, and thought, 'Well, baka, just wrap it like Mom does. Then, I can roof-hop home, so no one sees me in the street with it anyway.'

A soft voice broke her concentration as she heard Ukyo ask, "A yen for your thoughts, sugar. You're sure thinking real hard."

"Yeah, you can smell the smoke all the way over here," Akane kidded.

Ranma looked over at Akane, and replied, in much the same manner, "Just because I don't do it very often, doesn't mean I can't think."

"What was that all about, sugar?" Ukyo asked.

A hush fell over the room as the rest of the class waited for the answer.

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "Maybe Kuno came to his senses and decided that neither Akane nor I are interested in him."

"You expect me to believe that he gave up his honor blade just because he thought that chasing the two of you had dishonored you? Give me a break, Ranchan," Ukyo protested mildly.

"I think the fact that both Ranma and I aren't interested in him finally sunk in," Akane said. 'Stop pushing, Ukyo. Ranma doesn't need this right now. He's still pretty wound up about what happened,' she thought as she saw the dead look begin to reappear in Ranma's eyes.

"Why would he have given up now, after not caring about what you said for so long?" Ukyo persisted.

Ranma turned to Ukyo and said in a dead voice, "Just drop it Ukyo. It's enough for me that he seems to have given up on us."

"But," Ukyo began.

"Leave me alone, Ukyo," Ranma interrupted, her voice trembling, "Just leave me alone!"

"I'm just concerned about you, Ranchan," Ukyo said exasperated.

"Don't be," she returned, "There's nothing for you to be worried about. None of this concerns you!" She got up, and stormed out of the classroom.

Akane glared at Ukyo for a moment. "Damn you, Ukyo," she hissed as she got up, grabbed the sword from the back of Ranma's chair and ran after her.

----------------------

Akane sighed as she found Ranma just where she thought the other girl would be. She had tracked Ranma down on top of the school roof, sitting on the low wall surrounding the edge of the roof, dangling her feet over the side and staring into the distance. "I don't think you really want to leave this lying around," Akane said, setting the sword down next to Ranma.

"Why can't she get a frigging clue?" Ranma asked, half to herself.

"Hey, I hope you're talking about a certain okonomiyaki chef we both know," Akane replied. Akane grimaced and said, "She does care for you."

"Yeah, I know. But what happened between me and Kuno is not her business. It's just between me and him," Ranma said.

Akane growled angrily and hit her in the side, "Baka, you'd better rethink that last comment. Cut out the macho crap, you're not built for it right now anyway."

Ranma rubbed her side, and winced. "Okay, you've got a point. You're right, it concerns you also. Sorry, tomboy."

"That's better and don't you forget it. We're partners, what affects you affects me and vice versa," Akane said.

Ranma grinned wryly and said, "And I expect you'll have to keep reminding me of that pretty often. Thanks for stepping in with Kuno this morning. I hadn't realized how much seeing him again was going to anger me. I could have really hurt him if you hadn't slowed me down long enough for him to apologize."

"Like I said, we're partners. I'll protect you, you'll protect me," she said. "Do you think he really meant what he said?" she asked after a few moments.

Ranma replied, "That's kinda what I was thinking about when Ukyo started asking me all those questions." Ranma looked a little guilty and said, "I shouldn't have snapped at her like that. She was just trying to be a friend."

"True, but when you blew her off the first time, she really shouldn't have continued prying. You made it pretty clear that you didn't want to talk about it," Akane argued, "but it wouldn't hurt to apologize to her."

Ranma sighed as she said, "You're right. I'm not sure I can face her right now, though."

"You're gonna have to. We need to get to class before it gets any later," Akane said softly.

Ranma swung her legs around to the roof, and stood up. After she picked up the sword, she said, "Okay, let's go face the music."

The two of them headed downstairs to their classroom. As they walked into the room, the teacher glared at them and said, "You're late. Bucket duty. Hallway, now."

'Wow, I can't believe I made it almost the entire term before I got bucket duty,' Ranma thought, with an inappropriate giggle, 'Last time around, I must have spent half my class time out here.'

The two girls each grabbed a bucket of water and stood out in the hallway. Ranma grinned at Akane and said, "Sorry about this, Akane. If I hadn't of run off, you wouldn't be out here with me."

"Don't worry about it, Ranma," Akane replied, "It's not like this is any real punishment. It's better than listening to him drone on about the lesson. He's pretty boring."

----------------------

Ukyo watched as Ranma and Akane made their way over to join her at the standard lunch spot. Ranma grinned a bit sheepishly and said, "Sorry, Ucchan. I kinda overreacted this morning. The Blue Blunder just had me a bit off-balance." Ranma glanced over at Akane and seeing the permission in her eyes, reached over and lightly hugged the surprised okonomiyaki chef. "I know you were just showing your concern over how I was acting," Ranma continued, after she stepped back, "You're a real pal."

"That's okay, sugar. I was a bit pushy," Ukyo said, trying to hide the reaction she had at the unexpected hug from the smaller girl. "What are friends for after all?" she asked.

"I'm sorry too, Ukyo. I shouldn't have gotten so angry with you either," Akane said in apology, "I'm just pretty protective of Ranma."

"That's okay, sugar. I can understand that as well," Ukyo replied, "I feel the same way toward him." Ukyo looked smug at the slightly pained look that Akane gave her.

"How's the restaurant coming?" Ranma asked quickly, hoping to defuse the situation.

Ukyo replied, "This weekend is the grand opening. Why don't you come by after school and take a look."

"We'll be leaving right after school tomorrow for the beach," Akane replied.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "I suppose I could drop by this evening for a few minutes, but I can't stay too long. We need to get packed."

Ranma and Akane sat down against their tree and began eating the lunches that Kasumi had made that morning. After a few moments, Ukyo joined them with plates of fresh okonomiyaki, sitting down next to Ranma.

Akane bristled slightly and then relaxed after Ranma placed her hand over hers. 'Hussy,' Akane thought to herself, 'So she wants to be friends, huh? Some friend she's turning out to be, chasing **my** man.'

----------------------

Ranma walked to the address that Ukyo had given her and groaned as she neared it. 'It's the same damn building,' she thought, as she saw the sign reading 'UCCHAN'S' over the door. 'I hate this, I absolutely hate this,' she thought. She opened the door, and heard a little bell ring. 'Cute,' she thought, 'at least that's different.'

"I'm sorry, we're not open yet," a voice called from the back of the restaurant in response to the sound of the bell.

"Ucchan, it's me," Ranma called, her soprano voice echoing through the room.

Ukyo came bustling in from the back, through a curtained opening. "Sorry, sugar," she said as she neared Ranma, "It's been a little frantic. I guess a lot of people can't wait for me to open. I've had to turn at least twenty people away just today."

"That's okay, Ukyo," Ranma replied. She gazed around the restaurant, comparing it to what she remembered from before. As far as she could tell, Ukyo had set it up the same way. "Looks nice, Ucchan," she said warmly, "You did a good job in getting this place set up."

Ukyo reddened at the praise from Ranma, and at the warmth in the other girl's voice. Then she asked, "I've got some hot water in back. Do you want any?" 'I really want to see what he looks like as a guy now that he has grown up,' she thought, 'I'll feel too strange if I make a move on him when he's like this. That hug today at lunch made me a little uncomfortable.'

"Nah, that's okay. I'm not exactly dressed for that today," Ranma replied, "I've had to wear panties most of this week, and they won't go real good if I change back."

Ukyo looked a little puzzled, and asked, "What's so special about this week?"

Ranma blushed and said, "Let's just say it's a female problem, okay."

Ukyo paled and said, softly, "Oh. You mean you, uh - " Her voice trailed off as she started to get the implications of Ranma turning into a girl.

Ranma nodded simply and smiled at the confusion in the other girl's voice. "Yep, aren't I lucky?" she asked, sarcastically, "When I got this body, I got the complete package." Then she shrugged and said, "It could be worse. I've actually gotten used to it. And I've gained an appreciation for what you women have to go through. Sure got me over the whole girls are weak crap that Pop always spouted."

"But you're a guy." Ukyo protested weakly.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders again and replied, "Not always. Right now I'm a guy in a girl's body. I've learned to live with that, and so has Akane," she said, "This may be a part of me for the rest of my life, so I had to learn to accept it." She smiled gently to take the sting out it, and said, "You should understand a little. You've been pretending to be a boy for a while now, haven't you, so that's got to color your thinking. You just didn't get the change in plumbing that I got."

"Your curse is weirder than I thought," Ukyo admitted, "I guess I didn't really understand it when your father told me about it."

Ranma giggled and replied, "Well, Pop really doesn't know that much about it. I mean really, just how much different is he when he's a human and when he's a panda. Isn't he a lazy lump of an appetite in either form?"

"True, Ranchan," Ukyo replied as she giggled also. Then she stopped as she listened to the girl next to her giggling. 'He really acts like a girl,' Ukyo thought, 'After all, guys don't giggle like this.'

'Sorry about this, Ukyo,' Ranma thought. "Ucchan, we do need to talk. Don't think I haven't noticed that you're trying to come between Akane and me. It's not gonna work. All you're gonna do is get yourself hurt, and I don't wanna see that happen," she said, a bit sadly.

Ukyo glowered at Ranma and replied, "I'm a big girl, sugar. I can take care of myself." 'You jerk, why are you doing this?' she thought. She looked longingly at the battle spatula hanging on the wall, and wondered if she could reach it before Ranma disappeared.

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "There's absolutely no way that my love for Akane will ever change. I just don't think of you in that way. All I can see of you is the friend that I once had, the friend that I'd like to have back. I'll do what I can to help you restore the honor that Pop took away from you, but I won't let you ruin my relationship with Akane. That simply is not a price that I am willing to pay. If you can't or won't understand that, then I'm not sure what else I can tell you." She hesitated and then asked, "Pop already ruined your life once, why'd you let him convince you that you had a chance with me?"

"What did I have to lose, Ranma?" Ukyo replied bitterly, "I don't really want to kill either of you. I have to fulfill my oath to my father, though, so it's either that, or become a Saotome."

Ranma grimaced and replied, "Well, I'm not gonna let you kill me, so the first choice isn't there, and I'm marrying Akane, so the second isn't gonna happen, either." She paused, and then continued, "I'm not sure where we can go from here, Ukyo. Akane and I will be gone all break, so you'll have some time to think about what you want to do. Maybe when we get back, the two of us can talk again. Until then, please stay away from us."

Ukyo gasped and began to cry. "You don't mean that, Ranchan. Tell me that you aren't serious. I really think I love you," she wailed, the tears streaming down her face.

Ranma steeled herself against the tears, and replied, "I don't think you should call me that anymore, Ukyo. I'm sorry I have ta hurt your feelings, but how can you possibly think you love me? It hasn't been a week yet since I came back into your life, and you don't really know me yet. It only works like that in bad romantic movies. After all, up until this week, you were obsessed with getting revenge; I mean how do you know that this isn't just a different obsession." She took one last look at Ukyo and then left the restaurant, hating herself for what she had just done.

----------------------

Ranma trudged slowly into the Tendo family compound, her eyes showing her misery. There she ran into Akane, who had obviously been waiting anxiously for her to come back from her talk with Ukyo.

Akane took one look at Ranma, and her eyes showed her concern. "I don't have to ask, I can tell that it didn't go well with her, did it?"

Ranma hurled herself at Akane and buried herself in Akane's arms. "No," Ranma said, trying to fight back the pain she felt, "She wouldn't listen to me when I told her that she needed to stop trying to come between us. She even told me she loved me, but how can she? I mean, she's known me for less than a week. I finally had to tell her that she needed to decide what she wanted to do about her honor, and that I'd talk to her again after we came back from break. But that I thought she ought to leave us alone until then. I hated having to do that." To her dismay, the tears she had been fighting chose that moment to begin to flow.

"Damn," Akane said softly, "I'm sorry you felt that you had to do that. I know how much you were hoping to be her friend." She hesitated, and continued, her eyes sad, "I have to admit, I am a little jealous of her. Well, maybe a lot jealous."

"There's nothing for you to be jealous of," Ranma said gently, "I belong to you and you know that. No one will come between us. The only way I leave you is if you chase me away." She paused, and smiled through her tears and said, "Thanks for trusting me with her, Acchan. That meant a lot to me."

"You've never given me a reason not to trust you, and you've trusted me with so much, Ranchan. It's easy to trust you because of that," Akane replied, warmly, "But you're welcome." She glanced around to see if anyone was within earshot and then asked, softly, "You seem to be a lot more emotional right now, Ranma. Are you sure you're okay, what with the rollercoaster you've been on the last two days?"

Ranma thought for a moment and then looked away, losing a little bit of the bleak look in her eyes because of the obvious love and concern in Akane's voice. "I'm still pretty rocky right now, I guess. What with Kuno, and the folks last night, and then what I just did to Ukyo, my emotions are pretty raw. I'm gonna be glad when we get away," she replied. She mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for Akane to hear, "And I'm always a little more emotional during my period anyway. I'm sure glad it stopped this morning. I know I shocked Ukyo when she found out about me having those." 'Hm, she's got a point. I wonder if all that time I spent as a girl has made it easier for me to show my emotions,' she thought to herself, 'and is that really a bad thing?' Her eyes widened slightly as she realized the answer, 'No, it's a good thing. One of the reasons that we had problems before is I wouldn't tell her what I felt, and held everything in. Being this open with her has allowed us to get closer.'

"We've got some time before dinner. Why don't we go practice until then? I think your father was interested in working out with both of us," Akane suggested.

Ranma's eyes lost the rest of the dead look that had been in them and she essayed a weak smile. "Let me go change, and then we can do that. I really need to pound on something, or someone, right now," she said. Ranma walked into the house, heading for her bedroom to change clothing and then to the kitchen and the ever-present teakettle that Kasumi always had ready for her. Her smile grew just a little bigger as she felt the warm aura coming from her fiancée. 'I know I'm supposed to be the one who protects her, at least according to Pop, but it sure feels nice when she tries to protect me,' she thought.

Akane followed Ranma into the house, hoping that she had successfully hid her worries. 'Ranma is still very fragile about everything that has happened this week. Between Ukyo and Genma showing up, and then that bastard Kuno assaulting her, there better not be anything else that goes wrong, or Ranma might snap,' she thought, 'Note to self, be very, very supportive of him. And keep Nabiki from sniping at him.' She stopped and smiled as she realized how protective she felt about Ranma.

----------------------

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated.. A special thanks to my pre-reader Taechunsa for his comments. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

Sterling-Ag: Thanks, I rather liked this one as well. I have to admit, I do favor WAFF type stories, guess that makes me a closet romantic. Seriously, though, you're correct in that there needs to be conflict in any Ranma fiction, otherwise it can get a bit bland. As to the flashbacks, I thought I had lead in sentences on most of them. I'll have to take a look and see where I missed. Thanks again.

Psycho King: Kuno definitely needs some help to get back to something resembling normal, or as normal as he ever gets anyway. It will take him some amount of time to come to grips with what he attempted to do. Ranma also was affected by what happened. You can see some of that in this chapter, with more to come in later ones.

malitrix89: I'm not sure how out of character that really was for Kuno. However, there is a reason why it happened that will show up in a later chapter.

JohnnyG: There are several ideas floating around in my head as to what to do with Ukyo. I just haven't decided which one(s) to go with. While she is indeed the most 'normal' of the martial artists, that really isn't saying a whole lot. As you said, she is pretty obsessive, both in her pursuit of Ranma and in her dedication to okonomiyaki. Genma will get another chance later, and again I haven't quite decided whether he gets redemption or not.

I always like the slow curve balls myself. Ranma was getting a bit too cocky. Yeah, like saying a Texas day in August is a bit warm. Anyway, he needed to realize that any martial artist can be beat. He definitely has some issues now with what happens and as you can see from this chapter, it has caused a bit of a change in the Akane/Ranma dynamic.

Innortal: Thanks for the kind comments. Yep, Ranma has a new wound as you pointed out, one that in this case will strengthen his bond with Akane. Akane always seemed to have a strong nurturing side to her in the canon, and this episode will allow her to show that. Also, Ranma needed to find out that he wasn't invulnerable, and that he truly needs a partner. I do need some more scenes with the Neko-ken, though with Shampoo not having a cat curse in this story, it's a bit tougher to do.

As to Ukyo, there are several possibilities floating around. She hasn't given up on him yet, so there is still going to be some difficulties. I've got several plans for Nabiki also, though it will take a while for that to come to fruition.

Materia-Blade: Thank you. Kuno may gain some sanity, we'll see. Ukyo/Kuno pairing, uh, probably not, though now that you've mentioned it, I can see some ways to pull that off. That really wasn't one of the ideas that I had before for either of them. There will be some fun with/for Nabiki in the future chapters. I hadn't thought about a Web page, I'll have to think about that.

Lord Strife: Well, that's one possibility, find Ukyo someone else to grow fond of. There are others that are rattling around. Yep, Genma is the epitome of a cowardly lion. Kasumi always did like Ranma. But as to chasing him, that's not what's happening. She's just discovered men is all, now that she and Tofu are an item.

Hououza: There's still a lot of things that can happen. Happosai has not yet made his appearance for example. And Ukyo still has to be resolved.

Realsmartz: Thanks. Ranma has to learn to depend on other people, which means that he has to overcome some of the training that Genma gave him. After all, no man is an island. And I can't see Ranma breaking down in front of anyone other than Akane or Kasumi. Anyone else would just be too dangerous for one reason or another.

Dragon-game: Very Big Grin, closely related to its cousin, Very Evil Grin.

Doctor Emmit Brown: Thanks. It's always nice when I can surprise a good author like yourself or JohnnyG with a plot twist. Kuno always struck me as someone without a firm grasp on reality so it wouldn't take much to knock him over the edge. There's a bit more to why it happened however that hasn't quite shown up. And yes, it does lead to a few more plot twists.

Again, thanks for the kind words. I also like your stories, hurry and update when you can also.

Law-kun: He'll react much as you might expect. It will shake him up some. Though, I won't go very dark with this. I did want to show him as vulnerable, and get him and Akane a bit closer because of what happened. And as you can see from this chapter, she's just as angry with Kuno as Ranma is.

Wonderbee31: If Kuno had gotten a bit farther, or if he had gone after Akane, he wouldn't have survived intact. Ranma always struck me as a bit too forgiving in the canon, but Kuno has crossed a line. And yes, I always thought that Kuno was a bit of a pervert. We'll see what happens there in other chapters, though. As to Genma and Ukyo, there are several things that I have planned for both of them. I like her, but she's not the most stable person in the world.

Adyen: I did have a certain amount of reluctance in writing that scene, since the topic is so sensitive. Ranma, however, was getting overconfident, and everything was mostly going his way, so something drastic needed to happen. And an attempted assault is pretty drastic. Remembering the way he reacted when Mikado kissed him, and when Happosai gropes him, Kuno got about what was coming to him.

SilverBullet23: He did get annoying in the manga/anime, especially since he never seemed to get a clue. Maybe he will learn something from this. And yeah, Ranma taking Kuno to the clinic was important for the scene.

Killiara: There is a reason why Kuno snapped. It will show up later. I don't see Ranma killing Kuno for what he did, at least not on purpose. That's why I had him lose control for a while, but then come to his senses before he did any permanent damage. Now, if Kuno had threatened Akane, yep, the guy's toast.

Taechunsa: Thanks for the pre-read. I think this version takes into account the comments. As to "Sama" as an honorific, the sources I have indicate that it is that it is used in cases when extreme amounts of deep respect are required to be shown. A good example is of a student referring to his martial arts master or a soldier referring to his Emperor or superiors. That's the usage that I had in mind.

On a different note, good luck with the finals.


	21. A Trip to the Beach

Chapter 21 A Trip to the Beach

Ranma walked out of the house, wearing only a sleeveless undershirt that had molded itself to his torso and a loose pair of trousers, to find his father and Akane waiting for him. Akane had taken the time to change into her gi, and was loosening up on the broad steps of the dojo. Ranma smiled at her and said, "I think it's about time for you to learn to fight with more of the Saotome style. Pop, did you ask Mr. Tendo if it was alright for you to train Akane?"

"Actually, boy, I did. He said that he had named you as her sensei, and so I needed to ask your permission to train her," Genma growled, slightly unhappy that he had to kowtow to his son.

"Oh, I guess I didn't think about that. That's right, he did put her in my care. I've been treating her as a training partner for so long, that I don't really think of her as my student," Ranma said, with a sheepish grin.

Akane hugged him hard and said, happily, a big grin on her face, "That's another nice thing you said. Taking me seriously as a martial artist like that."

Ranma bent down and kissed her forehead, and then asked his father, "Well, Pop, you think you can teach her some of our moves? I've shown her several things already."

Genma grinned and replied, "I won't go too easy on her, boy, you know that."

Akane fumed and said, "Hey, I'm standing right here."

"Okay, Pop. Let me wear you down a bit for her," Ranma said with a smirk, "I need to pound on something for a while and it looks like you're elected."

"Bring it on," Genma growled.

Ranma smiled toothily and began his attack.

----------------------

Kasumi stood at the window in her kitchen, watching the sparring match in the back yard, while she worked on dinner. She saw Akane staring intently at her fiancé, cataloguing his every move, her eyes glued to his frame, her face not hiding the desire she felt. Kasumi tore her eyes away from her sister, and began to watch Ranma herself. Her eyes were watching Ranma intently as she saw him flow seamlessly from one stance to another, trading blows with his father, seemingly shrugging off strikes that would cripple a lesser person. As she did, she also saw how his muscles rippled under his skin, and a slight flush began to show up on her cheeks.

She began fanning herself slightly and thought, 'Oh my, I really need to talk to Tofu about firming up our wedding plans. Watching Ranma and Akane dance around while they were both girls was bad enough, the way the sparks were smoldering between them, but now, watching the two of them together like this is not helping my libido at all.'

Nabiki walked into the kitchen to steal a snack and saw her older sister staring through the window overlooking the practice area and the dojo. As she had strolled by the family room, she had seen her sister, Ranma and his father through the open doors and realized that must be what Kasumi was gazing at. As she got closer, she saw the hue of Kasumi's cheeks, and to her surprise, a slight sheen of perspiration on her brow. Her sister was watching Ranma's every move. "Hey, sis," she asked with a smirk, "What are you looking at?"

Kasumi jumped and stammered, "N-n-nothing. What ever do you mean?"

"It's just that you've been staring at Ranma for the longest time. Don't tell me you've got the hots for him?" Nabiki asked.

Kasumi blushed and replied, "No, it's nothing like that. I will admit I do love him, but only as a sibling. He's the little brother I always wanted, and a sister I care for as much as I do you and Akane."

"Oh, and that cute butt and wonderful physique of his doesn't do anything for you? Not to mention that animal magnetism of his," Nabiki teased.

"He is a treat to look at, but Tofu is nearly as good looking as Ranma," her sister said calmly.

"I don't know, that wasn't the look I thought I saw in your eyes when I walked in. You sure looked like you were about to start drooling, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't because Mr. Saotome was out there," Nabiki said slyly.

"Actually, I was just thinking that Tofu and I need to get serious and set a firm date," Kasumi replied evenly.

"Sounds like my sister wants to get laid," Nabiki teased.

Kasumi blushed bright red and exclaimed, "Nabiki, that isn't true!" 'Well, maybe, partly,' she thought, as she remembered the last date that she and Tofu had had, and the way she had felt at the end of the evening. Then she smiled wickedly and asked, "So when are you going to find a boyfriend? Maybe if you had one, you wouldn't be worrying so much about my sex life. Or Akane's for that matter."

Nabiki grinned toothily and said, half to herself, "Oh my, Kasumi wants to play. What woke her up?" Then she continued, "None of the boys at school are interesting at all. Either they're dumb jocks, with no brain cells to speak of, or they're a bunch of wimps afraid of me. None of them are worth my time. Akane managed to snag the only good one in the bunch. No, I'm afraid my prince hasn't managed to come in on his white horse as of yet."

Kasumi giggled prettily, and said, "True, from what I remember of them when I was at school, most of them were pretty lame. They always seemed to be too young to me. And you know what I think about younger men."

"Well, some of them have their uses, I suppose," Nabiki drawled, "No, I'm sure I'll have to wait to find someone in college. Though, I want to be known as Nabiki Tendo, businesswoman, not so-and-so's wife."

Their attention was drawn by a particularly loud crash, as Mr. Saotome, who sometime during the match had turned into a panda, hit hard against the wall. Both girls eyes widened in surprise as they saw that it was Akane who had thrown him. While she was panting a bit heavily, she stood easily in a casual looking stance, one she had obviously copied from Ranma, her face creased in a wide, cocky grin that they recognized as one usually gracing Ranma's face. "What's the matter, old man? Is this little girl too much for you?" she taunted.

The panda shook his head angrily and charged her. As they watched in awe, Akane sprang into the air, and soared toward him. The panda leaped as well, but mistimed his jump, allowing Akane to land on his head, and bounce off to the ground below. The panda landed hard, cracking the ground slightly. "You're right, Ranma," Akane whooped, "This is fun!"

Ranma smiled and yelled back, "Like I always told ya, if you aren't having fun, you're doing it wrong." Then he grinned even bigger, and asked, "Okay, tomboy, are ya done playing with the b-team? Think you can handle the varsity?"

"Oh my, my fiancé wants to beat on me. He's so violent, I'm scared he's gonna hurt me," Akane replied back, with a look of mock fright on her face.

"Hey, you're the violent one," Ranma protested, laughing at her, "I've seen what you do to the training dummies and what you do to the concrete blocks should be a crime."

Akane giggled at Ranma and said, "Okay, your turn. Come on and take it like a man."

Ranma ran quickly around the house, where they heard a loud splash. Then she came running back around, and said, "Nah, I think I'll take it like a woman." The two girls giggled at each other, ignoring the panda groaning in the middle of their arena.

----------------------

Genma walked warily into his wife's house to find her walking out of the kitchen. She had made it painfully clear that it was indeed **her **house, and that he was only a guest the day that they had moved in. Fortunately, it had been late enough in the evening by the time they reached the house that she had gone straight to bed. Unfortunately, she had also promised that tonight was the night that she was going to be having the long awaited talk about the training techniques that he had used on the trip. Genma was really not looking forward to that conversation at all.

"Genma, dinner is almost ready. You should just have time to get cleaned up from your training with **my** son," Nodoka said, her eyes chilly.

Using one of the Saotome Secret Techniques, Genma simply replied, "Yes, dear," and fled upstairs to the small bathing chamber.

"Don't call me **dear**," Nodoka called after her fleeing husband. She then returned to the kitchen to finish cooking the meal. The rice was basically done, the soup was simmering nicely, and the mackerel was flaking just perfectly. She carried the rice cooker over to the table, and then divided the miso soup into the two bowls she had ready for it and carried those over to the table. As she brought the teapot over, Genma raced in and sat down at the table. Nodoka frowned slightly at the dingy gi that her husband was wearing, vowing to herself to burn that disgusting rag. Then she divided up the fish and placed it in two bowls and brought them to the table.

"Now, husband, we will talk about you and your training of my son. I know that some of what you did was necessary to toughen him up, but much of what you did was sheer torture," Nodoka began.

Genma paled at the expression on Nodoka's face, as he began to stammer, "But, Nodoka, I did everything for that boy. I mean, look at him, he's perhaps the best martial artist that I've ever seen."

"Everything! Don't forget I've read your diary," Nodoka said icily.

"Journal! Men don't have diaries!" Genma retorted.

"Whatever," Nodoka said, dismissingly, "You've managed to get him terrified of cats with that idiocy of the Neko-ken training, you've engaged him to several women just to feed your own appetite and on top of that, you got him cursed at Jusenkyo. How could you have been so stupid?"

"I wasn't thinking very straight that day, I have to admit. My head was pounding from the moment I woke up that morning," Genma began.

"Why did you have a headache? Were you drinking?" Nodoka asked.

Genma paled even more as he mumbled, "Well, maybe a little the night before."

Nodoka's eyes blazed as she stood up. "MY SON GOT CURSED BECAUSE YOU HAD A HANGOVER!!!!!!!" she screamed.

Genma cowered at the sight of his wife's battle aura as she slowly struggled for control. "Now, No-chan, he seems to be able to handle it without too much trouble," Genma said. He threw himself down on his knees and bowed his head to the floor, saying, "I'm sorry," over and over again.

"DON'T CALL ME NO-CHAN!" Nodoka said, "You've lost that right, you stupid, selfish man." She stopped and took several calming breaths. Finally, she sat back down, and said to herself, "I should never have let you take him. It's just as much my fault as it is his." Then she said, "We have to set things right for him. You did do one thing right, he is a good martial artist, but the Tendo girls have taught him more about relationships than either of us have. Me, because I didn't see him for so long and you, because you are a fool."

"Hey!" Genma said in protest from the floor.

"Oh, get up off the floor, you look ridiculous. Besides, I'm not going to kill you, at least not yet. You have to pay back all of the money that you took when you engaged Ranma to the Kuonji girl. So first you'll need to find a job," Nodoka said. She paused, lost in thought for a moment, and then continued, "If only Ranma hadn't already asked me to help the Amazons out in their restaurant while they go on that training trip. Oh well, I can see about helping Ukyo out once everyone is back from that. I can't have you help her, you'd eat up everything."

"Ranma told me that I'm going on the trip with him," Genma said as he sat back down, "The ungrateful boy said that maybe I'd learn something from the Elder."

"Ungrateful, is he? What's he to be grateful for? You almost single-handedly ruined his life. I find it amazing that he turned out as well as he did," Nodoka replied, her eyes angry again, "As for you, he's right. Just in the little bit of time I've spent talking to her, Cologne impressed me with her talents. You might be surprised at what you can learn from her. You will go on that trip and obey her."

"But…" Genma started.

"But nothing, you've had ten years with him. Now that he's back, it's my turn with him. I will help the Tendo's with his social skills that you so sadly neglected and turn him into the fine young man I know he can become. He may still be your student, but after watching the two of you spar, there appears to be little more that you can teach him. You're too slow to keep up with him, probably because you are too fat. That reminds me, you're going on a diet, starting today."

Genma looked at the food in front of him and realized that she was serious. "But I need a lot of food. Being a martial artist means I burn a lot of calories," Genma whined, "This won't be enough to keep me going."

Nodoka laughed in his face. "Genma, as far as I can tell, the only thing you've done since you got back is drink with Soun and play a little shogi. Then the little bit of sparring with Ranma and Akane. All you really do is lie around and get fat. And, I've already talked to Kasumi, so she's fully on board with this, so don't think you can go over there and get a handout from her," Nodoka replied.

Genma's face fell as he realized she was serious. He finished shoveling the last of his food into his mouth, and then asked, "Do we have anything to drink in this house?"

Nodoka again looked at him coldly, and replied, "No. If you think you can sit around this house and that I'll pay for you to drink, you're out of your mind. If you want anything, you'll have to pay for it out of whatever you earn."

Genma began to protest, but one look at the set of her jaw told him that there wasn't anything he could do or say that would make her change her mind. "Yes, Nodoka," Genma said in defeat, "I guess I don't have any choice in the matter, do I?"

"Not if you are going to stay here and try to salvage something out of our marriage," she replied, in a soft voice.

His eyes opened wide and he asked, in a voice filled with hope, "Does that mean I haven't ruined it completely between us?"

"Not completely, Genma. It wasn't just Ranma I missed. It'll take a while, but I would like the man I married to return to me," she said, "I hope that one day you'll become that man again."

----------------------

Kuno approached the office door very reluctantly, only his honor driving him to open the door and walk through. When he reached the young lady, sitting at the receptionist desk, he cleared his throat and said in a rusty voice, "I have an appointment. My name is Tatewaki Kuno, upperclassman, the rising…" He paused, a look of pain flashing across his face. "No, my name is just Tatewaki Kuno. I am here to see Doctor Hojo."

"He's waiting for you, Kuno-san," the girl replied, "Please, follow me."

For a second, an odd look flashed across Kuno's face, as if he was going to protest the honorific, but then he gave up.

The young woman stood up from her chair and led Kuno to a closed door. She knocked on the door, and then after receiving some sort of signal that Kuno missed, she opened the door, and gestured for Kuno to enter.

"Thank you for your kindness," Kuno said to her, as he entered the room. As he cleared the door, it closed behind him, shutting out all of the exterior noise. He looked around, to see a pleasantly appointed room, three walls of which were covered with bookshelves, filled with an imposing number of bound volumes. A large mahogany desk was in front of the one wall without shelves, a wall covered with several different landscape paintings. An elderly gentleman, with a pleasantly lined face, and a shock of jet-black hair, was sitting at the desk, but was rising as Kuno finally saw him.

"I am Doctor Hojo," the man said, "Doctor Ono suggested that I see you, Kuno-san."

"I thank you for squeezing me in today, Doctor," Kuno said, bowing politely to the older man.

"Tofu was one of my best students, and when he asked me to see you, I was happy to oblige. Please, why don't you have a seat in one of the chairs, and we can talk for a while," the doctor said.

"How much did the good doctor tell you about me?" Kuno asked as he sat down in one of the extremely comfortable, overstuffed armchairs.

The doctor moved over and sat in a second chair, and pondered the question. Then he replied, "That you basically had a manic episode where you tried to sexually assault a woman in the mistaken belief that she would then confess her love for you."

"That's succinct enough," Kuno replied, with a bitter laugh. He paused and said, "For several months I have been madly in love with three different women, all at the same time. All three of them have rebuffed my advances. I just thought they were playing hard to get."

"You wanted three women? You do know that the ancient Chinese symbol for trouble was two women under the same roof, don't you?" the doctor asked.

Kuno chuckled dryly and replied, "I never said I was completely sane. All three of these women had defeated me in combat, more than once as a matter of fact, so I just 'knew' they were worthy of being my wife. And since I considered myself a Samurai, I convinced myself that there was no problem in my having all of them."

The doctor shook his head in disbelief and asked, "So why didn't they date you?"

"Well, the fair Akane Tendo and the Amazon princess Shampoo both have fiancés, at least so they claim. The fiery red-haired girl, Ranma Saotome, on the other hand, always said that she was in love with someone. She was always with the fair Akane Tendo, and I could tell that she cared a great deal for her. It wasn't until I talked to my sister a couple of days ago that I found out that the lovely Ranma claimed that she loved a girl. A lesbian is what my twisted sister called her. That word sickened me and I refused to believe it, but then I started thinking about all of the odd looks I had seen her give the fair Akane Tendo, and then remembered some of the rumors that I had heard, and I went insane. My sister indeed said that because of my ardent pursuit of the fair maiden…" He choked, and then continued, "That because of my pursuit, Ranma Saotome, that vision of loveliness, had sworn off men completely."

"And so what happened?" Hojo asked.

"I, Tatewaki Kuno, disgraced myself, and my clan," the young man said simply, "I attempted to force myself on the fiery Ranma Saotome. Fortunately for both of us, she is a puissant foe, and was once again able to vanquish me. Then, being the kind and noble person she is, one of large heart, she took me to the estimable Doctor Ono, and left me in his capable hands. She even went so far as to forbid me to perform seppuku to atone for my actions."

"Do you think seppuku is the appropriate course of action for you?" the doctor asked, his eyes watching carefully.

"That option is not for me. The fiery beauty has forbidden me that. In fact, she told me that she would never forgive me if I killed myself," Kuno answered, "and indeed, I would not want her to feel responsible even in part for my death. She stated that death would be in this case the coward's way out. I have come to realize that she is correct. And while I will never have her love, I think it is possible that one day I might be worthy enough to be called her friend. That gives me a goal worth striving for."

The doctor turned his wise eyes onto the young man and said, "That is something that I can help you with, then. Today has been a good start. So long as you recognize that there is a problem with your view of reality, then we can begin to show you the true path." A pleasant chime began to sound from somewhere in the room.

Kuno looked troubled, as he said, "I thank you, Doctor. I hope you can assist me. I have been like this for a long time, ever since my mother passed away, and my father disappeared. I guess it was my way of coping with that abandonment."

"We'll work on that in our next session. I'm afraid that sound is saying that it's nearly time for my next appointment," the doctor said, "I'd like to see you tomorrow at the same time, if that is possible. If you wish, you can leave through this door." The doctor pointed to a small door that Kuno had managed to overlook, discreetly tucked away behind a small screen.

Kuno replied, "Yes, right now there is nothing more important for me to be doing." He rose from the chair, and bowed politely. "Again, thank you for seeing me on such short notice," he said, then turned and walked through the door.

----------------------

Finally, school was over for the summer, and the students of Furinkan High School scattered to the four winds. Ranma and Akane raced to the Tendo home to meet with their family for a quick lunch, and then the rapid dash to the Nerima train station for the long ride to the beach. As they reached the train station, their friends, Yuka, Sayuri, Daisuke and Hiroshi, each of them carrying a small suitcase for the trip, met them. The group waited impatiently for the train to arrive. Once it finally showed up, the party of eleven rapidly boarded, making their way to their seats. Ranma made sure that he was sitting next to Akane as they sat down, and then put his arm across her shoulder, a move that was quickly copied by Daisuke and Hiroshi with their respective girlfriends. Nabiki rolled her eyes at the antics of the younger set.

Once they arrived at Kamakura, they quickly got off of the train and made their way to the cabin that Nabiki had booked. As it turned out, it actually was two cabins, each with three bedrooms.

Nodoka said, as she stood by the door to one of the cabins, "The adults will be in this cabin. The rest of you will share the other."

Kasumi led the rest of them to the other cabin. In one bedroom, they found a single queen-size futon, in a second, they found two queen size futons, and in the third two twins. Without hesitation, Akane dragged Ranma into the room with the single futon, allowing the others to figure out the rest of the rooms for themselves. As she shut the door behind them, she glared at the other teenagers, daring them to say anything.

Kasumi smiled gently and said, "I guess the girls will have the one with the queen size futons, and you two boys will get the other room."

'I wonder what they would pay to keep the parents from knowing that they are sharing a bed,' Nabiki thought.

"Oh, and Nabiki, dear, " Kasumi said, with just a hint of a frown, "I would be most unhappy if you told the parents about this. Ranma and Akane won't do anything that they shouldn't, so there's nothing improper with them being in the same bed. And I just know that you wouldn't want to cause them any problems."

'Damn it, Kasumi,' Nabiki thought. Then she wilted under that gaze. "One of these days you're going to teach me how you do that," Nabiki groused. She turned and said, "Okay, that goes for the rest of you too. Don't even tease them about it where our parents can hear."

The other four took one look at Nabiki and agreed. "Sure, their secret is safe with us," Yuka said, with a giggle, "Besides, I don't want Kasumi unhappy with me."

"Kasumi, unhappy, brrr, what a horrid thought," Sayuri agreed.

"Oh my, you two are being so silly," Kasumi said, her eyes dancing with mirth. She herded the other three girls into their room, leaving the two boys behind.

Daisuke and Hiroshi just shrugged their shoulders at each other, and then dropped their suitcases into the last remaining room.

----------------------

Ranma turned to Akane and asked, "Are you sure this is such a good idea, Akane? Your sisters are gonna give us a hard time about sharing a bed."

"I talked to Kasumi about it before we got here. She told me that she had seen us in bed together the last two mornings. I told her why we ended up together and after thinking about it for a few minutes, just told me to be careful. She also said that she would take care of Nabiki for us," Akane replied. She began taking her clothes out of her suitcase and hanging them up in the closet or putting them in the dresser that was in the room.

After a minute, Ranma joined her. While he was unpacking, he lost himself in thought and then said, "But this is still a big step, Akane. Before, you snuck into my bed after I was asleep, or I did once you were asleep. This will be the first time we deliberately share a bed. Are you sure we're ready for this?"

Akane shrugged her shoulders and replied, "We're just sharing a bed, Ranchan. That's all. I trust you not to do anything that I don't want you to." Then she grinned and continued, saying, "And Kasumi told me to tell you that she trusted you to be a gentleman about the situation." 'Or as much of a gentleman as I want him to be,' she thought, 'Bad Akane, you shouldn't think those thoughts.'

"Or maybe a lady, as the case may be?" Ranma asked with a chuckle. He added, "If your okay with it, then we'll try. But I think it'll be easier for me if I'm a girl when we share the bed at first. After all, I'm going be spending most of my time as a girl, except in the evening. It would be kind of pointless to try to go to the beach any other way." Then with a truly evil grin, he asked, "Besides, what do you think Pop will do when he sees me in that one swim suit? The one that you are to afraid to wear?"

Akane snickered and replied, "Well, he'll certainly turn an interesting shade of red. Won't your mother give you a hard time about it not being manly though?"

Ranma looked at her with a disgusted look and replied, "No, she's decided that while I have to be a man among men when I'm male, she's decided I'm also gonna be her daughter, too."

"What's that mean?" Akane asked, curious.

"That I'm supposed to dress appropriately when I'm a girl. You should see some of the clothes she's bought me. She obviously has a warped sense of what is appropriate. She's not convinced that that swimsuit that you're so jealous of is sexy enough," Ranma said, his ears turning red.

Akane gaped at him, and then said, in shock, "NOT sexy enough! There's not enough material in that thing to make a good handkerchief."

"That's a little bit of an exaggeration, Acchan, but yeah, she's not going to give me a hard time about wearing that, at least when I'm a girl," Ranma said, then he snickered, "Kami help me, she's bought me some bras and panties that are even worse." Then he got a mischievous look in his eyes and said, "Though I wouldn't mind seeing you in some of them or at least ones like them one of these days."

"Pervert," Akane said, affectionately, as she put the last of her stuff away.

"Hey, you'll look good in them," Ranma protested, with a smile. Once he put the last of his clothing away, he asked, "So do you want to work out a little or go hang out with the guys?"

Akane smiled brightly and replied, "Maybe we should spend some time with the guys. We can work out tomorrow after they get exhausted at the beach and want to lie around being tired."

"Works for me," Ranma replied. The two of them opened the door to their bedroom. They walked into the common room, and found their four friends already sitting around talking.

----------------------

Ranma groaned softly as Akane kissed him, pressing her body against him. Reluctantly, he pulled away. "I can't take too much more of this Akane," he said softly, his voice raw with emotion, his eyes nearly glazed with desire, "I'd better go change."

Akane looked at him, puzzled and then saw the longing in his eyes, and understood the effect that she was having on him. In fact she understood the effect only too well, as her body had responded ardently to the kisses that they had been sharing.

Ranma walked out of the bedroom that he and Akane were sharing, his body aflame from where she had been touching him. As he neared the kitchen to find some cold water, he ran into Kasumi who was staring at the window looking up at the stars in the sky.

Kasumi jumped back, startled, as Ranma appeared next to her. "I thought you had already gone to bed, Ranma," the older girl said, trying to get her heart to calm down.

Ranma blushed and stammered, "Well, we were in bed, but we hadn't actually tried to sleep yet."

Kasumi turned and looked at the blushing Ranma, and asked, "Are you okay? You look a little flushed for some reason. I hope you're not running a fever. You also sound like you're breathing a little heavy."

Ranma couldn't look Kasumi in the eye as he answered, "We were kissing a bit, and I got a little excited, so I figured I better leave for a moment." He hesitated and then asked, "Can we talk for a moment, Kasumi?"

"Sure, I thought you looked a little troubled," Kasumi replied gently, as she walked to the freezer and pulled a carton of chocolate ripple ice cream out and then dished out two small bowls. She looked conspiratorially at Ranma and said, "Don't tell Nabiki, but this is hers." She sat down at the small kitchen table, and waited for Ranma to tell her what was on her mind.

Ranma sat down next to her, not taking his eyes off of the older woman that he had come to love like the sister he had always wanted but never had. He took a bite of his ice cream to delay but then began. "Something happened the other day that has got me scared, Kasumi," he said softly, his voice artificially flat.

"The day you came home so early from the clinic?" Kasumi asked gently.

Ranma hung his head and said, "Yeah. I was on my way to the clinic, when Kuno jumped me. He caught me by surprise, and stunned me with a blow to my head." He turned away and mumbled, "And while I was dazed, he tried to force me. Well, French kissed and groped me."

"Oh my, poor Ranma," Kasumi said, her eyes wide in shock. "I assume you beat him off before he did anything?" she asked.

Ranma nodded and asked, "What kind of martial artist does that make me, if a nobody like Kuno can sneak up on me like that? I beat him to a pulp after his grab of my breast woke me up, but still he shouldn't have been able to lay a hand on me."

Kasumi reached around and held Ranma in her arms and said, "Something Daddy always told me was that there is no such thing as a person who can't be beat. Even someone as good as you can lose. The difference is to not stay beaten. That's always been your strength." To her surprise, Ranma began to cry on her shoulder. She waited for the storm to subside and then asked, "So are you going to let this beat you?"

Ranma wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at her from her shoulder. He looked sheepish and replied, "I know how to fight a physical enemy, Kasumi. I don't know how to fight something I can't see. I guess that's why I so emotional right now. I was a bit scared, and a lot angry, when it happened. But now, I'm mostly afraid. It's tainted what I feel about Akane just a little bit. I've started wanting her so bad that I'm afraid that one day we'll begin to kiss, and just won't stop. I almost lost control in there with her, that's why I had to leave. It would be so easy to try to prove that I'm still a man with her." Then he added bitterly, "After all, that would show that I'm manly, wouldn't it?"

"Ranma," Akane said tenderly from behind them, "Is that why you ran off? Because you're afraid of your desires and the way your body was reacting?"

"I didn't want you to think I was a pervert," Ranma replied, blushing bright red, thinking 'I really, really wish she hadn't been there to hear that.'

Akane giggled for a second. "Ranma, if you didn't react like that, I would have been angry with you. I really would have thought you were a pervert. It's okay to want me; Kami knows I want you too. But we both promised to save that for when we wed," Akane said. She walked over and joined Kasumi in the embrace.

Kasumi added, "And don't worry about not being manly enough. It takes a real man to admit that he is scared, that he has fears, and then to act in spite of those fears. You stopped before you went further than you two wanted to, and that's the important thing."

"And you don't have to prove that you're manly to me, Ranchan. I know that when our wedding night comes, you'll, um, rise up to the challenge," Akane said.

Kasumi giggled while Ranma looked a little blank. "Are you feeling a bit better about things now, Ranma?" Kasumi asked.

"I think so," Ranma replied, "Don't let the parents know about this. Mom wouldn't think it was manly, and Pop would never understand. Hell, he never even told me about the facts of life. I had to find out the hard way from a book."

"Sure, Ranma. And Daddy would just sit and cry that the schools would never be joined," Akane replied.

Ranma hugged Kasumi and then kissed her shyly on the cheek. "Thanks for listening, big sis. Tell Doc he found a good woman and that if he doesn't hurry up and set a date, I'll be talking to him," Ranma said. He grinned to show that he was teasing.

Kasumi blushed and then replied, "You're welcome, little brother. I don't think I'm the only lucky person in this room though."

Ranma finished what was left of his ice cream, and then walked to the sink. After pouring some cold water on his head, she turned to Akane and said, "It's getting late, Acchan. I think I'm ready to sleep now."

----------------------

Akane woke up slowly, her eyes adjusting to the dim light seeping through the curtains. Once she was completely awake, she realized that she was snuggled up tight to Ranma's back, with her arms wrapped loosely around the other girl. She tightened her grip, pulling Ranma tightly to her.

"That feels good," Ranma said softly, "I like waking up in your arms like this. I don't think I've slept this good in I don't know how long." Reluctantly, though, Ranma rolled over to her back and she continued, "Don't be embarrassed. You're not responsible for where your hands ended up while we slept." She finished rolling over so she was face to face with Akane. She scooted over and lightly kissed Akane on the mouth, and then got out of bed.

Akane stared open-mouthed as Ranma walked over to her dresser drawer and pulled out **THAT** swimsuit. Ranma then began to pull her undershirt off over her head only to hear Akane begin to protest.

"Ranma, what are you doing?" she said, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Changing clothes, what does it look like?" Ranma said, without turning around, "After all, I'm a girl right now, so there's nothing that you haven't seen in the girl's locker room or in a public bath before. Once I'm done, I can leave, and you can change in peace." Then she smiled, and added, "Unless you want me to stay of course." She then slid her boxers down her legs and stepped out of them. Quickly, she slid her swimsuit bottoms on, and then asked, "Can you help me with the top? I always have a hard time with the clasp on this one for some reason."

Akane got out of bed and walked shakily over to the other girl and fastened the clasp on the bikini top. Then she gazed at Ranma and had to admit to herself that the suit looked good on the neo-girl. Basically a string bikini, with just enough black material to cover what needed to be covered; the suit definitely was only for tanning. Akane giggled and said, "Your father is gonna have a heart attack when he sees that on you."

"That was kind of the idea," Ranma said with a smirk. Then she asked, her eyes smoldering, "Do you need any help?"

Akane swatted her on the rear, and replied, her cheeks red, "NO. Now you get out of here, you shameless exhibitionist."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Hey, it's not like I asked for this body, you know." She walked to the closet and found one of her Chinese shirts, and put it on, buttoning the bottom button only.

"True," Akane said, with a chuckle, "But you certainly know how to flaunt it. You better take a handkerchief or two for the boys. They'll take one look at you and start having perverted thoughts."

Ranma growled, and said, "They better not." She turned and sashayed out of the room, stopping at the door to turn and say, "The only one I want to have perverted thoughts about me is you." Then she ducked out the door, dodging the pillow a laughing Akane threw at her.

Ranma waited at the door for Akane to join her, and then the two girls walked into the common room to find their friends already up and waiting for them. Kasumi said, "We're supposed to eat breakfast in the other cabin. As soon as Nabiki joins us, we can go on over."

"Where's Nabiki?" Akane asked.

Kasumi smiled angelically, and replied, "She saw what Ranma was wearing, cursed under her breath and ran back into the bedroom. I think she growled something about not being outclassed by some boy in a bikini."

"Oh this little thing," Ranma said, with a titter.

Sayuri looked at Ranma and said, "Little is the operative word there, Ranma."

Hiroshi closed his open mouth as he thought, 'Man she looks hot in that suit! Wait a minute, I can't be having these thoughts about her, I mean him.' His face turned bright red.

Yuka turned and glared at him, promising a world of pain if he said one word.

At that moment, Nabiki ran in, wearing a swimsuit that rivaled Ranma's for showing more or covering less. She had a pullover top in one hand, ready to walk out the door. Kasumi hid a smile and said, "Oh my, Nabiki, Daddy will start crying as soon as he sees you in that. You'll have to beat the boys off with a baseball bat."

"That's kind of the idea, right Ranma?" Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Well, there's no **boys** I want to have crawl all over me," Ranma said demurely, ignoring Akane blushing furiously.

Hiroshi shared a look with Daisuke, and both boys groaned as beads of sweat popped out on their foreheads.

Akane said, "Baka," under her breath and then swatted Ranma playfully, "If you think I'm gonna put up with that, you've got another thing coming."

Fortunately for Ranma, Daisuke's stomach began to growl. "Looks like it must be time to eat," Ranma said, with a giggle.

"Yeah, I'm surprised that you haven't joined him," Nabiki teased.

"Wouldn't be ladylike," Ranma said, sticking her tongue out at Nabiki. They quickly emptied the cabin and ran the short distance to the other cabin, where Nodoka was just placing the finishing touches on the breakfast.

Ranma sat down next to her fiancée, holding each other's hands, while the other couples gathered together. Kasumi and Nabiki sat next to Ranma, while Soun and Genma were still gathered around the ever-present shogi board. Nodoka handed around the bowls containing the breakfast that she had prepared, and the crew began to dig in.

Finally, Genma took notice of the red-haired girl sitting demurely with Akane. He stared at her in anger, only to hear the sound of several shogi pieces being placed on the board. "Ranma, what are you doing?" he growled.

"Pop, I'm going to the beach. Guess what, there's cold water there, so I bet anything I get wet. Besides, I wanna teach Akane how to swim, so that means I'll have to get in the water. Don't ya think I ought to be dressed appropriately then? While I'm sure that Daisuke and Hiroshi wouldn't object to me starting out as a guy in just a pair of trunks, I ain't about to flash my boobs at them when I change. Yuka and Sayuri would appreciate a bit of feminine modesty on my part, wouldn't you girls?" Ranma replied.

"Sure would Ranma," Sayuri said in reply, "And Daisuke better not be having any perverted thoughts about your body anyway."

"What she said," Yuka agreed with a glare at her boyfriend, "Just because she has that body, doesn't give you the right to drool over it."

Nodoka smiled and said, "True, you shouldn't walk around topless, that wouldn't be proper. But that swimsuit you're wearing will attract male attention. You should be proud of that."

Ranma took a deep breath, causing Daisuke and Hiroshi to quickly blush and turn away. She said, "Mom, in spite of appearances, I'm still a guy inside. I don't want boys to get perverted thoughts about me. The only reason I have this suit is because I like the feel of the sun on my body."

"I understand, dear," Nodoka replied pleasantly, "But I have a beautiful daughter and I want her to be proud of the way she looks."

Ranma grimaced slightly and exchanged glances with Akane. "See, what did I tell you?" she asked under her breath. Then she glared at the two boys who were avoiding her eyes, as they stanched the small trickle of blood from their noses. Then she looked at Yuka and Sayuri and smiled sadly and said, "Sorry about that, girls. It's not my fault."

The two girls simply glared at their boyfriends. Yuka muttered, "Hentai," under her breath.

"Well, let's finish breakfast so we can head to the beach," Nodoka said pleasantly. Once the meal was done, Nodoka and Kasumi took the dishes into the kitchen and quickly washed them, with Ranma helping to dry.

----------------------

The morning went pleasantly enough. The only oddity about the morning had been the strange looks that they had received for having a panda as part of the group. The party had gotten to Yuigahama beach early enough to find plenty of room to claim their territory. The towels for sunbathing were spread out over the brilliant white sand, and the coolers, hampers and bags holding their food and belongings staked out the area. Ranma and Akane were lying on the towels, along with Kasumi, Nabiki and Nodoka. Soun was sitting down, reading his newspaper, while the panda was being buried in the sand by a veritable horde of little children. The other four teenagers had wandered off, claiming that they were going to go surfing. Nodoka had raised an eyebrow at that and then relaxed.

Once everyone was situated, Nodoka took off the top she had been wearing to the beach, leaving her in just her swimsuit.

Ranma was only slightly surprised by the swimsuit that she was wearing. After all, she had somewhat expected that her mother's ideas about swimsuits had been slightly skewed after all of the comments that Nodoka had made. While technically a one-piece, the panels that had been cut out of the sides, and the cut of the top and bottom, left almost as little to the imagination as the ones that Ranma and Nabiki were wearing.

Akane merely raised an eyebrow, being somewhat warned by what Ranma had said earlier.

Nabiki didn't react at all, other than to say, "Now I know where Ranma gets her modesty from."

Kasumi simply blushed bright red, and then asked, "Where did you get that, Auntie? I wouldn't mind one like it."

Ranma and Akane exchanged identical shocked looks.

"Hey, Akane, do you need some suntan lotion on your back?" Ranma asked, "You already look a bit pink."

Akane smiled her thanks and handed Ranma the squeeze bottle, and rolled over onto her stomach. With a smile, Ranma began massaging the lotion into the smooth skin, taking care to cover every square inch of exposed flesh. She pressed down a little bit, feeling the firm muscles in her girlfriend's body. As she worked, Akane began moaning slightly in pleasure at the firm, yet gentle strokes that Ranma was using to work the lotion.

At the sound, Nabiki smirked and asked, in as suggestive voice as she could manage, "When you're done with her, would you like to do me, Ranma?"

"Oh my, me too," Kasumi begged, her eyes dancing.

"Hey, go find your own boyfriend," Akane grumbled, "This one's taken." Her voice took on a very possessive tone as she finished her sentence.

Ranma giggled, and said, "Oh, I don't mind putting the lotion on them. But it's nice to hear you care." 'Real nice,' she thought, 'she better not realize what that tone does to me. Good thing this bra has a little padding in the cup.' With a light swat on Akane's bottom, she said, "Okay, you're done. Nabs, it's your turn."

Nabiki promptly rolled over onto her stomach and waited in anticipation. "Watch where your hands go, Ranma," Akane warned half in jest.

Ranma smiled and proceeded to rub the sun tan lotion onto Nabiki's back and legs. Her strong, steady strokes quickly induced Nabiki to begin purring in pleasure. Ranma jumped and asked, softly, "Nabs, could you not do t-that, p-please?"

Sleepily, Nabiki asked, "Do what, Ranma dear?"

Ranma stammered and replied, "P-p-purr." She quickly finished her ministrations on Nabiki, as the other girl pouted slightly once her fingers left her body. "You've got some pretty firm muscles in your legs, Nabiki. You ought to work out in the dojo; I bet Akane or I could teach you some katas that would help."

Nabiki chuckled dryly and replied, "Thanks, but that's your thing. Akane, dear sister, are you sure you don't want to share?"

"NABIKI!" Akane growled dangerously, her tone very, very possessive, "HE'S MINE!"

"Just teasing, sis," Nabiki replied, "You're just too easy."

"Enough chatter, Ranma, it's my turn," Kasumi said, a bit aggressively.

Ranma turned to find Kasumi on her stomach, her straps pulled down off her shoulders. She groaned to herself, and then began working on Kasumi. Kasumi giggled at the sound as Ranma spread the lotion over her exposed back and began to rub it in.

"That feels so nice, Ranma," Kasumi breathed, "Almost as good as Tofu." Soon she too was moaning just loud enough for Ranma to hear.

"Where did you learn that, Ranma?" Nodoka asked.

"I ended up working in a massage parlor for a few weeks while we were trying to pay off some of Pop's debts. He tried to run out on a bill from there a couple of months before I turned fifteen," Ranma replied, "I had learned a few tricks at some of the dojos we trained at, but there was this one girl who was an expert at the massage parlor who taught me the rest of it."

"What else did she teach you?" Nabiki asked, with a grin.

Nodoka rolled over on her stomach and said, with an evil grin, "My turn, daughter."

Ranma blushed and worked the sun tan lotion into her mother's back, being even more careful with where her hands went as she spread the lotion around. Finally, she finished.

"That was very pleasant," Nodoka said.

"Okay, Ranma, your turn," Akane said, her eyes dancing.

Ranma gulped and lay down on her stomach, closing her eyes. Akane scooted over, and with her strong, yet gentle hands, slowly caressed Ranma's legs, rubbing the lotion into the smooth skin. Ranma began to breathe a little heavy and then froze as Akane straddled her and began to rub the lotion into her back. "Akane," she moaned. 'Damn, I'd forgotten what that felt like,' she thought, as she began to get aroused from the firm strokes on her back. 'Soul of Ice, Soul of Ice,' she thought frantically. Finally, to her relief, Akane finished, and slid off her bottom.

"Like that?" Akane purred seductively, letting her fingers glide teasingly across the tightly stretched fabric covering Ranma's derrière, causing her to quiver in response.

"Just you wait until I can get you alone," Ranma teased, in response.

Akane giggled and said, "Oh why, do you want to have your way with me?"

"Well, I ain't exactly equipped to do that, now am I?" Ranma replied, dryly, "But I'll think of something."

Akane plopped down next to Ranma, and clasped her girlfriend's hand as the five of them enjoyed the warm morning sun.

----------------------

After lunch was over and the dishes were put away, Ranma found one of the cabanas scattered around the beach and changed into her red one-piece swimsuit. Then she dragged Akane down to the water's edge. "Okay, you need to know that I'm not gonna teach you the way Pop taught me. I figure you'd not want to get tossed into the water and told to sink or swim," Ranma said once they got there.

Akane gathered her courage and then the two of them waded into the water until it was about mid-chest on the smaller girl.

"Okay, first I wanna teach you how to float," Ranma began, "So I'll want you to lie on your stomach while I hold you to keep you from sinking." She made a cradle of her arms, and Akane leaned forward until only those strong arms supported her.

"One of the problems we're gonna have with this is that you don't have a lot of body fat on you, Akane. All that strength training you've done has given you a lot of muscle. Muscle is denser than water so you're gonna naturally sink a bit when I let you go. When I do, just relax and don't panic," Ranma continued, her voice calm.

She slowly lowered her arms, with Akane promptly sinking until she was just at the surface of the water. Akane rose spluttering as a wave caught her just as she took a breath. Akane turned and glared at the other girl as Ranma laughed. Ranma grimaced and said, "Sorry, I guess we should have started with getting your face wet and learning how to breathe."

They started over, with Ranma holding the larger girl in her arms. "Let's try just putting your face in the water and then when you need a breath, turn to shore and bring your mouth out of the water. When you do, go ahead and breathe normally," Ranma suggested.

Akane spent the next several minutes practicing her breathing, secretly enjoying the feeling of being held by Ranma. Once she was satisfied that Akane had mastered that step, the two of them returned to learning how to float. That proved to be slightly frustrating for both of them, since Akane appeared to have at best neutral buoyancy in the salt water. But they persevered and finally, just before they were called in to leave for the cabins, Akane was able to stay afloat without flailing around. After watching her float for several minutes, Ranma pronounced herself satisfied that Akane had learned how to do that, and pulled her up out of the water. Akane hugged the other girl in her excitement.

"Okay, tomorrow we can concentrate on learning how to kick in the water. I'll start you off with scissor kicks," Ranma said, as they ran up the beach, "If you can get that down, then the rest of it will be easy. Then we can work on your arm motions. As strong as you are, you should be able to move through the water pretty fast, but you'll be using your muscles differently, so they'll get a bit sore."

As they reached the group, Daisuke and Hiroshi turned away as they saw the affect that the cold water had had on the two girls. The two girls looked at each other and then blushed as they realized how well their suits had molded themselves to their curves. They grabbed their towels and began drying themselves off, while Yuka and Sayuri giggled at their boyfriends.

Akane muttered, "Perverts," under her breath.

Ranma simply shook her head in disgust at the boys and replied, equally softly, "You're right. All boys are perverts."

Akane glanced at her in surprise, and then started giggling.

"Huh, what did I say?" Ranma asked, her eyes pretending to be innocent.

"That's supposed to be my line," Akane replied, her eyes dancing with mirth.

----------------------

Ranma sat on the roof of the cabin that evening, right over the bedroom that she was sharing with Akane, the last kiss that they had shared still fresh on her mind. After leaving Akane to go change, Ranma wanted some time to think by herself, and had climbed up on the roof instead of rejoining her fiancée. She sighed happily, thinking about how different things were this time through, especially now that they had admitted their love for each other. 'The dates that we've gone on have been a lot of fun; we really didn't know what we were missing before. And the necking that we've been doing, I can't even begin to believe how good that makes me feel. I'm not sure I want to wait until we're seniors before we get married,' she thought, a tender smile appearing on her face. Then she grinned as she recalled their most recent date, the one they'd shared on Tanabata day. This year, the seventh of July had fallen in the middle of the week, so they had only had a few hours to really enjoy the festival. Her eyes grew distant as she recalled that evening.

Flashback

Ranma waited impatiently for Akane to finish dressing. He had changed into his only kimono, one that his mother had insisted on buying for him for occasions like this. His wait was rewarded when Akane made her appearance, followed closely by his mother who had helped her get everything just right. Ranma's jaw dropped as he gaped in surprise at how pretty Akane looked. His eyes glazed over for a second and then he said, hoarsely, "You look fantastic, Akane." He waited until she joined him at the foot of the stairs, and then he offered her his arm. The two of them walked over and joined Kasumi and Tofu, who smiled at them.

"You two cleaned up real well," Tofu said with a chuckle, "It's hard to believe that you're that little girl I used to treat Akane."

Akane blushed prettily and then daringly, reached up and kissed Tofu's cheek. "Thanks, Tofu. That's kind of you to say," she said.

"I've got the tanzaku paper here for us to write our wishes on, Akane," Kasumi said softly, "Then we can go hang them on one of the bamboo plants in the park."

"We'd better head on over there before it gets too much later," Tofu added, "I know Kasumi said she wanted to look at all of the displays on the way."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Then we'd better get going. No one in their right mind wants to upset Kasumi."

Kasumi giggled prettily and said, "Just for that, I'm going to let Akane cook for you."

"Gee, let me get my wish up first," Ranma teased, then he said, "Ouch," as Akane poked him in the ribs.

"Making fun of my cooking again, Ranma," she growled, as they walked out of the house and started down the street toward the park, joining the throng of people already heading that direction. The two couples walked down the street, holding hands with their partner.

"Nah, actually you're getting pretty good at the few things we've tried together," Ranma said, rubbing his side, "We'll work on a few more things when we go train with Cologne. Remember, she has to come back to the restaurant for the weekends, anyway, so we'll be cooking those meals."

Once they reached the park, they entered through the main gate and headed down toward the small lake in the center, and the bamboo plants that were growing on the shore. The four of them were amazed at the decorations that were scattered throughout the park, all of the streamers flying from the branches.

Ranma chuckled and pointed at several Kinchaku hanging from some of the trees. "Nabiki's been here, look at all the bags asking for wealth," he said. The other three joined him in laughter.

"It's been a real pretty day," Soun said, "Looks like princess Orihime and prince Hikoboshi will be able to meet tonight on the Milky Way."

"Someone has made a lot of origami and put them in the trees also. Look there's a crane," Akane pointed out. They soon reached the stand of bamboo, and they wrote their wishes on the colorful strips of paper that Kasumi handed them. They folded them carefully and then placed them on the nearest bamboo.

Akane and Kasumi then kissed their respective boyfriends. Tofu breathed deeply as his glasses fogged up, and then cleared as he brought himself back under control. Ranma's pigtail straightened up as he responded to Akane's passionate kiss.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, as she fanned herself. The four of them then headed over to look at some of the displays.

End Flashback

"That **was** a good day," Ranma said to herself as she stared off into the distance, "Even if I did get splashed on the way back. Should have known not to get that close to the damn fountain." She yawned and decided that the stars could watch themselves. She jumped down to the ground and went and found her room. After crawling into the bed, she gently kissed the sleeping Akane on the forehead and curled up next to her, listening to the gentle sound of her breathing. Soon, the combination of the afternoon's activities, and the warmth of the girl next to her, had Ranma drifting off into never-never land.

----------------------

Author's Notes: Thanks all for the wonderful reviews. Sorry this chapter took so long, but Chapter 22 is about half done. I'll try to post it after I get back from skiing. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. Flames, of course, I use to brew my tea. Specific responses follow:

Amasaki Reyoko: Thanks. And yes, Ukyo will try something. That won't happen for a little while though. If you haven't noticed, she's kind of taking on the obsessed Kodachi role in this story.

Lord Strife: Soun is beginning to figure it out. Though Genma will get a chance to redeem himself. Now whether or not he takes it….

The Shadows: Thanks. As far as research goes, I have read a few things so hopefully Ranma will look like he's reacting correctly. As to that time of the month, it's why he/she flew off the handle as much as he did, so yeah it'll show up some more. I'm still not quite sure what was over the top in your story by the way. I didn't think you went over an R rating. Oh well, what do I know.

Sierra-Falls: Thanks. I tend to do that as well when I find a long fiction that I like. Happosai will show up soon, the pervert, and yes, I intend for him to be a bit dark.

Psycho-King: Yep, I've had a few weeks like that. And yeah, Ranma really didn't want to be bothered by Ukyo about what had happened. That's kind of why he went off on her like that.

Eames: Well, that's for a later chapter of course. She will be involved in the first confrontation with Happosai.

Dana-san: I have several different plans in mind for Kuno. Hopefully you'll enjoy them. And yes, him seeking help for his obsessive behavior is the beginning of his journey towards a hopeful redemption.

Daouid: He basically just hid the honor blade of course. Hopefully Genma won't find it. Probably the last thing Ranma would do is talk to his mother about what Kuno tried to do. Their relationship is still a little shaky, after all it's only been a few weeks.

ZRO4825: Yeah, I was a little surprised that some of the readers were shocked. Kuno wasn't the most stable person in the world, so it wouldn't take much to shove him over the edge.

Taxzombie: Thanks for the kind words. Yep, I like fleshing out Kasumi a bit more. She does tend to get overlooked in a lot of stories, so I enjoy making her a bit more of a character. And I think she definitely thought of Ranma as her little brother. As to what happens when Kuno finally finds out the truth about Ranma, that scene will happen, I just haven't decided which way it will play out.

Mysticalflame: Basically we're in book 5 of the manga, fixing to go to book 6, I just had Ukyo show up a lot earlier. Starting in the next chapter, we'll be doing the Breaking Point training with my own particular weird twist to it. As for Piccolo Chardin showing up, I don't know, maybe, but if so, it will happen much later.

Materia-Blade: I'm not sure Toma will show up. I didn't really like that OVA much. Kirin will happen, I just don't know when yet. Of course, I won't exactly follow the anime that closely.

Wonderbee31: Yeah, Nabiki does tend to pry a bit, doesn't she? Ukyo will try something else, that will happen in a later chapter though.


	22. The Great Watermelon Martial Arts Race

Chapter 22 The Great Watermelon Martial Arts Race

Author's note: Warning, there is a lime scene at the end of the chapter. For those of you allergic to citrus fruit, you may wish to avoid.

Ranma was feeling extremely pleased. The two of them were cuddled up together on a promontory overlooking the ocean, watching the sun slowly sink into the horizon. Akane was leaning tightly up against his shoulder, while his arm was wrapped around her waist. The afternoon swimming practice with Akane had gone extremely well. While Akane was still a long way from learning how to swim, she had enjoyed the kicking exercise that Ranma had suggested, especially since it had allowed Ranma plenty of excuses to hold the other girl.

Then, once they had gotten back to the cabin so they could shower and change, Kasumi had all but forced them to leave on a walk, and had suggested they might be able to find some privacy on this very spot. Ranma had smiled at her and asked, "How would you know, big sister?" and was rewarded by a blushing Kasumi. Once they had reached the high spot and had sat down leaning against a couple of large stones that protected them from casual observation, Akane had expressed her appreciation with an extended session of necking. Finally, they came up for air and sat snuggled up together, enjoying the view and the feel of the cool offshore breeze.

After a few minutes, he sighed contentedly and said, "Akane, you're coming along pretty good learning to swim. I was right, though, about one thing. You're gonna have the same problem that I did. All that muscle mass that you've built up over the years is gonna make you sink like a brick unless you keep your arms and legs moving."

"You don't think that I'll ever learn how to float?" Akane asked.

"I can't really float either, so probably not. Like I said, it's not really an issue, you just have to keep your legs moving," Ranma said.

"Oh, that's okay then," Akane said, content. Then as the sun dipped down, turning into a glorious sunset, she breathed, "That's beautiful."

"Yes," Ranma breathed, gazing at Akane.

"I was talking about the sunset," Akane said, giggling.

Ranma smirked and said, "I wasn't." He had the audacity to look surprised when Akane hugged him hard, causing his ribs to creak in protest. When she finally let go, he saw tears running down her cheeks.

"How'd I get this lucky?" Akane asked.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "And here I was thinking the exact same thing, tomboy." He looked at his watch and frowned slightly. "I guess it's time for us to head back. Kasumi wanted us at the cabins soon," he said.

Akane pouted for a moment and then said, "Well, it's never a good thing to upset Kasumi. I'll race you back."

As they neared the cabin, Kasumi stopped them just before they entered, and said, "I know that you two don't turn seventeen until early in August, but you are going to be on that training trip, so we thought we'd have your party early."

They followed her into the common room, and found the entire group waiting for them. The room had been decorated for a combined birthday party for the two of them, with streamers, and balloons, and all sorts of other decorations. After they had finished a wonderful meal, where Kasumi and Nodoka had gone all out, they dragged out the presents for the two guests of honor.

Daisuke handed Ranma and Akane matching boxes. When Ranma opened his, he found that it was a collection of his favorite manga, all about a young school girl who had fallen down a well and ended up back in feudal Japan, chasing after a bunch of jewel shards with a half-demon, a demon slayer, a perverted monk and a kitsune.

"Thanks, Dai, this is great. It's even the animanga, with all of the illustrations in color," Ranma said happily.

"You're welcome, Ranma. It's actually from both of us," Daisuke replied.

"Well then, thanks Hiroshi," Ranma said with a smile.

Akane's present was similar, except her box set was all about this clumsy young man who was trying to get into Todai, and was the manager of an all girls rooming house. Ranma smirked to himself as he remembered that in that story the young man was always getting beat up by the girls for something that usually wasn't his fault. 'Sounds real familiar to my life before,' he thought, 'I'm glad it's not like that this time, at least Akane isn't acting like Naru.'

Then Akane opened another present, one in a clothing box. She pulled it out curious to see what it was, only to blush furiously as she realized that it was a very sexy yellow negligee, extremely sheer, with matching panties. She slammed it back into the box, her face bright red.

"That's for when you go on your honeymoon, Akane," Nodoka said with a brilliant smile.

"Uh, thanks, Auntie," Akane replied. 'I wonder if Ranma would like to see me in that,' she thought.

Ranma slowly opened his next present, only to close it quickly, his face blushing. He exclaimed, "Mom!"

"What's the matter, Ranma?" Akane asked, "What was your present?"

Ranma said something under his breath but Akane didn't hear him.

"What?" she asked again.

"It's a matching negligee except in black," Ranma replied, "I told you Mom had strange ideas."

Nodoka, Nabiki, Yuka and Sayuri began laughing at the bright red faces looking at them.

"Look at the card again, son. I didn't get you that," Nodoka said once she got her composure back.

Akane slowly turned the card over and showed Ranma that it read, 'Kasumi.'

"Kasumi!" Ranma exclaimed. Then he laughed and said, "Thanks." Then he turned and grinned at Akane and asked, "Should I save it for our honeymoon, or do you want to see it sooner?"

Akane giggled, and then blushed. Then she swatted Ranma in the arm, as she laughingly said, "You pervert!"

Daisuke and Hiroshi instantly sprang up and raced to their room to find a handkerchief.

Genma growled dangerously at his son.

"I think she's just getting back at me for that dress I bought her the first time we went shopping," Ranma teased.

"Well, I thought it would look so good on you, little sis," Kasumi teased back, "When I saw what Auntie had gotten Akane, I had to get you a matching one."

Kasumi handed Akane another present. Akane opened it, and her eyes grew wide with excitement. "Is this what I think it is?" Akane asked.

"Yes, it's Mommy's old cookbook. The one that I learned to cook with and that I wrote all of my notes in. I found it a few days ago and knew that it needed to go to you," Kasumi replied.

Akane dropped the book and reached over and hugged her sister, tears of joy running down her face. "Thank you, sis," Akane said, her eyes bright, "Now I'll have something to use when I cook during the weekends on our training trip."

Soun looked over at Genma, his face ashen and whispered, "I feel sorry for you, old friend."

"Ah, what do you mean?" Genma asked.

"Let's just say that Akane has not mastered the fine art of cooking nearly as well as her sister," Soun replied.

'Just how bad can it be,' Genma wondered.

Ranma opened another present, this one addressed to both him and Akane. Inside, he found a card saying that the bearer had two free meals at one of the local restaurants, in fact one of the nicer continental places. Ranma showed the card to Akane who squealed in delight. "Milano's" she said, happily, "That's one of my favorite places." Ranma looked at the card and saw that it was from Nabiki.

"Thanks, Nabs," Ranma said with a smile, "Looks like I know where I'm taking Akane the next time we go out."

"This is a really nice present, Sis. Thanks," Akane added.

"Well, you know how it is, I had a friend who owed me a couple favors," Nabiki said.

Akane opened her next present to find that Sayuri and Yuka had given her a set of CDs from one of her favorite idol stars. Akane smiled happily and said, "Thanks, guys, I really appreciate this."

Ranma picked a small flat package and opened it to reveal a DVD titled 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' from Sayuri and Yuka. Ranma thanked them saying, "At least I understand Chinese, I guess Pops will have to read the subtitles. "

Yuka said, "We knew you were really into Martial Arts and hope this is not too fake. After all, one of the fights takes place up in the tops of some bamboo trees."

The next package was marked for both Akane and Ranma from Soun. Akane opened it to find a wedding album. "Daddy, this is really nice, but aren't you rushing things a bit? We aren't planning on getting married until we are seniors remember?"

Soun, chuckled "Can't fault a guy for trying. It never hurts to be prepared".

Ranma just looked at Akane speculatively but said nothing.

The next present was a small package done up with an elaborate bow marked from Mom. He unwrapped it and looked at the small book inside. He blanched somewhat and choked out, "Akane, your father isn't the only one rushing things a bit." Akane took the book of baby names from her fiancé and her face slowly reddened to match Ranma's. "Mom!" was heard from both simultaneously.

Nabiki snickered, "Akane, is there something you aren't telling us?"

They both frantically waved their hands at her as Nodoka came to the rescue saying, "That's for later on. I just get so excited at the prospect of grandchildren and couldn't resist."

Finally, Ranma opened his final present to find that it was a book entitled 'How to Teach Martial Arts' that apparently was from his father. Ranma smirked as he looked at the table of contents and said, "You must not have read this one, did ya, Pop?"

Genma growled as his wife glared at him, a bead of sweat dripping from his bald head. "Now, Genma, that's an honest question to ask," Nodoka said.

Ranma smiled and said, "Thanks for a wonderful birthday. I really appreciate that you went to all this trouble for me." He stopped for a second and then added, "I think this is the first party that I can even remember ever having for me. We didn't celebrate my birthday while I was on the training trip with Pop."

Nodoka again glared at her husband.

"Now, No-chan," Genma began.

"Did I say you could call me No-chan yet?" Nodoka asked, her eyes cold as ice. "Sorry, Ranma. That's something else that I let that baka take away from us," she said, with an apologetic look at her son.

"That's okay, Mom. That's all in the past now," Ranma replied.

"Kasumi, Mom, thanks for doing this for us," Akane jumped in, "And I'm glad the four of you were able to come and join us, guys."

* * *

Saturday morning, Ranma and Akane went down to the train station to see Hiroshi and Daisuke off, and then to meet the Amazon party. Finally the train from Nerima stopped. Ranma grinned happily as he saw Cologne, Shampoo and Ryoga leaving the train at the Kamakura station. Shampoo rushed over dragging Ryoga behind her and hugged Ranma, saying, "Nihao, Ranma."

Ranma hugged the Amazon girl back, still feeling a little odd about the situation. 'Ha, at least it wasn't a full Amazon glomp, and Akane didn't bristle and hit me like she did before. That's what feels strange about it,' he thought, as Shampoo left him and then hugged Akane.

"Hi, Ranma, Akane," Ryoga said.

"You're looking better, Ryoga. I'm glad to see that cast off," Ranma returned.

"Hello, Ryoga, Shampoo," Akane echoed once she got her breath back. 'I didn't think we'd been gone that long. Shampoo sure acts like she missed us,' Akane thought to herself.

"Hello, Elder Cologne. I'm glad you could get away for the weekend," Ranma said in greeting as Cologne hopped over to meet the welcoming party.

"This old girl still has to have a little fun once in a while," Cologne replied, "We're going to work pretty hard while we're on the training trip so it'll do me good to relax for a couple of days before we get started. Did you talk to your father about coming on the trip, Ranma?"

Ranma smirked and replied, "Not really. I just told him he was going because I needed someone for Akane to practice with who was closer to her level."

Cologne chuckled dryly and said, "I imagine he didn't take that well from what I remember of him. I'll talk to him some while we're here. I'm looking forward to that as well." Then she took a long look at Ranma and smiled again. "Well, sonny boy, looks like this week has done you some good. Did you rest up enough for the training trip?" Cologne asked.

"I think so. Akane and I trained some, and I've been slowly teaching her how to swim. She still floats like a rock, though," Ranma said with a grin.

Akane elbowed him and said, "That's not true. I don't sink anymore." Then she blushed, "Well, not all the time anyway."

"Where's Mousse?" Ranma asked, "Did you leave him behind? I thought he was supposed to come with you."

"That Kuno girl kidnapped him first thing this morning. She said something about going on an all day picnic," Cologne replied.

"So how is your plan working, Shampoo? Is Mousse beginning to lose interest in you? Certainly seems like he's spending a lot of time with Kodachi," Ranma asked.

Shampoo shrugged her shoulders, and replied, "Shampoo not sure. Not too too important anyway. So long as silly Mousse bother ribbon-girl, and leave Shampoo alone, Shampoo happy. Silly Mousse too blind to see that Shampoo no care if he out with ribbon-girl."

Ranma smirked briefly and then suggested, "Why don't we hit the beach? We can drop off your stuff at the cabins on the way there, get changed and then join everyone else."

* * *

Ranma walked out of her room after changing into her suit and a shirt. As she did, she promptly ran into Ryoga. She frowned briefly as she saw an odd look flash quickly through Ryoga's eyes. 'Ah man, I thought he got over that,' Ranma thought. She said gently, "I'm sorry, man. I thought you were okay with this."

Ryoga grimaced as he replied, "I am. This is just the first time that I've seen you like this since I found out the truth. It'll take me a little time to get used to seeing you."

"I'll try not to change too much in front of you if that'll help," Ranma replied, "But, now that I spend most of my time as a guy, I'm a lot more of a water magnet than I used to be, so I don't know how much I can help that. I don't wanna hurt you any more than I already have because of this damn curse."

"I understand, Ranma. Thanks. I have to admit that I'm in your debt," Ryoga said, "After all, you got your curse keeping me from getting one, and now that I'm with Shampoo, I'm not quite sure what I was running away from."

"Friends, then?" Ranma asked, hopefully. Ranma held out her hand.

Ryoga grinned sheepishly and replied, "I'd like that. Just don't expect me to start hugging on you like Shampoo does." Ryoga clasped her hand and shook it.

"That works for me, Ryoga. I'm looking forward to training with ya. You're one of the few people that I don't have to worry about holding back on," Ranma said. 'Well, not much anyway,' she thought with a mental smirk, 'after all, I am the best.'

Ryoga looked surprised momentarily and asked, "Do you really mean that Ranma?"

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't, Ryoga. As long as I've known you, you've been tough. I need that in a sparring partner," Ranma replied.

Shampoo came rushing up wearing her swimsuit.

Ryoga took one look at her wearing her swimsuit, and passed out.

Ranma broke out laughing, and then splashed him with cold water. Ryoga spluttered for a second and then climbed to his feet, a sheepish look on his face.

"Come on, before it gets any later," Ranma said as she started off toward the beach.

The group walked up the beach heading toward where Kasumi had said to meet them. As they neared the area, they saw a large crowd gathered around some sort of starting gate.

Cologne pointed to a sign stretched across the beach. "Wouldn't you like to compete in that?" she asked.

Ranma looked up and read the sign. It read, 'Martial Art Melon Splitting.'

"What on earth is that?" she asked.

Then they heard someone in the crowd say, "It's a race! It's an art! It's war!"

"Martial Art Melon Splitting? What the heck is that?" someone else asked.

"The rules are simple. Contestants run while trying to split each other's watermelon. The first to reach the finish line with the melon intact is the winner," the contest announcer said through a loudspeaker.

The crowd began to grumble and disappear. "What a stupid idea!" one said as he began to leave.

"The prize for the winner of the woman's race is ten thousand yen and a year's supply of Ramen," the barker continued.

Ranma grinned at Akane and asked, "What do you think, tomboy? Should we?"

"Sound like fun, Ranchan. Think you can keep up?" Akane replied with a matching grin.

"This first contest is open to all women. All wanting to participate come to the starting gate," the announcer said.

Ranma started heading toward the starting line, followed by Akane, and Shampoo.

Ryoga said, sarcastically, "Where do you think you're going, Ranma? This race is for girls only."

Ranma glanced at her body and smiled winsomely. She replied, "Well, duh, what do I look like to you?" She pouted, and added, "Don't you think I'm a cute girl?"

Cologne cackled and interjected, "Looks like sonny boy's got you there, son-in-law. This looks like it might be fun. I haven't done this in ages. Besides, maybe it'll give me a chance to see what you're made of, sonny boy." She walked up to join the three girls.

Ranma grinned widely and said, "Sugar and spice and everything nice, of course."

Shampoo and Ryoga looked puzzled.

Akane giggled and said, "I don't think so. Maybe puppy dog tails."

Cologne cackled and added, "I'm impressed. I didn't realize that your English lessons taught you old nursery rhymes. Seriously, though, I look forward to racing against you."

Ranma grinned even wider and replied, "I look forward to it also."

The three girls and the old woman joined the throng at the starting gate, picking up their watermelon and a long stick. Ryoga carefully made his way towards Genma and Soun, keeping his eyes on them both so he couldn't get lost. Once he made it, he saw that Soun was trying hard not to smile, while Genma was silently fuming about his son turned daughter entering the race.

"Ranma shouldn't demean himself this way," Genma muttered.

Ryoga chuckled to himself and then said, "Just think about Ranma winning the prizes, Mr. Saotome. After all, a year's supply of ramen should last even you a week or two."

At that, Soun began to chuckle as well. Finally, Genma grinned sheepishly and said, "All right, at least it's in a good cause. The ten thousand yen wouldn't hurt either,"

At that moment, the announcer said, "Every one get ready. On your mark, get set, GO!" The sound of a starter's pistol was then heard.

The throng of girls began to move, heading towards the finish line, barely visible in the distance, far down the sandy beach.

Ranma burst through the crowd, her stick flying to left and to right, breaking the watermelons of the contestants around her. "Out of my way!" she called as she made her way to the front of the crowd. She ran as fast as she could, but as she ran, she became aware of several people closing on her from behind. Ranma glanced over her shoulder and smiled as she saw Akane and Shampoo running side by side, their watermelons tucked securely under one arm. Then she heard a faint sound from above her. She looked up to see a dark shape coming out of the sun flying toward her. Ranma cursed briefly and then dodged to one side as Cologne landed behind her.

"So you're still playing, old ghoul?" Ranma asked with a smirk as she dodged several blows from the old woman's cane.

"Old ghoul? Show some respect for your elders, sonny boy," Cologne replied, "Don't get the wrong idea, I just got to thinking about the days when I was a girl playing on the beach."

Ranma laughed and asked, "Just how many centuries ago was that?"

Cologne chuckled dryly as she danced out of the way of Ranma's swing. "Let's dance, Ranma" she said with a smile.

Ranma's eyes shown with glee as the two of them began to fight in earnest, parrying each other's blows almost as if they were reading each other's mind.

Over the loudspeaker the voice of the announcer cried, "Only four contestants remain, the pig-tailed girl, the short-haired girl, the lavender-haired girl and the living mummy!"

Cologne appeared in front of the announcer and yelled, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MUMMY!"

Meanwhile, Akane and Shampoo faced off against each other, their eyes locked on each other's stick. Suddenly both of them swung at the other's watermelon, only to see their sticks lock. Suddenly, both of them were drenched in watermelon juice as both of their melons were destroyed by Ranma leaping over them and kicking their melons.

As she raced past them, Ranma cried over her shoulder, "Girls shouldn't play with swords."

Akane yelled after her, "RANMA!" as she disappeared in a cloud of sand.

As Ranma neared the finish line, Cologne landed in front of her.

"This is it, old woman!" Ranma exclaimed.

The two of them began exchanging blows again, parrying each other's attempt. Soon the sticks were flashing almost too fast to see.

The announcer exclaimed, "The Martial Arts Melon Splitting race has come down to a battle near the finish line. The first one whose melon is split loses!"

The two continued to trade blows. Finally, with a loud SPLACH, both watermelons were destroyed at the same time.

The onlookers erupted.

"It can't be! It's a tie. Both players are eliminated," the announcer cried.

"Oh my!" Shampoo exclaimed.

Akane glanced over and looked at Shampoo strangely. "Have you been spending time with Kasumi?" she asked.

"There is no winner!" the announcer exclaimed in shock.

Suddenly a voice came from the finish line. "Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?" the crowd heard, "Oh my, did I really say that?"

Ranma jerked around to see a blushing Kasumi standing across the finish line, her watermelon intact.

"What? How?" Cologne gasped.

"Yeah, how'd you get in front of us?" Ranma asked, her face puzzled.

Kasumi smiled mysteriously, and said, "I guess they were too busy looking at the four of you guys."

'There's something weird about how she did that,' Ranma thought as Kasumi was joined by the announcer.

"Congratulations, little lady," the announcer said, "It looks like we have a winner after all. What's your name?"

"Kasumi Tendo," Kasumi replied, her cheeks flaming. 'Little lady, huh! I'll little lady him,' she thought.

A watermelon-drenched Nabiki walked up to join Ranma, Cologne, Shampoo and Akane.

"What happened to you?" Ranma asked.

"Hey, when they said the prize was ten thousand yen, I had to enter. I was doing okay until some baka of a martial artist hit my watermelon and sprayed the pulp all over me," Nabiki replied, her eyes just a little angry.

Ranma gulped.

"Don't worry, you didn't do it. It's my lovely little sister who's gonna pay," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Whew," Ranma said, with a giggle, "I was afraid that I might get hurt."

Nabiki rolled her eyes and replied, "Yeah, right. A great martial artist like you afraid of little old me. What could I possibly do to you?"

"That's the thing I'm afraid of," Ranma teased, "I can handle physical pain. You don't play that way though."

Nabiki chuckled dryly, and said, "I'm hurt."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go get wet," Ranma said as she ran toward the ocean and waded in, followed closely by her fiancée.

* * *

After another pleasant lunch, Ranma changed into her tanning swimsuit. Ranma made her way to where the rest of the group was already packing up the remains of the lunch. She sat down and took off the shirt that she had been wearing over it and laid down on her stomach to tan, again leaving little to the imagination.

Shampoo grinned widely when she saw it. "Nice suit, Ranma," she said as she rushed back to one of the changing rooms herself. Nabiki, Sayuri and Yuka quickly joined her.

Ryoga looked confused and asked, "What is that all about?"

Akane giggled, and replied, "Looks like we're gonna have a competition. Nabiki went out shopping at one of the beachfront stores yesterday, and knowing her like I do, she's gonna try to one-up Ranma. She really didn't like it when Ranma's suit was skimpier than hers the other day."

"Why aren't you involved then?" Ryoga asked.

Akane shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I'm not into that kind of thing. Besides, I already know that I can't compete with either of them."

Ranma said softly, "You don't need to compete with them. I like your body just fine the way it is."

"Thanks, Ranchan. That's sweet of you to say," Akane replied.

"You're welcome, Acchan," Ranma said softly.

Ryoga turned abruptly away as the other four girls made their appearance to keep his eyes from bugging out in shock. He had seen Shampoo in her excuse for a swimsuit before, and the memory of her modeling it in front of him was causing him to react in much the same manner as he had that night. Ryoga didn't want suffer the embarrassment again.

Shampoo laughed to herself as she saw Ryoga's reaction. She had to admit to herself that it felt good to cause him to blush when he saw her in this suit. Of course, the fact that, while technically a one-piece, it basically consisted of a thin ribbon of cloth covering only the most important parts probably accounted for the blush. She certainly couldn't swim in this suit, and even had to be careful about how she walked.

Akane giggled as she saw Shampoo walk up. "How about that, someone with less feminine modesty than you Ranma," she said.

Ranma smiled and replied, "True, that suit shows off more of her than the one I'm wearing, doesn't it?" 'It's funny, it took me a long time to develop a sense of modesty about this body,' she thought, remembering the panicked looks she got from everyone before, 'Poor Soun, I think I almost gave him a heart attack when I used to just take my shirt off when Pop threw me into the pond. No wonder Akane always thought I was a pervert then. I'm glad I behaved better this time around.'

Shampoo gracefully sank to the ground and lay down on her towel. "Ryoga," she asked, her voice a gentle purr, "Would you put tanning lotion on Shampoo's back?"

Ryoga gulped and sat down next to her. He gingerly massaged some of the sun tan lotion into her firm skin.

Nabiki, Yuka and Sayuri joined Shampoo on their towels. Akane smirked and asked, "So, did you three girls have fun shopping yesterday? Just how many stores did you have to go to before you found a suit that skimpy, Sis?"

Nabiki glared at Shampoo for a second, mumbling something under her breath.

"What's the matter, Sis? Outdone again?" Kasumi asked, her eyes dancing with amusement.

Ranma smiled to herself as she watched Ryoga's reaction to all of the barely clad women around him. 'Hm, looks like Shampoo has been good for him. Before he would be turning red with embarrassment, and bleeding from his nose,' Ranma thought.

"Hey, Ranma?" Ryoga asked, "Why do you dress like that anyway?"

Ranma shrugged her shoulders, causing Ryoga to turn his eyes away for a second. "A couple of reasons, Ryoga," she replied softly, "One, because the sun feels real good like this. It's kinda hard to explain, but for some reason it feels better than when I sun as a guy." She giggled at the confused look on Ryoga's face.

"That's why Shampoo always dress like this on beach," Shampoo said, drawing Ryoga's eyes back to her, where he found her with a cute pout on her face.

"And the other reason is that Mom suggested it. It really ticks Pop off when he sees me as a girl, and this just makes it plain that I am one," Ranma added with a big smile, "I think she's still pretty mad at him for being stupid enough to take me to Jusenkyo and getting us cursed." She giggled for a second and then continued, "And that's a good enough reason right there."

The rest of them laughed with her at that comment.

At that moment, they were interrupted. "Hey, babe. Wouldn't you rather be doing something besides laying here on the beach?" a male voice drawled from above Ranma.

Ranma rolled partially over onto her side and replied to the tall, well-built, attractive young man standing there, "No, my girlfriend and I are fine where we are."

Akane cooperated by rolling over and hugging Ranma. "Yes, I'm afraid she's taken," Akane said, her eyes narrowed.

The young man smiled thinly and said, "That's a shame. I'm sure I could show you both a real good time."

"Why don't you leave? You're just not my type, and besides, you're blocking the sun, and I'd hate to get an uneven tan because of that," Ranma requested coldly.

"Now don't be so unfriendly," the young man protested, "I'm sure you'll like me once you get to know me."

Ryoga stood up and growled, "It doesn't sound like you got the message. They don't want you around."

"Now, now, Ryoga, there's no need to be rude," Nodoka said, "I'm sure he just didn't get the point." She stood up and with a supple movement her katana was in her hand.

The young man's eyes widened and then he bowed politely. "Sorry," he stammered as he backed away, his eyes watching the bare blade as Nodoka stared at him, her eyes cold. Suddenly, he turned and ran.

Nodoka sighed. "What are they teaching for manners these days?" she said as she slid her blade back into its sheath.

"Mom! Do you actually know how to use that thing?" Akane asked, her eyes wide.

Nodoka smirked as she slid the katana back into its sheath and said, "The family honor blade? Who me? No, I just carry this thing around for show."

Ranma looked amused as she asked, "Yeah, right. Then explain all of those trophies at your house, or are you gonna tell me that they're referring to somebody else named Nodoka Himura?"

Nodoka actually blushed as she replied, "Oh all right. Yes I know how to use a sword, I was a kendo artist in high school. That's how Genma and I met in the first place. And it does come in useful occasionally. For instance, in keeping your father in line. Though, this isn't the style of blade that my grandfather taught me."

"Aw yes, the family honor blade. Don't leave home without it," Nabiki interjected with a straight face.

A male voice called, "Nabiki Tendo, is that really you?"

Nabiki rolled over and smiled as she saw a tall, well built, handsome young man approaching from one of the beachside kiosks, followed closely by an attractive young woman, and a second man with long silver hair. "Well, hello Souta, yes it's really me. What are you doing here?"

"Same as you it looks like. Escaping from the madness of Nerima for a few days," the young man, whose name apparently was Souta, said, with a friendly expression on his face.

"Akane, do you remember Souta Higurashi? He's an upperclassman at school," Nabiki asked.

Akane looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled prettily. "I think I recall seeing him around campus. He wasn't one of the idiots who attacked me every morning, though," she replied.

"No, Akane Tendo, I thought that was the height of folly. I mean, really, what idiot would think that beating you in combat would at all interest you in a date? As the Immortal Bard once wrote, 'What fools these mortals be?' I was very happy to see that Miss Saotome here was able to put a stop to that foolishness," Souta said.

"I guess I should mention that Souta is in the Drama Club," Nabiki said.

Ranma smiled and said, "So that's why he's quoting Shakespeare. Souta, you have the look of a martial artist about you. Do you practice the art?"

"Only a little. I know a small amount of kendo that I do mostly to keep myself fit. However, I have studied the European method of fencing, and have some modicum of skill with both the foil and the epée. There is a small sallé that I practice at several times a week. I intend to continue acting when I go to university, and so I went into fencing to expand my capabilities. It helps to know how to handle a sword so you can get certain roles," the friendly young man said.

"Er, Souta, we should be going," the girl said.

"Oh sorry, Kagome. Listen, it was nice talking to you and I'll see you at school. I can't wait to get back for the next term, we'll be starting rehearsals for a play. I'm not sure what we're going to do, we haven't had a chance to select anything yet, but it will be great I'm sure," Souta said. He smiled at everyone and then followed his sister and her boyfriend down the beach.

"Son, you surprise me. You read Shakespeare?" Nodoka said in the silence.

Ranma looked around and said, "Why are you all so surprised? He's wrote some really nice plays with some good action scenes in them. And some of the comedies make me laugh like you wouldn't believe."

Nabiki replied, "I just find it hard to believe that you actually sat down and read a play."

Ranma grinned and retorted, "Hey, just because Pop is an uncultured barbarian who can't think about anything other than his stomach, doesn't mean I'm one. Don't let him know, but there were a lot of nights when we were staying at other dojos that I was up late reading. Just because he didn't realize there was more to life than martial arts doesn't mean I didn't. I hope I'm a little brighter than him." 'Not that they can know, but Kasumi and Akane were a big part of opening my eyes to what was out there. They changed me more than I realized,' she thought.

"I'm not too sure about that. I think the jury's still out on it," Yuka said with a giggle.

"Et tu, Brute?" Ranma asked with a quizzical smile. Akane and Kasumi giggled in response, getting the joke, while the other girls looked moderately confused.

Nodoka quirked an odd smile and said, "My son is so manly. He even has time for the finer arts."

"Mom!" Ranma exclaimed in exasperation.

* * *

Finally, the day at the beach was over. The horde wearily made their way toward the train station where they waited for the last train to Nerima. Cologne said, "Don't forget, I want to head out again as soon as we can Monday morning. The sooner we get there, the quicker we can start training."

"What time are you going to want me to come by your restaurant to help Msu Tsu?" asked Nodoka.

"Sometime around mid-morning, I suppose," Cologne replied, "Again, thank you for helping out while we are out of town."

"It's the least I can do for the help that you are giving Ranma and Akane," Nodoka replied, "I, too, remember Happosai, and Ranma will need all the edge he can get to beat the old pervert." She smiled thinly, and added, "Though the old man never tried anything with me, for some reason."

Cologne cackled and said, "I can't imagine why not. Though you do have a pretty pointed argument against him trying to grope you, I suppose."

Nodoka grinned wickedly and replied, "Yes, after he saw that I knew what to do with this katana, he was a lot less interested in being around me. I had to let out a few liters of his blood before he learned to leave my underwear alone, though. After that, we got along, though I didn't realize the impact he was having on my then fiancé Genma. If I had, I might have done things a bit differently."

"That's water under the bridge. I think you'll be pleased with how he behaves once he comes back from the training trip. I intend for him to learn several lessons while we're there," Cologne said quietly. The two women shared an odd smile and then parted.

* * *

Kasumi opened the door of the Tendo home to find an attractive, yet subdued young girl wearing a formal kimono standing there. The girl said, "My name is Kodachi Kuno. Is Ranma Saotome here perhaps? I need to speak with her."

Kasumi smiled gently and replied, "Yes, she's upstairs packing. I'll show you into the family room, and then ask her to come down."

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss," Kodachi said.

"Oh my, where are my manners? I am Kasumi Tendo, Miss Kuno. How rude of me to not introduce myself. Please, welcome to our home," Kasumi said, her placid demeanor slipping for just a second. She showed Kodachi into the family room, and then walked quickly upstairs to find Ranma.

"Ranma, a Kodachi Kuno is here to see you," Kasumi said as she stuck her head into Ranma and Akane's bedroom.

"Oh, what does she want?" Ranma asked. Then she sighed and said, "I guess I need to change and find out."

"Actually she wants to talk to you the way you are," Kasumi said.

Ranma looked a bit puzzled but followed Kasumi downstairs to the family room. As she entered the room, Kodachi knelt down and bowed three times. She said, "Ranma-sama, House Kuno has caused you to suffer dishonor. I offer my apologies for what has befallen you."

Ranma lifted her up to her feet and asked, "Why are you offering me an apology, Kodachi? You did nothing wrong."

Kodachi stammered and then replied, "I am partly to blame for what happened to you, Ranma-sama. It took me this long to find out the shameful tale from my dear brother. He was most distraught that he had attacked you. If I had not repeated the tale that the other Ranma Saotome had told me, the one about you liking girls, then my brother would not have attacked you."

"It's not a tale, Kodachi. To be truthful, the thought of being in love with a boy makes me ill. I'm not interested in them that way," Ranma said, "So you aren't to blame for repeating what the other Ranma said."

"So you truly are a lesbian?" Kodachi asked, her face pale.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Since I am only attracted to girls, I guess that's what I am. It's not something I've really tried to hide after all."

"That really doesn't change what my dear brother did," Kodachi said, softly, "The other reason I came was to thank you for not demanding that he commit seppuku for what he did. I do love Tachi, in my own way, and I would be loathe to see him die."

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "Death is too final, Kodachi. I always thought that Kuno was more honorable than that. I was surprised that he went off the deep end as badly as he did."

Kodachi blushed heavily, and looked down at the ground.

Ranma raised an eyebrow and then asked, gently, "There's something that you aren't telling me about what happened, isn't there?"

Kodachi lost the rest of her composure and began to cry. Ranma looked at her helplessly and then held her in her arms awkwardly while Kodachi sobbed.

"Ranma-sama, it's all my fault. I was working on a new potion and tried it out on brother dear after telling him about your preference," Kodachi finally gasped out. She pulled away from Ranma and turned her face away.

"A new potion? What kind of potion was that?" Ranma asked.

Kodachi blushed again, and stammered, "I wanted Mse Tsu to show his affections for me a little easier, so I created a potion that would remove some of his inhibitions. He still is attracted a little too much to that purple-haired bimbo. I guess I went a little too far in what I made. I've always used Tachi as sort of a guinea pig to test them out and it apparently drove him to wish to fulfill his lust for you."

"So that's why you really came to apologize, isn't it, Kodachi?" Ranma asked, her voice a little angry.

"Yes, Ranma-sama. That is why House Kuno owes you a debt of honor. I will do anything that you wish to atone for what I caused my brother to do," Kodachi replied, her voice steady, but the redness in her cheeks showing her emotions.

"Anything?" Ranma asked, her eyes bright.

"I'm not into girls like some of them at my school, but I'm willing to go out with you, if that's what you want. I can certainly see why brother dearest was interested in you. There's definitely an animal magnetism about you, I can feel it," Kodachi said, softly.

"That's not necessary, Kodachi. I'm a one-woman person, and I already have someone that I'm interested in," Ranma said quickly, blushing, "I was just gonna ask you to leave Akane and her fiancé alone is all."

"I can do that, I suppose. If you're sure that's all I can do for you," Kodachi replied, her eyes looking just a little disappointed, "Though I'm surprised you want them to be together. I've seen how you look at Akane when she wasn't watching. Does she know how you feel about her?"

Ranma blushed even brighter, and replied, "That's between the two of us."

Kodachi laughed gaily, and said, "You've answered the question anyway, Ranma-sama. I don't know how it will work out for you, but I wish you the best of luck."

"Speaking of luck, how are you and Mousse coming?" Ranma asked.

Kodachi blushed prettily and replied, "We are proceeding a little slower than I wish, Ranma-sama. However, I have great hopes that soon we will be making great strides."

"Please, Kodachi, it's just Ranma," she said, her face finally showing her discomfort at the other girl's use of honorifics, "Your family is almost as ancient as mine, and from the little I've read about it, served as honorably."

"You'll never be just Ranma again," the other girl said, "At least not until you judge that our honor has been cleansed of the stain that Tachi placed upon it." She glanced at the clock on the wall, and gasped, "I hadn't realized that it had gotten that late. I must dash off. I need to be there for Tachi when he comes back from his counseling." She rose gracefully from her seated position, and then dashed out the open doors to the outside and then up and over the wall around the compound.

"So you weren't totally to blame, Kuno," Ranma mused, her eyes lost in the distance. Then she chuckled, a bit dryly, and said, "Well, at least it wasn't an Amazon potion. I got so tired of them before."

* * *

Kodachi stood in the main room of the Nekohaten restaurant, waiting impatiently for Msu Tsu to say his goodbyes to the party heading out on the training trip that morning. Dressed as she was, it was obvious to the most casual observer that she and Msu Tsu were heading out on another of the picnics that they had taken.

Nodoka smiled secretly to herself as she watched the young woman quivering anxiously in her excitement. Ranma had taken the time to tell his mother that Kodachi was very definitely interested in the young Chinese martial artist and the fact that Mousse was using her as a way to make Shampoo jealous. The fact that Shampoo was aware of that fact and had no intention of falling for that made the situation even more hilarious. Nodoka did feel sorry for Kodachi, so she had had no problem with helping Shampoo out in her latest endeavor.

"Mousse, while we're gone on this trip, Mrs. Saotome will be in charge. Obey her as you would obey me," Cologne said.

"Yes, Elder," Mousse replied, his lips twitching in silent mirth.

"Mousse, just be back from your outing with Miss Kuno in time for the dinner rush. Kasumi said that she would be happy to help out during lunch," Nodoka added, "I want you to enjoy your afternoon and not think about this place until you come back."

"Yes, Saotome-elder," Mousse replied respectively.

Nodoka winced and asked, almost plaintively, "Can you call me Auntie, or Nodoka, please? Saotome-elder makes me sound so old."

Shampoo handed Mousse a large wicker basket, filled with several selections from the restaurant. "Mousse better go, Ribbon-girl looks anxious," the girl said.

"I'll miss you while you are on your trip," Mousse said quietly.

Shampoo smiled briefly and then replied, "I doubt that, silly Mousse. I'm sure that Ribbon-girl will keep you plenty occupied while Shampoo gone." 'At least I certainly hope so,' she thought to herself.

"Come children, we need to leave. The train will be at the station shortly," Cologne said, interrupting the brief conversation that Mousse was having with Shampoo.

The four youths picked up their backpacks and followed the Amazon elder out of the restaurant and down the street to the Nerima train station where they were to join Nabiki and Genma. Ranma hoped to himself that Nabiki was keeping a watchful eye on his slothful parent, and that she was able to keep him out of trouble.

As they got onto the train, Ranma pulled Shampoo aside and asked, "How does the campaign go with Mousse?"

Shampoo smiled mysteriously and replied, "Plan working good. Silly Mousse spend great deal of time with Ribbon-girl. But Shampoo not leave anything to chance this time."

"What do you mean by that? Did you do something to the food you gave them?" Akane asked.

"Yes, Shampoo make too too good ramen for silly Mousse and Ribbon-girl to take on picnic," Shampoo said, her eyes flashing with suppressed mirth.

Cologne looked at her and sighed. "Girl, what did I tell you about messing with my spice rack? What did you do to the ramen?" she asked, frowning at the exuberant Amazon girl.

"It too too good plan, add a little Passion Spice to ramen. That way silly duck and ribbon-girl get very affectionate to each other," Shampoo said with a smirk.

Cologne whacked Shampoo across the head with her cane and growled, "You stupid girl, why would you do something that foolish? Oh well, what's done is done. By now they have already left for their picnic, and we couldn't get back in time to stop them."

"Aside from the fact that she used one of your potions, Elder, what is wrong? Will the Passion Spice potion cause anything bad to happen?" Akane asked.

Cologne looked her age for a moment and replied, "Not necessarily, I suppose. Both Mousse and the Kuno girl are martial artists and have a great deal of stamina because of that. They may exhaust each other but that will be the worst thing that can happen."

Akane blushed furiously.

"They don't have to do what you're thinking, Akane Tendo. It depends a great deal on how much control they have," Cologne added.

"I agree with you Elder, there's not much we can do about the potion, now," Ranma said heavily, "We're too far away from the park to change anything now. I just hope that Kodachi doesn't use her potion as well."

* * *

Mousse and Kodachi made their way down the sun drenched streets of Nerima to the lake, Mousse carrying the large wicker basket in one hand, and the other firmly clasped by Kodachi's strong fingers. She also was carrying a small wicker basket in her free hand. Finally, they reached a small dock where a tiny skiff was moored.

Mousse eyed the water of the lake warily and asked, "So where are we going? You never told me."

Kodachi replied, "There's a small clearing in the woods surrounding the lake that can only be reached easily from the water. The beach is somewhat rocky so few people go there and we should have a nice, private time for the two of us."

Kodachi stepped into the boat and Mousse carefully handed her the baskets. Then he reluctantly stepped in and made his way gingerly to the oars. He began rowing, while Kodachi directed him. After a strenuous and nerve-wracking twenty minutes, Mousse found the location and neared the shore. Kodachi jumped gracefully out onto the shore and then pulled the boat up onto the shingle. After Mousse handed her the baskets, he again carefully clambered out of the boat and tied the boat to one of the trees guarding the glade with a series of elaborate knots.

Seeing the confused look on Kodachi's face, Mousse grinned at her and said, "It's not much of a boat, but it's the only one we've got. I'd hate for it to wander off and strand us here." Then he stared around the clearing in amazement. It was a bit more elaborate than Kodachi had implied. The narrow shingle ended at a grassy sward that stretched up a small rise to where it ended in the dense forest. A small pavilion, open on three sides crowned the gentle rise, providing an excellent view of the placid lake.

Kodachi pulled a large blanket out of her basket and stretched it out over the grass. Then she anchored it against the gentle breeze coming off of the water with the two baskets. Once she was finished with that, she gracefully knelt down on the blanket and smiled an obvious invitation to the suddenly nervous Mousse.

The lad sat down on the blanket next to his attractive partner and watched in fascination as she opened the picnic baskets and began to pull out the various items that were inside. Due to the clever containers, the food was still hot as she dished out the ramen noodles and the miso soup. Then she brought out a container filled with various pieces of sushi, a small amount of wasabi and some pickled ginger. Finally, she poured out two glasses of wine. After handing Mousse his set of chopsticks and a spoon for his soup, the two began to eat.

After a few moments of silence, Kodachi hesitantly said, "Darling Msu Tsu, I am curious about where our relationship is heading. We've had several pleasant dates and hopefully many more in the future, but we've never really talked about how you feel."

"I've enjoyed our times together, Kodachi," Mousse replied, "I like you a great deal." His eyes looked uncertain as he replied however.

"That's nice to hear, darling Mousse, but I'm worried that you're just using me," Kodachi said.

"Using you? In what way do you mean?" Mousse asked. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead as he ate his ramen.

Kodachi took a bite of her ramen before answering. Finally she said, "I've noticed how you look at Xian Pu from time to time. I'm concerned that you are just going out with me to make her jealous. What does she have that I don't have?" Suddenly she began to feel a little warm and unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse, exposing a large portion of her cleavage.

Mousse stared intently at the buxom woman in front of him, his eyes glued to the display of creamy flesh. His face flushed and he replied, "At one time she had my heart." The warm day had begun to make him somewhat uncomfortable and his current embarrassment was just making it worse. Without giving any conscious thought to his actions, he pulled off his robes, leaving him clad only in his trousers and a tight shirt. He flung the robes aside where they landed with a noticeable thunk.

"But you have mine," Kodachi said huskily, her eyes beginning to glaze over as they wandered over his muscular frame normally hidden by the full robes. She licked her suddenly dry lips and continued, "Surely you have realized that by now. And Xian Pu only has eyes for Hibiki."

"True, she has given him her heart," Mousse said sadly.

Kodachi moved closer to Mousse and reached for his hand. In the process, her blouse slid down off of one shoulder, exposing one flawless breast. Ignoring the display, Kodachi asked softly, "Could I win your heart?"

Mousse slowly brought his eyes from her chest and gazed deeply into her eyes. Something strange was happening to him, certain feelings that he thought he had only felt for Xian Pu were being aroused by the passionate woman in front of him. Finally, he said, almost in a groan, "I think you may already have, Kodachi. Why have I been wasting my time chasing some unobtainable dream when I have someone as wonderful as you wanting me?" He reached out and taking her in his arms, crushed her to his chest, his mouth seeking her lips. As he kissed her, she moaned in pleasure and then parted her lips, inviting his exploration. Eagerly, he complied as his tongue caressed hers.

Trembling, Mousse brought one hand up and gently cupped her breast, his work and exercise calloused hand strangely gentle against the soft flesh. Kodachi moaned louder as his thumb caressed the erect nipple. Then she shivered as Mousse began kissing the nape of her neck. Every portion of her exposed skin felt alive. Losing herself in her desire, she eagerly unbuttoned the remainder of her blouse, allowing it to slip off of her shoulders, baring herself completely.

After several minutes of the two of them hungrily exploring each other's body, Mousse gained a moment of clarity. With great will and self-control, he pulled himself away from Kodachi, unsure exactly when both of them became topless. Gazing at Kodachi and seeing her passion-filled eyes, Mousse said reluctantly, "Kodachi, we need to stop. Odd as it may sound coming from a man, but there are some things that I want to save until I am married. Some of our tribes strongest magicks happen between a man and a woman on their wedding night."

"Was that a proposal, dearest Mse Tsu?" Kodachi asked.

Mousse replied, "I'm not sure, maybe. It's just that this is happening too fast. I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I don't know what that means."

"Not even Xian Pu?" Kodachi asked softly.

"Who?" Mousse responded. Then he chuckled, and replied, "I think you've managed to convince me that what I thought I felt for her was merely lust. What I feel for you is completely different."

Kodachi gazed at him, her eyes filled with unrequited passion. "Mse Tsu darling, I've never felt this way before either. And I will do anything to feel like this again."

Mousse looked at her sadly for a second and said, "I just wish I knew if what we are feeling is truly us." He wondered why Kodachi started in surprise when he said that.

"What do you mean by that, darling?" Kodachi asked. 'No, don't let him figure out about my potion in the wine,' she thought in panic.

"I'm not an expert, but I think there is an ancient spice that the Amazon women call Passion Spice. I'm not sure exactly what it does, but I vaguely remember rumors about its affect," Mousse replied.

"Would that be so bad?" Kodachi said, "I know what I felt for you before and that hasn't changed. All we've done today is reveal how we feel. Please, don't say that what just happened didn't have any meaning."

Mousse lost himself in her eyes again and replied, "No, I wouldn't say that it had no meaning. I'm not sure what the future may hold for me, but I can't see it being without you in my life."

* * *

Author's note: Thanks all for the wonderful reviews. My thanks go to Taechunsa for his assistance with pre-reading my stories. Unfortunately, real life as reared its ugly head, and he will have to bow out to concentrate on school. Again, I offer my thanks for the help he was in making these chapters what they are. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. Specific responses follow:

Bobboky: I'm glad you're hooked. I aim to please, and this is a much nicer addiction than some that come to mind.

Katie Medrano: I'm afraid Kodachi has Mousse, as this chapter shows. I hope you enjoyed it. There's a bit of Ryoga in this one, with more in the next.

ZRO4825: I'm attempting to make both Nabiki and Kasumi much more prominent than they showed up in the canon Ranmaverse. Hopefully showing them as something other than cardboard cutouts as well. Having them tease Akane about Ranma without going over the line is a lot of fun.

SeanMalloy-1: At the moment I have no idea who (if any) Ukyo ends up with. I have had several different thoughts about where I want her to go, some dark, some not.

Crolynx: Thanks. And to answer your question, I will be continuing Different Path, albeit a bit slowly. Nabiki's Plan is basically over, I'm afraid. It was more an exploration into angst than anything else. If I can come up with some good ideas, I may write a sequel to Decision.

Jetforce: Thanks, that is the kind of praise any writer likes to read. I tend to see Ukyo as someone as obsessive as Kodachi based on her chasing after Ranma for ten years and then her actions at the failed wedding. So yeah, I doubt she'd give up easily. However, she's not crazy so hopefully something would knock some sense into her.

Solsanches: Well, in love with the girl side anyway. I didn't mean to imply that Ryoga learned Chinese in a week. I'm using the fanfiction cliché that because of all of his wanderings, Ryoga is fluent in many languages.

Isumo1489: Thank you. I don't think I'm really in her league. I've watched all of the anime and I'm slowly building my collection of the manga, so I'm attempting to be true to the source material, especially in this story. I hope I have succeeded.

Shinigami: After watching the anime and reading the manga, I think Ukyo is just as obsessive as Kodachi in many ways, she's just not crazy. I mean, after all, what reasonable person would track down someone for ten years for vengeance, and then suddenly change that hatred into love just because you're told that you are cute. And then to show up at the wedding with explosives. That's just a little over the top. This time around, Ranma didn't acknowledge that she was a fiancée, so that would tend to make her a lot messed up. Don't worry, she'll settle down, eventually. I may or may not pair up either Nabiki or Ukyo, though I have several possibilities. And Mikado Sanzenin or Tatewaki Kuno aren't in that list.

Jena: Yes, I know about Konatsu, though I don't have that manga volume yet. I plan on him showing up sometime, definitely sooner than what the canon would do. After all, Ranma is messing with the timeline just a bit.

AngelRanmaSou: Thanks. As to the cryptic message, that is any one of your favorite Chaos Gods from whatever pantheon you prefer. Or it could have been an extremely subtle Author self –insert (VBG).

Wonderbee31: And one more scene at the beach. Those are fun to write, a bit of WAFF for those who like them.

Read: Well, since I'm using both the anime and the manga as sources, there is also the martial takeout artist that he was engaged to, so that makes it at least three that we know of. That's why I wrote several. Plus, it's kind of a fanfiction cliché that Genma engaged him to half of Japan. I've seen it taken to ridiculous lengths in other stories.

Dana-san: Obviously there's nothing in the canon in the several appearances that Nodoka makes that indicate how she would feel about a daughter, or whether she can use that blade. I just couldn't resist going with the fanfiction cliché about that, especially since in canon, Ranma really isn't that modest about his female body. And I figured that since Genma is so afraid of Nodoka, she ought to have some reason besides just the contract. As dishonorable as Genma is, I can't see him voluntarily committing seppuku, so unless she can really use that blade, then he wouldn't have any reason to fear that contract.

Pard: Because then it wouldn't be a Ranma story. Instead it would be a story about some characters with the same names.

Hououza: That is indeed the fiction that I am writing. I haven't read the Saffron arc yet either, so I'm not real sure how I'm going to warp that story. I've got a few ideas, but they haven't gelled completely yet. That's a lot of chapters down the road though, since I'm only around volume 5 or so in the manga timeline right now.

Renzuko: There should be several scenes in the next few chapters that the hentaii's will like. Not that I have any real problem with that. I do intend to keep this at PG-13 though, so they won't get any true lemon scenes.

Psycho King: Well, Daisuke and Hiroshi are both teenage boys. Where else would their minds be? They've just discovered hormones after all. VBG Yep, Nodoka has almost as warped a grasp on reality as Genma.

Daouid: My brothers and I always teased each other about the girlfriends we had. Including a bit of mild flirtation, so that's where Nabiki especially is coming from. And yep, she's jealous. Both of her sisters have men that care for them. And she doesn't like any of the ones at school. I have only seen a few stories that attempt to do anything with Genma and Nodoka getting back together, so I thought I'd try. Next chapter will show the training trip. And yes, Ranma knows both sides of the secret techniques. He'll adapt them for his own purposes though. That seems to be one of his strengths.


	23. The Breaking Point

Chapter 23 The Breaking Point

Akane stumbled to a stop as she left the train station and stepped onto the sidewalk, her eyes squinting as she tried to adjust to the bright sunshine that was in such a contrast to the dimly lit cavernous station behind her. Once her eyes adjusted, she frowned as she saw the towering hills soaring upwards into the bright blue sky that were framing the dilapidated buildings in front of her across the nearly vacant street. "Ranma," she asked, a cute wrinkle appearing between her eyes as she frowned, "This doesn't look familiar. I thought you said we were going to the same place to train. What happened?"

"Er, uh," Ranma replied in a low voice that couldn't be overheard, his cheeks flaming, as he dug the toe of his shoe in the ground, "I, uh, wanted to kinda keep that place to ourselves. Ya know, somewhere you and I could run off to if we needed to find a little privacy. I thought it was too special to share, I guess."

Akane hugged him, and said softly, "That's so sweet." She looked up to see that the rest of the party had disappeared into the grocer's across the street. "Well, we'd better catch up to them before Genma gets carried away," she said.

Ranma smirked and replied, "Yeah, but we'd better make sure he doesn't carry the food though. It'd never make it up the mountain to the campsite."

Akane giggled as she followed her fiancée into the store.

* * *

As the sun slowly began to sink behind the last row of mountain peaks, Cologne finally called a halt. The party had followed her deep into the foothills, into a small, heavily wooded pocket valley framed by the mountains. Down one side of the valley, a small stream made its way from where it spilled down the side of the mountain in a lovely waterfall and then onto its long trip to join the sea.

Ranma looked around and nodded in acceptance. The spot the Amazon elder had picked was a large clearing, adjoining the babbling brook, with a grassy sward that would allow for several tents to be erected. Large trees surrounded the clearing on all sides, providing an excellent arena for training in tree-hopping and other useful skills. He smiled to himself as he saw several large boulders, knowing full well what Cologne had in store for him and Ryoga in the morning.

With a large groan, Genma dropped his heavy pack to the ground and collapsed beside it. Ranma glared at him for a moment and then asked, "What's the matter, Pop? Getting too old for this?" Without waiting for an answer, Ranma placed his backpack on the ground and pulled out his tent and sleeping bag. With Akane's help, the two of them made short work of erecting the tent and then placed their sleeping bags and backpacks into their tent. While they were busy, Ryoga and Shampoo erected their tent also. When Ranma looked up, he saw Cologne struggling to put up the tent she was sharing with Nabiki. Ranma walked over, and said with a grin, "Finally, something that you're not good at, old woman."

Cologne chuckled ruefully and replied, "Just not tall enough to be of much help, I guess."

Ranma smirked and quickly helped Nabiki put up the tent. Then he wandered over to where his father was, and tossed his tent about ten meters away from all the rest.

"Boy, why did you do that?" Genma growled angrily.

'Two reasons, old man. One, you snore like there's no tomorrow, and two, you don't always change out of your panda form. When you don't, you need to be downwind of us," Ranma said, his eyes cold, "Any problems with that?"

"So where's your sleeping bag?" Genma growled again.

"Where do ya think, old man?" Ranma replied incredulously, "I'm sharing a tent with my fiancée, of course. I'd sure as hell rather wake up next to her every morning than see your mug. And don't try any of your crap about waking me up in the morning to train. Elder Cologne is in charge of training on this trip and I don't think she's gonna put up with you getting in her way."

"Sonny boy speaks truly," Cologne said from behind them, "You're here to help them learn but only what I want you to teach them."

"So what are you planning on teaching them, old woman?" Genma said angrily.

Cologne whacked Genma on the head with her cane and said, coldly, "I have several techniques of the Amazon tribe that I intend for Ranma and Ryoga to learn. Hopefully, the two girls will also be able to learn them as well, but at least one of them takes a great deal of physical strength and stamina. Now, I need water and firewood for dinner, so the sooner that they are available, the sooner we can eat."

"No problem, old ghoul," Ranma said with a smile, "Ryoga and I can get some wood." He shrugged and added, "At least until we can find some hot springs or boil some water, I probably ought to stay away from that brook."

"Well what about me falling in?" Genma asked in astonishment, "Why aren't you thinking about your poor father, you ungrateful child?"

"Aw, stop your whining Pop, it makes you sound like a girl," Ranma said with a smirk. Then he explained in a soft voice, "Ryoga didn't fall in love with your cursed form, Pop. It's still easier on him if he doesn't see my girl side that often. I think the day at the beach hurt him more than I thought it would. He was awfully quiet on the way back, like something was bothering him."

Cologne looked at Ranma with almost a smile of approval and followed Ranma as he headed over to join Ryoga. Genma looked disgusted for a moment and then growled, "Don't think I'm gonna forget this, boy. You'll learn to respect me again."

* * *

Ranma ducked his head under the canvas as he entered the tent. The lantern by the entrance was casting a flickering light that lit up the tent. He stopped in surprise to see that Akane had rearranged the sleeping bags by zipping them together so that they actually formed one large bag. Akane was sitting on top, dressed in her favorite pair of yellow pajamas, her eyes looking at the ground, with her cheeks flaming red. He thought she had never looked so pretty.

"Hey," Ranma said softly, "We've been sharing a bed for weeks now, so why are you blushing?"

"This just makes it more obvious, I guess," Akane said, "I suppose I'm being a little silly."

"Do you want me to change? Would that make it any easier?" Ranma asked.

"NO! I want my fiancé with me tonight," Akane replied quickly, as she made her way into the sleeping bag.

Ranma slipped out of his shoes, and then undressed, leaving him in his boxers and undershirt. He turned around to find that Akane had already gotten in the bag, and quickly joined her after turning off the lantern, casting the tent into darkness. As he joined her, she snaked her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. He bent his head down and found her eager lips as they joined in a passionate kiss.

Finally, breaking apart, Ranma said huskily, "I've been waiting all day for that. We're gonna have to find a way to spend some time together."

Akane giggled, and replied, "Well, you shouldn't have fallen asleep on the train then. We could have spent time together then." She moved around so that her head was resting on his chest and snuggled up tightly against his side.

"Did you do your centering exercises today?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, sensei," Akane said, a bit sarcastically.

Ranma chuckled and continued, "That's good. When you think you're ready, I wanna see if you can learn my ki attack, as well as the Saotome secret techniques. The Umi-Ken-Sen can't be learned unless you can control your emotions. We'd better get some sleep. Morning will come awfully early and I bet Cologne will run us ragged." He bent down and kissed the top of her head, and closed his eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Ranma was rudely awakened by Genma tossing a bucket of cold water over his sleeping body. "Come on, boy," Genma growled, "It's time to train."

Ranma crawled out of the tent, her face furious. "Pop," she said angrily, "What do ya think you're doing?"

"You've grown soft, boy. The sun's been up for at least ten minutes and you're still lounging around in bed. I need to toughen ya up," Genma replied, his eyes cold.

Akane stormed out of the tent, her face furious. "It's bad enough you woke him up, old man. But you got both of us wet as well as our sleeping bags. Die, Saotome," she said as she swung her mallet. Ranma smirked as Genma went sailing away to land in the brook with a loud splash.

"Nice form, Acchan," she said, "I'm sorry that you got caught like that. Now why don't you change into something else, while I start the fire going again? I don't think you want to be out in those wet pajamas. Not that I mind the view, though."

Akane glanced down and blushed to her roots. The wet clothes had molded themselves to her body, leaving little to the imagination. With a loud squeak, she disappeared back into the tent.

Ranma giggled as she walked over to the fire pit. Quickly building a small tripod of twigs and tinder, she relit the fire. Once the twigs had caught, she carefully fed the small fire with small branches until it was large enough for some of the larger branches. Once she was satisfied that the fire was going to burn down to a nice bed of coals, she headed off to the brook to fill a couple of pots with water.

"Pop, Akane's not really a morning person, and that wasn't the best way to wake us up. I suggest you not do that again, or you'll be in a world of hurt. Remember what the old woman said, she's in charge of training on this trip," Ranma said to the panda sulking in the brook. "Now, if ya don't mind, I need to get some water going so Shampoo and Cologne can fix breakfast and so I can change back," she said.

The panda growled at her angrily, but pulled itself out of the brook. 'I'm your father and you'll do what you're told,' his sign read.

Ranma sighed to herself, and then answered, "Pop, you just don't learn do ya? She's the whole reason I'm here. You and Mr. Tendo couldn't beat him with what he taught you so I'm gonna have to come up with a few different things. I gotta learn stuff that Happosai doesn't know, or hasn't mastered, or I'll never beat him. Just sparring with you in the morning won't cut it. What I think Cologne wanted ya here for is to train with Akane and Shampoo, but she hasn't really told me yet. Now, why don't ya go wait by your tent until the water is ready?"

"Well said, sonny boy," Cologne said from behind her, "That is indeed one of the reasons I wanted your father here. But he will be of some use in teaching you Bakusai Tenketsu, the breaking point technique. That is what we will do once breakfast is over."

'Breaking point technique?' the panda's sign read. FLIP 'Aw yes, everything on this earth' FLIP 'has one vulnerable point, the breaking point' FLIP 'whether it be boulder, cricket, frog, or yes, the human body'

Ranma smiled to herself, 'Yeah right Pop, like you would really know. I know full well that the technique only works on rocks.' "That sounds like a pretty dangerous technique for me to know, Elder," she said, playing along, "Are you sure that that's a good thing to teach us?"

"Quite sure. You and son-in-law need to learn it, or you will never be able to face the old pervert," Cologne replied sternly.

"Well, you're the sensei," Ranma said cheerfully, as she made her way up to the fire to start heating up the water. She smiled to herself as she left Cologne beginning to berate her father.

"Saotome, I told you yesterday that you weren't to attempt anything other than what I told you to do. Which part of that didn't you understand, fool?" Cologne said coldly, "You're here on my sufferance. Don't cross me again, or you won't like the results."

'Bah, what could you do, old woman,' the sign read.

Cologne's eyes narrowed and she sprung into action. Before Genma could react, he found his body twisted into a shape that he thought was physically impossible, with his arms and legs knotted together. "Any more dumb questions?" Cologne asked, not even breaking a sweat. She waited a second, and shrugged her shoulders at the suddenly mute beast. "I guess not," she said as she hopped away, leaving Genma whimpering in pain.

Ranma glanced over at the remains of her father and simply shook her head. "Idiot," she said as Cologne joined her, "I tried to warn him, but he just wouldn't listen. Kinda went easy on him though, didn't ya?"

Cologne chuckled dryly and replied, "Well, I will need his help with those boulders."

"Ah, I thought there was a good reason," Ranma retorted, "That's probably his best use anyway, dumb labor."

"Ranma, why you girl?" Shampoo asked as she bounced over from the tent she had been sharing with Ryoga.

Ranma simply pointed over her shoulder at the panda pretzel and listened in surprise as Shampoo giggled.

"Ranma got up on wrong side of bed. Cute trick since was sleeping bag," Shampoo said, her eyes dancing.

"Nah, I really didn't do anything. Akane punted him into the brook, and your great-grandmother decided he needed to learn a lesson," Ranma replied, her face split in a wide grin.

Akane walked up then, and asked Cologne softly, "Is there something that I can ruin for breakfast? I don't really want Genma to know that I can cook a few things."

Cologne glanced quickly at Ranma and then smiled knowingly. "Not this morning child. But I'll be sure to have you make something special for Genma this evening. In fact, you can fix him something special for the entire week. Will that work?"

Akane grinned and said, "Yeah, that'll work. I want Genma to be looking forward to staying here with us this weekend."

"I thought it might be something like that. You figure you can chase him off and the two of you can have some privacy, don't you?" Cologne said with a twinkle in her eye.

Akane blushed as Cologne cackled loudly.

Nabiki growled from inside her tent, "Can't a girl get some sleep around here? Keep it down, will ya."

"Sorry Nabs," Ranma called, "But you better not stay in bed too long. Once the food is ready, Pop will eat everything that isn't nailed down. Of course, he's learned not to try to steal my food anymore, but there won't be anything to keep him from trying to steal yours."

Grumbling, Nabiki crawled out of the tent, dressed in a pair of short shorts and a tight crop top.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine," Cologne said.

Nabiki glared at Cologne in disgust.

Cologne cackled at her with glee.

"Your coffee will be ready soon, big sis," Ranma said, with a chuckle, "The water is almost hot enough now. Once you get that down, then you'll feel more human."

"Thanks, little sis," Nabiki replied, gratefully, "You know how I hate mornings."

Ranma handed her the cup of coffee, grumbling under her breath about stupid pandas.

* * *

After breakfast was over and the dishes cleaned up, Cologne had the four martial artists join her and Genma near the waterfall, where there was a collection of large boulders.

"Before we begin," Cologne said, "I want to see you shatter this boulder." Cologne tapped one of the boulders with her cane.

Ryoga sneered and asked, "Is that all?" He chuckled and then continued, "And here I was wondering what arduous training you would put me through!" He cracked his knuckles.

Cologne said simply, "Mighty confident, aren't we?"

Ryoga screamed, "YES!" as he hammered the boulder with his left hand, splitting the boulder in two with a loud CRACK!

"How's that?" Ryoga said proudly as he sneered at Ranma.

Cologne shook her head. "Fine. Except I didn't tell you to split the boulder. I told you to shatter it. Kind of like this."

She gazed calmly at a second boulder and then tapped it with one finger. The boulder exploded, scattering tiny fragments all over the area.

Genma cursed loudly as several of them hit him. Ranma snickered quietly. Ryoga stared in amazement at what he had just seen.

"What?" Ryoga exclaimed, looking at the debris-covered ground.

"Care to learn that trick?" Cologne asked.

"And I thought that nothing about you could shock me more than your face," Ryoga said in surprise.

Cologne glared at him as she whacked him on the head. "Show some respect, son-in-law," she demanded. She glared at him for a second and said, "Genghis Khan feared this three thousand year old Amazon secret technique. The Bakusai Tenketsu attack! Otherwise known as the Breaking Point Attack!"

"So that's the Breaking Point technique?" Ranma asked quickly, "Looks interesting. If I master this technique, I can defeat Happosai?"

Cologne replied, "Yes. You may want to study it."

Ryoga asked, "So when do we start?"

"Well, there's no time like the present, is there?" Cologne replied.

Soon, Ranma and Ryoga found themselves hanging in the air, suspended from a couple of tall trees by a rather elaborate set of harnesses. Ryoga looked over at Ranma and asked, "Why exactly are we doing this?"

Ranma stared back, and then glanced at his tightly wrapped hands. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," Ranma replied. He grinned back at Ryoga, and added, "Mind you, I'm not so sure any more. I think this is gonna hurt."

Ryoga chuckled dryly and replied, "Yep, I think you're probably right."

"Okay, son-in-law," Cologne said, "We'll swing this boulder toward you. Try to find the breaking point and shatter it with your finger."

Ranma stared at Cologne in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me, old ghoul! Did you get one of Pop's old training manuals or something? That sounds exactly like something he would try."

"No, sonny boy, this is an ancient Amazon training technique, handed down over countless generations," Cologne replied.

"Do me a favor, Cologne; don't show Pop any more of those techniques. I don't need him to get any other ideas," Ranma said, "Don't forget, he's the one who decided to teach me the Nekoken."

"Okay, Ryoga, your turn first," Cologne said.

Ryoga gazed fiercely at the boulder, his eyes fixed, with his face showing his determination. As he waited, he heard the swish of the boulder as it came flying toward him, swinging in its cradle. With a loud cry of "Hyaaaaa," Ryoga crashed into the boulder, his finger poised and ready. As he hit the boulder with his finger, his finger bent, and the momentum of the boulder carried it into him with a loud "THWAP!" Ryoga hung limply from the impact of the boulder, groaning slightly.

Cologne looked on in disgust and said, "Oh good grief! Look at the miserable fool. What a pathetic performance. Again, look for the breaking point!" She gazed at him in disgust and then pointing her cane at him said, "Use your mind's eye to find the breaking point!"

The two youths spent the rest of the day taking turns being subjected to the battering of the boulders as well as being subjected to the withering criticism of the old crone.

Genma looked on in disgust after the last pitiful attempt by his son and growled angrily, "Ranma, you fool! Pull yourself together and learn this technique. Don't you want to be the best? If you can't master this simplest of techniques, you'll never achieve that."

"As much as I hate to agree with the fat fool, he is correct. If you can't learn this, you'll never defeat the old pervert," Cologne added.

Ranma looked up and locked eyes with his father. "Don't worry, old man, I'll learn this," he said as he shoved himself away from the boulder.

Ryoga looked on, equally battered, and then closed his eyes. 'All right, not with the eyes, but the mind's eye. See it with the heart!' he thought as the boulder approached him. He opened his eyes and exclaimed, "There!" as the boulder approached and he touched it with his finger.

Cologne chuckled dryly and said, "Nice try, but not quite."

"Impossible," Ryoga said, "I felt it"

"You failed because you have other things on your mind," Cologne said.

"My mind is absolutely clear! What else could be on my mind?" Ryoga protested.

Cologne pointed to the stone, where plainly the characters spelling out Shampoo's name were etched into the rock.

Ryoga's face turned bright red as he blushed.

At that moment, Shampoo walked up and said, "Dinner ready!"

Ryoga swung around and hid the rock from Shampoo's eyes. "We'll be right down!" he cried.

"Saotome, we'll need a few more boulders. Could you get them before you join us for dinner?" Cologne asked, "Don't be too long though."

Genma glared at her for a second.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Cologne asked, her voice rising in menace, her aura flaring.

"N-n-no," Genma said, as he scampered off.

"Coward!' Cologne exclaimed in disgust.

Ranma chuckled and said, "True, but it's easier to control him because of it."

Cologne looked at Ranma thoughtfully and simply nodded. "True, sonny boy, very true," she agreed, "But I don't like people that grovel like that."

Ranma quickly untied himself and dropped lightly to the ground. 'Neither do I old woman. I think that's one of the things that disgusted me the most when that old pervert showed up. Both Pop and Soun wouldn't stand up to the old freak, and left Akane and I out to dry,' Ranma thought angrily. "I'm not a big fan of people who do that either, Cologne," he said dryly, as he joined Cologne and Ryoga as they followed Shampoo back to the campsite.

* * *

That evening, Genma made his weary way back to the campsite, after finally finishing the task that Cologne had assigned him. Grumbling under his breath, he sank down in front of his tent, just in time for Akane to walk up.

"Mr. Saotome, I made this just for you. You took so long getting back that I'm afraid everything else is already gone. I can't thank you enough for all you've done to help Ranma learn the Breaking Point technique. Hauling all of those boulders up the side of the hill and then swinging them at him must have made you so hungry," Akane said with a winsome smile, "Please, make sure you eat all of this. I know you'll need to keep up your strength. Cologne was so nice, she told me to make sure I took good care of you. She wants me to fix all of your dinners while we're on the trip."

"Thank you, Akane. I'm hungry enough to eat a horse," Genma said, taking the bowl from Akane. Quickly, he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. After swallowing it, his eyes watered. "Oh dear, I forgot, I need to get some more training in," Genma said, as he put the bowl down, "Excuse me, Akane." He stood up and ran off.

A strange smile flickered on Akane's face as she went back to join Ranma and the others. She glanced over at Ranma just in time to see him wink at her.

"What happened to Saotome?" Ryoga asked.

Akane giggled, and walked over to where she had been cooking. "I must have put too much wine in the meal I fixed for him," she said, picking up the bottle she had been using.

"Uh, Akane, that's vinegar," Cologne said carefully.

"Oh my, imagine that. I can't believe I made that mistake. Poor Mr. Saotome," Akane said, with a perfectly straight face.

Cologne looked at her and then cackled. "Very well done, my dear," she said.

"Whatever could you mean, Elder?" Akane asked, blushing. She walked over and sat next to Ranma.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Elder?" Nabiki asked.

"Isn't it obvious, she deliberately ruined that dinner," Cologne replied.

Nabiki lost herself in thought for a moment and then chuckled ruefully. "Okay, how long have you known how to cook?" she asked.

"Ranma and his mother have taught me quite a few dishes," Akane admitted, modestly.

"So all those times you were cooking and we ran away from the house to escape the horror of your food; that was just a chance for the two of you to be alone," Nabiki accused. Then she giggled, "Sis, I'm proud of you. That was brilliant. And I assume you want me to make sure Genma leaves with us this weekend too."

Akane blushed and asked, "Now why would I want some privacy with Ranma?"

"Shampoo can't imagine why," Shampoo said with a grin.

Ranma chuckled lightly and then groaned as he shifted. "Acchan, I think I'm gonna need some help tonight. I think I've got bruises on my bruises," he said.

"There's a small hot spring-fed pool upstream a little ways, Ranma, which you and Ryoga should soak in," Cologne said.

"That's convenient," Shampoo said.

"Why do you think I picked this place?" Cologne asked, "I knew that everyone would need to soak off the battering they would get from the boulders. I had just hoped that we would have gotten a bit further along than we did."

"Don't worry, old woman," Ryoga growled, "I'll learn it quickly. Hah, I'll bet I'll learn it before Ranma does."

Ranma's eyes lit up and then he said, "You're on, lost boy. Who was the one who kept writing Shampoo's name in the boulders this afternoon, instead of breaking them?"

Ryoga blushed furiously as Shampoo giggled delightedly.

Nabiki asked, "Ranma, do you have any ideas about how you're going to face Happosai?"

"I don't know completely, though I have a couple of ideas. Cologne, what can you tell us about him? After all, your people have been chasing him for a long time. Surely you know something about him," Ranma said.

"Well, he's a very strong martial artist, and a massive pervert. He likes to grope and fondle woman, and steal their underwear. I think that is because he can get a recharge of his strength by absorbing female ki," Cologne replied.

"I think Pop said something about that," Ranma agreed, "So one of the things we'll need to do is to keep him from getting close to either Shampoo or Akane. Aside from not wanting either of you two to get molested, I don't want him to regain his strength."

"If you think you're facing him alone, Ranma," Akane began, her eyes hot, "you've got another thing coming. I'm going with you and that's final."

"What she say," Shampoo interrupted.

Ranma chuckled briefly and said, "I wouldn't even try to prevent either of you. I'm not sure I would survive."

Akane and Shampoo blushed.

"No, what we'll have to do is hide what you are somehow," Ranma said.

"Well, Akane could wear boy's clothing and bind her breasts like Ukyo does. She would pass as male then," Nabiki said, "Shampoo, on the other hand, I don't know how we'd hide her figure. There's no way she could pass."

"Gee thanks, Sis. I love you too," Akane said dryly.

"No charge, Akane," Nabiki retorted, "Seriously, that's the only thing I can think of."

Cologne interjected, "Well, I do have some packets on Instant Nannichuan. If Shampoo or Akane used them, they would actually be male."

"What's that stuff?" Akane asked.

"It's some one-shot powder that when you add water to it, provides a temporary curse," Cologne explained.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Ranma protested, "What if it gave them a permanent curse?"

Cologne pondered that and replied, "I don't believe that can happen. At least I'm not aware of any side affects like that."

"I don't know Elder. I'm not sure how well I could fight as a male. I mean everything would be off. My balance, my center of gravity, everything," Akane said thoughtfully.

"That's a good point," Nabiki agreed, "It was different when you gradually changed over time when you hit puberty and began to develop a figure. You were able to take that into account as you developed. Having everything change instantly, that would have to throw you off."

"Well, it was just a thought," Cologne grumbled.

"Just not a very good one," Ryoga retorted.

Ranma and Shampoo laughed at Cologne making such an obvious blunder.

* * *

After the dinner conversation was finally completed and the campsite was cleaned up, Ranma and Ryoga made their weary way to the hot springs. Quickly stripping down, the two boys gratefully sunk up to their chins in the hot water, allowing it to bring relief to their aching bodies. The steam coming up from the water carried the heavy scent of minerals, indicating that there was some medicinal aspect in the somewhat murky water, providing more than just the therapeutic feeling of the hot water itself.

Ranma said, "Thanks for coming on this trip, Ryoga. You really didn't have any reason to come."

Ryoga smiled grimly and replied, "Yes, I did, Ranma. I've talked to Shampoo and found out that Happosai is the one that killed her mother. She wants her vengeance, and I don't wanna lose her if she goes after him. If nothing else, I'll watch her back while she fights him."

"This time it's not her fight, that'll be my job, Ryoga. I'm gonna challenge him for the mastery of the Anything Goes School. If there's anything left after I'm done, she'll be welcome to him then," Ranma replied, his eyes cold as he lost himself in his memories. 'After everything that pervert did the last time, I'm not gonna take it easy on him at all. I just gotta get good enough to take him,' he thought.

His musings were interrupted by Nabiki's voice calling, "Close your eyes, guys. We're going to join you."

"Hey, we're not exactly dressed for company here," Ryoga protested, his face blushing.

"Well, this is the only hot pool so we're coming in whether you like it or not," Akane said.

"Okay, I've got my eyes closed," Ranma said, "But I can't believe you two are doing this."

"Shampoo think you are silly peoples," Shampoo's voice said.

Ranma heard the sound of the girls entering the water, and then jumped slightly as someone slid next to him. "I sure hope that's you, Acchan," he said as she bumped up against his shoulder.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Akane said.

Ranma opened his eyes to see that Shampoo was nestled up next to a red-faced Ryoga, while Nabiki was more or less visible through the steam, sitting opposite with an amused expression on her face. He turned and lightly kissed Akane and asked, "Since when do you share a bath with me?" He carefully glanced down and sighed with relief as he realized the heavy mineral content in the water hid all of the important bits.

Akane giggled and replied, "When it's the only tub available and you are taking too long. It was Nabiki's idea. She got tired of sitting around waiting for you."

Ranma chuckled and said, "I should have known. She's shameless."

Akane shrugged her shoulders, causing interesting ripples in the water. She said, "Yep, that's sis for you. Well, you might as well get used to this, we'll be sharing every evening, especially when Shampoo and I start the Breaking Point training. Cologne said we'd start Wednesday afternoon and let you guys recover."

"I'm worried that you'll get hurt. Those boulders don't feel real good when they crash into you," Ranma said.

"We're martial artists too, you know," Akane replied, firmly, "We're doing it. You didn't get a vote."

Ranma smiled wryly and said, "I didn't say you couldn't do it. Not even I'm that stupid. Now, Pop on the other hand will probably pitch a fit. I'm not sure he really believes all that crap he says about women being weak, but he sure acts like it." He winced as Akane accidentally hit one of his sore spots with her elbow.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

Ranma replied, "Yeah, I'm just a little sore. These will heal up pretty quickly. I'm got that ointment that you can rub into the bruises, remember and this water is helping." He looked over at Ryoga and said a bit louder, "That reminds me, Ryoga. I've got some salve that will help with the bruising. If I give you some, maybe we can get Cologne to make up some more. I think I remember the things that go into it."

"Shampoo have too too good time rubbing it on Ryoga," Shampoo said with an arch look. Ryoga blushed even redder than before.

Ranma took pity on Ryoga and decided to change the subject. "Akane, don't forget your centering exercises. I want to see if you can do my ki attack while we're on this trip. Maybe while everyone is gone for the weekend, you and I can work on tree-hopping," Ranma said, "I think you're about ready for that after watching the balance work you've been doing. I should have had you start learning roof-hopping already. We'll probably go running first thing in the morning. That'll help me loosen up for the battering I'm gonna get."

"Do you mind if I join you?" Nabiki asked.

"Uh, Sis, since when are you into running?" Akane asked surprised.

Nabiki looked thoughtfully at her sister before replying and then said, "Odd as it may seem, I've decided that I need to get into better shape. A girl needs to be able to protect herself if the situation arises. Somehow I get the feeling that things are about to get more interesting around here. I know I won't be able to turn into a martial artist, but I at least need to be able to run away."

Ranma looked at Nabiki for a second and said, "You might surprise yourself, Nabs. Don't get me wrong, it would take you a lot of time, but you could do pretty well in the art. It is in your blood after all. You move well, and always seem to stay balanced. But for now I think you have the right idea. Being able to run away from trouble is not a bad plan."

"Well, that's settled then," Nabiki said happily.

Ranma started wading toward the edge of the pool. "Don't peek, girls. I'm turning into a prune so I think I'd better get out," he warned. He waded out of the pool and headed over to where he had left his clothing.

A wolf whistle greeted him, and then he heard Nabiki say, "Nice buns, Ranma."

Ranma blushed to the roots of his hair, and then growled, "I thought I told you not to peek." Quickly, he pulled his boxers over the aforementioned body parts. He turned then and said, "You looked pretty good, too, Nabs."

Nabiki actually blushed, surprising everyone.

"Ranma, stop flirting with my sister," Akane growled warningly, only spoiling the effect by the hint of a grin dancing around her mouth.

Ranma waved as he finished getting dressed and said, "I'll see you later at the tent, Acchan." He thought for a second and then decided it was worth it. "You can show me yours then," he teased as he walked out of earshot.

Akane glowered at her sister as Nabiki began to giggle.

Nabiki waited for her sister to calm down and then asked, "Did you ever think that Tofu and Kasumi would set a date for their wedding?"

"I'm just glad that they finally did. Just think, in a few weeks, the two of them will be married. And then to ask Ranma and I to stand up with them," Akane replied.

Nabiki giggled.

Shampoo asked, "What so funny, Mercenary Girl?"

"Just remembering about when Akane went to get fitted for her dress for the wedding, and the look on Ranma's face when I asked if he was going to go with her to get fitted for one as well," Nabiki replied with a smirk.

"I thought it was funnier when Kasumi asked if Ranma wanted to be the maid of honor," Ryoga interjected.

"Yeah, but then Tofu had to ask if I would be the best man," Akane said.

"Sis, you have to admit it was funny," Nabiki said.

Akane glared at her sister for a moment and then admitted, "Okay, I know I'm a bit of a tomboy, but did he have to rub it in like that."

Nabiki and Shampoo began to giggle. Akane looked disgusted for a moment and then the humor got to her as well and she joined them in their laughter.

* * *

Mid morning on Wednesday, Cologne watched as Ranma and Ryoga again tried to perform the breaking point technique. She cursed under her breath as Ranma actually succeeded in breaking his boulder into multiple pieces. "Damn, he's learning it too quickly," she said.

Nabiki looked up from where she was sitting and asked, quietly, "What's wrong with him learning it this fast? I thought you would be pleased."

Cologne grumbled to herself and replied, "The reason I'm teaching them is not just to learn the technique but also to get toughened up by the repeated blows from the boulders. If he picks it up too soon, he won't get the complete benefit."

Nabiki thought for a second and then wandered over to where Akane was working out with Shampoo. The two of them had been lightly sparring. "Sis, I need you to do something for me," she asked.

"What?" Akane asked.

"Go change into your skimpiest outfit and then come back out here and work out with Shampoo," Nabiki said.

"Why?" Akane asked, her face showing her surprise.

Nabiki smirked and replied, "Just trust me, Akane."

Ranma thought, 'Damn, she's right, I am learning this too quickly. I thought trying to learn this in both forms would have slowed me down. I need something to distract me.' He watched as Nabiki said something to Akane, who stared at her in surprise. Then Akane ran back to her tent and then came out several minutes later dressed in Ranma's bikini. Ranma couldn't take his eyes off her as she began to work out with Shampoo again.

"Ouch!" he yelled as he missed the boulder and it crashed into him. 'Good for you Nabs,' he thought, 'watching that is certainly going to distract me from what I'm doing.'

"Ranma!" his father exclaimed, "Pay attention, or Ryoga will learn this faster than you."

Ranma glared at his father and said, "Try again." As the boulder came in towards him, again he was distracted by the way Akane's body was barely covered by the black fabric, especially as it stretched tightly as she bent over to avoid Shampoo's strike. He looked up to see the boulder bouncing away from him, with Akane's name spelled out by the holes his finger had made without him noticing.

"Boy, pay attention!" Genma growled again.

"Ah, young love," Cologne cackled, "Like what you see do you, sonny boy?"

Ranma grinned sheepishly at Cologne and then winked at her. 'Well, this might actually work. Damn, Akane looks good in that,' he thought, 'Cold shower tonight, for sure.'

* * *

After lunch was over, Ranma watched in concern as Akane was hoisted into the air. While the idea of getting a rest from the battering he was receiving was pleasant, he knew that the girls were in for a rough afternoon. 'It's a necessary evil, though,' he thought as he moved carefully over to where Cologne was watching. "How many more times do I need to get battered by those boulders, sensei?" he asked quietly.

Looking at him in some surprise, she asked, "You know the real reason?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, wincing from the pain, and replied, "Yeah. I've always known."

Cologne gazed at him impassively and then replied, "So you deliberately allowed yourself to be distracted so you could continue the strengthening exercises. I'm impressed. You'd make a good Amazon."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Thanks for the compliment, Cologne, but you know better than that. I'm just a bit too arrogant to stay in your village as a subordinate male, and I don't like being a girl that much. I've accepted the fact that I'm probably always going to change into a girl, but that doesn't mean I want to be one permanently."

Cologne looked at him thoughtfully and said, "You surprise me more and more, sonny boy. That's a surprisingly mature attitude that you have there. Especially considering the idiots you have for a role model."

Ranma frowned so quickly that Cologne almost missed it. 'Damn, she's beginning to suspect something,' he thought. "We need to talk some time about Happosai," he said, "If possible I don't want to kill him. I'm not a warrior, after all, just a martial artist. But for now, I think you have my fiancée waiting for you."

Cologne looked at him again and then turned to Akane. "Okay, girl, you need to concentrate on where the breaking point is. You're smarter than these boys, you should see it easier," she said loudly, "Are you ready?"

Akane nodded her head, her eyes fixed on the boulder. Cologne released the rope holding the boulder back and watched intently as it swung toward the waiting girl. With a loud cry, Akane struck the boulder with her finger, only to see it continue into her, hitting her hard.

Ranma winced in sympathetic pain as he watched, only to smile proudly as Akane said, stoically, "Again!"

* * *

Friday afternoon finally rolled around, with Ranma and Ryoga both learning the Breaking Point technique. Nabiki was just finishing up her packing since she was leaving with Cologne, Shampoo and Ryoga to head back to Nerima. Akane stuck her head in the tent and asked, "Well, Sis, did you have a good time?"

"Surprisingly, I did. I've come up with some ideas for how Ranma needs to face Daddy's old master that I need to go over with Cologne, and it was fun to spend a little time with you. I actually enjoyed the jogging that we did, and the occasional sparring that we practiced. I can kind of see why you kept up the family arts. Though I still don't see what's so fun about breaking a bunch of concrete blocks," Nabiki replied.

"I enjoyed our time together, Nabiki. Getting you away from the pressures of Nerima seems to have brought a glow to you that you haven't had in a long time," Akane replied.

Ranma chuckled to himself as he watched his father pack up his belongings. "Hey, Pop, whatcha doing? I thought you were gonna stay here with us," Ranma asked.

Genma barely hid a shudder as he thought, 'Stay here and eat her food. Not on your life. If it weren't for the bamboo I found the first night, I would have starved to death.' "Er, I remembered promising Tendo that I would come back this weekend. There's a big shogi tournament that he wanted to go to," Genma replied.

"Well, we'll miss you while you're gone. You have a good time," Ranma said, barely hiding his mirth. He walked over to where Akane was talking to Nabiki and said, "Looks like it's just the two of us this weekend. Pop said that he promised to go to a shogi tournament with your father."

"That's really a shame. I was so looking forward to cooking for him," Akane said, with an insincere look of sadness about her.

Nabiki giggled and said, "You two are good. I almost bought that."

Ranma smiled at Nabiki and said, "Thanks. We had a little practice."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do while we're gone," Nabiki said, "I'll see you next week."

"You're gonna come back?" Akane asked in surprise.

Nabiki grinned toothily and replied, "Yeah, I think I will. I want to see you finish learning the Breaking Point Attack. That should still be good for a few laughs."

Ranma chuckled and then yelped. "Okay, I'll quit laughing, but you really didn't have to hit me," he grumbled. He grinned at her and teased, "That was s-o-o uncute, Tomboy."

"Baka," Akane said fondly as she heard the affection he had for her in his voice.

Chuckling, Nabiki pulled her pack on and walked over to where the rest of the group was standing. Finally, Genma joined them and the five of them headed away from the campsite toward the town miles away.

* * *

Nodoka looked up from where she was cleaning the counter as she heard the door to the restaurant open. She smiled a greeting as she watched an obviously weary Shampoo and Ryoga stumble through the door, followed by an energetic Cologne hopping on her staff. "How was the trip?" Nodoka asked, privately amused by the sight.

Shampoo headed upstairs followed closely by Ryoga, only stopping long enough to say hello. Cologne joined Nodoka at the counter and replied, "The trip went well. Both sonny boy and son-in-law learned the first technique that I want them to learn, and Akane and Shampoo had a good time sparring with each other and flirting with their men. After watching your future daughter-in-law, I can say that it's a real shame that she had no real teacher for so long. While she is a long way from being as good a martial artist as my great granddaughter, the ability is very definitely there. With competent instructors, such as myself, Ranma or Shampoo, she will become an excellent martial artist, especially as driven as she is. She'll make a good match for your son. He picked well."

Nodoka smiled happily as she heard that. Then she frowned slightly and asked, "Did my husband behave himself?"

Cologne chuckled dryly and replied, "More or less. He did spend some amount of time as a panda pretzel on occasion. Between Ranma and myself, he learned quickly to stop his foolishness and not to question my methods. He is waiting for you at home, by the way. He said something about not wanting to face Akane's cooking all weekend."

"Akane cooks quite well. I taught her several things myself," Nodoka protested.

"Of course she can," Cologne agreed, "But why would you think your son and daughter-in-law would want company this weekend?"

"Oh my son is so manly!" Nodoka exclaimed.

Cologne face gaped open in astonishment.

Mousse and Kodachi entered the seating area from the kitchen, hand-in-hand. "I thought I heard your voice, Elder," Mousse said, "Welcome home."

"It's good to be back," Cologne said, "Don't tell Shampoo, but I am getting just a bit too old to sleep on the ground. I'll be glad when the summer is over and I've finished Ranma's training."

"It is nice to see you, honorable Elder," Kodachi said.

"Hello, Kodachi. What are you doing here?" Cologne asked. Then she noticed something else that was odd. Mousse wasn't wearing his glasses anywhere. "What happened to your glasses, Mousse?" she asked.

"That's one of the reasons that I am here," Kodachi replied, "I've been helping Nodoka-san while you've been gone. Msu Tse has been recuperating, so he hasn't been able to provide much help."

"Recuperating?" Cologne asked.

"Ko-chan graciously used her influence and got me an appointment with an eye doctor. They performed laser surgery on my eyes, and have restored them so that I can see clearly," Mousse said, "And while I waited for them to heal, she helped Mrs. Saotome in the restaurant."

"What did I tell you both about my name?" Nodoka said.

"Sorry, Auntie Nodoka," the two youths said in eerie unison.

Nodoka smiled and said, "That's better. You two can run along now. I only have a little left to clean up. Don't stay out too late though."

"Thanks, Auntie," Mousse said, "There's a movie that Ko-chan wanted me to see."

Kodachi walked over and hugged Nodoka. Nodoka kissed her forehead and hugged her back. The two youths left the restaurant, again walking with their hands joined together.

Cologne raised her eyebrow and waited silently. Once the door was shut, she asked, "What happened there? And when did she start hugging you?"

Nodoka giggled girlishly and then replied, "When they came back from their picnic the first day you were gone they were joined at the hip. You couldn't have separated them with a crowbar. Then when she talked Mousse into the laser surgery on his eyes and volunteered to help here, we got to chat. She's had a very hard childhood, losing her mother at a very young age, and then her father disappeared several years ago, leaving her and her brother to fend for themselves. She's actually a very sweet girl; at least once you get her away from all of her potions. She just needed a mother figure to talk to, I guess. Anyway, I told her to call me Auntie and then a day or so ago, she began hugging me. She just needed someone to give her a little affection."

Cologne shook her head in amazement and asked, "I'm impressed Nodoka. Most people wouldn't have seen past the craziness in her."

"What can I say?" Nodoka replied, "I'm always picking up strays like that." She saddened for a moment, and then said, "I suppose in a way, I was trying to compensate for not having my son in my life so I always looked for ways to help other children."

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks all for the wonderful reviews. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. Originally, the training trip was going to be one chapter, however, it got to over 13000 words, so I decided to break it up into two, which brings me to a couple of questions for the audience. One, Akane will be learning her version of the Möko Takabisha, or 'fierce tiger domineering'. I'd like suggestions for a good name for her version. So far, I am aware of two different names from Kalen Darkmoon's 'Resolution', Akane Ha, and Dragon's Fury Strike, and one from The Shadows, 'The Shadows are Stirring', Genko Fenikusu or Phoenix Strike. The second question I have is related to the story itself. Am I staying within the PG-13 rating or not? I would prefer not to raise the rating to R since I don't intend to be any more graphic in my lime scenes than I have so far written. I eagerly await the audience response. Specific responses follow:

Obsidian-fox: Having Ryoga falling in love with girl Ranma was one of the new problems. Trying to explain why he's a guy when he goes back to school next term will be another. There will be more that are coming. Some of what happened in the canon won't happen or won't happen the same way because of either Ranma's action or others also.

Valakun: Hopefully it will be original enough to continue interesting you in reading. And I thought the Kuno incident was certainly something that a person as obsessed with his version of reality would do. There will be more angst coming to Ranma, though I will admit this is supposed to be a romantic comedy.

FluffieGirlie: Uh, I'm not sure I agree that it's way over PG-13. And remember, this is Ranma after all, so there was always some amount of partial nudity in many of the stories. As you can see, I am asking the audience for their opinion however. I hope you still enjoy where the story goes.

Shinigami: I would definitely classify Kuno as a playboy, since he was chasing at least two girls who wouldn't give him the time of day during the canon, and had at least one girl ardently chasing him (Mariko the cheerleader). As far as Kasumi is concerned, she always seemed to be working behind the scenes to have the household get along. I've made that a bit more evident. As to her noticing men and being a bit more aggressive, that's due to her being engaged (finally!) to Tofu and allowing herself to live for something besides just her family. So I don't think she's too far OOC, but that's just one man's opinion.

Dragon Man 180: I always thought that pairing would work. I do pity them if they ever have kids though. Just think of trying to keep a toddler in check as he/she runs around. I also like the family dynamic that I have between the three Tendo girls. I think that with the essential desertion of Soun after the death of his wife, that the three girls would bond together pretty closely, and Nabiki always appeared to be a bit on the sarcastic side.

Isumo1489: Thanks. I'm trying to stay as close to the original spirit as I can. It's nice to get that kind of acknowledgement.

Outlaw 1: If you can point me to that reference I would appreciate it. I've seen all of the anime and read much of the manga, but I don't have all of it yet, so it's certainly something I may not have seen before. I doubt I'll change the story though because of it; it's enough of a fanfiction cliché that it's not too far out there. Beside, the tie-in to Kenshin Himura is just too much fun. I mean, that red hair has to come from somewhere.

Psycho King: Yeah, I just can't resist those little blips of crossovers. Probably won't get quite as overt as I did in Ranma's Decision again, but they are fun to slip in to see who's paying attention. I assume you meant Kodachi and Mousse didn't stand a chance? I hope this chapter gave you some amount of the Amazon chaos you were looking for.

JohnnyG: While I'm trying to stay reasonably true to the spirit of the canon, I don't have problems borrowing inspiration from the world of fan fiction. Having said that, while Passion Spice doesn't exist in the canon writings, it was just too hard to pass up. As to your opinion of the effect of Passion Spice, that's my reading of it, too. IF it existed in canon, it would only enhance existing feelings and free the person affected to act upon them. And yeah, if Cologne/Shampoo had used Passion Spice on Ranma, they really really wouldn't have liked the result. VBG It's not the Love Pill which creates feelings where none exists. VEG

ColdCypher: Assuming I can get the scene to flow the way I want it to, there should be a bit of a lime scene with Ranma and Akane in the next chapter. As to Kodachi/Mousse, what's wrong with two obsessive characters getting over their obsession? VBG And I always thought there was a lot of love between Ranma and Akane in the canon, they were both to proud to show it, and then of course, if they ever did, they'd be married in a heartbeat.

Daouid: Yes, I would expect Ranma to learn kendo (If he doesn't already) Akane, I believe already knows some. And yes, Nodoka has a somewhat skewed view of the world, doesn't she?

Innortal: Uh, I think Kasumi is engaged to Tofu already. In fact, this chapter and the next will provide some of the wedding details with the wedding itself shortly thereafter. As to Nabiki, I have several different possibilities in mind for her. Kuno will eventually be resolved. Soun, I haven't thought about. Ukyo also will have things happen to her in the romance side of things. After all, there's always Tsubasa, or Gosunkugi. (Naw, I like Ukyo too much, I'd never stick her with Gosunkugi. Besides, that battle spatula would hurt if I did that to her.)

Mim-chan: All I can say is wow. I will point out, I did list this as romantic comedy. There will be some angst in the story, though I think I write WAFF much better. Closet romantic, I suppose. And having the same old characters getting together struck me as just a bit bland, so I thought I'd see who would go good together.

Amasaki Reyoko: Those were fun scenes to write. I'm glad that you enjoyed them. The birthday party especially made me laugh as I wrote it.

Hououza: I've had several thoughts on whether someone figures out that there is something going with Ranma. I have at least one scene in my head where Akane finds out that Ranma is from the future. There's another scene where Cologne figures it out. Whether either of those ever see the light of day, I just don't know. And I can't imagine that if Ranma keeps dropping clues about things he may not should know about, then Nabiki will start being curious, and that's never a good thing.


	24. The Dawn Before the Darkness

Author's Note: As promised in the last chapter, there are again several lime scenes. This is not necessarily a trend that will continue, however, since this is a Ranma fiction, there will be some in the future.

Chapter 24 The Dawn Before the Darkness

Ryoga plopped down on his bed, after dropping his pack onto the floor. Shampoo headed over toward the dresser, shedding clothing as she did so, until she was nude. She said, "Shampoo go take bath now, Ryoga need to also. Want to join Shampoo? Shampoo wash back."

Ryoga rolled over and gazed at his fiancée and gave a weary chuckle. "Sure, why not?" he said, as he got off the bed with a groan. "I seem to have tightened up from that stupid train trip. Now I remember why I always prefer to travel on my own two feet," he said.

Shampoo arched her eyebrow and said, "Shampoo know how to fix. Can get Ryoga very relaxed."

Ryoga simply shook his head, and replied, "I thought we talked about that. We aren't gonna do that until we're married."

Shampoo giggled and said, "We married, just not have ceremony yet. But Shampoo not talking about that. Shampoo talking about back rub." She then stretched sensuously, arching her back, and said, with a come-hither grin, "But if Ryoga want make love, Shampoo ready."

"Get your robe on and let's go," Ryoga said, with a grin. 'I can't believe how much I've changed since I met her. Who would have thought that I could be in the same room with an attractive, naked girl, and not pass out? More importantly, planning on sharing a bath with her.'

Shampoo sashayed over, and pulled Ryoga to her, giving him a massive Amazon glomp. Ryoga stiffened up, and then relaxed. He bent down and kissed the side of her neck, causing her to shiver in delight. That proved to be a bit more than Ryoga could handle, as the feel of her naked body against him, moving like that, caused him to collapse.

Shampoo shrugged, and said to herself, "Oh well. Shampoo guess she still too much woman for Airen." She half-carried, half-dragged Ryoga out the door, and down to the furoba.

* * *

Ranma led Akane away from the tents and said, "Okay, this morning, since we're by ourselves, I thought we'd start out by tree-hopping. I'll lead and you try to keep up."

"I'll try," Akane said.

Akane stared apprehensively at Ranma as he said, "Just remember, don't think, just do!"

Suddenly Akane snickered and said, "That's sounds like you, Ranma. Definitely only you would make not thinking a virtue. Of course, you haven't practiced thinking too much, now have you?"

Ranma chuckled for a moment and then replied, "Well, if I can continue from where I was rudely interrupted. You still try to think too much. Just trust in your reflexes and skill and you'll do fine. Now, we're gonna play some follow the leader. Do ya think you can keep up with me, slowpoke?"

Akane grumbled at him, her eyes dancing, "You're going down, Ranma. You're going down."

Ranma leapt to a large branch on a nearby oak tree and then jumped from that branch to another tree. "Come on then, slowpoke!"

Akane leapt after him, her eyes watching his every move. As soon as she was on the branch, Ranma leapt to another. Akane jumped to the branch he just left, and teetered on it, grabbing a higher branch to keep her balance.

Ranma turned to look, a concerned expression on his face. She grimaced at him and said, "I'm fine, Ranma. I just misjudged the distance a little."

He looked at her a moment longer and then nodded his head in satisfaction. He jumped to another tree and yelled over his shoulder, "If you can catch me, I'll cook dinner."

Akane smiled and then jumped to the next branch.

The two martial artists then spent the next hour dancing from tree to tree, with Ranma still keeping one watchful eye on his fiancée. Akane still had the occasional oops where she had to catch herself from sliding, but overall, she was able to keep up reasonably well. Finally, Ranma jumped down to the ground in a small clearing in the forest and allowed a sweat-drenched Akane to catch up.

"Not bad for a first time, Acchan. A few more days of practice and you'll have it down pat, I think. Of course, we can't do anything like they were showing in that silly movie. Remember, the one I got on our birthday," he said in greeting.

Akane's eyes were shining from the praise and then she quickly embraced Ranma and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Then she pulled away enough to look at Ranma and said, "Thanks for trusting me, Ranma. I know it had to be hard for you not to try to come back each time I almost fell."

"Yeah it was. I never want to see you get hurt," Ranma replied, "But you won't learn if I try to keep you safe."

Ranma was rewarded first with an almost blinding smile, then a rib crunching hug, and then finally with another passionate kiss.

Once they separated again, Ranma said, huskily, "I'm not sure exactly what that was for, but I'm definitely not complaining."

"For again telling me that you take me seriously as a martial artist, and that you'll allow me to become the partner that you deserve," Akane said.

'I wish I'd realized that before. All those times I tried to use Pop's methods to encourage her to learn. Should have known that the way he taught me was worthless. After all everything else he did was,' Ranma thought to himself bitterly, 'I hurt her so many times because I didn't teach her the way I'm teaching her now.' "Well, you're teaching me a lot as well, Acchan," he said.

"Me?" Akane asked, in surprise.

"Sure, you've taught me that there is life outside of martial arts. You've helped me with my schoolwork all term, and also helped me get rid of the last of the stupid lessons about women that Pop taught me," Ranma said. He sat down on the ground and motioned her to join him. "I want to see if you can do my ki attack," he said.

Akane sat down next to Ranma, her face showing her excitement.

Ranma massaged the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "I'm not sure exactly how to teach this. I've never tried before and it can get kind of meta, oh I don't remember the word. Any way, it's gonna be hard to describe," he said.

"Well, why don't you just describe how you learned," Akane suggested in an amused voice.

"I learned how to perform the Möko Takabisha by watching someone else perform a different attack. He called it the Shishi Houkou Dan or Lion Roar Shot, but he based his attack on the emotion of despair," Ranma answered, "I watched him perform the technique several times trying to figure it out, but it was nearly impossible for me to do."

Akane frowned and asked, "So if you couldn't learn that attack, what did you do?"

Ranma stayed silent for a few minutes, as if he was remembering something and then replied, "The two of us were rivals for several years. I was always beating him in our matches and he couldn't stand it. That's when he went off and learned the Shishi Houkou Dan. When he came back from that training trip, he challenged me and beat me using it, but he hadn't perfected it. I challenged him to a rematch for basically a week later. He went off to try to perfect his technique while I tried to learn it. The only times I was able to pull it off was when I was in despair about losing to him. That's when I figured out the secret. There was a heavy feeling, a feeling of weight. Then it hit me, I was feeling massive Chi. The more despair, the heavier the heart, the more massive the Chi. So I went off to fight him again, and lost once more. I thought I could beat him, but I was too confident, so I couldn't create a strong attack. That actually turned out to be a good thing."

"Okay, now I'm confused," Akane said.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "I had a couple of people tell me that I would be unable to use it properly anyway. And then I was told that the Shishi Houkou Dan is a move that will bring disaster; that anyone who has ever practiced it is like a lion pushed off a cliff, dropping into an abyss of inescapable despair. I think that likely would be the case for any of the negative emotions. That's when I realized that there are appropriate techniques and there are inappropriate techniques in learning martial arts, and while the Shishi Houkou Dan is a powerful technique, it was inappropriate for someone with my personality to learn. I had to use a different emotion to power it."

"What do you mean by that?" Akane asked, as she thought about what he had said. Then she had an epiphany. "The most important thing is the weight of the emotion! So if you could find an emotion that works better than despair, you could mold the Shishi Houkou Dan to your own feelings!" she exclaimed.

"Exactly! Mine is based on confidence, which I think is a better choice," Ranma agreed, "That's why I was finally able to overcome the Shishi Houkou Dan and create the Möko Takabisha. So now that I've told you how I learned, let me show you." Ranma concentrated and suddenly a ball of ki shot out of his hand up into the sky.

"Now, come here and lean up against me," he said.

Akane happily complied, moving so that she was sitting between his legs, with her back pressed up against his chest.

Ranma loosely put his arms around her waist. After lightly kissing the back of her neck, he said, "Close your eyes and relax. Just empty your mind and find your center, like I taught you." He listened to her breathing and then felt it change as she reached her center. "You should be feeling a warm center somewhere near your heart. Start pushing some of that warmth out toward the fingers of your right hand," he said in a soothing voice, "You'll have to use the strongest positive emotion that you have to do it. Then, picture a small, glowing ball resting in your palm."

As he watched over her shoulder, he saw a large glowing ball of blue light form. "Open your eyes, Akane," he said softly.

Akane opened her eyes and gasped as she saw the ball of energy resting in her hand. To her surprise, it felt cool. "Wow, I did it," she said in awe.

Ranma smiled and said, "Never had a doubt, Acchan. But you're not done yet. You need to learn how to throw it. The next thing to do is to focus the ki, and launch it out of your hand. Just concentrate on where you want it to go and when you're ready shout out your attack name to help with your focus."

Akane concentrated as hard as she could. Try as she might, the ball wouldn't budge. Her frustration mounted, until Ranma lightly kissed her neck again. Suddenly, her frustration went away as she reacted to the kiss. She felt a strange surge, and the ball of ki changed color to a brilliant red light. She shouted, "Genko Fenikusu," and the ball flew several feet away, until it fell to the ground. She then collapsed back against Ranma, totally exhausted.

"Not bad for a first try!" Ranma exclaimed, "But I didn't recognize the emotion that you used."

Akane blushed to the roots of her hair and whispered, "Passion."

"Passion, huh?" he said, his face equally red. He hugged her tightly and then said, "We'll need to figure out a way to build up your strength," Ranma said, "But I think we've done enough for one day."

"Good," she replied as she turned in his lap, and faced him, then she wrapped her legs around him. She leaned in for a very passionate kiss, and soon the two of them were lost in each other's arms. The sounds of the woods around them faded from their hearing.

Ranma moaned slightly, startling Akane. "Uh, Acchan, you sitting in my lap and wriggling like that, uh, well, it's not that I don't enjoy it, but," Ranma said.

Akane suddenly became aware of what Ranma meant, so, again, blushing furiously, she scooted off of Ranma's lap. Her eyes were dancing, filled with mirth, and she asked, playfully, "I guess that means you find me sexy, doesn't it?"

'Definitely can't call her a sexless tomboy, can I?' he thought to himself. "Guess so, from the way I was reacting," Ranma replied. Then his stomach growled noisily, reminding both of them that it was late afternoon, and that they had managed to miss lunch because of all of the training that they had done.

"I guess we ought to get back to camp," Akane said, with a pout. She then giggled as she heard her stomach echo her fiancé's stomach.

Ranma chuckled, and replied, "I suppose so. It sounds like my stomach thinks I've forgotten it." He stood gracefully up, and then reached down and helped Akane stand up.

She winced slightly as she felt her legs tighten up.

"You okay, Acchan?" Ranma asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Just a little stiff," Akane replied.

'I know that feeling, though I don't think we're talking about the same parts,' Ranma thought. "Why don't you relax in the spring while I fix dinner?" he suggested, "Then I can put some of the lotion on you later on if that's needed."

"Sounds like a plan," Akane agreed. They headed back in the general direction of the camp, Akane still walking a little gingerly.

Once they arrived at their camp, the two separated, Ranma heading over to the cooking supplies to piece together dinner, while Akane grabbed a change of clothing and a towel, and then wandered off to the hot spring to soak.

* * *

Akane made her way back to the campsite, the towel wrapped around her hair like a turban, wearing a pair of short shorts and a sports bra, and carrying the clothing she had been exercising in. As she walked by their tent, she left the clothing and her towel behind and joined Ranma by the fire.

"Feeling better?" he asked, as he stirred the soup. Then he took a taste and muttered, "Needs a bit more salt." He put another pinch of salt in the soup and stirred that in.

"Yes, the hot water took care of the aches and pains from all of the tree-hopping we did today," Akane replied, "So what are we having?"

"Well, miso soup, rice, and I was able to throw together some teriyaki," Ranma replied, as he began to dish up the soup. He handed a bowl to Akane and then continued, "There's some tea and cold water to drink."

Akane rapidly made short work of her soup, her hunger surprising even her.

"Slow down, Acchan," Ranma teased, "Pop isn't here so there's plenty for both of us." He handed her a bowl filled with rice and another with her chicken. After pouring a glass of water for himself, the two of them ate in comfortable silence.

Akane finished her rice, and handed the bowl back to Ranma for seconds. She paused and then asked, "What were you and Nabiki talking about before she left?"

Ranma paused to think, and then remembered. "I asked her to see how much it would take to buy the building that Ukyo has her restaurant in. We won't ever find her yatai, and I wouldn't have any idea how much it would be worth, so I thought I'd try something else," he replied.

"Do you really think she's going to give up on you?" Akane asked.

Ranma looked away for a moment and then replied, "I honestly don't know, Acchan. The thing is, neither one of us really knows the other. She's remembering this kid from ten years ago, and I'm just not that person. I've made it as clear as I can to her that if she doesn't give up on me all she's gonna do is get hurt." He thought, 'I want my friend Ucchan back, the one I got to know last time, even if she still chased after me, but not badly enough to lose Akane. Though most of the time I just went over there to cadge meals off of her and cry on her shoulder. That wasn't real fair to her now that I come to think about it.'

Akane looked downcast, and said, almost too softly to hear, "But she's so much better than I am at cooking and martial arts. I don't know how I can compete with her."

He smiled a bit sadly, and then continued, "I know who I want to be with, and so do you. There was never any competition. She just won't let it go. Maybe if she can find someone else she'll give up on me, if we can come up with a way to restore her honor." 'That's what I can do,' he thought, 'Bring Konatsu in sooner. He doesn't need to be stuck with those ugly stepsisters any longer. Once I take care of the old freak, then I need to go rescue him. Hm, I wonder, since Ukyo showed up early, does that mean that Tsubasa will also? Maybe if she has a couple of guys chasing after her, she'll be too busy to worry about me.'

Akane still looked a little worried, so Ranma moved over next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Let's change the subject. All this one is doing is getting you depressed. This is our time, just the two of us," Ranma said softly, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

Akane turned in his arms so that they were facing each other. Then, with a gamine grin on her face, she unbuttoned his shirt. At his startled expression, she simply grinned wider, and then pulled his shirt the rest of the way off. "It was going to get in the way," was all she said, as she began to lightly caress his chest, with feather-light touches of her fingernails. She leaned in for a kiss.

Ranma reached up and pulled her tightly to him, touching his tongue to her lips in a plea for admittance. Akane opened her lip, and then moaned slightly, as Ranma teased her with his tongue. She pushed him to the ground as they deepened their kiss, Akane still, with one hand, caressing his chest.

Ranma rolled over onto his side, so that the two of them were facing each other, both of their eyes closed, never breaking their kiss or their embrace. Unnoticed during their necking, Ranma knocked his glass of water over, on top of him.

Akane wriggled happily, and then rolled over onto her back, breaking their kiss. "That was," she began, "I'm not sure how to describe it."

Ranma said in a soft husky voice, "Yes, it was, all of that." Ranma snuggled up to Akane's side, head on her chest.

Akane grinned, and said, "Ranma, you're a good kisser, I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time." She put her arm around Ranma, and pulled him closer, feeling warm and cozy, especially where the swell of Ranma's breast nestled against her side. Akane let her fingers gently caress the flesh she felt, and then bent down and lightly kissed the top of the redhead. 'Wait a minute, breasts, red hair,' Akane thought, somewhat sleepily. Her eyes opened wide, Akane giggled and then asked, "When did you turn into a girl?"

Ranma's eyes shot wide open as she realized that she had indeed changed somewhere during their make-out session. "I don't know, Acchan," Ranma admitted, "All I really remember is us kissing, and you caressing my chest. Somewhere in there, I realized I was starting to feel, well, uh, you know." Her face blushed bright red, continuing down to her chest, where the exposed skin also turned rosy. Then she asked, "This really doesn't bother you at all, does it?"

"Ranchan, I've told you before, I love you, it doesn't matter what you look like. I fell in love with the person, not the body," Akane said. Putting her words into action, she pulled Ranma to her and French-kissed the surprised smaller girl. Finally, Akane pulled away, and asked, "Does that put your mind at ease? I wouldn't do this with any other girl, but I don't mind when it's you."

"I just wake up in the middle of the night sometimes, and wonder why," Ranma said, hesitantly, "I'm always afraid that I'll wake up one day and find out that this was just some dream, and that you really aren't in love with me."

"I'll never leave you," Akane said, passionately, still lightly caressing her fiancée's body.

Ranma shivered at her touch and then moved away slightly. "Not that it's a bad thing necessarily, but that's feeling a bit too good," Ranma said, her voice husky, "I think we'd better stop before this gets any more out of hand." Ranma looked at Akane, her eyes half-glazed with desire.

Akane shivered at the note in Ranma's voice, something in it touching her deeply. She whispered, "I don't know that I really want to stop, either. But I want our first time to be with you as a man."

"Me too," Ranma said, as she rolled away from Akane, "And I also want to wait until we are married." She stood up, and took one long look at Akane. "I think I'll go soak in the hot springs for a few minutes. I need to cool off, and that should just about do it," Ranma said, as she walked away, her hips swaying seductively.

Akane watched as the other girl walked away, and whispered, "I'm glad you're stronger-willed than I am, Ranma. I was ready to keep going. I don't know why, but something about your touch just makes me eager." She stood up and straightened up her clothing, and then noticed the shirt that Ranma had left behind. She picked it up, and held it to her, smelling the slight fragrance of the person who had just left. Akane sighed lustily, and then finished straightening up the campsite. After taking one last look at the place where Ranma disappeared, Akane headed toward their tent, and changed for bed. Again, with an impish smile, she undressed, leaving only her panties on, and then put on Ranma's shirt, buttoning it up about half-way. She slid into the sleeping bag, and waited for Ranma to return.

The fire had gone out, and the stars in the sky were shining brightly. A full moon lit up the clearing as Ranma returned to the campsite. His hair still slightly damp, Ranma undressed and put on a new pair of boxers, and slid into the waiting sleeping bag. He bent down and kissed the top of the sleeping girl's head. "This is going to be a long year," he whispered. He lay back and closed his eyes, the last thing he was aware of was listening to the gentle sound of Akane breathing beside him.

* * *

Mse Tsu unlocked the back door of the restaurant and made his way in, blessing Kodachi for insisting that he fix his eyes. Once he closed the door, and relocked it, he turned and then stopped. There, awaiting him was the sight he least wanted to see, the Elder Khu Lon, looking a bit grim, sipping a cup of tea.

"Good evening, Elder," Mousse said in greeting.

"Good morning, don't you mean?" Cologne replied, dryly. Watching the flush appear on the young man's face, she grinned, not unkindly, and said, "Oh the joy's of young love. I remember it well."

"I assume you were waiting up for me for a reason," Mousse said.

Cologne nodded and poured a cup of tea and handed it to Mousse. "I wanted to talk to you about your rather sudden interest in young Miss Kuno," Cologne said.

Mousse sipped his tea, wincing at the heat slightly, and replied, carefully, "It's not really all that sudden, old woman. I have been dating her for several weeks now, as you well know."

"True, Mr. Part-timer, but up until this week, I certainly thought it was a only a transparent attempt at making my great-granddaughter jealous," Cologne retorted, "And then, I found out that she had laced your meal the day we left with Passion Spice. I wanted you to be aware of that."

Mousse shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Elder, your family has been famous for its ability with potions for many, many years. What you may have forgotten however is that my family also has some renown, too. We have trained for years to recognize the effects of the various potions and spices that our Amazon tribe is famous for. Passion Spice leaves a faint aftertaste, and I recognized that taste in the ramen. I also know that Passion Spice doesn't create any feelings; it only enhances those that are there, and frees you to act on them. While I was under its influence, and kissing Ko-chan, I had a bit of an epiphany."

"An epiphany, you say? Is that what they're calling it now?" Cologne asked, her voice showing a slight hint of surprise. She chuckled at the blank look that appeared on his face and then asked, "All right, what was it then?"

"I was kissing a girl, one who says she loves me. And while I may have been blind, I was never an idiot. Shampoo has done everything short of sleeping nude in Ryoga's bed to show that she is interested in him," Mousse began, only to stop at the look on Cologne's face. "Okay, let me guess, she's done that too," Mousse said with a sigh, "I so didn't need to know that." After a few moments to get that mental image out of his head, Mousse continued, "Well, anyway, I realized finally that I was wasting my time with Shampoo. She would never love me. The Passion Spice allowed me to realize that I had very strong feelings for Ko-chan."

"So you're giving up on Shampoo then," Cologne stated.

Mousse replied, "She'll always have a spot in my heart, Elder, but Ko-chan makes me happy. Shampoo never did that." He got a slight mischievous look on his face and then said, "I don't know that I'll tell Shampoo that I've stopped chasing her for a while though. I think I'll let her sweat for a few more weekends. I'd like you to keep this our secret for a while, if that's acceptable to you."

Cologne chuckled and replied, "I think I'll let you get a small amount of vengeance on her. She did do something she shouldn't have after all. Just don't get too carried away, you don't want to hurt Kodachi's feelings after all."

"I've already talked to her a bit about what happened," Mousse admitted, "She is aware that some of what we did Monday was encouraged by the spice and not completely our own decision. She told me she couldn't get too upset about what Shampoo had done, since it made me hers. She told me not to get too carried away with Shampoo, but that she'd allow me to mess with her mind a little bit."

* * *

Ukyo sat on the futon in the small apartment that was situated above her restaurant, watching the room darken with the setting sun. After another busy day, slaving over her hot griddle preparing food for her customers, she had had just enough energy to clean up both the restaurant and herself before collapsing. The opening of her restaurant had been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it had been a successful two weeks, and because it usually kept her too busy to think about her situation with Ranma, but also a curse, because when the day was over, all she had to look forward to was a cold, empty apartment. The darkness in the room was beginning to match the darkness of her mood as she recalled her last conversation with HIM. Well, actually she hadn't seen him in his male form, at least since they had both been children. The depression that threatened to swallow her as she heard HER say that SHE was in love with Akane, and that would never change. Then when she confessed her love for Ranma, she still turned her away, and even asked her not to see her during the summer break.

"Sugar, what are we going to do?" she asked herself, "These have been the worst weeks of my life. Before, I at least had my dreams to keep me going. Though I still don't know which dream I wanted to fulfill. The dream of gaining my revenge on the Saotome's or marrying the boy I befriended so long ago. I can't keep going on this way."

Ukyo sighed to herself, her eyes glued to the shrine that she had created in one corner of the living room. The handful of photographs that her father had taken of Ranma sitting, playing, or fighting with her as a child, the few remnants of his belongings that he had left behind in his father's rush to escape, all of the things that she had carefully hoarded during the last ten years. 'Who am I trying to kid? That tells me what I was hoping for all this time. That when I finally found him, he would confess his undying love for me,' Ukyo thought bitterly.

"And the sad thing about it is that I actually think I could like Akane. She's nice to most everyone, even me, especially since she knows that I haven't given up," she said, "If it wasn't that she had **my **man we would be friends."

Her eyes strayed to the bottle sitting on the table in front of her. "No, that won't solve anything," she said, her eyes moist with unshed tears. Standing quickly, she walked to her bathroom, turned on the light, and began undressing. Nude, she stared at herself in the full-length mirror, and asked, "What's wrong with me? Why would he pick her over me? Is it that I'm not pretty enough for him, that I don't wear a dress? What is it? I'm better than she is in martial arts!"

After putting on the oversized t-shirt she wore as sleepwear, she headed to her bedroom, avoiding the temptation to grab the bottle on the way. Crawling into her bed, she laid there, her mind churning over what Ranma had said. "All he wants to be is my friend," she muttered, "Akane loves him; I can see it in her eyes. It doesn't bother her that Ranma is a girl sometimes." Ukyo shivered at that thought and then asked, "Could I do that? Could I be with him when he's a she?"

Then she thought, 'I don't even know what Ranchan looks like now. But I remember hearing the other girls' gossip about the cute boy that met her the other day at the gate. They all swooned at what they said he looked like. Somehow, I have to take him away from her. He's **mine**.' She drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with the thought of her life with Ranma.

* * *

Kasumi opened the door to see an unfamiliar brown-haired girl standing there in an attractive skirt and blouse combination, shifting nervously from side to side. "Hello, how can I help you?" Kasumi asked politely.

The girl replied, "My name is Ukyo Kuonji. I was wondering if Ranma Saotome was here? I'd like to talk to him if he is."

'Kuonji, where have I heard that name before? Oh yes, the girl who had her dowry stolen by Mr. Saotome,' Kasumi thought. She replied, "I'm sorry, Miss Kuonji. Ranma is off on a training trip."

"Oh, I was hoping that he was back by now. It's been a couple of weeks already," Ukyo said sadly, "I'm sorry for disturbing you." She turned to leave, her eyes downcast.

Kasumi smiled gently and said, "Wait. Please come in and join me. I was preparing some tea. We can sit down and relax for a few minutes."

"I wouldn't want to impose," Ukyo objected.

"Nonsense. I could use the company. It's very quiet with Ranma, my sisters and Mr. Saotome off on that trip. Daddy is too wrapped up in his business to talk to me. And with Auntie Nodoka helping out at the Nekohaten, I don't have any female company," Kasumi insisted, "Oh my, where are my manners? I'm Kasumi Tendo, please come in."

Reluctantly, Ukyo allowed herself to be pulled into the house. Another person who was unable to escape the Kasumi effect, and thus disappoint Kasumi. "Welcome to our home, Miss Kuonji," Kasumi said.

"Please, call my Ukyo, Miss Tendo," Ukyo said.

"Of course, but only if you call me Kasumi," Kasumi replied, "Akane and Ranma have told me a little bit about you. They say you make the best okonomiyaki that they have ever had. But they didn't tell me how pretty you are."

Ukyo blushed as she followed Kasumi into the family room where she found a clay teapot and two cups sitting on a tray. "It's a family tradition. My family has prepared okonomiyaki for generations. It's in my blood, I'm afraid," Ukyo replied as she gracefully knelt next to Kasumi.

"Perhaps we could share a few recipes then," Kasumi said, "I'm always looking for new things to prepare. I'm glad you came by today. I'm always happy to meet friends of my sisters and my brother."

Ukyo suddenly felt her eyes moisten with tears as she gasped, "You think of Ranma as your brother?" She felt her heart begin to break as she realized that Akane wasn't her only competition for Ranma's affection.

"Well, yes. He is marrying my sister, after all," Kasumi replied with a gentle smile, and then it turned slightly impish, "And occasionally as my third sister." She giggled for a second at the expression on Ukyo's face and then continued, "I couldn't love him any more than if he actually was my real brother." She poured two cups of the green tea and handed one to Ukyo. She waited for Ukyo to take a sip and then drank from her cup.

Ukyo said after a few seconds, "This is very good, Kasumi. Remind me to get the name of this brand from you." She paused for a second to take another sip, and then said, "Thank you for inviting me in, but I have to wonder why you're being so nice to me. After all, you must know that I am a rival for Ranma's affection."

Kasumi smiled again to take the sting out of her words. "I know that Mr. Saotome owes you a debt of honor, but you will never take Ranma away from Akane. You didn't see him, well her, the day that Ranma arrived here. I could tell just from the way that she was looking at Akane that they were meant to be. There was a look in her eyes that I didn't understand, like a person who had just seen the most precious thing," she said "And then when we talked afterwards, I could hear the love in her voice. As to why I'm being so nice to you," she said, with a deprecating smile, "Well, some of that is because that's who I am, and the rest, well, I know that you only recently moved to Nerima. I doubt that you have very many people here that you can call friends. I thought you could use at least one more."

To her surprise, that declaration of friendship caused Ukyo to cry. "I can't believe that you would be so nice to someone you just met," Ukyo blubbered as Kasumi embraced her and allowed the younger girl to weep on her shoulder.

Finally, Ukyo pulled away, feeling strangely purged. "I hadn't realized how lonely I really was, Kasumi," Ukyo said softly, her eyes red from her crying.

"Mr. Saotome has managed to hurt many people. You are another of his victims. From what Ranma has told me of what his father did to you, and what it did to your life, he deserves to pay for his sins," Kasumi said with an expression of distaste on her face, one that looked oddly out of place on the normally kind-hearted woman.

Ukyo looked at her, quizzically, and asked, "Why is it Auntie Nodoka and Mr. Saotome?"

With the same look of distaste, Kasumi replied, "Auntie is a welcome member of our family, but I'm afraid that it will be hard to say the same about Mr. Saotome. After what Ranma and Auntie said about the tortures his father put him through and all of the evil things that he did, I can't bring myself to consider him as any kind of relative." Kasumi blushed and said, "Oh my, please excuse me. I can't imagine where that came from."

Ukyo looked at her thoughtfully and replied, "I think I need to know what happened to Ranchan. As much as I don't want to admit it, neither one of us is the same as we were when we were six. I don't really know this Ranma and he doesn't know me."

Ukyo listened in horror as Kasumi told the story that she had heard, with the occasional pause for one or the other to regain their composure. By the time Kasumi was finished, the two women had cried buckets of tears. "Thank you for sharing this me, Kasumi," Ukyo said softly, her eyes filled with a grim purpose, "While I will have to think about my intentions toward Ranchan, I do know what I need to do about Mr. Saotome. Thank you for inviting me to tea, but I think it's time for me to leave." She stood to rise.

Kasumi rose with her and followed her out to the front door. "You're welcome to come by and talk to me anytime you need a friend, Ukyo," Kasumi said.

"Call me Ucchan, Kasumi, that's what my friends do," Ukyo replied. She hugged Kasumi and then headed down the path to the gate. For some reason that she was having a hard time putting her finger on, she was feeling happier than she had for several days.

Kasumi looked after her new friend, hoping that she had helped her understand how hopeless her chances were, but fearing that Ukyo had only heard what she wanted to hear. "I don't want you hurt, Ucchan, but if you try to steal Ranma away from us, you will lose," Kasumi said firmly, her face losing momentarily her customary cheerful look.

* * *

Nodoka chased Kasumi out of the kitchen, admonishing the younger woman, "Kasumi, honestly, I know how to finish preparing dinner. You go on into the family room and properly greet your fiancé. Leaving him all alone to the tender mercies of your father, just what were you thinking! Besides, the two of you only have a little time left to finish all of the arrangements for your wedding. You need to make the rest of the decisions before you run out of time."

Kasumi blushed prettily as she began to open her mouth to protest the usurpation of her cooking duties and her exile from her own kitchen. Seeing Nodoka's stern expression, however, she nodded her head meekly, and replied, "Yes, Auntie." She walked into the family room to find Tofu talking casually to her father, while her father was staring at the shogi board attempting to figure out a way to get out of the disastrous position the other man had forced him into. Kasumi promptly dropped into Tofu's lap, eliciting a mild "Oof." After removing his glasses, she engaged him in a rather passionate kiss.

"Ahem," Soun said. After a few more moments he tried again, "Ahem!"

The couple separated. Kasumi was happy to see that Tofu no longer had the glassy look in his eyes that he used to before they got engaged.

Tofu asked, breathlessly, "Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but what brought that on?"

"Auntie Nodoka reminded me that I had not properly greeted you when you arrived," Kasumi said, her eyes dancing with glee, "So I thought I should remedy that situation."

The enchanting tableau was interrupted by Nodoka bringing in the meal. The next several minutes were occupied by everyone getting into their place at the raised platform, while Nodoka handed out the dishes, from whence an appetizing aroma arose.

The four of them busied themselves with eating their dinner in a companionable silence that was only broken by the occasional clatter of chopsticks or the scrape of a spoon against the side of a bowl. Nodoka watched with satisfaction as the other three obviously were enjoying the food that she had prepared.

Kasumi turned to Nodoka and asked, "Could I have this recipe? You've added something to the soup that I can't quite figure out."

"Certainly, dear," Nodoka replied.

"How are the plans for the wedding coming?" Soun asked.

"Well, the dresses are almost ready," Kasumi replied, "And Ranma and Tofu have their tuxedos already, so that part is done."

"We decided on a Western ceremony, since we wanted Ranma and Akane to have more of a part in the ceremony. After all, if it weren't for them, I'm not sure we would have gotten together," Tofu added, "We did add the ritual of Sansan Kudo, though. We would have gone all Western, but Mother is extremely traditional, so I thought I wouldn't take everything away from her."

"That was thoughtful of you," Nodoka said, "I'm sure your mother will appreciate that. And Kasumi, don't even think about the reception afterwards. I'll take care of everything. In fact, I think I won't even let you in the kitchen for the days leading up to the ceremony."

"And Nabiki, Akane, Ranma and I will arrange the dojo itself for the ceremony," Soun added, "I just want you to concentrate on the wedding itself."

Kasumi looked slightly apprehensive at that news.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them," Nodoka said quickly.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I won't have anything to keep me busy if you do everything," Kasumi replied.

Tofu chuckled, and then said, "I can think of a few things that we can do that will take your mind off of the wedding. If nothing else, we need to pack up my things so I can move in after the wedding. The furniture needs to be covered, but the dishes can be left in the kitchen."

Nodoka smiled and added, "And it wouldn't hurt for you two to have a little time to yourself. Kasumi, you're about to start college this fall remember. That's going to add some stress to your life, over and above learning how to live with your husband."

"She's right, daughter," Soun added, "There are several things about to change in your life. It won't be just taking care of the house anymore. After the wedding you will be setting off into uncharted territory for you, so take some time to relax."

Kasumi sighed heavily and then said, "I suppose you're right."

Nodoka arose from the table, and the two women gathered up the dishes and headed off to the kitchen. Tofu began to get up, only to settle back down after a sharp glance from Nodoka, and a shake of her head.

Once they entered the kitchen, and began to wash the dishes, Nodoka asked softly, "There's something else, isn't there, dear?"

"It's just nerves, I think, Auntie," Kasumi said after several minutes, "Sometimes I think we should have just run down to the town hall and signed the papers there."

Nodoka smiled kindly at her and then said, soothingly, "Don't worry, the ceremony will go fine. And so will the marriage. It's not like you're marrying someone you don't know."

"Thanks, Auntie," Kasumi said warmly, feeling better about things, "You're right. I've cared for Tofu for a long time now. And I really want to marry him. It's just scary thinking about all of the changes that will happen in just a few short weeks."

"If you need someone to talk to, dear, you know where to find me," Nodoka replied, "While my marriage isn't the greatest right now, Genma and I did have several good years together before I foolishly let him take Ranma away."

"We all do foolish things, Nodoka," Kasumi replied.

* * *

Akane made her way from the hot spring, where she had spent the last half-hour or so talking to her sister and Shampoo. It had been a pleasant surprise for her to realize that Shampoo really wasn't the air-headed bimbo that she appeared to be on first glance. The broken Japanese that she used, and the way she dressed, may have given that appearance, but in actuality, once you looked past those factors, Shampoo turned out to be quite intelligent, and very insightful. Some of her opinions were skewed, but Akane realized that was the result of the somewhat warped upbringing. A warrior culture, where the women had a much more dominant role than the men, would tend to provide a very different outlook toward many things. Conflict with the Japanese culture and way of life was almost inevitable. As she neared the tent that she shared with Ranma, she heard a soft soprano voice say, "Ouch, I think it hurts more this way."

Akane stuck her head in the tent to see her fiancé, dressed only in her boxers, inspecting her right breast. "Why'd you change into a girl, Ranma?" Akane asked, since Ranma had been male when he fled the hot spring after spending a few minutes listening to Shampoo and Nabiki talk about boys. Ryoga had left even quicker.

"Oh, I was curious about something. I'd never paid any attention to what happened to my body when I changed. Like, did any injuries that I had in one form, show up in the other, that kind of thing. I'd always been too busy to look into it before," Ranma replied.

"So what's the verdict?" Akane asked.

"Well, remember this afternoon, I got hit pretty hard in the chest when I didn't deflect Shampoo's bonborri, because I was trying to duck Ryoga's bandana?" she asked.

Akane nodded her head, and said, "Yeah, I thought for sure that had to hurt."

Ranma chuckled, and then winced slightly in pain. "Yeah, I picked up a pretty good bruise on my right side. Well, as you can see, the bruise stayed," Ranma replied.

Akane looked closely, and sure enough, even in the dim light filtering through the canvas, she could see a large, purplish bruise on the swell of Ranma's right breast, stretching up to just under her aureole.

"That looks painful," Akane said, thinking of her own bruises, "Would some of that salve help?"

"Yeah," Ranma replied, "It actually hurts more as a girl. Obviously my breasts are tenderer than my chest." She handed the jar to Akane, who blushed.

Akane opened the jar and took a small handful of the lotion, and began to rub the creamy white substance into the other girl's flesh.

Ranma jumped slightly at the first contact, and then relaxed. "That stuff was cold," she complained.

"Is that the only one?" Akane asked, as she finished what she was doing.

"Yeah, that's it," Ranma said, as she reached for her t-shirt and shrugged it on.

"Well, then, I've got a few places that could stand attention," Akane said. She shrugged off the shirt she was wearing, leaving her clad only in her shorts.

Ranma stammered, "But,"

Akane giggled, and replied, "We're both girls right now, and besides, it's about time we got past this." She lay down on her back and handed Ranma the lotion.

Ranma shook her head in disbelief and then began to massage the salve into the several bruised areas on Akane's upper torso. She gingerly rubbed the lotion into the matching bruise that Akane had on her left breast. 'This sure is different than the old Akane, she would have thought that I was perverted if I was doing this before,' Ranma thought.

"Shampoo got you too, I see," Ranma said, softly.

"Nah, that came from when I ran into that tree while we were tree-hopping," Akane said sheepishly, "You know, when you distracted me. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would though."

"Oh, well that's because you've spent the last two weeks being battered by those boulders while you were learning the breaking point. Actually, the whole point of learning it was to toughen up our bodies by hitting us with the boulders. You can't actually hurt anybody with the breaking point, except by showering them with the debris from hitting the ground," Ranma said with a chuckle.

Akane stared at Ranma in disbelief and then began to giggle. She pulled Ranma down on top of her, and kissed the shorter girl. Ranma leaned into the kiss, and parted her lips. Akane accepted the implicit invitation and slid her tongue into Ranma's mouth.

"Oh my," Nabiki said in surprise, from where she knelt in front of the tent flap that she had pulled open.

The two girls sprang apart, furiously blushing. Akane snapped, "Are you channeling Kasumi, now, Sis?"

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Ranma asked.

"I'm sorry," Nabiki stammered, "I just wanted to let you know that dinner was ready." Her face was equally red.

Akane took a deep breath, and calmed down. She took the shirt that Ranma handed her and began putting it back on. "It's okay, Nabiki. You just startled us," Akane said finally.

Nabiki crawled into the tent, while Ranma finished getting dressed. "I just didn't think Ranma's curse all the way through. Seeing you two together like that took me by surprise," Nabiki admitted. She tentatively reached out to Ranma to pull her into a hug, and sighed with relief as Ranma pulled her close.

"Like Akane said, you just surprised us," Ranma said softly.

"And before you ask, yes I love Ranma, it doesn't matter what he looks like. I fell in love with the person behind those blue eyes," Akane said firmly, "And I will be kissing him or her as the case may be, because I'm kissing the person I fell in love with."

"I'm actually proud of you, Akane," Nabiki replied, "That's the sister I thought I had almost lost. When you were younger, you were so full of love and affection. Ranma has brought that sister back from where she was hiding from those cretins at school. I love him for that." Then she smiled, and added, "And her for that matter." She turned and kissed Ranma on the cheek, and said, "Thank you, little brother, for bringing her back to us. If I haven't told you before, I'm glad you're part of the family. It's official, you're my brother and my sister. All that's left is filling out some pesky paperwork."

Tears of happiness began to roll down both Akane and Ranma's face. Ranma hugged Nabiki even tighter, and said, "I'm happy to have you as my sister, Nabiki. I'm glad you're in my life, no, our life."

"What she said," Akane added as she joined the group hug. The trio sat there for several long moments, and then they separated.

Ranma and Akane shared one last kiss.

"Get a room, you two," Nabiki teased.

"We have a room," Akane shot back as the three of them left the tent, "You're the one who interrupted that tender moment." Then she giggled.

* * *

Genma stared in shock as he watched the four young adults busily destroying boulders with just the touch of their finger. His brow furrowed in concern as he began to reconsider what they had been teaching them the last two weeks. In a rare moment of introspection, similar to the one he had had when he originally sealed away the Saotome Hidden techniques, he thought, 'Those kids shouldn't have learned this. It's much too dangerous for them. Just think of Ryoga running amok.' He turned to Cologne and asked, "Should we have taught them a technique this dangerous? One that would allow them to destroy anything if they can find the breaking point?"

"What? This technique?" she asked as she touched his forehead with her finger.

Genma fell down in fright, with his arms and legs frozen in shock.

Cologne cackled loudly and said, "Silly man. This is just an ancient Amazon technique developed for the mining industry. It only works on stone."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Well, remember, he's the one who thought that everything had a breaking point. That big speech he gave the night we started training was full of that."

"So what's the point of us learning this then? Did you do it just to hurt us?" Ryoga asked, his face confused.

"Baka, even Ranma figured it out," Akane teased, "It was to toughen us up. The whole point was to batter us with those boulders so our bodies got tougher."

"Even Ranma figured it out, huh?" Ranma quoted with a raised eyebrow. "I knew pretty much from the beginning what Cologne was trying to do," he continued, "It was more for Ryoga's benefit than mine, since it will suit his style of fighting better, but we needed to do it also."

"Why you say that?" Shampoo asked.

"Ryoga basically relies on his strength when he fights, so he'll be able to take blows now that might have stopped him before. He can just shrug those off and continue battering whoever he is fighting. Akane and I fight in a style that emphasizes quickness and evasion so it's not as useful for us. On the other hand, being able to take a blow that lands without being affected by it will certainly come in handy," Ranma replied.

"Well said, sonny boy. Looks like you're more than just a pretty face," Cologne said.

"Come on Pop, wake up already," Ranma growled at the comatose old man lying on the ground. "Oh well," he said, as he splashed his father with a bucket of water, "If you're gonna lay around like a lazy animal, you ought to look the part."

* * *

Ranma stood watching as Akane sparred one last time with Shampoo, noting what he needed to concentrate on for his critique. He smiled a bit as he realized how much better she had gotten in just the four weeks that they had been on the trip. He also was privately amused at how he had surprised Cologne when he had managed to integrate the ki-masking technique of the Umi-Ken-Sen with the Splitting Cat Hair technique that she had taught him in the third week. Now, even she couldn't figure out which was the real Ranma from the false images created by the Splitting Cat Hair.

"Sonny boy, I have taught you all that I may," Cologne said as she came up behind him.

"You've taught me all that you may, huh?" Ranma asked, "Well, I shouldn't be terribly surprised. It would be hard for you to teach me everything that the Amazons have learned over three thousand years in just a few short weeks. And I'm sure that there are things that you aren't allowed to teach outsiders."

"Yes, I have many more techniques that I wish I could teach you. But, only a true Amazon may learn those. I have already stretched the laws a bit by allowing Ryoga and Akane to learn what they have. But because you are an honorary Amazon and she is your mate, and because Ryoga will be an Amazon warrior, at least once he has the courage to wed my great granddaughter, I could bend them a little," Cologne replied.

"I thought as much," Ranma said, "But I have to warn you, don't show me anything you don't want me to learn. I will figure it out just from watching you once or twice." He smirked for a moment, and added, "I think I may have seen a couple of techniques while we were at your village already that may have been in that category."

Cologne cackled and replied, "What's done is done, sonny boy."

"Well, now for the big question. I assume then that you think what I have learned will be enough to try to defeat Happosai?" Ranma asked.

Cologne grinned evilly and said, "There is no try, just do."

Ranma did a double take and then said, "Yes, Master Yoda. I've watched those movies. I thought I saw a resemblance. I got the message though. I need to go into the fight with the idea that I will win. That's two-thirds of the battle right there."

Cologne cackled with glee.

"True, my boy. It takes a long time for even the best martial artists to realize that," Genma said portentously, "I'm surprised some one as young as you would understand that. Must be my excellent teaching."

"I'm sure that's it," Nabiki drawled.

Genma couldn't understand why everyone else broke out laughing.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. As you can see, I decided at least for now to raise the rating to R. I don't think I have actually exceeded PG-13, but I decided to err of the side of caution. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

Outlaw 1: Thanks for the complement. I actually hadn't thought about FFML. Don't know much about it, to be honest.

Calamite: I'm glad you like it. I'm pretty much into the canon Akane/Ranma relationship, so I'm glad you like this one. That's the best comment any author can get, making a story work for someone who's not as big a fan of the relationship.

ZRO4825: Speedo's. Yeah, probably that's what I would have done. LOL And having all four of them learn has several ulterior motives. This way they will begin to bond as a unit, which will come into play later. Foreshadowing here I suppose.

Drkjester: Thank you. That's also my take on Akane's reaction, depending on how she would learn about the secret. On the other hand, it would also show the depth of Ranma's love for her, so that might make things okay. I have one idea on how she figures it out. Now, having Cologne figure it out would be very interesting. VBG

FluffyGirlie: I hope most authors pay attention to their reviews. We can't get better if we ignore our audience. And while this story is my vision, it has definitely been improved by comments from the people who read it.

Hawkeye-kun: Short answer, yes there will be at least one more person who gets a curse, and I know exactly how, when and why. Unfortunately, in my story, for plot reasons, Nannichuan while it exists, the location is unknown. Besides, I tend to not like stories where Akane gets a complementary curse to Ranma. It can be well done, when it isn't though, it's pretty lame. So sorry, won't happen in this one.

Howard Russell: Your idea about Genma - I may steal that. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with her to get her to back off of Ranma. Poor girl's obsessed after all. And yes, Ukyo being adopted has been done to death, by me already in other stories, so I didn't want to go to that well one more time.

Shinigami: I like this Kodachi too. I didn't really think she was crazy per se in the canon, just deprived of affection, and she thought Ranma gave her that. She was the sanest at the wedding disaster after all.

Hououza: Cologne would figure it out before Akane, especially if I leave the clue I intend to leave in a later chapter.

Materia-blade: If I can do it, I intend to go to the end of the manga and a bit beyond. Unfortunately, I don't actually own all of them yet, so it will take a while. Of course, not all of the manga or anime will appear in this story.

Pyscho-King: It distracted me as I was writing it. The picture that flashed in my mind, pun intended.

AngelRanmaSou: That's the nicest praise any writer can get. Making a previously unloved character someone that the reader can care about.

Innortal: Wait and see about Soun. Taro (shudder) I like Ukyo too much to do that to her.

Sean Malloy-1: There will be more about Himura, more than likely. He married Kaoro according to canon. Probably my next story will be one I co-author with my wife. She has a semi-crossover that I like, if we can pull it off. Unfortunately, we can't seem to get past the first few scenes.

Dragon Man 180: Well maybe not the actual mother. And no, I don't think she would appreciate being called Auntie by Tatewaki. Not after what he tried to pull.

Wonderbee31: Yes, Kodachi was always drawn as a very attractive girl.

Booker23de: Nabiki's Plan was my first (maybe last) attempt at an angsty story. It didn't work quite as well as I wanted. This one is my favorite one to write by far.

Isumo1489: Saffron was basically the last two books of the manga, and was never animated, which I think is a shame. I haven't read it completely, since I don't have those volumes, but basically, it's a very heroic story, where Ranma actually ends up having to fight a demi-god in an attempt to save Akane's life. Akane sacrifices herself during the fight, and apparently dies. Ranma finally confesses his love, at least in his own mind, and somehow brings her back to life. It ends with the ill-fated wedding attempt that gets ruined by Nabiki's greed, and the jealousy of the fiancées. At the end, there is the promise that eventually, Ranma and Akane will wed, and they walk off into the sunset together.


	25. The Evil Awakes

Chapter 25 The Evil Awakes

"Tomorrow?" Soun repeated in dismay, looking askance at the Amazon elder. Cologne had wasted no time upon arriving at the Tendo home after the group had arrived from the training trip to pass on the news that they were going after Happosai.

"That's what I said, Mr. Tendo," Cologne affirmed, "We go looking for Happosai tomorrow. We need to get that taken care of before the wedding."

"But," Genma protested.

"Pop, stuff it. We need to face the old pervert now, before he can escape from wherever you two shut him up. I'd rather face him there, instead of here in Nerima, wouldn't you?"

"Besides, it's not like you two are going to fight him anyway! Not that you could beat him," Akane exclaimed.

"What does she mean by that boy?" Genma growled, torn between the fact that Akane just insulted his prowess as a martial artist and that he wouldn't have to face his master in combat.

"Simple, Pop. I'm gonna challenge him for mastery of the Anything Goes School. When I win, then Cologne will take him back to the Amazons for his punishment," Ranma replied.

"You can't challenge him for mastery," Genma protested, "You're still my apprentice."

Ranma rolled his eyes and asked, rhetorically, "When was the last time that you beat me?" He glared at his father and continued, "If you want, I'll challenge you here and now for the right to take on Happosai."

Genma hopped into the koi pond and held up a sign, 'I'm just an innocent panda'

Ranma shook his head in disgust and said, "That's what I expected from you." Then he turned to look thoughtfully at Soun. "What about you Mr. Tendo? Do I need to get your permission as the other master?" Ranma asked.

"N-n-no," Soun stammered, "I've seen you fight Saotome. You are obviously his better so you have every right to challenge our master."

"That's your master," Ranma said icily, "I've never acknowledged him as mine and never will. Now, you need to go get packed for the trip."

Soun looked uncertainly at Ranma and then arose from the shogi board and headed off to his bedroom, presumably to pack.

"You ought to get some rest Akane," Ranma began, "We have a long day tomorrow heading up into the mountains. If what Pop wrote in his journal is correct, it will take awhile to get to where the cave is that imprisons the old pervert."

"That goes for you, too, Ranma," Akane said.

"I'll be there shortly. I need to talk to Nabiki for a few minutes and then I'll join you," Ranma countered before turning to Cologne, "And I guess we'll meet you, Shampoo and Ryoga at the station."

Cologne chuckled and said, "Yes, sonny boy. We'll be there. I wouldn't miss this for anything. Just remember, he's a wily old fighter, so don't get too cocky."

"I've got a plan, old ghoul," Ranma said with a grin, "I know some of his weaknesses and that will give me an edge. And even if he knows all of the Anything Goes school, he hasn't seen it joined with what I've learned from you."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow, sonny boy," Cologne said, as she pogoed her way out of the house.

Ranma looked over at the panda and shook his head. "Pop, you really need to get changed," Ranma grumbled, "Mom is probably waiting for you over at her house, and you know how much she hates the smell of wet panda."

The panda pulled himself out of the koi pond and shook, scattering water around the pristine lawn. He waddled around the house and out of sight, heading toward the kitchen, where Kasumi had hot water always waiting during the day. She had finally put her foot down and told Genma in no uncertain terms that he couldn't just hop into the furo and change. She had grown tired of pulling fur out of the drain, and had uncharacteristically threatened to feed him nothing if he ever got in it as a panda again.

Ranma made his way up the stairs and down the hall to Nabiki's room. He knocked politely on the closed door and waited for permission to enter.

"Come on in," Nabiki called through the door.

"Hey, Nabs," Ranma said as he walked in.

Nabiki turned in her chair, away from her computer, and asked, "What's do you want Ranma?"

Ranma blushed and looked away from the scantily clad Nabiki. She glanced down at herself and joined him in blushing and quickly pulled her robe closed.

"S-sorry," Ranma stammered, "but you did say to come in."

"It's not your fault, I forgot I was ready for bed," Nabiki replied, her face still red.

"Anyway, I was hoping you had found out about the purchase price on the building," Ranma began.

"Yeah, I've got some figures, but I think I can still knock it down some," Nabiki replied, "The owner was asking for a bit over ten million for it, but I think he'll bargain down to around seven or so."

Ranma's face fell, and he said, "Well, that's a lot more than I have right now, even with how well the investments you've made for us have done."

"It doesn't have to all be in cash up front, Ranma," Nabiki said patiently, "I can help you swing a mortgage for what we don't have."

"We?" Ranma asked.

"I thought that you could use a partner," Nabiki said simply.

Ranma frowned, and replied, "You do know that I plan on giving Ukyo the building, don't you?"

"Yes, I assumed as much. But that doesn't mean we can't buy the building and collect the rent from her for a while," Nabiki said, "Or, at some point you could give her your interest and she'd just pay a smaller rent to me."

"Let me think about it for a couple of days. Looks like I need to find a way to make some more money," Ranma said seriously, "Doing this will take most of what I have. And just working for Doc won't cut it; I'll have to find something else." Then he grimaced and said, "I guess Cologne could use a cute waitress in her restaurant."

"I'm not sure having Akane work there would be a good idea. I 'm still not comfortable with the idea of Akane and food preparation. There's just something about that picture that bothers me. And I sure hope you weren't talking about me," Nabiki said with a smirk.

Ranma chuckled and replied, with an evil grin, "I thought I said cute. I meant me, of course."

Nabiki snickered in derision. "Well, I'm not sure just who got insulted there."

"See ya in the morning, big sis," Ranma replied. He surprised Nabiki by walking over and giving her a big hug. And then he kissed her forehead.

Her eyes wide, Nabiki watched as Ranma walked out of her room and on down the hall. She reached up and touched the place where Ranma had kissed her. Her eyes softened, and she whispered, "You found a good one, Sis. I hope I can get as lucky."

* * *

As the party made their way through the foothills toward the eventual goal, the sky, which had been originally a gorgeous blue, began to turn threatening, as clouds blew in from the east, and the wind began to pick up, turning what had been a reasonably easy climb into a torturous trek. Finally, they reached a small plateau jutting out of the side of Hida Mountain, and saw a large boulder, secured with chains to the cliff, covering what appeared to be a dark opening in the cliffside. Ranma turned to his father and asked, "Is that it?" 

Genma looked at his son, showing his fear, and replied, "Yes, this is where we buried our Master, years ago."

"Well, let's get the camp established. I don't like the look of those clouds," Cologne urged, "I think that's a nasty storm blowing in, so make sure you put the tent spikes in good."

The party quickly split up into pairs, leaving Cologne by herself, to set up their tents. Once Ranma and Akane were finished with their tent, however, they quickly put up Cologne's tent, while Ryoga, Soun and Genma dragged back a load of firewood and quickly prepared a fire for the evening meal.

Cologne and Shampoo began the preparations for dinner, while Ranma set a pot of water onto the fire to boil. He smiled to himself as he saw the look of fear that crossed the two older men as they watched in horror as Akane moved over to help the other two women. Then, not surprisingly, Soun dragged out his shogi board and a bottle of saké and challenged Genma to a game. Shaking his head in disgust, Ranma walked over to his fiancée and said, "They never change."

"Hey, Pop, how'd you end up managing to get the old pervert shut up in that cave in the first place?" Ranma asked.

"Well, a little over ten years ago," Genma began.

"Wait a minute, what do ya mean ten years ago? That's when we went off on our training trip," Ranma protested.

"Who's telling this story?" Genma growled.

Soun said, "It was longer ago than that, Genma. It was before I got married."

Genma started again, by saying, "Anyway, under Master Happosai, we trained day in and day out."

"Yes, mostly working for the people that our Master freeloaded off of," Soun interjected.

"The training was rigorous," Genma added.

"It consisted mostly of running away from the people he stole things from, carrying him on our back, trying to escape with our lives," Soun explained.

"Until finally, one day, we became strong enough to defeat him," Genma said.

"We brought back barrels of saké from the village, and gave it to him to drink. When the master collapsed into an alcohol induced stupor, we tied him up tightly, shoved him a barrel, and secured the barrel with chains. Then we rolled the barrel into that cave, tied a large bundle of dynamite to the barrel, and lit it. Then we placed that large boulder over the mouth of the cave, and secured it as best we could with those chains," Soun said.

"That is how we freed ourselves from him," Genma said, "What golden memories those were, right, Tendo?"

"Right Saotome," Soun agreed.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Akane asked.

"Basically, we roll the boulder away from the entrance, and I challenge the old pervert for mastery of the school. Pop, your dad and Cologne are here to witness the fight. And since you're the other heir to the school, you need to be here to support me. Shampoo and Ryoga are here just as backup," Ranma replied, "You know in case, our brave fathers decide to run off."

* * *

The bitter cold wind made the evening uncomfortable, even sitting close to the fire, so as soon as dinner was over and everything was cleaned up, everyone retreated to their respective tents. Ranma and Akane were soon comfortable in their sleeping bag, their body heat quickly removing the chill. Ranma lay there on his back, with Akane snuggled up to him, her head resting comfortably on his chest, idly running her fingers threw his hair. 

"Ranchan, why can't I help you tomorrow?" Akane asked quietly.

Ranma grimaced as he replied, "You will be helping me, Acchan. But I can't run the risk of him figuring out that you are a girl. You wouldn't want him to snuggle up to your chest, or try to steal your underwear. If you get close enough to him, he'll be able to sense that you have female ki and will try to jump you." 'I'm not going to let that pervert feel you up,' Ranma thought fiercely.

Suddenly, the storm broke over the campsite, as with a loud crash of thunder, the skies opened up, and the rain came pouring down. Akane jumped in fright, and then clutched hard onto her fiancé.

"Ouch," Ranma said, partly in jest, "I'm going to need that arm tomorrow, Akane."

"Sorry, Ranma, I just don't like lightning," Akane said, panic evident in her voice.

Ranma pulled Akane in closer to him and said, "Don't worry about it Acchan. I was just teasing you. If this makes you feel better, I can handle it."

Ranma held Akane, until finally his fiancée relaxed. Soon he heard the sound of her gentle breathing as she fell asleep. Ranma sighed in relief, and closed his eyes and blissfully joined her.

* * *

The morning dawned brightly, with the air smelling refreshed from the cleansing rain. Fortunately for Ranma's plan, the water had quickly run off the rocky soil, leaving no stray puddles behind, and the brisk wind that had remained was rapidly drying what little moisture remained. Akane had been a bit reluctant to leave the warmth of her sleeping bag, especially when she had awakened to find herself spooning her fiancé. 

"Come on, and get ready, Acchan," Ranma urged, "I want to get this taken care of as soon as we can." He handed her a change of clothing from his backpack, one of his pairs of black slacks, and his blue Chinese shirt. Along with that, he embarrassed her, by giving her a package wrapped in cellophane containing a brand new breast band.

Akane grimaced and said, "This is the part that I'm gonna hate. I don't know how Ukyo managed to do this for so long." She unbuttoned her pajama shirt and pulled it off, saying, "You'll have to help me put this on, I suspect."

Blushing, Ranma helped Akane bind her breasts, trying to ignore the wince of pain that Akane made as he drew the band tightly around her.

"You okay?" Ranma asked.

Akane took a deep breath and replied, "Yeah, I can handle this. It's just very uncomfortable." She smiled a very wry smile, and added, "For once, I'm glad that I'm not as big as you are in your female form."

"You'll need that new pair of panties also, Akane. Don't forget. We don't want him to have any sense that you are really a girl. Don't be surprised if I forget your name and just call you 'boy,' or something," Ranma said.

"Call me Kaneda," she suggested.

Ranma quickly changed into a clean set of clothing, while Akane kept her back turned politely. He then handed her his Chinese cap with the red star on, saying, "This will help. Keep the brim low, and it will hide your face," Ranma suggested. He kissed her, and said, "Wish me luck."

She grabbed him and held him tightly for a moment, and said, "You be careful. Remember, he taught our fathers, so he must know what he's doing. And since they always seem to be scared whenever they bring up his name, he's got to be pretty tough."

Ranma put on a cocky grin, and replied, "Don't worry; I've got a secret weapon or two that I know will work. Remember, I've spent a lot of time learning his weaknesses, and he doesn't know any of mine. Not that I have any of course."

"Nope, not a one,"Akane chuckled and said in a humoring manner.

Ranma crawled out of the tent and walked over to where Cologne was busily preparing breakfast. "Good morning, honorable Elder," Ranma said formally in greeting.

"Why so formal, sonny boy?" the Amazon asked.

"It just felt right. After all, you're one of the ones who will be judging my success in becoming the grandmaster of the Anything Goes School," Ranma replied, his face extremely serious.

"Don't worry, Shampoo and I know what we are supposed to do. I will keep her out of the fight," Cologne said.

Akane joined them, the loose shirt and slacks, as well as the cap, doing a good job of hiding her true nature.

"I guess Nabiki was right," Akane said ruefully, "I can still look like a boy."

Cologne said, "Just so long as you don't walk around too much. You can't hide the way you walk, and that makes it obvious that you're not a man."

* * *

After breakfast was over, Ranma stood up grimly and said, "Well, let's get this started. Ryoga, do you want to do the honors and get rid of that boulder?" 

Cologne and Shampoo waited below as Ranma and Ryoga headed up the incline towards the cave mouth, with Genma and Soun following reluctantly behind. Only the ever-present glare that they could feel coming from Akane kept them moving.

Once Ryoga reached the cave, he cried, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" and touched the rock. The rock exploded inward, revealing a dark, and musty opening. The bright sunlight was able to reveal only a few meager feet of the gloomy entrance, before the darkness swallowed the bright light. Dimly seen, in the back of the cave, was a pair of glowing eyes, gleaming ferally in the dark.

Ranma and Ryoga backed away from the entrance, as they heard an exultant voice cry, "I'm free!" and a small figure flew out of the cave to land in front of them.

Ryoga growled, "How pathetic! Shivering and shaking for this old man!"

The old man looked up to see Tendo and Saotome quivering in fright. "Hello, Soun, Genma, it's been a long time."

"Master! Oh thank heaven you are safe!" Soun exclaimed.

The small figure chuckled evilly and said, "As healthy as ever!" He glared at Genma and said, "Well, Genma Saotome, I see that you haven't changed a bit." He stared around for a second and then said, "You thought you had gotten rid of me, didn't you? But you forgot and made one big mistake. You didn't finish me off."

Genma and Soun shared a look. "Yes, yes," Soun said.

"Quite right, Tendo," Genma replied. In unison, they cried, "But it's still not too late!" They charged Happosai, fists raised. When the dust settled, the two men were crumpled up in a heap in front of the old pervert, who was standing there looking smug. Happosai pulled out a pipe, filled it with tobacco and lit it, puffing contentedly while he looked at the two men in front of him.

"Of course we were only joking," Soun groaned from the bottom of the pile.

"Of course you were," Happosai said, sarcastically, "Don't worry; I'm not looking for revenge." The old man looked sad and continued, "I'm getting old. It's time to train the true heir of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. That will be one of you."

Instantly the two men were on their feet, Soun pulling a cart with his belongings piled high, and somehow, Genma had come up with his backpack.

"Oh, where do you think you're going?" Ranma asked.

Soun replied, "I just remembered, I have to move to China."

"I have some training to do," Genma replied, then he pointed to Ranma, and added, "Besides, there's the true heir to the school. My son, Ranma."

"I suppose he'll have to do," Happosai said, after looking at Ranma and dismissing him with one glance.

"Like I want to learn anything from you, old man," Ranma said, a tad bit condescending, "All you ever taught these two was how to be a pervert. That's not a lesson that I want to have."

"There are all sorts of things I can teach you, boy. Show some respect for your new master," Happosai said.

"I think not," Ranma replied, "I've already beaten these two fools. Happosai, I challenge you for the mastery of the school. If you win, I'll be your student. If I win, you'll leave Japan for good."

"You arrogant, snot-nosed, little brat!" Happosai said. He glared at Ranma for a moment, and then said, "Fine, I accept." His battle aura flared and he appeared to grow to gigantic proportions, "All right, here I come."

Ranma stood there for a moment, while everyone else scattered. Then, with a loud cry of "Bakusai Tenketsu!" he punched the ground, which exploded in front of him.

"Ha, is that all you've got, some Amazon techniques," Happosai said, as he batted away the rocks streaking toward him. He moved forward, waiting for the debris to settle, wiping the dust from his eyes. Once he was able to see again, he blinked in astonishment. There, surrounding him, were multiple images of the young man. Happosai chuckled grimly and said, "So you know the Splitting Cat Hair technique also. However, I know the counter to that. All I have to do is sense your spirit." Happosai gazed at the spinning figures in front of him, and then he widened his eyes. "Impossible, no one can hide their aura like that!" he exclaimed.

Ranma thought to himself, 'Don't let anger rule. Remember Soul of Ice, keep cool, don't let the old freak rattle you.'

Suddenly, Happosai felt his pipe ripped from his hand, and then felt a brief burning sensation high up on his back. Almost immediately thereafter, he felt two quick taps on either shoulder. He sprang forward, screaming, "It's hot!" Finally he was able to calm down and he turned to look behind him. The old man smiled grimly, "You are good, but you're not good enough!" Quickly, he swung and hit the young man standing motionless in front of him.

Ranma chuckled and asked, "Is that all you have old man? That idiot Kuno hits harder than that."

"You'll pay for that," Happosai shouted. He went on the attack, trying to take out the arrogant punk in front of him. Ranma dodged or blocked each and every strike. 'How is this possible? It's like he knows all of my moves,' the old man thought.

Cologne watched in awe as Ranma evaded all of the attacks that the old man made. 'He's got to be reading the old man's move somehow. How can he know what Happosai is going to do?' she thought.

"Come and get it old man!" Ranma taunted, "This is getting boring. Can't you do better than that?"

"Hah," Happosai said, "You want to make a poor old man suffer the Hiryű Shōten Ha, the Dragon Blast of Heaven!"

"How can that be?" Cologne asked from where she was hiding, "That technique is one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Amazon tribe."

Happosai chuckled and said, "I thought I sensed your aura, Cologne. Don't you remember, when I was but a mere lad of eighteen, and in my prime, I visited your village. You stood me up on a date. You were so attractive then, just look at you now. Anyway, when I found you, you attacked me with that technique. Aah, those bittersweet memories of my youth."

"Oh no, then he knows the secret," Genma gasped.

"Without my battle-aura, the Heaven-Blast is powerless," the old man said, "Better luck in the next life, little boy."

Ranma merely smirked, and said, "I thought you might know the secret, freak. I knew that you spent some time ogling the women of the Joketsuzoku, so I came prepared." He pulled something out of his shirt pocket, and said, "Take a look at these, freak! Girlie pictures!" He spread them out, showing pictures of a very attractive red-haired girl, in various stages of undress grinning at the camera.

"Yes, the Heaven-Blast needs heat. He can control his anger. But he gets even hotter when he sees unclothed women," Cologne whispered.

"Oh Ranma," Akane said softly, "You'll do anything to win, won't you."

Happosai's battle aura began to flare as he ogled the pictures held carelessly in the young man's hand. Then he said, "Those photos are mine!'

"Burn you old pervert!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Amazing, so much greater than his battle aura," Cologne gasped.

"That much lust-aura could lay waste to half the earth!" Genma exclaimed in awe.

"All right, now for the spiral," Ranma said to himself. He began moving in the spiral of the Hiryű Shōten Ha, drawing the lust-maddened old man into his trap. The aura began to swirl, drawing tighter and tighter. Finally, with a loud cry "Hiryű Shōten Ha," Ranma struck with all the coldness of his Soul of Ice. There was a loud explosion, and then the wind began to swirl, as what looked like a miniature tornado formed, lifting Happosai high into the air.

Several minutes went by as the onlookers watched in awe. Akane hid her eyes, not wanting to see what was happening, afraid for her fiancé, worrying that he was trapped in the whirlwind that he had created.

"Somebody popped out!" Soun exclaimed as a body flew out of the top of the twister. The person fell quickly to the ground, and landed hard, creating a small, but deep, crater in the rocky soil.

"It's the old pervert," Ryoga said, "He's out cold." Ryoga quickly tied the old man up in a set of chains. The spiral dissipated, leaving a somewhat disheveled Ranma behind.

"It's over," Ranma breathed, "No years of watching him grope Akane, grope me, worrying about his petty tricks. No demon attack! Vengeance, no not vengeance, justice has been served!"

Cologne narrowed her eyes, wondering exactly what the little she had overheard meant. Then she hopped over to him, followed by Shampoo. "Very impressive, sonny boy. A nice blend of techniques. I declare you the new grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts," the old woman said. She gazed dispassionately down at the battered old man, and then noticed a strange burn mark showing through the remains of the old man's shirt. She gasped, "That burn mark! The legendary technique said to have died a century ago, the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion! In the ancient texts, it said that anyone burned with this moxibustion, even the greatest martial artist, can be reduced to the weakness of a baby! Where did you learn that?"

Ranma laughed nervously and said, "I just picked it up somewhere. I don't remember where." 'It's not like I can really tell you that I remembered it from when it was performed on me, now, can I?' he thought.

"There's no cure for this. The moxibustion to counter the 'Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion' no longer exists. We lost it long ago," Cologne said.

"So he'll be weak all the rest of his life?" Akane asked.

Cologne chuckled and said, "I'm happy to say that yes, he'll be weak for the rest of his short life." She turned to Shampoo, and said, "Go get that cask, it's time for our vengeance."

"Wait, Elder," Ranma said, "Would you have Shampoo use her knowledge and her Formula 411 to remove his memories of the Tendos and the Saotomes? I'd just as soon he not try to get some sort of vengeance on us. He can be extremely petty, and even if he has lost all of his abilities, I'm concerned about what he might try." 'I know I still have to face Saffron, and fighting Happosai was part of what made me as good as I was, but I just don't want him around. I'll have to think of some other way to get to where I need to be, that is if I end up having to face the bird man,' he thought.

Cologne narrowed her eyes as she thought, 'How does he know about that? There's something very strange about Ranma. He knows too much that is supposed to be hidden. And what was that about the demon attack? About vengeance, or rather justice being served?' She made a decision and said, "Yes, I think I can allow that. Shampoo, you know what needs to be done."

Akane came running from where she was standing and wrapped her arms around Ranma in a huge hug. Shampoo raised her eyes at the excellence of the Amazon glomp she had just seen performed by the Japanese girl. "You did it!" Akane exclaimed.

Shampoo ran quickly down to the tent, coming back with a steel cask of water that she carried very carefully up the hill. Then she pulled a squeeze tube labeled Formula 411 from somewhere and quickly lathered up the few hairs on the old man's head. She massaged the lather in carefully, and then rinsed it out.

"And it only took fifty-six seconds," Genma said in shock.

"But what the heck is it?" Ryoga asked.

"Xi Fa Xiang Gao shiatsu," Ranma said, "It was in one of Doc's books. It combines the use of a Chinese herbal shampoo and the pressing of points on the skull to manipulate memory."

Cologne said, "Very good, sonny boy. That was an impressive explanation. I can see that I must visit the young doctor." Then she turned to Shampoo, and ordered, "Finish it."

Shampoo picked up the cask of water, and opened it. She poured the contents of the cask over the diminutive old man, who promptly shrank and disappeared in the ruins of his clothing, the chains falling off.

"What was that?" Ranma asked.

"Water from the cursed spring, Heituenniichuan," Shampoo said with a giggle.

Ranma began to laugh uncontrollably.

Ryoga asked, "Where'd he go?" He bent down and pulled the clothing away to display a small, pot-bellied pig, still unconscious from the battering.

"Spring of drowned pig," Ranma said, once he could stop laughing, "I guess that's appropriate."

Shampoo reached down and fastened a collar and lead to the neck of the pig.

"I will take him back to my people to meet his judgment," Cologne said, "And then, I look forward to coming back here and staying for a while. After all, I can't really leave my great granddaughter, and son-in-law here by themselves, now can I?"

Genma and Soun finally made their way back to Ranma. "Never had a doubt in my mind that you could beat the old pervert. Not with my excellent training techniques," Genma boasted proudly.

"Now the good name of the school is assured. You have removed a cloud of shame from our name. How can I thank you?" Soun said, "If nothing else, you have prevented a great evil from being set loose on the world. I shudder to think of the depravities that this evil man would have inflicted on my daughters."

"Tendo, this calls for a celebration. Now that he is gone, we are the head of the school," Genma said.

"Truer words were never spoken, Saotome," Soun said, as he began to lead the way towards the tents and what was left of the bottle from the night before.

"HOLD IT!" Ranma said, firmly, "I believe you two may have forgotten something. I beat the old freak, so that makes me the Grandmaster of the school."

"But you can't be serious, Ranma!" Genma spluttered, "You are too young."

"Do you really want to face me, old man?" Ranma growled dangerously, his battle aura beginning to pulse, as a chill fell over the area. Ranma seemed to grow in size, his eyes flashing dangerously, and quickly overawed the two men, who began to cower in fear.

"Uh, I think he may have a point, Saotome," Soun said, from where he was kneeling on the ground.

'I'm just a poor Panda,' the sign said, as the oversized panda played with his beach ball.

Ranma glared at them for a few more minutes, making sure that he had gotten his point across. Then he suddenly grinned, looking again like the seventeen year old man that Akane had grown to love, and the chill in the air immediately dissipated. He turned to Cologne and said, "Thank you for all of your help, Elder. I couldn't have defeated him without the training you put us through. When you come back, I'd like to sit down and talk with you about what I may teach of the Amazon techniques in my school."

"I would be honored, Grandmaster," Cologne replied, "The Joketsuzoku owe you another debt, defeating our ancient foe. I will ask the Council what you may teach. Come, my children, we need to depart."

"Surely, we can wait for lunch," Ryoga protested.

Cologne smiled, and replied, "I don't see why not. We just need to keep the pig here from wandering off."

The party walked down the hillside, separating to go to their respective tents. No sooner had Ranma entered the tent with Akane then she had embraced him, and kissed him hard. When she stopped, she had a wicked smile on her face as she said, "Now that you're the Grandmaster, we are in charge of our destiny."

"Well, somewhat. We still have to finish our education, get married, and eventually raise a family," Ranma said, with a matching grin, "But our fathers can't tell us what to do as far as the school is concerned. We can get our own students, and find more teachers, and begin to create a school that we can both be proud of."

She began to unbutton her shirt, quickly dropping it to the ground. "Help me get this thing off," she demanded as she started to unwind her breast wrappings.

Ranma helped unwind the cloth from his fiancée, feeling somehow that he was unwrapping an early Christmas present.

Finally, the wrappings were off of Akane, who quickly grabbed a bra from her pack and put it on. Then she put the shirt that Ranma had lent her back on and turned to see her blushing fiancé. 'It's going to take some getting used to, seeing her like this. I have to admit, I like looking at her body,' Ranma thought with a silly grin.

Akane stood in front of him, her hands on her hips and asked, "You liked what you saw, didn't you?"

"Akane, you are a very pretty girl, and don't ever doubt that. So yeah, I liked what I saw. I can hardly wait until we get married," Ranma said. Then he flashed a quick grin, and added, "You should wear my clothing more often. You look good in that."

Akane giggled and then said saucily, "I bet you'd like to see me in just this shirt, wouldn't you?"

"Akane!" Ranma exclaimed, then he laughed. "Yeah, I have to admit that thought crossed my mind," he said sheepishly, "I hope that doesn't sound too perverted."

Akane blushed, and she replied, "Well, since the same thought crossed my mind, I don't think so."

The two shared another quick kiss, and then began to pack. Once the interior of the tent was empty, the two of them quickly struck their tent and placed it in Ranma's pack. They turned to see that the rest of the tents had also been taken down, and that all that was left was to eat their final meal in this desolate place and then depart.

Ranma walked back up to the cave entrance, carrying a torch that he had fashioned and entered the dark, dank cavern. There he found another backpack, leaning against the back wall of the cave. "At least the old freak kept this place picked up," he said to himself. He glanced inside the pack, and saw several of the treasures that he had remembered the old man had shown him over the years. Several of them belonged to the Amazons, so he knew that he needed to hand most of the contents back to Cologne before she departed. Picking up the backpack, he slung it over one shoulder and walked back down to the fire.

"What's that?" Ryoga asked.

Ranma shrugged the backpack off, and set it on the ground. "I was checking out the cave," he said, "and found this backpack. I guess it must belong to the old freak. We can check it out on the way back to Nerima."

"Yes, we left his belongings in the cave with the old man," Soun said with a shudder, "I remember looking into it, and deciding that we didn't want to have anything to do with his belongings. It was filled with the panties and bras that he had stolen from the village far below, so I didn't dig into it any further."

* * *

Ranma turned and glared at Akane as they neared the professional building that Tofu had provided them the address for. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," she said. 

"Ranma, I know you think you've gotten over what Kuno tried to do, but it was obvious last night that you hadn't," Akane replied, "I think you've suppressed what happened until after you took care of Happosai, but now that that danger is over, you're having the same bad dreams that you were having before we went on the training trip. Remember, I share your bed, so I've heard you the last several nights."

Ranma took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Finally, she quirked a bitter smile and said, "Well, I suppose it can't hurt." She laughed hollowly and said, "We haven't even gotten married yet, but this falls under the 'for better or for worse part' I guess."

"Ranma," Akane said fondly, "I'll always be there for you. Just like you'll always be there for me." They entered the building and rode the elevator to the fourth floor. Ranma had stood in front of Akane in the crowded car, which allowed Akane to wrap her arms around the smaller girl. Once they reached their floor, they walked down the darkly paneled hall towards the office they were seeking.

Ranma took a deep breath and opened the door to the office, and walked in, Akane following close behind. An attractive young girl was sitting behind a high counter, talking quietly into the intercom.

"Hello, I'm Ranma Saotome. I have an appointment," Ranma said.

The girl looked up and said, "Excellent, you're right on time. Dr. Hojo is waiting for you in his office, Miss Saotome." She missed the slight wince from the two girls. "Please, if you would, follow me," she said. She led them down a short hall, and knocked lightly on a closed door.

They heard a deep voice say, "Come in." The receptionist opened the door, and waved them in. There they saw a pleasantly appointed room, three walls of which were covered with bookshelves, filled with an imposing number of bound volumes. A large mahogany desk was in front of the one wall without shelves, a wall covered with several different landscape paintings. An elderly gentleman, with a pleasantly lined face, and a shock of jet-black hair, was sitting at the desk, but was rising as they entered the room.

"Welcome, I'm Dr. Hojo," the man said.

"I'm Ranma Saotome, and this is my fiancée, Akane Tendo," Ranma said, "I'd like her to sit with us if that is acceptable with you."

The doctor looked a bit surprised at the two girls, and then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have a problem with her staying during our session if you don't," the doctor said, "But I have to admit that I didn't expect to have two girls show up, and find out that they are engaged to be married."

"Well, Akane is the reason I'm here in the first place, so she really needs to stay," Ranma replied.

"As I said, that's not a problem. Please be seated, both of you," he replied.

The two girls sat down on the overstuffed couch, Ranma clasping Akane's hand firmly.

"Okay, I've got a report from Doctor Ono, but I'd really like to hear in your own words what the situation is," the elderly man said, "I actually expected to see you much sooner, since the assault happened several weeks ago."

"I thought I had worked through everything with the help of Akane and her sister Kasumi, but I started having nightmares again," Ranma replied, "We have been out of town since school let out, and I was keeping myself pretty busy, but when I got back to town, they started again."

"I think because you were focusing so much on training and then the challenge with Happosai, you were able to suppress everything else," Akane said softly, "But once that was all over, and we came back to Nerima, everything that you had tried to forget came back."

Ranma looked at Akane who smiled and squeezed her hand. Then Ranma said, "I'm not sure exactly what Tofu told you, but as you are aware, Tatawaki Kuno has had an obsession about both Akane and myself. He seems to think that he is God's gift to women, or something, and has always challenged us to a fight. He declared that if he wins, then we would date him, but when he loses he doesn't get the message that we aren't interested in him."

"Please continue, but be aware that I can't disclose anything about any of my other patients," Hojo replied.

"I understand that oath, Doctor. As a martial artist, I respect that. If I swore an oath as a martial artist, I could not betray that oath either. However, since he's at least part of the reason for my nightmares, you need to know things from our perspective," Ranma replied.

"Kuno vowed that whoever beat me in combat won the right to take me on a date," Akane said, "When Ranma showed up, she forbade that practice. All of the guys at school except for Kuno stopped trying to fight me, but Kuno just wouldn't listen."

"And then he found out that I wasn't interested in men," Ranma said with a deep sigh, "And he decided that he should show me the error of my ways by attempting to assault me. As we've mentioned, I've had a few nightmares since then, mainly a dream where I wasn't able to stop him. The worst are the nightmares where I seem to enjoy his attention."

"Since you introduced Akane as your fiancée, and have told me that you aren't interested in men, does that mean you are attracted to women sexually?" the doctor asked.

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Ranma replied, her cheeks reddening, "I'm interested in one woman sexually, and that woman is Akane. But also, appearances are deceiving. That's the reason I finally agreed with Akane to come here. You need to know something about me because that might affect your counseling with Kuno."

"Now that's confusing," Hojo said.

"It's not that difficult, Ranma is in love with me and I'm in love with him," Akane replied as she blushed.

"Him?" Hojo asked, his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"It's easier to show you. Do you have some hot water available?" Ranma asked.

The doctor pointed to a small coffee maker sitting discretely on one of the bookshelves.

Ranma walked over and picked up the coffee carafe that was sitting there filled with hot water. She poured the water over herself, and transformed.

"What!" the doctor said.

Akane smiled sadly and replied, "Ranma picked up a strange curse during his travels. He changes into a girl when he is splashed with cold water."

"I am a male, irregardless of my physical body. The idea that some boy finds me attractive bothers me," Ranma said. Then he continued, "Actually, it scares me to death, to tell the truth. When I change, I do turn completely into a girl, but I'm not interested in boys. I'm still the same person inside."

"So why have you been pretending to be female?" Hojo finally asked, "If you had shown up as male, do you think Kuno would have gone after you?"

Ranma sighed and said, "It's a very long story. I first met Akane back in April when I came to meet her family. Our fathers had promised that eventually the families would be joined, by the heirs of the martial arts school marrying each other. However, I had picked up this curse, and showed up at the Tendo's home as a girl. After talking to Akane, it was obvious that neither of us was ready to be engaged, much less married, so Akane convinced me to pretend to actually be female. Pop wasn't with me at the time, so I reluctantly agreed."

"Over time we fell in love, so when Ranma asked me to marry him, I accepted," Akane continued, "That removed any reason for him to hide his true gender, so he was able to tell Daddy the truth. Ranma plans to start going to school as a guy starting this next term."

"And Kuno would have chased my girl side. Believe me, I don't think he would have ever figured out that the girl he was chasing was actually me," Ranma said, "I don't think anything I could have told him would have convinced him of the truth. He seems to have a way of warping things into his twisted version of reality."

The doctor gazed at them for a moment, his face showing his concern. Finally he said, "Well, this is going to complicate things. Not that I think you shouldn't let the school know that you are really male, but I'm worried about what will happen when Mr. Kuno finds out the truth. I've made some progress with him, but if he discovers that one of the women he is attracted to is really a male, it possibly could cause him problems. If possible, I'd like to keep that from him for a while."

"I can't keep hiding who I really am though, Doctor," Ranma said heatedly, "You can't imagine how hard this has been for me."

He pondered the problem for another long moment and then continued, "However, that's not your concern at this moment. We need to help you work through your issues. Between the gender issues that I'm sure you must have, and the residue of emotions left over from the assault, as well as what will likely happen when your classmates find out that you've been hiding this big a secret from them, we have our work cut out for the next several weeks."

"So you think that all of that is what is causing his nightmares?" Akane asked.

The doctor chuckled and replied, "Well, that may be a bit premature to make that assumption, but I'm sure that the stress of those issues is probably what is causing them. I'm sure we can work through the issues with the attempted assault, though it will take some time. I'm more concerned with how you handle the actual transformation."

Ranma said wryly, "I actually don't have a problem with the fact that I change, at least not anymore. I've accepted that this is likely to be a part of who I am for the rest of my life. What was hurting me was the fact that I had to hide who I really was at school. I don't like not being honest; that is what was causing me the most problems. Now that the people closest to me have accepted me for who I am, I'm content with what happened."

"Mr. Saotome doesn't much like it, but your Mom has come to terms with the fact that her man among men sometimes is a woman," Akane added.

"True, but Pop and I don't agree on much any more," Ranma said, "And I know his attitudes about women are pre-historic."

"Neanderthal, in fact," Akane said with a smile. Ranma chuckled at that.

"Hmm," the doctor said, as he stared into space, "I must admit I didn't expect that answer. I really expected more issues because of that. However, it sounds like you don't respect your father much."

"Pop is a pretty good martial artist, but as a father he leaves a lot to be desired," Ranma admitted, "Some of the problems that I have definitely were caused by the way he raised me and by some of the training techniques he tried, but again, I've managed to work most of them out. Though there are still a few things that remain from that. My fear of c-c-cats, for instance."

"Yes, Doctor Ono listed your Ailurophobia in the letter he sent over, though I'm going to have to give him a hard time about him not telling me about your curse," the doctor said.

"Honestly, Doctor, if he had, would you have believed him?" Akane asked.

The doctor chuckled and replied, "Of course not. I would have thought he was pulling my leg. He always was playing practical jokes on people when he was my student at school." A gentle chime sounded and the doctor said, regretfully, "I'm afraid our time is up for today. While it may not seem like we made much progress, I think you'll sleep better. One of the things that seem to help is just talking about problems, and not burying them down inside you. You have a good friend here in your fiancée, Ranma, so borrow her strength and lean on her."

"Thank you for seeing us, Doctor," Ranma said.

"Stop by the receptionist so she can set up another appointment," the doctor said as he rose from his chair, "It's been a pleasure meeting you both. Between the three of us, I know we will be able to stop your nightmares."

Ranma and Akane rose from the couch and bowed politely to the doctor. "Until next time," Akane said, as she opened the door. The two of them left the room.

"What an amazing story!" the doctor exclaimed as he shook his head, "I do hope that Mr. Kuno doesn't find out about this for several months. It would be a shame to have his progress destroyed."

* * *

The day of the wedding finally arrived. To Kasumi's relief, the weather that had been horrible all week had cooperated and the storm had blown away during the night, leaving the sun victorious as it shone down about a freshly cleansed Nerima. She had disappeared into her bedroom, shortly after lunch was finished to begin her transformation from Kasumi the housekeeper to Kasumi the bride. Her sisters and Nodoka had vanished with her, leaving the men of the household to their own devices. Ranma had been given a special assignment by Akane; one that he had performed to perfection, as he ensured two things, first, that Tofu was actually present, and second, that he was coherent. 

The dojo was filled with the small number of people that they had invited, and Tofu and Ranma were standing before the family shrine with the minister, waiting for the bride and maid of honor to make their appearance. The door to the dojo slid open, and there, stood revealed Akane. Ranma suddenly felt extremely nervous, and his collar grew tight.

'Stop it! This is Tofu and Kasumi's wedding, not yours. There's no need for you to be nervous,' he thought as he found that he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. 'Kami, she's gorgeous,' he thought as she began to walk down the aisle toward them. As she neared, he could see the beaming smile on her face. She took her position across from him, and then turned to wait.

The door opened again, and Kasumi and Soun stood there. Tofu stared in amazement. Ranma whispered, "Don't lose it now, Doc."

Tofu took a deep breath and calmed himself using the meditation techniques that he had been studying.

Kasumi glided down the aisle, on her father's arm and then took her place next to her soon-to-be husband.

* * *

Ukyo made her way through the crowd of well-wishers over to where she had last seen Akane. She pushed past the handsome, dark-haired boy that had been the best man; someone she had assumed was a close friend of the groom. "Hello, Akane," Ukyo said. 

"Hi Ukyo," Akane replied, "I didn't know that you were coming."

"Uh, well, while you and Ranma were gone, I came by the house a couple of times looking for you. I didn't realize that your trip was going take as long as it did, I guess, and I really wanted to talk. Kasumi invited me in and we talked for a while," Ukyo said.

"That sounds like Sis," Akane said with a laugh.

"She really is a nice lady," Ukyo agreed, "Anyway, we kind of became friends, so she invited me to the wedding."

Akane said, "You should dress up more often, Ukyo. You really look nice in that dress."

Ukyo blushed furiously and asked, "You really think so?"

"Yes, I really do," Akane said. Indeed, between the lovely blue dress, and the way she was wearing her hair down, made Ukyo extremely attractive.

"Uh, do you know where Ranc, I mean, Ranma is?" Ukyo asked.

Ranma glanced over at his fiancée, to see her talking to the attractive brown-haired girl that had pushed past him. The off-the-shoulder, blue dress was nicely filled out by the girl wearing it. He walked over to them, carrying the two glasses of punch.

"Sorry it took so long," Ranma said, as he handed one of the glasses to Akane. He turned to the other girl and said, "Hello, I'm Ranma." Then he looked closer and said, spluttering, "Wait a minute, you're Ukyo! I almost didn't recognize you."

Ukyo giggled attractively and said, "It's nice to finally see the real you, Ranchan. You're as good-looking as the girls said."

"I was just telling her how nice she looked," Akane said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Ranma smiled nervously and moved closer to Akane. He said, "Well, I think that you should wear a dress more often, Ukyo. That boy's uniform you wear doesn't do you justice." 'Uh oh, I know that look. Akane's getting jealous again,' he thought. He reached out and placed his arm around Akane, pulling her into a one-armed hug. Akane's expression lightened up.

Ukyo blushed again, and said, "You're just saying that."

"No, just being honest," Ranma replied, "You really do look pretty."

'Now that I know what he looks like, Akane isn't gonna win,' Ukyo thought. "One of the reasons I decided to come today was to talk to you," she said.

Ranma glanced at Akane and she nodded her head. "Okay, why don't we go up to our room and we can talk for a few minutes," Ranma said.

Akane and Ranma headed into the house, followed closely by Ukyo. When they reached the second floor, and went into their room. Ukyo saw the sign on the door that read 'Akane and Ranma' and stopped in shock. She glanced into the room, and saw that there was only one large bed in the room. She walked slowly into the room, and broke into tears.

Ranma exchanged a puzzled look with Akane. Akane walked over to hug Ukyo, but the other girl pushed her away. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"You two are sharing a bed," Ukyo said, barely understandable through her sobbing.

"Yes, we originally shared the room, but we had two beds, then this week we decided that was silly, and got rid of the smaller futon," Ranma replied.

"So I truly have lost," Ukyo said as she collapsed to the floor.

Ranma said irritably, "I'm not some prize that could be won. I already told you that I was in love with Akane and was going to marry her. Did you think that I was kidding about that?"

"But what about my honor? How can I go home without it being satisfied?" Ukyo asked, her voice rising.

"Calm down, Ukyo. I'm not going to spoil Kasumi's day with a fight," Ranma said, "If you're gonna start yelling at us, then this talk is over!"

Ukyo glared at Ranma. "Answer the question, dammit!" she said, vehemently, but in a quiet voice.

"I agree that your family honor was tarnished by Pop's action. There's no doubt that he did something wrong when he made that promise, especially since he had a prior arrangement with Soun Tendo," Ranma said, "But that's the problem. The Tendo family honor is involved because of that agreement, the Saotome family honor is tarnished because of what Pop did, and my personal honor is involved because I made a promise to Akane. So what do you think I should do that would satisfy everyone's honor? There is no way to do that, so I have to do what I think is best, what will make me happy. And that means that I will marry the woman I love, the one who loves me in spite of all my problems. I don't want to hurt you, Ucchan, but"

"Don't call me that," Ukyo hissed.

Ranma looked hurt. He sighed and said, "Fine, if that's what you want, Ukyo. I told you this already, but you didn't want to hear it. I want to be your friend, so does Akane for that matter, but that's all I'll ever be. If that isn't good enough for you, there's nothing more for us to say to each other."

"But that's not what I want," Ukyo said sadly, "It's not what I need." She stared at him, looking lost and forlorn.

He gazed at Ukyo, his eyes bleak, and said, "I don't wanna do this, Ukyo, but if this is the way you're gonna be, I don't think I have a choice. You're either just a friend or nothing to me at all. When you decide which it is, let me know."

Ukyo gasped, and began crying again. She stood up, slapped Ranma and then whirled and ran out of the room, leaving a trail of tears behind.

"Damn!" Ranma said.

"Yeah, that went real well," Akane said sarcastically.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Specific comments are below: 

PepsiBeth: I'm glad flattered. Thanks for reminding me where I got that line from. I just knew I had read it somewhere and it stuck. I remember now about reading your story, and enjoying it. I hope to continue making this story unique. And by now, Ranma has changed things enough that even though some of the same events will be occurring, let's just say they won't occur quite the same way anymore.

WonderBee31: There was a bit too much of the let's bash Ranma in the anime, though quite a bit of that I think is traditional in this kind of story. The manga wasn't nearly as bad. And in fact, there were a lot of moments in both that showed that Ranma and Akane cared a great deal for each other. If only their idiot families would have stayed out of their way.

SilverBullet23: I'm still working out how to use the other sealed techniques. And even though he knows in his head other techniques, he isn't powerful enough yet to use them. That's why they haven't shown up quite yet. I also intend for him to learn from some of the other characters, some of which haven't shown up yet.

Yarrow: I don't think I'd want to do that. Sounds entirely too much like the "It was only a dream season" on the show Dallas. But if I was into writing an omake, that would certainly be an interesting one. I'm glad you like the story so far.

Isumo1489: I don't know. You'd have to ask Rumiko Takahashi. I just have to live with the way she ended the manga.

Proud yusuke fan: Well, I'm still dropping clues, here and there. We'll see if someone is smart enough to pick up on them.

Hououza: No, the second half was the next week of the trip, after they had come back from Nerima to rejoin Ranma and Akane. I just did a lousy job of showing that transition, I guess.

Pyscho King: Poor Ukyo, it won't get any better for her for a while, I'm afraid. She's still got a bit of a rocky road ahead of her. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it won't be an oncoming train. A miffed Kasumi would indeed be a scary sight. She is very protective of her family. You should have seen my face when I was writing them. VBG And then when I watched my wife read the chapter to proofread it.

Innortal: Rats, you figured out one of the secrets. Yeah, when Cologne comes back, she'll let a few things accidentally slip.

Silverline Scimitar: On the other hand, he's with Kodachi. That has to count for something. Besides, if you had an obsessed rich girlfriend, don't you think she would have fixed that minor problem? As to Ukyo and Nabiki, I know where I'm going with both of them, though it will take many more chapters before that happens. Kuno just didn't figure into any of the last chapter. He was offstage as it were, but he will pop up occasionally. Much like the canon. He wasn't in every chapter, IIRC.

Howard Russell: I figured if I was going to make it R, I might as well write it a bit more adult. As to your idea, again thanks. It will turn up, eventually. If Ranma is ever to have a happy marriage, the girl has to be able to handle the curse.

Doctor Emmitt Brown: Thanks. I had found that site once before, so I've looked at some of the manga translations there. I just wish Viz would hurry up and finish the second edition. BTW, I hope you plan on updating your stories.

Dragon Man 180: Well, so far he's learned four. And I used all four of them in this chapter. And yes, Genma is pretty oblivious to what goes on around him.


	26. Secrets Revealed

Chapter 26 Secrets Revealed

The following morning, Nabiki wearily made her way downstairs to the family room. Her father was crying buckets of tears by the door overlooking the yard, while Nodoka was trying to console him. Genma was still passed out on the floor, from the copious amount of alcohol that he had consumed in celebration of Kasumi's wedding. The consensus of opinion had been to just leave the large tub of lard where he had dropped, as no one wanted to attempt to move him into one of the bedrooms. Nabiki remembered Nodoka just looking at him in disgust and then heading off to sleep in Akane's old room.

"Daddy, what's the matter?" Nabiki asked, waspishly. While she hadn't had too much to drink last night, the sound of his crying was really beginning to annoy her, and she was beginning to regret not going straight into the kitchen to find her coffee. His wailing was at just the right frequency to cause the slight pounding in her head to begin to feel worse.

"I've lost my daughter!" Soun replied, the tears continuing to flow, "Kasumi has left us!"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Daddy!" Nabiki exclaimed, "You haven't lost Kasumi, she hasn't left us, she's just on her honeymoon with Tofu. She'll be back on Monday." Then she asked, "If you're in here, Auntie, then who's fixing breakfast?"

Nodoka laughed and replied, "I got chased out by Ranma and Akane. They told me that they would take care of things. After all, the only reason I'm here this morning is because my idiot of a husband had too much to drink last night, and it was more trouble than it was worth to try to get him home."

Soun began to cry again. "My daughter is trying to kill me! Why did you have to leave, Kasumi?" Soun wailed.

Akane walked into the family room, carrying a portion of the meal, one of Kasumi's floral printed aprons protecting her clothing. Her eye was twitching in anger and she hissed, "I heard that Daddy." The coldness of her tone instantly dried up Soun's tears as he stared at her in fear. She placed the tray on the table, and went back into the kitchen for one last trip.

Ranma walked out, another one of Kasumi's aprons protecting her clothing. She also placed her tray done on the platform, and then walked over to her father. The smell of the food was beginning to rouse him from his drunken stupor, but just to be on the safe side, Ranma tossed him into the koi pond.

The shock of landing in the water quickly roused Genma from his slumber. The additional body mass of the panda soaked up the remnants of the alcohol in his blood stream, sobering the panda up. Unfortunately, it didn't dissipate the effect of the massive hangover that Genma was feeling. The panda growled warningly as it made its way back to the family room. 'Why'd you do that, boy?' the sign read, FLIP, 'And why are you a girl?'

Ranma handed her father a towel, and then poured hot water over the panda, triggering the change. "Wanted to make sure you were awake, old man," Ranma replied, her eyes dancing with mirth, "and that was the easiest way to do it. I didn't want you to miss out on breakfast, especially with all of the effort that Akane put into it. As to why I'm a girl, let's just say I lost a bet with Akane and leave it at that."

"Besides, what boy would be caught dead in one of Kasumi's frilly aprons?" Akane asked as she brought in the last of the food, including a cup of steaming hot coffee, which Nabiki grabbed instantly. Nabiki closed her eyes and began to drink her coffee, waiting for the onrush of the caffeine.

"Akane cooked?" Genma asked, trembling in fear, remembering all of the special meals that she had prepared for him on the trip. He turned to Nodoka and asked, hopefully, "Isn't it time for us to go home?"

Nodoka looked at him coldly and replied, "No, I don't have any need to run home yet. Besides, I'm hungry and can't wait to see what Akane has fixed for us. Sit down, dear."

Genma gulped as he took in the cold stares coming from both Nodoka and Akane and promptly collapsed to the floor. The rest of the family gathered around the table, as Ranma began passing around the food.

"What is this?" Soun asked.

"I decided to try some Western dishes. We fixed omelets, and bacon," Ranma said, "Akane made them all while I supervised. The bacon got a little crispy, I'm afraid, but that's because she distracted me."

Soun and Genma gazed warily at the food in front of them. The aroma coming from the omelet seemed to indicate that it was edible, and while the edges on the bacon looked a bit crispy, they too seemed to be okay. However, neither of them so much as even touched their chopsticks, waiting to see which one would break first under the combined gaze of the two women who had prepared the meal. Or as Genma thought to himself, 'the girl and his son who was for some unknown reason parading around as a girl.'

Ranma finally shrugged her shoulders and began to daintily eat her food. Well, daintily for her at least. The other women present dug in also, while the two men seemed to be in a state of shock watching them eat. Soun seemed to expect all four of the women to keel over from food poisoning, while Genma appeared to think the food was planning on eating him, instead of the other way around.

Nodoka said, "This is very good, you two. Though the omelet could use just a touch more salt, I think."

Akane turned to look at Ranma and deliberately stuck her tongue out at her as if to say, 'I told you so.'

Ranma had the decency to blush and said, "Okay, you were right, Acchan. But I still say it's a matter of taste."

"What's the matter, Daddy?" Nabiki asked with a smirk, "Aren't you hungry?"

Finally, emboldened by the fact that no one had collapsed from eating the food, Soun picked up his chopsticks and started eating the bacon. His eyes widened in disbelief and he began to wail.

"Now what!" Nodoka snapped.

"My daughter can cook!" Soun cried, "She will make Ranma a wonderful wife!"

Akane and Ranma rolled their eyes. "Daddy," Akane growled, "Stop that. Besides there's a lot more to being a wife than knowing how to cook."

"True," Genma said, puffed up with self-importance, "There's housekeeping, sewing, laundry, gardening, that kind of thing."

Akane snorted in disgust and said, "That wasn't what I was talking about, but then I should have known that you of all people wouldn't understand."

"So when did you learn how to cook?" Genma asked, "I mean the stuff you made for me during the trip was horrible."

Akane said, her voice saccharine sweet, "I've been able to cook quite a few meals for several months. Between Kasumi, Nodoka and Ranma, they've been working with me in the kitchen for a long time. I was deliberately making your meals bad."

Soun looked bewildered and asked, "Why would you do that?"

Akane gave him a withering look, as Nabiki chuckled. "Because she wanted some time alone with her fiancé," Nabiki said, her voice filled with scorn, "Isn't it obvious?"

"My son is so manly!" Nodoka said happily as she looked at the blushes being exchanged between her, well, daughter at the moment, and Akane.

"MOM!" Ranma exclaimed, "Would you stop that!"

* * *

"Come on Ranma, we don't want to be late today of all days," Akane yelled as she ran down the sidewalk, dragging her reluctant fiancé along with her. Today was the first day of the new school term, and the day that the real Ranma would be introduced to the rest of the class. At Nabiki's suggestion, Ranma was going to school as a girl, and then would explain everything to the homeroom during the first period.

To their relief, they got to school early, and made it into the building without encountering Kuno. That was a situation that neither of them wanted to face, at least not first thing. As they entered the classroom, Akane squeezed Ranma's hand, and then headed toward her seat, while Ranma approached the teacher, who looked up irritably at her.

"Sir," Ranma began, "I need to talk to the class about something."

"Fine," the teacher said. Then raising his voice to be heard over the hubbub, he said, "Attention, class. We have a student who wishes to make an announcement."

Ranma stood there nervously. She rubbed the back of her neck, and glanced over at Akane.

Akane smiled in encouragement and mouthed, "Go ahead."

Ranma sighed and thought, 'Well here goes nothing. I hope they all don't hate me for this.' She said, "Gomen nasai. I have been misleading all of you. What most of you believe is that I'm a girl."

Her classmates looked at her in confusion, murmuring softly. Reluctantly she continued, "Actually, I'm not; I was born the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. Unfortunately, I picked up a weird curse a few months ago, and I'm now a girl, sometimes."

The class fell completely silent at this announcement. Ranma pulled a thermos of water out of her bag and poured it over her head, triggering the transformation. The class as a whole looked shocked, except for the five people currently in the room who already knew the truth. Several people gasped in surprise. In front of their eyes, the attractive, red-haired girl that they had spent the last several months getting to know had turned into the young man that they had last seen some weeks ago in a passionate kiss with Akane Tendo. As one, they all turned to look at Akane, who turned a bright red under the disbelieving stares of her classmates. Several of the boys looked positively green as they realized that the girl they had been secretly obsessing over was a boy, and many of the girls were looking at Akane with a speculative look in their eyes.

"The reason that I pretended to be a girl for the previous term is because of Akane. Our parents had arranged a marriage for us before we were born, but neither of us was ready for that. When I came to her house to meet her, I went in my cursed form, so Akane asked me to help fool her father. He thought I was a girl. Hiding the truth from him allowed the two of us to become friends without the pressure of being forced into an unwanted engagement," Ranma said.

Akane giggled and the class looked at her in surprise. She said, "Of course, we then promptly fell in love and he asked me to marry him."

Ranma grinned sheepishly and added, "Now that we are engaged, there's no reason for me to hide what I really am. I hope you can forgive me for the trick I pulled. If you want to know more, check with Nabiki at lunch. And that's all I'm gonna say about this!" He turned to the open-mouthed instructor and said, "Thank you, sir. I'll let you have your class back now, though it may be a while before you can start the lesson." He walked over to his desk, and sat down, trying to ignore the buzz of conversation that started up.

Akane smiled at him, and then added, "Please don't let Tatewaki Kuno know about this. He is trying to get over his obsession with Ranma and myself, and his doctor believes that if he finds out that one of the girls he was obsessed with is actually a boy, that it would have a bad affect on him. While I can't say I like him very much right now, I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Fortunately for Ranma and Akane, there was a slight commotion at the door that dragged the attention of the class away from them. There, standing in the doorway, was an attractive, brown-haired girl, wearing a modified version of the girl's school uniform, her face surprised by the fact that Ranma was in class as a male. The class quickly recognized her by the trademark small spatulas displayed in two bandoliers across the girl's chest, as well as by the large handle jutting up past one shoulder. Ukyo walked over to her desk and sat down. The teacher simply put his head down on his desk and gave up. "Go ahead, get it out of your system," he said as he banged his head on the desktop, again wondering why he ever decided to teach.

Quickly several of the girls gathered around Akane and began asking her questions. At first, Akane was okay with answering them, but the rapidly spreading blush appearing on her cheeks was evidence that she was quickly becoming embarrassed. Then she slammed her hands down on her desk, and said, "That's enough! Just leave me alone!"

Ranma was also getting interrogated by several of his classmates, or at least, an attempt was made. One glare from his eyes, however, cowed all but the bravest of the questioners. That unfortunate boy, who forgot that sometimes discretion is indeed the better part of valor, Ranma took care of. He began to glow, his battle aura showing. The poor lad suffering under that attention suddenly realized that he was all alone, and had to ask permission suddenly to head to the boy's bathroom.

Ukyo was left mostly alone, since all of the students knew that she was actually a girl who just liked to dress in a boy's uniform. That had been discovered her first full day, first by the off-hand remark that Ranma had made about her being a girl. That comment had flashed across the homeroom, with all the speed that rumors normally had, helped along of course by Nabiki and her band of agents, and was later confirmed when she showed up in the girl's gym class. Several of the boys did pass her notes, all of them asking her out for next Saturday. She merely wadded them up, getting her message across.

Finally the instructor had enough, and stood up. "Attention," he said loudly, "Anyone who can't get ready for this lesson will have detention." The class immediately stilled. "Thank you. Now if there aren't any more surprises awaiting us, let's get started," he said in the quiet. He turned to the blackboard and began his lecture.

* * *

Fortunately for the two of them, the day had turned out to be a spectacularly gorgeous, sunny day, without a cloud in the sky. Ranma and Akane headed out to the schoolyard for lunch, finding their favorite tree, where their friends quickly joined them.

Ukyo walked up to Ranma, who frowned slightly at her approach. She said, softly, "Ranma, I'd like to apologize for slapping you the other day. My only excuse is that I was tired and became overwrought."

"I understand, Ukyo," Ranma said, "I knew you weren't gonna like hearing what I had to say. I really wouldn't blame you if you hated me just now."

Ukyo grimaced, and replied, "You were just telling me what you've told me all along. It just hurts to realize that you don't want me as your wife, in spite of the agreement between our fathers and him taking the dowry."

Yuka turned an accusing eye on Ranma and asked, "How could you do that to her? Or to Akane for that matter? How could you get engaged to Akane if you were promised to another?"

"It's not like that, Yuka," Ranma said angrily, "Pop and Mr. Tendo had the agreement first. I was promised to one of the Tendo girls before any of us were ever born. We didn't meet Ukyo or her father until I was six; Pop should never have done what he did, and I didn't know anything about it. Hell, I thought Ukyo was a boy, a friend, up until she showed up here. You can't imagine how shocked I was to find out that not only was Ukyo a girl, but that my idiot of a Pop had arranged a marriage to her, and worse yet accepted her dowry."

"And by the time she showed up, Ranma and I had already fallen in love and become engaged," Akane said, "When Ukyo arrived, and we found out what Mr. Saotome had done, Ranma made it perfectly clear that he was not interested in Ukyo that way."

"So the person I should be upset with because he screwed up my life is his father, not Ranma," Ukyo added. She sighed bitterly and added, "And it's my fault for listening to that idiot when I found him in jail."

Ranma looked carefully at Ukyo and noticed for the first time that she was attempting to hide some bags under her eyes, and some signs of strain. "Have you been sleeping okay? You look like you're exhausted," he asked.

"Sugar, I haven't been sleeping well all break. Between running the restaurant by myself, and well, you know, you, I've been tossing and turning all night," Ukyo replied, quietly. She sighed again and said, "This isn't what I imagined happening when I came to Nerima."

"Sorry, Ukyo, I didn't know," Ranma said, sadly, "We did kind of desert you all break, what with the trips we took. I never stopped to think that you wouldn't get much of a chance to relax while we were gone. Mom enjoyed working at the Nekohaten while we were gone, so she was planning on stopping by and seeing if you could use some help. It's the least we can do to make up for what Pop did to you. She would have asked when you first showed up, but what with helping with the wedding and all, she didn't have time until now."

"I know, we talked some at the reception before I went to find you," Ukyo said, "She starts today, though she's making me expand my menu. Said something about man can not live by okonomiyaki alone. Not sure I understand what she means by that, but." She shrugged her shoulders. She turned to Ranma and said, "I'm still not okay with this, Ranchan, but I don't want to lose the friend I had. If all I can be is your friend, then I'll have to settle for that." 'Anything else I say will drive him away from me altogether and I'll never be able to win him back,' she thought.

Ranma's face relaxed into a smile and he said, "I do want you as my friend." He reached out tentatively with one hand, and asked, "Friends?"

Ukyo grabbed his hand and pulled him into a brief hug, and said, "Yes, friends. And remember, my friends call me Ucchan." She turned to Akane and hugged her also.

"Not that I'm complaining, Ukyo, but why did you decide to start wearing a dress to school?" Hiroshi asked. He received a death glare from his girlfriend, as well as a sharp poke in the side from her elbow.

"A couple of friends told me the other day that they thought I looked attractive in a dress," Ukyo replied, her face heating up in what looked like a painful blush, "So I, uh, decided to change. Especially after the talk I had with Ranchan."

Akane smiled at her and said, quietly, "See, we were right. You should wear a skirt more often. Just look at all of those guys who wrote you notes in class. Give yourself a chance with one of them, you might surprise yourself."

The relative peace and quiet came to an end as several more of their classmates came to join them. One of them evidently had been elected to serve as their spokesman, and asked, "Can we talk to the two of you?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and looked at Akane. She bit her lip in indecision and then nodded her head. "Sure, go ahead, Hitome," he said.

"What's it like?" Hitome blurted out.

Ranma sighed and replied, "It's hard to describe. Think about it yourself though. What do you think it would feel like if all of a sudden you changed into a boy? When body parts disappear, and others show up, your body chemistry changes some, and you change size drastically. And through it all, your personality doesn't change."

"We've talked to Nabiki and found out why you hid who you were," Hitome's friend Kaori said, "I guess I understand why you did it."

"What do you mean? It was so romantic," Megumi gushed, "Pretending to be a girl just to be with the woman he loved."

"And it certainly explains the strange looks, and touches, which caused all of those rumors back in the spring about you two," Hitome said, "While we haven't been the closest of friends, Ranma, you stood up for the Rhythmic Gymnastics team and helped us out. We don't care that you're really a guy. We just think that Akane is real lucky."

Ranma smiled and said, "I think I'm the lucky one. Thanks for accepting us."

Hitome looked a little worried and said, "Some of the guys aren't real happy. I guess finding out that one of the girls that you'd been drooling over was really a boy has got to be a bit disconcerting. There was a few that made a beeline to the boy's restroom, and came out looking pretty pale. And of course, a few of them are making the usual rude comments because you're a girl sometimes and engaged to Akane."

Ranma looked a bit disgusted as he replied, "Well, you know that a lot of boys have perverted thoughts." 'And if I find out who's making the comments, they're dead,' he thought, his face taking on a feral look for a second.

Akane squeezed the hand she was holding and said, "Don't worry about them making comments. Some of them are just angry that we're together."

Kaori replied, "Well, now the girls will have someone they can drool over." She giggled.

Ranma looked blank.

"She's talking about you, baka," Akane said.

Ranma looked pained and said, "Just so long as they realize that I'm taken."

"You've got that right," Akane said happily, as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

The lunch period came to a close, so the group stood up and headed toward the school building. All conversations ceased as the students scattered around the school yard saw Akane walking toward the school building with the young man that they had seen near the end of last term, followed by their friends. The fact that she was engaged had become widely known, but the name of her fiancé had strangely been unknown until now. As soon as class had been over, the members of their homeroom had scattered and told everyone they met the odd tale. And then the information that Nabiki had provided (at a nominal fee, of course) had told anyone who was curious the full details of the bizarre tale, as well as warning to keep it from Kuno. The look that Nabiki had given them had promised untold harm would befall anyone who did tell the kendoist.

Ranma sighed in relief as they neared the building. He had worried all morning that they might run into Kuno, but so far there had been no signs of him. Just as they were nearing the door, however, Kuno stepped out of the building. However, this was a different Kuno. No longer wearing his Samurai robes, instead he was dressed in the school uniform, granted a well-tailored version of the same, and his once haughty manner appeared to be missing.

"Kuno," Ranma hissed under his breath. His eyes flashed angrily for a moment.

"Hello, Tendo-sama," Kuno said, bowing his head as a measure of respect, "Where is your companion, the beauteous Saotome-sama? I wish to speak to her."

"Kuno, I'm afraid that she won't be coming around here often," Akane replied carefully, "The events of the last several weeks have affected her greatly, and she decided to leave this school."

A pained look flashed across Kuno's face as he said, "Alas, I had feared that I might have driven her away. I could tell at our last conversation that my presence was causing her great discomfort. When you see her again, tell her that I apologize again for my misdeeds, and that the counseling that I am undergoing has caused me to realize that I have been a fool for many months. As to my actions toward you, Tendo-sama, again, I apologize for what my foolish actions did to you, also." He turned to Ranma and said, an odd look on his face, "You must be Tendo-sama's fiancé. I am Tatewaki Kuno, upperclassman. Congratulations on your engagement. All I ask is that you prove to be worthy of her."

"Yes, I'm her fiancé, the other Ranma Saotome," Ranma replied, a surprised note in his voice, "And yes, I certainly intend to try to be worthy of her."

"Are you perchance related to the wondrous Saotome-sama?" Kuno asked.

Akane giggled.

Ranma paused for a moment and then replied, "You could say that. We share the same parents. And she's also the reason I was able to meet Akane. You might say it's because of her that Akane and I are engaged. And yes, I know what happened between the two of you. I doubt I need to spell it out to you what would happen if you tried again. Assuming she left you alive."

"She is your sister!" Kuno exclaimed. His face froze and then he bowed, "Then I have wronged you as well, Saotome-sama. Please accept my humble apology, and be assured that she has nothing to fear from me in that regard. I will never again attempt to force my attentions on someone."

"I have been told that you weren't completely responsible for what happened that night," Ranma said.

"Ranma, we're about to be late," Akane interrupted.

"We shall talk later," Kuno said, "I wish to avoid angering the spirited Tendo-sama any more than I already have.

Akane grabbed Ranma's hand and ran upstairs to their homeroom.

* * *

That afternoon, Ranma went to the class the he was actually dreading. Surprisingly, since he actually enjoyed gym class more than any other. But this would be the first time that he was attending gym as a guy at Furinkan, and he just knew that he was going to have problems with all of the boys in his homeroom. Even Hiroshi and Daisuke still hadn't quite gotten the message that he wouldn't show them what he looked like as a girl. He smiled somewhat ruefully as he thought, 'Yeah, I can just imagine Akane's reaction if she found out that I had flashed my breasts at the guys. Calling me a pervert would be the kindest thing she would say. Not going down that path, not if I can help it.' As he approached the door to the locker room, the coach met him.

"Mr. Saotome, I just had an interesting meeting with your homeroom teacher, the assistant principal and Miss Nabiki Tendo. They told me that you are the same person who has been going to school as Miss Ranma Saotome," the coach said, "Is that true?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and replied, "Yessir, it is. I have a curse that turns me into a girl when I get splashed with cold water. And the change is complete. It reverses with hot water, and I return to the gender I was born with."

"That presents a problem. The first is of course that while the male students of this high school are by and large honorable, they are still male," the coach began.

Ranma looked at him and then said, wryly, "Teenage males at that, with plenty of hormones."

"Er, uh, yes.. And because of that, more than likely they will try to get you wet when you are undressed," the coach said, "And I can't see you attending the girls' gym class anymore. Even if you continue to bypass the girls' locker room, it still would make many of the girls uncomfortable. Now that we know about the curse, I do have to commend you for not attempting to take advantage of it and sneak into the girls' locker room."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Thank you. It wouldn't have been honorable to try." He chuckled and then said with that same wry smile, "Not to mention hazardous to my continued good health, since Akane always knew my secret, and I did have every intention to come forward. So I didn't want any of the girls to think I had done something perverted and seen them undressed."

"True, I can understand you not wanting Akane Tendo angry with you," the coach agreed with an understanding smile. He hesitated and then said, "The only solution that we came up with is for you to attend the boys' gym, but use the teacher's locker room. There are private showers and changing rooms in there. I trust that you will not abuse the privilege."

"Thank you, sir," Ranma replied, with a great deal of feeling, "It will be difficult enough to deal with the guys in my class without having to worry about dodging cold water in the locker room."

"Okay, then enough about that, go get changed for class," the coach ordered.

Ranma turned and walked over to the door marked, 'Teacher's Locker Room,' and opened the door and walked in.

* * *

As Ranma came out of the locker room, he saw the rest of the class had appeared and were standing around waiting for the gym coach to line them up and take roll. The boys were talking amongst themselves, with Hiroshi and Daisuke doing much of the talking. He headed over to join them, and as he approached, the buzz of conversation stopped. He saw that they were all exchanging wary glances, and said, "Okay, why don't we get all of the questions out of the way. There **will** be a lot of things that I won't answer though because they're none of your business."

The boys exchanged uneasy looks, except for his two friends Daisuke and Hiroshi. Finally, one of them said, "We've talked with Daisuke and Hiroshi. They've answered a few questions, but you have to admit, this is kinda weird. I know I'm having a hard time with this."

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and replied, "I can sort of understand that. If it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't have believed it myself."

"I guess the hardest part was you made such a believable girl," the boy continued, "It's embarrassing now when I think about some of the things I was thinking."

"Well, I was trying pretty hard to be a girl. I guess by now you've found out the reasons why, but Akane is worth everything I did," Ranma said, "And I wouldn't worry about what you were thinking. I imagine it was what most red-blooded teenage boys would be thinking about a good-looking girl." He smiled wryly and added, "Just don't think those thoughts any more, is all I ask."

"Well, what's it like?" a second boy asked, from the back of the crowd.

Ranma asked, "What's what like?"

"Being with Akane," the boy responded, "I mean, she is one of the hottest girls in school, and you won her."

"First of all, she's not a prize to be won. She's a person with feelings. That's why she would never have gone out with any of the ones that were trying to fight her every morning. She is a lot of fun to be with. We spend a lot of time together training in the art, though I still have to hold back some, but given enough time she'll be better than most anyone I've seen," Ranma replied.

"No, I was actually asking about the romantic part," the boy replied.

"Yeah, have you two done it yet?" a third boy asked.

A wave of cold air came swirling around them, and Ranma's eyes flashed angrily. He asked, biting off each word, "And **exactly** why do you think you need to know that? It's none of your business. We haven't and won't until we are married. And that is the last question on that kind of topic that I will answer. If someone asks another one like that, he will need to eat his next several meals though a straw, and then once he heals, he'll be acceptable as a harem guard for an Arabian Sheik." The cold menace in his voice caused all of the boys to gulp and take one step back.

* * *

Ranma made his way home from his afternoon at the clinic, realizing that he still had not talked to Cologne about working at the restaurant. 'I wonder if she's even made it back from China,' he thought. As he passed by one of the houses on the street, he felt the familiar transformation occur as the aged woman watering her sidewalk splashed him. Looking up into the sky, she cursed under her breath at the old lady who had successfully sprayed her. After a moment, her mouth quirked in a brief, rueful, smile as she thought, 'Oh well, it's not like I didn't spend a lot of time as a girl last term, but it's still no fun being a water magnet.'

As she neared her house, her sharp ears heard the sound of someone crying in the walled lot she was passing. Her curiosity aroused, Ranma leapt to the top of the wall to see a young woman, with her back to the street, her long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail on one side of her head. The young woman was weeping uncontrollably.

Never one to be able to see a girl cry, Ranma hopped down to the ground and hurried over to the huddled figure. "Miss," she said softly, "Can I help you?"

The girl started in surprise, as she had been so lost in her misery that she hadn't heard Ranma's approach. She turned to face Ranma.

Ranma gasped as she recognized the pale face of Kodachi the Black Rose, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders heaving with her crying. "Kodachi, what's wrong?" Ranma asked, as she sank to the ground next to the young woman, her voice filled with concern.

Kodachi began hiccoughing, as she tried to talk. "It's Msu Tse," she wailed.

"What's happened between the two of you?" Ranma asked, "I thought the two of you were happy together. Did he dump you?"

Kodachi hesitated and then replied, "No, it's worse! He was hiding a secret from me! And I panicked when I found out."

Ranma gulped and said, "What secret was that? I thought you knew he kind of liked Shampoo?"

Kodachi angrily dashed the tears from her eyes and replied, "That brainless bimbo! No, that wasn't it; he picked me over her weeks ago. No, I found out that he -." She stopped and then said, "You won't believe me. You'll think I'm a lunatic if I tell you."

"You'd be surprised at what I'd believe, Kodachi," Ranma said dryly, "I've seen and heard many strange things."

"Promise me that you won't think I'm crazy," Kodachi begged, her eyes pleading for understanding.

"Sure, I promise to listen and not think you're crazy," Ranma agreed.

"We were, uh, in my bedroom last night, and uh, well, things got a little carried away, and we knocked over a glass of water which spilled all over us. Before my eyes, my beloved Msu Tse turned into a white duck. I panicked and ran away. When I came back, he was gone, and I can't find him," Kodachi said, daring Ranma to laugh at her.

Ranma thought quickly and said, "I believe you, Kodachi. I knew that Mousse had a Jusenkyo curse, but it was his secret to tell you. I wish you had found out a better way. That's got to be a horrible way for you to find out."

"What do you mean a Jusenkyo curse?" Kodachi asked.

Ranma replied, "There's a valley in China called Jusenkyo that is an ancient martial arts training ground. The problem is that the valley floor is filled with cursed springs. If you fall into one of them, you are cursed to turn into whatever drowned in the pool. Cold water triggers the curse, and hot water restores you to your original form. And of course, you become a cold water magnet, at least until you embrace the curse."

Kodachi looked at her with eyes filled with hope, and asked, trembling, "You mean there is a cure? Msu Tse isn't lost to me?"

"There's not really a cure, at least not for men. They don't have a location for a spring of drowned boy. But, I can assure you that Mousse is still the same person, whether he's human or duck. Believe me, I know that for a fact," she said, with a gentle laugh. "You just have to decide if you can accept him the way he is," Ranma replied, her voice gentle. She hesitated, and then asked, "But why are you here?"

Kodachi started. She began trembling as she remembered the despair she had been feeling as she fled her empty bedchamber, her eyes filling with tears again. "I searched all over for him. When I went by the Nekohaten, that bimbo was there and was very hateful and refused to help me. I just started wandering aimlessly after that, and then ended up here," Kodachi replied. She turned to Ranma, bitter tears still falling, and cried, "But I don't know how I can face him after what I did!"

Ranma, seeing that, reached out tentatively with both arms. Kodachi fell gratefully into her arms, and began crying on her shoulder. Ranma asked, softly, "Do you love him that much, Kodachi?"

"Yes, I do. I don't think I can bear to live without him," Kodachi replied, through her sobs.

"Then you need to tell him that, and that you accept him in spite of his curse. You'd be surprised at just how much hearing those words from you will make things right," Ranma said firmly, "If you can do that, you can work out the rest. He'll forgive you, I think, for bolting on him when you first saw the curse. After all, what normal person wouldn't be shocked at something like that happening? Now, why don't we go look for him?"

"You would help me?" Kodachi asked, "I haven't been the nicest person towards you or your friend Akane."

Ranma chuckled briefly and replied, "Kodachi, you'd be surprised at how much I want to see the two of you together. Come on, let's go find your boyfriend." She rose and pulled Kodachi to her feet. Then, holding her hand, she led Kodachi away from the vacant, overgrown lot, and headed towards the Nekohaten.

"I thought we'd start at the Nekohaten, Kodachi," Ranma said calmly.

"I told you that I went there. That bimbo said she hadn't seen him," Kodachi protested.

Ranma smirked, and replied, "It's still a place to start. I need to talk to Cologne; that is if she's back from China. And he doesn't have that many friends here in Nerima. Besides, Shampoo might be a bit more interested in helping you when she finds out that you're my friend."

"Friend? Are we friends, Ranma?" Kodachi asked softly.

Ranma quirked a smile and replied, "There's no real reason why we shouldn't be, Kodachi, aside from you being just a little bit crazy. I'm used to craziness in my life, so a little more won't be a problem."

Kodachi asked, suddenly remembering something, "I thought you left Nerima. Brother dearest said that you weren't going to Furinkan anymore this afternoon when he came home from school."

Ranma giggled, and replied, "No, I'm still around. He just doesn't recognize me anymore."

"How could he not recognize you? You look the same to me," Kodachi asked.

"Because I won't be going to school looking like this," Ranma replied, "He just hasn't made the connection yet."

"What do you look like then, if not like this?" Kodachi asked, puzzled, with a look that said she hadn't quite made the connection.

"Think about it for a while, Kodachi. You're a bright girl," Ranma replied, having fun with Kodachi.

Then they reached the Nekohaten and Ranma politely opened the door.

As they entered the café, Cologne hopped over to greet them. "Hello, sonny boy," she said.

"Hello, Elder. I'm glad to see you're back from your trip. I'd like to know what happened when we have a bit longer to talk," Ranma began.

"Actually, I haven't gone yet, though we put Happosai in a safe place," Cologne replied, "I wasn't about to miss Kasumi's wedding. And I don't believe I've had a chance to go through the old perverts backpack yet. It seems to have disappeared."

"That's odd, I didn't remember seeing you there," Ranma said.

Cologne cackled and said, "Sonny boy, I don't think you were looking at anyone but Akane."

Kodachi looked puzzled for a moment, and then the frown lines in her forehead disappeared asseveral of the things she had heard and seen suddenly made sense.

"Kodachi was hoping that Mousse had returned. Have you seen him?" Ranma asked.

Cologne replied, "Yes, he's here, but I'm not sure that he wants to see her."

Kodachi fell on her knees and pleaded, "I need to see him. I have to apologize for my reaction."

Ranma pulled her to her feet and said, "Don't grovel, Kodachi. Amazons don't respect people who do."

"I don't mind a little humility, sonny boy," Cologne said with a cackle.

At that moment, Mousse walked in from the back. His eyes narrowed in jealousy as he saw Kodachi holding hands with Ranma.

Kodachi's face lit up as she saw Mousse.

"Saotome," he growled, "Let go of my girlfriend."

"Hey, duck-boy," Ranma taunted. Then she relented and said, "It's not like that. She was wanting help to find you is all." She released Kodachi's hand.

Kodachi ran over and hugged Mousse, crying on his shoulder, and said, "I'm sorry Msu Tse. Please forgive me for running out on you like that. But how could you have hidden something like that from me?"

Mousse turned her face toward him and gazed at her, his beautiful eyes expressive and replied, "I'll forgive you so long as you forgive me for not telling you about my curse. I was so afraid that you would reject me, and then when it happened, and you ran, I thought my worst fears had come true."

"It was just the shock of finding out the way I did," Kodachi said sadly, "I handled it very badly."

"Saotome, thanks for bringing her here," Mousse said.

Kodachi walked over to Ranma and hugged her. She said, "Thank you, pig-tailed boy. Tell Akane she's lucky to have you."

"What? You know?" Ranma said in shock.

"I may be a bit crazy, Ranma, but I'm not stupid like my brother. You knew entirely too much about a Jusenkyo curse for it to be a casual interest, and you kept your name. Then the Elder confirmed it when she kept calling you 'sonny boy.' That's entirely too many clues," Kodachi replied, "I think it's only fitting that my deluded brother can't face the fact that he was in love with a man."

"Don't remind me, Kodachi," Ranma said, in disgust, "It's amazing how clueless he really is."

Kodachi giggled and replied, "I don't know if he's really clueless or just in denial. It would be a blow to his concept of masculinity to think that he had feelings for another man, even if at the time he thought you were a girl." She hesitated and then asked, "Now that I know the truth, do you still want to be friends?"

"I meant what I said, Kodachi," Ranma replied, "I don't know if you have many friends, but I would be honored to be one of them." Then she smirked, and added, "Just don't start chasing after my guy side again, that's all I ask."

Kodachi laughed richly and replied, "You flatter yourself, Ranma darling. I was never that interested in you; it was more just to annoy Akane. And that's just not worth doing anymore. I have the man I want, and chasing you to irritate Akane would just anger him. I heard the jealousy in his voice when he walked in and saw you with me. That's good enough for me." Kodachi leaned in and kissed Ranma, and whispered, "But it would have been exciting, the two of us." She broke out laughing at the expression on the other girl's face and said, "Just teasing, you're too easy. Now go back home to your fiancée. You should be holding her, not me."

Ranma smiled and said, "If you're sure you're all right now."

Kodachi walked over and grasped Mousse's arm, and replied, "I am now."

"Cologne, could I trouble you for some warm water?" Ranma asked.

Cologne handed her a teakettle and replied, "Certainly, Ranma."

Kodachi watched in fascination as Ranma poured the warm water over her head and saw the transformation for the first time. "That is so weird," she said.

"You should see it from where Mousse and I sit," Ranma said, dryly. Then he added, "I'm not sure your brother is ready to take the truth, yet, Kodachi. His doctor knows about this and is afraid that it might send him completely over the edge."

Kodachi smiled and said, "I won't tell him then. Believe it or not, I do care for the idiot."

Ranma grinned and said, "I think I do believe you, Kodachi. See you around then. Take good care of her, Mousse." He turned to Cologne and asked, "I need to ask you another favor, Elder. It's a bit delicate, so could we get a little privacy?"

Cologne looked at him in some surprise, and replied, "Certainly, sonny boy. But the tribe owes you a great debt of gratitude for capturing Happosai. Just come into the kitchen, Shampoo is up in her room, probably flirting with son-in-law, and I'm sure we can leave Mousse and Kodachi to their own amusements."

Ranma chuckled as both Mousse and Kodachi blushed bright red. Then Kodachi asked, "Is that a command, Honorable Elder?"

Cologne cackled and said, "You found a spirited one there, Mousse." She led Ranma into the kitchen. "Okay, spill it, sonny boy. What do you need? Potions?"

Ranma smiled and said, "No, actually I need a better paying job than the one I have right now. Doc can't really pay me any more than he is; he takes in a lot of charity cases, or gets paid in barter. You know how he is, he can't turn anyone away."

"That's one of the things I like the most about him," Cologne replied. She asked, "But why do you need to earn some money?"

"Well, I spent a lot of what I had saved up on Akane's ring, which was well worth what I spent. But now, I need to pay for a mortgage on a building," Ranma said. He frowned, and added, "I can't give Ukyo back her yatai, since I have no idea where Pop got rid of it, so I want to buy the building that her restaurant is in and give it to her."

"I heard the story from your mother. She wasn't too happy with Saotome," Cologne said. Then she asked, "Are you willing to work as a waitress?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "The tips would be better as a waitress, so yeah, I can do that. Ryoga's gotten comfortable with seeing me as a girl, so that shouldn't be an issue anymore."

"All right, I can use some one else," Cologne said, "Especially since I think I'm about to lose what little service Mousse provided, and I really shudder to trust Ryoga and his sense of direction."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I can start next week if that's okay with you," Ranma said.

"That would be fine," Cologne said.

Ranma grinned and said, "Thanks, again. I'll bring over the backpack tomorrow, if I remember. It's in a safe place, where Pop can't get to it. Goodnight, Elder."

"Good, if our treasures are indeed in there, it would be bad for them to fall into the wrong hands. I just hope that Happosai never figured out how to use any of them," Cologne said.

Ranma nodded his head in agreement, shuddering as he remembered some of the things that Happosai had tried to do. He was just glad that because of the change in the timeline, the old pervert would never get the chance to try. He bowed politely, and then turned and walked out the door.

'Good, Shampoo never chased me, Kodachi is done chasing me. Now all I have to do is be sure Ukyo has given up one me, and no more unwanted fiancées. I think she's just changed her tactics. Happosai is taken care of. This weekend, we don't have school, so maybe I can go looking for Konatsu,' Ranma thought as he raced through the streets of Nerima heading for the place he had come to call home.

* * *

The next day at lunch, Ranma and Akane were again joined by their friends beneath the shade of what had become known as THEIR tree. Ukyo again was dressed in her version of the girl's uniform, and was quickly cooking several okonomiyakis. As they were about to eat, Ranma looked up to see the young man from the beach approach them.

"Hello, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Souta Higurashi," the young man said in introduction.

Akane smiled and replied, "Yes, I remember you. My sister Nabiki said that you were in her class and had something to do with the Drama Club."

"It's nice to see the real you, Ranma. I have to admit it was quite a surprise to find out that the attractive red-haired girl that I met sunning on the beach was really a boy. The bulletin that Nabiki was selling however was very persuasive," Souta said. Then an attractive smile appearing on his face, he asked, "And who is this vision of loveliness?"

Ukyo blushed and she mumbled, "Uh, Ukyo Kuonji."

"Well, Miss Kuonji, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm glad you decided to join our school," Souta said pleasantly. He smiled warmly and asked, "I was wondering if I could persuade you to give me some training in martial arts, Ranma? I understand from Nabiki Tendo that you might be in a position to start taking students soon."

Ranma looked thoughtfully at the young man. "I really haven't had a chance to give it much thought. I just became the Grand Master of the school, so while I'm able to take students now, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to teach," Ranma finally replied.

"Why are interested in learning our school?" Akane asked.

Souta tapped his fingers together in a nervous gesture and then replied, "I believe I told you I did some kendo. Well, it struck me that I ought to learn some unarmed fighting techniques to add to my acting repertoire. That would help me stand out when I start actively trying out for roles later on. From what I have heard, you are one of the best, and I only want to learn from the best."

Ranma smirked and replied, "Well, I have to admit, in all modesty, that I am the best."

Akane giggled and asked, "In all modesty, huh?" Ranma rubbed his side where she had elbowed him.

"Don't worry," Souta rushed to assure them, "I do not want to learn anything that you wouldn't willingly want a student to learn."

"I'll have to think about it, Higurashi," Ranma said, "And get back to you. I'm going to be busy for a little while, so I don't have a lot of free time, and I doubt you'd like it if I inflicted Pop on you."

"Well, just let me know," Souta said, "I'll see all of you around." He smiled warmly at Ukyo, who again blushed.

"Hm, I think someone has an admirer," Sayuri teased.

Shampoo grinned hugely, and said, "Spatula Girl go on hunt, catch boy."

"Wait, it's not like that," Ukyo stammered, "He was just being friendly."

"Oh, I don't know," Hiroshi said, "I think he liked something he saw, and since you're the only unattached female, I bet it's you."

"B-b-but, I'm," Ukyo said, flushing. Then she sighed, and said, "I guess he's cute. But I'm not interested in him." 'Besides, I AM TOO taken,' she thought, 'He's just too blind to see that I'm the one for him!'

* * *

Ranma walked into the Nekohaten, carrying the backpack he had retrieved from the cave. "Hi Cologne," he said, "I brought this by. Sorry I forgot to give it to you last week,"

"That's okay, sonny boy. I know you had a lot on your mind, and I was busy with Happosai, anyway. No harm done, at least so long as your idiot of a father didn't get into it," Cologne replied.

"He didn't have a chance," Ranma replied, "I had Kasumi hide it in her room. That's about the only place he wouldn't go in. Well, he wouldn't go in Nabiki's either, but I wasn't sure she wouldn't look in it. She probably didn't need to see any off this either."

Cologne motioned him to follow her as she led him upstairs to her room. Ushering him in, she said, "Okay, let's see what's in there."

Cologne watched in anticipation as Ranma began to explore the contents of the old freak's backpack. He undid the flap on the top of the pack, and started pulling out the contents. After digging through more women's underwear than was in most lingerie shops, Ranma finally found a few things that looked odd to him. One he recognized as the Nanban mirror, and he handed that to Cologne.

Cologne saw the flare of recognition in Ranma's eyes as he handed her the mirror. She found that curious, but put it aside as Ranma handed her a jeweled girdle that she recognized as one of the lost treasures, the famous girdle of Hippolyte. Then she saw a golden circlet that she grabbed quickly out of Ranma's hands. After he pulled out several more items, that Cologne rapidly removed from his hands, he finally emptied the pack of all of its contents.

"Is that everything?" Cologne asked.

Ranma scattered the lingerie,scrolls and booksaround the bed, and replied, "I don't see anything else. Is there a treasure missing?"

"There should be a small bracelet," Cologne replied.

Ranma looked again, and shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't look like it's here," he replied, "Maybe the old freak lost it." He picked up the several dozen scrolls and handful of books that had been mixed up in the underwear, and placed them back in the pack. Ranma held his breath, hoping she had missed his reaction when she talked about the bracelet.

"Thanks for bringing this by. Again, my people are in your debt, sonny boy," Cologne said. She looked thoughtfully at the young man and then said, "I'm a little curious about the match with Happosai. You seemed to beat him a lot easier than I expected you to. I know you're good, but he's better."

Ranma looked embarrassed as he stared at the floor for a few moments. Then he looked at Cologne and replied, "Well, you see, it's like this. It's called the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts for a reason. I sorta cheated. Well, maybe that's a bit strong, but I deliberately challenged him as soon as we freed him from the cave. I definitely didn't want him to be able to regain whatever strength he might have lost from being cooped up in that cavern for however many years it was."

"But where did you learn the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion point?" she asked.

Ranma smiled at her and said, "I knew I needed an edge against the old freak. It's not like I haven't been thinking about confronting him, and I did work a bit of a plan out with Nabiki. I mean if Pop and Mr. Tendo were that scared of him, I knew he had to be pretty tough. I studied shiatsu points with Doc, and that was in one of his books. I just forgot that's where I learned it from until I talked to Doc. He reminded me about him showing me the page in one of his books of exotic pressure points. When you taught me the Splitting Cat Hairs technique and I was able to merge it with the ki-masking part of the Umi Ken Sen, I thought I could get close enough to use the moxibustion point."

Cologne grumbled for a moment and then said, "I should have realized that. The good doctor and I really need to have a conversation. I think he has much wisdom to share, and they're a few things that I can teach him in exchange for it. But why were you so prepared for him? You didn't even blink when he taunted you about the Hiryű Shōten Ha."

"Oh, uh, well," Ranma stammered, "I just figured that he had to know about it. I mean he's been fighting your people for a long time. But after listening to you, Pop and Mr. Tendo talk about how perverted he is I just knew that he couldn't control his lust if I showed him girlie pictures. And I couldn't ask anyone to pose for them, so I used my own female form." He smiled briefly, and asked, "I can just imagine what her reaction would be if I asked Akane to pose. Changing the subject, just where is the old freak, anyway?"

"Oh, I have him in a cage down in the basement. Now that I have these treasures, I'll go on back to the village where he can be judged. After that, I'll be coming back. I haven't had this much fun in years, so I figured I'd stick around for a while just to see what else happens to you," the elder replied.

"Now I know my function in life," Ranma said with a smile, "I'm here to provide amusement to an old woman."

"And what's wrong with that?" Cologne asked.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Well, I'm glad I'm good for something. I'd better head on home, Cologne. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, sonny boy," Cologne said. She watched him leave with an odd speculative look on her face. 'He's still hiding something,' she thought, 'I'll have to think about that some more after dealing with the old man.'

* * *

Nabiki sat down next to Ranma and Akane in the family room, her usual impassive demeanor missing as she said, "Ranma, I want to thank you. I haven't earned this much money in a long time, and it's all because of you."

"What?" Ranma asked in surprise.

"All of the kids at school had to find out all about your story," Nabiki replied, "And since you sent them to me, I was able to clean up." She handed him a small stack of bills, and said, "This is your cut."

Ranma looked surprised for a second and then took the money. "Thanks, big sis. So what's the scoop on how things are going at school?" He thought, 'What's with Nabiki? She never cut me in on any of the money she made off of me before. Of course, she's not the same person either.' As he pondered the differences between this Nabiki and the one that had destroyed his wedding, his eyes widened as he realized, 'How many times did she have to sell a piece of her soul to earn enough money to pay for all of the damage that happened because of me and Pop? Is that what the difference is? She hasn't had to work as hard because the Nerima Wrecking Crew! That's got to be it!'

Nabiki replied, "Well, of the students that are actually in your homeroom, most of them seem to be okay with the fact that you're really a guy that changes into a girl." She thought for a second and then continued, "Maybe okay is a bit strong. They all think it's weird. There are few, mostly guys, that aren't very comfortable with it. I suspect those are the ones that were having interesting dreams about the female you. And one or two of the girls were a little squeamish about it, though they admitted you never took advantage of being a girl and wandering into the girls' locker room. The other homerooms, since they really didn't have much interaction with you, are kind of neutral on the whole thing. After all, with the exception of the pig-tailed girl facing off against Kuno most of the term, you didn't make that much of an impression. Well, other than some of the guys looking for pictures of you.I remember them beingpretty disappointed when I told them that they weren't getting any from me. And then with the exception of some of the guys that used to fight Akane. There were a lot of rude remarks about the two of you, but then you sort of put a stop to that with what you said to the guys in your gym class."

"Oh, what did you say?" Akane asked.

Ranma rubbed his neck and replied, "Well, some of the guys were asking about how far we had gone." He looked a bit worried as Akane began to glow with anger. "I, uh, basically told them it wasn't any of their business, and that the next guy who asked a question or made a remark like that would regret it. I, uh, basically said that I'd break their jaw, and then once that was healed, they'd be missing a certain portion of their anatomy," he said quickly.

Akane looked blank as Nabiki said, "What he means is he'd castrate them, sis."

Akane looked at her sister, then at Ranma, and then to their surprise, started laughing in glee. Finally, she brought herself under control and said, "Well, that's one way to get them to quit."

"So it sounds like most of the school will accept me for who I am?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki frowned for a moment and then replied, "As far as I can tell, aside from everyone looking at you a bit oddly, most of them will let it go. You haven't really been at the school long enough, but most of the students are used to weird things happening. After all, what school would have allowed the hentai horde to exist for as long as it did? Then there's the whole Kuno thing, he wanders around in his hakima and carries his bokken wherever he goes, and no one gives it a second thought. The occasional explosion in home economics, usually when Akane was attempting to cook. And some of the things that happened before the old principal left, if the rumors I heard about are true, are even stranger. Things like that have given this school a reputation where strange things are supposed to occur. So what's one more weird thing among all of the other weird things?"

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm glad everyone has had fun with this story. I hope the rating change has not scared anyone off. I can assure you that it won't get any more graphic than what has been previously written. I know that my prose can not compete with the imagination of the reader in those kind of scenes, besides I believe that those are best left up to the imagination anyway. All comments are welcomed, and definitely encouraged. Please read and review. We authors thrive on those. Specific comments are below:

Hououza: That's okay. Ranma let slip something. VEG. I wonder what she's thinking. As to other problems surfacing, most definitely, though I fully intend to warp them to my own devices.

Xero Reflux: I was hoping that was the case. I try to keep these characters as much in character as I can, though of course, by definition any fanfic will be OOC.

Bobthebigfatbovine: In the canon, Shampoo picked up her curse because she failed to bring back the head of the pigtailed girl, or alternatively, Ranma himself. In this story, she had her airen, so there's no need to punish her. As to her getting a curse later, I don't know if it will happen.

Shinigami: I think it was relative. IIRC, all Kodachi did was show up in the wedding gown. Shampoo and Ukyo came with explosives. I would consider that a bit more insane. In this story, I do have something in mind for Ukyo, but it is still several long chapters in the future. Don't worry, she is one of my favorite characters in the manga, so I won't leave her in the lurch too long. I just can't let things run too smoothly for Ranma. As to Happosai, I had that plotted from the very beginning. I just had to finally get to it in the storyline.

Jakethesheepy: Thanks. That would be telling about Ukyo, but yeah, there's a light at the end of her tunnel.

Isumo1489: He went Neko a few times in the anime also. The one I remember the best is the anime episode that introduced it to the story. It was fairly close to the manga episode with the major difference that Sasuke the ninja servant was the spy, instead of Gosunkugi. I went with the manga version in my story.

Daouid: Well, at least put his problems with Kuno on hiatus. I have several different conflicting ideas on how to resolve Ukyo. When I write them up, I'll see which way it goes. Yeah, it will be interesting on how Ranma handles Cologne when she finally has "The Talk"

Wonderbee31: I basically knew how I wanted the fight to go from the beginning. I was afraid that it might have ended up being a little anticlimactic. Maybe that's what you picked up on, though I did pretty much use the big fight at the end of the Ranma is Weak arc as the skeleton for this one. I have several different paths I have considered taking the whole Ukyo situation, some that cause a great deal of trouble. I just haven't decided which way to go yet.

Materia-blade: Well, Konatsu doesn't show up in this one. He's in the next chapter though. So I guess that means half a cookie. Of course, canon Akane baked them so….

Dragon man 180: Cologne's reaction was scheduled for this chapter. The other one had gotten entirely too long, so some things had to be moved. As to whether Nodoka can just adopt Ukyo to satisfy the requirement. Well, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I'm looking at trying something different, and it's a bit hard to adopt someone who already has a parent.

Sean Malloy-1: Eventually. But it will be a while before Ranma feels that he can trust Ukyo. He will be friendly to her, but it won't be easy completely between them. After all, he's still sure that she won't give up, no matter what she says, at least, not easily.

Innortal: Don't worry, no psycho Ukyo in this story. Depressed yes, at least for a while. Talking with Nabiki is a good idea, expensive, but good. And there will be some more heart to hearts with Kasumi.

Silverbullet23: I hope you enjoyed it. Taro shows up much much later. There's really no reason for him to show up until when he would in canon. The Amazons teaching Ranma, maybe. And I had to have someone pick up a pig curse. VBG.

Psycho King: Definitely get ancient Amazon curious. The only question is what will she do when she finds out the truth, and just how much Ranma really has to tell her. Ukyo does need friends. She will get some, though Konatsu and Tsubasa do have to show up.

Dennisud: Thank you. I will try to make it believable. VBG and yes, there are several possibilities. I'm glad you liked the fight with Happosai, and hope this chapter lives up to what you expected. Plus, a little Kodachi and Mousse.


	27. The Long, Arduous Way of the Ninja

Chapter 27 The Long, Arduous Way of the Ninja

The next day, Akane found herself surrounded by her classmates while she was changing for gym in the locker room. Pulling her shirt down and tucking it into the ridiculous shorts that the school forced them to wear, she frowned at the gathering as she wondered exactly what was going on. "What's going on, Yuka?" she asked, quietly.

"Oh, some of the girls started asking us some questions about you and Ranma," her friend replied, "And I told them they really should talk to you. I guess what they found out about Ranma two days ago finally sunk in, and got them to wondering."

Akane smiled slightly as she replied, "And I can imagine some of the things they were wondering about. I sort of expected them to ask me them sooner."

Sayuri giggled and answered, "Well, the explosion in class on Monday kind of scared them a bit. You looked ready to seriously hurt people if they kept on with too many more questions."

Akane blushed and said, "Well, it's a bit different to talk about us in front of everybody. You know how perverted those boys in our class are. So what did you want to ask?"

One of the girls, emboldened by the attitude that Akane seemed to have, and the apparent willingness to answer, asked, "Is he a good kisser?"

"Yes, he is," Akane replied, her eyes a little dreamy as she remembered the last kiss and the feel of his lips against hers. Then she smirked and added, "And so is she."

The girls gasped in surprise. One of them then asked, "Does that mean you've kissed Ranma when he was a girl?"

Akane giggled and replied, "You have to understand. I fell in love with Ranma, the person. It's the soul inside that I love. And since there doesn't seem to be a cure for his curse, I had to decide if it mattered to me or not. But once I realized that I loved him, the rest didn't matter. I really don't care whether he is male or female. So yes, I've kissed him when he's been female. I don't swing that way normally, but it's different with Ranma. Sometimes, when she looks at me…." She blushed prettily as she watched out of the corner of her eye to see Ukyo's reaction to that little speech. 'Chew on that, Ukyo,' Akane thought.

Ukyo blanched slightly as she overheard Akane talking to the other girls. 'If there isn't a cure, that means he'll always change into a girl,' Ukyo thought, 'I don't know if I can handle that.'

"I bet it doesn't hurt that he's real cute, and that tight butt," one of the girls sighed.

Akane mock-scowled and said, "You aren't supposed to be looking at him. Remember, he's taken." Then she giggled and said, "Yes, it doesn't hurt that he's cute. I just wish he wasn't built better than me when he's a girl. It's just a bit intimidating, sometimes."

"How far have you two gone?" Yuka asked.

"Yuka!" Sayuri exclaimed.

Yuka looked at her friend innocently, and said, "Like you don't want to know."

Akane blushed as she answered, "Not far. Even though we decided to share a bed, it's still a ways until we get married. We want to wait until then before we make love, so we're taking things slowly so we don't let ourselves get carried away."

"Not far? What does that mean?" Sayuri asked.

Akane reddened even more and replied, "Not here. The three of us can get some ice cream after school. Ranma has to go to work so I'll have some free time. He's working down at Shampoo's restaurant as a waitress."

"That's a date, then, girlfriend," Yuka said, "And then maybe after that we can go and see the new waitress." She giggled as Akane blushed even more and then nodded.

* * *

The three girls brought their ice cream sundaes over to a table and sat down. "Okay, spill it," Yuka ordered. 

Akane toyed with her ice cream for several moments, taking a couple of bites. Then she said, "Well, this summer, Ranma and I had some time alone on our training trip, when everyone else came back to Nerima for the weekend. While we spent most of the time working on martial arts, we did spend some time making out. All work and no play, you know."

Sayuri giggled and said, "That sounds like fun. All alone in the woods with Ranma. So did you have a good time?"

Akane began to blush, and continued, "One evening, we got to necking a little, and I kinda unbuttoned Ranma's shirt so I could, uh, caress his chest. Then we got involved in what we were doing, and Ranma accidentally spilled some water, and changed." She reddened some more and then said, softly, "Ooh, I can't believe I'm telling you this. Anyway, I kinda kept on doing what I was doing. When we stopped kissing, we realized that he had changed, and neither one of us had noticed it before. She really liked what I had been doing, but said we needed to stop before we went too far."

Yuka squealed in delight and asked, "I bet you two will have plenty of cold showers before you get married! So was that it?"

"Well, he kinda returned the favor toward the end of the trip," Akane admitted, feeling her cheeks reddening even more. Her voice got even softer and her eyes went out of focus as she remembered that evening. The slight shiver as she recalled exactly how good she felt did not go unnoticed by either of the two girls.

"So you liked what he did to you, then, didn't you?" Yuka asked.

"Yes," Akane whispered, hiding her face from her friends. Then she looked them in the eye and asked, "Well, that's enough about my love life. What about you two? We haven't really had a chance to talk since the trip to the beach." She was rewarded by matching blushes. "Oho," she said with a smirk, "Your turn. Or should I just suggest that you don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

The other two girls promptly paid close attention to their sundaes. Yuka said, "Don't forget. We were going to go by the Nekohaten on the way home."

Akane giggled, and said, "Oh, so I guess it's only okay to talk about **MY** love life, but not yours, huh." the other two girls had the decency to look embarrassed.

* * *

The three girls entered the Nekohaten to see a very packed restaurant, filled with young and middle-aged men, all enjoying an interesting floorshow. There were two identically dressed, attractive young women taking turns coming out of the kitchen, each of them balancing several plates as they rushed to serve each table. One of the girls was easily recognized as Shampoo, and the second was of course Ranma. However, she had forsaken her trademark pigtail, and was wearing her hair in a loose ponytail, similar to the one Shampoo had, except for much shorter. 

"Come on in!" Ranma exclaimed as she set down her load at one of the nearer tables.

"Hey, Ranma," Akane replied in greeting, "We thought we'd drop by and see how things are going."

"Fine, Shampoo and I are having a good time," Ranma replied.

"Sister do good, Shampoo surprised she pick up so quickly," Shampoo said as she came out of the kitchen with another load, "That all people orders. If want, Ranma can take quick break."

Spotting an empty booth in the back, the four girls quickly sat down. Ranma leaned over and kissed Akane and said, "So what did you three do after school? I saw the way that the three of you were giggling together as you left."

"Oh, we just went to the ice cream parlor and had a sundae," Akane replied.

"And a little girl talk," Yuka said.

Ranma pouted prettily and complained, "How come I wasn't invited?"

"You do that pretty good, Ranma," Sayuri observed.

Ranma giggled and said, "Thanks, I've had a bit of practice." Then she looked at them suspiciously and said, accusingly, "You were talking about me, weren't you?"

Akane hugged her fiancée one-handed and replied, "It started in gym. All of the girls wanted to know how well you kissed, that kind of thing. What I thought about your curse."

Ranma reddened in embarrassment, and said, "Now I know I should have gone with you. What all did you tell them?"

"Just that I enjoyed kissing you, a few things like that, that I didn't care about the curse, you're you and that's all that matters," Akane replied, "And then these two wanted to know how far we'd gone, so I told them about the little bit of petting." She turned bright red, matching Ranma's face as she said that.

After a few moments, Ranma decided to have a bit of fun. She pretended to look worried and asked, "You didn't tell them about the chocolate pudding did you?"

Akane looked confused for a second, and then caught on. "No, I'd never tell them about that," she replied, "They're far too young and innocent."

"Well, that's okay then," Ranma replied, gazing innocently at the two girls sitting across from them. She giggled at the expression on their faces as they tried to figure out what pudding had to do with anything. Then she asked, "I've talked to Nabiki and got her opinion. How do you two think the students are handling my curse?"

Yuka and Sayuri exchanged looks, before Yuka replied, "Most of the ones that are in our class are pretty much all right with it. Now that it's sunk in a bit, they've seen that you are the same person. About the only thing that anyone has said is that you seem to be a little happier now."

Ranma pondered that for a second and replied, "I probably am. I never liked lying, and that's what I was doing all last term. Now that it's out in the open, I feel better about things."

"Hiroshi and Daisuke say that the guys are pretty broken up about it, though," Sayuri said, a twinkle in her eye, "Something about the two prettiest girls in class aren't available anymore."

Akane sniffed in disdain and said, "**I** was never available."

Ranma laughed and added, "Well, don't look at me. I was already taken; it just took someone a while to realize that I was hers."

"Aw," the two girls said in unison. Yuka gushed, "That was so sweet. Corny, but sweet."

* * *

Nodoka hummed a pleasant little ditty as she moved around the kitchen cleaning up after the final rush of customers, waiting for Ukyo to come and join her. As she had expected, the proud, young owner had at first been reluctant to accept her help when she had originally suggested aiding Ukyo at the restaurant. However, Nodoka prided herself on being persistent and her resolve to assist the young girl that her husband had wronged so badly over ten years ago had only been strengthened when she saw how stressed out the poor girl had appeared at Kasumi's wedding. Finally, Ukyo had acquiesced, and gratefully accepted the offer. The first several days at the restaurant had been awkward, with Ukyo obviously tense around the woman that she one day hoped to call Mother, but Nodoka quickly solved that problem by treating Ukyo as she would her favorite niece. Nodoka only hoped that they could come up with some way to satisfy the debt of honor that her fool of a husband had created by his outright theft of the poor girl's dowry and her abandonment. Truth be told, that was partly the reason she had been so adamant that Ukyo should accept her help. Nodoka wanted to find out more about Ukyo's life after Genma had run off so she could determine how much of a debt they owed the poor girl. She was also hoping that she could gently steer Ukyo away from her son. She knew that Ranma would never leave Akane; the obvious bond of love between those two was simply too strong. 

Ukyo groaned slightly as she walked through the main room of the restaurant to join Nodoka. She had watched as her final customers had left for the evening, allowing her to take down the sign over her door, and lock up for the evening. As late as it was, she still had a small amount of schoolwork to finish for class the next morning even though Nodoka had covered for her for a few hours that afternoon and she had managed to get most of it completed. As she entered the now spotless kitchen, she was greeted by a smiling Nodoka, who all but shoved a fresh cup of green tea into her waiting hands.

"I've got everything taken care of in here," Nodoka said with a smile, "So you just run upstairs and get ready for bed. You still look too tired to me, and I can tell you're not really getting enough sleep."

Ukyo took a sip of the tea, and replied warmly, "Thanks, Auntie, but I still have a small bit of homework to finish, and I haven't gone through today's mail yet. I could use a little company if you have the time." The memory of the first day in the restaurant, when Nodoka had firmly corrected her every time she called her Mrs. Saotome, brought a faint smile to Ukyo's lips.

Nodoka replied, "I'd like that, Ukyo. I do want to get to know you better. You can tell me all about the little boy that played with you when you were six." She looked sad for a moment and then said, softly, "I have so few memories of my child growing up because of my foolishness."

The two women walked up the stairs to the small but tidy apartment that Ukyo lived in. Nodoka looked around in interest, since this was the first time she had actually been in the room. Hanging on one wall of the living room, Ukyo had several framed seascapes. As she got closer, she saw that each was signed in the lower corner by Ukyo herself. "Did you do these?" Nodoka asked, her surprise evident in her face.

"This is were I went to train after Genma ran off," Ukyo replied, "Something about the waves crashing against the seashore below called to me and I started painting the scene. It helped me relax after a strenuous day of fighting against the pounding surf. These are the ones that I am particularly proud of and they help to remind me of all that I have given up."

"They are quite good," Nodoka said as she sat gracefully down on the futon.

Ukyo soon joined her and collapsed against the cushions, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she picked up the mail from where she had carelessly tossed it and sorted it into piles. "Bill, bill, junk mail, hm, what's this?" Ukyo asked, as she picked up a letter from something called NNRE. She opened the letter and began to read.

"What's that dear?" Nodoka asked.

"It's a letter from some company. They seem to have bought this building," Ukyo replied absently, "Says here that they are quite happy to have me as a tenant, and not to worry about the change in ownership. That the terms of the lease haven't changed. I wonder who they are."

"I can't imagine," Nodoka said, her mouth twitching slightly. The older woman had been pleasantly surprised by how fast Nabiki had been able to create the new company, and had been more than happy to provide a small portion of the funding that the middle Tendo daughter had been seeking. Her only regret was that it couldn't have been more. No matter what, Genma would pay the debt of honor he owed Ukyo.

* * *

Friday evening found Ranma and Akane trying to keep up with Genma and Soun as they led them deep into the mountains east of Nerima. "Daddy," Akane called, "It's getting dark. Shouldn't we be looking for a place to stop?" She was gasping for breath in the thin air as she attempted to keep up with her father, and then finally was able to ask, "Are you sure this secret training ground is around here?" 

Ranma glanced around at the surrounding terrain and smiled secretly to himself as he began to vaguely recognize some of the landmarks.

Soun answered, "Well, the map that Saotome has clearly shows the training ground not too far ahead." He shot a nervous look at his daughter, wondering for the hundredth time how he had managed to get talked into this trip and why on earth Genma hadn't stopped Akane from coming.

"What did your dad tell you about this place?" Akane asked as they finally dropped into a walk, still barely keeping Genma in sight as he raced up the well-worn trail ahead of them.

"All he told me is that somewhere deep in these mountains is a super secret training ground. According to the history he read, men through the ages have come here to train. Why he was so strangely insistent that I come here struck me as very odd. And then the frightened look on his face when I insisted as Grand Master of the school that you had to come also seemed to be a bit weird," Ranma replied. He chuckled at the memory.

The three of them ground to a halt to avoid running into Genma who had stopped in his tracks just as he had rounded the last bend.

"Watch it Pop!" Ranma snapped. Then he turned, as he heard Akane gasp, to take in his surroundings. He looked up and saw a fancy wooden building blocking the road up ahead. Surmounting the building, he saw a sign, shaped in the form of a large valentine, with flashing lights around the border. On the sign he read, 'Men's Training Ground – Sexy Kunoichi – Tea Shop.'

"This is it?" Ranma asked in faked disbelief, "Exactly what kind of training does this place offer?"

"Kunoichi, according to the legends, are female ninjas. Adventurous, very sexy and looking for action. These three rules according to the history that I read are a requirement for them. It should be excellent martial arts training for you," Genma said.

Ranma snatched the map out of his father's hands and groaned. "Pop, you read English about as well as you read Chinese, don't you? This doesn't say Martial Arts, you idiot, it says Marital Arts Training Ground. Don't tell me, let me guess, you found this map in the old freak's backpack, didn't you?"

"Genma," Akane growled warningly, "Why did you think Ranma needed to come here?"

"Pop, Mr. Tendo, the only marital lessons I'm gonna have is after Akane and I wed, and we will teach each other," Ranma said, his battle aura beginning to show. 'Man, this was so easy. I can't believe Pop fell for the map like this. Now all I have to do is find Konatsu and convince him to leave with us,' he thought smugly.

"Daddy, how could you agree to this?" Akane asked, as the air around her grew warm.

"I suspect it had something to do with a large amount of alcohol being consumed," Ranma said, "As do most of his decisions relating to the two of us."

Genma opened the door to the teashop, with the rest of the party reluctantly following him in. Genma called, "Serve us!"

Suddenly, three hideous monsters burst into the room from the depths of the teashop. "I'm the mother, Kotet-chan," cried the oldest of the three.

"Number one daughter, Koume-chan," cried a particularly large figure, resembling a walrus in shape and facial expressions.

"And I'm Koeda-chan," cried the third and final figure.

* * *

Some distance away, under the moonlit night, a lone figure was crouched on the bank of the small creek that had paralleled the path up to the teashop. The figure, dressed in the traditional black ninja garb, was barely visible in the shadows. Based on the long, flowing black hair, the figure appeared to be a young female, somewhere in her late teens to early twenties. She was busily washing towels in the free-flowing water of the creek. The girl sighed, and said, "Step sisters, by now they are probably having fun with some men. But if I don't get these wet towels to them soon, they'll yell at me." 

The girl stood up, revealing a lithe figure, and began running through the woods toward the teashop, several hundred meters away. As she neared the location of the shop, she heard a loud voice cry, "Möko Takabisha!"

"That's coming from the location of the shop!" she exclaimed.

* * *

Ranma, Akane, Genma and Soun were running for their lives. Ranma stopped long enough to exclaim, "Why the hell did you take us to that stupid place, you idiot?" 

Genma growled, "Shaddup, keep running!"

Soun cried, "My life span has shortened!"

"Why on earth did you have to attack them, you idiot?" Akane said angrily, "What were you thinking? We could have just left them alone. But no, you had to decide to fight. Ranma had to use his Möko Takabisha to save your sorry hide!" She turned to Ranma and asked, "Please tell me you were adopted. You can't possibly be his son, can you?"

Genma began to back away from Akane as he saw her battle aura start to blaze brighter. "They were attacking us first," the old man stammered.

"No they weren't, you idiot!" Ranma exclaimed, "They were greeting their customers!"

Akane asked, her eyes blazing, "And just why did you think you needed to bring Ranma here for training?"

Genma took one look at her and realized that she was promising to provide untold pain. He took off running as fast as he could, while he heard his friend Soun say, "Now Akane, please calm down."

Akane turned to him and said, "I AM CALM! If I wasn't he'd be moaning in pain about now." She flashed a tight smile at Ranma, who chuckled for a moment, and then they turned to follow after Genma.

'Well, this isn't what I intended to have happen,' Ranma thought in disgust, 'Idiot Pop. I just wanted to talk to Konatsu and have him come with us.'

They barely heard a voice behind them cry, "Stepsisters," as they continued to make their way back down the path, away from the horror that they had seen.

* * *

The girl reached the site of the teashop, only to see major devastation. The building had completely collapsed, showing massive scorch marks. "Who could have done such a thing?" she asked. She glanced around, not seeing any of her relatives, and pulled out a jerry can filled with kerosene. She emptied the contents of the can onto the ruins of the building that had been her prison for so long, with an evil glint to her eyes. She called, "Step-mother! Koeda-sama! Koume-sama!" as she lit a match and tossed it onto the kerosene-soaked wood. 

As she did so, the diminutive figure of her stepmother appeared, closely followed by her two hideous stepsisters. Her mother hit her on the back of her head, and asked, angrily, "What are you doing?"

"Just cleaning up,' the girl said, with a smirk that was hidden behind her ninja mask The next thing she knew, she was on the ground with three bumps on her head, courtesy of the mallets held in her step-mother and step-sisters hands.

"Do you understand? Get those people who did this to our shop and us, and don't think about coming home until you do!" her stepmother exclaimed. The girl sighed and gathered a few belongings and departed the area, heading for the bright lights of Nerima.

* * *

The next day in Tokyo, Genma was walking down the streets of Nerima, having just been transformed into his panda form. He spotted a large plate of food, sitting on the sidewalk, with a sign that read, 'Take as much as you want.' He looked around, and didn't see any one watching, so he grabbed the plate and emptied it into the bottomless pit that doubled as his stomach. As he collapsed, totally paralyzed, he heard an evil laugh and someone saying, "One down, three more to go!" 

Ranma and Akane were walking toward the dojo, both of them on the high fence dividing the busy street from the houses lining it. Akane looked at her fiancé, and asked, "Ranma? What do you think about what happened last night?"

Ranma said, in disgust, "I don't want to talk about it. I can't believe that our fathers would actually sink that low." He sensed something amiss.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, hundreds of razor sharp pieces of paper came flying at them. A voice cried, "Füjin Seikyü Shyo! Bill Whirl Wind Attack!" Ranma and Akane ducked as a whirlwind of papers flew at them. Then the same voice cried, "Happö Bijin Shuriken! Eight Ways Beauty Shuriken!" as several shurikens came flying at them, only to stick in the wooden palisade.

Ranma exclaimed, "What!" as a shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere. The figure grabbed a hold of Ranma from behind.

Akane exclaimed, "Wow! He grabbed onto Ranma's back!"

The figure crowed, "Kunöichi Ninpö Hissatsu Kurenai Jigoku! Kunöichi invisibility art certain kill crimson inferno!" as he flipped Ranma over onto his head, driving him into the top of the fence, leaving a crimson kiss on Ranma's shirt.

"You bastard!" Ranma exclaimed as he flipped off of the fence, throwing the figure away from him.

"Damn, it wasn't enough to do it from that high in the air!" the figure exclaimed as it landed lightly onto the pavement below.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" Ranma exclaimed. 'Finally,' he thought, 'Konatsu showed up. Good!'

"Kunoichi, Konatsu Kenzan!" the figure exclaimed as it pulled off its mask to reveal a very attractive young woman, her eyes flashing angrily.

Akane exclaimed, "A kunoichi!"

Ranma said, with a mental snicker, "A girl!"

The girl tossed a matchbox at Ranma, who caught it and examined the printing on the box. Obviously, the box was supposed to be a souvenir of the teashop that they had destroyed the night before. The girl growled, "Do you remember this matchbox? I'm a survivor from that incident at the Sexy Kunoichi Teashop!"

"Hey, neither one of us wanted to be there!" Akane said, her eyes flashing dangerously, "It was all our fathers' fault. They had a map from that old pervert!"

"Y-you did perverted things to my sisters," Konatsu asked in surprise.

"NO, I DIDN'T!" Ranma exclaimed.

Konatsu bowed and handed Ranma a proclamation, and said, "I admire your courage."

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Ranma screamed, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

Suddenly, the three women from the shop appeared. The eldest sister cried, "Oh ho, Konatsu, fraternizing with the enemy I see!"

"N-n-no, that's not it!" the girl stammered.

Her second sister hit her with her mallet and cried, "Flirting with a boy because of your desires is not forgivable.

"It's a misunderstanding," the girl sobbed from the pavement. 'Why are they treating me this badly,' she thought to herself, as a tear rolled from her eye, 'Jealous, yes, that must be it. They are jealous of my beauty!'

While the four of them argued, Ranma and Akane took their preoccupation with each other as a time to steal away from the fearsome foursome.

Suddenly, the old woman looked up and said, angrily, "They got away!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Tendo home, Ranma and Akane were talking to Soun and Genma about their narrow escape. 

"What? You were attacked by a beautiful girl, a kuniochi," Soun asked.

"She said her name was Konatsu Kenzan," Akane replied, "Have you heard anything about her?"

"I have heard some rumors about a genius Kuniochi," Soun replied.

"Whether or not you are being chased by that genius girl, Ranma, don't let your guard down for a second," Genma growled.

"But even if I do that," Ranma said, half-musingly to himself. 'I still have to figure out a way to get him to stay,' he thought.

"She looked like a very persistent girl," Akane added.

Ranma frowned to himself and wondered if he could tell Akane the truth about Konatsu, but realized that he was unsure about what evidence he could use. 'Yeah, right, Akane the reason I know that Konatsu is really a guy is because I'mactually from several years in the future. That would go over real well,' he thought, 'They'd have me in the mental ward at the hospital before I could blink.' He sighed and replied, "Yes, I'm afraid that we haven't seen the last of Konatsu." He shook his head and then asked, in a very obvious attempt to change the subject, "Hey, Acchan, there's a rumor going around school that your home ecc class is going to bake cookies tomorrow. Is that true?"

Akane blushed and replied, "Yes, that's what our teacher said today. Promise me you'll try one, please?" She looked at him, pouting slightly, her eyes looking extremely hopeful.

Ranma melted inside at the expression on her face. "Acchan, you're getting better. Just follow the recipe and don't let yourself get distracted and I'm sure they'll turn out fine. If you do that, I'll be more than happy to eat at least one," he replied, and was rewarded by the extremely happy expression that broke out on his fiancée's face. The blinding smile was reward enough as a warm feeling spread through Ranma. He had made his girl extremely happy.

The two youths sat there oblivious to the older two men in the room, who were looking at them with joy in their eyes, only to have the tender moment ruined by Genma and Soun leaping to their feet, dancing around the room in abandon and crying, "The houses will soon be joined." The fathers rushed to the liquor cabinet and promptly began to celebrate.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at the door and the two of them escaped out of the back of the family room, away from the pandemonium in the room.

* * *

Deep in the vast wilderness formed by the mountains to the east of Nerima, the young genius kunoichi was having problems of her own. She had reluctantly returned to her ancestral home, the one that had been usurped by her stepfamily, and had promptly been returned to her life of servant-hood. She was busily slaving away. 

In the family room, her hideous sisters were pounding on the table, causing the empty cups and the jug that contained the dregs of the saké they had been drinking to bounce. "More food!" cried Koume.

"Hurry up already! We're starving," agreed Koeda.

Their mother leaned against the table, looking thoughtful. She took a drag on her cigarette and then blew out a smoke ring. She said, "I don't think that we should trust her."

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Konatsu was stirring a pot of soup, chuckling to herself wickedly. "It's almost done!" she exclaimed, "Just one more ingredient." She picked up a box labeled 'Poison.' Lost in her thoughts of revenge on her family, she began to pour some into the soup only to be interrupted by the crash of a mallet onto her unprotected head.

Her sisters rushed in. Well, one rushed in, the other sort of waddled in. "She tried to poison us," Koume asked in disbelief.

"Are you jealous of our beauty?" Koeda asked.

Konatsu rubbed the top of her aching head and stared at her stepsisters in disbelief. "Jealous of your beauty!" she replied with a shudder, "Absolutely not!"

Her day promptly got worse as the three of them began loading her down with chores. First there was Koume demanding that she do the laundry, punctuated by the older girl dumping a horribly smelling immense pile of what at first glance appeared to be bedsheets on top of Konatsu, but after quick investigation, obviously were the dresses the oversized walrus wore. Her other sister then showered her with a ton of clothes, demanding that Konatsu drop everything and sew up the costumes. Finally finishing all of that, she was then greeted by a demand by her stepmother that she prepare a bath for the old hag. Konatsu dragged the firewood over to the fire pit outside and wearily heated up a barrelful of water for her.

After that was completed, she dragged herself over to Kotet and asked, "Can I have a break now?"

Koume sneered, thrusting her fat lips into Konatsu's face, and said, "YOU want a break?"

"Well, yes," Konatsu replied, "What about getting revenge?"

Her stepmother replied, "Oh yes, that." She got a crafty look in her eyes and said, "Certainly, go get our vengeance."

* * *

That night, after everyone in the Tendo home had gone to sleep, a figure in dark clothing craftily made her way into the bedroom that Ranma and Akane shared. Enough light allowed Konatsu, for that is who the stealthy figure was, to see a large comfortable looking bed taking up the room. There she found Ranma sprawled out on the bed, blissfully asleep, without a care in the world, while Akane was snuggled up to her pillow, equally lost in slumber. 

"Hmm," Konatsu said softly, "Hah! Sleeping like a baby."

She moved back as Ranma rolled over in his sleep, and snuggled up to his pillow with a contented 'Hmmm.'

Konatsu carefully crept up to the bed, and she gazed at the mattress in surprise. She began to quietly poke the mattress and realized how comfortable it was.

* * *

The next morning, Ranma awoke from an awkward position, his neck stiff from where he had been sleeping on the floor outside of his room. He stretched and then yawned loudly. Opening his eyes finally, he said in surprise, "Huh, why am I out here? The last thing I remember was kissing Akane good night in our bed." 'Oh yeah, Konatsu should have shown up,' he thought with satisfaction. 

He opened the door to their room to find a second person in the bed, curled up in the comforter. Akane had just sat up and was staring at the girl lying in the bed next to her. Ranma rushed over and said, "Hey you, what are you doing sleeping in my bed?"

Konatsu leapt out of the bed, crying in anger, "You, you thief!" Then she threw several shurikens at Ranma who dodged them. Konatsu then promptly curled back up in the covers and went back to sleep.

Ranma shook his head in disbelief and yelled, "WAKE UP!"

Soun rushed in to see a sleepy girl sitting up in the bed next to his daughter, and an oddly amused Ranma. "Wait, you, you're that Kunoichi, Konatsu!" he exclaimed.

Konatsu looked at him muzzily and said, "Huh!" She shook her head and then exclaimed, "Dammit! I've never slept this well before!"

Akane looked at her and exclaimed, "WHAT!"

"That felt so good, I've never slept in a bed before. I've always slept on cardboard, or old newspapers," Konatsu said.

Soun began to wail, saying, "Oh that's so sad!"

Konatsu said, "I'll be going now, see you!" Then with a loud cry, and a flash, she vanished.

* * *

Downstairs in the kitchen, Kasumi was busying herself with her morning rituals, stirring the soup, fixing the rice, and preparing the tea, oblivious to the figure hovering above her, tightly gripping the crevasses that only a trained ninja could find in the ceiling tiles. Kasumi arranged everything but the rice on her tray, and gaily called, "Breakfast time!" as she walked out to join her family around the table. Konatsu dropped down quietly to the counter, and snuck quickly over to the rice-cooker. She opened the lid in preparation to add her special ingredient from the box labeled 'Poison,' only to stop as the glistening morsels of rice called to her. She thought, "Hmm, that rice looks good and I'm so hungry!' 

She emptied the container of rice onto a cloth and vanished to the roof, where she quickly made rice balls. Picking one of them up, she said, "Thanks for the rice!" She was about to eat her first one, when her stepfamily appeared out of nowhere.

Her stepmother booted her into the air, exclaiming, "I told you to get revenge!" while her ever ravenous sisters quickly devoured the rice.

"Can't I have at least one?" Konatsu asked in dismay as she soared out of sight.

* * *

That afternoon Ranma and Akane had gone their separate ways, as he headed off to his gym class, while Akane made her way to the home economics class. Today, the coach was allowing the boys to play soccer, kicking the ball with abandon. Finally, he called, "Break time!" and blew his whistle. 

Daisuke teased Ranma and asked, "Hey, I hear that cute kunoichi is following you around. Is that true?"

"Yeah, something like that," Ranma replied, muttering under his breath, "Stupid Pop!"

"Here!' a pleasant contralto voice said, as a girl all but pushed a rolled up towel in Ranma's face.

"Huh!" he exclaimed.

"Please, use this towel," the girl repeated.

Ranma smiled to himself as he recognized Konatsu through the girl's uniform he was wearing and in spite of the glasses on his face, secretly pleased that the timeline seemed to be repeating itself. 'I just need to continue to play along,' he thought, 'I don't want to mess up his first meeting with Ukyo. I just wish I knew why Konatsu fell in love with her. It would sure be easier if I did.'

The kunoichi blushed prettily, as several of the boys surrounding Ranma gave a wolf-whistle.

"Hey, she's cute!" one exclaimed.

Hiroshi added, "Whoa, what a babe!"

Ranma politely took the towel and then dropped it into a conveniently placed fishbowl, where the poor fish swimming in the water promptly floated up to the top of the water. "Hmm, paralyzing powder!" Ranma said, as he thought, 'Just like before, how boring.'

"Hey! What's a fishbowl doing here?" the girl asked, her face showing her shock.

"That's not the question here!" Ranma exclaimed. He smirked at her and accused, "So you can't go home until you get revenge, eh?"

Konatsu whipped off her glasses and snarled, "So my disguise didn't fool you after all!"

Whipping off her dress, revealing that she was dressed in her ninja costume, Konatsu leapt up high in the air, and screamed, "DIE YOU!"

Ranma shrugged as if he had seen this all before and replied, "Alright, then, let's see what you've got, Konatsu!"

"Kunöichi Ninpö Hissatsu Kurenai Jigoku!" Konatsu cried as he dove at Ranma.

'Not again,' Ranma groaned, as the ninja descended on him. There was a brief flurry of action, and then Ranma threw Konatsu far away. Ranma looked down and groaned to see the same crimson marks left behind on his shirt.

The boys surrounding him gasped, and one asked, "What just happened?"

Konatsu smirked and said, "HA! You're as good as dead!" Whipping out a tube of lipstick, the kunoichi freshened up her lips.

"Don't worry about getting hurt!" Konatsu's ugly sisters cried as they joined them, landing on top of Konatsu.

The two ugly stepsisters leapt up into the air and cried, "Kurenai Jigoku Kuchibiru Choku Geki Dan!" and tried to land on top of Ranma.

Ranma looked at them in disdain and dodged out of the way, causing the two girls to crash into the ground, causing a large crater. Ranma sneered, "Pathetic," and walked away leaving them in his wake, muttering, "If you've made me late to meet Akane and she gets mad at me because of it, I'm gonna really get angry. I hope she made the cookies correctly."

Konatsu rushed over to her sisters, her hands clasped prayerfully together, and asked, "Oh no, are you two dead?" No one heard the faint note of hope in her voice.

"It's all your fault!" Koume exclaimed as she jumped up and began beating on Konatsu, "If you didn't take your time finishing him off, he wouldn't have been able to run off!" Koeda jumped up and joined in the assault on Konatsu. The stepmother joined in also.

"Yeah but, you three came along and scared him off with your looks," Konatsu weakly protested.

"Don't talk about us like that, we are much more beautiful than you," her stepsisters screamed as they began raining more blows on the beleaguered girl.

All of the people hearing that stepped back in complete disbelief. Konatsu muttered, "Okay, okay, let me keep trying. I'll get him yet!"

* * *

Akane left her home economics class feeling extremely pleased with herself. Her face ecstatic, she walked down the hall carrying the cookies she had just pulled out of the oven, in such a hurry to find her fiancé that she hadn't even bothered to take off the apron that had protected her clothing or the kerchief that had protected her hair from the ingredients she had used. "I finally got it right," she said with a silly giggle. 

Looking up at the noise around her, she realized that she had attracted quite a crowd. Among the noise, she heard one boy exclaim, "Cookies!"

Another male voice asked, "Want me to taste test them for you?"

Akane smiled and replied, flattered, "In your dreams." 'Only one man gets to try these,' she thought as she eagerly hunted for the young man she had made the cookies for.

Suddenly a tall figure loomed up in front of the girls, stopping Ukyo in her tracks from where she had been following Akane. "Happiness, it is said, for a woman, lies solely in cooking for the man she loves," Souta said, with a smile, "Ukyo Kuonji, I shall make you happy!"

"What, is saying 'Can I have a cookie?' too hard for you?" Ukyo said, with a weak giggle.

"Not really," Souta replied, with a grin, "It's just more fun to use those platitudes." His eyes twinkled at Ukyo.

At that moment, Ranma joined them, pleasing Akane. "Here, Ranchan, try one of my cookies," she said, holding the plate out to him.

"No, try one of mine first," Ukyo said, bumping Akane out of the way.

Ranma sighed, and said, "Akane first, Ukyo. I'm sure both of you did an excellent job."

Akane smiled happily and said, "See, they're all shaped like animals."

Ranma held up one and looked at it uncertainly, and said, "An octopus?"

"No, that's a penguin," Akane said, her eyes beginning to smolder.

"Uh, huh, I think I see that now. And this is a crab, right?" Ranma asked, his eyes showing his mirth.

"NO, this one's a lion!" Akane replied heatedly.

Ranma chuckled and said, "I'm just teasing Akane. Just a minute, let me get one for real." He was about to reach for a cookie, when suddenly the bag was snatched out of his hands.

"If you want these, you'll have to come get them," Konatsu said from the window.

"Give me back my cookies!" Akane exclaimed.

"It's all your fault, Ranma! If you ate them when I asked you to," she exclaimed.

"Sorry, Akane, I shouldn't have been teasing you," Ranma said, abashed.

Konatsu jumped out the window, leaving Akane fuming.

"They were the best cookies I ever made," she said, crying.

"Don't worry, I'll get them back," Ranma promised as he leapt out the window. 'Okay, this is different,' he thought, 'Why is Konatsu acting out the Kodachi part?' He spotted Konatsu below on the ground below, and landed. He took off running after the ninja.

"I knew you would come, Ranma," Konatsu said over her shoulder.

"I really didn't come for you, I came for the cookies," Ranma said.

"That's why I took them, so you would follow and fight me," Konatsu replied.

"I actually glad you took them, it will give me a chance to talk to you in private," Ranma said, surprising Konatsu.

Konatsu asked, "Why do you want to talk to me?"

Ranma replied, "I know a little bit about you. One that you are really a boy, and two, that your stepfamily treats you very rotten. I'd like to help you if you'll let me."

"Why should I trust you?" Konatsu asked.

"Because you should," Ranma replied.

"Out of my way," Ukyo cried as she ran, being chased by a horde of boys wanting her cookies. Before Ranma could dodge, he was trampled. "Sorry, Ranma-honey," Ukyo exclaimed over her shoulder.

"Ugh," Ranma groaned as he lifted himself off of the ground, only to be held down by two arms. Ranma looked down to see that a stunned Konatsu was holding him in a loose embrace. He sprang away, in dismay, his stomach churning, as he heard Akane's voice in the distance.

"Ranma went that way," Akane cried.

"We'll finish this later. You have given me something to think about," Konatsu promised, as the ninja leapt up and sprinted off in the distance.

"There he is," Daisuke exclaimed.

"Oh, look she left my cookies," Akane said as she spotted the bundle and ran to pick it up. She went over to Ranma and said, "Here try one."

"No thanks," Ranma said. He looked up as the temperature dropped several degrees.

"Why not?" Akane all but snarled.

"I know I promised, but I'm feeling a bit sick at the moment. I sort of lost my appetite from the shock I just had," Ranma said weakly. 'I hope no one saw that,' he thought. He smiled weakly and said, "Let's go home, Akane. Maybe I'll feel better in a few minutes."

"Ranma, you jerk. I made these cookies just for you. If you won't even try them, how do you know that they aren't any good? And I was so proud of them," Akane sniffed, tears beginning to run down her face.

"Akane, don't cry," Ranma began, only to see her drop the cookies on the ground and run off. "Shit," he said, as he grabbed the bundle and ran after her. "Man, when did she get to be so fast," he said as he saw her in the distance. Putting on a burst of speed, he caught up to her. "Hey, did you forget something?" he asked.

Akane stopped and looked at Ranma and replied, "I don't want them."

"Well, then," Ranma said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I guess you won't mind if I have one then. Is that okay?"

Akane and Ranma exchanged looks, with Akane breaking out in a brilliant smile. "Uh, okay," she replied, her face reddening slightly.

Ranma popped one of the cookies into his mouth, and quickly chewed and swallowed it. "Hmm, not too bad. Maybe a touch too much salt," Ranma said, as he ate a second cookie. He handed her one.

She bit into it and her face lit up even bigger. "These are good. I **thought** I had got the recipe right this time," she said happily.

"Am I forgiven?" Ranma asked hesitantly.

Akane crushed him with a giant hug, painfully reminding him of the glomps he once received from a certain Amazon woman. On the other hand, he enjoyed these hugs, something he had never done when Shampoo had attached herself like a barnacle to him.

Nabiki walked up and asked, coldly, "Not to break up this happy moment, but there's something you need to explain, brother. How do you explain this?" She handed Ranma a photograph of Konatsu embracing him.

Ranma groaned and said, "It's not quite what it looks like, Akane, Nabiki." He began to sweat as Akane's eyes grew angry. "I got trampled by the people wanting Ukyo's cookies, and ended up on top of Konatsu. That must have been when you took that picture," he began, only to break off at the jealousy he saw in Akane's eyes.

"Isn't it bad enough that you have Ukyo chasing you? Do you have to encourage Konatsu? Aren't I good enough for you?" Akane said, beginning to cry, "I thought you loved me."

"Acchan, there's something you need to know about Konatsu. I can assure you that there's nothing going on, I promise. I would never do anything to hurt you. And you know what I feel about Ukyo," Ranma began.

"What about Konatsu?" Akane asked.

"Let me whisper it to you," he asked, a plaintive note in his voice.

Akane hesitated and then reluctantly nodded. Ranma bent to her ear and whispered several sentences. Akane's eyes grew wide and she looked at him in disbelief. She asked, "Are you sure?"

Ranma frowned slightly and replied, "Very sure. I got a lot closer than I wanted to. So yeah, I know it for a fact." He smiled a bit wryly and added, "That's what turned my stomach a little before. I was afraid that if I did eat right then, it would come right back up. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but you know me and my ability to stick my foot in my mouth." He looked at her hopefully; with all of the love he could muster pouring from his eyes.

Akane began to giggle, surprising Nabiki. Then even more surprising, she saw her sister crush her lips against Ranma's, startling both of them with the intensity of the kiss.

After several long moments, they broke apart. Ranma said, breathlessly, "I guess you believed me."

"Shut up, baka, and kiss me again," Akane said, her eyes smoldering with a different kind of heat.

"Uh, why don't you two get a room?" Nabiki suggested, not exactly sure what Ranma had said to her sister to switch her emotions so quickly. She turned to Ranma and asked, "What excuse could you have come up with to cool her anger that quickly?"

Akane looked at Ranma who shrugged. Akane smiled hugely and said, "Ten thousand yen." The young couple burst into laughter at the expression of dismay on Nabiki's face.

"I've created a monster," Nabiki said in disgust, "Don't worry, I'll find out for myself."

* * *

Ukyo made her way towards her restaurant, chuckling at the memory of the conversation she had had with Akane while they were baking their cookies. The story of Genma taking Ranma to a Sexy Kunoichi Tea Shop for 'special training' sounded exactly like something the old fool would do. And to think these kinds of things always happened to Ranma because of all of the weird places that idiot always dragged Ranchan off to. And then to find out that one of the kunoichi's was actively seeking vengeance. A sudden chill ran up Ukyo's spine as she realized that she wasn't that much different. 'Hadn't she sworn to obtain vengeance of Ranma because of something Genma had done?' she thought in anguish, 'And then to decide that I want to marry him, even though I know little about him.' She heard a noise and looked up, startled. "Huh?" she said, as she saw a lithe figure, dressed all in black, wrestling with a dog. 

"Heh, I beat him," the figure said with a hiss. The figure began to eat what ever it was that it had stolen from the dog, only to look up as if it had sensed the presence of someone. Several small spatulas landed in the area that the figure had just occupied.

"Well, I see that you are quite fast!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"Who the hell are you?" the figure asked.

"QUIET YOU," Ukyo snapped, "I heard about what you did to my Ranchan!" She magically pulled her grill out of whatever area of hyperspace she stored it in, and quickly whipped up an okonomiyaki, a challenge okonomiyaki, and flung it at Konatsu. "I challenge you!" Ukyo cried.

Konatsu leapt up and swallowed the delightful food.

"What?" Ukyo exclaimed, "She ate it before she had a chance to read it."

Konatsu knelt gracefully on the ground and said, "Thank you for your kindness miss!" The girl's stomach growled loudly in response.

Ukyo looked at her for a moment and then shook her head. "I must be out of my freaking mind," she said. She asked, "When was the last time you ate, sugar?"

"Several days ago, while I still was at my stepsisters' home," Konatsu replied.

Ukyo sighed, and said, "Well, follow me sugar, and I'll see that you have some more to eat." Ukyo led the ninja girl to her restaurant and quickly prepared several more of her specialties. As fast as Ukyo could make them, Konatsu devoured them, as if it had been more than just a few days since she had last eaten. Nodoka watched from the kitchen doorway in awe. The poor girl was eating almost as fast as her husband, though with much better manners.

"That's not food," Ukyo said, with a chuckle, "That's a plate."

Konatsu looked down at what she had picked up, and began to cry.

Ukyo looked on in concern, and asked, "What's the matter, sugar?"

Sniffing back her tears, Konatsu replied, "Ever since my father died, nobody has treated me as a human being." Quickly grabbing Ukyo by the hands, Konatsu bowed and said ardently, "I will repay your kindness."

Ukyo blushed, not knowing quite what to make of the other girl. At that moment, Ranma walked in, followed closely by Akane.

"Hey, Ucchan, hi, Mom," Ranma said, as Konatsu whirled.

"What are you doing here?" Konatsu snarled, pulling out a set of nunchuks. Ukyo quickly flattened Konatsu with her battle spatula.

Akane said, her face filled with mirth, "Hey, Ukyo, are you sure you want to get involved with her? She's bad news."

Ukyo retorted, "You're telling me!"

"What was that all about?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma replied, "Remember Pop and Mr. Tendo taking Akane and I on a training trip over the weekend. Well they took us to a kunoichi tea shop, and things basically fell apart. Pop attacked the owners for some reason, and I had to rescue him. Unfortunately, in the process, the building got destroyed. Then Konatsu here showed up to get vengeance."

Nodoka scowled angrily. 'That idiot of a husband, what was he thinking?' she thought to herself.

At that moment, Konatsu stirred, and rubbed the back of her head. She bowed to Ukyo and asked, "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't want my restaurant to turn into a battlefield, sugar. Now why don't you finish your story? How did you find yourself here?" Ukyo asked.

Konatsu lost herself in her memories and said softly, "Once, a long time ago, I was happy. I had a loving father and a wonderful, beautiful mother. I lived without a care in the world. Since I was an only child, I was cherished and taught my mother's art. But then, one day, my mother died, leaving my father and me heartbroken. My father was so very lonely, one day he met my current stepmother."

"That old hag," Akane said in shock, "How could he have married that?"

"My father soon passed away. Every day, my stepmother and stepsisters treated me badly, like a slave, in the house that once had meant so much to me, that had once been full of cheerful memories," Konatsu continued.

"I've never heard such a tragic story in my life," Ukyo said, wiping away the tears from when she had been silently crying, touched by the pain the poor girl had gone through.

"But, Konatsu, aren't you a genius kunoichi, that comes around maybe once every century?" Akane asked, "Couldn't you have escaped anytime you wanted to?"

"N-n-no, you're too kind," Konatsu stammered, her cheeks blushing prettily, "I'm not that smart." Suddenly, she shimmered briefly and four of her appeared. The first one said, "I'm just a…" The second one continued, "plain…" The third one added, "simple…" And the last added, "Girl!"

"Wow, the legendary body duplicating technique!" Ranma said.

"She has to be," Akane said. The three of them looked at each other and then Akane said, "Come on!"

"What?" Konatsu asked in surprise.

"We've decided. You're going to face your stepmother, and we're going to help you," Ukyo said fiercely.

Konatsu looked at her in surprise and asked, "You would help me, even after all that I've done to you, Ranma?"

Ranma smirked and said, "Konatsu, the duty of a martial artist is to help those that need to be helped. And no one deserves to be treated the way you were."

"What he said," Ukyo added.

"Ditto," Akane said.

Konatsu gasped and replied, "I've never thought of it before. But you're right, if I defeat my stepmother and stepsisters, I'm free!"

"I'm proud of all three of you," Nodoka said.

* * *

The three youths from Nerima followed their newfound acquaintance through the mountains, until finally they found themselves in front of an ornate home. A wooden platform, with a traditional Japanese house, it was nestled securely and discretely deep in clearing deep in the woods. Ranma gave an encouraging squeeze the kunoichi's shoulder, and said, "It's your show, Konatsu. We're here as backup." 

Konatsu took a deep breath and then let it out. 'It's time to get rid of all of my demons,' the ninja thought. Finally, showing a calmness that surprised the other three, Konatsu shouted, "Stepmother! Stepsisters! Come out here, now!"

"Welcome, Konatsu," Koume cried.

"We've been waiting for you," replied Koeda.

"Scrub the floor and do the dishes," Koten ordered.

Konatsu stared blankly and then replied, "Right away, stepmother!" She made a move toward the house, only to have Ranma grab her arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

Konatsu had the grace to blush as the ninja replied, "Sorry, force of habit."

"Hey you three!" Ranma said.

Koeda sneered, and said, "I remember you. You're the brat that insulted us!"

"Why are you not dead?" Koume asked in surprise.

Ranma grinned maliciously and demanded, "Well then, it seems that we should have a match. If we win, you set Konatsu free!"

"Ha!" Kotet replied, "Young man, you are making a serious mistake!"

"You should start begging for your life now," Koeda snarled.

**"**Sanmi Ichitai Ninbö Jikkurito Okamuga Ii**," **the three women cried as they charged Ranma, Akane and Ukyo.

Ranma exclaimed, "What!" He stared in amazement as they formed a folding fan, then a pyramid and then finally a kettle.

Then a cloud of smoke appeared and through the haze, they heard one of the women say, "That's all folks. See you later, goodbye!"

When the smoke cleared, only the four of them were left. Ukyo stood there shaking her head and asked, "What the hell was that?"

* * *

Later that same evening, the party returned to the Tendo home, where they discussed what happened with Soun at dinner. He hid his relief well as he observed, "So, it's Ranma that they appear to be targeting." 

Konatsu swallowed the bite she had in her mouth, and then answered, "Yes."

"So Konatsu, what are you going to do now?" Akane asked.

Ranma added, "Why don't you stay here with us for a while?"

Konatsu looked up in shock and said, dazed, "Huh?" The ninja thought, 'I have been so much trouble for him. Why is he being so nice to me?' Konatsu responded in the only way the youth knew how and yelled, **"**Kunöichi Ninbö Kansha no Shirushi!" and covered Ranma with kisses.

Nabiki, Kasumi and Soun froze to await Akane's reaction. Ranma sputtered in shock, and Akane began to laugh her head off. "Kunoichi invisibility art mark of gratitude technique," Akane said, "I think you'll need to teach me that one. It looks like it stunned poor Ranma."

Konatsu turned; her fists clenched, with tears streaming down her face, and exclaimed, "I'm so glad that I don't have to live by myself anymore!"

"That's right!" Akane agreed excitedly.

Ukyo suggested, "I could use some help at my restaurant, and there's a small room you could stay in. Ranma's mother is a godsend, but there are still things that you could help with."

Konatsu could only nod, her eyes shining, she was so choked up with tears.

* * *

The next day, the students at Furinkan High School were abuzz with rumors. One boy said, "I hear that there's a cute new waitress at that new okonomyaki shop, Ucchan's!" 

"Really, let's go!" another exclaimed.

A large crowd of male students entered Ucchan's, where they found Ukyo busily working at the grill. An attractive young woman, with an attractive, winsome smile, dressed in a formal kimono, welcomed them and said, "Welcome everyone! I am Konatsu!" She knelt on the floor bowing.

One of the boys stammered, and said, "H-hello." His face was flushed, and drops of sweat were pouring off his brow, as several of the others suddenly found their collars much too tight.

"You don't have to kneel every time!" Ukyo exclaimed.

Konatsu blushed and shamefacedly said, "Oh, okay!"

Ranma and Akane walked in to greet Ukyo and Konatsu. Konatsu was ecstatic, and it showed. The ninja showed off her new kimono, and exclaimed happily, "See, an elegant new kimono, a high salary."

"What five yen?" Ranma whispered to Akane.

"And best of all, a very beautiful and nice boss," Konatsu continued.

Ukyo blushed but asked, "Can you clean the place up, do the laundry and wash the dishes?"

Konatsu ignored her for a second and squealed, "Best of all, I'm free!" The ninja waitress then began to comply with Ukyo's orders.

"Well, she seems not to mind," Akane said softly.

"At least make it ten yen," Ranma said.

"She's a nice girl," Ukyo said, and after a moment of thought, added, "Okay." She completely missed the knowing looks that Ranma and Akane exchanged.

Also, unknown observers were watching. "That Konatsu, she's getting treated like a princess," one soft voice said coming from what seemed to be a sack of trash.

A second answered, from what appeared to be a trashcan, "But we won't let that continue."

Konatsu picked up the trashcan and the sack, and rushed them outside, muttering happily, "Busy, busy, busy." She tossed the trashcan and the sack out and then poured kerosene over them and lit them. The ninja turned and ran back into the restaurant and locked the back door.

From the fire, her stepsisters and stepmother arose, brushing the ashes off. "You just wait, Konatsu! You're escape will not go unpunished!" Koeda exclaimed.

"We're burning up, and I'm not just talking about the fire!" affirmed Koume.

* * *

Author's Notes: As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. This chapter and the next will be the introduction of Konatsu into the story as a relatively faithful retelling of the canon episodes, just early. Of course, there will be a few twists. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below. 

Drakus: We'll see Souta some more, but I've already done a brief crossover with InuYasha, in Ranma's Decision, so they won't show up in this one, probably.

Mimi-Chan15: Thanks for the kind words. I rarely ever get offended by a review, don't worry. The only time I get annoyed is when I get a review that shows the reader didn't even read the chapter and went off on some rant. I guess this chapter answers the question about Konatsu, VBG. That would be telling about Ukyo, now wouldn't it? I do need to work the other two couples back into the story line. Unfortunately, it's a little hard to get them in and still keep the chapters a reasonable length. They'll show up some in the next chapter, at least if it goes the way I intend it to.

Cid Goldenfires: Once Cologne gets back from China, she'll have an interesting talk with Ranma. Herb and Taro will show up according to the original timeline. There just isn't any reason for them to show up earlier. Same problem with Ryu, unfortunately. I am still more or less following the manga, so once Konatsu is integrated into the story line, the next thing will be my version of Romeo and Juliet. I will be bringing some conflict into the story line.

Jleonard: In canon, Ukyo had the fact that Ranma recognized her as the 'cute fiancee' She doesn't have that in my story, so she'll act a bit more desperate or obsessive than she came across in the canon story. She'll have a bit more angst for a while before things get resolved with her. I like what happened with the Kuno's also.

Shinigami: I have plans for Nabiki, but it won't happen for a long time. She'll just have to settle for drooling over Ranma, I guess. Yeah, Souta is supposed to be the character from InuYasha, just several years older. I have a tendency to have these mini-crossovers pop up from time to time.

Hououza: I'm glad you liked that chapter. I had a hard time trying to decide how to handle the revelation that Ranma was actually male, but then I went back and reread some of the manga and it seemed like the ones who knew that Ranma and the pig-tailed girl where the same never gave it a thought. Cologne has/will figure out that Ranma is from a future. I'm not sure how Akane would react. I guess it would depend on when she figured it out, but I'm not sure she would. After all, this is the girl who could never figure out that P-Chan and Ryoga were one and the same, in spite of all of the hints.

Psycho King: Ukyo would never give Tsubasa the time of day, you're right about that. Konatsu would have to change some, though I think Ukyo at least likes him as a friend. We'll see about her admirer.

Khimenko Victor: Uh, okay. I suggest you re-read that scene. No one was expressing astonishment at a Western breakfast. It wasn't what they were being served that was causing Genma and Soun to be afraid, it was the fact that Akane had cooked. Going back to the running joke about Akane not being able to cook, of course, especially since Genma had just survived two weeks of her cooking. And yes, I've read all of the manga that I can get my hands on. I haven't turned Akane into a gourmet cook in this story, but she has learned to make a few things, similar to the episode when she got her mother's recipes and learned how to boil water at the end of the chapter.

Lerris: Thank you. I am trying for mostly romantic comedy, as opposed to a lot of angst, so that does tend to make the bumps in the road disappear a bit easier than they did in the canon. That's part of the reason why the Ukyo situation hasn't been resolved, BTW. Ranma's foreknowledge is going to be less useful in the future, since he has changed so much of the timeline, however. The maturity is what has made the biggest change. Where he can anticipate the problems, he will try to make them not occur, or be less troublesome. That's one of the reasons he went after Happosai. Well, that and the fact that the old pervert is my least favorite character in the manga.

Innortal: Oh yes, definitely Cologne has some suspicions. Ranma let the cat out of the bag during the fight with Happosai. The girls will show up around when they are supposed to, though they will have to have a different reason.

Wonderbee31: Thanks, and yes, Cologne is on the scent of something. I actually had a couple of chapters written where Ukyo went a bit crazy, but I didn't like where that was going. She won't go dark, but it will take a while before she listens to what everyone is telling her.

Dragon Man 180: Well, here's Konatsu. It will be interesting to see who gets the girl.

Smurr79: You're thinking of Second Chances by Lord Archive. That is a good story, and it looks like he is continuing it finally. Quite frankly, that story was one of the ones that got me interested in this plot. I had never seen one where it was Ranma by himself that went back, so I thought I would try my hand at it.


	28. The Wrath of Kunoichi

Author's Note: Mild lime content.

Chapter 28 The Wrath of Kunoichi

Kasumi began to pick up the dishes from the evening meal, only to have Ranma say, "Sit down, big sis. Akane and I will take care of that."

"But it's my job," Kasumi protested.

Nabiki snickered and said, "Sis, look at your husband. He's having withdrawal pains. It must have been at least thirty minutes since you've been able to kiss him."

Kasumi blushed prettily, as Akane giggled at her sister.

"Sis, you need some time together for the two of you. As soon as you came back from your honeymoon, you took over all of the household duties again," Nabiki said, "Go spend some time with Tofu."

"She's right, daughter," Soun said, surprising everyone, "You spent so much of your life taking care of us, it's time you let us take care of you for a while."

"Doc, the moon looks real pretty from the roof, and I expect you can find some privacy up there," Ranma said quietly.

Tofu grinned at his near brother-in-law and asked, "And how would you know?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "That's where I go to think."

"So **that's** what they call it now," Tofu teased, "When I was growing up they called it necking." He stood up and held out his hand to his wife, and asked, "Well, dear, shall we?"

Kasumi smiled mysteriously, and replied, "That's sounds like the start of an interesting evening." The two of them walked out of the family room, heading upstairs.

Nabiki grinned and said, "I'm glad I moved into your old room, sis. At least now my room doesn't share a wall with theirs anymore."

Akane looked puzzled for a moment and then blushed. "You have to admit, marriage really agrees with her. I've never seen her happier," Akane said.

"Him either. They deserve each other," Ranma said, happy that this time the two of them had managed to get together.

* * *

The three women worked furiously throughout the evening, Nodoka and Ukyo cooking the various menu items, while Konatsu waited on the customers. The addition of the new items on the menu had brought an increase in customers, but once word had gotten around about Konatsu, the restaurant remained packed until closing time. Nodoka found herself wishing that she had had a daughter as polished and accomplished as Konatsu.

Finally, the last customer had left, and they had completed the cleanup. Nodoka asked, "Girls, I'm heading down to the bath house. Do you want to join me?"

Ukyo stretched and said, "That's sounds like a good idea to me. I'll go get my things and meet you back down here."

"I think I'll stay here, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu replied quietly, "But thank you for asking, Nodoka-sama."

"Konatsu, I've told you to call me Auntie," Nodoka reminded the kuniochi.

"Sorry, Auntie," Konatsu mumbled, blushing prettily.

"Well, I'm off then, I'll see you at the bath house, Ukyo," Nodoka said.

Ukyo ran upstairs to fetch her bathing supplies and a clean kimono to change into, while Nodoka went to pick up the things that she had brought with her. Konatsu headed toward the small room that they had converted into her bedroom, the first room that she had ever had with a real bed.

* * *

Nodoka eased herself carefully into the pool after she finished rinsing the soap from her body. She leaned against the side of the pool and closed her eyes as she allowed the warmth of the water to tease the last bit of soreness out of her tired muscles. Chuckling to herself, she thought, 'Much as I hate to admit it, I'm not as young as I once was. Trying to keep up with those two youngsters today in the restaurant may have been a bit of a mistake.' The babble of the other women around her, talking about their various aches and pains, and the onset of old age, however made her feel much better about herself, as a faint smile of amusement passed across her face.

Ukyo finally slid into the pool next to her, after spending was seemed to be an inordinate amount of time rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. She sighed almost unnoticeably as she felt the warmth of the water loosen her aching muscles.

They stayed there for several minutes, just enjoying the sensation of the warm water. Finally, Ukyo said softly, "I never did get a chance to tell you some stories about Ranma, did I Auntie? I know we were going to the other day, but then that letter sidetracked me. I was about six years old, traveling with my father, after my mother died. We went from town to town, with Daddy pulling the yatai behind him, and me perched on top, surveying the countryside. Well, we ended up in a small town, where we stayed for several months. I made a few friends, but mostly played by myself. Daddy didn't like it when I wandered off too far. Anyway, one day, Ranma showed up asking for food. We started out making it a game. I would try to defend the yatai, and he would attempt to reach the cart. When he did, I'd make him an okonomiyaki, and would draw a smiley face on it with the sauce."

"So that's how you two became friends, then?" Nodoka asked.

Ukyo smiled briefly and replied, "Yes, we became best friends for the three months or so that he was around. We had a lot of fun together. He even helped me make my secret sauce. I can't wait to see what it tastes like when it finally has aged long enough."

"I'm glad to hear that, Ukyo. After listening to his story, it sounds like you were one of the few friends that he was able to make while he was traveling with Genma," Nodoka said, "He never was able to stay in one place long enough to really get close to any one." She sighed and added, "I should never have let my idiot husband talk me into allowing him to take Ranma away from me on that trip. He's ruined so many lives by his greed and stupidity. Genma owes you a debt of honor and as the head of the family, at least for now, I will ensure that it is paid."

Ukyo smiled a bit wistfully and said, "I suppose saying that only Ranma marrying me would satisfy that debt probably wouldn't be a good idea, then."

"Unfortunately, that wouldn't solve anything," Nodoka replied calmly, "The Tendo agreement came first so we are bound by honor to fulfill it. Besides, Ranma has created a claim on his honor by asking Akane to wed. I'm sorry for you, dear, but the love that those two have for each other is obvious. If you try to come between them, all that will happen is that you will get hurt. He doesn't love you, at least not the way you want him to. He thought of you as a brother for all these many years; he just can't think of you as anything other than a sibling."

Ukyo grimaced as if she had taken a blow to her stomach.

"I'm truly sorry, dear, I know that's not what you want to hear. I know that you think you love him, but what you want to have happen will never occur," Nodoka said sympathetically.

"I know that in my head, Auntie," Ukyo replied, "He's made that point very clear. I can't help hoping that he'll come to his senses, though. It's wishful thinking, I know." She shrugged her shoulders and sat there silently for a few moments.

* * *

Ukyo made her way down the deserted streets of Nerima, heading toward her restaurant. 'That was a good bath,' she thought to herself, 'Though the conversation with Nodoka was a bit unsettling. She obviously fully supports Akane marrying her son.' Her face fell at that thought. 'I wish Konatsu had come. She would have enjoyed herself, I'm sure,' the girl continued, 'I like her; she's such a hard worker, always eager to please me.' From the pavement behind her, she heard a strange noise. "Hey, who's there?" she demanded as she turned to see. Her eyes narrowed in anger as several shurikens came flying at her, landing on the ground where she had been standing.

"Hyappatsu Hyakuchü Shuriken!" screamed Kotet and Kouda as they threw one hundred shurikens at Ukyo.

"Why don't you two give up?" Ukyo exclaimed as she blocked all of the shurikens with her wooden bucket that contained all of her bathing supplies. She dodged the next attack by leaping up over the chain length fence that divided the street from the canal. As she flew through the air, she looked down in disbelief as the waters parted and an ugly looking fish appeared. "What now?" she exclaimed.

"Kunöichi Ninbö Ankö no Ejiki," Koume replied as she opened her mouth and trapped Ukyo in her oversized mouth.

"Oh, Oh NO!" Ukyo screamed.

* * *

Konatsu finished wiping down the small bar that surrounded the large grill that Ukyo prepared her okonomiyaki on and realized what time it was. The kuniochi had expected her back some time ago. 'Ukyo-sama is late,' the ninja thought, 'Can it be, my stepsisters.' "Ukyo-sama!" Konatsu cried as the ninja turned to go out the door hunting for the kindly girl who was allowing her to stay there. As Konatsu opened the door, an arrow hit her in the head. Konatsu pulled the paper off of the arrow, and read in dismay, 'We have the girl Ukyo. If you want her back, come to Haisuke Park.' "A challenge," Konatsu exclaimed, as the ninja began running toward the park. 'This means that because of me, Ukyo-sama has been kidnapped,' the ninja thought in dismay.

When Konatsu reached the park, the moonlight revealed another figure standing before the low wall surrounding the lily-padded pool that was the park's central feature. Konatsu recognized Ranma standing there, a letter crushed in her hand. "Ranma, what are you doing here?" the ninja asked.

"I got a note saying Ukyo had been kidnapped," Ranma replied, "I guess you got one too." 'Just like before,' he thought. He grimaced at the ninja, and said, "Take that arrow out, you look silly."

Konatsu blushed and pulled the blunt arrow out of her forehead, mentally damning herself for allowing Ukyo's kidnapping from distracting her that badly.

Ranma whispered quickly, "If they offer you something to eat, fool them. Then you and I can fake a sparring match to distract them, while Akane rescues Ukyo."

Konatsu glanced at him quickly and gave him a puzzled look but nodded.

Suddenly from the darkness, they heard an angry voice exclaim, "Now we have you fools!"

Ranma smirked and said, "Show yourselves! Are you afraid of facing us?"

"You two are becoming very annoying!" the voice continued. Konatsu recognized the voice as the hateful sound of his horrible stepmother.

"Stepmother, stepsisters, why are you doing this?" the ninja called out into the darkness.

"Come out where we can see you!" Ranma demanded, "What have you done to Ucchan?"

Suddenly from behind them, they heard the sound of the water in the pond being disturbed as if by a giant whirlpool. Turning they saw Konatsu's stepfamily emerging from the water, dressed as sea animals.

"Kunöichi Ninbö Mizu no Ikimuno," the three cried, "The kunoichi invisibility art water creatures technique!"

"I am Kotet the blue sea turtle," the stepmother cried around the horribly smelling stogie clenched in her tobacco-stained teeth, dressed in a turtle costume and flapping her flippers.

"I am Koeda, the sea imp," cried the younger, thinner daughter, looking particularly sexless in the rubber costume she was wearing, the moonlight glancing off the bald spot in the middle of her hair.

"And this is Koume, the sea monster!" the two cried pointing to the large behemoth that had risen next to them.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Ranma whispered in an aside to Konatsu, "I don't think I'll ever get that picture out of my head."

"Where's Ukyo-sama?" Konatsu demanded.

The behemoth opened her mouth to reveal Ukyo, tied up with a rope, squirming around the slimy mouth. "Konatsu! Ranma!" she cried.

"Ukyo-sama, we'll save you!" Konatsu exclaimed as the Ranma and Konatsu exchanged glances. The two leapt as one at the ugly face of the disguised older sister, who promptly closed her mouth over the struggling Ukyo.

Kotet turned around and screamed, "Kunöichi Ninbö Umigame no Sjüsan! Kuniochi invisibility art sea turtle egg-laying blast!" as she fired a load of explosive eggs at Konatsu. The blast flung Konatsu back away from the behemoth holding Ukyo.

At the same time, Koeda leapt up into the air, and cried, "Kappa no Sara Flash!" A brilliant beam of light emerged from the bald spot on her head, attempting to blind Ranma.

"Hey! That didn't do nothing!" Ranma cried as he swung at Koeda, "Take this!" The blow drove the younger sister into the water, where she swam away. Ranma turned around to again attempt to save Ukyo, only to see the older sister dive under the water, the large tail of her costume driving her deep into the water. "Hey, come back here!" Ranma called.

Konatsu returned to the fray after shaking off the aftereffects of the mild explosions and exclaimed, "Enough! My patience has run out!" The ninja stood perched on a bamboo pole and said, coldly, "Stepmother, stepsisters! Today, I am breaking off relations with you. You are no longer my family!"

Her stepfamily froze in shock, allowing Ranma to land on top of the sister holding Ukyo captive.

"We were just joking!" Koume exclaimed.

"The only joke around here is you three," Konatsu declared, arms folded, looking sternly at the three of them.

Kotet surfaced and said with an evil grin, "Hey Konatsu, I guess you were serious!" She chuckled and held up a small tightly wrapped scroll. "Konatsu, do you know what this is?" she asked.

Konatsu gasped in horror and replied, "My secret scroll!" A bead of sweat rolled down from the ninja's forehead.

"I'll tell everyone about the secrets that you have kept!" Kotet exclaimed, her lips twisted in a wicked smile.

"You wouldn't!" Konatsu gasped.

Ranma jumped down from the head of the sea monster and stole the scroll out of the old woman's hand.

"NO, YOU CAN'T LOOK AT IT!" Konatsu cried as the ninja flew through the air and stole the scroll out of Ranma's hand.

Koeda jumped past Konatsu and snatched the scroll.

"Aaaaah," Konatsu cried.

Kotet called, "Hey, throw it to me!"

Koeda exclaimed, "Take this instead," as she threw a sea cucumber sushi roll at Konatsu, who caught it.

"Hey, expensive sushi!" Konatsu exclaimed. The ninja landed on the bank of the pond, and greedily shoved the roll in her mouth.

"Sucker!" Kotet exclaimed in glee, "In that sushi, there is a secret medicine called "Toushintan." If you eat it, then your fighting instinct will rise as high as it can, and you cannot disobey the command to fight!"

Konatsu glared at the wicked stepmother and screamed, "Aaak! NO!"

Ranma shook his head in disbelief and said, "You ate the whole thing. You moron!" 'Good fake, Konatsu,' he thought, 'I hope.'

"If you want to save her, you must kill him first," Kotet declared.

"YES! KILL!" Konatsu screamed as the ninja charged at Ranma.

"Konatsu, No!" Ukyo cried from her prison.

'Okay, it's up to you now, Akane. Let's make this look good, Konatsu,' Ranma thought. "Okay, pal, give it your best shot!" he cried as he led the ninja away from the pool, and began to trade blows with the ninja.

The two stepsisters and the wicked stepmother cackled in glee as they watched the two of them battle, trading one fierce blow after another, dodging each strike with only millimeters to spare.

Kotet cackled, her evil laugh disturbing the stillness of the night. "Good fight, Konatsu, but don't finish him too quickly or she gets swallowed!"

A shadowy figure emerged from behind the trees, and quietly examined the scene. 'So that's why Ranma said I should come,' Akane thought, 'They have Ukyo!'

The fight continued, drawing the eyes of the stepfamily as they encouraged Konatsu. "How very entertaining," Kotet declared.

Akane crept up and flipped the stepmother over on her back, leaving her defenseless. "What happens if I do that?" Akane asked as she spun the turtle-costumed old woman around.

"Mother!" Koeda cried.

"Turn me back over now," Kotet cried as Akane snatched the scroll away from her. Akane then pulled her trusty mallet out and smashed it down onto the head of the onrushing Koeda, knocking her out.

"Well, that's good. The sea monster fell asleep," Akane said. She picked up a park bench and swung one end of it over to the mouth of the monster. Then she clambered over the bench and pulled Ukyo out of her slimy prison. "Ukyo, are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"Akane," Ukyo said, "Thanks, but we don't need to worry about them, we need to stop Konatsu before she hurts Ranma." Then she spotted the scroll in Akane's hand. "Hey, that's Konatsu's secret scroll," Ukyo said in wonder.

Akane looked puzzled.

"It must be a very secretive scroll," Ukyo said, remembering Konatsu's reaction.

Akane unrolled the scroll quickly, and scanned the contents. Her eyes grew very wide as she thought, 'Wow! This is really secretive! But why?' Akane quickly rolled it back up as she saw Ukyo try to sneak a peek. "Naughty, naughty," Akane admonished.

Out of the darkness, the three evil women dropped down on top of Ukyo and Akane knocking them out. "Kunöichi Ninbö Muri no Ikimuno!" they exclaimed, as the three newly costumed creatures pranced by. "Kunoichi invisibility art forest creatures!" Kotet cackled from her fox costume. The rabbit costumed Koeda and the flying squirrel costumed Koume joined in the laughter.

The trio ran over to where the two fighters were sprawled out on the ground. "Ah, they both fell," Kotet said in satisfaction, "That was a tough battle, Konatsu!"

"Hmph!" Koeda said, as she ran over and began kicking the fallen ninja, "You deserve it! How dare you say that you are prettier than we are!"

Koume joined in, and said, "You should be treated like this!"

Konatsu shakily stood up, quickly followed by Ranma.

"Well did it work?" Konatsu asked quietly.

Ranma shook his head and replied, "Almost, but they got distracted by your scroll and your stepfamily caught them again."

"Look at this!" Kotet cried as she pointed to a nearby tree. Koume and Koeda were perched on two branches, but hanging below Koeda were Akane and Ukyo who had been dressed in Playboy bunny costumes.

"Ranchan!" Ukyo and Akane cried in unison and then they glared at each other.

'Not bad, Akane. You look pretty good in that,' Ranma thought, 'Down boy.'

Koeda cried, "They look nice, don't they?"

"Ukyo-sama!" Konatsu cried.

"Akane!" Ranma yelled.

Koume said, "If you two come with us, then you can work in the Sexy Tea Shop!"

"You could be stars," Koeda sighed with stars in her eyes.

"You could get nice clothes and good food," Kouda continued.

Akane said angrily, "I'm not going anywhere!" as she struggled with the chain holding her on the tree limb.

Konatsu gasped and said, "Don't listen to them, Ukyo-sama. She's lying, don't believe her!"

"I'm not stupid, you fool!" Ukyo snapped.

Ranma kicked Koume from behind, knocking her off of the tree, after climbing up the tree while the two sisters were distracted by Konatsu.

"You fool! I'm a flying squirrel," Koume said as she spread her arms and soared over to the limb her sister was perched on. The extra weight caused the limb to crack, sending it and the four women to the forest floor below.

Ukyo screamed, "You need to lose some weight, idiot!"

Konatsu jumped toward the falling girls, as did Ranma. Konatsu caught Akane and asked, "Are you okay, Akane-sama?"

Akane replied, "Yes, thank you."

"Here Ranma, catch!" Konatsu said as the ninja tossed Akane toward him.

Ranma caught Akane with both arms, and said, "I got her!"

Kotet leapt up and snatched Ukyo before Konatsu could grab her and took off running.

"Ukyo-sama!" Konatsu cried. Konatsu chased her stepmother, and demanded, "Please give me back my Ukyo-sama!"

Kotet said, "Okay, Konatsu, if you want her back, you can have her!" She tossed Ukyo back over her shoulder at the onrushing ninja. Konatsu gingerly cradled Ukyo in her arms and said in disgust, "At least wait until I challenge you!" The ninja landed carefully on the ground and with obvious concern asked, "Are you hurt, Ukyo-sama?"

Ukyo gazed into the other girl's eyes, and stammered, "I'm fine."

Konatsu pulled Ukyo into a tight embrace and said with tears streaming from her eyes, "Thank goodness!'

Ukyo looked extremely puzzled and asked, "Eh?"

Akane and Ranma raced over to join them. Akane said, "I think Konatsu loves Ukyo."

"What makes you think that?" Ranma asked.

Akane pulled out the scroll and unrolled it. Ranma read, 'I love Ukyo' written dozens of times across the parchment. Then at the bottom, it read, 'Ukyo-sama, I know it's not a permitted love, but my heart won't stop.'

They reached the pair, still embracing, Konatsu rubbing her cheek against Ukyo's face. Ukyo was blushing furiously as she wondered, 'What's her problem?'

Ranma cleared his throat, causing Konatsu to spring away and bow to Ukyo abjectively.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Konatsu cried as the ninja bowed.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Ukyo asked, perplexed.

Konatsu said sadly, "I'm sorry for writing that note and making you feel uncomfortable." She hung her head and said, "I guess this is goodbye."

"Konatsu!" Ukyo said.

Akane said in protest, "NO!"

"I'll go back with my stepmother," Konatsu said, as the ninja began to walk toward her stepfamily.

"So you finally understand," Kotet said with a sneer as she placed a leash around Konatsu's neck, "You've caused everyone trouble."

"Konatsu," Ukyo cried.

Konatsu turned and said, softly, "Goodbye, Ukyo-sama."

"Let's get home now," Koeda said.

"I wonder what will happen to Konatsu now. They'll mistreat her I'm sure," Ranma said thoughtfully. 'Come on Ukyo, don't let that heart of yours fail me now,' he thought.

"Me too," Akane replied sadly.

Ukyo stood lost in thought, her face anguished, as she remembered the words that Konatsu had told her, 'You were the first person to treat me nicely.' Ukyo cried, "Konatsu, don't go back! I'll take care of you!"

"U-ukyo-sama!" Konatsu exclaimed as the ninja ripped the leash off and ran toward Ukyo.

"Mother, do you want us to get her back?" Koume asked.

The old woman thought, 'Konatsu, obedient child like you, disobeying me this much. No, it is time for the fledgling bird to leave the nest.' She cried, "Please accept this parting gift!" as she threw a large firecracker at Konatsu.

Ranma pulled a tennis racket out of thin air, and smashed the firecracker back in the direction of the three ugly women.

The firecracker exploded, causing a cloud of smoke. Out of the cloud, a happy Konatsu appeared, calling, "Ukyo-sama!" The explosion had shredded Konatsu's kimono and exposing the ninja. The ninja asked, "Can I really go with you?"

Ukyo gasped in astonishment as she suddenly realized that Konatsu was a guy. "I thought she was just a girl with a flat chest, but that's weird, a male kunoichi!" she exclaimed.

Ranma said in an aside, "See what did I tell you, Akane?"

Konatsu blushed and covered his chest, and said, "I'm so embarrassed."

"Yeah, but he acts just like a girl," Akane said.

Koeda snickered and teased, "What's wrong? Don't have any bust?"

"Yeah, you could walk around naked," Koume added.

"Don't tell him to walk around naked!" Ukyo exclaimed. She sighed, and said, "Let's go home, Konatsu."

"Yes, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said happily.

* * *

Akane joined Ranma in their bed and snuggled up next to him. "That turned out well, didn't it?" she asked.

Ranma smiled to himself and said, "Yes, I think it did. Konatsu is a real nice person and maybe he can help with Ukyo."

"Playing matchmaker are we?" Akane asked.

"Maybe if she finds someone who likes her, she'll give up on me," Ranma replied.

"I hope it works out for her that way. I do like her, even if she is chasing my man," Akane said softly, as she pressed her lips against the nape of his neck, causing him so shiver.

"By the way, did I tell you how good you looked in that costume?" Ranma asked softly.

Akane blushed, and replied, "No, but thanks. It was kind of embarrassing though."

"I think that was sort of the idea. That and to distract us, I guess. I know I really had to work hard on what we were supposed to be doing," Ranma said, "You made quite a distracting sight."

Ranma rolled over to face her. As he bent down to kiss her, she crushed her lips against his, drawing them close together. With what was left of his mind, that which wasn't concentrating on her kiss, he realized that she was pushing the line again. Tonight, she was wearing only an oversized t-shirt, and her panties.

Breathlessly, he pulled away. "When are we getting married, again?" he asked softly.

"Not soon enough," she said, with a wicked look in her eyes.

Ranma chuckled and asked, "What happened to Miss All-Boys-are-Perverts?"

Akane blushed prettily and replied, "I guess I met you. Though I still think most boys are perverts."

Ranma smiled broadly and said, "I'm glad I'm not like most boys, then." He pulled her to him and they kissed again.

Finally, Akane yawned, and said, "I hate to do this, but tomorrow comes awfully early. We better get some sleep."

"You're probably right," he agreed, "Especially since I still need to work at the Nekohaten. Have you been doing all of your exercises while I'm there?"

"Most of them," she said sleepily, "Though I've been helping Kasumi in the kitchen a little. I still don't know that many recipes, yet."

"Just take them slowly, and I'm sure you'll do just fine," Ranma said, as he closed his eyes. He fell asleep, listening to the sound of her gentle breathing.

* * *

The next day Ranma and his friends went to see Ukyo at her restaurant and to check on Konatsu. Ranma waved at Ukyo as he entered the restaurant, holding Akane's hand, followed by their friends Yuka and Sayuri. "Hey, Ucchan," he said in greeting.

"Hi, sugar. Hey, guys," Ukyo replied, "What can I get you?"

Ranma looked at the other three and said, "Uh, I think four of the shrimp okonomiyakis and a special for Yuka. And if Mom has some of her special miso soup, me and Akane would like a bowl."

"Okay, we'll have that right out. Find a place to sit," Ukyo said.

The group made their way over to one of the booths, and sat down. Ranma sat down next to Akane, and Yuka and Sayuri sat on the bench opposite. They talked quietly among themselves about the day at school, especially complaining about the amount of homework that the algebra teacher had handed out.

Konatsu walked over carrying a tray with four glasses of water. As he arrived at the table, he stumbled slightly, with one of the glasses landing on Ranma, interrupting him in mid-speech as the water poured over him, triggering the change.

Akane handed Ranma a towel to dry herself off as Konatsu stared in shock.

"What? Ranma-sama?" Konatsu stammered.

"Ranma picked up a curse in China that turns him into a girl when he gets hit with cold water," Yuka said.

Ranma grinned sheepishly and said, "I guess that was something no one told you about, was it?"

Konatsu simply shook his head and apologized, saying, "Pardon me, Ranma-sama for getting you wet."

"Don't worry about it, man. I'm a water magnet, I'm used to it. If it hadn't been you, it would have been something else," Ranma replied.

Nodoka walked out carrying two bowls of soup. She spotted her son turned daughter and went back into the kitchen, to return with a tea kettle. She carried the soup and the tea kettle over to the table and set it down.

"Hi mom," Ranma said, "Thanks for the water."

"No problem dear, I always have the kettle on," Nodoka replied.

Ranma poured the water over her head. "So is Ukyo treating you right, Konatsu?' he asked the shell-shocked ninja.

"Oh yes, Ukyo-sama has been wonderful. I'm so glad she took me in after freeing me from my horrible step-family," Konatsu replied.

Nodoka turned from the table with an odd glint in her eye, and said softly, "Konatsu dearie, I'd like to talk to you later."

"Bye Mom, we'll drop by sometime this weekend," Ranma promised.

"Bye Auntie," Akane added. Nodoka quickly walked back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Ukyo walked over with the plates of food. "Here you go, sugar," she said as she placed two of the shrimp in front of Ranma and passed out the rest to the three girls. "This is working out quite well. Konatsu takes care of things in the morning while I'm at school, getting the restaurant ready for your mother at lunch and then keeps things going in the afternoon."

Ranma asked, "Does that mean his hours are twice as much as normal now?"

"Aren't you taking advantage of him?" Akane asked.

"Don't worry. That's what seems to make him happy," Ukyo replied.

Konatsu sighed from where the kimono-clad kuniochi was cleaning. "I'm so happy!" she said with glee.

The restaurant settled down into a steady routine, with Ukyo, Konatsu and Nodoka working seamlessly together in preparing and serving the meals for all of their customers. A week went by, joining the three of them in a bond of friendship. Nodoka watched carefully, and occasionally saw a wistful look on Konatsu's face when the ninja glanced at Ukyo when the chef wasn't watching. True to her word, Ukyo was taking care of Konatsu. She had doubled his wages to the princely sum of twenty yen, and had provided a nice futon to sleep on in what once was the upstairs storeroom

* * *

Ryoga watched as Shampoo readied herself for bed. Even after all these months, he was still touched by her beauty. Where before, her casual attitude about nudity had caused him to turn away, embarrassed by the perverted thoughts he was having; now, watching her undress and take her hair down gave him a great deal of pleasure.

Unbeknownst to Ryoga, Shampoo had been watching his eyes in the mirror as she brushed her long lavender hair. Hiding a smile at the look in his eyes, she turned to him and said, "Shampoo been patient too too long. It time for Shampoo to make Ryoga hers." She sauntered over, in all her radiant glory and stretched out on the bed, engulfing Ryoga in a full-body hug.

Ryoga gulped in surprise as she pressed her body tightly against him, especially as he began to react to the close proximity as well as the faint scent of her perfume causing him to rise to the occasion.

Shampoo pressed her lips against his, opening her lips slightly in an obvious invitation. Ryoga responded by sliding his tongue slowly through her parted lips. They began to kiss passionately, Shampoo sliding her hands around his back, pressing him against her. Ryoga closed his eyes and surrendered to the inevitable conclusion, wondering why he had resisted for so long.

* * *

Ranma dropped down onto the concrete bank of the canal and joined Cologne under the bridge. "When did you get back?" he asked, "And why did Shampoo tell me to meet you here?"

"I got back late last night," Cologne replied, her eyes cool. She gazed at him impassively for several long moments, causing Ranma to begin to squirm. Finally she broke her silence and asked, "You've been hiding something still, sonny boy. Originally I thought it was just the fact that you were really a boy, but there's something else. How did you know about Shampoo's memory erasing ability? How did you really know that Happosai was aware of the pitfalls of the Hiryű Shōten Ha? What was all that about him not groping you, groping Akane? And what was that about a demon? Who are you really, sonny boy?"

"I don't know what," Ranma began, only to be interrupted by Cologne whacking him on the head with her cane. "Why'd ya do that for, you old ghoul?" Ranma asked angrily, rubbing his head.

"I may be old, but I'm not senile, sonny boy. There's no way that you could have met Happosai before. He was trapped in the cave since your fool of a father managed to trap him in there, and besides he swore he had never seen either you or Akane before," Cologne growled, "Don't insult my intelligence again. You may have been able to fool me for a little while, but my patience is about to run out."

Ranma looked at her defiantly, and then sighed. "We might as well sit down then," he said, suiting his actions to his words. He waited for Cologne to join him and then he said, softly, "I'm not sure whether to be glad or not. It's been hard not to have someone to talk to about this, ya know." He sighed again, and then continued, "You're right. I have been hiding something from all of you. Before I tell you, though, I want you to give me your word that you won't tell any one else what I'm about to say."

Cologne looked at Ranma, and realized he was serious. Finally she nodded and replied, "Of course. You have my word as both a martial artist and an Amazon that what you tell me will be a secret, unless it directly impacts the tribe. If it does, I can't keep it from the rest of the Matriarchs."

Ranma thought about that for a moment and then shrugged. "I guess that'll have to do," he said. He paused, collecting his thoughts, and then said, "Well, I guess the easiest way to tell you is straight out. I came here from several years in the future. Well, I guess, not **the** future anymore, but a future."

Whatever Cologne had expected to hear, that wasn't it. "What?" she exclaimed.

"I was almost out of college, when something, I never did find out what, caused Happosai to get angry with me. I don't know whether it was because I had kept him from groping me once too often, or interrupted one too many pantie raids, or maybe I had let my shadow touch him, but something set him off. You know how petty he can get, but anyway, he summoned something, a demon, I suppose, to get his revenge on me," Ranma said quietly, "It attacked all of us, but was mostly going after me, which was a good thing since it kept everyone else from getting too badly hurt. I was finally able to kill it, but not before it just about split me in two."

Cologne stared at him, badly shaken. She stammered, "Then how, I mean, what happened?"

"Well, I remember as I died, that my one regret was that I had never told Akane how much," he said, then with a sob, "how much I loved her. Then the next thing I saw was a brilliant white light, and hearing a voice say, 'I'm not done with you yet, Ranma Saotome.' I passed out and then woke up, back in my sixteen year old body, on the morning we were to arrive at Jusenkyo, with all of my memories of everything that I had gone through intact, with all of the knowledge of all of the techniques I had ever learned, but not the skill to use them. And with a burning resolve to fix the things that had screwed up my life."

"What all have you changed?" Cologne asked.

"Well, I managed to prevent Ryoga from getting a curse at Jusenkyo, though I wasn't able to keep Pop and me from getting them again. And we took care of Happosai before he could cause any problems. Akane and I actually want to get married. I managed to tell her I love her, and she told me the same," Ranma replied, "I still have an unwanted fiancée, though."

"Then why'd you get your curse?" Cologne asked, "Surely that would have been something you wanted to fix."

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Well, at first I was still pretty much in a daze. I mean, after all, it's a bit of a shock to die and then suddenly wake up in the past. I kinda just followed Pop without realizing where we were going until we got there. And then the idiot wouldn't listen to either me or the guide. He fell in and started chasing me. I got my curse while saving Ryoga from falling into one of the pools."

"You must have met us, you know too many of our secrets. How did that happen?" Cologne asked.

"Well, we did stop at the village, but didn't stay very long. I made the mistake of beating Shampoo while I was a girl, and well, she gave me the kiss of death," Ranma replied, "Then when she failed at that because she found out I was a male, she went home in disgrace."

Cologne narrowed her eyes in thought. "You're not telling me the whole story, are you? I wonder why that might be. Why would you have met me? Unless," she said, then she cackled. "I see, the first time you must have beat her as a man also, so she gave you the kiss of marriage," Cologne surmised.

Ranma nodded his head reluctantly, and said, "The reason I met you in the first place was because you came to help her bring me back. But I never liked her that way, I mean, at first she tried to kill me, and then she had a c-c-cat curse. It would never have worked out."

Cologne cackled and said, "Well you don't need to worry about her anymore. She and Ryoga are definitely married now. Last night they consummated their marriage, enthusiastically, energetically, and repeatedly. As they say, the neighbors may be blind but they are rarely deaf."

Ranma stared at her in disbelief. Shaking his head, he said, "Ryoga, the boy who used to get nosebleeds if he so much as saw a hint of a breast. I never would have believed it. That explains why Shampoo looked so pleased with herself this morning." He laughed delightedly and said, "Way to go, lost boy. I didn't think you had it in you."

Cologne's mouth twitched slightly, and said under her breath, "I think it was the other way around."

He then continued, "And then there's been some new things that happened. Kodachi falling in love with Mousse was a bit unexpected, though I bet Shampoo is glad. And I sure didn't intend for Ryoga to fall for my girl side. I'm just glad that settled out the way it did." He smiled and added, "He'll have to come up with a different emotion for his ki attack when he finally tries to learn one. He sure won't use depression as a base if Shampoo keeps him happy. Speaking of making some one happy, what happened to the old freak?"

"Let's just say that he'll not be spending a lot of time outside of a pigsty," Cologne said, "We decided that would be an appropriate punishment. Though there was some discussion about having him fixed."

"That's good to hear," Ranma said, "I had to get rid of Happosai, after all he's the reason I died before. Unfortunately, that will cause problems in the future. I mean, while he was a menace, fighting him off did make me stronger. I'll need to find a way to replace that training."

"Why? What's coming?" Cologne asked.

"Well, late in my junior year, I had a run in with Saffron. He was trying to take over your part of China, and I got involved in stopping him. I'd like to avoid that this time if I could, but I need to train as if I will have to kill him again," Ranma replied.

Cologne face paled as she asked, "You went up against Saffron, the leader of the Phoenix people? And managed to defeat him?"

"Yeah, I did. It's not something that I'm real happy about," Ranma said, "But I had to do it to save Akane." 'I just wish we managed to get through the wedding,' he thought. He looked at Cologne, and said, "Well, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. Now you know why I don't want anyone else to know my story. Can you imagine Nabiki if she found out?"

Cologne nodded her head, with her mouth set in a grim smile. "I'll keep your secret, though I'll need to let the other elders know about Saffron. Maybe we can stop him before he tries anything," she replied.

"Thank you, Cologne. I'd appreciate that," Ranma said, dryly, "That was an experience I'd just as soon not repeat."

Cologne replied, equally as dry, "I can imagine. Who in their right mind would want to go up against a demi-god? The fact that you managed to defeat him is mind-boggling."

"If it's any consolation, it damn near wiped me out," Ranma replied.

Cologne sighed to herself, and said, "I just got back here, and now I'll have to go back to China. This is too important to rely on the mail service. Do you know how much trouble you're causing me?"

Ranma smirked, and said, "Remember the ancient Chinese curse. May you live in interesting times, remember?"

"Remember the saying? I came up with the damn thing," Cologne said, with a wry grin. She chuckled for a moment and then said, "Also, remember to be careful what you wish for. I believe I told you that I thought you would keep me amused, sonny boy. I guess I just got my wish. I'm heading back to the café, but I'll head back to China tomorrow. I expect that means I'll see you in a week or so."

"Have a good journey, Elder," Ranma said.

"You just take care of my restaurant. I trust you and Shampoo. But Ryoga and Mousse are hopeless," Cologne growled.

"Don't worry, the two of us can handle it," Ranma said.

* * *

Ranma leaned against the wall separating the kitchen from the main room of the restaurant to catch her breath, and to wipe the sweat from her forehead. 'Man, I can't wait for Cologne to get back from China. Who would have thought that helping out would be such hard work? And Mousse is no help, every time I turn around he's off in la-la land thinking about Kodachi,' she thought, 'And don't even mention Ryoga. How on earth did he manage to get lost between the storeroom and the kitchen? So it's just been Shampoo and me doing most of the work. At least the money has been good so far. But between here, schoolwork and training Akane, I'm about to collapse.' Sighing, she checked to make sure her uniform wasn't showing more than it should, and walked back into the front room. 'How I let her talk me into this, I'll never know?' she thought as she adjusted her top to show just the right amount of cleavage.

Nodoka walked into the Nekohaten, a happy smile on her face, followed closely by Konatsu. She saw Ranma enter the room from the door leading to the kitchen and motioned for her to join them.

Nodoka hugged Ranma and then sat down. "I have wonderful news, Ranma," she began, "We have just come from City Hall where we filled out the papers adopting Konatsu. Say hello to your new sister. I have the daughter I always wanted."

Ranma stared at Konatsu in disbelief and then began to giggle. Finally, with a strangled snort, she got herself under control, and asked, "You didn't tell them?"

"Tell me what, dear?" Nodoka asked.

"Mom, I could have sworn we told you. Konatsu no more a girl than I am, er, I mean he was, oh never mind. She's actually a he. He was just raised as a girl by his parents and stepmother, so he acts and thinks like a girl," Ranma stammered out.

Nodoka looked shocked and said, "But she, I mean he, makes such a pretty girl."

Konatsu began to weep, and asked, "Does that mean you don't want me?"

Nodoka instinctively hugged her new son, and cooed, "No, you're family dearie. It was just a shock. I had so wanted a daughter to dress up."

"Well," Konatsu said through his tears, "you do have Ranma still. And I don't mind dressing up."

Ranma spluttered in protest, "Hey, I'm really a guy."

"Yeah, son, you look so manly right now, especially with all that cleavage showing," Nodoka teased.

"Mom!" Ranma exclaimed, as her face turned beet red. She smiled at Konatsu and said, "Congratulations, Konatsu. Welcome to our family."

"Thanks, little sister," Konatsu replied.

"Little sister, huh? I guess that means you're older than I am," Ranma surmised.

Konatsu grinned, the first grin that Ranma had ever seen on his face, and replied, "Yes, I'm nearly eighteen."

Ranma giggled and said, "Well, I've always wanted an older brother. I guess I have one now."

"Come Konatsu, we need to get to work. We need to let Ukyo know that you'll be moving home," Nodoka said.

* * *

Konatsu followed Nodoka into the restaurant, just before the dinner hour rush. Ukyo smiled to see them, relieved that her two workers had shown up. Even though Nodoka had promised to be back in time, after asking for part of the afternoon off, it still had concerned her that they hadn't managed to arrive.

Nodoka hugged Konatsu, surprising Ukyo, and said, "Go get your things packed, dear, so you can move home. I'll start getting the kitchen ready."

"What was that all about?" Ukyo asked.

"Oh, I added Konatsu to the clan roll, she, I mean, he's my new daughter," Nodoka replied.

Ukyo looked downcast for a moment.

"Don't worry, Ukyo-sama, if you want I can stay here some of the time. I've enjoyed our brief conversations at night, so I don't want to lose those, but I do need to get to know my new family better," Konatsu said before he disappeared upstairs.

"That's probably a good idea. I should have thought of that. I don't want you to feel lonely, or deserted, either," Nodoka said.

"Thanks, Auntie," Ukyo said, "I've gotten used to having him around. I'd miss him if he wasn't here." The two women smiled at each other, as Konatsu rejoined them.

"All packed, but if it's all right with you, Auntie, I mean, Mom, I'll spend the night here," the kunoichi said.

Then the wa of the restaurant was disturbed that afternoon, as a tall, well-built attractive student walked into the restaurant.

"My fairest Ukyo," the young man declaimed.

"Hi Souta," Ukyo replied, two red spots appearing in her cheeks, "What brings you here?'

"My two feet, and the burning desire I have for you," Souta replied with a cheeky smile. Then he sobered and replied, "Seriously, Ukyo, I was wondering if you might be free tomorrow evening. I'd like to take you out to a movie."

Ukyo blushed prettily and said, with a sad smile, "I'm sorry, Souta. I'm already spoken for. I have a fiancé."

Souta's face fell in dismay. He replied, "I didn't know that, I thought you were single. How come all of the good ones are taken?" He sighed and said, "Well, I'll see you around, I guess."

Konatsu asked, hoping his jealousy was well-hidden, "I didn't know you were engaged. Who is it?"

"I'm supposed to be married to Ranma-honey," Ukyo replied.

'That's odd. I thought he was engaged to Akane,' Konatsu thought, 'I think I'll pay him a visit soon.'

* * *

Ranma looked up from the floor of the dojo where he had just finished his exercises for the evening. There standing at the doorway was Konatsu. "Hey, big brother," Ranma teased, "What's up?"

"What's going on between you and Ukyo-sama?" Konatsu said icily. Several shurikens were in his hands.

Ranma sighed heavily, and said, "She is a friend to me, nothing more. Pop unfortunately has screwed up our lives. He and Mr. Tendo promised that the two families would be joined by the marriage of their children, a promise that was made before I was born. Then when we were off on a training trip, he promised Ukyo's father that I would wed Ukyo. Well, both of those things can't happen. I love Akane and fully intend to marry her, but Ukyo still considers herself my fiancée. I care for her, but I just think of her as my sister, nothing more."

The shurikens disappeared and Konatsu looked just a bit friendlier. "Then, Ranma-sama, why haven't you told her that?" he asked.

"I have, repeatedly, as have several others. She just doesn't want to listen," Ranma said. Then he asked, "Why do you care?"

"You know how I feel about Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said softly, "Then this afternoon, someone named Souta asked her out."

"Way to go Souta," Ranma said, "Maybe he can get her to forget about me."

"NO! She turned him down, that's how I found about that she believes she is engaged to you," Konatsu said.

"What do you want to have happen?" Ranma asked carefully.

Konatsu replied, "I want Ukyo-sama to be happy. If that means she must marry you, then I will make sure that happens."

"I can't make her happy, since I would be miserable, Konatsu," Ranma replied quietly, "I am very much in love in Akane, and don't feel that way about Ukyo. If she can't marry me, would you consider it?"

"I love her," the kuniochi said simply, "I would do anything for her."

"She deserves to have a man that loves her, Konatsu," Ranma said, hesitantly.

"And I grew up thinking I was a girl," Konatsu said. He sighed, and said, "Can you teach me what it means to be a man?"

"I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask. Why don't I introduce you to Nabiki? I'm sure she can help you," Ranma suggested.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

Daniel Kim: Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you took a chance and read my story. I hope to continue to make it interesting, especially since there are still a lot of tales in the manga and anime to mine for ideas.

Shinigami: Konatsu is in volume 35 of the Japanese Manga. I think the English translatation will only have around 36 since they are grouping the stories a bit different as best as I can tell.

Dimitri Placebo: Welcome aboard. I'm glad you found time to read all four of my stories. FYI, Ramna's Decision was my first one, with Different Path the second, and Second Time Around the third. Nabiki's Plan was my attempt at an angsty take-off of Different Path. Blush, me write an actual book. I'm not sure I have that ability, but thank you kindly again. As to the little crossovers, those are fun to write. Everyone seems to enjoy them.

Xero Reflux: I think Kirin will be showing up sometime. I have a plotline based on that movie. Toma, I haven't decided about. I really didn't like that movie too much, and nothing's jumped out at me about that plot.

Psycho King: Yeah, think of the Three Stooges in drag is what they kind of reminded me off. I enjoyed your explanation of why certain events must take place. LOL. Of course, you only win the prize if you can explain why they were important. VBG. Hint, it has to do with some of the WAFFY moments in canon.

Oceanus: I guess you know the answer now. Of course, what will Cologne do now that she knows some of the truth.

Pivot: Oh well, the translation I had didn't translate Kenzan, but instead made it look like his last name.

Innortal: Akane of course already knows. That's what Ranma whispered to her, when Nabiki showed up with the picture. Now, Nodoka knows, and who knows what's wandering through her mind.

Night-Owl123: Me, either. The reactions will be interesting.

Wonderbee31: Ukyo deserves happiness. The only question is where will she find it. As too Akane treating Ranma with the kindness she showed Ryoga, I think it had a great deal with how they met in canon. I suspect she felt betrayed, or lied to, and then the pressure of being engaged to Ranma made her angry, and it just kept spiraling out of control. Like Kasumi said, she's a nice girl, and if she can keep her anger out of it, I think she would have treated Ranma nicely, also. Since Ranma fixed the things that caused her to get mad at him early, they never started the vicious circle of behavior.

Hououza: Konatsu is in volume 35 of the manga. Of course, I did take liberties with the story line. Wouldn't want it to be a copy of canon, not particularly interesting then.

Dragon Man 180: I definitely think Konatsu will be training Ranma and Akane some of his techniques. After all, it is called the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts for a reason. And of course, now, Ranma will be training Konatsu.


	29. Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo

Chapter 29 Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?

The half-day of class had completed and unfortunately for Ranma and his friends, they had drawn the dreaded clean-up duty for that day. Ranma was busily washing the windows, when Yuka came over with a clean bucket of water. Of course, the laws of the universe being what they are, the poor girl stumbled, sending the cold water flying. And as always, when there is water flying around, most of it landed upon our hero, or well after these events, our heroine. "Why me?" Ranma asked to no one in particular. She walked over to her book bag and pulled out a towel and a dry shirt. Walking over to one corner, she quickly stripped off her soaking wet top, and began to dry her torso. Once that was accomplished, she pulled on her dry top and walked back over to begin cleaning again. As she did so, she noticed that aside from Akane, the other two girls were staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You just took your shirt off and exposed yourself to us," Sakura stammered.

Ranma shrugged and said, wryly, "It's just us girls, right? Why should it matter? It's not as if you haven't seen naked girls in the shower room and the public baths before."

"But you're a boy," Yuka said.

Ranma shrugged again, deliberately bouncing her breasts under her shirt to emphasize the point. "Not after that impromptu bath, I'm not," she said, with a smile.

"I'm so sorry, Ranma," Yuka said, her eyes beginning to tear up.

Ranma walked over to Yuka and hugged her, and then kissed her forehead. "Hey, what's the matter now?" she asked softly.

"I miss my girlfriend," Yuka wailed.

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

Yuka sobbed, "I just miss you, that's all."

Ranma said softly, "I'm still here, Yuka. I'm still the same person."

"It's not the same; you're not her," Yuka wailed, "The girl I could tell my secrets to. The girl whose shoulder I could cry on when Hiroshi did something stupid."

"She's right," Sayuri said softly, "You're different when you are a guy. A little brasher, or something. I've noticed it too, and I miss this you."

Ranma traded glances with Akane as if to ask, "What the hell do I do now?"

Akane smiled at her encouragingly and walked over to join them. "She's here today," Akane said, then an idea came to her. "Say, we haven't had a sleepover since Ranma moved in. Why don't we have one tonight, just the four of us?"

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her fiancée, and then said, "I've never been to one. What's that like?"

"Well, we sit around in our pajamas, and talk girl-talk, watch romantic movies, talk about boys, eat ice cream and generally have fun," Sayuri replied.

Ranma looked a bit uncertain.

Akane turned to her and said, "Come on, I dare you."

Ranma gave an unlady-like snort and said, "That's no fair using my biases against me like that. But sure, why not? I'll even try to forget I'm really a guy for tonight."

The pleasant conversation came to an abrupt halt as three members of the drama club came running in. For some unknown reason, they were dressed in odd costumes. One was pretending to be Godzilla, the second was dressed as the Mummy and the third was costumed as a clown.

The clown said, "Akane Tendo, you have to help us. We've finally decided on our fall play, and you will be perfect for the leading role."

"No," Akane replied.

"But why?" Godzilla asked.

"Because I hate being in plays," Akane replied, "OKAY!"

The three from the drama club fell to the floor and began to bow. "Please, Oh please, Akane! Please," Godzilla begged.

"We're begging you!" the Mummy exclaimed.

The clown exclaimed, "You're our only hope! Simply no one else can play the lead! It's for the Interscholastic Drama Competition. Do it for Furinkan High!"

Akane swept the floor angrily and exclaimed, "Don't you fools ever give up!"

"Come on, Akane! Just try it!" Yuka urged.

"You should be flattered that they asked you," Sayuri added.

Ranma said, "I think you should do it."

"Wait a second, I've got an idea. Why don't you do it, Ranma?" Akane suggested.

"Why don't you want to do it, Akane?" Yuka asked.

The clown said, "It's the lead, it's…"

Akane interrupted and said, "Let me guess, 'Queen of Karate?' 'Samurai Sweetheart?' 'Amazon Avenger?' Forget it!"

"I think you're wrong, Akane," Ranma said.

"But Akane, if you'd only let me explain," the clown said.

"I said **NO** and I mean **NO!" **Akane said as she glared at the clown.

"Do we have a choice?" the clown asked.

Godzilla replied, "I think we don't. If Akane turns us down, we have no option."

The clown proclaimed, "In that case Ranma, as of today, you will be our Juliet!"

Akane's eyes grew wide, as she whispered, "Juliet?" Suddenly, there was a blur of activity, a crash of loud noises and a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the group saw that the desks had been stacked on top of each other to form a tower, and Akane was standing on the highest desk. "Oh Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" she proclaimed. She looked down and exclaimed, "I'll do it! Please let me have the role!"

"Whew," Ranma said to the clown, "I think she's had a change of mind."

The clown cried happily, "Oh Akane! Then you will do it! You will!"

Ranma giggled and asked, "Have you cast the part of Romeo, yet?"

"Not yet," the clown replied, "We'll be having auditions next week."

"Well, put me down for a chance," Ranma said. 'No one is kissing Akane's lips but me,' she thought. She groaned then as Tatewaki Kuno showed up.

"It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!" Kuno proclaimed as he jumped up to join Akane.

"I don't need any coaching from you!" Akane said as she punched him in the eye.

"But I am Romeo to your fair Juliet," Kuno protested.

"And who cast you?" the clown asked.

Kuno tossed him a slip of paper, which read, 'Permission to join Drama Club.'

"I did. I, indeed. And if one such as I am to be in your amusing little troupe, should I not be given the finest role!" Kuno proclaimed, and then striking a pose that Gilderoy Lockheart would have given his left eyetooth to copy, his teeth glinting.

'Oh man, I guess two months of therapy hasn't solved all of his problems,' Ranma groused to herself. She shook her head and asked, "Kuno, Kuno, did she give you permission to talk to her yet?"

Kuno looked abashed and replied, "No, she hasn't as of yet, Ranma-sama. Forgive my presumptuousness."

Ranma bowed her head gracefully, and replied, "I believe these gentlemen were saying that auditions would be next week."

"You expect me, the great Tatewaki Kuno, to appear in a cattle call with the hoi polloi?" Kuno asked in disgust.

"That's the way it goes, Kuno," Akane replied, "I won't let just anyone play opposite me. You'll have to prove that you're good enough."

"How can anyone be better than I?" Kuno replied. The rest of the crowd rolled their eyes.

At that moment the emaciated figure of Hikaru Gosunkugi appeared, waving around one of his voodoo dolls. He hammered the doll into one of the desktops. The nail also pinned a note reading, 'Permission to Join, Drama Club' into the doll.

"Oh Hikaru, don't tell us you want to play Romeo, too?" Yuka asked in surprise.

Gosunkugi blushed as he replied, "If I play Romeo, then I can talk to Akane!"

Souta Higurashi walked in, and said, "It sounds like there will be at least three of us trying out for the part."

"Four, I believe my fiancé Ranma will be trying out," Akane interjected.

"Lucky you, Akane, you're so popular!" Ranma gushed. 'That's odd, Souta didn't try out last time. I guess between Kuno, Happosai and I, we must have scared him off,' she thought.

Akane rolled her eyes at her, and just replied, "A chance to play Juliet at last! I'll give it everything I have!"

"Forgive me, Ranma-sama, but I thought you weren't attending this school anymore?" Kuno asked.

Akane giggled and replied, "She just came to visit her friends. We were just leaving when these three came to tell us about the play."

"It is a pity that your radiance no longer shines in these halls, fairest of all maidens," Kuno proclaimed grandly, his eyes staring at the ceiling in rapture. He looked down in surprise and asked, "Hey, where did everybody go?"

* * *

That night, as the family began to gather around the dinner table, Ranma mentioned that Akane was going to be in the play.

Nabiki finished nibbling on her cookie and asked, "So she's going to be Juliet this time?

"This time?" Yuka asked.

"Well, when her elementary school did the play, she was Romeo," Nabiki replied, thumbing through a photo album, finally finding the picture she was looking for. The photograph showed Akane atop a tree, dressed in Romeo's costume, gazing intently at a young girl dressed as Juliet, standing on her balcony.

"She sure looked the part," Sayuri said.

"Nabiki, Konatsu will be stopping by tomorrow to see you," Ranma said.

"Oh, about what?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, there's something about our little ninja friend that you probably don't know," Ranma began, "Konatsu was added to the Saotome clan roll yesterday."

"I knew that, who do you think helped Auntie with the paperwork," Nabiki retorted, "So congratulations on your new sister."

"That cute waitress down at Ucchan's is your sister?" Sayuri asked, "What does Akane think about that?"

"Yeah, especially after the way she thanked you for asking her to stay in Nerima," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Well, it's about that. She's not really a she. Konatsu was just raised as a girl, but he's really a guy," Ranma said with a smile.

The gathering all stared at him in astonishment. "You're kidding me, right?" Nabiki finally asked.

"Nope. That's what he wants to talk to you about. I suggested you might be able to help him become a real man," Ranma said.

All of the girl's jaws dropped in speechless surprise at his bald statement until Nabiki gathered her wits and shrieked, "Ranma, you jerk," as she slapped him smartly across the face. "I am not that kind of girl," she bellowed.

'What did I say?' Ranma thought as he rubbed his cheek. Suddenly he realized exactly what he had said, and a slow blush crawled up his cheeks. "Sorry, Nabiki, that was **so** not what I meant to say. I was just thinking that you know a lot of people, and I figured you might know someone who could help," he replied defensively. He winced and added, a bit ruefully, "You've got a nice right hand there. Are you sure you haven't been practicing the art?"

"Why can't you help him?" Nabiki asked, only slightly mollified.

Ranma grimaced and replied, "Between work and school, training with Akane, and doing our homework, I'm stretched too damn thin already. I'm beginning to think I'm trying to do too much as it is. I barely see Mom anymore, and I don't want to spend any less time with your sister."

"I didn't realize it was getting that bad," Nabiki said softly, "Sure, I'll help Konatsu for you. Besides, maybe he'll be cute as a guy."

"If he was raised as a girl, then why does he want to change?" Yuka asked.

Ranma grinned and said, "I can't tell you. That's a secret between the two of us, and Nabiki if she helps."

Kasumi stuck her head in the door and asked, "Ranma, could you ask Akane to come down? Dinner is almost ready."

"Sure, big sis. I need to change for this evening anyway," Ranma said. He walked into the kitchen for some cold water, went outside briefly, and then came back in. She handed the glass to Kasumi and winked at her. "It's supposed to be a girl's night in, tonight. I guess I should look the part, right?"

Kasumi giggled for a moment, and said, "This is a very brave thing that you are doing tonight, Ranma. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Me, I ain't scared of nothing," Ranma said with a smile, "Besides, I'm doing this for Yuka; she was missing her girlfriend." With a cheery wave, she headed for the stairs to find Akane.

* * *

Akane stood on the balcony overlooking the backyard, her eyes closed as remembered that day so long ago. "Feh, what agony!" Akane grumbled, remembering how all of her classmates insisted that she would be perfect to play Romeo, "How could they have known that deep in my heart I always wanted to wear a pretty dress and be JULIET!" She clenched her fists, and lifted her eyes the sky and said, her voice filled with emotion, "If only they'd seen! But no, all they could talk about is how good a Romeo I would be, about how strong I was, that I looked like a real man! How could they have known how much that hurt me?" She brought her hands up to her chest, and proclaimed, happily, "Now, at last, I can wear the clothes and play the role of the most beautiful girl in the world!"

"My Juliet!" Ranma called from the doorway, in her pleasant soprano voice.

Akane turned to her, embarrassed and asked, "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to find out how much this really means to you," Ranma replied, "I know you'll do your best and be a great Juliet."

"Thanks, Ranma," Akane said softly, "Hearing you say that means a lot to me." She hugged her girlfriend tightly.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I came up to tell you that Yuka and Sayuri are here and it's dinner time," Ranma said with a sigh.

"Well, let's not keep everyone waiting," Akane said brightly.

* * *

Ranma knocked on the door to her room and called, "Are you three decent?"

Akane opened the door and let her in. The other two girls were sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the two futons that Ranma had dragged into the room, with a couple of teen girl magazines scattered across the floor. Fortunately for Ranma's equilibrium, all three of the girls were dressed in modest cotton pajamas; similar to the ones she was wearing. Akane was even in her favorite yellow pajamas, the ones with the little pigs dancing across the fabric.

Yuka looked up from where she was reading the magazine and said, "Those are cute pajamas, Ranma."

Ranma looked down at herself, at the plain p.j.s with a panda motif scattered across them, and shrugged. "Thanks, but I had to borrow these from Akane. I don't normally sleep in pajamas. Usually just a t-shirt and boxers," she said.

"That explains why they don't quite fit," Sayuri said.

"Yeah, Akane is a bit taller than I am," Ranma replied.

Akane shrugged and added, "Yeah, and your bust is a bit bigger."

"Well, that doesn't mean much," Ranma replied, "I like yours just fine."

Kasumi walked in with four bowls of chocolate ice cream and handed them around, to the obvious enjoyment of Ranma, for her eyes got extremely large.

"Thanks, sis," Akane said, as the four girls began to eat their ice cream.

Ranma stared in fascination as Akane twirled her tongue as she ate her ice cream. A little spot of chocolate was just on the edge of her mouth, and watching it bob up and down while Akane ate was causing her all sorts of feelings. Finally, Ranma could stand it no more, and she leaned over and kissed Akane right on the spot of chocolate.

"What was that about?" Akane asked.

"There was a little spot of ice cream, and I just couldn't resist. You know what chocolate does to me," Ranma replied.

Sayuri giggled and asked, "Tell us, Ranma, what does chocolate do to you?"

Ranma shrugged her shoulders, and said, "I don't wanna tell." She turned bright red.

Akane giggled, and said, "Hey, it's just us girls, dear." Akane pulled her tightly into a hug, and continued, "Go ahead, you can tell them."

Ranma blushed even redder and said, "Well, I think I've told you that ice cream tastes different when I like this. Well, chocolate ice cream is even better. It's like my taste buds are very sensitive to the flavor and well, when I eat chocolate ice cream, I get these little shivers running up and down my spine. Shivers of excitement, I guess."

Akane blushed as well, and added, "Definitely excitement. You barely could keep your hands off of me when you first had chocolate as a girl." She smiled a little wickedly and said, "Not that I was really complaining, mind you. I was enjoying it a bit too much."

"Akane!" Yuka gasped, "You little pervert." She giggled.

"Enough about our love life," Ranma said, "What about yours?"

Yuka looked at archly and replied, "Why, are you looking for pointers?"

Akane giggled and said, "Not really. We want to learn by hands on experience."

"We just mostly kiss," Sayuri admitted, "We trying to take things slowly. After all, I'm still only sixteen, and he's just a half year older."

"Mom and Dad are getting ideas," Yuka groused, "I told them about you two, and now their thinking about an arranged marriage for me. I heard them talking on the phone with Hiroshi's parents the other day to set up a meeting."

Ranma shook her head and said, disgustedly, "Parents."

"Just don't let them push you into something you don't want," Akane said, "Even though we are fulfilling a promise our fathers made, we made them give us the time and space we needed."

"Yeah, but we did have to fool your father for a while to give us that time," Ranma reminded her, "And don't forget, Pop was stuck in jail during that time, so he couldn't force us into anything either."

"Your father was in jail?" Sayuri asked.

"Well, yeah," Ranma smirked, "And he still doesn't know I did it. When he was training in his youth, his master was a real pervert, always chasing after women trying to get their underwear. So he was always getting into trouble. Well, shortly after I found out about the arranged marriage, he made the mistake of stopping in a small town that he had been to in his youth. I decided I wanted to meet the Tendos by myself, so I arranged for the local police chief to find out about Pop, and they arrested him. I came here by myself, and the rest you know."

"I didn't know that, Ranma," Akane said, amidst her giggling, "That's almost worthy of something Nabiki would have done."

"At least you know Hiroshi and like him. Akane and I didn't know each other at all, at least until I showed up. So things aren't quite the same, but you still shouldn't let them railroad you into something that you aren't ready for," Ranma said seriously.

"We're getting too serious here," Akane said, "Let's watch one of the movies."

"Okay, that sounds good," Sayuri said.

"What chick flicks am I gonna be forced to watch now?" Ranma teased, as Akane slipped a video tape into the player attached to the small television that they had bought a few days before.

Akane mock glared at her fiancée for a moment before sitting down and leaning against their bed. Ranma scooted over so that she was leaning back against Akane, so Akane put her arms around the smaller girl and rested her chin on Ranma's head. "I think you'll like these, baka," Akane said, with a smile.

The four girls settled back to watch the movie, which actually turned out to be one of the Love Hina specials.

"Poor Kei," Yuka sighed, as the main male character was being launched into low earth orbit by the girl he loved, "He always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Serves the pervert right," Akane growled, "He always seems to be trying to see the girls in the hot spring."

"I don't know, Akane. I kind of agree with Yuka, I don't think Keitaro is deliberately trying to get into those situations. I just think Naru jumps to conclusions too fast."

"I feel sorry for him, myself," Ranma said with a giggle, "Just look, he's got at least two of the girls chasing him, even if Naru really doesn't want to admit her feelings. And Shinobu has a major crush on him. And you can't tell me that Kitsune isn't after him in her own way."

Akane giggled and said, "No wonder you like this story. It's a lot like your life."

"Yeah, except I don't have a girlfriend that sends me through the roof all the time," Ranma replied, with a smirk. 'Not like last time, anyway,' she thought smugly, 'at least I managed to get that part of my life straightened out.'

The four girls continued watching with Ranma wincing slightly every time Naru or Motoko beat up on Keitaro. "Hey, I'd never do that to you, Ranma," Akane said softly.

Ranma smiled wryly and replied, "I know you wouldn't."

* * *

The afternoon of the tryouts had come. The fact that Ranma and Kuno were two of the boys trying out for the role of Romeo had scared off many of the other guys. The drama teacher had attempted to have the four of them draw straws to see who would go first, but Kuno had insisted on that honor. Ranma and Souta had exchanged amused glances and simply acquiesced.

"Places everybody, we're ready for the balcony scene," the drama teacher who was acting as the director called.

Akane stood nervously on the balcony waiting for her cue, her heart pounding.

"Are you ready now, kids? Okay, go Kuno," the director ordered.

The director watched as Kuno began to speak. "Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth," he began. His acting was flawless, as his voice rose and fell with great passion. 'Ha,' Kuno thought to himself, 'Top that, you fools!' Kuno finally finished, feeling quite satisfied with his performance, only to see everyone staring at him in disbelief.

"Kuno, what were you doing? That was the wrong scene, the wrong play, and it wasn't even by Shakespeare!" the director exclaimed, "Hold it, hold it, hold it. We're doing Romeo and Juliet, yes? Yes, well then, do you have any idea what it's about?"

"What? Don't you think I know a samurai epic when I see one?" Kuno asked, perplexed.

Ranma thought it was very ironic that Kuno had been saying the lines from the play by Cervantes. 'How appropriate that he was quoting from a play about a deluded man tilting at windmills,' Ranma thought with a smile that he didn't bother to hide. He remembered, with a melancholy smile, how he and Kasumi had gone to see that play in a different lifetime, and she had made that comment. 'I sometimes miss that Kasumi,' he thought to himself, 'But she would be so proud of me. She worked so hard to get me to appreciate things outside of martial arts.'

Gosunkugi went next to tryout for the role. At least he was on stage with Akane.

"Okay, Akane, let's try it from your line," the director said.

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Akane asked.

"She spoke to me, she spoke to me," Gosunkugi said, as he danced around the stage.

The director shook his head and said, "Next!"

Souta turned to Ranma and shook his hand. He said, "Break a leg."

Ranma took his place on the stage below Akane, and began his part, holding his script in one hand, and saying, "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady. Oh, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

Akane said, blushing, "Ay me!"

Ranma replied, "She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven. Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air." He gazed lovingly upon Akane's face.

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet," Akane cited with passion in her voice.

Ranma replied, in a low voiced aside, "Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

Akane quoted her next lines, saying, "Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself."

Ranma said, "I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo."

"That's enough," the director said. 'Not bad, it's obvious that the two of them are in love. Souta, it better be close, or the fact that you're president of the club won't be enough,' he thought.

Souta took Ranma's place.

Ranma shook his hand and said, "Break a leg, Souta."

"Thanks, Ranma. But that's going to be a tough act to follow," Souta replied.

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady. Oh, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" Souta said, getting into character.

"Ay me!" Akane replied.

"She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven. Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air," Souta replied.

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet," Akane cited with passion in her voice.

Souta replied, in a low voiced aside, "Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

Akane quoted her next lines, saying, "Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself."

"I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo," Souta said.

"That's enough, thanks you two," the director called. 'Damn, Akane lost a bit of that spark when it was Souta. They both had the lines down pat, but Souta has better accent and cadence which is to be expected as he has so much more acting experience. Ranma put a little more emotion into it, but then he wouldn't have much trouble getting into the part of being in love with Akane. What to do?' he thought. He looked up and said, "I'll have to think about it overnight. Ranma and Souta, you both did a good job. Whichever one of you I pick I'm sure will do an excellent job," he said.

Akane came down from the balcony, her face flushed with excitement. She ran over to Ranma, who hugged her.

"Akane, you did a great job," Ranma said, as he swung her around.

Akane squealed with joy. "This is going to be great!" she exulted, "I hope it's you. We can have so much fun rehearsing our lines together."

"Why do you think I tried out?" Ranma asked, his eyes dancing with mirth, "Pop wouldn't think this was very manly after all, especially when he sees the costume. Mom, on the other hand, thinks I'm very manly for coming up with a way to spend more time with you."

"At least it won't be Gosunkugi, or Kuno," Akane said with a shudder, "Though I feel sorry for poor Hikaru."

"That crush he has on you is beginning to be annoying though," Ranma said, "I expect to see little voodoo dolls of me scattered around with pins driven through them."

* * *

The two of them walked through the gate into the Tendo family compound, only to have Akane come to a screeching halt. "The sign, it's gone!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

"The training hall sign, it's missing!" Akane explained, "We must have lost it to a dojo destroyer."

Ranma looked and she was right, the sign that normally hung right at the gate was missing, the spot where it had once been much lighter against the weathered stone of the rest of the wall.

They rushed into the house to find Kasumi tending to an injured Soun and Genma. Both of them were heavily bandaged and laying flat on their backs, his father in his cursed form. Soun groaned for a moment in pain and then said, "Alas, yes. We accepted his challenge, but he defeated us easily and took our sign."

"Who was it?" Akane growled, "I'll fight and take back."

"Mr. Tendo, **we** will take care of it," Ranma replied.

"N-now, listen, this Saturday, the destroyer will come again," Tendo said.

"If we win, we'll get our sign back!" Akane exclaimed.

"Not if, Akane, when," Ranma replied. He glanced at the time and said, "I need to head on over to the Nekohaten. I'll help you practice the play when I get back." He turned and ran out of the house, heading toward the café.

'Play, what play?' Genma's sign read.

"The school is doing Romeo and Juliet, and I'm playing Juliet. Ranma tried out for Romeo this afternoon," Akane explained.

'NO SON OF MINE' flip 'IS GOING TO BE IN A PLAY!' the sign all but roared.

"Do you even know what it's about?" Akane said.

'Isn't it about' flip ' a boy from the planet Krypton?'

Akane groaned and said, "No, it's a very tragic tale of the love between two teenagers whose families are bitter enemies."

* * *

"Nabiki-sama," Konatsu said quietly from the door of Nabiki's room.

Nabiki looked up from where she was doing her calisthenics, dressed in a too tight t-shirt and some short shorts and smiled. "Come on in, Konatsu," she said, as she shook her head in surprise. 'How can this girl really be a guy,' she thought, as the kunoichi walked in dressed very girlishly, with his long hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Ranma-sama said that you might could help me," Konatsu said in his soft voice.

"First of all, are you really a boy?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, yes I suppose I am," Konatsu replied. He blushed and added, "After Ranma showed me the difference between boys and girls, I realized that I was not equipped to be a girl."

"Ranma actually showed you," Nabiki said in surprise.

"Well, I did ask him how he knew I was a boy," Konatsu said, "After he finished stammering, he went and showed me. That's when I found out that I had been misled most of my life. My stepfamily always treated me as if I were a girl, so I came to believe that I was. After all, where we lived was pretty isolated, and after Father passed away, there weren't any other males around."

"So why change now? It's not going to be easy getting you to change the way you act and think," Nabiki asked.

Konatsu blushed and said softly, "Because it's for Ukyo-sama."

"Huh?" Nabiki said.

Konatsu got even redder, and replied, "I love Ukyo-sama. But she shouldn't have to love someone who thinks he's a woman. She deserves better than that. And since she can't have Ranma-sama, I'm hoping that I can become the person she can love."

"Did Ranma put you up to this?" Nabiki asked.

Konatsu shook his head, and replied, "No, once I found out that I was truly a male, and that my love for Ukyo-sama is not a forbidden love, I wanted to become that person for her. If someone else is to win her heart away from Ranma-sama, I wish it to be me."

"Then, I'll be more than happy to help you," Nabiki said, "I know a counselor who works with gender confused children that I can send you to. Granted, you're a bit different from her normal clients, but I know she can help. The other thing that needs to happen is you need to start wearing more appropriate clothing. What I don't know is whether to start out doing a bit of that before you see Doctor Kaori or not." She thought for a moment, and then said, "What do you think about wearing slacks and a blouse instead of a dress at least for a little while? That's still mostly feminine attire and it would get you used to trousers and a shirt, eventually."

"Nabiki-sensei, I can try that. I don't always wear a dress, or even a kimono now. As a ninja, I wear the appropriate clothing for what I'm doing," Konatsu replied.

"That's a start then, think of this as a mission," Nabiki suggested.

Konatsu's eyes lit up with enthusiasm and he replied, "That I can do. So I guess the next step is shopping." His face fell then as he said, "I don't have a lot of money, though."

"I'll talk to Auntie Nodoka. I imagine that she'll have some suggestions about that. I don't think anyone here has anything you can wear, at least nothing that would fit properly," Nabiki said.

* * *

Ranma walked into the kitchen at the restaurant to begin the evening shift. There he found Shampoo working furiously over some pots on the stove. "Hi, Shampoo, I'm here," he said.

"Nihao, Ranma," Shampoo said happily.

"I understand congratulations are in order, Mrs. Hibiki," Ranma teased.

Shampoo colored slightly and then nodded. "Shampoo very happy now, Ryoga really is airen, my husband," she replied, "But how Ranma know?"

"The old ghoul told me when we had our talk the other day," Ranma replied, "This is the first time I've had a chance to talk to you since then. You haven't made it to class."

"Shampoo been very, very busy," she replied, "Been having, how you say, honeymoon on cheap."

"I think that's more information than I really need, Shampoo. I'm glad you're happy," Ranma said, with a chuckle. Then he asked, "So where is he? Did you tire him out?"

"Ryoga upstairs resting," Shampoo replied, "You can see him when you go change. I left your uniform in the upstairs bath."

"Okay, I do need to change. First gender, and then clothes," Ranma said. He walked over and gave Shampoo a hug, and said, "You're actually glowing, you seem so happy."

Shampoo hugged him back and said, "We'll have formal ceremony when Great-grandmother gets back from China. Why she leave again?"

Ranma stiffened slightly and said, "She said she needed to talk to the other Elders. I'd better get going. It sounds like things are beginning to get busy in the main room, and I don't trust Mousse by himself." He turned and headed up the stairs to change. When he got to the main room, there he found Kodachi wearing the same uniform he was about to get, with her hair pulled into a credible imitation of Shampoo's normal hairdo.

"Hi, Kodachi, so she bullied you into helping as well," Ranma said in greeting.

"Ranma-sama, Mousse asked, and you know I could never refuse him," Kodachi said sweetly. She walked over and hugged Ranma, who looked at her in some surprise. "What, can't I hug my friends?" she asked.

"Won't Mousse get jealous?" Ranma asked, as he finally returned the hug.

"No, he knows how much I love him. I've shown him enough times by now," Kodachi said softly.

"What is there about the water in this place? Is it turning all of you girls into amorous beasts," Ranma asked, "Maybe I shouldn't change."

"We haven't gone that far, Ranma-sama," Kodachi retorted, "We intend to wait for marriage like you and Akane." Then she smiled wickedly and added, "Though there are a few things we can do to relieve the tension. I'm sure you know all about those."

"Ha, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Ranma replied, "We just use our willpower to control ourselves. Though I have to admit it's getting hard."

Kodachi interrupted with a merry laugh and then said, "I'm sure it is."

"That's not what I meant," Ranma said, blushing, "I meant that the line that we don't want to cross is getting narrower."

"I shouldn't tease you like that," Kodachi admitted, "We're in much the same position."

"Should I ask what position that might be?" Ranma asked, with a wicked smile.

"Ooh, you can play," Kodachi said with a smile, "You know that's not what I meant." She bent down and kissed his cheek and said, "Get changed, my friend. We can play later."

Ranma chuckled lightly and thought, 'I like this Kodachi. She sure is a lot different now that she truly has someone to love who loves her back. Maybe that is all she needed before. To feel wanted, and loved.' He made his way to the tapestry that was covering the opening to the stairs and pushed past it. On the way to the bath, he stopped by Ryoga's room and said, "I understand congratulations are in order, Ryoga."

Ryoga looked exhausted, laying there on the bed, and said, tiredly, "Thanks, I think. I do love her, you know, but I think she's trying to make up for lost time. This is the first time we've been apart since, well, you know."

Ranma shook his head in sympathy, and possibly amazement. "I'm impressed, Ryoga. I'm happy for you, believe me. I always thought you could use a bit of happiness," he said.

"Yeah, if she doesn't kill me first," Ryoga grumbled.

"Ryoga, most teenage boys would be drooling at the prospect of being with her," Ranma said with a chuckle.

Ryoga brightened up, and said, "That's true enough. I am pretty lucky to be with her."

"I'd better get changed, and you get some rest. I'd hate to see you fade away into nothing," Ranma said. He chuckled again.

"Ranma, we want both you and Akane at the ceremony. You will come won't you?" Ryoga asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for anything, Ryoga," Ranma replied. He turned and walked into the bath, and began undressing. Once he was nude, he poured some cold water over himself to trigger the change. She quickly changed into her uniform, and then headed downstairs to begin her shift.

* * *

Ranma, Akane, and their friends were gathered under the tree again at lunch time as was their practice. "Akane, are you excited about playing Juliet," Hiroshi asked.

"It's been a dream of mine for many years, Hiroshi," Akane replied.

"It will be so romantic if Ranma gets to play Romeo," Sayuri gushed.

Ranma smiled for a moment, and then said, "I'll always be her Romeo. I don't have to play that role."

"So that's what being in love is all about," Daisuke said, "It makes you say really cheesy lines."

"Just getting into the spirit," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

Tatewaki Kuno walked up, still wearing the standard school uniform, or at least what the standard school uniform would look like if it were tailored to fit and not off the rack. "Ranma-sama," he began, "Would you let your sister know that I wish to speak with her? It is concerning the debt of honor I owe her."

Ranma gazed at him, his eyes narrowed, looking like two chips of blue ice. After a moment, he replied, "I will tell her. If she chooses to meet with you, where and when would you like it to be?"

"If possible, tomorrow, perhaps after school. As to where, if it is not too forward of me, would you think she would accept joining me at the ice cream parlor? I understand that is one of her passions," Kuno suggested.

Ranma smiled briefly, and said, "Ice cream is one of her joys in life, I will admit. You should see her when she is eating chocolate."

Kuno stared in bewilderment as Akane, Yuka and Sayuri began laughing almost hysterically.

Ranma quirked an odd smile, and then continued, "I will let you know tomorrow what her answer is. It may be that she can't meet you immediately after school, since it will take her some time to get here from where she is." 'Yeah, as long as it takes me to get home and change and then come back,' Ranma thought.

"Thank you, Ranma-sama. You are indeed a man of honor," Kuno said stiffly, and then he bowed. "It is hopefully time for me to reclaim my honor," Kuno added. He bowed again, and left.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Ukyo said, while she flipped over one of her creations on her grill. "What was that all about, anyway?" she asked.

"It is something between Ranma and Kuno," Akane replied, "No concern of yours."

Ukyo bristled slightly and asked, "Do you know what it is?"

"Of course, he is my fiancé, after all," Akane replied.

"Now, girls, pull the claws back in," Sayuri said, "It's too nice a day for a cat fight."

"C-c-cat," Ranma stammered, "Where?" He looked around wildly, and nearly crawled into Akane's lap.

"Sorry, Ranma, I forgot about your phobia. Just a figure of speech," Sayuri said quickly.

Ranma settled down and said, "Forget about it. It's not your fault that I am scared of those things. We all know whose fault it is."

"Idiot Panda," Ukyo said.

"Yep, idiot panda," Ranma agreed, "Like most of the things that are screwed up in my life."

* * *

The next afternoon, Ranma and Souta met with the director. He stood there for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "This was a hard decision for me to make. Both of your auditions were very good. Ranma, you spoke with passion. You and Akane made a believable pair of lovers up there on the stage, which stands to reason since the two of you are engaged."

Ranma said, "Thank you, but I think I'm sensing a very big But coming."

"True," the director replied, "If passion was enough, you would have been my choice." He grinned for a second and continued, "But that's not enough. You're not an actor, and it showed. Souta has been acting for several years, and while the sparks weren't flying between Akane and he, his stage presence is just better than yours. Souta the role is yours."

"I understand, sir," Ranma said, softly, "And thank you for your even considering me for the part. I'm afraid Akane will be a bit disappointed, she was looking forward to me playing Romeo opposite her." He shook Souta's hand, and said, "If I can't do it, I don't know anyone else I'd rather see in the role. You, I can trust."

"Thanks, Ranma. That means a lot coming from you. I still want to come by and learn some of your school. Maybe after this play is over," Souta said.

"I'm not sure I'd have the time anyway until then," Ranma agreed. He turned to the director and said, "I'd better go tell Akane about this. When do rehearsals start for real?"

"Tomorrow, after school," the director said. 'I'm glad he's being so mature about this. I halfway expected him to get angry at not getting the part,' he thought as he watched Ranma leave

Ranma walked out of the auditorium and found Akane waiting for him. He smiled at her, and said, "Souta got the part, Acchan."

"Oh that's horrible. I really wanted to act opposite you," Akane said, her face showing her disappointment, "Maybe I should drop out. I don't really want anyone kissing my lips besides you."

"No, I don't want you to do that. Playing Juliet is a long time dream of yours, and I wouldn't want to stand in your way," Ranma said quickly, "Don't back out on them. Besides, I can still help you learn your lines. We can have some fun doing that."

"Are you sure?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "I've never been more sure of anything, well, except for how much I love you. I never want to stand in the way of any of your dreams."

Akane kissed him lightly and said, "That's one of the things I love about you. Let's head on home. I want to start rehearsing."

"Don't forget, I still have to go talk to Kuno," Ranma reminded her, "And I still have no idea what that is all about."

* * *

Author's notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. I'm glad so many people seem to be enjoying this 'little' story. As always, comments and constructive criticisms is encouraged. Specific comments are below:

Green Jean: I don't even know where to start with this comment. First of all, here's your fix. Thank you most kindly for the nice words, and I certainly hope my story is 'the other man'. VBG. Congrats on your upcoming blessed event as well. I'm lucky, since my wife shares my obsession with these kind of stories, plus she is currently my beta reader for them as well. As for updating, I'm trying for roughly one week centers on the updates. It'll take a while for Konatsu to er strut his stuff. I haven't put together a website yet, though I've had several people suggest it.

Shinigami: Well Ranma did plan on fixing his life up somehow. And that means getting Ukyo off his back. I have to admit the idea to adopt Konatsu came from Dragon Man 180 in one of his reviews. Cologne does have the entire Council of Elders to do that kind of thing. She'll have some more 'talks' with Ranma about what he knows as soon as she gets back, not to mention the rules about training probably just went out the window.

CrowKenobi: I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens with the Amazons. Though, since Ranma already is an honorary Amazon, it'll probably help. As far as telling her about Herb, well, Ranma changed the timeline so much, there's a possibility that Herb won't show up, so he's playing that close to his chest unless it happens. Remember, the reason in canon was because Ryoga stole the artifact from Herb, and he was hunting for it. Cologne is worrying about her people right now, but once she gets back, we'll see what she suggests about Akane. I'm still not sure how I want to play that scene, if at all.

Dragon Man 180: That would be telling now wouldn't it? By the way, thanks for the idea about Nodoka adopting Konatsu. I really hadn't thought of that until you suggested it.

Hououza: Yeah, I own up through 29 myself, well, except for the hole between 16 and 21. Viz needs to hurry up and release the next volumes. As to the resolution of the debt of honor, you're probably correct. I think I may have telegraphed my move. Oh well. Ranma still has some things to change, probably, though he certainly has rewritten the future pretty drastically so far, now hasn't he?

Psycho King: Excellent analysis. I think you get a cookie from Kasumi for that one.

Innortal: Didn't exactly forget, just chose to ignore it hoping it doesn't happen, perhaps?

Night-Owl123: Well, at least it will keep her busy for a while.


	30. The Destroyer Strikes

Chapter 30 The Destroyer Strikes

Tatewaki Kuno was waiting nervously at the ice cream parlor for the pig-tailed goddess that he had come to realize was too far above him. 'I can't believe I actually had the audacity to ask her to meet me,' the far from composed young man thought. He took several deep breaths, reciting the mantra that his counselor had taught him, trying to regain his equilibrium. Every time the little bell rang, signaling that the outer door to the restaurant had been opened, he looked up hoping that SHE had arrived. And every time so far, he had been disappointed. 'But her brother is an honorable man and he said that she would come,' he thought, his impassive face hiding his churning thoughts, a fair match to the churning in his stomach at the thought of why he had asked to see her. The tintinnabulation of the bells was nearly driving him mad. He closed his eyes and attempted to ignore the sound of the bells.

"Hello, Kuno," a pleasant soprano voice said, breaking into his concentration.

He looked up and there in front of him was the vision of loveliness that he had been awaiting, a goddess made flesh, the unattainable Holy Grail. He swallowed nervously, his throat unaccountably tight, and his mouth dry. Finally, he croaked out, "Hello, Ranma-sama. Thank you for agreeing to see me. Please, have a seat."

Ranma sat down gracefully, her brilliant blue eyes showing her amusement at the effect she was having upon the deluded young man. She did have to admit that since he had stopped wearing his samurai robes, and started wearing the standard uniform, he looked much less foolish.

"Would you care for anything?" Kuno asked.

Ranma cocked her head to one side and gazed at him, and then said, pleasantly enough, "I suppose some ice cream would be acceptable. Plain vanilla's ok."

"I thought your favorite was chocolate," Kuno said, confused.

"Oh, I like vanilla well enough," Ranma said, with a smile. 'There's no need for him to know what chocolate does to me,' she thought, suppressing the urge to giggle.

"I'll be right back, then," Kuno said as he rose from his chair and walked over to the counter to place his order.

Ranma watched him, a frown marring her face. 'I still don't know what this is all about,' she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted as Kuno came back with two bowls of ice cream, and set one of them down in front of her. She smiled her thanks and took a dainty bite.

Kuno watched, enraptured, as the woman across the table from him began to eat her ice cream. After several minutes however, she quirked an elegant eyebrow at him and said, "If you don't watch out, yours will melt."

Kuno jerked out of his reverie and began to eat his dessert, barely tasting the confection. "I suppose you're wondering why I asked to meet you," he said.

"Yes, I have to admit that I am a bit curious. The last time we talked you said you were going for some counseling," Ranma said.

"That is indeed true, Ranma-sama," Kuno admitted, "And it has indeed done me some good. I have discovered that I have many inner demons that were causing me to act the way I did. To my eternal shame, I must confess that I am the not the person I thought I was. I had erroneously believed that I was an honorable man; one looked up to by the masses, a true Samurai warrior like my forefathers before me. To my chagrin, I have come to discover that for most of the school, I am considered nothing but a buffoon, an idiot for their amusement. And my supposed honor. Ha, as if an honorable man would indeed force a fair flower such as Akane-sama to defend her virtue against a horde of hormone-crazed boys every morning. Or force my attentions upon a defenseless young woman."

"I am far from defenseless as you found out," Ranma said, taken aback by the honest pain she was hearing in her erstwhile opponent's voice, "And I have since learned that you were not exactly yourself when you attacked me in the park."

"The fact that my beloved sister had once again used me as a guinea pig in her twisted experiments does not lessen the shame I feel. It was my emotions that drove my actions, her drugs only allowed them to surface easier," Kuno said tightly, almost biting off each word.

"When you are ready to forgive yourself for your actions, I will give you mine too, Kuno," Ranma said.

"You have a good heart, Ranma-sama," Kuno replied, "But I fear that it will indeed be some time before I can believe that I have fully atoned for my transgressions. I thank you for your kindness, Ranma-sama. It is much more than I have deserved." He hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Perchance is there a possibility that one day we might be considered friends?"

"Honestly, Kuno, I have a hard time believing that to be possible. But never is an extremely long time, so I suppose anything is possible," Ranma replied after a few minutes, ending an awkward silence that had sprang up between them.

"Then let us talk about the reason I asked you here," Kuno said, "What do you know about the young man that is dating my sister?" He chuckled at the look of surprise that flashed across Ranma's face. "Not everything is about you, Ramna-sama," he said with an extremely amused tone in his voice.

Ranma smiled wryly, and replied, "You simply caught me by surprise, Kuno. In the past, our only interaction was either about myself, or about Akane." She collected her thoughts for a moment and then said, "Mousse is a warrior from a proud nation of warriors. He by and large is a good man, an honorable man who will stand with his friends. His only flaw was really his obsession with a young lady of his tribe, who didn't return his affections. This caused him to act irrational in his jealousy of any other man who so much as looked at her. Now that he has moved on from her, and fallen in love with Kodachi, I think he will make you a fine brother-in-law. He has been very good for your sister; she is not the same woman from before. I can't imagine Kodachi the Black Rose working at the Nekohaten, but my friend Kodachi, however is a different story."

"You consider my twisted sister a friend?" Kuno asked in surprise.

"Yes, and that surprised me when I first realized it, myself. As I said, she has changed, and greatly for the better. Having someone who loves her blindly like Mousse does allowed her to return to the girl she was before your mother died, something she told me herself," Ranma replied.

"I see, she has told you some of our family history," Kuno said.

"Just the bare minimum. About the death of your mother and the subsequent abandonment by your father; about how you essentially took care of her after that," Ranma replied, "She cares for you greatly, Kuno, even though she may not show it."

"I know she does, and I also care for her. That is why I wish to ensure that no harm comes to her. Is Mousse of the appropriate station to woo my sister?" Kuno said.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders, and replied, "I'm not sure. His people live simply, honing their abilities as warriors, sharing most things in common, so it is hard to say. However, he comes from a long line of Amazon warriors, whose history spans over three thousand years. And surely you wouldn't deny your sister her happiness over something that neither of them had any control over."

Kuno looked troubled and then replied, "Since I am the eldest, I have to take care of Kodachi, but you have pled Mousse's case very well. I wonder if he is aware of how strong an advocate he has in you." He smiled wryly and added, "Besides, I doubt that Kodachi would listen to me if I were so foolish as to forbid her to see him. She is a strong-willed person."

Ranma glanced up at the clock and saw that it was getting late. "Kuno, I'm afraid that I will have to leave. I have other things that I must take care of," she said.

"I am gratified that you came to meet me. However, there was one last thing that I was curious about. Why do you and your brother have the same name?" Kuno said.

Ranma answered, "Well, we are twins, obviously fraternal twins. When we were born, the firstborn was supposed to be named Ranma, one of our clans somewhat odd traditions. Had something to do with ensuring that the clan continued having good fortune. Somehow in the confusion, the delivery nurse got confused and forgot which one of us was born first, so when the paperwork got filled out, we both ended up being named Ranma, because they were afraid of angering the Kami by naming the wrong one Ranma. And Pop, being Pop, always just called us boy and girl, so the name didn't matter, anyway." 'Can even Kuno believe that load of crap I just dumped,' Ranma thought.

"Ah, I thought it was must have been something like that. Family traditions are extremely important and must not be trifled with," Kuno said.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Kuno, and I hope you continue to improve," Ranma said, "But now I gotta go." She rose from the booth.

Kuno stood and bowed politely, the bow of inferior to superior. "The pleasure of your company is something not to be missed. I only regret that my actions have tainted our relationship. Until we meet again, Ranma-sama."

* * *

The next two days passed in a blur, which Ranma was never quite sure later how he had managed to make it through, without Akane realizing really how upset he was over the whole situation. While school itself was not a problem, since he and Akane spent the school day together, the change in the after school activities had caused him great concern. Where before, the two of them had rushed home to grab a quick snack, and in private, exchange several passionate kisses before separating, Akane practicing in the dojo while Ranma was busy working at the café, now Akane was having to stay late after school to rehearse while Ranma had to head to the restaurant. Finding time to give each other a quick goodbye kiss at school when they parted at the end of the school day was the best that they could accomplish. This disruption in what the two of them had come to consider the natural order of things was beginning to take its toll on both of them, but Ranma was bearing the brunt of it. No matter how hard he tried to put it out of his mind while he was working, the mere thought that someone else was going to kiss Akane was driving him right over the edge, to the point that it was beginning to affect his job performance, or to be precise, her performance. The only bright spot was at night, when they were able to catch up with each other, working on their schoolwork, and helping Akane learn her lines, and then spending the remainder of the evening in each other's arms. That and the fact that his father had taken off somewhere after his disastrous meeting with the dojo destroyer, ostensibly to train, but Ranma privately suspected that the old fool had wandered off to crawl into a bottle and not come out for a while.

By Thursday, however, Ranma was nearly beside himself. He had finally realized exactly what was bothering him. And when he did, he nearly cursed himself for his stupidity. 'I'm jealous, that's exactly what's going on here,' he thought as he made his way home from the restaurant. 'I can't believe I didn't see that before. That Souta, I feel like I should hate him, but he is too damn nice. All those other times before when some guy has been trying to steal Akane's interest, it's been guys like Kuno or Ryoga and I felt justified in pounding them. They were martial artists and acted like real jerks towards me in one way or another. But Souta doesn't have any bad qualities, at least that I've seen. And I'm disappointed; I wanted to star opposite Akane. It would have actually been fun. But I can't let her know that, I mean, she's just got to portray Juliet. I'm not going to destroy her dream, or make a mockery of the play, not like last time. This time she gets to do it right.'

As he entered the courtyard surrounding the Tendo home, an almost hysterical Akane met him almost immediately. "What am I gonna do?" she asked, repeatedly.

Ranma pulled her into a tight embrace and then asked, "Do about what?"

"It's this damn play. The director called for a rehearsal on Saturday, the same day that the dojo destroyer is coming. I need to be here for that, but when I went to the director and told him I wouldn't be at rehearsal on Saturday, he threw a fit," Akane said, almost crying.

"What did he say to you to get you in such a state?" Ranma asked.

"He said if I wasn't at rehearsal, he'd have no choice but to recast my part," Akane wailed, "and then when I got home and told that to Daddy, he began crying about how I was failing the school. What am I gonna do?"

"You're not failing the school, Akane," Ranma replied, as he began to rub small circles on her back, trying to get her to relax, "I can defend the school by myself, though, I have to admit, I do want you here. But not enough for you to lose a chance at your dream."

Akane sniffed, and said, sadly, "Go change, I think I need to spar. I tried breaking blocks like I used to when I was angry, but it wasn't enough."

Ranma pushed her back far enough to look into her eyes and then sighed. "If you think that will help, sure. I'll be right back," he said. Ranma ran into the house and up to their room, where he quickly changed into a gi. Then he ran down to the kitchen and changed genders as well. She stopped long enough to talk to Kasumi who had finished cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and was relaxing for a moment over a cup of tea and a good book. Of course, Kasumi's idea of a good book was browsing through a copy of Gray's Anatomy. Ranma asked, "How long has Akane been home?"

"She's been here an hour or so. Everything blew up at dinner. It must have taken me thirty minutes to clean up all the water from Daddy's tears," Kasumi replied.

"So she's been trying to calm down for at least an hour then," Ranma said.

"That sounds about right, Ranma," Kasumi said, "What are you going to do?"

"Play punching dummy, it sounds like," Ranma replied with a grimace, "That's all I can do, I think. I wish I could do more, but she needs to work this out for herself."

Kasumi sighed, and replied, "I suspect you're probably right about that. The last thing she needs is for someone else to try to tell her what she should do. That would just set her off again." She looked worried for a moment and then added, "I think Daddy called over to your parents after dinner. Don't be surprised if your father doesn't show up to add his words of wisdom."

Ranma smirked, and replied, "He'll only have words of wisdom if he steals them from someone else."

Kasumi surprised herself by giggling almost girlishly. Finally, wiping the tears from her eyes that her laughter had caused, she said, "I needed that, Ranma." She reached over and gave Ranma a massive hug, and lightly kissed the smaller girl's cheek.

"Hey, I saw that, quit hitting on my girlfriend," Akane said from the window, her eyes dancing with mirth, "I never thought that you could be such a flirt, Kasumi."

Ranma and Kasumi exchanged amused looks, and then Ranma said, "If you don't see me in an hour, send in a rescue party." She walked out of the kitchen and joined Akane as the two of them headed into the dojo.

* * *

Ranma entered the dojo, and said, "Akane, before we even start sparring, you need to calm down. I don't want you to get hurt because you don't have your focus."

Akane obediently sat down on the floor of the dojo and closed her eyes, looking for her center. As soon as she tried however, all of the feelings of anger and bitterness, the hurt that her father's words had caused her came rushing back, and she began crying again. "How could he say that to me? Say that I didn't care about the school?" she wailed.

Ranma sighed and sat down next to her and embraced the taller girl, pulling her awkwardly onto her lap. She smiled wryly and said, half in jest, "You know, it works better the other way, when I'm sitting in your lap."

Startled, Akane started giggling, her anger momentarily forgotten. Finally, Akane wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed at her fiancée, who was staring back at her with wide, innocent eyes. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" Akane asked finally, "How do you put up with me?"

Ranma reddened slightly, and replied, "There's nothing to put up with, Akane. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would be a fool to not know that." She sighed for a moment and added, "The last couple of days have been hard on me, Akane. I finally figured out why on the way home. I don't want any one to kiss you but me, and I'm having a hard time not hating Souta for having that chance."

"Do you want me to drop out of the play then?" Akane asked timidly.

Ranma shook her head angrily and replied, "NO! I would never ask you to do that! I know how much playing Juliet means to you! Don't talk crazy."

"But I'm so confused right now," Akane said in a small voice, "I need to be here for the dojo, but I want to be in the play, too. What should I do?"

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck, and replied, "I really don't know what to tell you. I'm worried that if I tell you to stay here, you'll hate me for making you drop out of the play. But on the other hand, if I tell you that I can take care of the dojo destroyer by myself, I'm scared that you might take that as I don't need you, that you might think I'm belittling your ability. And since I wasn't here at dinner, I don't really know what your father said that hurt you so badly, so I can't fix that. All I can do is be here for you, and let you know that I'll support you in whatever you decide."

"I could never hate you, Ranma," Akane said quietly, her eyes shining in gratitude, "Just knowing that you care what I think is helping. I still don't know what I should do, but at least I can think a bit clearer now. My anger is gone, though the hurt feelings are still there. I think I'm ready to spar now; that is if you still are wanting to."

Ranma chuckled and said, "I'm always willing to do that." Whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by Akane crushing her lips against the other girl's mouth, almost bruising them with the intensity of the kiss. After a few moments, they separated and Ranma asked, breathlessly, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what brought that on?"

"What? I need a reason to kiss you now?" Akane teased.

Ranma stammered for a moment and then just finally shook her head violently. "No, you can kiss me anytime you want, especially if they're as good as that last one was," she managed to get out.

"Well, that's good then," Akane said smugly. She stood up and then pulled Ranma to her feet. "Don't go to easy on me tonight, I want a good workout," she ordered.

* * *

An hour later, Akane was drenched in sweat from her workout with Ranma, visibly glowing with happiness, and completely exhausted. While she knew that Ranma was still holding back on her, she could tell from the pleased expression on the other girl's face she had done very well in defending herself against Ranma's attacks.

"You did good, Akane," Ranma said softly, her pleasant soprano voice sending a thrill down Akane's spine, "You managed to block over half of my blows, and got in a couple of good ones on me. My boob is gonna bruise up from that last one."

Akane smiled wearily and said, "Yeah, but you're still so much better than I am. It's almost not fair."

"Acchan, would you really want to pay the price that I did to get this good?" Ranma asked, her eyes intent.

The other girl sighed and said, "No, now that I know what Genma put you through, just so you would be this good, I couldn't do that. But, you're a better teacher than he'd ever be."

Ranma smiled at her warmly and replied, "Well, I certainly hope I can learn from his mistakes." She chuckled for a moment and then said, wistfully, "If only we'd been together sooner. You lost so much when your father stopped teaching you. If he kept it up, you'd be so much better."

"Do you really mean that?" Akane asked, her face glowing.

"Akane, the first time I met you I saw how much potential you had. That's one of the reasons I started training with you, so that potential wouldn't be wasted. It would almost be criminal if I didn't," Ranma said, her tone very serious, "I almost can't forgive Soun for abandoning you like he did." 'And I regret that I didn't take you seriously the first time, damn Pop and his stupid ideas about girls being too weak for martial arts. It took me years to work through that,' she thought, angry with herself, 'That didn't help with our relationship at all.'

"That's water under the bridge, Ranma," Akane said softly, "And I have you now to teach me."

Ranma blushed prettily and said, "That's enough for tonight. Why don't you go get cleaned up, and then head on up to our room?"

"I don't suppose you want to join me?" she asked, "Then we could go rehearse the play."

Ranma stammered, and said, "That's really not a good idea, Akane."

"I'm just teasing," Akane said, pouting. 'Not really,' she thought. She sighed and then said, her eyes downcast, as she pretended to be modest, "Good idea. I really like rehearsing Act I, scene 5," Akane said.

"Yeah, right," Ranma snickered, "You just like the fact that Romeo and Juliet kissed a lot in that scene."

Akane grinned cheekily and then ran into the house.

* * *

Ranma made his way out of the furoba, furiously rubbing his loose hair with a towel, attempting to dry it. As he neared the stairs, he heard the sound of someone shouting upstairs. He ran quickly up the stairs, and stopped at the door to his room as he saw Mr. Tendo berating his beloved, while his father stood there in support.

'I haven't seen that in a while,' Ranma thought as he walked into the middle of the argument, seeing that Soun was using his demon-head.

"YOU MUST BE HERE TO FIGHT THE DOJO DESTROYER!" Soun screamed at his daughter.

Akane's battle aura was showing, her eyes narrowed in anger. Just as she was about to explode, Ranma interrupted.

"Mr. Tendo, you're not helping here. You of all people should know better than this," Ranma said, "Please, just leave it alone."

"Stay out of it, boy," Genma growled, "The two of you must fight together to regain the sign."

"Why, don't you think I can take him by myself, old man?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"He beat the two of us handily," Soun admitted.

Ranma shook his head and retorted, "And I'm better than both of you. For that matter, Akane's no slouch either. But, her dream is to play Juliet, and I'm not gonna let you two ruin that for her. Now, if you don't mind, we have things to do."

"This isn't over yet, Akane. If you don't care enough about the dojo to fight for it, maybe -" Soun said.

"Stop right there, Mr. Tendo," Ranma said coldly, "Don't you dare say anything that you'll regret later." He took several deep breaths to calm himself, and then said, "Now if you two don't mind, you're cutting into the time I get to spend with my fiancée. Don't you have something important to do, like play shogi, or get drunk, or something?" He stood there literally glowing with anger, causing the air around him to almost crackle with the intensity of the emotions rolling through him.

Soun and Genma glanced quickly at each other and then Genma said, "Quite right, boy. We do have much more important things to do than to argue with you two. Come Tendo, I'm even buying." The two of them quickly left.

"My God, it's the coming of the Apocalypse, Pop actually volunteering to buy a round of drinks," Ranma said almost in shock. He turned to his fiancée, who was standing there ashen.

"He, he, he was," Akane tried to say.

"Hush," Ranma said softly as he took her gently in his arms. 'Damn him, he's just undid all of the good that I accomplished in the dojo,' Ranma thought furiously, 'What the hell did he think he was doing? Getting her all riled up again!'

Akane collapsed in his arms, suddenly weeping bitterly.

Not having any better idea, Ranma began to kiss the tears away, the bitter taste of salt describing almost exactly how he was feeling. As he kissed her, he lightly rubbed small circles on her back, trying to relieve some of the tension he could feel in her muscles.

Finally, Akane managed to calm herself down, lulled by both the pleasant caresses on her back, and the more than pleasant little kisses on her cheeks as Ranma dried her tears. "Thanks, Ranma," she said weakly.

Ranma smiled wearily and said, "You still feel awfully tense, Akane. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm better. Daddy just got me wound up, and then your idiot of a father kept chiming in," Akane said.

Ranma chuckled, and said, "Maybe I should have taken you up on your offer and shared the bath with you. That way I could have run interference with those two sooner." He sighed lustily and said, "Oh well, another opportunity lost."

"Do you still want to run through some of the play?" Akane asked.

"Sure, but you might want to get rid of some of those knots in your back. I don't know how you'll ever get to sleep as tight as they seem to be," Ranma said.

Akane suddenly had a speculative look in her eyes and then said, "Okay, turn around for a moment."

Ranma let her go and turned his back. After a few moments, Akane said, "Okay, you can turn around now, and massage my back."

Ranma turned around and saw Akane laying face down on the floor, topless. Gulping, he knelt down and began massaging her back, each long sweeping stroke releasing some of the tension in Akane. After a few minutes, Ranma dug in hard on one stubborn spot, causing Akane to arch her back. Finally, the last of the knots were gone, with Akane lying limp on the floor, completely relaxed.

Ranma stood up and walked over to his dresser where Akane's copy of the script had been left. "If you are ready, we can work on that scene," he said.

"Sure," Akane said, "My shirt's back on."

Ranma walked back over and sat down next to her and handed her the script. She opened it to Act I, scene 5 and laid it down next to her.

Ranma read his lines out loud, saying to Akane, "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss," Akane replied, from memory.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" Ranma recited.

Akane replied, "Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair," Ranma replied, his eyes gazing intently at Akane.

She said, "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged," Ranma said, then he kissed Akane. 'This is why she likes doing this scene,' he thought, then his mood darkened as he realized that Souta must have rehearsed this with her.

Akane replied, "Then have my lips the sin that they have took."

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again," Ranma replied.

Akane reached up and returned the kiss. Akane said, her eyes dancing with delight, "You kiss by the book!" She turned to him and said, "That was fun, what scene do you want." She stopped when she sensed his mood and then asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Bull," Akane replied, "You're upset about something."

Ranma sighed and said, softly, "Just my jealous nature stirring itself up again." He turned to her and held both her hands, and said, "I'm not even sure why. I mean I trust both of you." He grinned cheekily and said, "And after all, I do know where you sleep."

"Well," Akane replied, "At least I can put one of your fears to rest. You're the only man I've ever kissed. I haven't figured out yet how I'm going to work it, but Souta knows that we won't really kiss in any of our scenes. He understood my reasons why when I told him. Besides, I'd much rather be kissing you." She suited her actions to her words, causing little chills to run up and down Ranma's spine.

'Wow!' Ranma thought, with the few remaining brain cells that were functioning. After they broke apart, Ranma asked, "Is there another scene that you want to work on?"

She smiled winsomely at him and said, "No, I think I'm done with that for tonight. We still have homework to do."

"Damn, I hoped you'd forgotten," Ranma said with a wry smile.

"No such luck," Akane said with a smile, "But, for every answer you get right, you'll get a kiss."

"I think I'll like homework tonight," Ranma said with an eager smile.

* * *

Friday, Ranma and his friends again were meeting for lunch, sitting on the grass under the shade of their tree, enjoying the light breeze that was blowing through the courtyard, keeping the temperature comfortably cool. Ukyo was busily making okonomiyakis for everyone who wanted one, though once again; Ranma had forced himself to turn her offer down.

Souta walked over and asked, "Mind if I join you?"

Ranma bristled for a second and then replied, "Sure, the more the merrier, Souta."

Souta smiled his thanks and sat down next to Akane. "I wanted to tell you how much I'm enjoying working with you on the play, Akane. I think you are perfect for Juliet," Souta said.

Akane blushed prettily, and replied, "Thank you for that compliment, Souta. I've always dreamed of playing Juliet, and now I'm getting the chance."

"Are you okay with this, Ranma? I know Akane is your fiancée and everything," Souta asked, missing the tensing of Ukyo's shoulders.

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, which had suddenly stiffened up. He exchanged a glance with Akane and lied through his teeth, saying, "Sure, I'm fine. The only problem I have with it is the rehearsals are cutting into our time together, but she's happy playing the part, so it's worth it. When's the contest, anyway?"

"We've got two more full weeks of rehearsals," Souta replied.

'So I only have to grit my teeth for two more weeks,' Ranma thought. "I'm sure Furinkan is gonna win the contest. With you and Akane in the leads, it's got to be a great performance," Ranma said.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Akane said, as she hugged her fiancé, causing Ukyo to narrow her eyes in jealousy.

Souta asked, "You look very pretty today, Ukyo. Did you do something different with your hair?"

"Uh, well, thank you," Ukyo stammered out, as she blushed, "Uh, Konatsu brushed it out for me this morning."

"Oh, that cute waitress that works in your café, right?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah, Konatsu lives with me," Ukyo replied, "And helps out during the day."

"Is she dating anyone?" Daisuke asked.

Ranma snickered, and replied, "**He's** not going out with anyone, as far as I know."

"He?" Souta asked.

"Yeah, Konatsu is really a boy, he was just raised by his stepfamily as a girl," Akane replied, "He's also been adopted by Ranma's family, so now he's Ranma's big brother."

"You have one gender confused family, don't you, Ranma?" Souta asked.

Ranma shrugged and said, "Well, if Mom can handle me, a guy who actually turns into a girl, but still is a guy inside, then she's certainly capable of handling a boy who just thinks he's a girl."

"Your life is just plain weird," Souta said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Ranma smiled a bit wryly and said, "You don't have to tell me that. It's actually a lot weirder than you know."

* * *

Saturday, the sun came out promising a bright and cheery day. Akane rolled out of bed, her mind in turmoil from all the pressure from her father and Mr. Saotome. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and lightly kissed Ranma, who was still sleeping the sleep of the just, and then made her way over to her dresser to find the clothes she wanted to wear. Grabbing the change of clothing, she ran down to the furoba, and took care of her morning ablutions, and dressed. Tossing her t-shirt and panties into the basket, she went into the kitchen where she found Kasumi preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, sis," Akane said gaily, "Is breakfast nearly done? I need to get to school early for the rehearsal."

"Good morning to you as well, sis," Kasumi returned, "The soup is done if you want some. And the tea of course. Here I'll fix you a bowl." She handed Akane the soup and younger girl leaned against the kitchen counter and spooned up her soup.

Finishing the bowl, Akane set it down in the sink, and said, "See you later, Kasumi." She headed out of the kitchen and started walking toward the front gate to go over to the school for rehearsal, only to run into her father.

"Daughter, how can you abandon us on the day that the dojo destroyer comes!" Soun asked, angry tears running down his face.

"Father, I'll be back before you know it," Akane said.

Ranma said from the stairs, "Oh, don't worry about it Mr. Tendo. Akane, take your time and do what you need to do."

"But, son," Soun began.

"Mr. Tendo, you are her father, but I am the grandmaster of the school. Since this is a concern of the school, you will allow her to go," Ranma ordered.

"Thanks, Ranchan. You know how much this means to me," Akane said, "I'll be back as quick as I can." She rushed over and gave him a quick kiss, and then headed out the door to the school.

"Ranma, are you sure that you'll be alright?" Soun asked anxiously.

Ranma looked at him with a sour expression on his face and replied, "Don't worry about it. Remember, I did defeat Happosai." 'Besides, if this is the same guy, Akane can beat him,' Ranma thought.

Kasumi walked in from the kitchen and said, "Good morning, Ranma, Daddy. By the way, did you see Akane this morning?"

"Yes, I saw her, she just left," Ranma replied.

"Did you see how she was dressed?" Kasumi asked, "That was very unlike her."

Ranma smirked at Kasumi as if he knew something that she didn't and replied, "I thought it was appropriate for what she needs to do."

* * *

Akane was almost to school when she saw a large man, almost two and a half meters tall, built like a sumo wrestler. He had several signs slung over his back, one of which Akane recognized as the sign to the family dojo. ''The Tendo dojo sign,' she thought, 'which means that guy must be the dojo destroyer.' "He looks strong," Akane said to herself, "Oh Ranma, I hope you know what you are doing." She headed into the school grounds and made her way to the auditorium, looking for the director.

* * *

Ranma was sitting in the dojo, his eyes closed while he meditated. A sound of someone weeping silently roused him from his trance. "Mr. Tendo, would you mind crying somewhere else? I'm trying to meditate over here and you are disturbing me," Ranma growled, "Pop, stop your pacing. It's just as annoying."

"Why'd you let Akane leave? This is just as much her fight as it is yours," Genma growled.

Ranma replied calmly, "I did what I thought was the right thing. If she had failed to show up at the rehearsal, the director would have cut her from the play, and I won't allow that to happen to her. Everything will work out. I never lose, remember?"

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?" Soun exclaimed, forming his demon head and shoving it in Ranma's face.

Ranma said, serenely, "Because I won't lose to the dojo destroyer like you did. Now calm down, Mr. Tendo, Pop, everything is under control."

The bell at the challenge gate began to ring. "That must be the dojo destroyer," Ranma said, "One of you go bring him here."

Soun and Genma exchanged looks. "You do it," Genma said.

"No you do it," Soun retorted.

After several minutes of them bantering back and forth over who would go get the challenger, the door to the dojo slid open and Kasumi escorted a large, balding man into the dojo. "Daddy, this man says he is here to complete the challenge for the dojo," Kasumi said.

"Where is your champion?" the man, who was festooned with dojo signs, said.

Ranma smiled thinly, recognizing this man from the other lifetime, so many years ago in Ranma's personal history. He said, "I am the champion that you are searching for, however, I must insist that you remove the Tendo dojo sign. You know the rules for a challenge. Before you take the sign, you must defeat the master of the school, and you have not done that."

"I defeated these two easily enough," the man protested, "The only reason I returned is because they said that the two best students would defend the school. Where is the other?"

"These two are not the masters of this school. Again, you know the rules. To meet the master in battle, you must first defeat the best students. That you have not done. Before you can face the grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, you must face my top student," Ranma said softly, "Now remove the Tendo dojo sign that you have no right to have."

The dojo destroyer said, "If you insist." He dropped the Tendo sign to the ground. "Now where is this top student? Is it you?" he asked petulantly.

"No, that would be me," a voice answered from behind them. The group turned and looked. There, Akane stood in the doorway, but a slightly different Akane. She was dressed in one of Ranma's Chinese silk shirts, and slacks, with a confident smirk not unlike the one that often adorned her fiancé's face.

"Finished at school already?" Soun asked.

"Yes, I met the director and simply explained the situation. He graciously agreed to rehearse around my part for the morning," Akane replied, then she added with a sardonic smile, "Remind me to thank Nabiki later. Those photographs of him were of great help." She walked in to greet Ranma, wrapping her arms around him.

"She's your top student! This little girl!" the destroyer exclaimed.

"Remember, Akane, I have faith in you. Remember your training, and don't lose your focus," Ranma said quietly, "And watch out for those signs; I bet he uses them for weapons." He turned to the destroyer and said, simply, "Yes, she is the top student in this school. If you can get past her, then you win the right to face me. I am Ranma Saotome, Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School. And I never lose." His trademark, arrogant smirk was plastered on his face, his demeanor showing his cockiness.

"I don't fight little girls," the dojo destroyer sneered.

Ranma shrugged and said, "Then you have already lost. Your choice. You fight her now, or leave, knowing that you are second best to her."

"Remember, Ranchan, I don't want you to help me, I can beat him on my own," Akane said.

"I know you can, Acchan" Ranma replied.

Akane stood in a relaxed position, one that everyone but the dojo destroyer recognized as one she had copied from Ranma.

The dojo destroyer gazed down at her from his great height, and grinned. He held a group of signs in one hand, with a chain of them draped over his neck.

"Come on you!" Akane exclaimed, motioning with one hand.

"Daddy, are you sure about this? Akane may need some help," Kasumi asked quietly.

"Ranma thinks she can take him. Besides, once your sister has made up her mind, there's no talking her out of it," Soun replied, his eyes staring intently at the two combatants.

With a loud cry of "Hai Yah!" Akane charged the motionless figure.

To the astonishment of the onlookers, the dojo destroyer quickly fanned out the signs in his hand, forming them into a whip. He cracked the whip at Akane, who was ready for it and dodged out of the way.

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"He's using all those signs like a whip!" Soun exclaimed.

Akane growled, "Thanks for the firm grasp of the obvious!" Then she snarled, "He won't scare me with a few stupid signs!' as she came back on the attack.

The dojo destroyer whipped the signs past her, one set in each hand, and as she came near, slammed them together, catching her between them.

"Akane!" Kasumi shrieked.

Akane concentrated hard and with a loud cry of "Genko Fenikusu," a small ball of ki shot out of her clenched fist, hitting the dojo destroyer squarely between his eyes

With a roar of pain, he dropped the signs and staggered back. Then, snatching several mores signs from around his neck, he began throwing them at Akane.

The young girl dodged them all, and the signs stuck in the wall of the dojo behind her. Using one of them as a springboard, Akane leapt at the destroyer, who quickly brought several signs around to use as a shield. Akane struck the signs with the blade of one hand, breaking them in two. She cried, "Aha, an opening!" She cried, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!" focusing all of her considerable strength and began pummeling the dojo destroyer, her fists flying in a blur of motion, striking him in all of his critical spots.

With one last punch, Akane settled back to the ground, breathing hard, watching her opponent. He stood there swaying, and finally with a loud crash, fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

"Do you concede?" Genma asked from the sideline.

The destroyer nodded his head, wincing in pain.

"Then go, and plague us no more!" Genma exclaimed. He turned to Akane and said, "I never had a doubt that you could beat him."

The dojo destroyer pulled himself to his feet and said, "Liar."

"It's none of your business!" Akane exclaimed as she sent him out through the roof of the dojo with one blow of her mallet. She turned on Genma and said, "He's right, though, you are a liar."

"Go get cleaned up, Acchan. You still have time to get to rehearsal," Kasumi said.

"Before she goes, she deserves a prize for winning," Ranma said with a smirk. He ran over and picked her up, twirling her in his arms. "Never a doubt in my mind, Acchan," he whispered, just before she kissed him.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, blushing.

* * *

Ranma sat down at the dinner table and said, "Thanks for inviting Akane and me for dinner tonight, Mom. What with us both working at the restaurants, and Akane rehearsing for the play, we haven't had much of a chance to get together."

"You're very welcome, dear," Nodoka replied, "As are you, of course, Akane. We wanted to congratulate you on your victory against the dojo destroyer. From what my husband said, you did extremely well."

"Thank you Auntie," Akane replied, "It was a bit of a disappointment actually. I thought he would be tougher. I still had plenty of time to get back to the rehearsal, and they had barely done anything while I was gone."

"How's the play going?" Nodoka asked, "I have to admit, I was disappointed to hear that Ranma didn't get the part of Romeo. That would have been so interesting to see the two of you together on stage."

"No son of mine should even consider acting. That is so unmanly," Genma growled.

"Shut it, Pop," Ranma growled, "You don't know what you're talking about, anyway."

"The play is going great, Auntie Nodoka," Akane replied, "Souta and I are working together well, and it's a lot of fun. Ranma's a bit jealous of him, I think."

"Am not!" Ranma protested.

Akane replied, "Are to! You told me so yourself."

"Naw, I just don't want you to kiss him is all, plus it's cutting into our time together," Ranma said, huffily.

"Well, it's nearly over. It's only eleven days til the contest, and then you'll have me all to yourself again," Akane said with a smile. Then she added, "I finally found out what the contest prize is today. The winners get to see China."

"China?" Genma asked. Then he glared at his son, and said, "Ungrateful boy, how could you have not gotten the part."

Ranma smiled to himself, and then asked, "What do you mean, old man? I didn't know that the prize was a trip to China. I was only trying out because I wanted to be in the play with Akane. She was so excited about it; I thought it might be fun."

"Really, Genma!" Nodoka exclaimed, "What are you carrying on like that for?"

"If we can get to China, maybe we can find a cure for these curses," Genma explained.

Ranma splashed Genma with cold water and then growled, "Did ya forget what the Guide and Cologne said? They don't know where Nannichuan is anymore, so there's no cure."

'What did you do that for?' the sign that the panda held up read.

"Because you're quieter when you're a panda," Ranma replied, "And I was tired of hearing you talk."

"Now, Ranma, that wasn't very nice," Nodoka chastised.

Ranma looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and replied, "True, it wasn't Mom. Funny, though."

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks for all of the reviews. I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged as they help me to make this story better. Specific comments are below:

Firestorm2004: As far as Ranma being Romeo, well, we can't always get everything we want. For some reason, this is the way the story insisted on writing itself. I'm glad you like that way it's going. Since the only pairing that Rumiko Takahashi actually said was supposed to happen was Ranma/Akane, I thought I'd mix and match a bit differently. I like alternate pairings outside of the R/A as you can probably tell if you've read the other stories. About the only other one that I will almost always use is Tofu/Kasumi. Kuno's reaction when he finds out the truth, well, that will be interesting.

Maximara: The bracelet is the one with the love pills. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for now, since I've sort of changed my mind about a particular scene. But I'm sure I'll come up with something. I'm not sure about Ukyo's father. I think I remember that he's supposed to be alive, since I think I remember one story with him in it, but I could be wrong. Shampoo's mother never got talked about IIRC, so I went ahead and said she was killed by Happosai in this one.

Shinji the good sharer: I think Kuno has a sense of honor, it's just massively warped so that he never does anything dishonorable.

ZRO4825: Yep, that would be spoiling all the fun. Ranma ought to feel a bit jealous, after all, he did in canon, and I hadn't given him a reason to yet in this story.

Xero Reflux: I'm planning on something like that with Herb. After all, Ranma does need a pretty powerful sparring partner before he faces off with Saffron, assuming of course that he does.

Crowkenobi: I hadn't gone back and reread those chapters about Herb, so I'd forgotten exactly why he had shown up. I had it stuck in my mind that the reason he came was he was tracking down Ryoga, so that's why Ranma wasn't sure he would be coming. He is of course, eventually.

Hououza: Yeah, it's really a shame. VBG

Psycho King: Yeah, Kuno is a delusional fool, the counseling he's getting may take care of that. As if. I liked the plot twist with Romeo and Juliet, myself. Though, to be honest, my wife suggested it.

Jerry Unipeg: Of course, he's just helping her learn her lines. Just because the door is shut and the lights are out, doesn't change that. VEG

Shinigami: As to what happens with the play, that would be telling. You'll just have to wait for the next chapter. The rules I was referring to were how much training that the Amazons would allow Cologne to give Ranma, IE what other secrets? Now that they know about Saffron, it seems to me that they would want to train Ranma up to be able to defeat him for them. There is a website that has all of the books scanned and translated. I believe. It's a lemon site, as the name would suggest, but they did do all of the manga. I wish Viz would hurry up and get the rest out.

Wonderbee31: We'll just have to see about the play. I hope the conversation with Kuno didn't disappoint.

Innortal: Thanks, I can't wait to see what happens next either. VBG.

SilverBullet23: For some reason, that's the biggest comment I've gotten about that chapter. Plot twist, who me? The play's next chapter, promise. The dojo destroyer snuck in, and made this one too long.

Dennisud2015: Thank you. I have several more ideas floating around in my head, that may eventually see the light of day. I've watched a few of the Tenchi animes, but for some reason the voice actor for Tenchi makes me grind my teeth. Maybe if I just read the manga.


	31. Romeo, Romeo, Romeo

Chapter 31 Romeo, Romeo, Romeo

At school on Monday, during lunch, Ranma was sitting quietly, simply gazing at his fiancée as she chatted with Yuka, Sayuri, Shampoo and Ukyo, letting the sound of their voices wash over him as he leaned against the tree trunk. Hiroshi and Daisuke had wandered off somewhere to talk to some of the other guys, since they had wanted to talk about the local baseball team, and Ranma could care less about that. He came out of his study of Akane's face, when he heard her gasp.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

Ranma looked up to see a bruised and battered Souta standing there, his left arm in a cast.

"I was coming to school this morning, and got mugged," Souta replied. He chuckled a bit and then winced at the pain. "I really shouldn't laugh, it hurts too much. Anyway, as I was saying, I got attacked by a panda that came out of nowhere," he explained.

"A panda!" Akane exclaimed, then she turned to Ranma, her eyes blazing.

Ranma frowned angrily and said, sotto voce, "Stupid Pop, why'd you have to go and do that for?" He said, softly, "Don't look at me like that. I had nothing to do with it. Idiot Pop, that baka." He looked sorrowfully at Souta and asked, "How bad is it?"

"Well, I won't be much good on the stage for a while, this cast won't come off until well after the contest. That and my ribs are pretty bruised," Souta replied.

"Are you sure it deliberately attacked you?" Akane asked.

Souta replied, "Pretty sure. It was running down the street, and then crossed the street so it could run right into me. That's when I got hurt; the collision knocked me into a concrete wall."

"I really sorry about this, Souta. You too, Akane. I know how much this play means to you," Ranma said.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't do this. But I came by to ask you about taking over my role," Souta said, "You've been helping Akane learn her lines, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah, I have. I guess I've memorized most of the Romeo and Juliet scenes," Ranma admitted.

"Okay, that's better than I was expecting. All you have to do is memorize the rest of your lines and learn the blocking," Souta said.

"Blocking? What's that?" Ranma asked.

Akane said, "That's what we call the movements you make on stage. Where you walk, how you move your arms, that kind of thing."

"Well, then, we've got ten days now to teach you all of that," Souta said, "You'll have to stay after school to rehearse."

"Is that okay with you, Shampoo? It'll mean I can't work at the café, at least not until after the contest is over," Ranma asked.

"Is okay, Ranma," Shampoo replied, "Shampoo can handle it."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I guess we have a new Romeo. I'll be there."

"Great! I'll tell the director so he won't come completely unglued when he sees me. He's really beginning to stress out over this play already.I haven't had a chance to tell him what happened. As soon as I got fixed up, I came to find you two. I'll have my copy of the script with me this afternoon; it's got all my blocking written down in it, and I can help walk you through it," Souta said, his expression lighter, "I'd better go find the director and let him know about the switch."

"Later, man," Ranma replied, as Souta walked off, headed for the drama class. 'I've wanted to be Romeo for Akane ever since I realized how much playing Juliet meant to her last time and how I messed it up. Yea, I wanted to play Romeo, but not this way,' Ranma thought helplessly.

Ranma turned to his fiancée and asked, "You know I had nothing to do with it, right?"

"Well, you were very jealous of all of the time I was spending with him," Akane replied reluctantly.

"Yeah, but you showed me that I had nothing to be jealous about," Ranma said, then he added with a roguish grin, "Though I may want some more convincing tonight."

Akane blushed furiously, as Yuka asked, "Exactly how did she convince you not to be jealous, huh? Come on spill it, Akane?"

"I believe you, Ranchan," Akane said, once she regained her composure, ignoring Yuka.

Ranma grinned and then asked, "So how do you like your panda? Stewed, barbecued, or baked?"

"Ranma, why do you think he did it?" Akane asked.

"What are you two talking about?" Yuka asked, confused.

Ukyo growled, "That's low, even for your father, Ranchan. Why would he have hurt Souta like that?"

"Yuka, Pop picked up a curse in China. He turns into a panda," Ranma explained. He snapped his fingers and said, "That's it. Rememberthe othernight, when he found out about China."

Akane gasped and said, "You're right, Ranma. He was so angry that you weren't in the play."

"Shampoo let Akane borrow bonborri. They do more damage," Shampoo said.

"Yeah, and you can have my battle spatula," Ukyo chimed in.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me, but I'll just stick with my trusty mallet," Akane said with a grin, "Panda no baka will get what he deserves, right, Ranma?"

Ranma cracked his knuckles noisily and answered, "Everything he's got coming to him." 'Isn't he gonna be surprised when he finds out about China,' Ranma thought.

* * *

Nodoka hurried to the door, after hearing the rapid pounding of someone's fist on the panel. She opened the door to find her obviously furious son. "Hello, son, what's the matter?" she asked.

"Where is he?" Ranma all but spat out.

"That's a wonderful greeting for your mother," Nodoka said mildly. She watched as her son almost literally grabbed his anger with both hands and regained his composure.

With a sheepish grin, he said, "Sorry, Mom. How have you been? You're looking nice today."

"Don't go overboard, son," Nodoka said with a chuckle, "So what has the old fool done this time?"

"He attacked Souta and broke his arm," Ranma growled, his anger becoming visible again.

Nodoka paled and said, "He's in the back yard. I actually have him weeding in the garden."

Ranma stopped his mad rush to the back and looked at her in amazement. "How on earth did you manage to get him to do that?" he asked.

"Simple. I told him if he wanted to eat, he'd better do some work around the house. I'm not going to have some lazy layabout freeloading here," Nodoka said with a wink.

'Why didn't Kasumi ever try that?' Ranma wondered. Then he smiled, icily, and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have a recipe that requires panda meat, would you?"

"Son, I'm shocked at you. Pandas are a protected species, you know that," Nodoka replied, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"Yeah, well I can dream, can't I?" Ranma grumbled as he walked into the backyard to see his overweight father crouching in the flower bed, pulling up weeds from among the rose bushes.

"Hello, Pop," Ranma growled, "You have some explaining to do."

"About what son?" Genma asked, nervously.

Ranma growled, "I had an interesting talk with my friend Souta at lunch. It seems that he was attacked by a panda this morning on his way to work, and got a broken arm and some nasty bruises out of it. Would you like to tell me why you attacked him?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, boy," Genma replied, "It must have been some one else."

"Why don't you pull the other leg while you're at it, Pop," Ranma said, his battle aura beginning to show, "I'm not stupid. Just how many pandas are wandering around the streets of Nerima?"

"Okay, I confess, I did attack him. I knew how much you wanted to be in that play, so I thought if he couldn't be in it, that you would get the part," Genma replied.

"Yeah, right. Like you thought about me or Akane at all. Just the other night you were whining about how unmanly it would be for me to be in the play," Ranma said heatedly. He began to crack his knuckles menacingly.

"Well, maybe I changed my mind. You ungrateful boy, I did it all for you," Genma said, his eyes shifting nervously through his glasses.

Ranma snorted and said, "Well, I know what Mom is going to use as fertilizer now. That was a load of crap if ever I heard one. Now, here's what you are going to do. First, you are going to apologize to Souta for hurting him, and then you personally are going to pay for his medical bills."

"What if I refuse?" Genma asked.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Ranma said, a feral grin gracing his face, "Then I get to take it out of your sorry hide, and you'll still have to pay." He began advancing on his father, his fists clenched.

"Let's not be hasty, boy," Genma began, backing away as fast as he could from his crouching position.

"What were you thinking? We are martial artists, we are supposed to help the weak, not attack them," Ranma growled, "You disgust me, you – ARG!"

His father backed into the koi pond that decorated the back yard, transforming him into his furry state. 'Don't hurt me' his father scribbled on a sign, 'I'm just a cute panda!'

"CUTE!" Ranma said as he grabbed the panda out of the pond; the water sloshing Ranma, transforming his as well. "You aren't cute!" she almost screamed, "You are a disgrace to the school!" Her fiery red hair spread out from her head, her anger almost a physical force.

Genma cowered in fear, stunned into immobility by the terror he felt.

"Son, why are you so angry?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma glared at the panda for another moment and then said, her anger making her normally pleasant soprano voice almost shrill, "Akane thought I had something to do with it. We almost had a fight because of this moron; if I hadn't been able to convince her that I had nothing to do with it, I don't want to think what might have happened. And if I didn't know most of the part already, he would have ruined Akane's chance to play Juliet."

* * *

The next day, Ranma was waiting for Souta to show up at school. Shortly before the first bell rang, Souta walked into the schoolyard and up the stairs to the building.

"Morning, Souta," Ranma said, as the older boy walked in.

"Morning, Ranma," Souta replied, "How's it going?"

Ranma grimaced and said, "Well, I've been better. We need to talk about what happened to you yesterday. It looks like you got mixed up in a stunt pulled by my idiot Pop. It's a long story, but the short version is that the panda that mugged you is my Pop. And the reason he did was so that you'd have to drop out of the play and I could take the part. I was pretty sure it was him from what you said. I mean, there aren't too many pandas running around loose, but I scared the truth out of him yesterday after rehearsal. He's supposed to come by and apologize, and make arrangements to pay your bill."

Souta was looking more and more bewildered as Ranma spoke. "Your dad turns into a panda! That's crazy!" he finally exclaimed.

"Crazier than me turning into a girl?" Ranma asked, with a wry smile.

Souta chuckled and replied, "Well, you do have a point."

"Sorry you got mixed up in all of this," Ranma said, "But it seems like every time I turn around Pop is doing something that messes up the people I know."

"Thanks for telling me, but why did he want you in the play so badly?" Souta asked.

"Akane told him that the prize for winning the contest was to see China," Ranma replied, "And the idiot decided that if I won, he'd get to go and maybe find a cure. He didn't listen when both the guide at the springs and the Amazons that live around there told us that there wasn't one. Or more accurately that they didn't know where the spring was. So once again, he does something, thinking only about himself, and not what it might do to other people. Story of my life."

At that moment, the second bell rang. Souta jerked slightly and said, "We'd better get to class. See you later."

"Yeah, see you at lunch," Ranma said. He then added in a teasing tone, "You can flirt with Ukyo some more, I think she's starting to like it a bit." He was rewarded by Souta blushing as he walked over to the stairs to take him to the second floor where his classroom was. Ranma quickly ran up the other stairway to the third floor.

* * *

Finally, the sixteenth of October arrived, the day of the contest came. Schools from far and near had sent their best students to come and perform in front of the judges, and the partisan crowd sitting politely in the auditorium at Furinkan High School. The Tendos and Saotomes were there as well as many of Ranma and Akane's friends. Ranma headed backstage with Akane after separating from their crowd of well-wishers. As they got near the dressing rooms, Ranma was accosted by a very plain girl. "Oh Ranma, I'm so glad you'll play Romeo after all," she said.

Ranma turned and asked, "Huh?" recognizing a badly disguised Hiraku Gosunguki.

"I'm your number one fan," Hikaru gushed.

Akane rolled her eyes at him as he continued, "I, um, I even made a costume for you. All by myself." Gosunkugi handed Ranma a package that had a strange hissing sound coming from it.

'Please, I didn't fall for this the first time,' Ranma thought, 'Why would I fall for it this time?'

Hikaru ran off, saying over his shoulder, "Oh, I know you'll be the greatest Romeo ever!" He ran off giggling like a fan girl. After he turned the corner, he stopped and leaned against the wall, laughing. "What a brilliant performance," he crowed, "Little does he dream that buried in that costume is a powerful explosive. With both Higurashi and Saotome out of the way, I'll be the."

He was interrupted by Ranma handing him the costume back. Ranma said, "I'm truly sorry, but I can't accept this, I already have a fiancée, you know." Ranma ran off, as Gosunkugi stared at the package in dismay.

"Wait! But!" Hikaru said, just as the package exploded.

"Idiot!" Ranma said as he rejoined Akane. He smiled at her and held out his arm. "You ready for this?" he asked.

Akane smiled happily and said, "I was born ready! Let's get changed and get started.

* * *

The moment they had all been waiting for had arrived as the director announced that Furinkan was about to present Romeo and Juliet, starring Akane and Ranma. The curtain rose and the play began.

Ukyo sat there watching her two friends perform, her heart sinking as she watched them interact. The first scene with them together, kissing in the hall of the Capulet mansion, started the freefall of her emotions. But then the balcony scene…

Ranma walked into the garden, and half-turned to the audience and said, "He jests at scars that never felt a wound."

Then Akane appeared on the balcony outside her bedroom.

Ranma looked up and saw Akane and continued, "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

Akane looked up at the ceiling of the auditorium and exclaimed, "Ay me!"

Ranma said, "She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air."

Akane spoke her next lines, voice brimming with passion, "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

Ranma said softly in an aside, "Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

Akane continued, "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself."

Ranma spoke, "I take thee at thy word: call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo!"

Akane asked, "What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night so stumblest on my counsel?"

Ranma replied, "By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: my name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee; had I it written, I would tear the word."

Akane asked, hopefully, her hands clasped to her breast, "My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound: art thou not Romeo and a Montague?"

Ranma replied, "Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike."

Akane asked, "How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here."

Ranma said, "With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls; for stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do that dares love attempt; therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me."

Akane exclaimed, "If they do see thee, they will murder thee!"

Ranma replied, "Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity."

Akane said, "I would not for the world they saw thee here."

Ranma replied, "I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight; and but thou love me, let them find me here: My life were better ended by their hate, than death prorogued, wanting of thy love."

Akane asked, "By whose direction found'st thou out this place?"

Ranma replied, his voice soaring, "By love, who first did prompt me to inquire; he lent me counsel and I lent him eyes. I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far as that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise."

Akane said softly, "Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek for that which thou hast heard me speak to-night fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny what I have spoke: but farewell compliment! Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,' and I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st, thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully: or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, so thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, and therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light: but trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true than those that have more cunning to be strange. I should have been more strange, I must confess, but that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware, my true love's passion: therefore pardon me, and not impute this yielding to light love, which the dark night hath so discovered."

Ranma replied, fervently, "Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops—"

Ukyo began to cry, silent tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened to the two of them proclaim their love before the crowd. Somehow, she knew that the emotions that she was hearing were real, the love and passion in their voices true.

Akane interrupted and said, "O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable."

Then Ranma asked, "What shall I swear by?"

Akane replied, gently, "Do not swear at all; or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee."

Ranma dropped to one knee and said, "If my heart's dear love—"

Akane interrupted again, saying, "Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night: it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; too like the lightning, which doth cease to be ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night! As sweet repose and rest come to thy heart as that within my breast!"

Ranma asked, "O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" His eyes locked on hers, begging her to answer the question.

Akane asked, her eyes sparkling, "What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?"

Ranma begged, "The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine."

Akane replied, "I gave thee mine before thou didst request it: and yet I would it were to give again." She looked at him demurely, her heart in her eyes.

Ukyo rose from her seat, and screamed, "NO!" and ran out of the auditorium, as the rest of the audience looked on in consternation.

Konatsu ran after her as fast as he could, and found her leaning against the wall of the building. His heart broke as he saw the tears coursing down her face, and the anguish contained upon it and walked over and stood there waiting.

Ukyo felt a presence near her, and lifted her tear drenched face. She saw a good-looking young man, well-dressed, with long, flowing black hair.

"Are you okay, Ukyo-sama?" the man asked.

Ukyo looked again, and realized that the man she had been checking out was her friend Konatsu. She had never seen him dressed in male clothing, and it had changed him completely. She saw him standing there; his arms outspread and gladly threw herself at him, allowing him to embrace her. She wept, her head on his shoulders as he provided what comfort he could.

"How could I have been so stupid?" she said through her tears, "He told me, they all told me, that he was passionately in love with her. Why did I have to listen to that fool? I should have stayed away, and not let him break my heart. But I can't hate him. He never said that he loved me."

Konatsu said, "Ukyo-sama, please don't cry. How can I help you to feel better?"

Ukyo wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "There's nothing that you can do other than what you are doing. I'm glad you're here, Konatsu." She smiled at him, a smile that was almost as painful as watching her cry, and then frowned. "When did you start wearing male clothing?"

"Tonight was the first time, at least out in public," Konatsu admitted.

"You should do it more often, you make a cute boy. A bit bishonen, I'll admit, but still cute," Ukyo said after a moment of frank appraisal, which brought a blush to both their cheeks.

"Ukyo, are you all right?" a voice came from behind them.

The two of them sprang apart, and Konatsu whirled, one hand darting under his shirt.

"Oh hi, Souta, I'm fine. Why aren't you watching the play?" Ukyo asked.

"I saw you run out crying and I got concerned," Souta replied.

Ukyo grimaced and said, "I just realized something that hurt me. I did not really believe what I had been told, because I was too blind to see the truth, but tonight ripped the blinders off my eyes and I saw something that I had refused to see before."

"What did you see? Why did that performance so affect you? Ranma and Akane were pouring their heart out on the stage, but surely that shouldn't have meant anything," Souta asked.

"Remember when you asked me out, and I told you that I had a fiancé?" Ukyo asked. She missed the unfriendly expression on Konatsu's face as he glared at Souta, his hand itching to draw his shuriken.

"Of course," Souta said, ruefully, "I always remember when I get shot down. But you at least did it kindly. Why, what does that have to do with anything?"

"It was an arranged marriage, which my father agreed to when I was only six. It was to my best friend at the time, a young boy with an idiot for a father. You just heard him profess his love to Akane," Ukyo said, her eyes tearing up again. She sniffled and said, "But it's not his fault. He was promised to her before they were born, and they fell in love. And I just got the blinders taken off and saw what everyone else had seen."

"If it's any consolation, I think he lost out on a wonderful girl," Souta said.

Konatsu scowled and said, "As much as I hate to agree with you, you're right. Ukyo-sama is a wonderful person."

"You're Konatsu, correct?" Souta asked.

"Where are my manners?" Ukyo asked, rhetorically. She turned to Souta and said, "Yes, this is my friend Konatsu, the one who works in the restaurant with me. Konatsu, this is Souta Higurashi. I know him from school."

"The play should be getting close to finished; I'd better get back in to see who wins," Souta said, "Nice to formally meet you, Konatsu."

Konatsu bowed politely and smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes, and said, "Nice to meet you as well, Higurashi-kun."

"Later, Ukyo," Souta said, "Perhaps we can try again sometime."

Ukyo smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps."

Souta smiled again and headed back into the auditorium. As he entered, he saw that indeed the play was in its final scene. Ranma had just finished killing the actor portraying Paris and had placed the unfortunate boy in the tomb, stumbling over to where Akane was resting on her bier, her face white and her eyes closed. 'Even choreographed, Kuno can't hit the broad side of a barn,' he thought, 'At least he got his moment of glory!'

Ranma said, his face showing his agony, "How oft when men are at the point of death have they been merry! Which their keepers call a lightning before death: O, how may I call this a lightning? O my love! My wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty: thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, and death's pale flag is not advanced there. Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet? O, what more favour can I do to thee, than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain to sunder his that was thine enemy? Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair?" He holds up a small flask and asks, "Shall I believe that unsubstantial death is amorous, and that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; and never from this palace of dim night depart again: here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chamber-maids; o, here will I set up my everlasting rest, and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! And, lips, O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss a dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here's to my love!" He bends down and kisses Akane and then drinks the contents of the flask and gasps. Then he said, "O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." Ranma collapsed to the floor and pretends to die.

At that moment, Daisuke walks in, dressed as a friar, carrying a lantern, crowbar, and spade. He asks, "Saint Francis be my speed! How oft to-night have my old feet stumbled at graves! Who's there?"

Hiroshi answers, portraying the page Balthasar, "Here's one, a friend, and one that knows you well."

Daisuke asked, "Bliss be upon you! Tell me, good my friend, what torch is yond, that vainly lends his light to grubs and eyeless skulls? As I discern, it burneth in the Capel's monument."

Hiroshi replied, "It doth so, holy sir; and there's my master, one that you love."

Daisuke asked, "Who is it?"

"Romeo," Hiroshi replied.

"How long hath he been there?" Daisuke asked.

Hiroshi replied, "Full half an hour."

Daisuke commanded, "Go with me to the vault."

"I dare not, sir. My master knows not but I am gone hence; and fearfully did menace me with death, if I did stay to look on his intents," Hiroshi replied.

"Stay, then; I'll go alone. Fear comes upon me: O, much I fear some ill unlucky thing," Daisuke said, his face fearful.

Hiroshi said, "As I did sleep under this yew-tree here, I dreamt my master and another fought, and that my master slew him."

Daisuke's face paled and he called, "Romeo!" He ran into the tomb and stopped at the entrance. He cried, "Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains the stony entrance of this sepulchre? What mean these masterless and gory swords to lie discolour'd by this place of peace?" He ran into the tomb and saw Ranma and the actor portraying Paris lying there in the still of death. He exclaimed, "Romeo! O, pale! Who else? What, Paris too? And steep'd in blood? Ah, what an unkind hour is guilty of this lamentable chance! The lady stirs."

Akane woke from her drugged sleep and sat up. She stared around the set and asked, "O comfortable friar! Where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, and there I am. Where is my Romeo?"

Daisuke replied, "I hear some noise. Lady, come from that nest of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep: a greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents. Come, come away. Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead; and Paris too. Come, I'll dispose of thee among a sisterhood of holy nuns: Stay not to question, for the watch is coming; come, go, good Juliet." A sound is heard from off-stage. He continued, "I dare no longer stay."

"Go, get thee hence, for I will not away," Akane said. Daisuke left, leaving Akane with Ranma and Kuno lying there pretending to be dead. She exclaimed, "What's here? A cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end: O churl! Drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make die with a restorative." She bends down and kisses Ranma. She added, "Thy lips are warm."

Off stage the audience heard a voice say, "Lead, boy: which way?"

Akane jumped in startlement and says, "Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" She grabbed a dagger from Ranma's belt and says, "This is thy sheath!" She stabbed herself, and then cried, "There rust, and let me die." She falls across Ranma's body and dies.

At that moment the curtain closed, and the director walked onto the stage. He said, "And thus ends the play of Romeo and Juliet. Let me recount what the Friar would extol. He would say, 'I will be brief, for my short date of breath is not so long as is a tedious tale. Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet; and she, there dead, that Romeo's faithful wife: I married them; and their stol'n marriage-day was Tybalt's dooms-day, whose untimely death banish'd the new-made bridegroom from the city, for whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pined. You, to remove that siege of grief from her, betroth'd and would have married her perforce to County Paris: then comes she to me, and, with wild looks, bid me devise some mean to rid her from this second marriage, or in my cell there would she kill herself. Then gave I her, so tutor'd by my art, a sleeping potion; which so took effect as I intended, for it wrought on her the form of death: meantime I writ to Romeo, that he should hither come as this dire night, to help to take her from her borrow'd grave, being the time the potion's force should cease. But he which bore my letter, Friar John, was stay'd by accident, and yesternight return'd my letter back. Then all alone at the prefixed hour of her waking, came I to take her from her kindred's vault; meaning to keep her closely at my cell, til I conveniently could send to Romeo: But when I came, some minute ere the time of her awaking, here untimely lay the noble Paris and true Romeo dead. She wakes; and I entreated her come forth, and bear this work of heaven with patience: But then a noise did scare me from the tomb; and she, too desperate, would not go with me, but, as it seems, did violence on herself. All this I know; and to the marriage her nurse is privy: and, if aught in this miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrificed, some hour before his time, unto the rigour of severest law.' And the Prince would say in epilogue, 'A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.' Thank you for attending our performance of Romeo and Juliet." The director bowed first to the panel of judges and then to the audience.

The audience rose to their feet and applauded. The curtain rose, revealing Akane and Ranma, embracing each other in a passionate kiss. The noise only got louder, with several of the braver boys giving a wolf whistle. The two of them sprang apart, blushing furiously, and then bowed to the audience. Ranma whispered, "You made a fantastic Juliet. I'm so happy for you." He thought, 'I've never seen her so happy, so radiant. This was so much better than the last time, when we had the dueling Romeo's and I pretended to be Juliet. Not to mention not having to kiss Kuno. Ugh! Definitely this time was better!'

The judges for the competition huddled together for a few more minutes, while the crowd continued to applaud. Finally, the chief judge held up his hand and waited for the crowd to quiet down. "We have reached our decision. The winner of the drama competition is the drama club from Furinkan High School for their rendition of Romeo and Juliet. And may I say that I have never seen a better portrayal of Juliet," the man said. He walked over to Ranma and Akana and shook their hands.

Genma danced with joy, his wonderful son and his fiancée had won the competition. Now all he had to do was steal the tickets away from Ranma and he could get to China and find a way to get rid of his curse. 'Never gonna be a panda no more,' he thought gaily to himself, oblivious to the odd looks he was getting from the people around him.

Ranma walked over to a stagehand, who handed him a large bouquet of red roses. Ranma then returned to Akane and gave the wide-eyed girl the flowers, causing her to squeal happily. "These are for you from me on the night of your triumph," Ranma said with a big smile.

"Ranma, you shouldn't have. These are so pretty," Akane gushed. She grabbed him in a one-armed hug, and whispered, "You were a pretty good Romeo. Thanks for doing this with me." They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, ignoring the rest of the world for a moment.

"Ahem!" the judge said, attempting to get their attention. The two glanced up and he said, "Your prize will show up at your house later this evening."

"Then I guess we should find our family and head on over there," Akane said.

* * *

Ranma and Akane walked slowly home from the auditorium down the moonlit streets of Nerima, their hands entwined, Akane still aglow from the performance. The rest of their family and friends had hurried off to the house to prepare a victory celebration, while the two of them slowly came down from the afterglow that always came from acting in a play. Akane felt as if her nerves were stretched tight, she was so sensitive to the atmosphere around her, almost tingling as if she had received a mild static shock. Ranma was simply content to bask in the warmth of the feelings from the blue-haired girl walking with him, though he couldn't wait to get home to see the expression on his idiot father's face when he found out what 'seeing China' actually meant. That and the fact that the girl that he adored was blissfully happy and that he was at least part of the reason why was making him almost as giddy as she was. They finally reached the house, and walked into the hallway where they placed their shoes on the mat. From somewhere they could hear the sound of a pulsing drum beat, and a guitar.

"You two are late!" Kasumi exclaimed, "Everyone is here having a party."

"Yeah, they are all seeing China," Nabiki added.

"Huh?" Akane asked, "What's that mean? How can they be seeing China?"

"The prize actually turned out to be meeting Xian 'China' Li, the famous actor," Kasumi said, with a giggle.

"What was Pop's reaction when he found out?" Ranma asked, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"Oh, your parents haven't gotten here yet. Auntie said something about stopping at the house before they came over," Kasumi replied.

"Good, I was hoping I could see his reaction," Ranma said, "Not that he'll learn anything from it." The four of them walked into the family room, which was filled with several people from school. Scattered around the room where plates of food, and bottles of things to drink. A banner was stretched across the back of the room, which read, 'Xian 'China' Li! Welcome!' Beneath the banner, Mr. Tendo was talking to a pleasant-faced Chinese man, wearing an ornate robe.

Soun said, pounding the man on the back familiarly, "Mr. Li, you are my favorite foreign actor."

Mr. Li replied, pleasantly, "Thanks, but please call me China!"

"He was the sponsor of the contest," Ranma said in an aside to Akane.

Akane replied, "I thought I recognized him from the auditorium. Wasn't he backstage while we were performing?"

"Yes, he was," Ranma said.

"Ah, the stars of the show. Mr. Saotome, Miss Tendo, your performance was magnificent. I thought you two definitely made a wonderful pair of lovers. One would almost think that you two truly are a couple," China Li said expansively.

"Oh but they are a couple. Ranma and Akane are engaged to be married," Soun interjected.

China smiled at the blushing pair and said, "Well, that explains it then. I could feel the passion whenever the two of you were on the stage together."

At that moment, Nodoka and Genma walked in, though for some reason, Genma was in his cursed form. "Hi, Mom. Let me introduce you to Xian Li, also known as China Li," Ranma said, his eyes glaring at his father the panda.

The panda froze in shock, his beady black eyes bouncing back and forth between his son and the man sitting next to his best friend and training partner.

"Yep, Pop, here's your chance to see China," Ranma all but spat at his father, "So you hurt an innocent boy for nothing. I hope you're proud of yourself."

Genma collapsed to the floor, falling in a heap. 'No cure!' was the last thing he thought as he fainted from the shock.

Ranma dragged the panda off to one corner of the room so that no one would hurt themselves by tripping over the comatose tub of lard. Then he and Akane found a convenient place to sit, wrapping their arms around each other.

* * *

Once again, Ranma found himself waiting for Cologne under one of the bridges that spanned the main canal in Nerima. Finally, Cologne showed up and Ranma greeted her with a smirk. "We're gonna have to quit meeting like this, Elder," Ranma said, "Or people might start thinking you're trying to steal me away from Akane."

"If I was a couple of hundred years younger, I might try," Cologne retorted.

Ranma smiled briefly and then asked, "So how was the trip this time?"

"There's a lot of news, some good, some not-so-good," Cologne replied, "First, I forgot to tell you about the reward that was given to you for capturing Happosai. The council granted you the equivalent of one hundred thousand yen for your efforts. That's back at the restaurant and I'll give it to you later."

Ranma shrugged and said, "Just give it to Nabiki to pay for the mortgage. She'll know what to do with it."

Cologne looked at him shrewdly and said, "So you're attempting to pay back the dowry your father stole from young Ukyo. Nicely done." She said a bit grimmer, "Next, the council agreed to up our attempts to watch the people of the Phoenix. Our observers have seen a few strange things happening, but nothing to alarm us as of yet, so it still must be too early for them to be moving. We sent a warning to the Musk also." She looked at Ranma and asked, "Do you know about them from before?"

Ranma replied, "Yes, we had a visit from Prince Herb and two of his henchman looking for a way to unlock his curse. Assuming that happens this time, it will be next summer, if I remember correctly."

"Okay, that makes things easier to explain. The Musk are our allies against the Phoenix people, so we hope they will agree to help us," Cologne said. She frowned for a moment, and then continued, "The council also agreed to allow me to train you in all of our Amazon techniques. But, they insisted that you become a full member of the tribe."

Ranma said, icily, "That I can't agree with. There are too many of your laws that are wrong, that I won't follow. I hope you told them that. If that is a condition on my receiving the rest of the training, then forget it. I beat Saffron without it before, I can do it again!"

"Slow down. I knew that would be your reaction. I had to argue with them for a long time, but finally got them to agree to treat you as an ally. Now the only condition is that when you train, it has to be as a girl and in our costume. They also agreed to allow me to train Akane since they consider her your shield-sister," Cologne said quickly.

Ranma calmed down and said, thoughtfully, "I guess I can do that. At least I have the figure foryour battle dress.Anything else?"

Cologne took a deep breath and replied, "I think you need to tell Akane the truth about when you came from."

"Why?" Ranma snapped.

"Do you really want your relationship with her to be based on a lie, or half-truth?" Cologne asked, not unkindly.

"I'm scared that if she knows that I'm from the future that I'll lose her," Ranma admitted.

"If she's the woman you think she is, she'll accept it, eventually. Besides, when were you planning on telling her?" Cologne replied.

"Uh, how about after we were married with a dozen children," Ranma replied.

"Oh and just how many of those were you planning on carrying?" Cologne asked, her eyebrow raised.

Ranma blushed furiously and said, "Okay, the number is negotiable. We haven't actually talked about that yet anyway."

Cologne chuckled dryly and then continued, "You really do need to tell her. And in any case, there's too much that I need to ask you about when we are training to keep it a secret for long."

"I'll think about it," Ranma said, "Just don't rush me."

"Okay, I can accept that. On a brighter note, the council has agreed to pay you an allowance as if you were truly one of us. That's mostly because you won't have time to work in the restaurant anymore, of course, but I'll admit it's also to make you feel kindly toward us in the future," Cologne continued. She said a bit wryly, "If you truly could defeat a demi-god like Saffron, the tribe would be foolish to get on your bad side."

Ranma smirked and said, "Well, it's nice to know that I'm appreciated. Seriously, they really have come through for me. I know it's in their best interest to keep Saffron from gaining power over the region, but still they didn't have to be this generous."

Cologne shrugged, and replied, "Most of the council remembered you favorably from your visit, and it hasn't been that long for them to forget that you also returned the things that your father stole from us. And then to take out Happosai and turn him over to us, that was a very positive thing in your favor. You have made many friends in the tribe. Besides, I like you. My only regret is that you aren't my kin. You would make an impressive Amazon."

"We've had that conversation before, old woman," Ranma said with a sigh, "You and I both know that I'm too arrogant to fit in with the men of your village, and I'm still a man inside even when I don't look like one, so that wouldn't go over too well with the elders. Eventually we would get crossways with each other over something."

"True," Cologne said, "Sad, but true."

Ranma added, "But I take it as the compliment you meant it to be. You're an impressive person, Elder, and it means a lot to me that you think I'm worthy of the honor of being related to you. But you're getting a pretty good guy for a son-in-law, several times removed that is, in Ryoga."

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and encouraged. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

Raver Styx: Welcome aboard. I'm glad you're enjoying this story. I'm having a lot of fun writing it myself. I probably won't ever write a true lemon, I haven't ever gotten real excited about writing about how tab b goes into slot a, as it were. But thanks for the praise. I suspect most people's imagination of what happens between Ryoga and Shampoo, for example, would be better than I could write.

Kyuubi-sama: Yeah, this has turned into an epic, hasn't it, and I haven't even gotten through first year. Things are going a bit smoothly relationship wise, but there are choppy waters ahead for my favorite couple. Though one of the other characters is going to get to take the spotlight for a little while.

Xero-reflux: Last chapter of Shakespeare, I promise. Though, I did so want to do 'The plays the thing, whereby we capture the conscience of the king.' Or in this case, Queen Ukyo.

In the canon, yes, Genma and Soun dressed up as the dojo destroyer in an inane attempt to get Ranma and Akane together. Then the real destroyer showed up. Here, since Ranma and Akane are already together, that small scene got skipped, even though it was kind of funny. Pink and Link? I don't remember exactly who they are, but if they are the Amazons who come to help big sister Shampoo, then probably they will make an appearance or two.

Wonderbee31: Thank you. Yeah, I thought that if Soun had continued to train Akane, she would have had a much better chance against Ranma in their first fight. I read at least one story that had that happen, and she held her own. As to Akane having potential, that is canon. Remember the battle douji story arc that brought out her potential. Her biggest problem because of how her father abandoned her training is that she wanted to take shortcuts to get to be the best, instead of hard work and perspiration.

Maximara: Most of the next encounters were pretty dismal in the original story anyway, so yes, Ranma won't have many challenges from those people, assuming he doesn't avoid a confrontation to begin with. That means of course, I need to come with other challenges, doesn't it? Herb will show up, he plays an important role later on. Taro may or may not make an appearance. He after all doesn't know where Happosai is.

Innortal: Rats, you figured it out. Stupid Panda can't keep from screwing over other people for his own greed, can he? Ukyo still has some issues, doesn't the dear girl? And Souta/Konatsu will certainly be trying to solve her problem.

Silverbullet23: Never underestimate the cupidity of Genma. Remember, of course, the prize wasn't to visit China, it was to 'see China' Horse of a different color, as Genma just found out.

Shinigami: I have at least one possible partner for Nabiki. VEG, but I'm not telling. Ukyo will be happy, eventually, but it will take awhile. Ryu, definitely. Taro probably. They are both too cool not to make some sort of appearance.

Firestorm2004: Blush. Thank you. As to the Neko-ken, I've done the one scene where he ends up kissing Akane. With Shampoo not having a cat curse, there is less opportunity for him to see a cat and not get away, but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. I agree, when he goes Neko, he definitely liked to cuddle with Akane.

Psycho King: Yes, married for a lot of happy years. And yes, she's is my best editor. As to acting, I had the privilege of acting in high school myself. In fact, I did get in trouble, I ended up with Mono my senior year, and was cast in the musical. The doctor gave me a choice, I could go to school, and drop the musical while I recovered, or do the musical. Guess which one I picked. LOL Yes, Kuno is beginning to show a little progress, but it will be a long and winding road before he is all there. And IF he finds out the truth about Ranma! Kuno has some interesting things in his future. As to listening to my wife. As the saying goes, I always listen, I just sometimes don't hear.

Dragon Man 180: No, not in one of my stories, especially not in this one. I've already made the Nannichuan an unknown location in Jusenkyo, so Akane won't be getting a curse. And yes, in the canon, the Destroyer was a joke. Akane was taking him out reasonably well, until the Tendo sign was used as a weapon. Ranma may not have been there in the original story when that happened, but I made the assumption that he had heard about it. That's why I had him make such a big deal about the Destroyer not having the right to the sign in the first place. And yes, I had Akane deliberately dress like Ranma would, down to the cocky expression. She has learned from the best, after all, just ask Ranma.

Hououza: The Musk will show up. That I promise, I even know most of what will happen, unfortunately, it's a long way off. And I definitely intend things to be a bit different.


	32. Tsubasa Kurenai Busts Loose

Chapter 32 Tsubasa Kurenai Busts Loose!

Ukyo groaned and rubbed her back as she and Konatsu finished cleaning up after a long day at the restaurant. "What's the matter, Ukyo-sama?" Konatsu asked, his eyes showing his concern.

"My back and neck are a little stiff. While it's good that we are so busy making dinner because of all of the custom we are receiving, it would be nice to have a short break now and again," Ukyo said, her face wincing slightly as she moved.

Konatsu hesitated and then took the plunge. "Ukyo-sama, I am fully trained in the ancient art of Japanese massage. If it would not be too forward of me, I could work on those sore muscles for you," he said softly.

"That sounds lovely," Ukyo replied, "You are a man of many talents, Konatsu. If I haven't told you lately, I'm glad you're here. You've become a true friend."

"The honor is mine, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said. Again he hesitated and then suggested, "Why don't you go upstairs and get ready. I have the oils and tools in my belongings, and I can meet you there."

"Oils?" Ukyo asked in surprise.

"Uh, yes, Ukyo-sama, I said Japanese massage, that is with oil and scrapers. You'll need to be undressed for this, or at least no blouse. I can work around a brassiere," Konatsu replied, his face turning a bit red.

Ukyo blushed and then said, "I'll be up there waiting. Right now, my back hurts so much, I don't really care what it takes to make it loosen up." She walked carefully up the stairs, while Konatsu watched her go, his face not showing his hidden longing.

'I can't believe that I had the audacity to suggest this,' he thought, 'My hands on my beloved Ukyo-sama.' He blushed some more, and then quickly ran to the cubby that was his room and grabbed his supplies and then headed up the stairs to meet Ukyo.

Konatsu stopped at the door to Ukyo's room and knocked politely. He heard Ukyo reply through the stout wooden door, "Come in, I'm ready for you." He opened the door and walked in. Then stopped as if he had run into a brick wall, his face flaming. There on the floor, covered only in a towel draped across her derriere, Ukyo was lying face down on the floor, two little tufts of material hanging out on either side of her torso. The part of her face that was visible was bright red. Konatsu stammered for a second, "Uh, are you sure about this?" At her silent nod, he put on his professional face, thinking to himself, 'This is only a massage. Remember, this is only a massage.' He knelt down beside her, and then poured a little of the fragrant oil in his hands, rubbing them together to warm the oil slightly. Then he started at the base of her neck and began to rub her back with smooth, strong strokes, feeling the knots in her shoulders and the back of her neck. After several minutes of those strong but gentle strokes, he could feel the tension leaving her neck and shoulders. He slowly began to make his way down towards the small of her back, stopping slightly above the towel that was protecting her modesty.

Ukyo moaned slightly, causing Konatsu to freeze for a second. "Don't stop," she said, huskily, "That feels **so** good."

Konatsu continued his massage, working out all of the kinks in Ukyo's back, ignoring the vocal response he was getting from Ukyo as best he could. Finally, he finished and backed away.

"Thank you, Konatsu, remind me to give you a raise," Ukyo said, softly, "I can't remember the last time I felt this good. We'll have to do this more often, now that I know you can do it." She reached down and drew out the two tufts of material, revealing them to be the loose ends of her bra. She asked, "Can you hook this for me? I'm too tired to reach."

Konatsu bent down and hooked the eyelet with the hook, securing her top. Ukyo slowly rolled over, revealing that she was actually dressed in a rather modest one-piece, mostly backless, bathing suit.

"You'll make a good husband to some lucky girl one day," Ukyo said, oblivious to the reaction she was receiving from Konatsu.

* * *

Ukyo made her way over to where Nabiki was holding court with her lieutenants during the lunch hour and asked, "Nabiki, do you have a few minutes? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Nabiki looked at the two girls standing in front of her and they took off. "Sure, Ukyo," Nabiki said, "Please join me."

Ukyo sat on the ground next to Nabiki. After a moment, she asked, "When were you going to tell me that you owned the building? The day you evicted me?"

Nabiki narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "Why would you think I would want to kick you out of the building? Your restaurant is a great tenant. It would be pretty big mistake to lose that."

"Because Akane is your sister and you feel like I'm competition for her," Ukyo said bitterly.

Nabiki sighed heavily and said, "You're no more competition for Akane than I was."

"What?" Ukyo exclaimed.

"Surely you know that Ranma could have picked any one of the three of us. The arrangement was for Ranma to marry a Tendo daughter. The day that Daddy told us about it, I figured that I was the girl," Nabiki replied, "After all, Akane swore she hated boys, and Kasumi was in love with Tofu. That left me. I even dressed up in my best kimono to wait for him. And then, what showed up was a red-haired, buxom girl. You can't imagine how disappointed I was."

Ukyo grinned wryly and said, "He does make a cute girl, doesn't he?"

"It wasn't until he and Akane got engaged that I found out he was really a guy, Ukyo. I never had a chance to make a play for him, either," Nabiki said. She sighed and added, "I asked him once why he didn't pick me. Do you know what he said? He told me that he had fallen in love with Akane the moment he saw her, and that there was no one else for him. Why else would he have pretended to be a girl for nearly four months?"

Ukyo sighed bitterly and asked, "Then why did you buy my building?"

"Because my business partner asked me to," Nabiki replied calmly.

"Business partner?" Ukyo asked.

Nabiki chuckled and replied, "I thought you were smarter than that. If you figured out that I was behind NNRE, surely you should know that Nodoka and Ranma are the other two. And that's another reason why I wouldn't be chasing you out of the building. Do you honestly think that Ranma would let me? He may not want to be your husband, but he'll always want to be your friend."

"True, Ranma-honey wouldn't do that. But why?" Ukyo replied, then her eyes grew wide. She asked, "What is he planning on doing with the building?"

"Once the mortgage is paid off, he intends on giving you his part of the company," Nabiki answered, "I thought that would be obvious, too."

"He's paying back the dowry, isn't he?" Ukyo asked.

Nabiki smirked at her and said, "Of course. The Saotome's owe you a debt of honor. He's doing what he can to repay it. His father has put him in an untenable situation."

Ukyo closed her eyes in pain and said softly, "But I don't want the dowry. I want him."

"Ukyo, look at me," Nabiki said, equally soft. She waited until Ukyo was looking at her and asked, "Honestly, if you and he were to wed, what do you see for your future? Say five years from now."

"We'd be running the restaurant together. I'd cook, and he'd wait tables," Ukyo said, "Maybe have a child."

"Do you honestly think he would be happy doing that? Remember, first and foremost, he's a martial artist. You're a good martial artist, but your first love is the restaurant," Nabiki said.

Ukyo pondered that for a moment and then gasped, "He would be miserable, wouldn't he? He would hate to be stuck working in a restaurant the rest of his life. He'd much rather teach."

"Uh huh, that's right. There's no doubt in my mind that's what he wants to do. Akane has told me as much. After they finish college, they intend to expand the dojo and teach as many students as they can. That's one of the reasons he fought the grandmaster of the school and took the grandmastery away from him. So he could control his own life," Nabiki said.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Ukyo asked, "I can't do that to him, tie him down to the restaurant and make him miserable."

"True, **Ranma** would be miserable working in a restaurant," Nabiki said with a grin.

"That still doesn't solve my problem," Ukyo said, miserably, "My family honor requires that we wed."

"Ukyo, I don't know what to tell you. I do know that if you push him, he may do the only honorable thing that is left," Nabiki said, coolly.

"And what would that be?" Ukyo asked.

"Commit seppeku. If there is no Saotome son, there can be no marriages," Nabiki replied. She then said, frostily, "And if that happens, I expect Akane would join him. She wouldn't want to live without him. And that is something that I will do everything in my power to prevent."

Ukyo looked ashen and said, "Surely you're not serious."

"Ranma takes his honor very seriously. That's partly why he is trying to pay off the dowry, at least that's something he can do," Nabiki explained.

Ukyo asked, "How soon will the mortgage be paid off?"

"Another month, maybe two, Ranma's been dumping as much money as he can into paying off his half. Between the money he earned from the Nekohaten, and the money the Amazons gave him for capturing Happosai, he's nearly finished. And most of the rent payment you've been making has been going toward it also," Nabiki replied, "That's how long you have to make up your mind."

"Don't let him know that I know, please," Ukyo pleaded.

"Sure, don't worry about it," Nabiki replied.

* * *

Ranma woke up suddenly from a sound sleep, his side aching for some reason, the sound of someone moaning loudly next to him. He turned as he realized that Akane was thrashing about on the bed, her arms flailing around, tears streaming from her eyes, as she was caught in the grips of a horrific nightmare. Ranma cautiously reached out and shook his fiancée, calling out, "Akane, wake up!" several times, before finally, Akane's eyes snapped open.

Akane looked blurrily around the darkened room, lit only by the moonlight shining through the partially opened curtains, trying to focus on the dark shape sitting beside her, holding her by the shoulders. Through the confusion in her mind caused by her dream, she finally was able to hear Ranma calling to her and realized that the person next to her was in fact her fiancé. She collapsed in relief, crying, "It was only a nightmare. You're alive!"

"Are you okay now, Akane?" Ranma asked, gently, his voice filled with concern, "From the way that you were tossing and turning, it must have been a bad dream."

"From the little bit that I can remember, it was awful," Akane said in a little girl voice, a voice that Ranma never remembered hearing before.

Ranma pulled her to him and held her in a tight embrace. "Hey, I'm here, things will be all right," he said, his breath tickling her slightly on her bare neck.

Akane sobbed on his shoulder, great wracking sobs that shook the bed, and whispered, "You were fighting a monstrous demon, trying to keep it from hurting any of our friends. We all looked a little older. It was horrible. You killed it, but it managed to claw you with its death throws. I rushed over and you died in my arms. Watching the light fade from your eyes, it felt so real, like I had seen it happen before."

"Shush, I'm here," he said, softly.

She looked up, her eyes shining from her tears, and said, "And then the weirdest thing happened, just before you woke me up. I thought I heard a voice saying not to worry, that I would see you again."

"Come on, it will be okay. What happened to my strong tomboy?" Ranma asked. 'Man, that was one bad nightmare. It was also too close to what actually happened. I wonder what caused her to dream about that last battle,' he thought. Then all conscious thought was erased as he felt Akane kissing him urgently, as if she was afraid that he would vanish from her arms.

"Promise you'll never leave me!" she demanded between her kisses, "PROMISE!"

"I promise, Akane. I'll always be here for you," Ranma replied.

Akane looked at him and then shivered for a moment, causing Ranma to draw them back underneath the warmth of the blanket. She rested her head on Ranma's shoulder, while he held her against his body. After several minutes, her frantic breathing slowed down, and she closed her eyes, content in the knowledge that Ranma was holding her, feeling the warmth of his body dispelling the chill that was in her soul. Ranma laid there, his eyes staring bleakly at the ceiling, as he wondered exactly what had just happened.

* * *

At lunch, Akane started getting concerned. Ever since she had told Ranma about her nightmare, he had appeared to be worrying over something. She had felt him taking furtive glances at her all through the morning classes whenever the teachers had their backs turned to the class writing the assignments on the blackboard. Several times it had seemed to her that he was even off in another world, especially after the third time one of the teachers had to repeat his name several times to get his attention. Finally, she had enough, and asked quietly, "What's wrong, Ranchan? Something's bothering you, I can tell. Is it that nightmare that I had? It was just a silly dream. You were right, it wasn't real. It's not like that's something that's going to happen."

Ranma started in surprise, his expressive eyes unusually bleak, and said, "Meet me on the roof after school today. There's something that I need to tell you."

* * *

After the final bell for the day had rung, Ranma had rushed up to the roof, where he found himself pacing nervously back and forth as he waited for Akane to join him. 'What if she doesn't believe me? What if she does? Why did I tell her to meet me? What if she ends up hating me?' were the anxious thoughts racing through his mind, causing him to become more and more frantic as the seconds ticked by.

Ranma whirled in surprise as he heard the faint footsteps of someone walking across the roof toward him. He had been so lost in his thoughts, that he had missed the sound of the door opening and closing. There, coming toward him was Akane, a concerned look on her face as she saw the state that Ranma had worked himself into. She rushed over and embraced him, and immediately felt better herself as she felt him relax against her. Then she felt his arms almost crush her against him as if he was afraid that she was going to be torn from his grasp. All afternoon she had imagined the worst; that he had fallen out of love with her, that he was being forced to wed Ukyo, that he was leaving Nerima without her. "Ranma, you're scaring me. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad?" she said, her voice barely loud enough to be heard.

Ranma let her go and then clutched her hand. "Let's sit down and talk," he said softly, trying to avoid the inevitable. The two of them sat down.

The silence stretched for several seconds while Ranma got up the courage to tell her what he must. Finally, Akane broke the silence and asked, "I've never seen you so scared. What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to lose you after I tell you what I have to tell you," Ranma replied after another short pause. He visibly gathered his courage and said, "It's sort of about that dream you had. Where I was fighting a demon sometime in the future. That wasn't just a dream. It was showing you something that would have happened several years from now."

"WHAT?" Akane exclaimed, "You mean I had a vision of the future."

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, and sighed deeply. He replied, "No, well, maybe. More like a vision of **a** future. I remember fighting that battle, just as you described it. So to me, it actually happened."

Akane gasped, and asked, "What do you mean? I don't understand." The blood was draining from her face as she paled. She pulled her hand away from him and started to rise. "I don't believe you!" she all but cried.

Ranma grabbed at her desperately and cried, "Wait, please! Let me try to prove it, prove that I'm not lying. We were at the park, down by the lake. All of us were at a picnic, you, me, Nabiki, Kasumi, our parents. The demon showed up, and it was about four meters tall, obviously male, with three eyes arranged in a triangle shape, with four arms. It had two large horns on its head, that curled forward."

Akane gasped and sat down hard. "That, that, that was the demon in my nightmare," she whispered, her face completely bloodless, "It's true then, you are from the future."

"Yes, I'm from that future that you dreamed about. About five years or so from now, just before you and I were about to graduate from college, Happosai got angry at me and summoned a demon to get his vengeance. We fought the demon, several of us, and I finally killed it, but not before it gave me a mortal blow. As I lay there dying, my one regret was that I hadn't told you that I loved you," Ranma said, his eyes watching her carefully.

"Then how are you here, now, with me, back in the past?" Akane asked, confused.

"Remember the last thing you said, that you heard a voice saying that you would see me again?" Ranma asked.

Akane nodded and replied, "Yes, it said that I would see you soon. That didn't make any sense to me."

"Well, after I, well, after I died, I saw a bright white light, and then heard someone say that he wasn't done with me yet. I guess the love I had for you was giving me a second chance. Then everything went black, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up several years in the past, the morning that Pop and I arrived at Jusenkyo," Ranma said. He hesitated and then continued, "Once I finally figured out what had happened to me, that somehow I had come back into the past, I decided to try to fix some of the things that had gone wrong."

"What kind of things?" Akane asked, her face ashen as she began to remember some of the details from her dream, ones that she had somehow managed to suppress.

"Well, er, for starters, I wanted to fix us," Ranma admitted, "We got off to a bad start the first time, and well, I wanted, no I had to fix that. We wasted six years dancing around in our relationship, and I wasn't going to do that again."

"So our relationship, it's all a fake, you planned for me to fall for you," Akane said, beginning to get angry. Her mallet appeared in her hand, and she swung it at Ranma. He caught it with one hand and prevented it from hitting him.

"NO!" Ranma yelled, "My feelings for you are real. They were real then and they are real now. I loved you; I was just too scared to tell you then. I was afraid that you didn't feel the same way about me, and if you had told me that you didn't love me, I would have, I don't know what I would've done. When I got a second chance to start over with you, I had to take it."

"What happened when we met? That made things bad between us," Akane asked, her anger still trying to get out of control, while she attempted to pull the mallet away from Ranma.

"Pop and I came to your house, in our cursed forms. So the first time you saw us I was female, and more or less what happened this time happened then. Nabiki grabbing my breasts, your father fainting, me looking lost and upset," Ranma said, "And then, you asked me to be your friend and if I wanted to spar with you, and suddenly everything was better. Just like what happened this time. But then, I made a mistake. When you said you were glad I wasn't a boy, I froze. I didn't tell you the truth then. And because I didn't, you walked in on me in the furoba, where you thought you were going to join your new girlfriend in the furo. Instead, you saw a strange boy, climbing out of the water. And that set the tone of our relationship. You called me a pervert, and I, well, I started insulting you. And then our fathers forced us into the engagement, and well, both of us resented that too."

"Yeah, I can see that happening. I would have thought that you had deceived me just so you could see me naked. I didn't have a very good opinion about men by that time," Akane said softly, her anger beginning to ebb. She looked up, almost in tears, and asked, "Did we hate each other?"

"No, I never hated you, and I'm pretty sure that you never hated me. You got mad at me a lot, sometimes for no reason at all. But I didn't help matters any, especially because I refused to train you. Another stupid mistake on my part, that helped keep you mad at me," Ranma said, with a deep sigh, "We made so many stupid mistakes, the two of us, and then we had our families trying all sorts of idiotic schemes to get us together. Those usually ended up pushing us further apart. I honestly think we would have managed to get together sooner if they hadn't. Though, we did go out a few times, and when we weren't interrupted by one of our suitors, we had a good time." He smiled wryly, and added, "At least when I managed to keep my foot out of my mouth."

"Suitors, what do you mean by that?" Akane asked anxiously.

Ranma squirmed and then replied, "I think we would have gotten along a lot better if it hadn't been for them. Ukyo wasn't the only girl chasing after me. I managed to get both Shampoo and Kodachi after me as well, and that made you very jealous. This time I managed not to do that. And then you had Kuno, and Ryoga after you. And all of them were doing whatever they could to keep us from getting close. Especially Ryoga."

"Why him?" Akane asked.

Ranma sighed, and replied, "Remember, the Ryoga you know isn't the same and hasn't done any of this. I managed to fix that too."

Akane narrowed her eyes and spat, "Spill it. No more secrets between us, Ranma. Not if you want me to trust you."

Ranma gulped and said, "I think that's why I hadn't told you this before. I was afraid that I'd destroy us." He paused to gather his thoughts, and then said, "In the timeline that I came from, that won't happen this time, Ryoga picked up a curse at Juskenkyo, that he rightly blamed on Pop and me. I found out about it, and because it was a weakness, I promised him on my honor as a martial artist that I wouldn't expose his curse. He had fallen into the spring of drowned pig, and that put him in a great deal of danger if it had been known. What I didn't foresee is that you would see him in his cursed form, and take him as a pet. You would cuddle with your pig, and tell him all of your secrets. You even undressed in front of him. I tried to give you hints about your beloved pet P-chan, but, for the longest time I couldn't bring myself to betray my honor. When I finally broke down and told you, when I finally realized that your honor was more important than mine, you were devastated. You never spoke to Ryoga again, at least after you finished beating him with your mallet, and then you turned on me. Not that I didn't deserve it. It took you months before you were willing to speak to me at all. Those were some of the worst months of my life. But, oddly enough, that was when things started to get better between us. I think you realized how much I cared for you, if I was willing to betray the oath that I had sworn. And I discovered that I was miserable without you, and refused to have anything to do with any of the other girls. Even when you were giving me the cold shoulder, I stayed with you."

"What else did you change?" Akane asked.

Ranma grinned and said, "Well, the best thing I did was help you get Kasumi and Tofu together. In the original timeline, he disappears about six months from now, and we never saw him again. Kasumi didn't let it show, but we both knew that she was hurting. She poured all her energy into the house; things got so clean you could eat off of the floor."

"I'm glad that got changed. They are so good together," Akane agreed.

"And then I got back together with Mom much earlier, without all of the angst that happened before. Pop had me convinced that she would have gone ahead with the seppuku pledge and it was months wasted before she found out the truth. It was so hard pretending to just be your cousin when she came around before," Ranma continued.

"So what happens next?" Akane asked.

"Well, some of what happened before won't happen this time. I mean, Happosai is gone, so all of the problems that he caused won't happen. And since you and I are together," he said, and then stopped. He looked at her hopefully, and asked, "We are still together, right?"

Akane heard the note of fear mixed with hope in Ranma's voice and said, softly, "Yes, we're still together. I'm not giving back my ring, or breaking the engagement. My feelings for you haven't changed. I still love you, but I am angry with you." She glared at him for a moment and said, "And I still think you deserve a good malleting for hiding this from me. Why didn't you tell me this sooner? How come you had to hide this?"

Ranma grimaced for a second and then replied, "I was afraid that you would think I was crazy. I mean, if it hadn't happened to me, I'm not sure I would believe it myself." He added, ruefully, "And you're probably right, I imagine I do deserve a good malleting. Though I'd rather you didn't. I've been beating myself up over this for a while already."

Akane smiled briefly at the pun and then said, "Oh all right. So long as you know that you did something wrong, I guess I don't need to punish you anymore than you already have."

Ranma frowned, and said, "I'm actually surprised that you don't think I'm crazy, come to think of it. You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would. If I'd have known it was this easy, I would have said something sooner."

Akane blushed and said, "Well, I didn't tell you everything about my nightmare. I think I may have dreamt about those years, because once you started talking, I remembered some of those things from my dream."

"Then whoever sent me back must have sent you that dream," Ranma whispered.

Akane nodded her head, her face paling at the thought that some Kami was interfering in her life, no their life. Then she asked, "Who else knows?"

"Cologne figured it out. In fact she's part of the reason I decided to finally tell you. That and your nightmare," Ranma said.

"Did, did I really die? I mean while you fought that Saffron," Akane asked.

"At Jusendo?" Ranma asked, "I'm not sure. I know that I thought you had. When you finally started breathing again, I was so happy. I wish that wedding had managed to come off. You looked so beautiful in that gown, and I was so stupid."

"Like you said, that's a future that won't happen now. But, what are we going to do about Saffron?" Akane asked.

"Learn as much as we can. Cologne will train us, though I have to be female for the training," Ranma replied.

Akane surprised herself by giggling. Ranma smiled a bit wryly at her. "Yeah, laugh it up. I bet she has you in the Amazon garb too. In fact, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing you wearing that leather bustiér," Ranma said.

Akane playfully swatted him and said, "I knew it, you are a pervert." At the hurt expression on his face, she started giggling.

To her surprise, he grinned back at her, and said, "No, I'm not a pervert. I'm just a teenage boy wanting to see his fiancée in something that'll show off her assets. That just makes me normal." He chuckled and then added, "Now, Daisuke and Hiroshi, on the other hand, they are perverts." He sobered and continued, "We need to keep this between the three of us. Can you imagine what any one else's reaction would be?"

"Well, Nabiki would try to use you to predict sporting events, and things like that. Daddy would break into tears and say his son-in-law was crazy and that the schools would never be joined. Kasumi would just say, 'Oh my,' and carry on like normal," Akane replied, her mouth curved up in a gentle smile.

"Am I forgiven?" Ranma asked hopefully.

Akane cocked her head to one side and looked at him thoughtfully, and replied, "It's kind of hard to stay mad at someone who loved me enough to somehow come back in time, pretend to be a girl for several months, and generally tried to do things right. So, yeah, I guess you're forgiven. You still need to tell me the rest of the story, so I can make sense of what that dream was all about."

"Later, Akane," Ranma promised, "Right now there's something else I really, really need to do."

"And what might that be?" Akane asked.

Ranma answered her by pulling her to him and kissing her.

* * *

Ukyo looked up as the bell over her door chimed. She smiled as Souta walked in, his arm behind his back. "Hello, Souta," she said in greeting, "Welcome."

Souta walked over and pulled a small bouquet of roses from behind his back and said, "These are for you, Ukyo. Pretty flowers for a pretty woman."

Ukyo blushed and said, "You didn't have to do that." She looked away shyly and asked, "And do you really think I'm pretty?"

"Of course I did. It's what any boy would do if he was interested in a girl. And yes I think you're very pretty," Souta replied, flashing a smile at her as he handed her the flowers.

"I really shouldn't accept these. I mean, I am after all, promised to Saotome," Ukyo said, uncertainly. She looked indecisive, as she bit her lower lip in thought. Then her eyes brightened and she said, "Thank you, Souta." She went into the kitchen and then came back out with the flowers in a small vase. She set the vase on the counter, and smiled at Souta. Neither of them noticed a shadowy figure standing in the corner, looking daggers at both of them.

"I was wondering if you might be interested in a movie?" Souta asked.

Ukyo smiled sadly and said, "It's too soon. I can't go out with you until I have decided what to do about my father's promise to the Saotomes."

Souta said, softly, "I understand, I guess. Just don't wait too long before you decide what you should do. I'll wait for a while, but not forever."

"Souta, I like you, I really do, but," Ukyo said, "What can I do? My family honor is tied up in this mess, and I'm not the one that's going to break the agreement between Ranma's family and mine."

"So are you going to wait until they are married before you get on with your life, or I know, maybe after they have their first child so you can be sure he won't change his mind," Souta said, heatedly, "You saw the same thing I saw, they are made for each other. You need to accept that."

Ukyo paled and said, "GET OUT!" She grabbed the vase and was about to throw it at Souta, when suddenly the vase was plucked out of her hand.

"Ukyo-sama, those flowers haven't done anything to hurt you. It would be a shame to waste their beauty," Konatsu said, softly. He turned to Souta and said, "It might be best if you leave, Higurashi-san."

Souta grimaced and said, "I'm sorry for saying that, Ukyo. That was unkind of me. I hope that you will forgive me for being a jealous fool. Ranma is a nice guy and my friend, but he's not worthy of someone like you. You deserve better, and I hoped that I was that person. I like you a lot, and I hoped you returned my affection." He bowed and turned to leave.

"Wait," Ukyo said, "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You were only trying to help me see the truth. Sometimes, though, the truth is too painful to hear. But for now, it might be best if you left."

Souta nodded wearily and walked out the door. Ukyo started to cry, and suddenly found herself in an embrace as Konatsu held her tightly in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder.

"It'll be fine, I promise, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said tenderly.

* * *

Ranma and Akane were heading home from school, performing their usual balance training by running on the fence. Ranma was also showing off a bit by reading a letter that she had received, that had been shoved into her locker, which read, 'I shall come to take your life soon. Signed Tsubasa Kurenai.'

"Another challenge letter?" Akane asked.

"Yes, from someone named Tsubasa Kurenai," Ranma replied.

"I don't remember that name from my nightmare. Is that someone new?" Akane asked.

"Naw, he didn't stick around a lot," Ranma replied, "That's probably why you didn't see him in your dream. He's a boy that went to Ukyo's last school. He tracked her here, and because he thinks I'm her fiancé, he wants to get me out of the way. He's also showing up a lot earlier this time, but I suppose that's because Ukyo is here earlier as well." She giggled for a moment.

Akane looked at her and asked, "Okay, what's so funny?"

"Just thinking about poor Ukyo. Just think, now she'll have Konatsu, Souta and Tsubasa all chasing her. Makes me feel a little sorry for her. On the other hand, with that many guys after her, maybe she'll be too busy to think about me," Ranma replied. 'And it's nice to see someone else with too many suitors,' she thought with satisfaction.

Out of nowhere, they heard someone cry, "Ranma Saotome! Prepare to die!"

They turned and both said, "Huh?" with identical puzzled expressions on their faces. "Oh yeah, I forget, he's a master of disguise as well as a cross dresser," Ranma muttered in explanation.

Coming down the street toward them was an oblong shape that when it finally got close enough for them to recognize turned out to be a mailbox. It landed with a loud thump.

"A mailbox!" Akane exclaimed as the two of them jumped off the wall, "This is absurd!"

The mailbox screamed, "CHARGE!" and came rushing at Ranma, who merely somersaulted over the oncoming box out of the way. They watched mildly amused as the box ran into the wall and fell backward.

A dry voice asked, "Well, Ranma, what did you ever do to a mailbox to make it mad at you?"

"Hi, Nabs," Ranma replied, "I didn't do anything to no mailbox. But that's not an ordinary mailbox. By the way, when did you show up?"

"Just now. It passed me a moment ago, and I just knew that somehow you were involved," Nabiki said with a grin. "So what's the story with this guy? Is he someone else that your Pop ripped off, jilted or ate out of house and home?"

"Actually, this is the first time we've met," Ranma replied. She saw the box stand back up, and begin moving. "You better get out of the way, I think this isn't over yet," Ranma warned.

The box screamed, "Charge!" again, and came running at Ranma. She again used her agility to get out of the way, and the box careened down the street until it crashed headlong into a telephone pole. This time the box crumpled around the pole, and then fell backwards onto the sidewalk with a loud "BOOM!" After the dust settled, an arm tore through the metal with a loud "Rrrip," followed by the side of the box being pushed away. Out of the rubble, a brown haired girl, a yellow bow in her hair, dressed in a white top with purple collar, and blue tie and matching purple skirt, appeared, her eyes flashing in anger.

"What? A girl?" Nabiki said from where she was standing, just after she finished reading the letter that Ranma had dropped on the ground in her effort to get out of the way.

"R-ranma," the girl said, "C-charge, erk." The girl collapsed in the middle of the sidewalk from exhaustion.

Nabiki smirked and asked, "Who is she? Another fiancée?"

Ranma scowled at Nabiki and replied, "I told you, this is the first time I've seen this person." 'At least this time around, anyway," she thought.

At that moment, Ukyo came out of nowhere and asked, "What're you doing in the middle of the street?"

Akane exclaimed, "Ukyo!"

Then Ukyo noticed the girl lying there and exclaimed, "What?" She began to back away in dismay.

The girl mumbled, "Ukyo, my darling."

"Tsubasa Kurenai!" Ukyo said in dismay.

Nabiki asked, "She sent the letter to Ranma? Is she a friend of yours?"

"Quick, dump her in here!" Ukyo exclaimed as she grabbed a convenient metal trash can. Ranma shrugged her shoulders and did as Ukyo demanded, placing Tsubasa in the can. Ukyo promptly slammed the lid on the can, and then using her large battle spatula, sent the can soaring high into the sky, airmailing the unfortunate girl to destination unknown.

"Arrrgh, I never thought that she'd follow me all the way here!" Ukyo exploded, as she panted a bit from her exertion.

"What's with her, anyway?" Nabiki asked. She looked a bit puzzled as Ranma and Akane exchanged amused looks. 'I'm missing something here,' Nabiki thought, 'What do they know that I don't know?'

Ukyo sighed and said, "Come to the café and I'll tell you the whole story. The okonomiyaki is on me."

Ranma said, "I've got something that I need to do, so I can't come. I'll catch you later." She took off running.

"Wait, Ranma!" Akane protested as she ran off after her.

"Looks like it's just you and me, sugar," Ukyo said, a hint of pain in her voice.

* * *

Ranma ran as fast as she could, keeping one eye on the trajectory of the trashcan as it soared into the sky. Finally, the projectile reached its apex and began its descent toward the ground far below. 'Ukyo really launched it, didn't she?' she thought to herself. Finally, she reached the spot where she had calculated that Tsubasa would land and waited. To her satisfaction, the trashcan landed almost exactly where she had predicted. Akane joined her and quickly gave her a brief hug.

Ranma pulled Tsubasa out of the wreckage of the trashcan, and said, "Before you go off half-cocked again, there's a few things that you need to know."

Tsubasa growled, "All I need to know is that you are Ukyo's fiancée."

"Well, that's the first thing that's wrong. The only person I'm marrying is this girl right here," Ranma replied, her eyes cold, "Anything that Ukyo may have said about the subject is wrong."

"You're not engaged to my darling Ukyo?" Tsubasa asked in surprise, "But there was a photograph in the letter that I got, that said that you were."

Ranma shrugged and said, "Ukyo claims that I am, but that's not the case."

"Ranma belongs to me," Akane growled, "And no one else is gonna have him." She smiled frostily, and added, "Besides, Ranma isn't the one that you need to worry about. How about the waitress that lives in the building with Ukyo? Konatsu."

"Someone lives with my darling Ukyo?" Tsubasa asked angrily.

"Yep, and they make such a cute couple," Ranma said.

"In that case, my apologies, Ranma Saotome," Tsubasa said with a curtsey. Then she yelled, "Charge!" and took off in the direction of Ukyo's café.

"That went well," Ranma said with a smirk. Then she giggled and asked, "Well, since I'm changed already, why don't we go see if we can score some ice cream."

"Ranma, you're shameless," Akane said with a sigh, "And I think it's mean that you sicked that weirdo on poor Konatsu."

"Konatsu can take care of himself. He's almost as good as I am in a lot of ways, and he's better at stealth than I am, even with the Umi-Ken-Sen," Ranma said, with a cute pout.

"Oh stop that," Akane said, looking at the puppy-dog eyes that Ranma was giving her, "Let's go find that ice cream. I bet I get more scoops than you do."

Ranma said cockily, "You're on, tomboy. I never lose, remember."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Ukyo's restaurant, the two girls were talking, while Konatsu was working feverishly in the back.

"So what's the story on that girl who makes Azusa look almost normal," Nabiki drawled.

Ukyo poured the batter onto her hot griddle and said, "Well, Tsubasa and I were in the same class in my last school."

"But what's that got to do with Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

Ukyo flipped the okonomiyaki over and replied, "Before I came here, I was posing as a man, remember? So, Tsubasa fell in love with me. I was given all sorts of gifts, and was chased all over the school." She put the shrimp on top of the okonomiyaki and let it cook for a little bit. "I finally snapped, and said, in the gentlest way possible, that I was engaged to someone."

At that moment a trashcan came into the restaurant, and a voice from inside said, "Oh, but, I didn't give up! Never! Never! Even after my darling Ukyo moved away, I sent love letters, love letters, love letters to my darling Ukyo."

"And so, since she wouldn't leave me alone, I sent a picture of Ranma along with a letter asking her to leave us alone," Ukyo continued.

"Okay, but which Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

Ukyo snapped, "The female version of course."

"Why?" Nabiki asked.

"Because Tsubasa thinks I'm a boy, so if I'm engaged to a boy, it wouldn't make sense," Ukyo explained.

Tsubasa lifted the lid of the trashcan and peeked out. Then she climbed out and began to scan Nabiki. Finally, she said, "Ugly!"

Nabiki blinked her eyes, for the first time in a very long time, surprised. "Ugly? Moi?" she said

"Yes, ugly, Konatsu," Tsubasa said.

Nabiki replied, coldly, and the temperature of the room dropped noticeably, "Well, you've made two mistakes then, little girl. First, I'm not Konatsu, I am Nabiki Tendo. And secondly, no one insults me and gets away with it."

Konatsu walked in, dressed in his best kimono, doing his best to look like an attractive young girl. "Ukyo-sama," he began.

"What Konatsu?" Ukyo asked tiredly.

"SO this is Konatsu. She's even uglier than you are," Tsubasa said angrily.

"UGLY!" Konatsu exclaimed.

"Don't let it get to you, Konatsu," Nabiki began.

"You're the one that is trying to steal my Ukyo from me," Tsubasa growled.

Konatsu blinked his eyes and then to everyone's surprise, exclaimed, "Ukyo, darling." He ran over and jumped in Ukyo's arms. "Maybe I'm ugly, but who's the one who lost out to ugly, hm? What does that make you? Even uglier, I imagine."

Ukyo and Nabiki stared at each other in shock, while Tsubasa screamed.

Ukyo cleared her throat finally and said, "Ahem, well, as you can plainly see, I have someone."

"Yeah, give it up and go home, honey," Konatsu said, as he cuddled with Ukyo.

Tsubasa's face reddened and then she snapped, "You just watch!" The overly cute girl stormed out of the restaurant, slamming the door behind her, and almost knocking it off its rails.

A loud roar was heard, and then a soft drink machine burst through the window. "CHARGE!" it roared. Konatsu and Ukyo jumped out of the way as the machine ran into the grill counter and fell down. Tsubasa stuck her head out of the debris and said, "Poo, I missed her."

Ukyo began to get angry, her battle aura beginning to show as she growled, "Tsubasa, you wrecked my shop!" She started to swing her battle spatula at the cowering girl only to have it grabbed by Nabiki.

Nabiki exclaimed, "Wait, Ukyo!" Nabiki grabbed Ukyo's top and pulled it open, revealing Ukyo's breast bindings. "Tsubasa, take a look!"

Ukyo pulled away from Nabiki and closed her top. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, furiously blushing.

"You see! Ukyo is a girl!" Nabiki exclaimed, then she looked over at Ukyo and said, "Maybe you should have done this from the start."

"Feh!" Tsubasa exclaimed, "You idiots! Do you think I'm blind? I knew it all along!"

"What!" Nabiki exclaimed.

Ukyo blinked in astonishment and exclaimed, "GAK!"

"Don't you see," Tsubasa exclaimed, "I'm only interested in girls!" She turned to leave and said, with a evil laugh, "UKYO WILL STILL BE MINE!" Then she whirled again and rushed at Konatsu, and exclaimed, "UGLY!" She then rushed out of the café.

"Tsubasa only likes girls?" Ukyo asked in shock.

Nabiki looked puzzled for a moment and then said, "This gets weirder by the minute."

An irate Konatsu gritted his teeth and snarled, "Ugly! I'll show you who's ugly!"

"Konatsu, thank you for trying to protect me from Tsubasa," Ukyo said, her cheeks glowing.

"My pleasure, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu replied, "I will do everything in my power to keep that pervert away from you."

* * *

The next morning, Ukyo headed off to school, dressed in her uni-sex okonomiyaki seller's uniform, her battle spatula slung over her back, the handle sticking out over her left shoulder, instead of the school uniform that she had started to where most of the time. When Konatsu asked, she had simply shrugged her shoulders and said, "It felt right for some reason."

As Ukyo walked through the gates of the school, she was greeted by several of her friends. "Morning, Ukyo," Hiroshi called from where he was standing next to Daisuke, Yuka and Sayuri.

."Good morning, Ukyo." Sayuri said.

Suddenly, they heard the thunder of footsteps, and the statue of the school founder came running at Ukyo. "CHARGE!" the statue cried.

In the blink of an eye, Ukyo had her spatula out and swung, crushing the figure down into the base of the statue.

Tsubasa popped her head out of the debris, and sobbed, "Oh, darling Ukyo, how could you?"

"Wow, she's cute," Hiroshi exclaimed, under his breath.

Unfortunately for his health, Sayuri heard him, and elbowed him hard in the ribs. "What was that?" she said icily.

"Er, nothing, dear," Hiroshi said quickly.

Daisuke made a noise that sounded suspiciously like, "Whipped."

Yuka turned and gave him a glare that a basilisk would have envied and said, her voice chilly, "Did you have something to add, dear?"

"Er, not a thing, Yuka," Daisuke said quickly.

"Tsubasa, I thought I told you to leave me alone," Ukyo said very coldly, as she caressed the handle of her battle spatula.

Most of her classmates were watching from the third story window of their classroom.

"Don't you get it, I'm already taken," Ukyo continued.

"That UGLY girl! You can't be engaged to her!" Tsubasa protested loudly.

Ukyo spat, "I've been trying to tell you that-"

Tsubasa jumped several feet into the air, as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

With a wicked laugh, Konatsu said, "Good morning."

Tsubasa whirled and stuck her face in Konatsu's face and said, "So you come again, Ugly."

Konatsu sniffed as if there was a bad smell in the air and simply retorted, "Pervert!"

The crowd all said, "Wooo!"

"Catfight," Daisuke said softly.

"Feh!" Tsubasa said, "We will see who is worthy of Ukyo, like gentlemen!" She threw dozens of flyers in the air.

Hiroshi snagged one out of the air and asked, "What's this?"

Daisuke started reading the one he had grabbed. He said, "Let's see. Okay, today at lunch, an Okonomiyaki bake-off sponsored by Ucchan's."

Ukyo gripped the flyer she had grabbed and exclaimed, "Sponsored by who? What is this?"

"The one who sells the most wins, agreed?" Tsubasa asked.

"Heh," Konatsu said, "This sounds interesting."

Ukyo slammed her battle spatula down on top of Tsubasa. "Did I give you permission to use my name?" she asked angrily, but then a light bulb went off. "I could make a killing!" she exclaimed.

"Dearest Ukyo, I am ever your servant," Tsubasa said, her hands clasped together in front of her face.

* * *

The bell sounded, signifying the start of the lunch period. The news of the challenge had spread rapidly throughout the school, as word spread that two cute girls were competing to see who could sell the most okonomiyaki. The word also had spread that one of the two girls actually only liked girls. Nabiki, naturally, had established a betting pool on who would win. Of course, she also had finagled the fight so the odds were in her favor.

Ranma and Akane watched from their spot on the lawn as Konatsu and Tsubasa lined up at Ukyo's portable grill. "You know, one of these days I'm gonna ask her where she hides that thing," Ranma said. He chuckled for several moments while Akane looked at him in confusion.

"Was that a private joke or can anyone join?" Akane asked.

"Oh, just thinking about how much fun it'll be to watch this contest, instead of being one of the idiots in it like last time," Ranma whispered.

"You didn't!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma grinned wryly and said, "Yep, Tsubasa said that I was ugly last time, and I reacted pretty much just like Konatsu did. The Playboy Bunny costume might have been a bit over the top, though."

Akane giggled and said, "I think you're right about that. You probably looked real cute wearing it."

"Yeah, I did. With my hair down and everything, none of the guys recognized me for some strange reason. **You** objected to me wearing it, though," Ranma said, still chuckling.

With a loud bang from a starter's pistol, the race began. The two pseudo-girls raced away from Ukyo, their trays loaded with fresh okonomiyaki, with their names spelled out in the sauce.

A horde of boys came charging up to the two girls. "We'll buy that okonomiyaki," one of the boys called.

"Remember, buy from the one you think is the cutest," Tsubasa said, with a cute pout and a flip of her hair.

"Come and get it!" Konatsu exclaimed, with a brilliant smile.

In a flurry of activity, the crowd of boys quickly made their purchases. To everyone's astonishment, all but one of Konatsu's okonomiyakis were gone, while Tsubasa had none sold.

"This can't be!" Tsubasa gasped.

"Looks like it's already settled, right pervert?" Konatsu sneered.

Tsubasa collapsed to the ground, sobbing. "I really thought I had it won. Can it be? Am I really ugly?" she cried.

"You? Whose beauty outshines the sun," a male voice said from behind her, "I will buy all of your food."

Tsubasa cheered up as Kuno snapped his fingers. Immediately a small ninja appeared out of nowhere. "Pay the girl," Kuno ordered.

"Of course, Master Kuno," Sasuke replied.

Tsubasa smirked at Konatsu and said, "Who's the ugly one now, huh?"

Hiroshi chuckled, and said, "It figures that the only person at this school who doesn't know Ranma's secret would buy all of that food. I guess he didn't get the word that Tsubasa only likes girls."

Konatsu exclaimed, "I haven't lost yet. I just have one more to sell." The kunoichi started walking over toward Ranma, only to be stopped by Nabiki.

Nabiki sniffed, "And to think that I thought that you really had a chance to beat a real girl in a cuteness contest, Konatsu."

"Wait," Ukyo exclaimed, running up, "I'll buy that last one." She flipped a coin to Konatsu and grabbed the last okonomiyaki.

Tsubasa shot a betrayed look at her and said, "Ukyo, how could you? I was the winner. If you were so terribly against going out with me, why didn't you tell me sooner?" She burst into tears.

"I've been trying to tell you from the start!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"All right," Tsubasa sniffed, "I'll, I'll give up on you!" Tsubasa ran off.

Kuno cried, "Wait!" He started to run after her.

"Uh, Kuno, there's something you need to know," Ukyo said.

"There's a damsel in distress. What more do I need to know?" Kuno retorted.

"Uh, I met Tsubasa at my last school. An all boy's school," Ukyo said dryly.

"So, what's that have to do with anything?" Kuno asked, befuddled.

"Well, Tsubasa is a boy. He just likes to dress up as a girl," Ukyo explained.

"A cross-dresser?" Kuno gasped.

"I am not," Tsubasa said from the trunk of a tree that he currently was disguised as, "I'm just an ordinary boy who likes to dress up."

"I was attracted to a boy!" Kuno exclaimed, "Impossible! I would never be fooled like that. Sasuke, get me an appointment with Dr. Hojo, immediately!"

Sasuke scampered away, heading toward the nearest telephone.

Kuno looked confused as everyone within earshot began laughing.

* * *

Author's Notes: Another installment in my story for everyone's amusement. Remember, all reviews and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. Specific comments to some of those reviews are below:

Daouid: I'm a fan of the old bard myself, so I had a lot of fun writing those scenes. Hopefully, the speech where he explains that he's from the future worked. That one was a bit hard to write.

Weebee: Mostly, I am following the manga timeline at least as far as the chapters are structured, except for bringing in the elements that I think Ranma's tinkering with the time-line would have caused. Also, not all of the story lines in the manga will appear, since at least some of them have been overcome by events. Thank you for the ego stroking. That IS always appreciated, VBG. And yes, I wanted this romance to sort of grow a little slowly.

Gort420: Thanks, I remember that story arc now about Pink and Link. I managed to confuse them with Ling Ling and Lung Lung, for some reason.

Neongene: Hopefully her reaction was more or less what you expected.

Shinigami: Yeah, I kind of hated to do that to the poor guy, but I needed the plot twist. Oh well, I'll have to make it up to him somehow. Ukyo will have her hands full. I'm not sure exactly what chapter I'll resolve that in. Ranma probably won't help with either of them. I suspect he'll be having too much fun watching someone else with too many love interests. I thought about having Cologne there, but decided to go another way.

Silverbullet23: Yeah, Souta kind of got the short straw. The panda was the obvious choice to me, since he always jumped to conclusions and only thought about himself. As you can see, the mallet made a cameo appearance. And I went a bit against the cliché by allowing Ranma to keep it from landing. You know, it always bothered me that this great martial artist couldn't get out of the way of either the mallet, or the spatula

Lokichaosgod: Yes, I have a plan for Ukyo, but I'd rather not spoil the surprise.

Borg rabbit: Thank you. And hopefully, the tale he told Akane in this chapter was close to what you had in mind. Secret investment account, hmm, that's a thought. Microsoft, Dell Computers, hmm.

Wharpt: Yes, Ranma should play pound the panda often, though I think Akane will have more fun doing it. And now Akane knows the truth about Ranma. Thanks, I remember that story arc now, and the short answer is yes, they'll show up.

Wlah: I had forgotten about the Furinkan site. Thanks for reminding me, and taking the time to send the separate e-mail.

: I looked at a lot of the other fanfictions that were still rated T and saw that many of them were more graphic than I was, so I decided to reset the rating.

Hououza: Thank you. And I always intended Ranma to play Romeo. Just wanted the plot twist. Well, Ukyo sort of has it worked out. She still hasn't decided what she can do though. And the scene that I dreaded the most, Ranma telling Akane the truth, finally came together. I hope it satisfies. And casting Kuno as Paris, that just came to me in an AHA moment.

Xero Reflux: That's what I think about Taro. He will show up when he's supposed to. I don't know about the ladle, that's an interesting question.

Oceanus: Yes, I read Harry Potter, in fact, there's a plot bunny running around in my head that I may eventually have to write. And you must have been reading over my shoulder about the dream sequence. I don't think I had that written for more than a day or so before I got your review about the pensieve.

Psycho King: Thank you. Yes, Akane needed to be told the truth as soon as possible. Those kinds of things can act like a cancer on a relationship.

Raver Styx: You just had to ask, and now she knows. As far as the Romeo and Juliet part, it gave me an excellent opportunity for Ukyo to hear a profession of love from the Ranma and Akane. When I read the text of the play, I just had to put those lines in there.

Amasaki Reyoko: I liked writing them myself. Glad you enjoyed them.

Sean Malloy-1: I guess you know the answer now.

RanmaSaotome103: Saffron will cause a lot of complications. I think Ranma will come up with some more moves, just don't know what they are right yet.

Wonderbee31: I think Ranma deep down in his heart knew that they ruined the performance with all of the hijinks, so he was bound and determined to do things right this time. The dream sequence was an attempt to make her understand some of what happened. And yes, Ukyo is on her way to recovery.

Dragon Man 180: Think the outfit that Xena wore. That's basically the affect that I'm going after. Totally impractical to fight in of course, but that's all right. Akane will have her chances to play pound the panda.

Innortal: Yes, I thought it would be funny for someone else to have that problem. I've got another triangle in mind for much later in the story also. Herb will be a help for Ranma in his training, but I have another part for him to play too. Taro will help toughen Ranma up, as well as teach him some things. Taro is smarter than Ranma. I can't wait to see what things Cologne is going to teach Ranma, either. Right now I just wish I knew what they were. VBG

Firestorm2004: I hope this chapter was satisfactory. I did feel sorry for Souta as I wrote that scene. As far as mastering the Neko-ken, I think that's probably going to be one of the things that Cologne works with him on. And yes, if he does, he'll probably take on a few of those characteristics.


	33. The Way of Tea

Chapter 33 The Way of Tea

Nabiki watched Ranma and Akane suspiciously at the dinner table as the two of them smiled at each other. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but her suspicious mind was telling something had changed. Her sister and her fiancé had disappeared for several hours, something that Nabiki was still unhappy about, and had come back home almost giddy. The only thing that was keeping her from bursting was the fact that she had indeed cleaned up in the betting over who would win the 'who was the cutest girl contest' between what turned out to be two boys. And the expression on Kuno's face when he found out that Tsuabasa was really a boy was priceless. Finally, Nabiki decided that she couldn't wait any longer. "Why are you so happy tonight, sis?" she asked.

"Oh no real reason, I suppose," Akane replied, "Except that Ranma and I spent some quality time together and I really got to know some more things about him."

"Akane, that's not really proper!" Kasumi exclaimed, "You should wait to do those kinds of things until after you're married."

Akane blushed bright red as Ranma said, "I'm not exactly sure what you meant by that Kasumi, but all Akane and I did was spend some time talking."

"Well, there was a little bit of kissing," Akane admitted.

Kasumi smiled angelically and said, "That's all right then. I'm sorry that I jumped to a conclusion."

"Not a problem, Sis. But the reason I'm a little giddy is I really know how much Ranma loves me and it just makes me, ooh," Akane said.

"Huh?" Nabiki asked.

"Oh, it's not that important, Nabs. I just told Akane a few more things about my life, and then we got to talking about some other things, that's all. You know me, I'm pretty much an open book, but I wanted her to know everything about me," Ranma said smoothly.

Akane giggled then, causing Nabiki to give her a sharp look. "Exactly what did Ranma tell you?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing much. He talked about some of the things he remembered from the last several years. All of his adventures, I guess you would say. You'd be surprised at all of the things that happened to him," Akane said. She grimaced for a second as she remembered some of the things that Ranma had told her. When they had finally managed to steal away for a few hours, and Ranma had felt safe enough, he had told her everything that he could remember from his original future, though he freely admitted he could only remember the highlights. She also suspected that he had toned down many of the problems that the two of them had had.

Ranma smiled tenderly at his fiancée, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Yeah, me and Akane finally had the chance to talk for a while. You know we love each other and everything, but there were still some things that I hadn't had a chance to tell her. And I really didn't want to have any secrets from her," he said.

"Yes, that's the way to be in a marriage," Genma said portentously, "You should never have secrets from your wife."

"And you would know that exactly how?" Ranma asked, "Does Mom know **everything** that you did while you were away?"

A major bead of sweat rolled down from Genma's forehead. "Of course I told your mother everything in the letters I sent to her while we were on the training trip."

Ranma snickered and said, "I doubt you told her everything. After all, you're still alive."

Genma had the audacity to look affronted while Nodoka simply glared at her idiot of a husband.

Akane smiled secretly to herself, a smile that would not have been out of place on Kasumi's face, as she remembered how the two of them had cried together, a time of catharsis, which had only made them closer. She vowed that she would never cause him any pain, the pain that he had tried unsuccessfully to hide from her as he spoke. She also vowed to learn everything that he could teach her so that she would truly be worthy to be his wife and more importantly his partner. She also hoped that with the forewarning that the two of them now had, that some of the things that had happened would be avoided.

* * *

Ukyo looked around warily as she came out of the school for lunch. Tsubasa had again begun to stalk her, showing up in one disguise after another despite her obvious displeasure at his appearance. The only bright spot was watching Kuno's reaction every time he saw Tsubasa. The look on his face was always good for a laugh and never failed to raise her spirits. She walked over to where her friends were sitting, Ranma already devouring the food in his bento, while Akane looked at him in fond exasperation. Ukyo felt a little pang in her heart as she watched the two of them, still wishing that she was the one that Ranma had chosen. 

Ukyo began to set up her portable grill, only to stop as she realized her heart really wasn't into cooking. She had spent several difficult nights, tossing and turning as she thought about what everyone had told her, concentrating mostly on what Nabiki and Souta had said. Now that her eyes had been opened to the reality that Ranma had meant what he said, that he didn't love her the way she wanted him to, she wasn't sure what her options were. And just to add to her confusion were the mixed feelings she was having about Konatsu and Souta. Both of the men had tried to comfort her, and the obvious jealousy that Konatsu showed every time Tsubasa appeared, were not making things any easier for her. And she had to admit, she liked the massages that the kunoichi gave her every night, which had been the only things that had allowed her to relax enough to get the little sleep she had gotten.

"What's the matter, Ukyo?" Hiroshi asked, "You look upset about something."

"Oh, just thinking about things, sugar," Ukyo replied, "You know, the situation with Kurenai. It's not much fun having someone stalking you all of the time."

"Yeah, I can imagine that it wouldn't be," Ranma said, with a wry look. Akane had to stifle an inappropriate giggle as she realized that Ranma knew exactly what it felt like to be stalked, what with all of the suitors that he had before.

Yuka said, "I thought he had given up on you. Wasn't that what he said when he lost the contest with Konatsu?"

Ukyo shrugged her shoulders, and said unhappily, "Well, I guess he lied. He's been showing up every once and a while, in some stupid disguise. Yesterday, he tried to sneak into the café as a cigarette machine. In the first place, I don't allow smoking in the café, so it was a dumb idea. But anyway, Konatsu tossed him out on his ear. I halfway expect him to pop up."

Ranma chuckled lightly and said, "He is here. Look up in that tree over there." Ranma pointed to a suspicious lump in one of the trees across the schoolyard from where they were sitting.

Ukyo glanced over and sure enough, Tsubasa was pretending to be a tree branch. She grabbed her battle spatula and raced over, and whacked the tree trunk, causing Tsubasa to fall to the ground. She glared at the disguised boy and exclaimed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Then with a swing of her weapon, she sent Tsubasa, tree branch disguise and all, soaring into the air in the general direction of downtown Nerima.

"Nice form," a male voice said from behind her. Ukyo whirled to see Souta standing there, smiling at her.

"Hi, Souta," Ukyo said, her cheeks a little rosy. Gathering her courage, she bowed to him and said, "I want to apologize for my actions of the other day. You were trying to comfort me, and I shouldn't have lost my temper the way I did. I ask you to forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, Ukyo," Souta said, "You were hurting, and I picked at an open wound, thinking that it would help you heal. Why don't we just forget that whole episode and start over?"

"I'd like that, Souta. Friends, then?" Ukyo asked.

"Friends," Souta agreed.

Ukyo gave a sigh of relief and asked, "Is that offer of a movie still open?"

Souta's eyes widened in surprise and then he replied, "Of course. How about tomorrow night?"

"I think that will work," Ukyo replied, "Auntie Nodoka and Konatsu can handle the crowd for a few hours."

* * *

As Ukyo, Konatsu and Nodoka were finishing up that night's cleaning, Ukyo said, "Souta wants to take me to a movie tomorrow night. Can you two take care of the restaurant while I'm gone?" 

Nodoka replied, "I don't have a problem. Wednesday is usually a slow night for some reason."

"Ukyo-sama, if that is what you wish to do, then of course, you should do that," Konatsu said, somewhat stiffly.

"Thanks, both of you," Ukyo said happily, missing the pained look in Konatsu's eyes and the gleeful look in Nodoka's eyes.

Nodoka looked around and said, "It looks like everything is straightened up. I'll see you tomorrow, Konatsu. If I don't see you before you go out, have a nice time tomorrow, Ukyo." 'I can't wait to get home so I can call Ranma and tell him the good news,' she thought.

"Goodnight, Auntie Nodoka," Ukyo said.

Konatsu echoed her, as he said, "Goodnight, Auntie."

Nodoka left the two of them in the café as she headed home.

"Are you sure about going out on a date so soon, Ukyo-sama?" Konatsu asked diffidently.

"It's not really a date," Ukyo replied, "But I thought it would be nice to see a movie for a change."

"Are you sure? What do you think Higurashi-san thinks about taking you to a movie?" Konatsu asked.

"We're just friends," Ukyo protested.

Konatsu frowned quickly and said, "Then I hope you and your friend have a very good time tomorrow." He changed the subject and asked, "How are you tonight? Do you need your massage?"

Ukyo replied, with a smile, "That's the highlight of my day, Konatsu. Your fingers are magic. Give me a minute to get ready for you and then come on up."

"Of course, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said. His smile almost lit up the room, realizing that something he did pleased her so much.

* * *

Ukyo walked into her bedroom to change when she saw a small box in the middle of her futon. Curious, she picked it up and opened the box to find a small locket on a gold filigree chain. Inscribed on the back was her name in elegant kanji. She opened the locket and found a piece of paper inside that read, 'To Ukyo-sama, for taking care of me. Konatsu.' To her surprise, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the beautiful gift that she had been given, realizing that it must have cost the kunoichi all of the money that he had saved up since beginning to work for her. With trembling hands, she set the locket back in the box and quickly changed into her bikini. Then she picked up the box and walked back into her sitting room, to wait for Konatsu to meet her. As soon as he walked in, she held up the box and asked in a soft voice, "Please, could you help me put this on?" She turned away from him, and raised her hair up, exposing the nape of her neck. 

Konatsu walked over, placing his supplies on the floor and then took the locket from her. After drawing the ends of the chain around to the back of her neck, he secured the clasp, dropping the locket so that it rested just above the start of her cleavage. To his surprise, she turned in his arms, and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for this," Ukyo said, "It's beautiful. But what did I do to deserve it?"

Konatsu blushed, both from the show of affection, and the feel of her body against him. "I've made no secret of how I feel for you, Ukyo-sama," he said softly, "But I'm not going to chase you like Tsubasa does. I can see how uncomfortable that makes you. The only thing that I wish is for you to be happy, and I'll do what I can to help you."

"You're a better friend than I realized, Konatsu," Ukyo said. 'If only I returned his love,' she thought, 'But I do care for him.'

"You seem to be awfully tense for some reason, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu observed, "Would you like that massage?" He carefully touched the place where she had kissed him, in shock that she had actually done that. Since his parents had died, no one had shown him any affection, and to be kissed like that meant a great deal to him.

Ukyo nodded weakly and Konatsu stepped back to allow Ukyo to lie on a towel that he had stretched out on the floor. She reached around to unclasp her top and pulled the ends down to the floor. Konatsu began what had become their daily ritual, though this was the first time that Ukyo had worn a two-piece suit. Warming the oil in his hands, he dug down firmly into her tense shoulder muscles and slowly worked the tension out of them. Taking his time, using the strong, slow strokes that he had been taught by his father as a child, he drained the knots out of her back, until he reached a particularly stubborn spot. He stopped and dug in, causing Ukyo to moan and lift slightly off of the towel, exposing some of the swell of her breast. He turned away politely; his face red, until she had settled herself, and then continued to work on that one spot. Finally, the knot disappeared, and he finished up in the small of her back. After finishing, he refastened her top, and pulled away, only to realize that she had fallen asleep. He rolled her over onto her back, and carefully picked her up and began to carry her to her bed. After he pulled the covers back, he laid her tenderly in the futon, and then pulled the cover up to her chin. As he started to leave, Ukyo said, sleepily, "Thank you, Konatsu. Could you stay with me? I think I'll sleep better knowing that you're up here with me."

His eyes widened in astonishment and then he said softly, "I'll do anything for you, Ukyo-sama. I'll be out here on the futon in the sitting room. Just let me get a blanket."

"Thanks, sugar," Ukyo said, as she closed her eyes and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Konatsu bolted out of bed as he heard Ukyo moaning in her bedroom. Wrapping his blanket around himself, he made his way through the moonlit sitting room into Ukyo's bedroom where he saw her thrashing around in the bed, twisted up in her covers. She was crying out, "Don't leave me! You promised!" in a voice so filled with sorrow and anguish that Konatsu thought his heart would break. He ran over to the bed, and pulled Ukyo into a rough embrace, caressing her back, as he crooned, "I'm here for you, darling Ukyo. Please, don't cry!" 

Ukyo woke up slowly and realized that someone was hugging her, talking to her in a low voice. Wearily she opened her eyes and saw that Konatsu was with her, trying to comfort her in her distress.

Konatsu saw that she was awake and asked, in a soft, comforting voice, "Are you okay, now, Ukyo-sama?"

"I think so, sugar," Ukyo replied, "It was just the normal nightmare that I have had for the last ten years. Ever since that fat bastard ran off and left me in the dust on the side of the road, I've always had that nightmare."

"Is that why you were chasing Ranma-sama? Hoping that would stop your nightmares?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo shivered and replied, "I wanted some closure, Konatsu. I guess I thought that if Ranma and I fulfilled our parents pledge then I would have what I needed. Do you know how much I was teased by all of the kids in the village when they found out that my fiancé had run off? It was horrible. It made me feel like I wasn't worthy of being loved."

"Ukyo-sama, I will always be with you, and you are definitely someone who is worthy of love," Konatsu said, "That I can promise. You were the first person to really be nice to me, so I owe you a life debt for taking me away from my evil stepfamily. Whatever you need, if I can provide it, I will." His eyes shown in the dim light, a look of devotion that made Ukyo's heart feel better.

"Thank you, sugar," Ukyo said softly. She realized that she was still in her bikini and said, "I guess you must have just put me to bed after the massage."

"Yes, Ukyo-sama, you fell asleep on the floor so I brought you in here and laid you in the bed," Konatsu replied.

"Hand me that t-shirt," she ordered.

Konatsu reached to the foot of the bed and grabbed the t-shirt that was lying there and handed it to Ukyo. Ukyo slid the t-shirt on, and then reached behind her back and undid her bikini top. Sliding the top off of her arms, she drew it out of one of the sleeves of her shirt.

"Would you hold me, please, while I try to get back to sleep?" Ukyo asked in a little girl voice.

Konatsu gulped and asked, "Are you sure, Ukyo-sama?"

"Yes, I trust you, Konatsu. I need to feel that I am wanted," Ukyo replied, as she lay back in the bed.

Konatsu crawled into the bed, discarding his blanket, and held Ukyo in his arms. He whispered, "Please, Ukyo-sama, allow me to take care of you. You deserve to be cherished."

The darkness hid their blushes as the two slowly slid closer to each other, as they began drifting off back to sleep.

* * *

Ukyo felt extremely comfortable as she roused from the best sleep she had in several nights. In the past, only when she was completely exhausted had she been able to sleep through an entire night, without waking up at least once to stare with vacant eyes at the ceiling above her. As she finally roused from her slumber, she became aware of several things; one, that she was not alone, a fact that caused her eyes to open completely; two, that it was definitely a man that was sharing her bed; and three, that she was enjoying the sensation of being in someone's arms. Then she remembered what had happened last night, the nightmare that had awoken her screaming, and Konatsu rushing in to comfort her, how safe she had felt in his arms as he held her until she calmed down, and her boldness in asking, almost demanding, that he share her bed. 

"Good morning, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said softly, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

"Good morning, Konatsu," Ukyo replied, feeling her cheeks heating up as she blushed, "thank you again for last night. I don't remember the last time I slept this well after having that nightmare."

Konatsu removed his arms from around her and started to slide out of the bed. "I'll start breakfast, Ukyo-sama, while you freshen up," he said.

Ukyo stared at him thoughtfully as the kunoichi stretched and then headed out her bedroom door, unsure of exactly why she had been so reluctant to have him leave, and why she suddenly felt so comforted by his presence. Reluctantly she pulled herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom to shower and change her clothing.

* * *

Ukyo came downstairs, dressed in her Furinkan School uniform, and entered the main room of the café, where she found Konatsu waiting with two bowls of miso soup, and several okonomiyakis that he had prepared on the grill. A fresh pot of tea was sitting on one of the tables, the aroma coming from the green tea a welcome invitation for the morning. "You're looking much better this morning, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said, as he sat across from her, "You appear a lot happier for some reason." 

"I feel better, sugar," Ukyo replied, "It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for you. Thank you again for being there for me last night."

"Don't mention it, Ukyo-sama, I was just glad I could help you. That is reward enough for me," Konatsu said. He hesitated and then added, "If you ever want to talk about it, I've been trained to be a good listener. It's all part of being a kunoichi."

"Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that some day," Ukyo replied, "It's not good for me to be holding things in like I am. You're a good friend, sugar."

Konatsu blushed at the praise and exclaimed, "She called me friend!"

Ukyo finished her meal, and on an odd impulse hugged Konatsu, who was dressed for the day in his best kimono, looking like a very attractive girl again. "I'd better get going, I don't want to be late to school. I'll see you this afternoon," Ukyo said. She grabbed her battle spatula from the hooks on the wall and slung it over her shoulder. She waved and walked out the door heading for another day of school.

* * *

"I hear you have big plans for the evening, Ukyo," Yuka teased as the friends gathered for lunch. The weather had turned a bit dreary, with scattered showers, so they had stayed in their classroom, while most of the rest of the class had headed to the cafeteria. 

Ukyo blushed and protested, "It's just a movie."

"Yeah, but it's with that dreamy Souta," Sayuri said, "He's so good looking."

"Hey, I'm sitting right here,"Hiroshi grumbled.

Sayuri hugged her boyfriend and said, "I'm dating you, but that doesn't mean I'm blind."

"I'm happy for you, Ucchan," Ranma said softly, "Souta is a nice guy. You should have a good time with him." He grinned at her and added, "Though I might have to have the talk with him."

"The talk?" Ukyo asked, "What's that?"

"You know, the one where I tell him he'd better be nice to you, and not hurt your feelings," Ranma replied, "The big brother talk."

"Ranma, you'd better not. That would so embarrass her," Akane said, as she elbowed him hard in the side.

Ukyo looked at her gratefully and said, "That won't be needed. I'm sure Souta will be a perfect gentleman. Besides, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." 'He thinks of me as his sister,' Ukyo suddenly realized, 'That's all I am to him. A friend and a sister rolled up in one package.'

"Elder Cologne want Ranma and Akane to come to café after school to start their training," Shampoo said, "She say that she want you for a couple of hours each day and then go on trip Saturday after class."

"Thanks, Shampoo. Sorry I can't help you in the restaurant any more," Ranma said.

'Ranma isn't working? Then maybe he can't continue paying off the mortgage on the building,' Ukyo thought.

"That okay, Ranma. A lot of the male customers were disappointed to find you no work anymore," Shampoo said, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"Ha, ha," Ranma said as his friends started laughing at him.

"What are you two training for?" Hiroshi asked.

"Oh, the old woman decided that she would teach us a few more techniques, sort of as a reward for capturing an old enemy of theirs," Ranma said smoothly, "Plus I want her to help me learn to control the Neko-ken."

"Neko-ken, what's that, sugar?" Ukyo asked.

"It's a dangerous technique that his idiot of a father taught him. Basically, he threw Ranma into a pit of starving cats, wrapped in fish paste. Several times, as a matter of fact, until Ranma was able to learn it. Unfortunately, as a side effect, he's terrified of cats, and if he can't get away from them, he basically thinks he is a cat. The only things that seem to snap him out of it is me, or changing forms," Akane explained.

"Yeah, I was ten when he taught me that," Ranma added.

"That's horrible!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"It could have been worse, according to the training manual it should have driven me nuts," Ranma said. He shrugged, and said, "What's done is done. I need to learn how to control my fears so that I only go into it when I want to and stay in conscious control. Right now, when the c-c-cat takes over, I don't know what happens."

'Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't go with them,' Ukyo thought. "Your father is an idiot all right," she said.

"Yep, he sure is," Ranma said cheerfully, "Otherwise I wouldn't change into a girl. That was probably the dumbest thing he ever did, taking us to Jusenkyo. You ought to be glad you weren't with us. From what the guide told me, almost everyone who goes there comes back with some sort of curse."

"That's a scary thought," Ukyo said, "Maybe being abandoned wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me."

The classroom began to fill up as the rest of the students returned from lunch, effectively bringing the conversation to a halt.

* * *

Ranma and Akane made their way to the Nekohaten, where Cologne was waiting eagerly for them. She cackled and said, "Right on time, you two. Grab those bundles and get changed." Ranma and Akane exchanged looks. "Upstairs, right now. Use the furoba that's up there," she explained, after whacking them both over the head with her cane. 

"Now how exactly were we supposed to know that, old woman?" Ranma growled.

"Did you say something, sonny boy? Or should I say girl?" Cologne asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Ya didn't have to hit us on the head," Ranma replied as he followed Akane up the stairs, both of them still rubbing the top of their heads.

The two of them entered the furoba, Ranma closing the door to the main hallway to provide some privacy. Akane smiled shyly and began to unbutton her blouse. Ranma blushed as he followed, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off over his head. Then he filled a rinsing pail with cold water and poured it over his head, triggering the change.

"You know, I've seen that happen now several times and each time it happens, I think it's neat," Akane said, as she slipped out of her skirt.

"I don't even think about it anymore," Ranma said as she took her slacks off and folded them neatly. She opened up the bundle of clothing that Cologne had given her to find the leather bustiér that she had seen the Amazon women wearing in the village as well as the short leather skirt.

Akane snickered and said, "Now I know why you told me to wear a pair of short shorts. These things are embarrassing." She struggled for a moment with the bustiér and then gave up. "Ranma, can you tie this thing up? I just can't get it right."

Ranma turned to see Akane topless, trying to secure the laces on the leather bra. "Sure, turn around and I'll get it for you." Akane turned, giving Ranma access to her back, where she quickly tied the two laces together that held the skimpy material in place.

"They actually fight in this outfit?" Akane asked.

"Well, I've seen them do it before, but it sure looked like it was more for embarrassment than anything else, to be honest," Ranma said. She looked down at her body and said, "At least we have the figure for this. But I'm gonna need you to help me get mine right so I don't pop out." She turned so that Akane could return the favor, but not before hearing Akane giggle. "Ha, ha," she said, "You're not in any better shape than I am. If you aren't careful you'll be giving me a show too."

Akane quickly stopped giggling and then laced up the bra on Ranma's back, securing it tightly in place. The two girls slid into their short shorts, and then pulled the skirts on over that, lacing them in place. To complete the ridiculous outfit, they each had a pair of leather sandals that laced almost up to mid-calf.

"Do I look as silly as I feel?" Ranma groused.

"I think you look good in that," Akane teased.

"Pervert," Ranma replied with a snicker.

Feigning hurt, Akane swatted Ranma on the back.

"My fiancée beats me," Ranma complained. Then she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, let's get this over with."

The two of them looked at each other and then began to giggle. "I'm sure there is some mystic reason for this outfit," Akane said as she finally got herself under control.

"This is almost as bad as those silly Sailor Moon outfits," Ranma grumped as they walked down the stairs to find Cologne.

Cologne cackled as she saw her two students. She held up her hand and said, "There's a reason for this, besides just your embarrassment. First, it is a sign of your willingness to undergo the training, whatever it might be. Second, these costumes, and I won't deny that they are indeed costumes, are a throwback to our foremothers, and help to remind us of our roots. And third, you two look good in them." She cackled again at the identical look of disgust that appeared on the two girls standing in front of her.

"Let's just get this over with, old ghoul," Akane growled.

"Oh my, that's my line," Ranma said with a cute pout.

Cologne cackled again at their antics and led them outside to the alley behind the café. "What I wanted to start off with is an attempt to allow Ranma to come to terms with her partial training in the Neko-ken. The flawed training that she received creates a weakness in her that must be removed to allow her to achieve her full potential," the old woman said, "And I want you here Akane because you are the one person she trusts when she turns cat."

Ranma and Akane exchanged looks and then Ranma said, "That's fine, but I don't want her to get hurt."

"She won't be in any danger," Cologne replied, "To be honest, I'm more worried about my health. As I understand it, when you go into cat mode, you are unaware of what you are doing, other than seeking out the one person that you trust."

"That's true," Ranma replied, "After the c-cat finds her, and falls asleep, I wake up and am back in control. Also, the shock of changing forms appears to bring me back."

"Okay, I want the two of you to sit down on the ground, with Ranma being held by Akane," Cologne said, "Then we need to make Ranma relaxed."

The two girls sat down, with Ranma leaning back against Akane, which allowed Akane to rest her chin on the top of the red-haired girl's head. Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma's waist.

"Okay, close your eyes, Ranma, and Akane keep her comforted," Cologne said.

Ranma promptly obeyed and Akane, a little self-consciously, began caressing Ranma's arms. Cologne brought out a small ball of white fur, which she began to caress. The ball of fur stretched out, revealing that it was a small kitten, and began to show her enjoyment of the petting by purring in a loud purr that seemed to be entirely too loud to be coming from such a small frame.

Ranma stiffened at the sound, and then continued to relax as Akane kept up her strokes and then began to speak softly, "It's okay, Ranma. This little girl can't hurt you. Just listen to her purring, she's happy. It's not like it was in that awful pit." The feel of her breath on the nape of Ranma's neck, and the gentle caressing, as well as the words themselves, slowly calmed Ranma as she relaxed in her girlfriend's arms. Then to the other two's surprise, Ranma began to purr in time with the little kitten.

Akane glanced over at Cologne, her eyes wide with astonishment. Cologne smiled slightly and nodded her head, indicating that Akane should keep on doing whatever it was she was doing. The kitten looked up, her eyes in a slit as she heard an unfamiliar purr. She climbed out of Cologne's arms and slinked over to Ranma and Akane, where she cocked her head as if to listen closer to the noise the boy turned girl was making. Then, she began to purr again, and started kneading Ranma's leg, her claws retracted, making bread as it were.

Ranma stiffened again in Akane's arms, and Akane said, softly, "She's being friendly, Ranma. There's nothing to be afraid of. She's just a baby," without any of the desperation that was appearing on her face showing up in her gentle voice.

A smile began to flicker on Ranma's face as she once again relaxed. Tentatively, she reached out a hand, still with her eyes closed. The kitten saw the hand coming, and began rubbing her head against the palm of Ranma's hand. The sound of that same loud purr began to be heard, the small frame shaking from the force of the noise she was making. That almost began to cause Ranma to slide past the line between fight and flee, but the gentle caressing of her arms by Akane, the warmth of the other girl's breath as she continued to almost coo nonsense words, and the general feeling of comfort and safety that was coming from the blue-haired girl holding her tightly, managed to bring Ranma back from the edge of the precipice. The kitten pulled herself up into Ranma's lap, her purring shaking all three of them.

Akane felt the smaller girl stiffen in fear, again beginning to go into the Neko-ken, and she started kissing the nape of her neck, continuing to coo between the gentle kisses. Ranma sighed deeply, her hand automatically caressing the small kitten in her lap, while the other hand grabbed Akane's hand, almost crushing it in her desperation and intensity of feeling.

Cologne allowed that tableau to hold for several minutes, keeping a close eye on the situation, hardly daring to breathe as she watched Akane keep Ranma under control, surprised at the lengths the young girl, no young woman, was taking to keep her fiancée from falling into the darkness of the abyss. After waiting as long as she dared, she pulled the protesting kitten away from the comforting place she had found to sleep, and handed her back to Shampoo who had been watching from the shadows.

"Okay, children, you did very well," Cologne rasped, "Ranma, you can open your eyes now."

Ranma opened her eyes and they darted around, obviously looking for the small kitten that she had been petting. Then she turned around in Akane's arms, and kissed her hard on the lips. "Thanks, Acchan," she said softly, after the surprised girl returned her kiss.

"We'll continue doing that each afternoon until you are sufficiently desensitized to the presence of this kitten, then we'll add a few more," Cologne said. She looked carefully at the Ranma's aura and said, "I think that's probably enough for tonight, you two. Go back upstairs and change."

The two girls quickly ran upstairs, Ranma holding onto Akane's hand tightly as they did so. They entered the furoba. Ranma said, softly, "Akane, I don't know how to say thank you for what you did. That was simply amazing; every time I thought I was going to slide over the edge, you managed to pull me back. And I'm sure it had to embarrass you, being that openly affectionate to another girl."

Akane pushed her up against the door and kissed her passionately, then she slapped Ranma. "Baka, you're not just another girl, Ranma. How can I make it clear to you that I LOVE YOU? I don't care whether you're male or female, it's the soul, the person, inside that matters to me," she said, her voice half-amused and half-angry.

"Baka is right," Ranma said, "I guess it was all those years before when I didn't know how you felt about me that's kind of, hummm, what's the word, oh yeah, conditioned me."

"Well, I'm not that Akane and you're not that Ranma. We are together now, and nothing will pull us apart," Akane said firmly. She kissed Ranma again just to emphasize her point.

Ranma said, with a giggle, "I definitely like the way you argue, Acchan. Hurry up and change out of this stuff, I'm treating you to some ice cream."

* * *

The citizens of Nerima were used to odd sights, weird things happening, and mysterious occurrences, ever since the day a tall, red-haired woman was seen dragging a bedraggled panda down the center of the main street by a chain, so the happenings of this afternoon were almost considered normal. Shouts of "Look out, Beware, Wild Horse!" were heard as the sounds of hoofs thundered through the streets of the town. Finally, coming done the sidewalk the weary townsfolk saw a large, maddened horse, coming toward them. 

"It's a wild horse!" one man cried.

"And riding it is a dead man!" a second added.

A third person, a more observant, disagreed and cried, "No wait! He's just unconscious!"

"Probably got drunk! The jerk!" the first said as the horse ran past them carrying its burden, a young man.

Ranma and Akane watched from the other end of the street as they saw the large horse careening down the sidewalk, the onlookers jumping out of the way of the fear-maddened horse. "Oh Kami, it's Sentaro," Ranma said in disgust.

"Wasn't that the Martial Arts Tea Ceremony guy?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Ranma replied.

Akane glanced at her and asked, "So what are you going to do about him this time?"

"Well, not participate in any martial arts battle with a monkey, that's for sure," Ranma said with a giggle.

"Damn, I would have paid good money to see you fight a monkey, that would have been hilarious," Akane teased, as Ranma mock-glared at her before joining her in giggling like two maniacs.

As the horse neared, Ranma leapt forward and grabbed the reins, pulling the horse to a sudden stop, sending the horse to its knees and the rider sliding off to the ground.

"Hey, you okay?" Ranma asked, as she slapped the unconscious youth several times, rousing him from his state.

"Uhm," he groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, finally he opened his eyes and gazed deeply into Ranma's eyes.

Quickly, he sprang into action, using all of the skills at his command, and began a formal tea ceremony. "Profoundest thanks for saving this worthless life. This tea must be my unworthy gesture of gratitude," the young man said.

Ranma grabbed the hand whisking the tea and growled, "None of that. You're treating us to some ice cream and then we will talk."

"But the tea," the boy stuttered.

"The tea that you slipped a paralysis drug in?' Akane asked, "You're skill is good, but you need to work on the sleight of hand better."

The boy bowed his head in shame and said, "I most humbly beg your pardon, fair maiden. But it was only that I had met a woman of strength, one worthy to become my bride."

Ranma chuckled and said, "About that. Things aren't really what they appear. Come on, whoever you are, and don't forget to bring that walking tub of glue." The horse glared evilly at Ranma.

At the ice cream shoppe, the two girls sat with the young man, eating their ice cream. "My name is Sentaro. I am the sole son and heir to the Daimonji School of Martial Arts Tea Ceremony. Now an arrangement has been made to wed this worthless soul to another, that a future heir might be born. Alas, alas, the woman chosen, I cannot bring my lowly heart to like!" Several tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Cut the tears!" Ranma ordered.

"In order to nullify this arrangement, I must find a woman who can defeat my betrothed in a martial arts tea ceremony," Sentaro continued.

Ranma chuckled dryly and said, "Count us out, we're engaged."

"What!" Sentaro exclaimed.

Akane giggled and said, "It's true. We already have someone to wed. But I wonder, what kind of woman is this woman you are engaged to?"

"Miss Satsuki? She is the daughter of the Miyakoji School of Martial Arts Tea Ceremony. She was also, ahem, Miss Tea Ceremony for 1993," Sentaro replied.

"She must be very good looking then, if she was Miss Tea Ceremony," Ranma said.

"Does she have a horrible personality then?" Akane asked.

"Well, in truth, she's very bright and sociable," Sentaro replied.

Ranma grinned to herself, and asked, "So how come you don't like her?"

Sentaro pulled a photograph out of his wallet and said, "Meet Miss Satsuki!" He handed the photo to them. "My unworthy heart cannot seem to warm up to her," he said in sorrow.

Akane looked at the picture and shook her head. "Um, Sentaro, this isn't a picture of a woman. It's a picture of a monkey."

"Can it be? Then she really is a monkey?" Sentaro asked.

"You had doubts!" Akane exclaimed, "That, Sentaro, is definitely a monkey dressed in a kimono. So why do you think you are engaged to a monkey?"

"I have no idea," Sentaro replied, "This is what appeared at our home for the betrothal ceremony this morning. That was why I was riding my horse to clear my head."

"I think you might be surprised at your betrothed. She might be just as nervous about the wedding as you are. Arranged marriages don't have to be bad. You might get as lucky as we did," Ranma said, exchanging a loving glance with Akane, who giggled.

"Do you think that is true?" Sentaro asked in amazement.

"Why don't you just go find your Miss Satsuki and find out for yourself," Akane suggested, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Thank you both, Ranma and Akane. You two will make your fiancés very happy indeed," Sentaro said. He rose and bowed politely, and the three of them left the ice cream shoppe.

As they started walking down the street, Sentaro asked, "Would the two of you like to come to my family estate? I feel that I owe you something."

Akane replied, "We'd like that, but I am sure our parents are wondering where we are. We should get home for dinner."

"Another time, perhaps," Sentaro said, sadly. He brightened for a moment and asked, "If I find that Miss Satsuki is not what you believe, would you agree to become my betrothed, Ranma?"

"In your dreams, Sentaro!" Ranma growled as she launched Sentaro into the sky with an uppercut. The young man soared high in the sky, in the classic pinky in the air pose of surprise.

As they watched him, they saw another runaway horse coming toward them. Ranma and Akane exchanged looks and said, "Not again!" in eerie unison.

"Please help me!" the rider called as the figure slumped over the neck of the horse.

Sentaro landed on the horse, knocking the horse and rider to the ground. He groaned and walked over to the rider, who turned out to be an attractive young maiden. "Are you all right?" he asked as he turned the girl over in his arms. 'Man, she's gorgeous,' he thought as she opened her eyes.

"What?" the girl asked, dazed from the impact.

Out of nowhere, a monkey, dressed in a wedding kimono, came rushing over. "Oh, poor Sanae, I'm sorry!" the girl said as she embraced the monkey.

"Sanae?" Sentaro asked.

"I'm sorry that I asked you to take my place. It must have been horrible," the girl cried, tears streaming down her face, somehow not marring her perfection.

Ranma and Akane got there in time to hear that. "Take her place?" Akane asked, "Then you must be the real Miss Satsuki."

"I am," Satsuki admitted as Sentaro expressed his amazement.

Akane asked, "And how did this odd circumstance come to pass, Miss Satsuki?"

"W-well, I was so looking forward to meeting my betrothed, but," she replied, "when the day finally came, I, I was just so embarrassed." She hid her face in her hands, only the reddened tips of her ears showing her feelings.

"How demure and maidenly of you," Akane said sweetly.

Ranma snickered and asked, "You thought it was less embarrassing to send a monkey to pretend to be you?"

"Well, all's well that ends well," Sentaro said, "Miss Satsuki, I believe it's time to meet my mother." He bowed and said, "Ranma, I thank you for the undeserved joy that this lowly one now relishes."

"It was our pleasure to help you," Akane replied for Ranma. The two girls watched as Sentaro and Satsuki rode out of sight on their two horses.

"I don't know about those two," Ranma said shaking her head, "They need to take riding lessons."

* * *

After the movie had finished, Ukyo and Souta left the theater, and began heading toward the café. She jumped slightly as she felt Souta take her hand, and then relaxed. "Thank you for inviting me out tonight. I really enjoyed the movie," she said. 

"You're very welcome, Ukyo," Souta replied, "I hope we can do this again."

"We'll see," Ukyo replied, with a wistful smile.

Souta frowned quickly, and then asked, "I thought you liked me?"

"Yes, I do like you, but I'm very confused right now," Ukyo replied.

"Is there someone else?" Souta asked.

Ukyo grimaced and said softly, "I'm just not sure of my feelings right now, that's all."

"What about what's his name, Konatsu?" Souta asked.

Ukyo blushed, hoping the darkness hid her cheeks. She replied, a little too quickly, "He's just a friend, nothing else." 'No one would ever understand that he shared my bed last night, even though nothing perverted happened,' she thought.

"That's okay then, it's just that he lives at the café with you, I can't help but feel threatened by that," Souta said, half to himself.

They arrived at the café, and the two of them stood nervously under the awning. Finally, Souta said, "I guess that's the evening. I really, really enjoyed it." He shuffled his feet and then hesitantly gave her a quick peck on her cheek. Unbeknownst to either of them, Konatsu was watching from the darkened window, his eyes gazing at Souta coldly.

Ukyo blushed furiously and fled into the café, leaving a confused Souta behind.

* * *

Author's notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Chapter 32 got the most reviews that I've ever gotten for a single chapter. Thanks again for all of you who took the time to review. Specific comments are below: 

Reader: Principal Kuno will show up when he is supposed to according to the manga time line. That is a few chapters down the road, I think.

Wonderbee31: Actually, it's really three of them chasing Ukyo, Konatsu, Tsubasa and Souta. Though, Tsubasa doesn't have much of a chance.

Dante Hunter: That's certainly one possibility. Ukyo has some decisions to make about her situation. I'm flattered that this is your favorite.

Xero Reflux: I'll probably do some version of that Hot Spring Contest. It was pretty funny as I remember in both the Anime and the Manga

ZRO4825: Well, the dynamics of the situations should be different now that Akane knows everything, or at least everything that Ranma can remember.

Materia-Blade: I am mostly humbled by the fact that so many people seem to like this story. As to writing your own, all it takes is a plot bunny that just won't die like this one was, and it's off to the races.

BTB: I intend to train Akane to be a worthy partner for Ranma, so she should be a fun companion during the whole Herb arc, though I have a particular twist in mind for that tale. And yep, she should be pretty confident by then to get into just the right amount of trouble. She won't be a damsel in distress always getting kidnapped though. And yes, Tsubasa is an annoying pest.

Shinigami: Looks like Kuno just can't tell the girls from the boys, can he? VEG. And, No, he doesn't know about Ranma's curse, though he's the only one in the entire school who hasn't figured it out. Can't wait for that session with his doctor. Would **I** be twisted enough to send all of the boys after Ukyo? I guess this chapter answers that, now doesn't it? Snicker. Puppy-dog eyes work all the time. Almost as dangerous as Akane's smile. And yes, Hojo is supposed to be an adult version of Kagome's human suitor. Couldn't resist the tie-in to one of my other favorite animes.

Proud yusuke fan: Souta wasn't included since he wasn't a cross-dresser. However, as this chapter shows, he's still very much in the race. And I had fun changing the contest up so it was Konatsu instead of Ranma. That was just too much to resist.

Hououza: Glad you liked it. I thought Kuno was a nice touch, it just played together so well. And the dream sequence, well, to make a bad pun, it came to me in a dream, and just forced its way into the story. I haven't decided how much the Chaos kami will appear in this tale, having that happen often I felt was a distraction in some of the other someone goes back in time and fixes things stories.

Dauphin: I mostly do this little snipovers, I think one of my other reviewers called them, where someone makes essentially a cameo appearance. I couldn't get inot DBZ so I don't know enough about it to pull that off. Ranma and Akane will learn to work well together, that was one of the changes I intend for the Saffron arc, when I finally get to it. I have a plan for the seven lucky gods movie, but I didn't like Nihao, My Concubine, so I will probably ignore that one. Cologne will help Ranma with the Neko-ken, and yes, Ranma will pick up a few characteristics. Copy-cat Ken will wander in eventually, and definitely I will have a spin on Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood. The Principal will show up, but Ranma will certainly not put up with the junk he pulls this time around.

Daniel Kim: Thanks, I didn't know that about the kappa. That makes a lot more sense now that I know it.

Lerris: That was my thoughts about the revelation. The dream sequence was supposed to be a way for Akane to be eased into it without what used to be her normal explosive reaction. But remember, this Akane has learned to trust Ranma, whereas the old Akane hadn't learned that completely yet. I've got a Harry Potter story wandering around in my brain that keeps popping up. I may have to write that one. And my wife started a Kenshin story that I may start writing on, if I can figure out where to go with it.

Borg rabbit: She certainly intends to become a worthy partner to Ranma, especially since she 'remembers' Jusendo. Kiima may be in for a surprise. I haven't worked out exactly what I'm gonna do with that story yet, too many ideas percolating still.

Crazy 109: Thank you. I always thought that Ranma had more on the ball than most fictions show him. After all, he did get into the same school and grade as Akane, and I don't think that Nabiki could have pulled that off without Ranma showing some knowledge. As to the mechanics of writing, I try very hard to do that. Otherwise, I think I would have my old High School English teacher come after me with one of her dreaded two page essays on the worth of a chalkboard eraser, or something equally as hard to write about. Shudder. Not going to happen if I can help it. Still have nightmares about those essays, even though she turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me in school. I don't know how much, if at all, Inu-Yasha will show up, though I can see at least one fun scene once Ranma has full control over the Neko-ken.

Weebee: Thank you. I also will re-read certain stories over again if I really enjoyed them. That is a major boost to any writer to read that someone has read their story more than once. That means we've been able to add enough little things that it's a good read each time. I have at least one girl in mind for Kuno, but whether it works out or not? Who knows at this point.

Psycho King: Tsubasa wasn't in enough of the stories to make me dislike him as much as I did Happosai. But he certainly crossed the line from admirer to stalker, and that behavior always bothers me. There's really no way to make someone like that a likable character. As you can see in this chapter, Ranma found the time to tell Akane everything he can remember about what happened before, so now I can have some fun as she tries to spot the differences. Thanks for the offer for help. When I can figure out what I want him to learn next, I'll get in touch. I still want Nodoka to teach both of them some of her school. After all, in my story, there's a certain red-haired swordsman and a female dojo owner that are her ancestors.

ChaosRonin: The short answer is yes, just don't know what they are yet. LOL

Jay Whitefox: As the saying goes, ask and it shall be delivered. I always thought that Ranma losing control during the Neko-ken was a weakness, and a good sensei would train a student to get rid of that weakness. Plus, I can have all sorts of WAFFY moments with Ranma and Akane that way.

Innortal: Nabiki is a bit off her game. She's been too distracted by Ranma and that's caused her to overlook some things. But Tsubasa made such a convincing girl in both the anime and the manga, it may not be much of a surprise she missed it. Ranma only knew the secret as soon as he did in this story because he'd already lived it once.

Raver Styx: Then the dream sequence worked. VBG. I like long chapters myself, though they do take a while to write and still keep a decent quality. Thanks for the compliments.

Firestorm2004: I'll look forward to reading. Having someone else with multiple people chasing them will make things interesting for a while. If nothing else, Ranma should be amused. I'm glad you like it, I'm having a good time writing it.

RanmaSaotome103: Ranma and Akane will have a merged school that will have both the Tendo techniques, the Saotome techniques, stuff from Happosai, and anything else I can bring in. How about a martial artist with Konatsu's ninja skills, Kenshin's sword skills, Ranma's aerial martial arts, Akane's strength. That kind of thing. Herb will show up but not for a while, I think.

Exmes: But it was funny since we knew that they were both boys. And yes, if Ranma and Akane aren't careful, someone will find out the truth. A certain mercenary girl just sneezed.

Dragon Man 180: I just couldn't resist Kuno falling for another boy dressed as a girl. I guess the only reason he hasn't chased Konatsu is uh, gee, I don't know.

Silverbullet23: That's what I thought too, Ranma had to be letting himself get hit. And definitely, after being on the short end of the mallet and spatula, I think he would eventually have done something about it. The only question would be how painful it would be for Akane and Ukyo when he finally snapped over being hit. Taro won't show up for a while since there's no real reason to accelerate his appearance from what was in the manga. Ranma already used a combination of the aura-masking ability of the Umi-Ken-Sen and the Splitting Cat Hairs to defeat Happosai, but there will be other combinations and permutations as Ranma and Akane learn new skills and refine existing ones.


	34. Ryoga, Come Home

Chapter 34 Ryoga, Come Home

Ukyo watched in alarm as Akane, Yuka, Sayuri and Shampoo surrounded her at lunch, ignoring their boyfriends for the moment. Ranma glanced at Akane and then somehow seemed to get a message, since he gathered Hiroshi and Daisuke with a look and walked out of earshot.

"Uh, guys, you're scaring me. What's up?" Ukyo asked nervously, unsure about the extremely mischievous look on their faces.

"You had your date with Souta last night, so we're here to get all of the gory details," Yuka replied, smirking at her.

"Come on girlfriend, spill," Sayuri added.

Akane grinned wickedly and added to the pressure. "And don't think you can escape," she said, "Shampoo and I agreed that we could take you, in spite of your spatulas."

"What she said, how was it?" Shampoo agreed, with a matching smile.

Then the four girls giggled infectiously. Ukyo shook her head at their antics and then said, "Oh all right. It was fun. We went out to a movie, one that Souta had picked with some martial arts in it, so I enjoyed it. Then he walked me home, we held hands, and he kissed me on the cheek. That's about it."

"That's all that happened?" Yuka asked in shock.

"Just one kiss!" Sayuri exclaimed, "What a disappointment!"

"Well, uh, I was embarrassed and ran into the café," Ukyo admitted, "It was my first kiss, and I, um, didn't know what to do, how to react."

"Oh no, that's horrible," Akane said, "Poor Souta." She shook her head at Ukyo, and asked, "Do you know what you did to him?"

Ukyo blushed and replied, "Uh no. What did I do wrong?"

"Do you know how much courage it took for him to kiss you?" Sayuri asked, "And then to get shot down like that." She shook her head in dismay.

"Spatula girl not know how to act like girl," Shampoo said, "Amazon women know what do when boy kiss. Maybe Shampoo need teach." An evil glint showed in her eye.

"No wonder he didn't look too happy when he came to school this morning," Akane said, after a few seconds of thought.

Ukyo dropped her head into her hands and groaned to herself. "How stupid of me? I really enjoyed myself, and I wouldn't mind going out with him again. How do I fix this?" she whined.

"Pull yourself together, Ukyo. Just tell him what you told us, and if he likes you, he'll understand," Yuka replied.

"So if you want to date him, does that mean you like him?" Sayuri asked.

Ukyo simply nodded her head, not looking them in the eye.

Akane paled then as something occurred to her. "How did Konatsu take you going out on a date with Souta?" Akane asked.

Ukyo replied, "He seemed to be all right with it, I guess. He knew I was going out with Souta last night, and he was in bed when I got in." 'There's no need for them to know that he was on the futon in my sitting room,' she thought, as a blush crept across her face.

"So did he say anything to you this morning? He did write that he loved you, remember?" Akane asked, strangely persistent. 'I like Konatsu, so I hope this doesn't hurt him too badly,' Akane thought.

Ukyo looked at her strangely and replied, "Come to think about it, he didn't really say much this morning, other than to greet me and then wish me a good day at school."

"Just be careful with him. I think he is more fragile than he looks," Akane said.

Ukyo looked at her with a puzzled expression on her pretty face and asked, "What do you mean by that? He's a strong person."

"Really?" Akane retorted, "Think about his life. He was treated as a slave by his stepfamily after his father died, remember. He said you were the first person that was nice to him. All I ask is that you don't hurt him, that's all. Let him know where he stands with you."

"He knows that we are friends," Ukyo said.

"But is that all he is to you? And does he really consider you just a friend?" Akane asked. She hesitated for a second and then said, "I know I'm butting in, but all three of you are my friends and I don't want to see any of you get hurt."

Ukyo sighed deeply and replied, "Akane, frankly I don't know what I'm doing. This is all so new to me to actually have a guy like me." She made a disgusted face and added, "Well, except for Tsubasa and I don't count him."

Akane giggled and replied, "I can agree with you there." She sobered and said, "Just be careful, that's all that I ask." She surprised Ukyo by giving her a big hug and added, "If you want to talk to someone, I'm here for you. I mean, that is, if you want to. I may not be the one you want to confide in though."

"Because of Ranchan," Ukyo whispered, a bit of pain in her voice.

"Because of Ranchan," Akane whispered back.

"Okay you two, that's enough angst," Yuka interrupted, "I want to know if he was a good kisser."

"Konatsu hasn't kissed me yet," Ukyo replied.

"Wasn't talking about Konatsu," Yuka said, her voice bubbling over with glee.

"Oh, well, uh," Ukyo said eloquently, "Oh shit!"

The other four girls giggled at her rueful smile. She finally joined them, seeing the humor in the situation. Then she said, "Souta just gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was nice enough, I suppose."

"Ooh, that just means he's bashful," Sayuri teased, "Maybe you should have kissed him back. Who knows where that might have gone?"

"I don't kiss on the first date," Ukyo said indignantly, "I'm not that kind of a girl."

"Oh, so you admit it was a date, then?" Yuka asked.

Ukyo looked flustered and stamped her feet in frustration. "Oh all right," she stammered, "Yes, it was a date. There, satisfied. I think that's enough teasing about my date."

"Hey, they haven't had a chance to tease you about a boy before, Ukyo," Akane said gently, "It's just harmless fun."

"Not like Spatula girl hasn't made fun of Yuka and Sayuri about dates," Shampoo said.

"You can dish it out, but you can't take it?" Yuka teased.

Ukyo ran blushing from the group, which cued Ranma to wander over to them. "Well, did she at least say she had a good time before she ran off?" he asked as he joined them.

"Yep, she had a good time," Akane replied.

"Good, she deserves some happiness," Ranma said.

Akane grabbed his arm and said, "So long as it's with someone other than you, Ranma Saotome." She gave him a suspicious look.

Ranma looked at her with big innocent eyes and said, softly, "Hey, I picked you. I don't want or need any one else."

"I know, I just like pulling your chain," Akane said with a beatific smile.

"You'd better finish your lunch, the bell is about to ring," he reminded.

Akane quickly gobbled down her meal, an action copied by the other girls as they realized that they had been too busy interrogating Ukyo to even think abut eating. They finished just as the first bell rang, and everyone scattered to their classes.

* * *

Ukyo walked into her café, and greeted Nodoka who was manning the grill. The older woman was an excellent cook in her own right and between the two of them had created a very popular restaurant for the area. And with Konatsu acting as a waitress, that had continued to draw a large patronage for two different reasons. The ones who weren't aware of his true gender came to gawk at a pretty girl, and occasionally flirt with her. The ones who were aware came to watch the ones who weren't and enjoyed the show.

Konatsu came by and said, "Good afternoon, Ukyo-sama. How was school?"

Ukyo smiled and said, "It was interesting. I learned a few things that I needed to know. How has business been?"

"Very good, Ukyo-sama. Mom has been kept very busy since lunch," Konatsu replied, "And it doesn't look like it's going to slow down."

"I'll go up and change then, and give her a hand," Ukyo said. Konatsu bowed politely and then headed off to one of the tables to take an order. Ukyo watched the kunoichi walk away and then headed up to her room to change. The things that Akane had said at lunch were still running through her mind as she pondered exactly what her friend had been trying to say, as she looked for her okonomiyaki chef's uniform. She smiled a crooked smile at the thought of Akane Tendo giving her advice about her love life. 'I never thought I would see that day,' she thought as she chuckled a bit dryly. She quickly dressed in her mannish looking outfit, transforming herself into the rather bishonen looking owner of the restaurant. For some reason, the café did better when the customers saw a male chef cooking over the grill, as a counterpoint to Konatsu acting female. The odd reversal of roles still caused her to smile. She headed downstairs to join them and take over the grill from Nodoka, freeing the older woman to handle the soups and other dishes that were prepared in the back kitchen.

* * *

Ukyo looked up from her grill as Ranma and Akane walked into the restaurant, hand-in-hand. Ranma had mentioned in passing that the two of them were training with the Amazon Elder Cologne and it showed in his face as he greeted her in a weary voice. "Hi, Ucchan, could you whip us up a couple of specials, each. I'm exhausted," he said, tiredly.

"Sure, sugar, sit yourself down at the bar, and they'll be right up," Ukyo said. She looked at him in concern and asked, "What did she do to you? You look like you've seen hell."

A strange smile flickered across Ranma's face at that familiar phrase coming from someone other than Ryoga. "She's got me facing my fears," he replied, rubbing his eyes, "And that's harder work than I thought it would be."

"You're making good progress, Ranchan," Akane insisted, her arm wrapped around his waist, "Cologne even said so. She could see the aura stabilizing every time you tried to go Neko and I kept you calm."

"So that's what you two were talking about," Ranma said, with a weary smile, "You were talking so low that I couldn't hear you."

"Four specials," Ukyo said, as she placed two plates in front of them, as well as some glasses of water.

Ranma began eating his light snack, almost on autopilot, letting the sound of the two girls' voices wash over him as they talked about something that he wasn't interested in. He could feel the food hit his stomach, silencing the monster that had awoken.

The sound of the bell over the door ringing brought him out of the strange mood he had been in. "Ukyo, how dare you go out with that Souta!" Tsubasa cried from behind him.

Ranma groaned. 'I'm so not in the mood for this,' he thought, 'I'm too damn tired to even think straight. Well, at least he's Ukyo's problem, not mine.'

"Tsubasa, who I go out with is none of your business!" Ukyo exclaimed.

Tsubasa flounced up to the grill and said, "It was bad enough that you're living with Konatsu, but to date another instead of the one who loves you. That's so tacky."

"Tsubasa, I will never go out with you! I don't like you! Why can't you understand that?" Ukyo exclaimed in disgust.

Konatsu appeared out of nowhere and loomed over the shorter Tsubasa. "Leave Ukyo-sama alone!" he exclaimed, "You have been asked politely in the past. Now I am warning you, if you continue stalking Ukyo-sama, you will have the wrath of Konatsu to face."

Tsubasa shied away from the furious Konatsu, and stumbled backwards. To the cross-dresser's surprise, he was caught before he could hit the ground by someone who had come in behind him.

"Huh?" Tsubasa exclaimed as he felt a pair of strong arms holding him.

"Are you all right?" the person holding him asked, turning him around and setting him on the ground.

Ranma turned at the sound of the voice and said, disgustedly, "Mikado Sanzenin."

"Have we met?" Mikado asked Tsubasa, "We must not have, because surely I would have remembered a girl as cute as you." He leaned in to steal a kiss.

"Uhm, Sanzenin," Akane said, "I don't think that's a good---" She stopped as it quickly became a moot point, as Mikado kissed Tsubasa thoroughly.

Tsubasa screwed up his face, tears of disgust rolling down his cheeks, and exclaimed, "I can't believe it! I've been kissed by a boy. Where's some soap?" He ran off.

"Oh to weep like that, what a pure innocent girl! But why was she so upset that I kissed her? Surely, she was flattered that someone as wonderful as I would kiss her," Mikado said with a deep, heartfelt sigh.

Tsubasa entered the door labeled 'Men' and shut it behind him with a loud bang.

"Didn't she just go into the wrong wash room?" Mikado asked.

Ranma, Akane and Ukyo exchanged shocked looks and then began to laugh. "I can't believe it!" Akane crowed with delight.

Mikado glanced at Konatsu and grinned boyishly at the kunoichi. "You're very cute too. You can be my one thousandth kiss," he said as he neared the surprised waitress.

"Uh, Sanzenin, Konatsu is no more a girl than Tsubasa was," Ukyo gasped out, "And I guess he would feel like crying after being kissed by a boy!"

Mikado froze in shock. "That was a boy I just kissed!" he exclaimed. A look of horror appeared on his face as the rest of the patrons in the restaurant burst out laughing. He fled quickly out the door of the restaurant.

* * *

Ryoga, Shampoo and Cologne took a short break for dinner before cleaning up the restaurant for the night. Mousse had vanished as soon as the last customer had left, with a very eager smile on his face as he headed off to another date with Kodachi. Cologne had turned on the television, but the only thing on was the local news show. As they watched, the newscaster said, "In our 'People Search' segment today, we have an individual looking for her master."

On the screen appeared a strange looking dog, one side was white and the other half was jet black. The voice continued, "Checkers Hibiki, a four-year-old female, is here in our studio." The dog barked, and waved one paw as if to say hello.

"Huh? A dog?" Shampoo said in surprise.

"Did he say Hibiki?" Cologne asked.

"That's my dog!" Ryoga exclaimed, "What's she doing on the tv?"

"She'd like her master to come home and see her new puppies," the newscaster explained. Checkers held up a cute ball of fluff, with similar markings as her own, and again, barked as if to say, 'See!'

"Puppy too too cute!" Shampoo exclaimed, "Shampoo wish she could hold one!"

"So Checkers had puppies!" Ryoga exclaimed, "I guess I have been away from home for a while. I suppose it's time that I found my way back."

"Son-in-law, I agree with you. We need to meet your parents, now that you two have formalized your marriage and invite them to the celebration," Cologne said.

Ryoga gulped and then asked, "Um, Shampoo, would this weekend be soon enough, Elder? I don't know if they'll be there, but we can still meet Checkers and see her puppies."

"Shampoo like that. Shampoo want meet parents of Airen," Shampoo said.

"Then it's settled, we'll find your home after class on Saturday," Cologne decided, "Do you know where it is?"

Ryoga smiled and said, "Of course. I even have a map." He pulled out a dingy, well-creased piece of paper and handed it to Cologne. The old woman opened it up and smoothed out the creases and then examined the map. On it she saw a drawing of a mountain, labeled Mount Fuji, a small body of water, labeled Lake Biiwa, a sketch of a house, and mailbox, with a legend reading 'There's a mailbox nearby.'

The old woman sighed and hit Ryoga over the head with her cane. "Son-in-law, this map is worthless, no wonder you get lost!" she growled, "Now how are we supposed to find the house?"

"Maybe Ranma can take us if he remembers how to get there," Ryoga suggested after he rubbed the top of his head where she had hit him.

"Why would he know?" Cologne asked.

"He took me home about three hundred times when I got lost," Ryoga admitted, looking very sheepish as he did so.

Cologne hopped over to the telephone and dialed the number of the Tendo home. After speaking for a few minutes, she came back and said, "He said that of course he remembers the way. It's in the next town over, so it won't take long to get there by local train. Shampoo, he'll come with you after school on Saturday and meet us at the station. He also said that he saw the same newscast we did, and can't wait to see Checkers again. Sounded like Akane thought the puppy was cute and wants to see them."

* * *

On Saturday, the morning seemed to almost crawl as Ryoga waited anxiously in the restaurant. The chance that he might be able to see his parents wasn't a real high one, since they both had the same disorder, but the mere possibility was nearly causing him to hyperventilate.

Cologne watched in amusement as the young man who had captured her great granddaughter's heart paced back and forth in front of the locked door. Cologne had decided to take no chances with Ryoga wandering off, and had closed the restaurant for the day, telling Mousse to have a good time with Kodachi. Mousse had blushed for a moment and then bowed in thanks and left.

Ryoga gazed at the clock and saw that it was now ten minutes later than the last time he had looked. Cologne chuckled dryly and said, "It's about time for us to head over to the station."

Ryoga settled the large backpack carefully on his back and smiled. "Let's go then!" he exclaimed.

Cologne tied a lead around his arm and said, "Now we can go." She hopped over to the door, unlocked it, and then pulled it open. "Try not to get lost, son-in-law," she ordered.

* * *

Ranma led Akane, Cologne, Shampoo and Ryoga from the train station, through to streets of the small town, until they neared the outskirts. As they turned down one last street, suddenly a frantic dog appeared out of nowhere, howling as she raced down the street. As she neared, they recognized the dog as Checkers by her parti-color markings. Before Ryoga could move, Checkers had grabbed Ryoga's sleeve in her mouth and was dragging him down the street.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Well, I guess I don't need to show you where he lives now. Ryoga's in good hands, now. Or rather paws."

"I still want to see the puppies, Ranma," Akane said.

"Well, just follow the howling dog," Ranma said as the four of them walked toward the house that Checkers had just dragged Ryoga to. As they neared the house, they saw that it was a modest two-story house, surrounded by a medium height wall, with a double wrought iron gate. A short walk led up from the street through the gate and then up to the front door of the house. They walked up to the open door and entered the house where they found Ryoga casually waiting.

"Wow, what a nice house!" Akane exclaimed in surprise.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Mrs. Hibiki liked to decorate. She always had the house spotless whenever I brought him over. She's a real nice woman. But because of them all having that curse, they don't get to see each other as often as they like. Least that's what I remember her telling me over milk and cookies one day."

"Why don't I make some tea?" Ryoga suggested.

Ryoga followed Checkers into the kitchen where he found a bento box filled with noodles sitting on the kitchen table. Next to the box was a note from his mother which read, 'To Ryoga, I've gone shopping. I made you some noodles for lunch. Mom.' "Hmm," Ryoga pondered, "I guess she's gone out."

"Yeah, and looking at the crispness of the withered green onions, and the rigidity of the noodles, I'd say she's been gone for at least ten days," Cologne said from behind him.

"Yeah, I guess she got lost again," Ryoga said, his shoulders drooping. He pointed to a note on the refrigerator that read, 'I've gone to Hokkaido on business. Be back in the summer. Dad.' "And that means that he won't be back until Christmas. He's got no sense of direction," Ryoga said sadly.

Cologne smiled sadly and said, "I'm sorry they aren't here. I had wanted to meet them and tell them how happy I am that you and Shampoo are together."

Cologne hopped over to the stove. She picked up the tea kettle and filled it with fresh water and set it on to boil. Looking around she found the tea fixings, a can of green tea leaves, sealed tightly, as well as the rest of the equipment she needed. "Tell you what, son-in-law, I have things under control in here. Why don't you and Checkers show off her new puppies?"

Checkers grinned as if she understood what the old woman had said, and grabbed Ryoga by the sleeve again with her mouth. She pulled Ryoga out of the kitchen and into the family room, where Ryoga saw five little puppies sleeping in a dog bed. The other three youths had followed them in.

"Checkers sure had a lot of puppies," Ranma said.

"Puppies cute!" Shampoo exclaimed.

Ryoga stammered, and said, "Uh, Shampoo, would, I mean, do you wanna go up and see my room?"

Shampoo glomped onto Ryoga and said, happily, "Shampoo love see Airen's room."

"It's the second door on the right at the top of the stairs, if I remember correctly," Ranma said helpfully.

Akane plopped down on the floor next to the puppies, and said, "You should be proud, Checkers. These puppies are gorgeous."

Shampoo dragged Ryoga out of the family room and up the stairs. She walked into what Ranma had said was Ryoga's room, and found it to be different than she had expected. It was filled with souvenirs from Ryoga's various trips, with banners and flags from towns and cities across Japan hanging on the walls, and cabinets and shelves stuffed with items from around the world.

"Wow, this different from what Shampoo expected,' she said, "Shampoo thought would look like room of martial artist."

"Nah, the only reason I stop by home is to drop off the souvenirs I pick up in my journeys," Ryoga said. The two of them sat on the floor, Shampoo gazing around the room in astonishment. While she had never been away from her home, at least not until she had chased after her Airen, she was a serious student and had studied many cultures as she was being groomed for a position as a Matriarch. She recognized a model of the Eiffel Tower from Paris, a mask that must have come from Africa, a replica of the Coliseum in Rome, and a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

"Ryoga travel to all these places?" Shampoo asked.

Ryoga shrugged and said, "Sure, these are all locations in Japan, aren't they?"

Fortunately for Shampoo's sanity, they were interrupted by a shout from downstairs. "Hey, Ryoga, your mom just walked in the door," Ranma yelled from the foot of the stairs.

"C-could you bring her up here? I, I guess we need to talk," Ryoga stammered.

"Sure, Ryoga. Coming right up," Ranma said cheerfully. 'Man, I don't want to be in your shoes, pig-boy,' he thought, 'Oops, I guess I really shouldn't call him that.'

A minute or so later, Ranma led Mrs. Hibiki into the room, carrying a small tray with three cups of tea. "Cologne thought you might want this," he said in explanation as he set the tray down between Ryoga and Shampoo. He snickered slightly as he saw Shampoo looking very apprehensive, and then smiled encouragingly at the young Amazon. "Be brave," he mouthed at her, and watched in admiration as she girded herself for the upcoming conversation. He then left the room, figuring the three of them needed to be alone together.

"Uh, hi Mum, how have you been?" Ryoga asked.

His mother smiled to see her son and rushed over and pulled him to his feet and glomped him. 'I wonder if she is part Amazon,' Ryoga wondered, 'This hug feels awfully familiar.'

"It's so good to see you, son," his mother said, "I've missed you. It's been months since you've managed to find your way here. Look at you, you've grown up."

Ryoga blushed and said, bashfully, "Aw, Mum. Stop that, you're embarrassing me."

"And such a pretty girlfriend, she is your girlfriend, right?" his mother gushed.

"Uh, well, actually, you see," Ryoga began.

Shampoo clasped his hand, and said, simply, "He is my Airen, my beloved husband."

Mrs. Hibiki stopped for a moment, and asked in astonishment, "Husband?"

"Uh, yeah, it's kind of funny, but well, yeah, we're married," Ryoga admitted and then in a rush said, "And I really couldn't be happier."

"But you're only a child," his mother protested.

"Mum, I'm seventeen. I think that's old enough to know that I love Shampoo," Ryoga said strongly. Then he grimaced and said, "Damn, where the hell are my manners? Mum, this is Shampoo, my wife. Shampoo, this is my Mum."

"It nice meeting you," Shampoo said, "Shampoo member of Joketsuzoku Amazon tribe, from China."

"You are an Amazon!" Mrs. Hibiki exclaimed. She gazed at Shampoo and then held out her hand. Shampoo clasped it, and then to her surprise, was pulled to her feet. Once she was on her feet, she was pulled into a fierce hug. "Take care of my little boy, please," the older woman whispered.

"With all Shampoo's strength," Shampoo whispered back, "He everything to me."

The tender moment was broken by Cologne asking from the doorway, "Is it okay if I start dinner. Ranma and Ryoga I'm sure are starving."

"Mum, this is Shampoo's great grandmother Cologne. She is one of the matriarchs of the Amazon tribe," Ryoga said.

"Please, let me help you. It is my house after all," Mrs. Hibiki said.

Cologne chuckled dryly and said, "You haven't seen Ryoga in a long time, and you need to get to know his wife. That's more important than being a good hostess. And some time when we get a chance, I'd like to talk to you." Cologne looked a bit concerned as she said that last, but then quickly smoothed her face back into its normal impassive manner. 'There's something odd about their aura. Seeing the two of them together makes it obvious. I must be getting old to have missed it before when I was looking at Ryoga,' she thought. She closed the door behind her and headed downstairs to begin fixing a meal.

"So son, how did you two meet?" Mrs. Hibiki asked.

"Well, it's a long story," Ryoga began.

"Too too romantic," Shampoo gushed.

"I guess it all started when Ranma and I missed out on our man-to-man fight," Ryoga said, "And he ran away."

"Ryoga, you know that not true," Shampoo said as she swatted him on the shoulder.

"Okay, I know, it was my fault I missed the stupid fight," Ryoga said sheepishly. He grinned a bit ruefully, and added, "It'll take me some time still not to think everything is his fault, even though we are friends again. Anyway, after I finally got to the vacant lot, and found that I had missed him, I followed him as he and his father went to China. I finally caught up to them in a cursed training ground called Jusenkyo. Though, I didn't know it at the time. I was looking down at the valley from a low cliff, and wasn't paying a lot of attention to what was going on, when suddenly someone ran by being chased by a panda. The panda knocked me over the cliff, but the other person saved me by jumping after me and somehow throwing me away from the pools. In the process, though, the other person landed in one of the pools. When I got down to where the pool was, there was an extremely attractive girl staring at herself in disbelief."

"So Shampoo saved you from injury, how romantic," his mother said.

Shampoo giggled, and said, "Shampoo not save Ryoga. Ranma did. Elder Cologne tell me that springs are dangerous, but not really know why. But Shampoo hear stories from others that said if someone fall in spring, they get curse of whatever drowned in spring."

"Yeah, Ranma had fallen in the spring of drowned girl, so now when he gets hit with cold water he turns into a girl. I didn't know that was him, and he was in too much of a hurry to find the panda that was chasing him to explain. The panda was his father, so the two us as well as the local guide took off to try to find him, but I got lost," Ryoga said.

"What?" Mrs. Hibiki asked, "How is that possible?"

"Magic," Ryoga said with a shrug, "And we're ones to talk, considering our curse."

"Ranma saved me from the panda and then explained that it was his father," Shampoo said, "And then a couple of days later we were off in the woods sparring."

"And I saw what they were doing, and misinterpreted it. I thought that the cute girl that had saved my life was being attacked by this armed woman, so I jumped out and 'saved' her," Ryoga said, "Being the idiot that I am, I knocked Shampoo out."

"You not idiot, you very brave," Shampoo protested. Then she continued the story, "Anyway, Ancient Amazon tradition is outside male defeat Amazon warrior, warrior become wife. Shampoo give Ryoga Kiss of Marriage, but Ryoga not ready yet."

"Yeah, I had a crush on Ranma's girl form. Man, talk about embarrassing when I found out the truth. Ranma was mortified when he realized it too, and told me the truth as soon as he could. He was so sorry that he had accidentally led me on like he had done. I wasn't sure what I was going to do then, but Shampoo kept on wearing me down, and I finally realized that she was the one I wanted," Ryoga said in summary.

"Shampoo know Ryoga the one. Love him at first sight," Shampoo said, happily, "And it worth wait. Ryoga very good to Shampoo." She smiled sexily at Ryoga.

"So anyway, according to their traditions, we are married. We still need to be married under Japanese law, though," Ryoga said, his face blushing at the innuendo of his wife.

"Well, we can take care of that by going down to the town hall, and registering the marriage. It's as simple as that," his mother said.

"Then we do that," Shampoo said happily, "And then celebrate with big party at café. Can't wait to tell great grandmother. She be so happy."

"Shampoo, you're backsliding on your Japanese," Ryoga teased.

Shampoo frowned and said, "Sorry husband. Shampoo, no, I mean, I have to learn better. If we stay in Japan, I must speak correctly." Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she concentrated on her speech.

"Don't worry dear, I'll help you learn. Welcome to my family," Mrs. Hibiki said.

"I need to be better at it for school," Shampoo said, "It very hard for me. Ranma and Ryoga help though. But if I am to follow Elder onto council, I must do it."

"Dinner's ready!" Ranma bellowed from below. The three of them hugged each other briefly and then walked downstairs into the family room, where they found a large meal had been prepared.

"Mrs. Hibiki, I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Akane Tendo," Ranma said, "And I guess you've met Cologne, an Amazon Elder and Matriarch."

"I happy to meet you both," Mrs. Hibiki said, "But how are you holding up, Ranma? This must be odd for you."

"What? You mean my curse?" Ranma replied, "Well, I guess I've gotten used to it. And it could have been worse. I stay human, and don't turn into a panda, or a duck, or any of the other animals that drowned in the pools."

"And I don't care either," Akane said fiercely as she hugged her fiancé.

Cologne asked, "Speaking of curses, can you tell me about the curse that has given your family such a poor sense of direction? And why has it affected you?"

Mrs. Hibiki thought for a few minutes, and then replied, "Well, as you have been told, the Hibiki family has a curse that means we have no sense of direction. Unless we're actually looking at where we want to go, such as following someone, or something, we go astray. The story that has been handed down through the generations is that several hundred years ago, our forefathers served one of the ruling families. Faithful service, the tale says, that caused us to be highly rewarded. Unfortunately, that caused another retainer to become extremely jealous, especially after our forefather to be was given a position that this other person wanted."

"I've never heard this before," Ryoga said, "Why have you never told me about it?"

Mrs. Hibiki sighed and replied, "The family tradition was that the story would not be shared until the child had reached majority, or was married, whichever came first. Anyway, this evil retainer made a pact with a wizard to curse our family in order to take our place. The wizard however botched the curse, and instead of causing us to lose our place with the lord, it causes us to get lost."

Cologne cackled for several moments, tears of mirth coming to her eyes. "He botched the incantation, didn't he?" she said, once she finally got back under control.

Mrs. Hibiki smiled and said, "He most certainly did. We were still able to serve our lord until his family lost in one of the interminable wars during the Shogunate and was wiped out to the man."

"But why do you have the curse?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, I'm not just a Hibiki by marriage. I'm also a Hibiki by blood, although it's a different branch than Ryoga's father. We're some sort of cousin, several times removed," she replied, "We met at a family reunion when I was but seventeen, and fell in love."

"That so romantic," Shampoo said.

"True, in fact we have more in common than you realize. Ryoga's father ran into me by accident and knocked me out. He stayed with me until I woke up, so he could apologize for hurting me. So you could say he swept me off my feet, just like Ryoga did to you," Mrs. Hibiki said, "That's one of the reason I'm so happy to meet you. You two remind me so much of his father and I when we were your age."

Suddenly the telephone rang, and Mrs. Hibiki ran into the kitchen to answer it, being guided by the sound of the bell. "Hello, Hibiki residence," she said. Then, "Oh hello dear, it's nice to hear from you. Where are you?" A few moments later, "Oh, I see, you're still on Okinawa. But I thought you were going to Hokkaida. Oh, I see. Well, will you be back soon?"

"Don't forget to tell him about me?" Ryoga called.

"Oh, dear, you really need to get back as soon as you can. Ryoga is married, and I really want you to meet his wife. She is so pretty, and they remind me of us," Mrs. Hibiki said to her husband. Then she sniffed back a tear and said, "I miss you too. It's not the same when you're not here. I understand." She walked back into the family room and said, "Well, that was your father. He said he'd get here as soon as possible, but he's on Okinawa for some reason."

"Did he leave you a phone number, or a way to get in touch with him?" Ranma asked.

"Uh yes, he has a cellular phone," she replied.

"Then that's simple. Let me have the number and I'll have Nabiki track him down and get him here. If nothing else, someone can go get him," Akane said.

"Son-in-law, as much as I am enjoying this, we need to get back to the café," Cologne said, "Do you want to stay here and visit?"

"Of course I want to stay here, Mom needs to get to know Shampoo," Ryoga said.

"Sonny boy, can I talk to you for a moment?" Cologne asked.

Ranma looked puzzled and then followed the Elder out into the entry. "I want you to look at the Hibiki's aura and tell me what you see," she said.

"Uh, well, I've already noticed something odd. There's a swirl in their aura right on the left side of their brain that isn't present on the rest of the people on the room," Ranma replied, "Is that what you were wondering about?"

Cologne grinned wryly at him and said, "Not bad, sonny boy. That's exactly what I was talking about. I think that's the remnant of the curse."

"I think having Tofu take a look at it would be a good idea. Plus, he's got several books on curses in his library that you may not have seen," Ranma said.

Cologne looked at him with even more respect. "You surprise me again, Ranma. That's an excellent idea, young Tofu is very good at reading auras also. Between the three of us we may be able to determine a way to get rid of the curse," she said. Then she chuckled, and added, "After all, it wouldn't do for my great great grandchildren to have that curse."

"Akane, tear yourself away from the puppies," Ranma said as he walked back into the family room. He bowed politely to Mrs. Hibiki and said, "It's nice to see you again. I'm sure we'll be around."

"I'll have Nabiki start tracking your husband down," Akane said, "Now that you've given me this number. It was very nice to meet you, and you, too, Checkers. You have some nice puppies."

"Akane dear, if you like the puppies so much, why don't you pick one out for your own. We will have to find homes for all of them after they are weaned," said Mrs. Hibiki, with an indulgent smile.

"I've never had a pet before, and they are so cute," Akane said wistfully, "I'll ask my Dad if it's ok and let you know."

'Yeah, no P-chan this time,' Ranma thought thankfully.

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Tendo. And it was very nice to see you again, Ranma. You were such a good friend to Ryoga when you went to school with him. That year was the first year that he really had a set of decent grades. And I hope to get to know you much better, Elder Cologne. After all, we're family," Mrs. Hibiki said.

"I look forward to that, Mrs. Hibiki," Cologne said. The three of them headed out the door, leaving Ryoga and Shampoo to bond with Mrs. Hibiki.

* * *

Ukyo woke up in the middle of the night, her sleep-befuddled mind still not sure exactly what had caused her to arouse, but thoroughly glad that something had. Her normal nightmare of being abandoned by the Saotomes had somehow changed. Ranma kept morphing into Souta and then Konatsu, and instead of them leaving her, she was running away from them, with both Souta and Konatsu crying, "Don't Go!" Then she heard a sob from somewhere and realized that the side of the bed that Konatsu usually slept on was cold as if he had been gone for some time. She remembered leaving Souta after their date thisevening. It had followed the same pattern as the other two that they had gone on, with them going to a movie, but this time, Souta had also taken her to a restaurant for a late meal. They had talked, laughed, and even gotten up enough nerve to go out on the dance floor and dance a couple of slow dances. She had felt happy as he held her in his arms and led her around the floor, and hadn't come down from that high as he finally returned her home. This time, though, instead of the bashful peck on the cheek, he had kissed her fully on the lips. And to her surprise, she had enjoyed her first real kiss from a boy; a kiss that she had always thought would have been Ranma's. She had enjoyed it so much that she had responded, though when he parted his lips and touched her lips with his tongue, she had refused him entry. She had then smiled at him, and said that she had had a good time, but then had gently pulled away, and walked into the safety of her darkened café, and the privacy of her bedroom. There she had found Konatsu asleep on top of her bed, so she had simply shrugged her shoulders and changed, placed a blanket over Konatsu and slid under her covers. Now, though, the absent Konatsu concerned her and she crawled out of bed, and after donning a robe, walked into her sitting room. There, collapsed on his futon was Konatsu, silent tears coursing down his face, his shoulders slumped, as the heartfelt sobs wracked his frame.

"What's wrong, sugar?" Ukyo asked as she sat on the futon and pulled Konatsu into her arms.

"Nothing," Konatsu lied, knowing that he couldn't tell her why he was so unhappy. He hadn't really been asleep, again he had watched from the window overlooking the front door, and had seen them kiss. His heart had nearly broken in two to see the woman he loved so desperately in the arms of another. Once the kiss was over, and he had seen Ukyo enter the café, he had rushed to her bed and collapsed in pretend slumber.

"Pull the other one," Ukyo said, her eyes stern, "There's something really wrong with you and I want to know what I can do to help. You're not just my employee, sugar, you're my friend. And what upsets you upsets me."

Konatsu gazed at her and saw her eyes filled with compassion and wished that instead they were filled with the love that he wanted to see. "I can't tell you, Ukyo-sama," he replied, "I, I just can't!"

Ukyo pulled him tighter, and rested her forehead against his. "Sure you can, sugar, what are friends for?" she insisted.

Konatsu froze at the contact, and looked up, realizing their lips were mere centimeters apart. "I can't do this any more! I thought I could. I thought if you were happy that would be enough for me, but it's not! This is tearing me apart," Konatsu cried.

"What? I'm confused," Ukyo said.

"Forgive me, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu begged as he crushed her lips with his.

Ukyo began to pull away, and then to her own surprise she pulled him closer and returned the kiss.

Finally, Konatsu pulled away, his eyes shining. "Ukyo-sama, I just couldn't watch while you were dating Souta. It was hurting too much," he said softly, "Please, I beg you, you know my feelings for you."

Ukyo touched her lips with her fingers, surprised about what she had felt when she kissed Konatsu. "Sugar, I like Souta, he makes me feel special," she said slowly, pondering each word, "But, I like you too. I'm just so confused." A heavy sigh escaped her as she gazed at the floor. 'And that kiss, what was I thinking?' she thought to herself, 'but it felt right. There was something there that is missing when Souta kissed me.'

Konatsu smiled bitterly, and said, "I know you don't love me, Ukyo-sama. That is more than this unworthy one deserves."

"Stop right there!" Ukyo exclaimed, "You deserve happiness, too, sugar. You have a lot of things going for you. You're bright, attractive, well-spoken, and modest. If you only had a bit more confidence. Your stepfamily did a number on you, didn't they, making you feel like dirt."

"But you are so special, a goddess, Ukyo-sama. I just hope that one day you can find a man worthy of you," Konatsu replied.

Ukyo giggled, and said, "I'm hardly a goddess, sugar. I have my own faults. But it's nice of you to say that. Now come back to bed." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the bedroom and then pushed him backwards onto the bed. "If nothing else, you make a good bedwarmer, sugar," she said, with a smile, "I've come to need your company." She pulled off her robe and climbed under her covers, while Konatsu reluctantly joined her.

"You still trust me after what I did?" Konatsu asked.

"Sugar, you won't do anything I don't want you to do," she replied, "I trust you implicitly." Ukyo squirmed in the bed, finding a comfortable spot, and closed her eyes. 'Now what am I going to do? I like them both. Is that what my dream was trying to tell me,' she thought as she lay there pretending to sleep.

Konatsu stared into the darkened room. 'Why did I do that? But she kissed me back, does that mean? No, it can't. How can I be worthy of her,' he thought desperately.

* * *

The remaining days of October fled quickly, and November was rapidly following suit, as Ranma and Akane continued to train with Cologne. Cologne was reasonably pleased with the progress that they were making, but she was anxious to get this behind her so they could then concentrate on the Amazon techniques that she wanted to show them. Finally, one dreary afternoon, Ranma was lying back against Akane, her head resting against Akane's chest, while Akane had her arms loosely around the red-haired girl's waist. Ranma had her eyes closed, purring contentedly in unison with the small kitten in her lap. This session was going very smoothly, only once had Ranma tensed up and that had occurred when the kitten had jumped into Ranma's lap and began kneading with the tips of her claws out. Akane had quickly diffused the dangerous situation by applying several butterfly kisses to the back and side of Ranma's neck.

Cologne watched carefully from the sidelines as the two girls worked on controlling Ranma's phobia. She smiled to herself as she watched Akane apply what the Amazon elder privately considered 'pleasure therapy.' As she had planned, the memory of the pain that Ranma had associated with that flawed training was slowly being replaced by the memory of the pleasant feelings that Akane was providing. The Amazon shook her head in amazement as they almost acted as one, Akane clearly anticipating what Ranma needed and providing it nearly instantaneously. 'The two of them are going to be a formidable combination when they are finished training,' she thought, 'I'm glad that the tribe can call them allies.' She shuddered as she thought of the power that Ranma must be able to call on if he could defeat Saffron.

A sudden change happened in the aura she was watching caught her off guard. Something, she wasn't sure what, had happened, and Ranma's aura had become slightly cat-like, as if she had gone Neko. But, instead of going berserk, Ranma simply opened her eyes. Cologne tensed as the girl stared at her, but then she relaxed as she saw the gleam of mischief in the girl's eyes. "Still with us, sonny boy?" Cologne asked.

Ranma smirked and then turned in Akane's arms and deliberately and with malice aforethought used her tongue to lick Akane's cheek. Akane giggled and said, "That's not as rough as the one the real kitten uses to wash our hands. You'll have to do better than that."

Ranma replied finally to Cologne's question and said, "Yep, old ghoul, I'm still here and in control."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Cologne asked.

"I'm not sure, but somehow, whatever separate thing that was the cat inside of me merged with me," Ranma replied, "I want to try something." She held out her hand away from Akane and Cologne and then slashed down at a convenient crate in the alleyway. Four parallel slashes appeared in the wooden crate, and then it collapsed in upon itself. "Neat!" Ranma exclaimed, "I can control the claws."

"I wonder what else you gained," Cologne said half to herself.

"Well, my sense of smell is a little better," Ranma replied. 'I can tell that Akane and I both enjoyed what we were doing a little too much,' she thought to herself, as a slow blush appeared on her cheeks, sensing the faint hint of a musky yet not unpleasant scent, 'Cold shower time tonight, for sure!'

"It looks like you have mastered the Cat Fist, sonny boy," Cologne said, "Good! Now we can go onto the real training that I wish to get to."

Ranma shook her head and said, "I don't think it's a mastering, Cologne. I think it was more of an acceptance of the cat within me." She started and exclaimed, "That's the second time I've said cat without stammering and cringing in fear!"

"I'm proud of you," Akane said happily as she glomped onto Ranma. Ranma squeezed her equally hard, in a hug that would have damaged a lesser person.

Cologne hopped off to give the two girls a bit of privacy as they celebrated their accomplishment. Finally, though, she said, "We're done for the day. You two won't be paying any attention to anything I would say anyway. Head on home, or at least get a room."

Ranma and Akane blushed furiously and then scampered off to change and head home.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. I do read them, and some of the comments have helped considerably in taking this story forward. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

CJN: Principal Kuno does show up, but since I am currently finishing manga volume 9 (In Viz second edition) that won't happen for a few more chapters. And I definitely need to come up with a proper welcome for him, don't I?

Hououza: No problem, RL can be a problem. Thanks, I liked this version of the tea ceremony better myself. I thought the original story was a bit silly. (Sorry Rumiko, but what can I say?) And I do want to develop the other characters, so they will get a bit more of a play than the original story line. It won't just be when it impacts Ranma or Akane. And I guess this chapter answers what Konatsu can do, at least a little bit. More next chapter.

Shinigami: I think the answer is yes, but I have only read through volume 18 and 22 through 30 of the Viz second edition. There are several sites on the Web that have either summaries or translations that I have used as sources, but I don't remember if they showed up since I wasn't really looking for them. I'm sure someone has the answer.

Kyuubi-sama: Blush. I haven't had a chance to look at it. As soon as I can I will. As to your earlier review, I never hate anyone who takes the take to give me a constructive comment. I do have a tendency to be a little warm and fuzzy. True romance doesn't run smooth, so I do need some rocks. I have some coming up, assuming I can write it the way it is in my mind. I can't always get the words to flow like the pictures I see.

Chikara077: I like the WAFFY stories, and unfortunately that seems to be my writing style. VBG. I do have some angsty stuff planned, but I don't know how well it will come across.

Sarge4: Thanks, I think. I have to admit I have read both Girl Days and Lost Innocence, but I'm a little unsure exactly which scenes were that familiar. I'm pretty sure I haven't read either Comes the Cold Dragon, or Couch Trips. I glanced at both of them after I read your comments, and neither of them looked familiar. Having said that, I have read comments that say that it's a good story, and certainly with over a 1000 reviews you should be flattered. I might catch up if this story keeps on writing itself, but I'm way behind. Good luck and good writing.

Wonderbee31: Thanks. Yeah, I suspect the original Akane would have done that. Remember in the manga, when they first found out about his phobia, all of them, including Kasumi, brought cats next to him. Well you got a little bit of jealousy in this chapter, assuming you count Tsubasa, and a bit of Konatsu and Ukyo. Enjoy.

Lerris: I would tend to agree with you. I'm not as happy with the second part of the chapter, and maybe if I get the chance I can tighten it up. Actually, it's more a labor of love I suppose. I enjoy writing, in fact, now that the bug has bitten me with a vengeance, it's all I can do to keep from writing.

Ss4-link: That would be telling about Souta. Picolet will show up, though I don't know when yet. As to how I can write so much in only a few days, I have an extremely tolerant wife who encourages my writing, a fertile imagination, and I need only a few hours of sleep at night. LOL Plus, I never go anywhere without a notebook to write in whenever the muse strikes.

Psycho King: I think they had a cameo later on in the manga. This was another one of the silly stories in the manga, so I decided to go completely different. After all, like Ranma said, why on earth would he want to fight a monkey, and what kind of silly martial arts is a tea ceremony anyway. I agree, Akane now knows the depth of his feelings for her in a way that the manga Akane didn't because Ranma couldn't tell her. Stupid pride I guess. I ended up deciding to just show the beginning and the end of the cure for his phobia, since I thought that too many scenes of them making out to keep his fears under control might get a bit repetitious. But I hope I implied that it took a long time. Poor Ukyo, she just can't get a break can she? Feast or famine for her.

Xero Reflux: They might, though there probably isn't as much of a reason, since they originally came because Shampoo was having trouble getting her Airen. She's definitely got him in this tale. I guess that's what it's called. VBG

Firestorm2004: Thanks. Well, this chapter shows a bit more about the desensitization process, and what happened afterwards. I wonder what's going to happen with Saffron myself. That's so far in the future at the rate I'm writing that I haven't plotted it out yet. Herb shows up, but things won't quite be the same. Most of the major characters will show up, as well as many of the minor ones.

Mimi-chan15: Aw man. I don't know what else to say. Pardon my blushes. This is one of the nicest reviews that I can remember getting. As to how, I had the extreme good fortune to have an excellent English teacher back in the dark ages of my high school career, and an extremely warped imagination. And last but not least, a wonderful prereader who keeps me honest.

Kitsune: I did see it. LOL. I don't know, Taro would have to pry the piglet away from the Amazons. Could you say fat chance, or broiled pork chop, if he tried? Still not a bad idea.

Innortal: Thanks for the assist. VBG. Thanks, I had a lot of fun writing that scene as well as the similar one in this chapter with the Neko-ken. Ukyo has subconsciously realized that she's out of the Ranma sweepstakes, hence the dream in this chapter, but yes, she still needs some closure. Later chapter has that. Cologne saw the beginning of the integration of the Neko into Ranma's personality, I guess I didn't make it as clear as I intended. Cologne is sure going to try to fix the Hibiki curse, I hope you enjoyed the explanation for where it came from.

Raver Styx: I like messing with the Ice Queen's mind. And yes, Ukyo is sure taking her own sweet time about things isn't she. Wonder why that's happening? Must be the evil author. VEG. The almost neko scene WAS fun, I hope the one in this chapter was as enjoyable.

Dragon Man 180: I agree, the martial arts tea ceremony was pretty silly. I wonder if Rumiko was stuck for ideas and needed to meet a deadline and put that together. Oh well. Picolet Chardin II will happen down the road. This chapter and the next are basically my version of volume 9 of the manga, so that should give you some idea of when that will happen.

Dark dragon 00: I just couldn't bring myself to write more about that episode. Sorry, it was almost as silly as the Gambler King, and he won't even show up in this story, probably.

Lord Archive: Again, thank you for your comments, and the time you spent corresponding with me. I look forward to seeing more of your story.


	35. The Ultimate Technique

Chapter 35 The Ultimate Technique

Ranma and Akane walked into the house to find their fathers laying in wait for them. "Ranma, my boy, now that you've defeated the old pervert, you need to reclaim all of the techniques that Happosai had at his disposal," Genma began.

"Pop, I'm not gonna learn anything that's perverted. I won't run around stealing girl's underwear and peeping in the woman's bath, so just forget it," Ranma growled dangerously.

"No, it's nothing like that," Soun said, "The ultimate technique, the Happo-Fire-Burst. Just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end." Sure enough, Soun's long hair was literally standing on end.

"Mine, too," Genma growled.

Ranma glared at his father and said, "You don't have any hair."

"That's why it's a cute trick. Seriously, boy, this technique is dangerous," Genma growled.

"You've actually seen this technique?" Akane asked.

"Wait a minute, Pop, I've read his journal and there's nothing in it about anything called the Happo-fire-burst," Ranma protested.

"You've read his journal," Genma gasped.

Ranma shrugged and said, "Yes, I wanted to see what he had taught to see if any of it could be cleaned up for the school. It was really very sad to read. The original entries showed that he was an amazing martial artist. But somewhere, something corrupted him and he began to use the arts only to feed his appetites."

"That's beside the point actually," Genma growled, "We need to get the hidden scroll that explains the Fire Burst technique."

"Why was it hidden?" Akane asked, "Is it that dangerous?"

"Happosai had developed the skills to create balls of fire that he could then throw," Soun explained, "And he used that partially to keep us under his control. It was back in the days when we trained under Master Happosai, attempting to learn what he would teach us, though most of the time we spent either stealing things for him, such as food, or drink."

"We were visiting a remote village in the north of the island, with the old freak doing his usual best to collect all of the bras and panties that he could find, somehow even stealing them off of the women themselves. That outraged the village men, and they decided to set a trap. As we were running away, the Master saw a pile of panties on the ground and dove after them, not seeing the enormous boulder that was rolling down on top of him," Soun added.

"As dedicated students, we of course attempted to warn him of the oncoming danger, but the Master was oblivious to our attempts to get his attention. He was too busy stuffing the bag he was carrying with his new prizes," Genma said, "Then, I guess he must have sensed his danger, and turned to face the boulder. He created the largest Happo-Fire-Burst that we had ever seen, and everything exploded in a blinding flash of light."

Soun continued, "When we came to, we lay in a pile of shattered rocks. We thought the explosion had killed the master, but as dutiful students we went to make sure. When we got to the site of the explosion, there was a huge crater, and to our dismay, the master was in the bottom of the crater, crying bitter tears, over what was left of his collection. The sound of him crying, 'My precious!' was heart-rending. He there and then said, 'In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, I must seal away the Happo-Fire-Burst forever!' And so, the scroll with the secret of the Happo-Fire-Burst was put to rest, under a large rock, and we left the area, never to return."

"But it is part of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, and we have a duty to reclaim all of the techniques that he developed. It is our duty as well as our responsibility to the future," Genma said pompously.

"Pop, you're full of it," Ranma said.

"It doesn't matter. You are going to get that scroll," Genma demanded.

Ranma stared at his father in disgust and asked, "Do I need to remind you who is the current grandmaster of the school? I decide what must be taught as part of the school."

Akane said unhappily, "We have to get that scroll, Ranma. What if someone else finds it? Could you live with yourself if someone found it and was injured using it? Or worse yet, hurt someone else, or used it for evil?"

"That is a reason I can agree with," Ranma said, after a few moments of thought, "Akane, you're right, we can't run the risk of someone finding it after all of these years and using it for evil. After we have the scroll will be the time to decide what to do with it."

"We can go this weekend," Akane suggested, "Remember, there's no class this Saturday."

"What do you mean, we?" Genma growled, "Who said you could come?"

"Pop," Ranma said, his eyes flashing dangerously, "She's just as much a part of the Anything Goes School as you are. So if she wants to come, she's coming. So do you have any more objections?" He cracked his knuckles ominously as he glared coldly at his father, who suddenly cringed.

"Uh, no, I just thought that, well, women being weake-" Genma began, only to be interrupted by Akane hitting him with her mallet, flattening him to the ground.

"Weaker! WEAKER!" Akane screamed, trying to hit Genma again, only to feel Ranma grab the handle and stop her swing.

"You'd think he'd learn," Soun said, looking down at the battered remains of his friend. He sighed deeply, and put several more of his shogi pieces back on the board, waiting for Genma to wake up.

"Temper, dear," Ranma said, mildly, his voice not showing the strain of preventing Akane from hitting his father.

Suddenly Akane relaxed, her rage spent. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I just don't know why he gets to me like that," she said a bit shamefaced.

"I do," Ranma said with a shrug, "He belittles your abilities every time he calls you a weak girl. It was his favorite insult when he was training me. Just ignore him, after all, you are quickly catching up to where he is. I can tell, because I hold back about as much with you now as I do him."

Akane couldn't decide whether to hug him for complimenting her on her abilities or hit him for the implied insult that she wasn't as good. Finally, she decided to do both, first hugging him tightly and then poking him hard in the side. Then she took pity on the befuddled look on his face and said, "The hug was because you complimented me on my skills," she said, "And the poke was because you still have to hold back."

Ranma smiled wryly and said, "Well, both of them are true. Remember, I've been training a lot longer and harder than you have. Mr. Tendo didn't do you any favors when he stopped teaching you. Give yourself another six months to a year, and then I think you'll be where you should be." He looked at her carefully and said, "You're already to the point that you could challenge your father to be the master of the Tendo branch. Don't forget, you still have to show me those techniques. And both of us need to learn from Mom."

Akane's eyes misted up for a second and then they turned thoughtful as she looked at her father. "Daddy, do I really need to challenge you?" she asked.

Soun sighed heavily and replied, "If Ranma thinks you are ready, then you are. I don't need to fight you for the title, it has been yours since I basically turned my back on the art after Kimiko." He paused, his eyes tearing up, and then he obviously pulled himself back together. "I know I've not been the best sensei, daughter, but you have done this school proud. You deserve to be known as the master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes. As far as I'm concerned, you are the Master," he said, "I'm so proud of you Akane."

"You can't just give up the mastery like that!" Genma protested.

"Saotome, shut up!" Soun snapped, "I will not embarrass myself by forcing my daughter to beat me in a physical challenge. Just watching how much better she's gotten under Ranma's tutelage and then Cologne's makes me ashamed of myself. If I had only taught her myself, then they would not have had to teach her the things a beginner should have known about controlling her temper, her emotions. But because I couldn't see past my own grief, I allowed her to learn so many bad habits that they had to break her of." He turned to Ranma and said, "And I apologize for that to you, Grand Master. I also thank you for your forbearance in not calling me to task for my lapse."

Ranma looked thoughtfully at the older man and then said, simply, "It's okay, Mr. Tendo. I know why things were the way they were, and I understand it. We can't change the past, all we can do is learn from our mistakes and move forward."

"Can't change the past, huh?" Akane whispered as she smiled at him. Ranma pulled her back into a hug.

"Well, maybe a little," he whispered back.

* * *

Ranma slid into bed next to Akane, who asked, "Okay, why do I have my girlfriend in bed with me tonight?"

Ranma giggled at that question and replied, "Do you really have to ask after this afternoon? We were enjoying that entirely too much, and I guess I thought this would be safer."

Akane blushed furiously and then swatted the smaller girl on the shoulder. "How did you know?" she asked, her cheeks still rosy.

"I told you, my sense of smell was better and I could smell us," Ranma replied, her cheeks red.

Akane grinned sheepishly and asked, "I guess I can't hide how I feel anymore, can I?"

"That's not really true, I think I can turn it off, at least if I concentrate," Ranma said with a shrug.

"Well, that's a bit of a relief," Akane said softly, "What else did you gain?"

Ranma thought for a moment and then her eyes widened. "I can see a bit better in the dark now," she replied, and then her lips curled up in a smile as she added, "And I like having my belly rubbed and I have a craving for fish."

Akane stared at her for a moment and then realized she was having her leg pulled rather severely, as Ranma began to giggle. "You!" she accused as she began to giggle too. Then she got a evil glint in her eyes as she sprang onto Ranma and began to tickle her belly, straddling the smaller girl so she couldn't get away.

Ranma began to laugh uncontrollably, and then cried, "Okay, you win!" between giggles. Breathless, she collapsed against the mattress, and pulled Akane down into a warm embrace.

Akane leaned into her fiancée's arms, and kissed the red-haired girl thoroughly, saying between kisses, "That's what you get for teasing me like that."

"Well, if I'd known that this is the way you'd punish me, I'd have done it sooner," Ranma replied huskily, sending an interesting chill down Akane's spine.

Akane looked at her through heavy-lidded eyes and then shivered. "I'm not sure how much longer I can wait," she moaned.

"Patience, we'll turn eighteen soon enough," Ranma said softly, "But, yeah, it's getting harder." Then she gave an impish smile, and added, "Besides, pretty soon you'll have something else to worry about. Isn't it about time for you to bring that puppy you picked home?"

"D-chan? Yeah, Mrs. Hibiki said I could get her any time this week," Akane said with a happy smile.

"Well, then, see. You'll have your baby to take care of then, you know, taking the dog out for a walk, getting it housebroken, cleaning up after it has accidents," Ranma teased, "You won't have time for me anymore."

"That's true," Akane said in the same teasing tone, "I'll have someone sharing my bed."

"Yeah, gnawing on your toes most likely," Ranma said with a smile. 'Better than a P-chan in your bed, that's for damn sure,' she thought, not knowing that Akane was thinking the exact same thing at that moment.

* * *

Shampoo stretched out in her bed, her eyes captured by the glint of the light on the little circle of gold on her left hand. She sighed happily as she remembered the day that Ryoga had placed the ring on her finger, shortly after they had registered down at the town hall, and she had officially became Shampoo Hibiki.

Flashback

Shampoo looked up as the door to the café opened and Nabiki Tendo walked in, followed closely by Megumi Hibiki and a strange man, tall, with rugged, weathered good looks, with laugh lines around his eyes, that she assumed must be Ryoga's father. The child leash tied to his hand firmly held by Nabiki was a dead giveaway, not to mention the frazzled look on the normally impassive Nabiki. She smiled happily to herself, realizing that once again her friend Akane had been right. Getting Nabiki involved in finding Ryoga's father had been the right thing to do. The middle Tendo girl had quickly found the older man, somehow tracing him through his cellular phone signal, though of course, he really wasn't on Okinawa as he thought, but was actually further north in the town of Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu. When she had called to give the Amazons the news the day before, she had said that she would personally go and get him, and sure enough she had been as good as her word if this was indeed the man Shampoo thought he was.

"Shampoo, I'd like to introduce you to Sano Hibiki, Ryoga's father, my wayward husband, and your father-in-law," Megumi said with a gentle smile.

Shampoo began to bow, but the older man would have none of it. With a wide grin, he grabbed her in a huge hug, and then swung her around, as he said, "So this is the woman who saw the diamond in the rough that is my son. You can't imagine how happy I am to meet you. When Megumi said that Ryoga had finally found someone, I couldn't wait to get back."

"It pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hibiki," Shampoo got out once she caught her breath.

"None of that nonsense. I'm either Dad, or Sano. Mr. Hibiki was my father," Sano said, with a boisterous laugh.

"And you know what I've told you, dear," Megumi said with a dry chuckle.

"Where is my good-for-nothing son, anyway?" Sano asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"What's all the noise out here?" Cologne asked as she hopped in from the kitchen.

Sano glanced down and said, "You're a tiny one, aren't you?"

"Elder, this is Sano Hibiki. Mr. Hib, I mean, Sano, this is my great grandmother, Cologne, Elder of my tribe and a member of the ruling council of the Joketsuzoku," Shampoo said.

"And yes, I am a tiny old thing," Cologne said with a cackle, "Pleased to meet you, young man. Now, we can get these two married under your law and she can stop nagging me about it."

"A spirited woman, I like that. Reminds me a lot of you, Megumi," Sano said, as he bowed to the older woman. He looked at her soberly for a moment and then asked, "I've heard of the Joketsuzoku in my travels. You normally stay pretty close to your villages as I remember. What could have brought you here?"

"Uh, that would be my fault, Dad," Ryoga said from the curtained doorway leading to the upstairs, "I thought I heard you roaring down here."

Sano walked over and scanned his son carefully. "You've grown some more, son, since the last time I saw you. Are you too old to greet your old man properly?" he asked.

Ryoga grinned and said, "No, Dad," as he hugged the older man. The two of them pounded each other on the back. "I can't wait to trade stories with you," Ryoga said, with a big grin on his face as they separated.

"Well, I think we've gotten something more important to do first," Sano replied, "I understand we need to make an honest man of you and get you married off."

"I've already taken the liberty of arranging everything down at the town hall for tomorrow," Nabiki said, "And Kasumi said to invite all of you home for the celebration dinner. And she also said to tell both of you women that she's taking care of the meal, so she'll be terribly insulted if anyone brings anything."

"Well, we certainly don't want to upset Kasumi," Cologne said with a smile.

* * *

True to her word, Nabiki had arranged for all of the paperwork down at the town hall. The small wedding party had shown up mid-morning, and once the receptionist heard who they were, was promptly whisked into the registrar's office for the signing of all of the documents and the payment of the fee. Once Ryoga had finished stamping everything, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black jewelry box. Opening it, he pulled out a plain ring of yellow gold.

Shampoo held out her left hand, and Ryoga slid the ring on her ring finger and then kissed the ring. "This is a symbol of my love for you," he said, ignoring the rest of the party.

With tears in her eyes, Shampoo glomped her husband, and whispered, "Wo ai ni, Airen."

Cologne looked on proudly, as the happy couple celebrated their wedding. Then to her surprise, she was picked up by Sano. He placed a kiss on her withered cheek and said, "Welcome to our family, Cologne."

Megumi kissed her other cheek, and said, "They look so happy together, don't they?"

Cologne smiled and said, "They do make a fine couple." Sano placed her back down on the ground, and she added, "And welcome to our tribe."

End Flashback

Shampoo had really enjoyed that evening with her new husband, at least new under Japanese law. The reaction the next morning at school when she informed the class of her name change was certainly memorable. For once, she was the center of attention, as all of the girls had squealed happily upon seeing the simple ring, the symbol of her Airen's love for her.

The next several days had gone swiftly as she had come to know her new family. She had discovered that Mr. Hibiki had a wicked sense of humor, remarkably dry, that resembled her great grandmother's a great deal. She had already gotten to know her new mother-in-law very well in the days leading up to the ceremony, and was thrilled with how quickly she had come to become the daughter the older woman had always wanted. She was also gratified that great grandmother was happy with her choice of husband, and was getting along very well with the parents.

* * *

Ukyo stared out the window of her classroom, ignoring the drone of the sensei's voice as she talked about something that no one cared about. She was lost in her thoughts as she wondered how she had managed to get in the situation she was in, being involved with one boy, having an odd relationship with a second and being chased by an obsessed lunatic. Though now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen Kurenai since that sex-obsessed boy had kissed him. Once Tsubasa had come out of the bathroom, he had run off and good riddance. The last several weeks had been strange. She had gone out with Souta several times, enough that she no longer denied that she had been dating. But that line of thinking brought her back to the enigma that was Konatsu. She remembered the morning after their kiss, as the two of them had woken up from a very peaceful sleep.

Flashback

Ukyo woke up from her slumber and stretched, accidentally hitting her bedmate in the shoulder. Her eyes grew wide as she remembered the events of the night before, her date with Souta, then the odd dream, the kiss from Konatsu. 'Oh yes, that kiss,' she thought, 'How can I handle this?'

"Good morning, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said, in a soft voice, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Sugar, we need to talk," Ukyo said.

Konatsu looked at her then with worried eyes. "I'm sorry for last night, Ukyo-sama. I should never have overstepped my bounds and kissed you," the kunoichi said despondently.

"No, don't apologize for that. I'm not upset with you or anything. Confused, bewildered, befuddled, that describes how I feel a lot better," Ukyo said quickly.

Konatsu looked amused at that and said, in much better humor, "Now you know how I've been feeling ever since I met you."

"I had that affect on you, huh?" Ukyo asked, shyly.

"Oh yes, very definitely, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu replied.

Ukyo sighed then and said, "Damn. How to say this? Konatsu, I'm not going to say that you kissing me was a mistake. In fact, I enjoyed it a bit too much. But I'm dating Souta, I guess."

Konatsu snickered and said, "You're either dating him or you're not. You shouldn't have to guess, Ukyo-sama."

"True," Ukyo said with a wan smile, "You've got a point. I'm not saying we should forget it happened, but I can't let you kiss me again. At least not until I know what I'm feeling. I don't want to hurt either of you or me for that matter, but somehow I managed to get stuck in this mess."

"As I said last night, all I want is for you to be happy. I hope and pray that I can be the one for you, but I know that I can't force that to happen. If my presence is causing you discomfort, perhaps I should leave, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said carefully, his tone neutral.

"NO!" Ukyo exclaimed, almost angry at the suggestion. She took several deep breaths, and then continued a bit calmer, "No, you don't have to leave. It wouldn't be the same around here without you. You're just as important to me as Souta, and I would miss you a great deal."

Konatsu replied, with a wan smile, similar to the one Ukyo had used a moment before, "It would be different if I didn't like Souta, Ukyo-sama. He's a bit full of himself, but then what actor isn't? But, he's aware of it, and makes fun of his image, so he's not too bad."

Ukyo surprised herself by giggling at the apt description of Souta. 'And he's not really my boyfriend, I mean, we haven't ever said the words,' she thought.

"Well, it's running late. If you don't hurry, you won't get to class on time, and we can't have that," Konatsu said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yes, Mommy," Ukyo said as she stuck her tongue out and pulled down her eye, "Now scat, so I can get ready."

Konatsu chuckled, and said, "Wrong gender for your Mommy, and please don't think of me as your Daddy. That would be just so wrong." The kunoichi got up from the bed and headed downstairs.

End Flashback

Ukyo smiled to herself as she remembered that scene. She had been afraid that things would become awkward between her and Konatsu, and she still felt a bit guilty about hiding whatever her relationship was with him from Souta. On the other hand, she shared an odd bond with Konatsu, which she was quite sure Souta would never understand. At first it had only been the kunoichi comforting her from her night fears, but then a week or so ago, it had been her turn to return the favor, as she had awoken to hear Konatsu crying out in his sleep.

Flashback

Ukyo woke suddenly, her peaceful slumber shattered by a loud shriek coming from her sitting room. Throwing her covers aside, she jumped out of bed, threw on her robe and raced into the outer room, where she saw Konatsu tossing and turning in the futon, tangled up completely in a blanket. She all but dove next to Konatsu, pulling him tightly against her chest in a fierce hug. Then she said, "It's okay, Konatsu. I'm here now. Tell me what's wrong," over and over again, until finally Konatsu opened his bloodshot eyes, the tears still streaming from them copiously.

"I-I was, I was back with my wicked stepfamily," Konatsu said hesitantly, "And no once came to save me. My Prince Charming didn't come."

"Oh, sugar, we came and rescued you. It was only a horrible nightmare," she said, rubbing his back, feeling the tenseness of his muscles, as he shivered from his reaction to the dream.

Konatsu replied, "I know that in my head, Ukyo-sama. That's not the problem. I was treated as a servant for so long it'll take me a while to get used to the idea that someone cares for me."

"Sugar, if I'm Prince Charming, does that mean you're Cinderella?" Ukyo asked.

Konatsu essayed a weak smile and replied, "Well, of course, Ukyo-sama. You'll always be my Prince Charming, well, Princess Charming, actually."

"Come on, Sugar. If you can comfort me after my nightmares, then the least I can do is return the favor. Looks like you're bunking with me again, tonight," Ukyo said, with a wry smile. She shook her head slightly, and added, "What a pair we make! Just a couple of basket cases." She stood up, and pulled Konatsu to his feet, steadying him as he freed himself from his blanket. The two of them walked silently into the bedroom, and collapsed onto the bed together, Konatsu still huddling under his blanket instead of under the other covers.

End Flashback

The bell rang signaling the end of the last class period before lunch. Ukyo gathered herself together and headed outside with the rest of the horde of students, but for some reason she wasn't in the mood to sit with her friends. She just knew that if she sat with them, they would grill her about her last date with Souta, and she really didn't want to put up with that. As she made her way to a secluded corner of the schoolyard, she smiled a bit ruefully. 'Who would have thought that I would have boy trouble,' she thought as she cooked herself a couple of pork okonomiyakis on her grill, and sat down to eat by herself. After a few minutes she sensed someone staring at her and looked up to see Ranma watching her with a sad expression on his face.

"You got a minute, Ucchan?" Ranma asked, "Cause there's a story I'd like to tell you."

Ukyo shrugged and asked, "Akane let you off your leash?"

Ranma winced at the bitter tone in his best friend's voice. "She trusts me, and for that matter she trusts you," Ranma said simply as he sat down next to her. He paused to gather his thoughts and then said, "Like I said, there's a story I heard once that I thought you might find interesting. I can't tell you if it's true or not, but it's a good tale none-the-less."

"Sure, why not?" Ukyo replied, "I could stand something to take my mind off things."

"Well, I don't rightly know if this will do that or not. You see, there once was this young man, pretty nice and all, maybe a bit full of himself, but his biggest fault was he couldn't bring himself to hurt anyone's feelings. Well, this man had an idiot of a father who only thought of himself," Ranma said.

"Sounds like Genma," Ukyo said.

"Yeah, apparently he was a lot like Pop. Well, anyway, because of his father, the young man ended up with a couple of fiancées, and then through his own stupidity, he got two more women after him, so he ended up with four women, all claiming him as theirs," Ranma said.

"This sounds awfully familiar, Ranchan. Except for the number of girls, it could describe you," Ukyo said, dryly, "So where are you going with this?"

"Bear with me, I think you'll see. The young man was in a situation that a lot of men would have enjoyed. Four lovely girls all after his attentions, some more aggressive than others, but all of them claiming that they liked him, or were in love with him. The man didn't want to hurt any of their feelings so he basically let things drift, without stating which girl, if any, he really wanted. He just knew if he picked, that the other three girls would be heartbroken and he didn't want to do that," Ranma said softly, his eyes gazing off into somewhere else, "From what I was told, I guess he was hoping that the ones he really wasn't interested in would somehow figure it out and just disappear. It didn't happen that way, and the five of them stayed locked in this odd relationship for years. All of them miserable, but none of them willing to leave."

"So what finally happened?" Ukyo asked, curious in spite of herself.

Ranma sighed and said, "The young man eventually died, without ever resolving the situation. I guess the four girls finally got over him, but the story doesn't say."

"So why'd you decide to tell me this story?" Ukyo asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "When I heard it recently, something told me that you ought to hear it too." He stood up and said, "Well, that's all I came over here to tell you. And to ask that you take better care of yourself. Those sleepless nights are beginning to take a toll on you. No matter what has happened between us, I am still your friend and I care for you."

"Thanks, Ranchan, I know that you do," Ukyo said, softly, then she slowly turned away.

Ranma looked at her sadly for another moment and then sighed. "See ya in class," he said as he slowly walked away, hoping that he had done some good, but fearing that he hadn't.

"Ranma!" Ukyo exclaimed.

Ranma turned to look back.

"Thanks, really," Ukyo said with a wry grin, "I think I understand what the morale of that story was. Thanks for sharing it with me."

Ranma waved in response and walked off feeling suddenly lighter.

* * *

The four of them had gotten up bright and early on Saturday morning for their excursion to the site of the hidden scroll. After eating a hearty breakfast, which was only marred by Genma attempting to convince Ranma once more to leave Akane behind, an attempt that was halted in its tracks by Akane knocking the old man into the koi pond, they had set off. The train trip out of Nerima and far out into the mountains was spent quietly, as once the train had set off, Genma and Soun had pulled out their shogi board, and Ranma and Akane had decided to nap in each other's arms, only to be awakened as they neared their stop.

Ranma and Akane followed the two older men, as they followed a trail that wound through the mountain valleys, until finally they reached a precipice above a small secluded vale. They looked down and saw a large spring fed pool, surrounding a small islet. On the islet was a boulder. Genma pointed and said, "That's the stone under which Happosai hid the scroll."

"How can you tell?" Akane asked.

Ranma groaned as he said, "Well, the fact that it has the words 'Secret Scroll' written on might be a clue."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Soun asked. The two old men looked at each other and then jumped, yelling, "Geronimo!" as they fell toward the water. Suddenly, out of nowhere, dozens of wooden buckets came flying at them, as well as the sounds of feminine screams.

"Ranma?" Akane asked.

He turned to her and shrugged, sheepishly, "Don't ask me, I don't remember any of this. Let's go down a different way and find out what happened."

Ranma and Akane made their way carefully down a small path that led from the top of the cliff to the foot below. There they found their respective fathers nursing their injuries, while they heard the sounds of extremely annoyed women coming from the direction of the pool.

"Who were those creeps?" one voice asked.

"Perverts, that's who they were!" another exclaimed.

Ranma said dryly, "You didn't tell me that the scroll was hidden in the middle of a hot spring, one apparently for women only."

"It wasn't before. It must have popped up afterward," Soun said.

"Like a gift from the gods," Genma said, as he got an eyeful of the women in the spring, and just before he got hit by both Ranma and Akane.

"Pervert," Akane grumbled.

"Pop, you're disgusting," Ranma growled.

"Aargh, and with the secret hiding place of the scroll right before our eyes," Soun said, glaring at the stone that had 'Secret Scroll' written on it.

"I'll bet those peeping toms will be back!" a female voice said angrily.

"We can't even get close to it," Soun said.

"But," Akane said.

"Hush girl," Genma snapped, "But somehow, we must get to it before anyone else does." Then an idea came to him and he exclaimed, "I've got it!"

"But why don't I," Akane asked, before she was interrupted by a splash. They turned to see that Genma had changed into his cursed form.

The panda was holding a bucket of white paint and held up a sign that read, 'Heh, heh, heh! Get a load of this disguise!"

"Of course! By disguising yourself with paint, even a cute panda bear can be made to look like a ferocious polar bear," Soun said excitedly, "And then while the girls scream and flee in terror, we make our move and get the scroll. A perfect plan!"

"But," Akane said.

Ranma shook his head at her and hissed, "Let them have their fun."

The disguised bear ran out of the woods toward the hot springs, roaring loudly, carrying a sign which read, 'Do not feed the bears!'

Soun cupped his hands and yelled, "RUN! A BEAR!"

Ranma and Akane watched from the bushes as the two men neared the pool, and the girls soaking in the hot water.

'GRRR!' the panda's sign read.

The girls stopped in what they were doing and glared at the two idiots. "Oh, yeah, right," one of the girls said in disgust, "One of those famous Japanese polar bears!"

"GET THEM GIRLS! IT'S THOSE PERVERTS AGAIN!" a second girl shouted. Suddenly, a storm of wooden buckets assailed the two older men who retreated in confusion and disarray to where Ranma and Akane were barely able to control their laughter.

"Amateurs," Akane huffed, "I'll go get that scroll. Hand me a towel from your backpack Ranma."

Ranma winked at Akane and handed her a towel. Then he glared at the two men, and said, "Eyes front, gentlemen!" He turned away from Akane and allowed her to shed her clothing and cover herself with her towel.

"Uh, Ranma, I could use some help," Akane said sweetly.

"Huh?" Ranma asked intelligently.

"Get changed, and come with me," Akane said.

"Uh, Akane, as soon as I get in the pool, I'll change back. I don't think that's such a good idea," Ranma protested.

"Silly, you don't have to get in the water, you can just jump over it," Akane chided.

Ranma grumbled and grabbed a towel and then changed out of his clothing and then changed gender, wrapping the towel around her body. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said, glaring at Akane, "Why can't you just get the scroll?" 'Where's some waterproof soap when you need it,' she thought.

"Because I probably can't lift that boulder, and I don't think the Breaking Point would be a good idea, scattering bits and pieces of the rock all over everywhere, and probably destroying the scroll in the process," Akane explained patiently.

"So let me get this straight, you want me to somehow get to the rock in the middle of the pool, without getting wet," Ranma said, "Yeah, like that will happen. You know how much water is attracted to me."

"Do you want to get that scroll or don't you, boy?" Genma growled. Apparently, he had changed back sometime during the conversation between Ranma and Akane.

Ranma looked at Akane and hung her head in defeat. "All right, but don't blame me if this doesn't work," she said.

"And don't you dare look at those girls," Akane said, playfully.

Ranma rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry, I only have eyes for you."

"Shoot me now, and put me out of my misery, that was so sappy," Genma said in disgust.

"We'll keep watch from here," Soun said quickly.

"I don't think so. This isn't the time for another session of Peeping for Dummies," Ranma growled, sounding a bit strange in her soprano voice, "You two just stay here and keep out of sight."

Genma exclaimed, "Just get it done!"

"We're counting on you two!" Soun chimed in.

Akane shook her head as she grabbed Ranma's hand and pulled the reluctant girl along behind her. "Useless old geezers," she muttered under her breath, eliciting a giggle from Ranma.

As the two girls walked off, Ranma couldn't help but ask, "Now why aren't we waiting until dark, when no one will be in the pool?"

Akane smiled wryly and said, "You weren't paying attention, were you? Tonight is a new moon, it will be pitch black tonight, and not even your enhanced eyesight will be able to see anything."

"Oh," Ranma said, as her face reddened in embarrassment, "I guess I forgot. It's just, I mean, I have a real bad feeling about this. I just know I'm gonna get caught."

"Don't worry, trust me," Akane said with a smirk.

"Now I know I'm in trouble," Ranma said with a worried look on her face. She paused for a moment and then asked in a hesitant voice, "Akane, I really don't want to ask this, but, uh, all of those girls are going to be naked. Um, I mean, where do I look? I know you were sorta kidding before, but how do I not look? How do **you** handle it in the baths?"

Akane stopped and looked at her fiancée, noticing for the first time that this situation was really bothering her. "Well, you just don't notice things. Besides, you know what everything looks like. It's not like you haven't seen yourself hundreds of times by now."

"But it's different when it's someone else. And you're the only girl I really ever want to see that way," Ranma protested.

Akane's eyes went misty for a moment, and then she came to a decision. Slowly she dropped her towel, revealing herself completely to the other girl, her cheeks flaming, fighting the urge to cover her nether region.

Ranma's eyes grew wide as she took in what she was seeing, and then she spun around, blushing furiously.

"Okay, now you've seen me first," Akane said, her voice just a little unsteady, "Just think of me instead."

Ranma simply nodded her head, not trusting in her voice at the moment. Then she nearly jumped out of her towel as she felt Akane embrace her from behind, and then kiss her cheek gently.

"If you're ready, we've got a scroll to find," Akane said softly.

Ranma nodded again, and Akane let her go. Ranma turned, and softly kissed Akane. Then she giggled, and said, "I can't believe you did that. I didn't expect to see you like that, not here. I guess I thought we'd be married first."

Akane blushed even redder, and admitted, "Well, you've seen most of me already, so it wasn't that big a step. But it was easier because you're currently a girl right now."

The other girl grinned a bit ruefully and said, "You do know you've made things a lot harder now. Now that I know what you really look like, my dreams are going to get a lot more interesting." She held out her hand and said, "Well, let's get this show on the road."

Akane winked saucily at Ranma and said, huskily, "That's okay then, you need to have interesting dreams."

Ranma simply shook her head, wondering where this Akane had come from, but liking it a great deal.

"Okay, girlfriend, let's do this," Akane said, as she grabbed Ranma's hand and started pulling her toward the pool, both of them carrying a wooden bucket containing their bathing supplies.

Ranma started to run toward the pool, saying to Akane, "Okay, from here I can jump straight across to the-" only to stop as the four girls who were in the pool stood up and turned toward her.

"Oh, the water was so nice," one girl said.

Another asked, "Could you wash my back?" as she sat down on one of the smooth rocks surrounding the pool.

A third asked, "Could you hand me that pail?"

Ranma simply froze and then sat down, her eyes looking down at the ground.

The two old men watched in surprise from where they were hiding in the dense underbrush. Genma asked, "What's he doing?"

Ranma began to wash herself, while trying not to listen to the girls talking and laughing around her, and wondering where Akane was. 'Easy boy,' she thought, 'remember you're a girl and have a right to be here.'

Akane ran over and whispered, "We have a problem. Yuka and Sayuri just showed up."

"Just tell them the truth about why we're here," Ranma whispered back, "I'll wait here for you."

Akane looked at her a bit nervously, biting her lower lip in indecision and then nodded. She walked around to the other side of the pool and squealed in surprise, "Yuka, Sayuri, what are you doing here?"

"Akane, I didn't know that you were here," Sayuri said.

"I've never been to a natural hot spring before," Akane replied.

"Yes, it's so nice to be able to take our time," Yuka said as she took her towel off and sank chin deep into the water.

"Yes, knowing that only women are allowed here," Sayuri said as she joined Yuka.

Akane slid into the water with them and said in a low voice, "I didn't come here for the waters. I came here to retrieve a scroll that was hidden here long ago. Don't react, but I didn't come alone. Ranma is here."

"Ranma is here!" Yuka said a bit loudly.

"Yes, and we need your help," Akane said in a low voice, "She needs to get to the little islet in the middle of the pool without getting wet and changing. And she's embarrassed to be around all of the naked girls."

"Ranma isn't looking at them is he?" Sayuri asked.

Akane giggled, and said, "No, she is looking at the ground."

Yuka got an impish look on her face and said, "Have her come over here. That way the rock will block the other girls' view in case something goes wrong."

"That's a good idea," Akane said. She raised her voice and called, "Ranma, could you be a dear and bring me my bucket. I must have left it by you."

A few moments later, Ranma appeared through the steam rising from the pool, wrapped in her towel and carrying two wash buckets. She looked miserably at her friends and asked, "Are you sure about this?"

Yuka pretended to stand up, causing Ranma to blush furiously, and spin around.

"That isn't funny, Yuka," Ranma growled.

Yuka giggled and said, "But you blush so prettily, Ranma. And it was an all-over blush, too." Akane glared at her friend, who quickly sobered and said, "Okay, you can turn around now, I'll be good."

"You'd better be," Akane said, her eyes still showing a bit of anger.

Ranma carefully turned back around.

"What's that you say?" Akane asked loudly, "There's a peeping tom?" She winked at Ranma, hoping she'd pick up on what was happening.

"Oh, yuck!" Sayuri said.

Yuka looked at Akane and exclaimed, "How disgusting!"

"Well, don't worry, if he comes back, I'll take care of him," Akane said, looking particularly fierce.

Ranma yelled, "Look over there, in the bushes!" She pointed in the general direction of her father. All of the girls looked and saw a flash of white in among the brush. Immediately, a storm of buckets came flying toward the sighting. While they were turned away, Ranma leapt over the water and landed carefully on the islet.

Akane waded over to the islet, while Ranma lifted the rock. She reached up and grabbed the scroll from the depression that the rock had covered. Then she carefully slipped back into the water, keeping the scroll safe, and then headed over to her friends.

Ranma lowered the rock back down. Then she sprang for the safety of the rocks on the side of the pool, only to fall short and land with a loud splash in the hot water, instantly transforming her back. Ranma sank back into the water, stunned for a moment, and then he started to stand up.

Akane hissed at him, "Ranma!" as Yuka and Sayuri ogled him.

Ranma looked down, blushed, and then he scrambled out of the water, his face bright red, and grabbed the first towel that he saw. He quickly ran off into the trees, as Yuka exclaimed, "Nice ass!" a faint trickle of blood running down from her nose.

"Oh my God!" Sayuri exclaimed, her eyes wide open in shock, "You are **so** lucky, girl!"

Akane climbed out of the pool, grabbed a towel and ran after her fiancé, wrapping the towel around her as she ran. She caught up with Ranma just as he started circling around to where the old men were. To her surprise, Ranma was laughing so hard he was in tears.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Ranma wiped the tears from his eyes and replied, "What did I tell you? I knew that was going to happen. I just knew it!"

"Well, you certainly impressed Yuka and Sayuri," Akane said, as she began to giggle, "And I got a pretty good look too." She blushed as she remembered what she had seen.

Ranma reddened, and then quirked an eyebrow at her and said, "Well, now **you'll** have something to fantasize about. And I guess turnabout is fair play. You showed me yours after all."

Akane playfully swatted him and then said, "Let's go find our clothes and our idiot fathers."

"Since when did you start calling your father an idiot?" Ranma asked.

Akane replied, "Since he started listening to your father."

"Ah, good point," Ranma said, "Pop rarely is the voice of wisdom, is he?"

"If you said never instead of rarely, I think you'd be closer to the truth," Akane replied, with a wry grin.

The two of them smiled at each other and headed over to their fathers. Once they reached them, Ranma said, "We've got the scroll. You two go find a place to pitch the tents while we get dressed."

"Boy, give us the scroll!" Genma demanded.

Ranma pierced him with a look and said, "Don't push it old man!" He deliberately manifested a Neko-ken claw and slashed the ground in front of his father.

Soun pulled the cowering Genma away and they headed up the path away from the hot spring.

Ranma looked at Akane for a second and then shrugged. "I guess there's no real reason for modesty between us now, is there?" he asked hesitantly.

Akane looked at him for a moment and replied, "That's probably true." Then her eyes lit up as she squealed happily. "I just had a happy thought, there's no reason now why we can't bathe together," Akane said to his unasked question.

Ranma chuckled and said, "I don't have a problem with that I guess. Especially after we practice in the dojo. It would make it easier to give you a good rubdown too. And Mom will certainly be happy that we're taking another step toward becoming comfortable around each other. You know how she feels about being manly and all. Now, Kasumi on the other hand." He rolled his eyes at that thought.

"True, she'll say it's not proper, but she has loosened up a bit since she got married. And it's really none of her business, anyway," Akane said as she giggled.

Ranma took his towel off and began drying himself. After a moment or two, Akane followed suit. Once they were dressed, Ranma pulled Akane into an embrace and said, "I'm glad you were here with me, there's no telling what kind of trouble those two idiots would have gotten me into."

The two of them held hands as they walked down the path. After several minutes, they found their fathers in a small clearing tucked against the cliff wall, with the two tents erected.

"Okay, Ranma, show us the scroll," Soun said.

Akane handed her father the scroll and the four of them watched as Soun unrolled it. After several minutes they looked at each other.

"The master's handwriting is illegible!" Soun exclaimed in dismay.

Genma growled, "You mean this is handwriting! It looks like chicken scratches to me!"

Ranma and Akane exchanged angry looks and exclaimed, "We went through hell to get this!" Ranma continued, "And it's utterly worthless!"

Soun and Genma took one look at the aura from the two youths and threw themselves down on their knees, in the famous Saotome Crouch of the Wild Tiger.

Ranma pulled Akane away and snapped, "We'll be in our tent, while you two fix dinner. And it better be edible."

* * *

Souta smiled happily at Ukyo as he pulled her chair out to seat her at the restaurant. They were on their fifth date, and he had decided to go all out and take her to a relatively fancy Continental restaurant called Milano's. The small restaurant was pleasantly appointed, mostly in dark woods. He had been a bit disappointed that all of the booths had already been taken, but the small secluded corner gave them a bit of privacy. The tinkling of the piano over in the bar, as the night's entertainment played a selection of popular tunes was a pleasant counterpoint to the faint buzz of conversation that was filling the room. The tuxedoed wait-staff appeared to be providing just the correct amount of service, not too much to be an annoyance, and not so little that things went amiss.

"This is a nice place," Ukyo said, glancing around with an expert eye, "They did things up right. Those raised platforms on either side of the kitchen sure help separate the waiting area from the dining area nicely. And the small bar is just the right touch."

"Thanks, I like it. I've been here a few times," Souta said.

Ukyo arched an elegant eyebrow, and asked, half-teasing, "So, you've brought other dates here in the past?"

Souta blushed at his faux-pas, and replied, "A few. None as lovely as you, though."

Ukyo giggled prettily, a rosy tint painting her cheeks, and said, "I suspect you've used that line before, but thank you anyway." She smiled to take the sting out of the words and then added, "And I do thank you for bringing me here. It's good for me to get out now and then."

"What would you like to drink?" the waitress asked.

"Water with lemon, for me," Ukyo said with a smile.

Souta thought for a moment and replied, "A glass of Merlot, please."

The waitress said, "Very good sir, madame. And do you know what you would like or do you still need to look at the menu?"

"I'd like the chicken marsala, and the house dressing on the salad," Ukyo replied.

"The new pork tenderloin dish, and the house also," Souta said.

"Excellent choices, both of them. I'll have the salads and fresh bread out in a moment, and your drinks," the waitress said. She bowed politely and then headed off toward the kitchen to put in the order.

"Aren't you a bit young to be drinking? At least in public?" Ukyo asked.

"They know me. And I only have the one," Souta said, "Besides, a family friend owns the place."

* * *

The evening ended all too soon for Souta. He had enjoyed his conversation with Ukyo, even though she did have a fixation on how the restaurant was running. An understandable fixation considering what she did for a living, but still it did get a little old. And listening to her babble on about her martial arts, a practice that he had to admit had done wonders for her figure, also got a bit on the boring side. But on the other hand, she was an extremely good-looking girl, and that made up for both of those shortcomings. He thought for sure that he was the luckiest guy at Furinkan, with the possible exception of Saotome, who was actually living with his fiancée. And while Nabiki swore that they hadn't gone very far, it was obvious it wasn't for a lack of desire. Watching the sparks fly every time they looked at each other made that perfectly clear. Something that Souta was very happy about, since, as soon as he had figured out that Ranma would never look at Ukyo the way she wanted him to, he had set out to sweep her off her feet, and it looked like he had succeeded.

Ukyo glanced out of the corner of her eye at the young man walking beside her, holding her hand. 'He really is a nice boy,' she thought, 'but he is just a boy. And I can tell he's not real interested in either of my two loves, okonomiyaki and martial arts.' She replayed the conversation that she'd had with Ranma a few days back, and frowned briefly. As they got close to home, it began to sprinkle lightly, almost just a mist. The two of them ran quickly toward the restaurant.

Ukyo and Souta made it to the shelter of the awning outside her restaurant as the rain began to really pour. Fortunately, they had nearly been to her home before the worst of the sudden storm blew in from the sea, but it had still been a near thing. Souta gazed at Ukyo, her cheeks flushed from her race to the café, making her even more attractive than before. He reached for her and kissed her, his tongue probing at her lips, almost demanding entry. Her refusal was driving him crazy, wondering why she was so reluctant.

Ukyo pushed herself away from Souta, smiling a bit ruefully. "I'm sorry, Souta, I'm just not ready for that yet. I don't want to go too fast," she said gently.

Souta sighed and said, "I understand, and I respect you for that. I don't want to go anywhere you're not ready to go."

"Thanks for understanding, Souta, you're a real nice guy," Ukyo said. She reached up and kissed his cheek, and said, "I'll see you at school."

"Can't I come in, at least until the rain is gone?" Souta pleaded.

Ukyo bit her lip indecisively and said, "I don't think that's a good idea. People might talk. But I have an umbrella you can use."

Souta sighed and said, "I understand." He waited outside while Ukyo went in and came back out with an umbrella.

Ukyo kissed him on the cheek again and said, "Sorry for tossing you out in this mess."

"It's okay, I understand, really I do," Souta said. He watched as she slipped back into her café, and closed the door. Then with another heartfelt sigh, he opened the umbrella and slogged off toward his house through the pouring rain.

From the shadows of the storefront across the street, a silent figure stood watching stoically, ignoring the rain that was dripping off the brim of his hat. 'Hm, that's interesting. That wasn't the Saotome brat that she was with. Mr. Kuonji won't be happy to hear about that,' he thought as he mentally prepared the report that he owed his superior.

* * *

Kasumi walked into her kitchen Sunday morning to start preparing lunch, only to find her way barred by her husband. "Tofu, what are you doing? I have to make lunches for everyone," she asked.

"Not today you don't," Tofu said with a grin, "I suddenly realized that between my work, your classes and everything else, we haven't had a date in a little while. You and I are going on a picnic, just the two of us."

"Well, then, I need to go in there and fix that," Kasumi said, trying to squeeze past her husband, who caught her by the waist.

"Nodoka has that under control, you just need to go change into something that you can go on a picnic in," Tofu said, "And she said that she'd take care of lunch for her and Nabiki. And she'll take care of dinner for everyone when they get back from that hunt for the scroll, so she doesn't expect us back until dark."

Kasumi giggled and said, "Oh my, what **will** we do to fill up the time?"

Tofu wiggled his eyebrows at her and said, "Oh, I'm sure **we** can think of something to do." He brushed her lips with his, and then said, "The sooner you get changed, the sooner we can go."

Kasumi smiled happily at her husband, and headed upstairs. She came back down dressed in slacks and a blouse, ready to go out with her husband. Tofu had a large picnic basket waiting for her. "I'm ready to go," Kasumi said.

The two of them headed out of the house, walking hand-in-hand, without a care in the world, just two people blissfully in love, and not adverse to letting everyone know it.

Once the two of them reached the park, Tofu had one further surprise. He led Kasumi down to the small dock and rented one of the rowboats. Tossing the picnic basket into the prow of the boat, he handed Kasumi down into the boat, and then climbed in after her. After untying the painter from the pier, he started rowing out into the chill waters of the small lake that was the main attraction of the park.

"Where are we going?" Kasumi asked, glad that it was a bright sunny day, and unseasonably warm at that.

Tofu replied, "There's a place on the other side of the lake that I was told about. We can eat there and have a bit of privacy."

"This is actually nice," Kasumi said, in a dreamy voice, "I think I've forgotten how to relax. This will force me to."

"That was the idea, dear," Tofu said, with a laugh, "Both of us are workaholics, always trying to stay busy. It'll do us good to get away from things."

Kasumi said, "I know I'm taking a pretty heavy load at school, but I'm trying to cram so much into a short time so I can graduate sooner. Then I can go to medical school."

Tofu chuckled, and said, "That'll be confusing when we get introduced at parties. Doctor and Doctor Ono."

"Now you're teasing me," Kasumi said with a very pretty pout on her face.

"No, I think you'll make a good doctor," Tofu said firmly.

The wind picked up a bit, causing ripples to roll across the previously placid waters. Fortunately, it was coming from behind the boat, so it actually helped propelit along. Tofu fell silent as he concentrated on his rowing, glad that he had been as diligent as he had been on practicing all of his katas. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and it was harder to stay in shape, unless he kept up his two hours of training a day.

Kasumi idly unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse, and allowed the breeze to cool her down. She closed her eyes against the glare of the sun off the water and relaxed completely for the first time in a very long time. 'Tofu's right,' she thought, 'I have been working too hard. We both have.' "We need to schedule some time off each week," she said, "Some time for just us."

Tofu smiled at that and replied, "Definitely. Oh, there it is!" He turned the boat slightly and pulled harder for a few more minutes.

Kasumi opened her eyes and saw a small, sheltered cove into which Tofu was steering the boat. The water lapped onto a rocky beach, which opened up into a close-cropped lawn sweeping up a low hill, which was surmounted by a semi-enclosed pavilion. She realized that because of the thickness of the forest in this area, the only approach to the pavilion was from the lake. "How did you find out about this?" she asked.

"Surprisingly enough, Mousse was the one who told me," Tofu said, "I was talking to him in the office after he came for a checkup and mentioned that I wanted to find a place with a bit of privacy. He said this was where he and Kodachi come when they want to get away for a few hours." The keel of the boat scraped as the bow touched the rocky beach. Kasumi took off her shoes and climbed out of the boat into the shallow water and took the rope that was tied to the bow and headed ashore. She found a small iron rod, topped by a ring, which was sunk deep into the soil, and tied off the rope.

Tofu clambered out of the boat and carried the picnic basket up the slope to the pavilion. There on the grassy lawn, he spread out a large blanket, securing it against the gentle breeze that was ruffling the grass with the basket and his shoes.

Kasumi joined him on the blanket, gracefully kneeling down on the blanket. Tofu sat down next to her, only to have Kasumi pull him down so that his head was in her lap, where she began to run her fingers idly through his hair. She took his glasses off, and placed them carefully in the basket, and began to hum a song that she remembered from her childhood.

Tofu closed his eyes and listened to her hum. The pleasant sound, the gentle caress, and the exertion of rowing all conspired against him and he drifted slowly off to sleep, as Kasumi smiled serenely down at him.

* * *

Kasumi and Tofu walked into the family room to find most of the family still around the table. Nodoka was glaring daggers at the panda that was sitting innocently beside her, with a sign that read, 'I'm just a cute panda,' while Soun was crying. For some reason there were four parallel scratches, oozing a bit of blood, on the panda's fat belly.

Nabiki was watching the scene with a calculating and knowing eye, a smirk on her face.

"When did they get back, and where are the lovebirds?" Tofu asked, trying to defuse the tension he felt in the room.

"Oh, just in time for dinner," Nabiki replied, "And Ranma and Akane are in the furoba getting cleaned up."

"Together?" Kasumi exclaimed, "Oh my, that isn't proper!" However, if you looked quickly enough, a pleased smile flashed across her face.

Tofu asked, "So why's Soun crying?"

"Oh that," Nabiki replied, "Well, when the two of them said they were going to go to the furoba, the human hosepipe asked when he could have the priest over. Then the panda stuck his oar in and made some stupid comment. And Auntie didn't help matters any. She cried about how manly her son was and when was should she expect grandchildren. Neither Ranma nor Akane took that very well, especially when Genma made some remark about looking forward to taking the child on a training trip. Ranma did something, and Genma was squealing like a stuck pig, and his gi was shredded. Akane hit him into the koi pond and then the two of them stormed off, Ranma muttering under his breath about interfering parents, and Akane saying that hell would freeze over before Genma got near any child of hers. Then she yelled at Daddy, just before she left the room, that they would get married when they were good and ready to, and if he was lucky they might invite him to the ceremony. And have children when they wanted to. That's when Daddy started bawling about his baby girl not loving him anymore."

"And I guess Nodoka is mad about Genma having the audacity to think he was taking this hypothetical grandchild anywhere," Tofu said, with a chuckle.

"I just wish the three of you would stop pushing on them like this. They are just seventeen, that's way too early to worry about children," Kasumi said calmly, "They need to get through school first, and maybe college, before they take that big a step. And I'm surprised you didn't make some sort of sarcastic remark to add to the mix."

"You wound me, sister," Nabiki said, feigning dismay.

"I know you," Kasumi retorted with a gentle smile.

Nabiki chuckled and said, "Actually, I just thought it was sweet. Especially the way the two of them worked together."

Kasumi frowned at her sister and then headed to the furoba to find it already empty. She went upstairs and knocked on the door of Akane's bedroom and asked, "Can I come in?" She heard a brief curse and then Ranma said, "Come in, big sis." She opened the door and walked in to find Ranma and Akane in the bed, with Akane leaning back against Ranma, with his arms around her waist.

"Hi, sis," Akane said quickly.

Kasumi smiled and said, "Don't worry; I'm not really here to chastise you. I just wanted to make sure the two of you were okay."

Ranma smirked and said, "I've got a gorgeous girl in my arms. What do you think?"

Akane giggled and said, "Thank you for the complement, that's the first time you ever said I was gorgeous."

Ranma looked surprised and asked, "Are you sure about that? Surely I've told you before, I must have, haven't I?" He shook his head at his stupidity and asked, "How was your date, big sis?"

Kasumi blushed prettily and said, "It was wonderful. Tofu and I had a great time." Then she took the bull by the horns and said, "Akane, do I need to have the talk with you?"

Ranma chuckled and said, "Sis, Akane and I swore an oath on our honor to wait until we were married, if that's what you are worried about."

Akane giggled and replied, "Besides you already had the **Talk** with me." She smiled and said, "Anyway, Ranma and I aren't ready to be parents. Though we are perfectly willing to be an Aunt and an Uncle. When are you planning on taking care of that? After all, you've had plenty of practice."

Ranma grinned widely as Kasumi blushed furiously. After a moment Kasumi said, "I can't afford the time or the energy it would take. I want, no, I need to finish college and then med school first."

Ranma looked thoughtfully at her and said, "You've got quite a future planned out, but don't forget to have some fun while you're at it. Don't fall into the same trap that you were in before I came."

"Ranma's right, sis. You were so busy trying to be our mother and take care of us that you let almost let your dreams slip away," Akane said softly.

"But I feel like I've wasted too much time already," Kasumi replied.

"Kasumi, you're only twenty. That's just a little older than most students start, but with all of the reading that you've done, you shouldn't have any trouble catching up, and leaving most of them behind," Akane said.

Ranma yawned and said, "I'm really beat because we had to leave so early this morning. Uh, Kasumi, I think it's time we got to sleep, so uh, if you wouldn't mind leaving."

Kasumi reddened as she realized that somehow she had ignored the fact that both Ranma and her little sister were sitting in their sleepwear in the bed. "Uh, uh," she said, all flustered as she backed out of the bedroom and then turned and fled.

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews for this last chapter. I'm glad to see that it is still being read by so many. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For those that are curious, yes, I picked the names for the Hibiki's from one of my other favorite manga/anime series. Specific comments are below:

Drakus: Then I must be doing something right. Thanks.

CJN: I haven't decided yet about the 'cat abilities' it would be fun either way. And yes, I do know who Ukyo ends up with.

Flashfyre5: It is a bit WAFFY, I have to admit. But I like WAFFY stories, so I guess that makes sense. My high school English teacher back in the dark ages is to thank for my writing ability.

WeeBee: That is a good idea. I'll probably use it, and I know who it would work on.

Materia-Blade: Principal Kuno will be showing up some to start adding to the chaos. As to Akane getting pregnant any time soon, probably not. No sex before marriage, sorry Ranma. VBG

Wonderbee31: I thought that would a different approach to getting over his phobia. We'll see what happens with Konatsu.

Silverline Scimitar: Well, I don't have a particular problem with that, but it's not really unique to my story. I've seen it used in many of the let's go back in time and fix things stories. Ukyo calling everyone Sugar, just seems like the kind of thing she would do since she is pretty friendly. I can't remember if it's canon or not, but she does it an awfully lot in the fanfictions. Nope, not going to tell. You'll just have to suffer, sorry. But Ukyo will be resolved soon.

Daniel Conrad: That is the kind of review that makes any author feel wonderful. That someone would take the time to read it more than once is fantastic. Nabiki will have someone, he just hasn't made an appearance yet.

Xero Reflux: Picolet Chardin II will make his appearance, Hinako will also, but she's much later in the manga timeline. The Splitting incense, I don't know, it depends I suppose on whether I can come up with a good reason for it.

Lerris: Yeah, it sort of sucks to be Ukyo right now. I actually hadn't read that many stories where he got control of the Neko-ken, so I guess I though this was a bit unique. Oh well. And yes, I'm thinking it could be of some use against Saffron. As to the mechanics of writing, I found that once I started, the ideas just started pouring out. In fact, sometimes it's hard to get them all done on paper before they start morphing. It's sort of funny in a way, since I had never thought of myself as an author. Taro and Herb, (Herb especially) are still to come. They are decent 'threats' and I do intend to have a few original things happen. Happosai might escape, that is one plot bunny that is running through my head.

Shinigami: I had a lot of fun just writing those scenes. I was LMAO as I was typing them. And I just couldn't resist Sanzenin kissing Tsubasa. Mikado should be seeking professional help right about now, at least once he rinses his mouth out several times.

Hououza: Thank you. Yes, Ukyo has 'boy' troubles, poor girl. VEG And yes, Tsubasa won't show up at least for a little while. I'm going to have some fun with the Hibiki's, Father, mother and son. It'll take Cologne a while to figure out how to break the curse. Saffron is the big villain of the piece, so I look forward to that fight.

Kyubi-sama: LOL, do you have my computer bugged? I was just writing the piece where Akane is getting to pick D-chan, when your review popped up. Yes, Kasumi and Tofu are married, and I did let them slip into the background a bit. Thanks for reminding me, so here's a scene as a reward. VBG

Dragon-game: Yeah, I knew I was in trouble when I wrote that. So I guess he's not really the same Hojo.

Drkjester: Thanks, it's been fun writing it. I am surprised at how large it's getting and to be honest, I don't see an end in sight.

Psycho King: Yes, that's why she had him on a leash. But boy was she glad to get home.

Innortal: Thank you. I had a lot of fun writing those scenes, I'm glad that you liked them.

Ss4-link: I read all sorts of fanfictions, as well as regular stories. That helps me when I'm writing because I can clear my mind sometimes reading something else, and an idea will pop up. Of course, I've added some stuff that actually has occurred to me. For example, the essay on a chalkboard eraser that I threw in was something we did in my Senior English class.

ZRO4825: That's what I was heading toward, that he can call upon it at will and stay in control. Well, this chapter basically finishes Volume 9 of the manga, and there are 36 volumes, so I have a long way to go if I can pull it off.

Firestorm2004: Wow. Being compared to Krista Perry, and Lord Archive! That's high praise. Thank you. Now if only she'd finish Hearts of Ice. I can't wait to see how she brings Ranma back from the dead.

Dragon Man 180: I'm not sure about the Neko-ken. I'm still working that out which way I want it to go.


	36. The Return of the Principal

Chapter 36 The Return of the Principal

Ranma hugged his fiancée as he watched Kasumi flee their bedroom, though he thought it was nice that she remembered to close the door behind her. Then he burst out laughing.

"Well, that was interesting," Akane said as she began to giggle, "I can't remember the last time I saw Kasumi that flustered about anything."

After a few moments of shared laughter, Ranma asked, "I hope you know that school will be interesting tomorrow?"

"Oh, because of Yuka and Sayuri?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how they're gonna take seeing me," Ranma replied.

Akane teased, "Well, so long as they don't see you like they did yesterday, it'll be okay."

Ranma tensed for a moment, and then relaxed as he realized that he was being kidded. He chuckled for a moment and then replied, "You're the only woman I want to see me like that."

"Good answer," Akane retorted.

He smiled at that and then changed the subject, "I'm kind of glad that scroll was illegible in a way. I really didn't want Pop to try to learn it. He's not the most responsible person in the world."

Akane giggled at that and said, "That's an understatement if ever I heard one." She thought about the last week and a sudden thought struck her as she realized that Ranma hadn't seemed to be terribly surprised when he was told about the Happo Fire Burst. She half-turned in his arms so that she could see his face and said, accusingly, "You already knew about the Happo Fire Burst, didn't you?"

"Yeah, after having it used on me by the old freak so many times, it would be hard not to know what it was. It's just a big firework that Happosai pulled out of thin air somehow," Ranma said, "I never did figure out where he hid them, and he could make them all sorts of different sizes."

"But, I thought you didn't remember going after the scroll?" Akane asked.

"Now that it's over, I kind of remember something similar happening, but the circumstances and details were different this time. Actually I think it was probably more painful before. I mostly remember the old freak using those fireworks on me," Ranma replied. He shrugged and then added, "It's hard to remember everything that happened the last time around. I remember the most memorable things, like meeting you for the first time, for instance, or the day I first realized how much you meant to me. Those kinds of things. I suppose going after the scroll just didn't make that much of an impression on me."

* * *

Ranma leaned back in his chair as he listened to the sensei prattle on about the history of the Feudal era. He was privately amused at the reaction he had gotten when Yuka and Sayuri had walked into the classroom and saw him already sitting at his desk. The two girls had blushed bright red, and then started giggling. Daisuke and Hiroshi had looked at him, looked at their respective girlfriend and then looked back at Ranma. He had simply shrugged his shoulders, as if to say he had no idea what they were going on about. He could almost feel Yuka staring at him from her desk a few rows behind, and the few times he had glanced over at Sayuri, she had been gazing at him, her cheeks still reddened, with a hungry look in her eyes. Finally, he decided to write Akane a note, and after waiting for the sensei to turn back to the board, he handed it to her.

Akane opened up the note, which read, 'I think you need to talk to the girls about Saturday.' She looked over at Sayuri and saw the looks she was giving Ranma. "Sayuri,' she thought, 'while I can't fault your taste, he's **mine**. Looks like Ranma was right.'

Ukyo watched the byplay between Ranma and Akane and then noticed the other two girls blushing furiously every time they snuck a peek at Ranma. 'I wonder what that's all about,' she thought.

At that moment, to everyone's relief, the bell rang, signaling the end of this boring class, and the beginning of Ranma's favorite period, lunch. The last of the unseasonable rains had stopped several days ago, and the normal time for snowstorms had not yet arrived, so the ground outside was nice and dry, therefore the entire class, save for those few who still liked eating in the cafeteria, made their way outside. Akane caught up to her friends, Yuka and Sayuri, and walked with them, while Ranma held back for a few moments to allow her to have an embarrassing chat with them.

"Okay, girls, what the hell is with you two?" Akane asked in a fierce whisper.

Yuka blushed furiously and replied, hesitantly, "Akane, don't take this the wrong way, but the last two nights he's all I can dream of. What's he like in bed?"

"Yuka!" Akane exclaimed, her face beet red, "We haven't done that yet!"

"You haven't?" Sayuri asked in surprise, "I mean, I just thought, you know, since you were sharing a bed and everything?"

"No, we promised to wait," Akane said. Then she admitted, in a rush, "But it's getting hard."

"I'm sure that **it** is getting hard," Yuka said, in a suggestive voice.

Akane glared at her friend and said, "That's not what I meant and you know it!" 'This is so embarrassing, I'm going to kill you two,' she thought. She took a deep breath and said, "I thought you two were my friends."

"We are," Sayuri said quickly, "And we would never try to come between the two of you. Not that we could. I've seen the way he looks at you. He just doesn't see any other girl." She smiled ruefully, and added, "But he sure is great to look at. Can you really blame us for fantasizing, just a little?"

Akane sighed and said, "Just so long as it's just fantasy. If you tried to act on it, I would have to hurt you." She glared at both of them to show that she wasn't kidding.

"Don't worry, Akane, neither of us go poaching, and you've got the rest of the girls scared," Yuka said, hurriedly.

Akane shared a wicked look with the two girls and said, "I have to admit, though, he is great eye candy." The three girls giggled at that.

* * *

Ukyo sat down next to Ranma, and asked, "What was all that with Yuka and Sayuri this morning? They could hardly keep their eyes off you today. And what's with all of the blushing?"

Ranma grinned a bit sheepishly and replied, "I guess they saw something they weren't expecting to see over the weekend."

"Oh?" Ukyo asked, her tone expressing a world of meaning in just the one word, one eyebrow raised.

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, and asked, "I've told you about Happosai, Pop's and Mr. Tendo's old master, right?"

Ukyo frowned and replied, "Some. You told me you defeated him to take the title of grandmaster of the school away from him. But that was a while ago."

"True, well, last week Pop told us about a technique that the old man had sealed away, and insisted that we go find it from where he had hidden it," Ranma said, "Anyway, this weekend we went to go retrieve it." He chuckled a bit and added, "What we didn't know is that a hot spring had grown up around the place that the scroll was hidden. One just for women."

"I think I know where this is going," Ukyo said, with a huge grin.

Ranma smiled wryly and replied, "Yeah, I bet you can. Anyway, after Pop and Mr. Tendo made fools of themselves a couple of times, Akane and I went after the scroll, me as a girl of course. It probably would have been okay, except that Yuka and Sayuri showed up. I was able to jump across and get to the middle of the pool where the scroll was hidden under a rock on a small islet. But I misjudged the jump back, and as you probably figured out, landed in the water in front of them and changed back."

"So they got an eyeful, didn't they?" Ukyo said, giggling prettily.

Ranma laughed and said, "Afraid so, and now they can't stop blushing when they see me. Akane is over there sorting them out."

"Actually, it's done," Akane said from behind them.

Ranma looked over his shoulder and smirked at Yuka and Sakuri. "Did you like what you saw, girls?" he asked, his eyes dancing. He was rewarded by the two of them blushing furiously. He shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry I embarrassed us all. Of course, the part that makes it an even funnier story is that the writing on the scroll was so illegible we couldn't read it. So all of that went for nothing."

Sayuri grinned evilly, and said, "Well, I definitely wouldn't call what I saw nothing. How about you Yuka? Akane?"

"Sayuri!" Akane exclaimed, as Ranma blushed beet red.

Ukyo glanced between the other four, and began to laugh at the expressions on their faces.

* * *

Ukyo paled as she read the return address on the letter the postman had just delivered. It was from her father, and nothing good could come from that. Reluctantly, she used one of her small spatulas as a letter opener and slid the letter out. Shaking slightly, she unfolded the letter and read, 'Ukyo, It has come to my attention that you have managed to find those bastards, the Saotomes. However, you have not fulfilled your vow to me. Reluctantly, I must conclude that you have no intention of restoring your honor. If I am wrong in that conclusion, forgive me for what I must do. I expect a satisfactory conclusion to the matter within the next several days. Either wed the child or seek their death, I care not. But, the matter must be resolved soon. My health is not the best and it must be finished before I die. If not, the provision in my will shall be exercised and you will be disowned and all that I have will go to your cousin. Kuonji.'

As she read, first she felt anger, and then the tears began to flow. 'How did he find out, I didn't tell him,' she thought, wiping the tears from her eyes, 'I can't kill Ranma, he's an innocent in the whole mess. Genma, on the other hand, I could cheerfully stake out over an anthill and pour honey over his naked body. And I can't marry Ranma, I couldn't do that to Akane.'

Konatsu watched from the shadows as his Ukyo began to weep. Whatever that letter had said, had upset her a great deal. 'Someone has hurt my Ukyo-sama,' he thought, his eyes flashing red with anger. Forcing his anger from his voice, he asked, "Is something wrong, Ukyo-sama?"

"Just got some bad news from my father, Konatsu," Ukyo replied, "I've got some things to think about. Could I impose on you and Auntie to take care of the restaurant tonight?"

"Certainly, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu replied.

"Of course, dear," Nodoka said. She hesitated and then asked, "Is there something I can do? Some tea, perhaps?"

Ukyo smiled sadly and replied, "Thank you, but I have to work this out by myself." 'And I need something stronger than tea,' she thought. "I'll be in my apartment if you need me," she finished. She slowly made her way to her sitting room, where she walked to a small cabinet and pulled out a bottle, and a cup.

* * *

Ukyo's reverie was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door to her small apartment. "Ukyo-sama," Konatsu called through the door, "Mom sent me up here with some dinner for you. Please let me in."

Ukyo slid the letter that she had been staring at vacantly for the last half-hour back into the envelope that it had come in and then said, "Give me a minute, Konatsu." She ran to the sink and tried to repair her tear-ravaged cheeks as best she could by splashing cold water on her face. 'Sugar, you look like a mess,' she thought. With a deep sigh, she walked to the door and opened it to see Konatsu carrying a tray with a bowl of what appeared to be some sort of noodle soup.

"She made up some Ramen noodles in chicken broth for you," Konatsu said, "And she said that she expected me to make sure you ate it all up, Ukyo-sama."

Ukyo gave a deaths-head grin and let the kunoichi in. "Well, we can't disappoint Auntie," Ukyo replied in a raspy voice. She didn't miss the look of concern that was in Konatsu's eyes, nor the love that was shining from them either. Sighing again, she let herself be led back to the futon, where it became evident that Konatsu was prepared to feed her if necessary.

Konatsu frowned as he saw the bottle of sake sitting on the low table in front of the futon. "I think this soup is probably better for you than that," he said with a sniff.

"Don't worry, I haven't had any of it," Ukyo said, "After a few minutes I realized that it wouldn't solve anything." She took the spoon away from Konatsu and began to eat. Once the soup hit her stomach, she realized that she was ravenous, and finished the large bowl almost as fast as Ranma would have.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Ukyo-sama?" Konatsu asked shyly.

Ukyo looked at the young man kneeling on the floor in front of her and replied, hesitantly, "I could use a shoulder to cry on."

Konatsu braced himself as Ukyo all but threw herself at him, his arms holding her tight as she laid her head on his broad shoulders. "What was in the letter that was so upsetting? Is it something that you need to talk about?" he asked in a gentle, caring voice.

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet, Konatsu," Ukyo replied, as the tears began to stream from her eyes again. 'Father, why are you doing this to me?' she thought.

* * *

"Good evening," Nodoka said as the door to the café opened and a young man she vaguely recognized walked in.

"Hello, is Ukyo around?" the young man asked.

Nodoka replied, "She's not feeling very well this evening and went upstairs to bed. Can I help you?"

"Just tell her that Souta Higurashi is here," Souta replied, "And that I'd like to see her if possible."

"Ah, you're the young man she has gone out with a few times. I thought I recognized you.I'm Nodoka Saotome," Nodoka said, "Wait here and I'll see if she's wanting any company." 'Hm, I sent Konatsu up nearly an hour ago,' she thought as she walked up the stairs. Through the open door to the apartment, she saw Konatsu holding Ukyo in his arms while she cried on his shoulder. "Ukyo, that young man is here," she said.

Ukyo raised her head up briefly, feeling Konatsu stiffen up, and said, "Tell him I'll talk to him later. I'm, uh, I just can't see him like this."

Nodoka asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Ukyo grimaced and replied, "No, Auntie. It's something to do with my family, and I'll have to work it out by myself. Tell Souta I'll see him tomorrow at school."

"Any time you need to talk to me about what is bothering you, I'll listen," Nodoka said kindly. She went back down the stairs to find Souta.

"How is she?" Souta asked.

Nodoka replied, politely, but sternly, "She said she'd see you tomorrow at school, young man."

"Well, er, okay," Souta said, and then walked out the door.

* * *

The weather had finally turned as the winter storms had swept across the ward of Nerima, dumping several inches of snow. Once the storms had cleared the area, the air felt crisp and clean, with the brilliant December sun glinting off of the ice crystals in the snow and the icicles hanging from all of the eaves, turning the town into a winter wonderland. The students made their reluctant way to school, all warmly dressed against the chill in the air, most of them wishing that they were instead playing hooky.

Yuka and Sayuri were two of the unfortunate students making their way from the main gate and across the snow-covered courtyard, with Sayuri having a brightly patterned scarf around her neck. As they neared the middle of the courtyard, they heard the other students yammering.

"Hey, I heard the principal's coming back," one girl said.

"Coming back?" the boy standing next to her asked.

A senior replied, "Come to think about it, I haven't seen him since I enrolled!"

"He's been in the United States, studying their teaching methods or something is what I heard," a fourth student added.

Sayuri said, "I heard he went to Hawaii."

"I hope it loosened him up," Yuka said with a giggle, "I've heard horror stories about him from all of my older brother's friends."

"Ey, Girl!" Sayuri heard from behind her as someone yanked on her scarf, pulling it off. "One demerit fo' de loud scarf, yeah!" the voice continued in a fake Hawaiian accent.

The two girls whirled and gaped in amazement. There, looming over them was a large snowman, with large, black buttons, and a palm tree growing out of its head. The snowman then started running around to all of the other students in the courtyard. It said, "Demerit fo' de ugly t'reads!" to one, "Demerit fo' de bad cut!" to one poor girl, who screamed in fright. All the time it ran around the courtyard it was also laughing maniacally.

Ranma and Akane walked into the courtyard just in time for one of the students to yell, "It's a snowman from hell."

"Damn, that crazy principal is here!" Ranma exclaimed, "I'd forgotten that he showed up this year."

The snowman glared at Ranma, seeing a student out of the school uniform, and leapt up into the sky. As it soared into the air, it said, "Demerit." Just before it landed, Ranma and Akane jumped back, causing the snowman to land with a loud SPLAT!

"Who the hell are you?" Akane asked as they glared at the figure in front of them.

The snowman chuckled and said, "'Ey, hang loose," as it attempted to hug Ranma. As it did so, one arm came around with a large pair of shears to try to cut off Ranma's pigtail.

Ranma chuckled and jumped back, kicking the snowman in the chest and knocking it away. "Sorry, I just don't hug strangers, especially strange snowmen," Ranma said with a smirk, "And I like my hair just fine!"

"So, like dat, eh?" the snowman said, still in that obnoxious fake accent, "You wan' mix wit' da principal?" A pair of shears in each hand, the snowman charged Ranma.

"Principal," one student stammered. The rest of the students groaned in dismay.

"That thing?" another student asked.

Ranma grinned wickedly and said, "Well, if there's one thing I hate, it's a lying snowman!" He jumped up and slammed both feet into the snowman's head, knocking the snowman to the ground in a large cloud of powdered snow.

When the cloud dispersed, the students saw a large man, in a bright Hawaiian shirt, lei around his neck, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, and a palm tree still growing out of his head sitting amidst the rubble. He was strumming, badly, a ukulele, and said, "A-loooo-ha, keiki! Da Big Kahuna's back!" Once again, he began to laugh like a maniac.

The students all gasped in dismay.

One upper classman, in denial, stammered, "He he he can't be!"

The girl standing next to him, gasped, "H-he's gotta be a-a-a"

"A what? A tiki salesman gone bad?" a third asked in shock.

The principal said, in a friendly manner, " 'ey, brudda, have a little taste of the islands," as he handed Ranma a pineapple.

Ranma tossed the pineapple back at the principal and said, "No thanks, I don't take fruit from strangers." As the pineapple landed in the principal's hands, it exploded with a large bang, scorching the principal's face and arms. Ranma smirked and said, "You really shouldn't play with things that go boom, you know. You might get hurt!"

The principal crawled out of the crater formed by the explosion, his clothes slightly scorched and his glasses askew on his face. "You hit me!" he accused.

"No, I just returned your pineapple bomb," Ranma said, "You're the one that tried to blow me up first."

The principal simply gaped at him in astonishment for a moment, and then whistled. Out of nowhere, a pair of reindeer ran up, pulling a small sled behind them. The principal leapt onto the sled, and said, " 'ey Boy, you remembah dis, yeah!" tears streaming down his face. As he flicked the reins, he exclaimed, "Surf's up!" and dashed out of sight. Ranma looked up and saw another pineapple coming his way, so he grabbed Akane by the waist, and jumped backwards several meters. The rest of the students scattered also, but not all of them managed to escape as the bomb exploded.

"Y'know, if anybody needs discipline in this school," Hiroshi said as he pulled himself out of the snow where he had been thrown by the explosion, "It isn't one of us!"

Daisuke glared at where the principal had disappeared and growled, "He's going to pay for this!"

* * *

The normal class routine was interrupted shortly after the first class of the day had started when the loudspeakers announced, amid the crackles and pops, "All students report to the auditorium for announcements from the principal." Groaning, all the students had made their way into the auditorium and found their seats. Once every student was there, the Hawaiian-shirted man from before walked out and stood behind the lectern that was in the middle of the stage. 

"Oh my, it wasn't a joke!" Ukyo exclaimed from where she was sitting next to Akane. Though with all of the rest of the students talking, Ranma barely heard her.

"A-looo-ha! I wen comin' back from Hawaii, an I say, I gotta bring a present fo' all my keiki, yeah!" the principal exclaimed.

"A present?" one of the students asked.

"Macadamia nuts, right?" a girl next to him sneered.

Behind the principal, two banners dropped down, unveiling cartoons of a boy and a girl, the boy with a very short haircut, and the girl with a bowl cut. "Bran' new school rules!" he exclaimed, "All bruddas gotta get dem buzz cuts! All sisters gotta get dem bowl cuts!"

The students erupted in anger, most of them screaming incoherently.

"Eh, don' bus' up yet! I jus' gettin' started, yeah!" the principal exclaimed.

Suddenly, balls, shoes, hockey sticks, folding chairs, and all sorts of other objects came flying out of the audience, all of them hitting the principal, staggering him back.

The vice principal ran from the side of the stage and approached the principal. "Uh, sir," the vice principal whispered.

"What?" the principal asked.

"I'm afraid you can't do that. You haven't got those rules approved by the board of governors," the other man replied, his knees shaking together.

"I de principal, what I say goes," the principal said angrily.

The vice principal shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but the school charter was changed a few months ago, and now any rule changes have to be approved by two thirds of the school board. The principal is no longer allowed to make changes without their permission. And that includes changes to the current dress code."

"WHAT!" the principal exclaimed.

Ranma chuckled, causing Akane to look at him quizzically.

"What's so funny?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, Ranchan, why weren't you getting angry?" Ukyo asked.

"I think that Kuno there just found out about the changes in the charter," Ranma replied with an evil grin.

"What changes?" Yuka asked.

Ranma replied, "The ones that Mom pushed through the school board, about any rule changes have to be approved by them."

"Kuno? Did you say Kuno?" Akane gasped, as she heard the most important part of the answer..

"Yeah, I found out that he's Kuno's father," Ranma replied.

Akane groaned and said, "Well, that explains it. He's as crazy as his children."

Meanwhile, back on the stage the principal was still arguing with his assistant. "Who made dem change de rules?" he asked.

"I believe the original suggestion came from a Mrs. Saotome and a Mr. Tendo," the vice principal stammered, "But it was approved unanimously by the board. It was in the minutes and everything. I thought you were aware of the changes."

"Hey, principal, if you're done, can we get back to class?" Ranma shouted. He turned to Akane and asked, "Do you want to have some fun? How good is your aim?"

Akane looked at him and then smiled hugely. "That sounds like a good idea," she said with a smirk. She began to concentrate.

Ranma said, "On three. One, two, three. Möko Takabisha!" Simultaneously, he heard Akane shout, "Genko Fenikusu!" From each of them a ball of ki shot out, and struck one of the two banners, blowing them in two.

All of the students burst out in applause, as well as a few of the teachers standing around the outer walls. The principal stood stupefied as the remains of the banners collapsed on his head. Then he stood up from the midst of the rubble, and said, angrily, "Bettah listen up now, keiki! Evahbody gona t'row some hands wit' me, yeah!" He held up a coconut.

"Huh?" several students asked, not understanding a word he said.

"A fight?" Tatewaki Kuno exclaimed.

"Inside da coconut, dey like a pardon f'om all de rules," the principal said, "Any brudda-sistah get dis nut from me, an' Uncle Principal don' bodda wid no haircut for da kine no more!"

Ukyo stared in amazement at Ranma. 'How did he know?' she wondered. She stood up and asked, "You mean this coconut?" as she held up a coconut with a label that read, 'School Rules Pardon.'

The principal stood stunned and asked, "How you get dat?"

"Oh, I found it down in the basement," she yelled.

Suddenly, a man in a business suit stormed across the stage. He came to the principal and said, "I'm from the Department of Agriculture, and I have a few questions to ask."

Then a second man, dressed as a high-ranking police officer, walked in with a dog and said, "I'm from the police. I have a report about explosives in this building." Suddenly the dog started sniffing the ground and then walked up to the principal and sniffed his hands. The dog began to growl. "Sir, I have to ask you to come with me," the officer said.

"I de principal," the principal said.

The officer looked at him and replied, coolly, "I don't really care who you are. My dog is sniffing explosive residue on your hands. You're under arrest for suspicion of having unlicensed explosives."

"Wait!" the first man exclaimed, "We need to talk to him about all of the palm trees down in the basement. They appear to be a species native to Hawaii and therefore on the list of banned items. Do you have a valid horticulturist permit? A valid import license? We need to place him under arrest for suspicion of smuggling!"

The principal stared at them for a moment, stunned.

Then an extremely severe looking man, dressed all in black, walked in and asked, "Are you Daisho Kuno, father of Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno?" He handed the principal a picture of a frowning young man, with a severely cropped haircut.

The principal looked at the photograph and began to cry. "That's my son, who's been missing for over three years." He pulled out a handkerchief and dried his eyes and then blew his nose, noisily. "Have you found my son?" he asked hopefully.

Tatewaki Kuno was staring at the stage as Ranma walked over. "Saotome-sama, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Just come with me, and let's get this tearful reunion over with," Ranma said confusing the other boy. Ranma sighed at the blank look of incomprehension on Kuno's face and tossed him up onto the stage, and then leapt up after him. "Here!" he said, "Here's your son."

The principal looked carefully at Kuno who glared back at him. "Nope. Dis ain't my keiki," the principal said, holding his hands out.

"What?" Ranma exclaimed, "But he looks just like that photograph! Look at the resemblance!"

"My son, Tatewaki," the principal began.

"Tatewaki, you said?" Tatewaki asked, "But that's my name!"

"Then he is your son," the man in black said.

The principal protested, "No, no! Tatewaki was only fourteen! An' he was way shorter!"

"Yeah! Nearly four years ago! Or did you think he would stop growing or something?" Ranma said in exasperation. 'What a moron!' he thought, 'I'd forgotten he was so bad.'

"Let's buzz the brudda's hair and see!" the principal exclaimed, pulling out a battery powered hair clipper.

Kuno growled, "You, the principal of evil!" He readied his bokken for an attack.

"Wait!" Akane exclaimed, "Upperclassman Kuno! Look at him, he is your father!" Ranma turned and wondered when Akane had gotten to the stage.

Kuno stared at the gaudily clad older man, and said, "My father, he disappeared over three years ago, abandoning me and my sister. And YOU look nothing like him!" He swung his bokken, and the older man ducked under, but a small piece of paper fluttered out of the man's clothing. Kuno grabbed at the paper, scanned it, and said, in a stunned voice, "A photo, of my father!" He asked in a demanding voice, "How did YOU get this?"

The principal began laughing and said, "Dat's a picture of me, over t'ree years ago!"

"YOU LIE! My father's skin was far lighter than yours!" Kuno exploded.

"Gee, you suppose he got a tan in Hawaii?" Akane said, in a disgusted tone of voice.

"Enough chatter! Take this!" Kuno exclaimed as he made a furious overhead strike with his bokken, only to be met by a parry with the clippers, shredding the bokken.

"The very technique that took my hair over three years ago," Kuno gasped. He stepped back and said, "The Kuno family secret! The Wooden Sword Shredder!"

The principal gasped and asked, his face pale, "How do you know that name?"

"That proves it, you two are father and son," the man in black said.

The two Kuno's stared at each other and then, the principal took off his dark sunglasses, showing the much lighter skin around his eyes, and said, "My son, Tatewaki!" Tears streamed from his eyes.

"My Tachi!" the principal exclaimed as he headed toward his son with open arms.

"Daddy!" Kuno exclaimed as he ran toward his father. As they neared, Kuno swung a new bokken at his father, who blocked it with his clippers.

The man in black growled, "That's enough you two. Tatewaki Kuno, I'm here to ask if you would like to press charges!"

"Press charges?" the two Kuno's asked.

"Of course. Child Abandonment. After all, he did desert you and your sister," the man said patiently.

Kuno frowned for a moment and then said, "Yes! At last, my chance to pay you back for what you did to my hair, Daddy!" He turned to the man in black and bowed. Then he replied, "Please, take this unworthy one away. He has disrupted our lessons for entirely too long today!"

The man in black said, "Very well, it seems we have several charges to bring before the magistrate. Officer, do your duty!"

The last the students saw of the principal was him being dragged away by a squad of officers, some of them with very bad haircuts. The principal was unconscious and sporting several interesting bruises.

Akane elbowed Ranma and asked in a whisper, "You planned all of this, didn't you?"

Ranma smiled mysteriously and refused to answer.

* * *

At lunch, Souta gathered his courage and walked over to Ukyo, his nervousness plainly showing on his expressive face. After the debacle of the previous evening, when he wasn't able to see her, he was extremely concerned about their relationship, and where it might be heading. "Uh, Ukyo, can I talk to you for a moment," he stammered, glancing at the rest of the group, "Er, in private." 

"Sure, Sugar," Ukyo replied, coolly. She stood up from her friends and walked off over to a semi-secluded area where no other students were currently sitting and sat back down.

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Souta?" Ukyo asked after a moment of awkward silence between the two of them.

"Er, well, uh," Souta said, then in a rush, "What did you think about that idiot of a principal this morning? And where did you come up with that pass?"

Ukyo quirked an eyebrow at him and said, "Well, I sure agree. That Kuno sure was an idiot. I can see where Tatewaki gets it from. Actually, Ranma had the pass in his locker, we stopped by on the way to the assembly and picked it up. For some reason, he gave it to me."

"Oh, well, I wonder how he knew about it," Souta said.

Ukyo shrugged her shoulders. Silence grew up around them again, as Souta began to fidget. Finally, Ukyo said, "Auntie Nodoka said you came by last night. I'm sorry I wasn't up for any company. I had some things on my mind and I needed to work through them."

To Souta's hypersensitive nerves, she appeared to be a bit distant, a little cooler than the last time they had talked. "Are you upset with me over something? Am I trying to go to fast?" he asked, plaintively.

Ukyo smiled tiredly and replied, "No, Souta. You've done nothing wrong. I've just received some news from home and that's got me worried. That's all it is."

"Oh, that's good. I was afraid something was wrong between us," Souta said with a sigh of relief. He sat down next to her and attempted to hold her hand, but she moved away.

"Don't!" she exclaimed.

A look of pain flashed across his face as he turned to her, the hurt showing in his eyes. "I thought we were together," he said softly.

"You thought wrong," Ukyo snapped, somewhat harsher than she intended. "Sugar," she said a bit gentler, "I like you, and it's been fun."

"Why do I sense a but coming?" Souta asked, bitterly.

Ukyo sighed deeply and replied, "I never meant to hurt anyone, least of all you. Souta, you know why I'm in Nerima, don't you?"

"Yes, you were chasing Saotome, but when you got here, he was already promised to Akane," Souta replied.

Ukyo said softly, "Yes, that's why I came. It was a matter of family honor, either I marry Ranma, or kill him. Well, the letter I received was from my father. He demands that I fulfill the pledge I made to him, and he ordered me to stay away from you."

"How does he know about us?" Souta asked, "And what are you going to do?" Ukyo could almost hear the sound of his heart breaking.

Ukyo swallowed noisily and replied, "I have no idea how he knew where I was, much less what I was or wasn't doing. The letter I got was a shock to me. I spent most of last night thinking about what I should do."

"Well, that explains the bags under your eyes," Souta said.

Ukyo closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself down. Then with a deep heartfelt sigh, she continued, "My family means everything to me, and I must remove the stain on its honor. Because of that, I can't be with you anymore. And that hurts more than I thought it would, saying that to you. You've been very kind to me, and I know what I'm going to say to you is going to hurt. You're a dear friend, but that's all you mean to me. I had hoped that maybe things would change but they haven't. Now that my father has given me an ultimatum, I don't have the time I wanted to feel more for you."

"What ultimatum?" Souta asked.

"In the letter, he told me to have the matter resolved in the next few days, or he would essentially disown me," Ukyo said, stoically.

"Oh, well, shit," Souta said, as his face grew ashen.

"That about sums it up," Ukyo said with a wry smile, "You definitely have a way with words."

"So what are you going to do now?" Souta asked.

"I don't know, Sugar, I just don't know. The options I have aren't the best. I can force Ranma to marry me, which will break his heart, and Akane's, and destroy our friendship. I can force Ranma to commit seppuku, which isn't any better. Or I can, and that really isn't an appealing option," Ukyo replied.

"What?" Souta asked in astonishment.

Ukyo shrugged her shoulders again, and replied, "If **I'm** dead, I can't very well marry anyone. And that would remove the stain on my family honor."

"I won't let you do that," Souta growled. He reached for her and pulled her into a tight embrace, and whispered, "You'll think of something, I know you will."

"I'm sorry, Sugar," Ukyo whispered, "I'm truly sorry for what I've done to you."

Souta sighed deeply and replied, equally as soft, "I understand duty, Ukyo. Believe me, with my family, duty is extremely important." 'But I'm not giving up on you yet, Ukyo,' Souta thought with a bitter twist to his lips.

* * *

"Do you have any idea why Ukyo asked us to meet her here, Mom? And why did she want us in formal dress," Ranma asked Nodoka. He and Akane were sitting in the family room, Ranma's arm around Akane and Akane's head on his shoulder. 

"Not really, dear. She just said to have you and Akane over for dinner," Nodoka replied, "And to make sure Genma stayed sober."

Konatsu entered the room, followed by Ukyo. The chef was dressed in a formal male kimono, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, looking more mannish than she had for several weeks. Her face was calm and reposed. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today," she began. Her face tightened slightly when she saw how close Ranma and Akane were sitting.

"It's always a pleasure, dearie," Nodoka said, "I don't get an opportunity to entertain that often, I'm glad you gave me the opportunity."

Ukyo sighed and said, "I hope you think it's a pleasure when the night is over." She turned to Ranma and asked, "When were you planning on telling me that you were giving me the building that my restaurant is in?"

Ranma frowned briefly and then replied, "The day I handed you the title to the building, I suppose. Probably as a Christmas present. I guess I was afraid that you would refuse it otherwise."

"That's why you've been working so hard," Akane said softly. Ranma smiled at her briefly.

"I probably would have at that, because that would have meant that I had lost," Ukyo said softly. 'Not that I was ever in the contest,' she thought. She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, and then asked, "Mr. Saotome, what exactly was the arrangement between you and Mr. Tendo?"

"That my son would marry one of his daughters and carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts," Genma replied, "And the two of them would end up with the house and the dojo."

"What was the arrangement between my father and you?" she asked.

Genma growled, "That our children would wed. He gave me that yatai as your dowry and as a bribe to take you with us."

"So why didn't you take me with you?" Ukyo asked.

"I could barely keep the two of us fed. I certainly couldn't feed you also," Genma said.

"You could have taken her to Mom. It would have still left us in this mess, but at least she would have had a normal life," Ranma interjected, "But as usual, all you were thinking of was your stomach."

Ukyo closed her eyes for a moment and then asked, "Ranma, what are your feelings about those two agreements?"

"You know what I think, Ukyo. I love Akane and desire to marry her. Pop has put us in a no-win situation. If I were to marry you, and uphold that agreement, I have ruined my family honor, as well as the Tendos. There will also be three people trapped in an unhappy situation. Akane and I will be miserable because we aren't together, and because of that I would end up hating you. Our friendship would be over and I know the marriage would not last long. When I marry Akane, at least the two of us will be happy. That still leaves you unhappy, as well as your honor and ours in tatters. I don't like that outcome much either, but it's the better choice. That is the older of the two agreements in any case," Ranma replied, not unkindly.

"I could make you happy," Ukyo said.

Ranma's face grew cold and he replied, "No one can make any one happy. I would be miserable knowing that the one I love was unhappy. I care for you Ukyo, but not in the way that you want me to." He glanced at Akane and saw her worried face, and hugged her.

"So if I were to insist that you fulfill your father's agreement with my father, what would you do?" she persisted.

"I think you know, Miss Kuonji," Ranma said, coldly, "I would be left with no choice but to refuse. And then, having destroyed my family honor, I would be left with only one option."

Akane gasped, and exclaimed, "NO! I won't let you leave me."

"Sorry, Akane," Ranma said, his voice filled with regret, "But what else could I do?"

Akane began to cry, and said, "No, you can't." She pulled Ranma to her and looked at Ukyo with hate-filled eyes. "I thought you were my friend," she spat.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Genma said.

"Actually it is," Nodoka replied, "I think we know where my son's feelings are on the agreements that were made. That is, if we didn't already know. Now, Ukyo, what are your intentions in this matter?"

Ukyo face grew colder, sterner, as she replied, "I don't desire Ranma to commit seppuku. He is really an innocent in the whole matter. And having your husband kill himself would not be sufficient."

"I could divorce him, and that would allow you to marry him. That would almost satisfy the agreement," Nodoka suggested.

For the first time a look of horror appeared on Ukyo's face as she shuddered. "I certainly didn't expect that as a suggestion," the young girl said, "Thank you for that offer, but, ugh, I'd rather not." Ukyo walked over to Ranma and pressed her lips against his in a very passionate kiss.

"What was that for?" Ranma asked, as Akane began to fume. Ranma pulled Akane tighter to him.

"I needed to find something out," Ukyo replied, as she poured a glass of water over Ranma. She then repeated the kiss. Her face grew even colder as if she had decided something. She paused and then said formally, "If the son of the Saotome clan does not wish to fulfill his family obligation, then I will not force him to do so. I do not desire an innocent to die, and I'm sure that Akane would follow him."

A look of relief passed across the faces of the Saotomes.

"However," Ukyo continued, "That still leaves one option. I am registered as the son of my father. Therefore, nothing would prevent your son from marrying Akane, and I marrying the daughter."

Akane glared at Ukyo, who looked at her apologetically. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM, HE'S MINE!" she all but screamed, her battle aura beginning to show.

Ukyo knelt, and asked, formally, "I, Ukyo Kuonji, son of Hikaru Kuonji, wish to ask for your hand in marriage. Will you, Konatsu Saotome, daughter of Nodoka and Genma Saotome, do me the honor of becoming my spouse?" The room grew silent as everyone stared at Ukyo in shock.

Konatsu gasped and said, "Are you sure, Ukyo-sama?"

Ukyo sighed and said, "I promise to do all in my power to make you happy, Konatsu. I know that you love me, and while I don't know that I love you, I do care for you a great deal. Perhaps, in time that will grow into more. I do hope it does." She smiled sadly, and added, "And I did promise that I would always take care of you when you left your stepfamily. This allows me to fulfill both that promise and the promise that your adoptive father made with mine. This way the children will join." She looked thoughtfully at the kunoichi and sighed again. With a brief flicker of a smile she added, "I just asked you to marry me, Konatsu. I think you can simply call me Ukyo."

Konatsu said softly, "In that case, I will marry you, Ukyo." He turned to the rest and said, in an uncharacteristically strong voice, "I believe Ukyo and I need some privacy. I expect there's some things we need to discuss."

"I agree," Nodoka replied, "We'll leave you two alone." She turned to her husband who was making a beeline toward the liquor cabinet, and said, sharply, "Genma, kitchen, now!"

Genma halted in his tracks and turned and left the room, followed closely by his wife.

Ranma walked over and squeezed Ukyo's shoulder. "Are you sure about this, Ucchan?" she asked softly.

Ukyo looked up, tears in her eyes and replied, shakily, "It's the only way out that I could see, Ranchan. It's for the best really. You would never be happy working in the restaurant. And I would be miserable if you weren't happy. This way, you and Akane get to be together, I don't lose two of my friends, and I have someone who adores me."

Akane walked over and hugged Ukyo. "That was very brave of you, Ukyo," she said softly, "But why did you transform Ranma? I thought you were going to ask her to marry you."

Ukyo looked a bit sheepish, and replied, "I thought I'd have a bit of fun with you. After all, you won the man that I had been obsessing over. But to be honest, I knew after watching the two of you in Romeo and Juliet that hell would freeze over before he would leave you. I just had to be sure. Once I was sure about how Ranma felt about you, then I knew that my only option was to wed Konatsu."

"But why'd you kiss me? I mean both as a guy and as a girl?" Ranma asked.

"I needed to see what it was like. I've dreamed of kissing you ever since I knew about the agreement. I had to see if it was as good as I hoped. And then, to help convince me I was doing the right thing, I wanted to see if I could kiss a girl," Ukyo replied. She sighed and added, "Both kisses were all right, but there wasn't the spark that I expected."

"**All right**? What do you mean by just all right?" Ranma protested, her ego stung by the comment, "Akane tell her I'm a good kisser."

"Shut up, Ranma. No one needs to know how good you kiss except me," Akane said with a grin. "Thanks for doing this. I really hope the two of you become as happy as Ranma and I."

Ukyo sighed and said, "I've been considering this ever since I found out that your Mom adopted Konatsu." She shrugged, and added, with a brief smirk, "Besides, since I'm registered as a boy and Konatsu is registered as a girl, the paperwork is simpler. I get to be the groom, and he can be the bride."

"Well, congratulations to both of you," Ranma said. She traded glances with Akane and said, "Let's leave these two alone. If nothing else, they need to have their first kiss in private, and besides, I want to change back." The newly engaged couple blushed bright red. Ranma was about to make a wise crack, but Akane took her by the hand and walked out of the family room.

"Are you truly sure about this?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo smiled tiredly and replied, "I'm not sure about anything at the moment, sugar, except that I'm tired of chasing after someone I can never have. I had a talk with Nabiki and she pointed out some unpalatable truths to me. My first love is running a restaurant. When I pictured being married, that's what I saw my husband and I doing, happily running an okonomiyaki restaurant, raising a few children, and growing old together. She asked me if Ranma would be happy doing that and I realized that he would be miserable. If somehow I had forced him into a marriage, I doubt it would have lasted very long, just as Ranma said. We just don't have that much in common. No, he should be with Akane, running a dojo, and I" She broke down and began to cry.

Konatsu pulled her into a hug.

Ukyo stiffened at the unexpected contact, but then relaxed into her fiancé's arms.

Carefully watching her eyes, he bashfully tilted her head up. The kunoichi kissed her, tentatively at first, but as Ukyo began to respond, he pressed down firmer. Konatsu felt like he had died and gone to heaven. The woman he loved was kissing him back.

"Enough," Ukyo said softly, "We still need to take this slowly. But thank you."

Konatsu said, just a bit bitterly, "Remember, I was taught to be a kunoichi, a companion. If I can't give you comfort, what good was all of that training?"

"I know all about that, but there was nothing artificial about that hug or that kiss," Ukyo said, "That was the hug of a friend, maybe more, and exactly what I needed." She paused and then asked, "You've changed. At first it was just the change in attire, but you've started being more assertive. What's going on with you?"

Konatsu blushed and replied, "Once I got away from my wonderful stepfamily and met you, I realized that I needed to change. Believe it or not, but I honestly thought that I was female." The kunoichi blushed and continued, "At least until Ranma-sama showed me the difference and I realized that I truly was male. That meant that the love I had for you wasn't forbidden, but I also knew that I wasn't acting like the man that you deserved. I decided I needed to try to become that man. Hence, the change in wardrobe occasionally, though it still feels weird to be in trousers."

"You've come a long way in a very short time, sugar. How did you manage that?" Ukyo asked.

Konatsu blushed and replied, "Nabiki has been teaching me how to become a man."

"WHAT!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"Oops, that didn't come out exactly right, I guess the ability to stick one's foot in one's mouth is a trait of all of the Saotome males," Konatsu stammered, "She's been giving me some pointers on how to act, and she gave me the name of a doctor who specializes in gender-confused people." He giggled and said, "Though I'm not his usual run-of-the-mill client, I suspect."

Ukyo gave him a puzzled look.

"He generally treats people who are born one gender and are undergoing surgery to change to the gender they think they truly are. I'm trying to convince myself that I truly am a male," Konatsu explained.

"Well, I think I can give you some pointers too," Ukyo said with a wicked laugh.

Konatsu chuckled lightly and then said, "I look forward to whatever training you would like to give me." Konatsu paused and then pulled her fully into his lap and then leaned forward and captured her lips again. To his surprise, he felt her lips part slightly. He hesitated for a moment and then slid his tongue gingerly into her mouth and began to deepen the kiss. Ukyo slid her arms around his neck and pulled them tightly together.

Ukyo sighed happily as she reluctantly parted from his kiss and said, "This will take some getting used to, Konatsu." She pulled away enough to look into his eyes and continued, "I need to let Father know what happened. The fact that I'm engaged to you should satisfy him, but he will want to meet you."

Konatsu looked at her nervously, and asked, "Do I have to?"

"Don't worry, he won't bite, I promise," Ukyo replied, a feeling of calmness coming from her now that she had successfully resolved her family obligation. She giggled prettily as she watched Konatsu blush, especially as he realized that her presence in his lap had caused a reaction. She added, "And he'll like you."

"Will he rush a wedding?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo frowned thoughtfully and replied, "To be honest, Sugar, I don't know. I want to wait though. We need to get to know each other better, and I want you to take me out on some dates."

"What about Souta?" Konatsu asked very reluctantly.

"I told him we couldn't be together any more," Ukyo replied, a single tear rolling from her eye, a tear that Konatsu reached out and captured with one finger.

"You cared for him," Konatsu said.

Ukyo sighed, and said, "I liked him, but there wasn't any spark with him. He is fun to be with, but I'm comfortable around you. We'll be good together, you and I. And I chose you."

"Any regrets?" Konatsu asked, his eyes intent in their gaze.

"Of course. I regret that Father felt the need to dump his daughter off on the first boy that I had any interest in. I regret that Genma Saotome is an honorless cur. I regret that I had to break the heart of a boy that I cared for. I regret that the man who loves me is unsure of my feelings toward him," Ukyo said with a heavy sigh. She rubbed her eyes, and continued, "You are a warm, caring person, Konatsu. We share many of the same interests. You love me, and that's better than most couples start out in an arranged marriage. We'll be fine, Sugar." She giggled for a moment and then said, "I need to come up with something other than Sugar to call you. I wonder what name I can come up with."

"Well, Ko-chan might be a bit confusing, what with Kodachi and Mousse," Konatsu said with a chuckle. He stood up, still cradling her in his arms and said, "I suspect they're waiting the meal for us. Shall we join them?"

"I am capable of walking on my own, you know," Ukyo said with a smile. 'He's a lot stronger than I thought he was,' she thought, feeling strangely comforted by being in his arms.

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews for this last chapter. I'm glad to see that it is still being read by so many. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For those that are curious, yes, I deliberately picked Daisho as the first name of Tatewaki and Kodachi. For those unfamiliar with the meaning of Tatewaki, it is 'Bringing a sword.' And his knickname, Tachi is a a kind of sword.Kodachi is a kind of Japanese sword. And Daisho is a pair of swords, a long sword, typically a katana, and a short sword, or dagger. Specific comments are below: 

Xero Reflux: More than likely Copy Cat Ken will show up. If I remember that episode correctly, it was kind of funny. This time around, Ranma avoided the dragon whisker. I think I made a brief mention or two about that in a couple of the earlier chapters. Probably some sort of mental note that Ranma made about being glad he remembered about that and didn't drink the soup.

Daouid: Thanks. And as you can see, that was my intention on how to solve Ukyo's dilemma. Though, I'm not sure how Konatsu feels about being the bride. VBG.

Kyuubi-sama: The Amazons have Happosai, after he got turned into a pig. He'll probably be spending quite a lot of time that way. Souta hasn't given up, at least not yet, but now he'll have to deal with an enraged fiancé if he tries anything.

Redgrrl: Well, I'm around volume ten of the second edition of the manga now, and there's about thirtysix total, so yeah, around a hundred chapters sounds about right. That is if the muse doesn't desert me.

Dragon Man 180: It has been several years since it happened so he's forgotten some of the things that he went through. There's a little explanation in this chapter about that. Yes, Ranma will know the secret, after all he had it used on him often enough, and one thing Ranma can do is figure out a technique after he's seen it a few times. One scorched panda coming up.

Hououza: Ryu Komon(Sp) will be showing up. After all, that's one more mess the panda created, now wasn't it? Of course, it won't be the same since he'll have a hard time passing himself off as Ranma this time. The Hibiki's are fun to write about. Need to have some more scenes with them in one of the next chapters. Maybe the Christmas scenes that I'm working on.

Weebee: Unless Happosai shows up again, I'm not sure how I'd pull of the splitting incense arc, though, I think you're right about what would happen. Nabiki eventually finds someone. Not soon though, and no it won't be Kuno. I have something else in mind for him. Ranma won't act like a cat, just have a few of their abilities. The declaration of woman arc, well, that would be telling now wouldn't it? Herb will show up, there's really no way around that. But what happens when he does?

Shinigami: Well, with a bit of a nudge from her father, Ukyo made a decision. The hot spring scene was fun to write, though it took me a while to figure out how to make it funny. Ranma would hang Genma out to dry if he tried to take his kids. And Akane would serve roast panda for dinner.

Psycho King: Thanks. And you are correct. Ukyo picked Konatsu. Though since this is the Ranmaverse, who says the road to love won't have bump or two. I liked writing the scene at the end with Kasumi, especially the line about Akane and Ranma being ready to be an Aunt and an Uncle. Yes, unfortunately, Souta is turning into a saner version of Kuno.

Lerris: Actually, I tend to agree with you about the insults. Keeping Ranma angry does tend to lead him around. On the other hand, insulting Akane doesn't really seem to be the right way to handle her. Thank you for the compliments about the plot, etc. This Ranma knows he can kill to protect Akane, but skill wise he's still not quite up to par with the Ranma that fought Saffron. Could he snap if Akane was in danger? You betcha. Will he? I don't know yet.

Firestorm2004: I have no idea how long this story is going to be. If the muse is willing, I will continue it until we get past the Saffron arc, and then see what happens after that. If you're talking about Kalen Darkmoon's Resolution, I agree, it's a good story. The format is a bit hard to get used to, but it was one of those that made me want to write my own. Though, I doubt I'll ever write any lemon scenes like he has.

Borg Rabbit: Yes, Ranma knows what the Fire Burst technique is. He just didn't want the two fools to get wise to him. What he couldn't remember was the trip to the springs to find the scroll, though after he went through it this time, some of the details came back.

Innortal: I guess I wasn't as clear with my writing as I thought I was. Thanks for giving me the chance to clear it up in this chapter. What I meant was he didn't remember the episode when they went to find the scroll. He definitely wouldn't forget the actual technique, not after all the times the old freak used it on him. Cologne's research is going very slowly. Mainly because I haven't worked out how she's going to cure them, if at all. VBG

Silverbullet23: Thanks. I'm still basically keeping in the manga timeline, more or less. The Happo fire burst is volume 9, at least in my copy, so that was the time for it.


	37. The Tendo Christmas Scramble

Chapter 37 The Tendo Christmas Scramble

Ukyo and Konatsu walked into the darkened café, fresh from the Saotome's, both of them a bit bashful about their first night as an official couple. Finally, Ukyo said, briskly, "Nothing's really any different, Konatsu. We're just engaged now is all."

"I know, but somehow things do feel different," Konatsu argued.

"Tomorrow while I'm at school you can move the rest of your things upstairs," Ukyo said, "But I'm ready for bed."

Konatsu followed her up the stairs, and then to her surprise, picked her up and carried her through the door of the apartment. He chuckled at the expression on her face, and said, "I know, I'm jumping the gun a bit. But for some reason it seemed important to mark this occasion with something different."

Ukyo grinned at him and said, "I think I'm going to enjoy being swept off my feet like this." Then her smile dimmed a little as she said, "I guess I really should write my father and tell him about us. That way you can send it out with the mail in the morning."

"He'll be happy for us, won't he?" Konatsu asked, his eyes showing his concern.

"I think so," Ukyo replied.

Konatsu looked pensive for a moment and said, "Something else that we need to do is buy you an engagement ring. I want everyone to know that you're engaged." Then a thought struck him, and he set her down on the futon. "I'll be right back, I just remembered something," he said.

Ukyo watched as her fiancé ran out the door, and sighed. She found a sheet of paper and a pen and started trying to figure out what to write to her father. She chewed nervously on the pen as the words just simply refused to come to her. 'Oh come on, girl, this is what he's been waiting to get from you for the last several years. Just write down that you're engaged to Konatsu Saotome,' she thought to herself as she put pen to paper and wrote exactly that, after the appropriate set of salutations to her father.

After several minutes an out-of-breath, red-faced Konatsu ran back into the sitting room. Kneeling, he held out his hand and opened a small black box.

Ukyo gasped as she saw a solitaire diamond winking back at her in a white gold setting. "Where did you get this? It's perfect," she asked.

"This was my mother's ring. The one that my father gave to her when they got engaged. One of the few things I was able to hide from my stepmother," Konatsu replied, shyly, "So do you really like it?"

Ukyo nodded, not trusting in her suddenly dry mouth to be able to answer.

Konatsu reached for her hand and asked, "Ukyo, will you wear my mother's ring as a sign of our engagement? Though it would be too much to ask for it to actually fit."

Ukyo replied, "I would be honored to wear it, and if it doesn't fit, we can always get it resized."

Konatsu took the ring out of the box and slid it on the ring finger of her left hand. Amazingly, it wasn't too bad a fit, and looked like it would stay on until they could get it to a jeweler. Konatsu then bent down and lightly kissed the ring. He smiled through his tears and said, "Ukyo you don't know how much this means to me."

Ukyo pulled him to her and kissed him, a very passionate kiss, one that caused Konatsu to swoon. Ukyo sighed and looked at him fondly. "Oh, Konatsu, what am I going to do with you?" she asked.

* * *

Ukyo walked into the classroom and made her way over to Ranma and Akane, who were talking quietly to each other. "Hi guys," she said softly, as she sat down next to them.

"Hey yourself," Ranma said, "You're looking pretty happy." Ranma was right; there was an almost visible glow about the girl.

Ukyo blushed and then smiled, shyly. She replied, "Well, it's not every day a girl gets engaged, and I did get awakened very nicely this morning."

"Oh?" Akane asked, one eyebrow raised in a suggestive manner.

"Not like that," Ukyo replied, "Get your mind out of the gutter. Konatsu made me breakfast in bed, that's all."

"That wouldn't explain the glow," Ranma pointed out.

Ukyo got even redder and stammered, "Well, we did kiss."

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of about doing that. Is there, Acchan?" Ranma said, "We do that all the time."

Akane swatted him on the shoulder and hissed, "Baka, she doesn't want to know about that!"

Ukyo giggled and said, "Don't worry about it, sugar. I figured that the two of you had at least kissed."

Akane rewarded her with a blush and then glanced down at Ukyo's hand. She realized that Ukyo was wearing a ring on her finger. "That's a gorgeous ring," she said quietly.

"Yeah, it was his mother's," Ukyo explained, "But when I saw it, it was perfect." The two of them oohed and ahed over their respective rings as they compared them.

"So are you really okay with all of this?" Akane asked, "This just seemed so sudden."

Ukyo smiled happily and replied, "Oddly enough, I think I am. He does love me after all and I think I can learn to love him." She frowned slightly for a moment and then said, "I sent a letter off to my father to let him know what's happened. I guess I'll hear from him by the end of the week."

"Ucchan, I'm just glad that the two of you got together, and not because it solves our little problem. I don't have to tell you that he's a really nice guy, one that's madly in love with you," Ranma said softly, "The two of you look good together." He grinned and said, "Whichever way the two of you are dressed."

Ukyo chuckled lightly and said, "Thanks, Ranchan. But it really was the only choice I could make after Father gave me the ultimatum that he did. I didn't tell you guys about it, but I got a letter from him that finally forced me to make a choice." She sighed and said, "One that hurt a boy that I liked."

Ranma exchanged looks with Akane and reached over and hugged Ukyo. He was quickly joined by Akane and they had a nice group hug. "Souta will get over it, he's broken a few hearts of his own," Akane said quietly, "Not that he was a real player, but he did date a few girls, some of them at the same time, last year, at least that's what Nabiki told me. It never got real messy, because he was usually able to leave them smiling, but at least one of the girls left school because she didn't want to see him."

"Thanks, but it still doesn't make me feel any better," Ukyo replied, "He still deserved better. If Father had given me a bit more time I could have stopped our relationship, whatever it was, and let him down easier. I really don't know how he'll react when he sees this ring."

"Ring?" Yuka asked, and then she squealed in excitement as she spotted the diamond on Ukyo's finger.

They looked up to see Yuka and Sayuri standing there gaping in astonishment. "I thought that Ranma was with Akane," Sayuri stammered.

"Hey, that's not my ring," Ranma said quickly.

"And you know I won't share," Akane said with a hard smile.

Ukyo glared at the two girls and said, "Konatsu and I are engaged. I asked him yesterday."

"Oooooh," Yuka and Sayuri said in unison. "That's so quick. I didn't even know that the two of you were dating," Yuka continued.

"We haven't had any real dates," Ukyo said, "But that'll change."

At that moment the teacher walked into the classroom and stood at her desk, waiting for the class to come to order. Quickly, everyone got to their desk and pulled their notebooks out, waiting for her to start the lesson.

* * *

Ukyo sighed unhappily as she saw Souta waiting for her at her locker. She knew that she needed to talk to him before he found out about her engagement through the rumor mill, but because of the snow on the ground, everyone had stayed inside for lunch and she hadn't been able to see him until now. From the unhappy look on his face, she figured that he already had heard something. "Hello, Souta, I hoped I would see you today," she said as she stopped at her locker and opened it to drop off her books that she didn't need for homework that evening.

Souta began to hug her, but Ukyo twisted away. "I told you that we were over," she said, not wanting to cause a scene. "Besides, what I need to talk to you about will probably change your mind anyway," she said. She took a deep breath and braced herself, but didn't get a chance to say anything.

Souta spotted the ring on her finger and his face froze. "So it is true, you are engaged to Ranma, after all," he hissed.

"NO, I'm not engaged to Ranma," Ukyo stammered.

"Then why are you wearing an engagement ring on your finger?" Souta growled as he grabbed her arm and pulled her hand up.

"Let go of me!" Ukyo exclaimed, trying to pull away.

"Let her go, Higurashi," Ranma ordered as he walked up with Akane, Yuka and Sayuri.

"Do you really think I'll let you take her from me?" Souta asked, his other hand clenched into a fist.

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "Ukyo is not yours, she is her own person. And I didn't take her at all. She's engaged to Konatsu. Mom did adopt him after all."

"That's right, sugar. I've started to fulfill the oath that I swore by asking Konatsu to marry me," Ukyo said, "And Ranma is right. I don't belong to anybody. Not you, not Konatsu, not any one. You don't own people."

Souta's face crumpled as he let go of Ukyo's arm, leaving red blotches on her skin from where he had clutched her. "I'm sorry for being such an idiot," he said, sadly.

"Souta, I never meant to hurt you. I thought I had made it clear though that I only liked you as a friend, and that we weren't going out anymore," Ukyo replied.

"Yeah, I guess you tried," Souta said, bitterly, "Just not very well. This isn't over yet," as he left, his head hanging down.

"Damn," Ukyo said softly.

* * *

Nodoka looked up from the grill where she was cooking several okonomiyakis for the regulars that straggled in mid afternoon after a difficult day at the office to see a non-descript man, wearing sun-glasses and a baseball cap, enter the café. "Welcome to Ucchan's," she said, "Take a seat and someone will be right with you."

The man nodded to show that he understood and walked over to a small table set against one of the walls of the main room. He looked around, and saw a well-kept restaurant, with most of the tables filled. He grinned as he saw that the stools around the grill were completely full, and the attractive woman wielding the spatula bantered with the men that were attempting to get her attention.

"Excuse me, sir," a pleasant voice asked, "Could I take your order?"

The man looked up and saw another attractive woman standing there, dressed in a formal kimono. He smiled at her and said, "I'd like the seafood special, and some miso soup. And if you have any beer, I'll take a bottle."

"We have Kirin and Sapporo. Which would you prefer?" the girl asked.

He grimaced for a moment and said, "Which do you have in a light beer?"

"Kirin, and that's on draft," the waitress replied.

"I'll take a glass of that then," he replied.

"Coming right up, then. If you need anything else, I'm Konatsu," the girl said. Konatsu turned and walked away. He was unaware of the frown on the face of the customer that he had just waited on.

'Hm, so why is Ukyo engaged to a girl?' the man wondered. His musings were interrupted by the waitress bringing out his bowl of soup and a glass of beer.

Placing them down on the table, Konatsu said, "Mom will have the special done in just a minute."

"The cook is your mother?" the man asked.

"Yes. That's my mom, Nodoka Saotome," the girl replied, politely, "She helps out while the owner, Ukyo, is at school."

'So that's Nodoka Saotome, hmmm, pretty enough, but I wonder what she sees in a worthless piece of trash like her husband,' the man thought. He took a sip of his beer while he watched at the woman made his special.

The bell tinkled as the door to the café opened and Ukyo walked in carrying her schoolbag. "Hello, Auntie," Ukyo called, "I'll be right down as soon as I change."

"That's fine, dear," Nodoka replied, "I've got things covered. Take your time."

Ukyo headed up the stairs to her apartment. Other than noticing that the restaurant was about two-thirds filled with customers, she was still concerned enough with her confrontation with Souta that nothing else registered.

Ukyo walked back downstairs after changing into her okonomiyaki seller's uniform, and pulling her hair into a tight pony-tail, so she looked like a bishonen male again. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Konatsu was waiting for her, with a happy smile on his face. The two of them came together in a brief hug, and then kissed. "How was school today, Ukyo?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo chuckled and replied, "It went pretty good. All of the girls were envious of my ring, and for some reason half of them thought I was engaged to Ranma. But Akane and I quickly straightened them out."

"Why would they think you were engaged to him?" Konatsu asked.

"Because most of them knew that I was supposed to be married to a Saotome, and no one figured out that Auntie adopted you," Ukyo said, "It was really pretty funny. How's business been?"

"We've been full ever since Mom opened up. This is the first chance I've really had to take a breather since then," Konatsu replied.

"That's wonderful, I love it when the café is packed," Ukyo said happily. She turned to walk over to the grill to relieve Nodoka when her smile slipped as she saw the man sitting by himself at one of the tables. "Hello, Father," she said, "This is a pleasant surprise. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise, now would it?" Mr. Kuonji replied, calmly. He looked around and said, "This is a nice place. Business looks good. And I see that you are serving more than just okonomiyaki here."

"Well, Auntie Nodoka insisted that we do more than just okonomiyaki, and I have to admit with our cooking skills, it didn't make sense to limit the menu. We have a lot of regulars that come here, and they all seem to like it," Ukyo said.

"Have a seat, we need to talk," her father said, sternly.

Ukyo frowned slightly and then complied, walking over to the table and sitting opposite him. "You're looking a lot healthier than your letter led me to believe," she said, "So how are you really?"

"Some days are better than others," her father said with a shrug, "I'm glad to see you are doing so well here. I knew you could run a restaurant, it is in your blood."

"Thanks," Ukyo said, but then she frowned again and asked, "Why are you really here?"

"Is it too much to think that I might want to see my child and see how things are?" Kuoni asked.

"Well, since I haven't seen you in several years, I think the answer is yes," Ukyo replied, coolly, "Quit dancing around the subject and just tell me why you are here. I assume it's about the letter I sent to you."

Mr. Kuonji frowned and replied, "All right, I admit I came because of the letter you sent me. I wanted to find out about this Konatsu Saotome that you are engaged to. So, tell me, why are you engaged to a girl?"

"A girl?" Ukyo replied. Then she got a sheepish grin on her face and called, "Konatsu, could you come over here?"

Konatsu walked over, as Ukyo asked, "Father, what am I legally?"

"Well, you're registered as my son, why do you ask?" her father replied, puzzled.

"So legally I need to marry a girl, unless my status gets changed. So let me introduce you to my fiancée, Konatsu Saotome. Sugar, this is my father, Hikaru Kuonji," Ukyo said.

Konatsu's eyes widened slightly and then he bowed deeply.

A flash of irritation went across her father's face as he growled, "That didn't answer my question."

"Konatsu's real parents are dead. So Auntie Nodoka added Konatsu to the Saotome clan roster as her daughter. My fiancée was raised as a kunoichi," Ukyo replied, her eyes dancing with mirth, "But, Konatsu is actually a male, he is a genius kunoichi. But he's registered as a girl."

Kuonji's face fell in shock and then he chuckled. "So my daughter registered male is marrying a Saotome son registered female, only in Nerima," he finally said. He smirked and asked, "So who's wearing the wedding dress?"

"Oh, please, Ukyo can I? I've always wanted to wear a dress at my wedding?" Konatsu pleaded. He managed to keep a straight face for several moments and then began to giggle.

"There's plenty of time to worry about that. I'm not planning for the wedding to occur just yet. I still think I'm a little young," Ukyo replied. She smiled shyly and added, "I'd like to finish high school before I say I do."

"Kuonji-san, it has been a pleasure meeting you, but I need to get back to work. Mom can't handle the café by herself," Konatsu said.

"It is nice meeting you. I hope that during my visit here, I can learn some more about you," Mr. Kuonji said, "And by all means, we don't want to upset any customers."

Konatsu bowed once more and left to go wait on the tables.

"So why is he dressed as a waitress?" Kuonji asked, "Though he does make an attractive girl."

Ukyo grinned and said, "Well, for some reason, our business is better when I'm dressed like this, and slaving over the grill, and Konatsu dressed like that. I guess all of the men expect that they will be waited on by a female but want the food prepared by a male. It's really funny to watch him flirt with them; he does it so well. And the ones that know the truth have just as much fun as the ones who don't."

"Oh, so it's just a good business practice?" her father asked.

"Yes, though the fact that we both prefer to cross-dress doesn't hurt," Ukyo said with a straight face. She stood up and said, "We'll need to talk later after we close, if that's okay? I really need to get to the grill so Auntie can head home soon."

"That's fine, I need to check into my hotel, and take care of some business, anyway. I just wanted to see this place," her father said.

"Okay, I'll see you around eight, then," Ukyo said.

Her father nodded his head and watched his daughter walk over to the grill and talk to Nodoka Saotome. The older woman frowned slightly and looked over in his direction, her eyes narrowed in thought. Not to his surprise, once Ukyo started cooking, the older woman headed in his direction.

"Hello, Ukyo told me that you are her father, Hikaru Kuonji. I'm Nodoka Saotome, the wife of Genma Saotome, and the mother of Ranma and Konatsu. I'm happy to meet you," Nodoka said politely.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Saotome," Kuonji said, "And I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of your family. It's been a very long time since I last saw Genma and your son, Ranma."

"Yes, I understand they met you shortly after they started their training trip, so it must be over ten years since you've seen them. There have been many changes since that time," Nodoka said, "Some of which are difficult to believe." She looked up to see Ranma walk in, with Akane.

"Hey, Ranchan, looks like you could use some hot water," Ukyo said.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Sure, it wouldn't hurt."

Nodoka smiled slightly and said, "And it looks like I have an opportunity to show you one of those changes." She raised her voice slightly and asked, "Ranma, what was it this time?"

The red-haired girl grinned at her mother and said, "I was showing off to Akane and fell into the canal. I should have known that the fence was loose right there."

"That's Ranma?" Kuonji asked in shock.

"Yes, that's my son and his fiancée Akane Tendo," Nodoka replied.

"But, that's a girl, and I definitely would have remembered red hair," Kuonji protested.

"Ranma, come over and greet Mr. Kuonji," Nodoka ordered.

Ranma's eyes grew wide and she looked over at Ukyo who flashed a grim smile. The two girls walked over and Ranma bowed. "It's been a long time since I saw you last, Mr. Kuonji. But you don't look like you've changed a lot," Ranma said, "This is my fiancée, Akane Tendo."

"How can you two be engaged, you're both girls," Mr. Kuonji said.

Ranma giggled and said, "I'm not really a girl. I'm a man among men, right Mom?"

"Not unless you come with extras that other guys don't have," Kuonji objected looking at the primary evidence that Ranma wasn't male.

"Father, would you please stop staring at Ranma's chest! That isn't very polite. Here, Ranchan, this might help," Ukyo said as she brought the hot water over.

"Thanks, Ucchan," Ranma said as she poured the water over her head.

Mr. Kuonji fainted as Ranma grew taller, got black hair, and was obviously no longer female.

"That went about as well as I expected," Ukyo said with a deep sigh.

Nodoka splashed Mr. Kuonji with some cold water, rousing him from his swoon.

"What happened?" Kuonji asked.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "You passed out when you saw me change."

Kuonji's eyes got big as he remembered what had happened. "But you were a girl before, weren't you?" he asked.

"Yep, I was," Ranma said, "Just a little something I picked up on my training trip, thanks to Pop."

Akane giggled for a moment and then asked, "That's a little bit of an understatement, wasn't it, Ranchan?" amazed that he could act so blasé about the whole thing.

"No use crying about spilt milk, is it Acchan? Anyway, to make a long story short, I picked up a water based curse in China that turns me into a girl, physically at least, when I get hit with cold water. As far as I know, there isn't a cure for it either," Ranma said, "Just be glad that Pop left Ukyo by the side of the road, or there's no telling what would have happened to her. The cursed springs just seem to want to get anyone who makes the mistake of going there, and the curse I got isn't the worst one out there."

Mr. Kuonji paled as the words registered, and he asked, "What do you mean, there are worse curses?"

Ranma shrugged and replied, "I stay human. Most of the springs that I know about give you an animal curse. Like the one Pop picked up, for instance. He turns into a panda. Not that you'd notice a difference, he still mostly just lays around and eats, regardless of which form he's in."

"Now Ranma, that's not a very polite thing to say about your father," Nodoka chided him.

"True, though," Akane said.

Ranma grinned at his girlfriend and then turned serious. "Mr. Kuonji, I want you to know that Akane and I are serious about our relationship. I don't know if you were aware of it, but her father and mine had promised that I would marry one of the Tendo girls. But we aren't getting married because of that promise; we're getting married because we love each other. I do care about your daughter, but I really didn't know she was a girl until she showed up in Nerima looking for me. She is my friend, just as she is Akane's friend," he said, "I hope you can accept that. The other thing that you need to know is that Konatsu loves your daughter. While he has his own issues, the two of them can work those out between them."

Akane chimed in and added, "You should be very proud of Ukyo; it's not just any girl her age who could run a café, and go to school, and make the friends that she has. She's a great girl, that I'm glad I can call friend, but I'm not the only one."

"I **am** proud of her," Mr. Kuonji replied, "But not because she built this restaurant. Any one can do that given enough time. What is important is that she has managed to get such loyal friends. Now, if the three of you will excuse me, I do need to check in at the hotel, and get some business done. It has been interesting meeting all three of you."

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Kuonji," Nodoka said in response, "I hope we can get a chance to speak again while you are in Nerima."

Kuonji stood up, bowed to the three of them and headed out the door. In passing, he said, "Take care, child. I'll see you tonight and we can continue our reunion."

"Bye, Father. We'll be waiting for you," Ukyo replied.

* * *

Ukyo had just walked outside to take down the noren hanging above her door, signaling that the café was closed, when she saw her father heading toward her. "Right on time, Father. Have you eaten? Konatsu and I were just about to sit down for dinner," she said.

"I wouldn't mind something if it isn't too much trouble," Kuonji replied, as he followed her in and closed the door.

"Konatsu?" Ukyo called.

Konatsu stuck his head out the kitchen door and said, "Good evening, Kuonji-san. There's some of the yakitori left, a bit of tempura, and plenty of soup. What else do you want?"

"Might as well bring it all out," Ukyo said, "Bring dishes for all three of us."

"Tea to drink?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo nodded her head. "That's sounds good for me," Ukyo replied, "I still have to do homework tonight."

"Coming right up," Konatsu said, cheerily. He disappeared back into the kitchen, and then shortly, he came back out carrying a large tray covered with dishes, and bowls, and a teapot with three cups. He walked over and set it down on one of the tables and said, "Let's eat."

Ukyo and Mr. Kuonji sat down, with Konatsu sitting down next to Ukyo. He quickly dished up the soup, and handed that around, and placed the rest in the middle of the table.

"I understand that you were adopted by the Saotome's," Mr. Kuonji began.

Konatsu frowned slightly and said, "Yes, but only after Ukyo, Ranma and Akane rescued me from my evil step-family. My family comes from a long line of kunoichi, but my mother died while I was very young. After a short time grieving his loss, my father married again, but then died a year or so after that, leaving me to the tender mercies of my stepmother and her daughters. I was raised as a kunoichi, and didn't discover that I was really male until I was rescued from them. After leaving my old family, Ukyo took me in as a worker here, but Mom took pity on me and added me to her roll. She is a wonderful woman."

"So that's why you still wear women's clothing," Kuonji said.

"I'm still more comfortable in them, but I usually change into a shirt and slacks after work," Konatsu said, "And I have been adding to my wardrobe, slowly."

"And it's not like I don't wear men's clothing a lot of the time, though I do have some dresses," Ukyo added in defense.

"I have to admit, I really didn't know what to expect when I came here, but you certainly are a surprise. And Ranma turning into a girl, that's a real shock," Kuonji said, shaking his head.

"My brother is a good person," Konatsu said strongly.

Kuonji waved that off, and said, "Not saying he isn't. That poor boy, I remember his father didn't have much use for girls, so I can't imagine what he's put Ranma through."

"Well, Ranma's life has been hard, from what he's told me, but on the other hand, now he's the grandmaster of the family school of martial arts, and he's madly in love with Akane," Konatsu said.

"He's also planning on giving me this building as a Christmas present," Ukyo said, softly, "As a way of giving me my dowry back."

Her father looked surprised at that news, and asked, "How can he afford to do that?"

Ukyo shrugged her shoulders and said, "From what Nabiki told me, he has put any money he could earn into paying off the mortgage. She and Auntie went in on buying the building, and Auntie doesn't take a salary for working here. So those two are taking the debt of honor as seriously as they can."

"I see," her father replied, thoughtfully. He frowned for a moment and then looked at Konatsu, who gazed steadily back at him. "Ranma says you're in love with Ukyo," Kuonji said.

Konatsu looked at Ukyo and his eyes grew soft. "She means everything to me, Kuonji-san. She is the first person that ever treated me kindly; at least that I can remember. She's a wonderful girl and I love her dearly," he said, softly, reaching for her hand.

Ukyo squeezed his hand, and added, "And I care a great deal for him. He is a good friend, and companion, and we have helped each other through some of our nightmares."

Kuonji frowned in concentration and then announced, "Well, after finding out about Ranma's curse, I don't believe he would have been a suitable match for you, Ukyo. And while Konatsu is different than I had hoped, I believe him when he says he loves you. My child, I believe that you have fulfilled your vow of honor in the best way that you could. As you are engaged to a Saotome, they also have acquitted themselves as honorably as they could. Though, I intend to have some words with Genma Saotome the next time I see him."

"Father, from what he said, you knew about the arrangement between the Saotomes and the Tendos. And it wasn't until you threw in the yatai as a dowry did he agree," Ukyo said, "Why would you have thought that he would have carried out his part of any agreement between the two of you if he was so willing to break the one with the Tendos?"

Mr. Kuonji scratched his head as he delayed answering the question. Finally, he asked, "Are you accusing me of something?"

"No, I just found it odd is all," Ukyo replied, "I hadn't questioned it up to now, but once I finally got to thinking about it, that suddenly struck me as strange. So, satisfy my curiosity, please."

"Uh, to be honest, I really don't remember what I was thinking then. You seemed to like young Ranma, and I thought that was the best thing for you, I suppose. The life of a traveling Okonomiyaki vendor, which is what I was then, didn't seem like a good thing for you," her father replied, "And there might have been some drinking involved, I suppose."

"Oh great, you mean I spent the last ten years of my life looking for revenge because you were drunk!" Ukyo exclaimed, "Father, I'm disappointed in you!"

Konatsu pulled her close to him in a tight hug, and said, softly, "But if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have met you, so please don't be too mad. For my sake, at least."

Ukyo leaned against him, still looking daggers at her father, and said, "You're good at this, Konatsu. I'm glad I met you, too. And I have Ranma back as a friend, so things aren't that bad. It's just that I would like to have lived a normal life, you know. I went a little crazy, I think, throwing myself into all of the training I did. And the teasing I got from everyone while I was a little girl got to me."

"If we have children then you'll know how not to treat them," Konatsu said, his cheeks heating up slightly at the thought of what it would require for them to have children.

"I'm still sitting right here, you know!" her father exclaimed.

Ukyo giggled and said, "I'm glad you approve of Konatsu, Father. How long are you staying?"

"Actually, I just came for the day, I have to be back at the office tomorrow," her father replied, "My only reason was to meet my future son-in-law, and give you my blessing. Just don't wait too long before you get married. I do want to be around to see that."

* * *

Kasumi woke from a blissful night's sleep, her mind still full of the odd dream that she had just had. She had been outside, somewhere in some snow-covered hills, the snow still gently falling around her. And then over the crest of one of the hills, she saw a sleigh being pulled by eight tiny reindeer nearing her. As it passed, she noticed a small gift-wrapped box lying on the ground in front of her. Picking it up, she noticed a small card that read 'Dear Kasumi, have a Merry Christmas, Santa.'

"How odd," Kasumi said.

"What's that, dear?" Tofu asked.

Kasumi looked at the calendar on the wall, and replied, "That's right, tonight is Christmas Eve."

Tofu looked at her and asked again, "What are you talking about?"

"Somebody told me to have a Christmas Eve party tonight, and I want all the family and our friends here," she replied.

"Who told you to have a party?" he asked, "I mean, it's just us here in the bedroom."

"Why, Santa Claus, of course," she replied, with a happy smile, wondering why her husband had to ask.

"Santa Claus!" Tofu exclaimed.

Kasumi looked at the clock and exclaimed, "Oh my, I need to get busy. So much to do, send out invitations, cook the food, decorate the house. Why am I still lazing about like this?" She hopped out of bed and quickly dressed.

"So what do I need to do?" Tofu asked.

"Your job is to help decorate the dojo, and then go pass out the invitations," she replied, as she gave him a quick peck on the lips in passing as she hurried out the door.

* * *

Nabiki was watching the financial reports, while her father and Genma were ensconced in front of their board playing one of their endless rounds of shogi. Once the reports were over, the station changed over to the weather report, and the attractive weathergirl predicted that there would be snow falling on Christmas Eve, replacing the beaten down snow from the weeks before, much of which had melted due to the bright sun, and the traffic.

Nabiki turned the television off and said, "I sure hope it snows, it would be great!"

Genma made his move, which astonished Soun. "There!" he exclaimed as he placed his piece down with a satisfying click.

"That's your move?" Soun asked, his eyebrows raised, "I didn't see that!" He turned to Nabiki and said, as he pondered his move, "Way back when I was a boy, no one in Japan even celebrated Christmas." He moved a piece and said, "Right, Saotome?"

"I didn't see that move coming, Tendo," Genma said, as he leaned over the board, "Our family has always been Buddhist. Why would we want to celebrate Christmas? That's a Christian holy day."

Kasumi opened the sliding door to the family room and asked, "Nabiki, have you seen Ranma or Akane?"

Nabiki replied, "They went out shopping first thing this morning and they're not home yet."

"Oh my, really?" Kasumi said in surprise, "Oh well, I hope every one will be hungry, because I will make a delicious Christmas dinner for tonight."

The two men raised their hands to the ceiling and shouted, "Hooray for Christmas! Hooray for Jesus Christ! Hooray for good food!"

Nabiki turned away with a look of utter disgust on her face.

Kasumi heard the sound of the wind pick up outside and turned and looked at the sky. The sky was darkening, with billowing clouds. "It looks like snow," she said.

* * *

Ranma and Akane were walking from store front to store front, browsing the contents of the windows, along with hundreds of other eager shoppers. Akane stopped in front of one window, and gazed at a small chest. "Ooh!" she squealed, "That's so pretty!"

Ranma looked at his watch and said, "Come on, Akane, we don't have time for this, I'm sure Kasumi is wondering where we are by now."

"Don't forget, we lost the bet. We have to do the family Christmas shopping," Akane said sweetly, "Why don't you relax and enjoy all of the Christmas decorations."

"Oh man, I hate shopping," Ranma grumbled.

"Hey, you never told me what you wanted for Christmas!" Akane exclaimed, "Do you dream about anything?"

"Hm, well, I don't remember you telling me what you want for Christmas, either," Ranma replied, with a grin.

"Oh, that's easy," Akane replied, clapping her hands together, "Let's see. I'd like that panda doll, hanky, a music box, those socks I saw earlier, a new handbag, a muffler, maybe some cards, and, ooh, that new hat!"

Ranma chuckled and asked, "That's all? You want all those things as gifts?" He teased her saying, "If I even buy half the things on your list, I'd be flat broke. Keep dreaming girl."

Akane giggled and said, "Then you should look for another job."

"Well, I obviously can't go shopping for you while you're with me, and this may take a while. Why don't you go home and I'll catch up," Ranma suggested.

"Don't forget, we have to decorate the tree. Don't take too long, will you?" Akane reminded him.

"I remember, Acchan. I'll be home as soon as I can, okay?" Ranma replied.

Akane kissed his cheek and said, "You'd better. If I have to do the tree all by myself, you'll be sleeping in the doghouse."

"But we don't have a dog," Ranma replied, with a puzzled look on his face.

Akane walked into the hallway and set her packages down on the floor and then slipped off her shoes. "I'm home," she called out. As she walked toward the family room, Nabiki and Kasumi met her.

Kasumi asked, "Where's Ranma?"

"I don't know," Akane replied, "Out shopping still, I imagine."

"You two didn't have a fight, did you?" Nabiki asked.

"Nah, he just sent me home so he could shop for me," Akane answered, "You two ready to start decorating the tree?"

Nabiki replied, "Sure thing, sis."

"I had Father put the tree up in the dojo, Akane. That way there'd be more room for everything," Kasumi said.

"That's a great idea, Kasumi. Now that there are so many of us, the family room would just be too small," Akane said.

"Well, actually, I invited everyone to come for a special Christmas Eve party," Kasumi said.

"That sounds like fun," Akane said. The three girls linked arms and headed off to the dojo to place the decorations on the tree.

They spent the next several hours placing the balls, and the tinsel, and the lights on the tree. Nabiki climbed up onto the ladder and placed a five-pointed, gold star on the top of the tree. After she finished, she asked, "Akane, isn't Ranma kind of late? Shouldn't he be home by now?" She paused and then said accusingly, "Or is there something that happened between the two of you that made him want to stay away?"

"No, like I said before, he just needed to shop for my present, that's all. You're right though, he should have been home already," Akane replied.

"Well, I'm starting to get worried about him," Kasumi said, as she looked at the clock, "It's starting to get late. Look it's nearly two."

Soun said, from where he and Genma were supervising in the corner, "I'm sure Ranma will be home at any minute."

"Tendo's right. Don't worry about my boy," Genma said.

Soun made a move on the board and exclaimed, "Let's see you get out of that one, Saotome!"

"Take that!" Genma exclaimed as he moved.

"I guess I'd better go look for him," Akane said as she headed out the door.

* * *

Ranma started heading home from a long day of shopping for Akane, hoping that she would be happy with the gifts he had found. As he neared the park, he heard someone screaming in anger, with plenty of loud crashes accompanying the cries. Curious, he ran over and hopped onto the low wall, where he saw Kodachi throwing her clubs at the wall, screaming in anger.

"Hey," Ranma called softly, "I haven't seen you this angry since Akane was beating you at gymnastics."

Kodachi whirled and snarled, "Who asked you, smart ass?"

"What crawled up inside you and died?" Ranma asked.

Kodachi stared at him in disbelief for a moment and then began to chuckle. Finally, she said, "My father is crazy, you wouldn't understand."

"I'll see you your crazy father and raise you my idiot Pop," Ranma shot back.

"Uh, good point. We both have a wonderful parent, don't we?" Kodachi asked.

Ranma hopped down from the wall and walked over to her. "Seriously, what caused you to fly off the handle like that?" he asked.

"O-ooh, like I said, my crazy father. He found out I was dating Msu Tse and said I couldn't see him anymore," Kodachi replied, "He said that I was shaming our family name by being in love with a gaijan."

Ranma dropped his jaw in astonishment and then said, "This is from the guy who dresses up in bad Hawaiian beach wear, has a palm tree growing out of his head, and speaks with a horribly fake accent." He shook his head in amazement and then asked, "I assume that you're just ignoring him?"

"Of course I am. He's been gone for nearly four years, why should I care what he thinks? I just wish the family lawyer hadn't bailed him out from jail," Kodachi replied.

"Damn, he's out already?" Ranma asked, "Well, damn. I was hoping that we wouldn't see him for a while."

"And exactly how much did you have to do with him getting arrested in the first place?" Kodachi asked with a shrewd expression on her face.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "I have no idea what you are talking about, Kodachi. It was strictly a coincidence that all those people showed up." He tried and failed to look innocent.

"Please don't insult my intelligence, Ranma," Kodachi retorted, with a smile, "I know that you must have had your finger in the pie somehow."

"I may have called a few people," Ranma admitted, "But that's all I did." He frowned and said, "There was no excuse for him deserting the two of you. I figured that he needed to pay for that. No one hurts my friends without paying for it."

"Thanks for helping me calm down. Now all I have to do is figure out where I can meet my darling Msu Tse tonight. He was going to come to my house for Christmas Eve, but I'd rather not be around Father tonight," Kodachi said, despondently.

"Why don't you two come over to the Tendo's?" Ranma suggested, "There should be plenty of food, knowing Mom and Kasumi."

"Why thank you, Ranma, that was very generous of you," Kodachi replied, "We'll do that. I'll see you there, then." She walked over and hugged him lightly and then gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Ranma looked at her nervously and said, "Later, then."

"Oh, Ranma, I'm not chasing you any more. That was just a hug between friends," Kodachi teased.

Ranma chuckled weakly and replied, "I'm just not used to any one hugging me besides Akane, I guess. I'll see you and Mousse later." He headed off toward the house, only to stop in the park to think.

* * *

Akane ran down the street looking for Ranma. As she went past the park, she turned her head and saw him sitting there looking pensive. "Where have you been?" she asked, angrily, "I was getting worried about you. And you left us to do all of the decorating."

Ranma looked up, startled, and replied, "Sorry, Acchan."

"Don't you Acchan me!" Akane exclaimed, "I'm mad at you."

Ranma grimaced and said, "It took me longer than I thought to shop, and then I ran into Kodachi and talked to her for a little bit. Then I stopped by here to think and I guess I lost track of time. It is pretty late in the afternoon. I'm sorry I worried you." He jumped down from where he was sitting and walked over to her. He gave her his best puppy-dog look and asked, "Can you forgive me?"

Akane sighed and replied, "Of course I'll forgive you, baka. What were you thinking about?"

"Oh, just that I wanted my first Christmas with you to be special, I guess. And about everything else that's happened," Ranma replied, as he held out his hand for her. She smiled and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. "And about how glad I am that things are better this time around between us and that we're together," he continued softly.

"Let's go home, then," Akane said.

Ranma blushed and said, "Well, I kind of wanted to give you your presents without everyone seeing us. I didn't get a chance to wrap them yet, but I was hoping that we could share this just the two of us."

"But your present is at home," Akane protested.

Ranma smiled gently and replied, "That's okay." He reached into the bag and said, "First, here's the panda doll, and a hanky. Oh yeah, here's the music box you wanted." He began to fill her arms with the presents that he pulled out of the sack. "And let's see. Here's a pair of yellow socks, with little black pigs on them, the one's you squealed so much over. This one took me some time, I forgot which purse you liked, but here, and some cards," he continued.

"You got me everything I asked for?" Akane asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Ranma chucked her chin gently and replied, "Pretty much. There's something else that I found that you didn't ask for, but yeah." He smiled at her and asked, "Are those happy tears?"

Akane nodded her head, too choked up to speak. Ranma took the presents back out of her arms and placed them back in the sack. She threw herself into his arms and began raining little kisses all over his face.

"I guess you liked the presents," Ranma said, with a smile. Then he noticed little white flakes falling from the sky, gently kissing the two of them as they melted in their hair. "Hey, look, it's snowing," he said gently.

"We should get back," Akane said, her cheeks tinted red.

Ranma replied, "I have one more thing to give you first." He reached into the bag and rooted around for a moment, a small frown appearing on his face for a moment until he finally relaxed. He pulled out a long, thin, black box, and handed it to her.

Akane opened the box to see a silver chain, with a heart-shaped pendant attached. In the center of the heart was a small sapphire, glinting back at her in the last of the evening sun. "Please, put it on me," she whispered.

Ranma took the chain, and placed it around her neck, and then fastened the clasp securely. The pendant fell just about the gentle swell of her breasts, and nestled there contentedly.

Akane turned back around to face him and asked, "How does it look?"

"Perfect," Ranma replied, his eyes lighting up as he saw how happy she was.

"This has been the best Christmas, ever!" Akane exclaimed as she threw her arms around Ranma and hugged him exuberantly.

Ranma gazed down at her fondly and said, "I think so too. Now, let's head on home before there's enough melted snow to change me." He picked up her presents with one arm and wrapped the other around her waist. Akane leaned into his body and they headed off to the house for the Christmas Eve feast.

She whispered, "The snow's kind of perfect right now."

"Yeah, just like you, my beautiful tomboy," he breathed.

* * *

Ranma and Akane headed down the hall, as Akane called, "We're home!"

"Akane, where were you?" Kasumi asked from the family room.

Nabiki growled, "You didn't help with the tree. You should be fined!"

Akane slid open the door to the family room and they stopped suddenly. There, crowded around the table, were most of their friends.

"You're late, boy," Genma growled.

"Akane, come inside," Soun said.

Nodoka asked, "Where have you been, you two? We've been waiting for you."

"I came Tendo-sama, Saotome-sama," Tatewaki said.

"Look, lots of your friends came today," Kasumi said with a smile.

Nabiki said, "It's a good thing we made plenty of food."

"I thought we'd have lots of guests," Kasumi said, "And besides, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi brought some of the meal. So be nice, little sis."

"Hi, everybody," Akane said.

Ukyo smiled, and said, "We decided to spend Christmas Eve together. It was Kasumi's idea to invite us over."

Ranma smiled, remembering this scene the first time, and said, "I'm glad we can be together tonight. We all have things to be thankful for, Akane and I, Ukyo and Konatsu, Shampoo and Ryoga, Doc and Kasumi, and Kodachi and Mousse. So many of us found the one we want to spend the rest of our lives with."

"Well said," Tofu called, "Let's drink a toast to all of the couples here tonight."

"And then we can enjoy this wonderful meal that everyone has put together," Nodoka said.

Akane and Ranma sat down in the two open spaces at the table.

"After we finish our meal, the rest of the celebration is in the dojo," Soun said.

Kodachi smiled, and said, "And then we can exchange our gifts."

"That's a new necklace, isn't it Akane?" Nabiki asked suddenly.

Akane grinned and replied, "Why yes, as a matter of fact it is. Someone gave me my Christmas present early." Ranma blushed as Nabiki quickly looked at him.

"You've got good taste," Kasumi said.

"Yeah, I know," Ranma said as he gazed hungrily at Akane, who rewarded him with a quick kiss on his cheek.

* * *

Ranma sat down heavily into the chair on the stage, and said, "No way! Real guys don't sing karaoke. They look dumb, and I'm not going out there."

"Um," Akane said, "Well, we really need you. It wouldn't be right not to have a family act to start off the party." She looked down at the floor, digging her toe into the wood.

"What my sister is trying to tell you is that we don't need a guy up there with Kasumi, Akane and I," Nabiki said.

Ranma glared at Akane and exclaimed, "You want me to go out there and sing as a girl!"

"Please, Ranma, do it for me," Akane pleaded, with her eyes giving him that cute puppy dog look. Then she turned it up a notch as she pouted prettily.

"You ought to register that look as a deadly weapon, Acchan," Ranma said, with a heavy sigh. "Okay, I give, I'll sing with you. I suppose I need to go get changed now," he said.

"Thank you, Ranchan," Akane squealed as she plastered little kisses all over his face. She giggled prettily at the glassy expression on his face as he headed to their room. "I laid out a dress for you already," she called after him.

* * *

Nabiki peeked through the curtains and said, "It's almost time." They waited for a moment, and then the lights in the dojo grew dim, they saw the light from the spotlights appear on the curtain in front of them and then the curtain opened and the four girls saw the large crowd that awaited them.

Their friends all applauded as the curtains parted and they saw the girls standing there. Kasumi was dressed in a knee-length purple dress; Nabiki was stylish as always in a dark blue dress, with a string of pearls around her neck. Akane was in a short yellow dress; wearing the pendant that Ranma had given her earlier that day. Ranma was wearing an attractive green dress; with a string of pearls that Nabiki had lent her around her neck.

Tofu started the karaoke machine and the music began to play. As the words began to scroll across the screen, Akane began to sing, "You're kind to me, nothing more!"

Then the other three girls joined in, and they sang, "The sadness fills my heart, Love is always loneliness, into my arms. Aah!" As they sang they began to move to the music, stretching their left arm out as they sang the "Aah!" "Darling. Just for me, I'll wait for you."

Kasumi sang the next line, "I give you shivers in your heart."

"The romance beckoned by your fingertips, it's destiny for us to fall in love," they sang, then Kasumi picked up the next line by herself, and sang, "Tonight, isn't it wondrous? A car parked alongside a beach."

Then it was Nabiki's turn to shine as she sang in a surprisingly attractive voice, "The two are so close together but,"

Akane picked up there and sang, her voice filling the room, "They're kept apart by that invisible barrier,"

Then the girls came together and sang, voices blending one with another, "With tears overflowing, Fall in love, Darling just for you I won't hesitate!"

Ranma sang, her soprano voice soaring, "Get my heart a'throb,"

"The romance that begins in your eyes, I love more than any other, Catch my love!" the four girls sang, finishing the song. As the music died down, the crowd applauded feverishly.

The girls bowed and then Nabiki called out, "Hi everyone! Welcome to the Tendo Family Christmas Party! I hope you all have a great time!"

The crowd soon separated, as some sat down and ate some of the party foods that were scattered around the dojo, and others cleared a space and began to dance to the music playing on the stereo. Ranma sighed to herself as Tatewaki Kuno came to her and said, "Saotome-sama, I haven't seen you for a while, how have you been?"

"Quite well, actually," Ranma replied, "Though I have been terribly busy. And you?"

"I believe that I have not been better, though it is with sadness that I must say that my warped father has seen fit to grace us with his presence. Fortunately, I was able to prevent him from attempting to move into the Kuno family estate," Kuno replied. He frowned slightly and said, "If it wasn't for the shame of having him arrested and in jail, I should have left him there. But he is my father, to my everlasting shame, and I could not allow him to besmirch our honor."

"I understand, perfectly, Kuno. I know all about embarrassing fathers," Ranma said, with an enchanting laugh.

"It is good to see you in such high spirits, and may I say that I enjoyed the song. I have never seen such visions of loveliness as I did tonight when the curtain opened," Kuno said gallantly.

Akane walked up just in time to hear the last of that and joined in blushing with Ranma. "Thank you, Kuno," Akane said.

"Ah, the spirited Tendo-sama," Kuno said, "My heart is glad that the two of you are here. But where is your fiancé, the other Saotome-sama?"

"Oh, he's around somewhere, probably closer than you think," Ranma replied.

"Well, give him my best," Kuno said, "Oh, my counselor, Doctor Hojo, mentioned that he wanted to talk to the two of you this week about something. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to play overbearing big brother." Kuno set his sail, figuratively speaking, and bore down on Kodachi and Mousse, who must have been dancing too close to each other to suit his sensibility.

"You look very nice, tonight, Akane," Ranma said.

Akane giggled and said, "You look pretty sexy yourself, Ranma. Now go up and change, I want to dance with my fiancé, tonight."

"And just when I was getting comfortable with these heels," Ranma said, with a mock pout.

"Well, in that case, we can dance like this, except I get to lead," Akane said with a smirk.

"Sorry, I never learned how to dance backwards, and in heels," Ranma retorted, "I'll be right back." She kicked off her heels and ran out of the dojo.

* * *

The party was a complete success, and all of the guests had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. After the gift exchange was over, however, they all began to make their way to their respective homes, leaving the extended Tendo and Saotome families to clean up the debris from the party. The fathers disappeared first, claiming that they were exhausted from all of the hard work they had done that day, ignoring the glares that they received from all of the female members. Once most of the mess had been taken care of, Kasumi shooed the rest of them out, so Ranma and Akane headed upstairs to the balcony outside her old room.

Kasumi found a small gift-wrapped box under the tree, one that somehow had been unnoticed during the exchange. When she picked it up, she saw that the card was addressed to her. She undid the bow, and pulled the lid off of the box. When she did so, she noticed that the box was empty except for some sparkling lights that began to rise from the box. Then she heard her husband call from outside, "Kasumi, come see this!" Kasumi left the dojo and walked over to Tofu who led her upstairs to the balcony.

Kasumi walked, followed by her husband and Nabiki. Ranma and Akane were gazing up into the sky, where they saw dozens of shooting stars piercing the night sky. Ranma had his arm around Akane's waist, and Akane was resting her head on his shoulder. "That looks like a good idea," Tofu said, as he placed his arm around his wife's waist.

"Make a wish," Kasumi said.

Tofu smiled and said, "My wishes have already come true."

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks to all of you who are reading this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

Wonderbee31: Souta will be an issue for a while. I think there is some jealous Konatsu coming up too, if Souta continues to pay attention to his woman. Tsubasa is still running though.

Mysterychild: You're another person who said that this story is as good as Krista Perry. Thank you. That is extremely high praise. I've read her Heart of Ice and that story is fabulous in my opinion.

Shinigami: That takes care of the principal? Surely you jest. I've just slowed him down some, though. Souta is going to be an issue, maybe not quite as bad as Kuno/Ryoga were about Ranma and Akane. In the manga, I only remember Akane and Ukyo. In the anime there was at least one more, Kaori I think. Yes, Picolet Chardin III will show up. I'm following the manga timeline, well more or less, with some of the anime and OAV showing up when appropriate. Taro will come, and Ryu Kumon. Ranma has some plans for them. Can you imagine Nodoka's reaction when Ryu tries to pretend he's Ranma?

G-man: Definitely intend to do the mirror story. I don't have that volume yet, though, it is later on, around vol 31 or 32 I think, so it won't show up for some time. Unless Happosai shows up again, I can't see any reason to do the splitting incense story.

Placeboshotgun: Genma has started slowly to redeem himself, after all he didn't help Happosai. But it will be a long slow road.

Xero Reflux: Yes, and yes. He has the Loud thief scrolls, so he and Ranma will end up teaching each other.

Cherryblossom-crystal: Nabiki and Kuno won't get together in this story. I have different pairings in mind for both of them.

Raver Styx: Thanks. And yes, it's sort of a conclusion. I agree, the principal is one of my least favorite characters. So I'll be keeping him more to the background, at least until I can bring in Miss Hinako. Then she can blast him to her heart's content.

Redgrrl: I am slowly building up my manga collection, so I have all of the second edition that Viz has published in English, and all of the anime. I have looked at the online summaries, and there are a few sites that have a translation of the manga that I use as source material to help with the plotlines.

CJN: Well, half Ukyo anyway. Souta will be pining over her for a while. I don't think he'll end up with anyone. Though his sister and her boyfriend may show up. I had a cute scene show up in my head that I may want to use.

Ss4-link: Armie? I don't remember that name. Akari will show up, I like the idea of a sumo-wrestling pig for some reason.

Dragonman 180: If Genma irritates Akane much more, probably. I thought I would try something different than the Ukyo gets adopted by Nodoka plan. That's been done, by me twice already, so when I realized that Konatsu could be adopted, voila! I'm not done with Principal Kuno, but he's not going to be as big a part of the story as he was in the manga/anime. He's too annoying, and too hard to write dialogue for.

Psycho King: Little Ukyo is growing up. Sniff. Yes, I know the principal is only slowed down, but I wanted to have Ranma play some mind games on him.

Innortal: Hm, hadn't thought of that. Of course, knowing Nabiki's luck, if she went to Jusenkyo she'd fall in the spring of drowned lottery winner, or something. Mousse will need to 'comfort' Kodachi now that her father has blown a gasket over him.

Firestorm2004: I'm sure I have a weird writing style. When I come up with an idea for a scene, I start writing it down, wherever I am. Then I have to figure out where in the plotline they fit. Right now I have scenes from chapters that are several weeks away sitting on my computer, but the next chapter hasn't really been started yet. As another example, the scene where Ukyo asks Konatsu to marry her has been written for about six weeks, though I have tweaked it several times to make sure it stays in continuity. This last chapter, I had the first third written, then the last third, and then went and wrote the middle.

Dennisud: Yes, Nabiki will find true happiness, eventually. Her prince just hasn't arrived yet.

Hououza: Ryu and Herb definitely will show up, as will Taro. About the only villains that won't come will be the Gambling King and probably Toma. I just didn't like those two.


	38. Who Will Bell the Cat?

Chapter 38 Who Will Bell the Cat?

"How long are the Amazons going to be gone?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma replied, "They said that they would be back in time for school. Mousse is still here, though he did say he would be spending most of his time with Kodachi."

Akane chuckled and said, "I'm not sure I would be brave enough to try to take all three of the Hibikis with me, though. The idea of trying to shepherd them to Joketsuzoku with their ability to get lost in a phone booth, scares me to death for some reason."

"Cologne was pretty adamant about all of them going," Kasumi said thoughtfully.

Ranma nodded his head and added, "Yeah, she was. I'm guessing that she wants to have the rest of the Council help her figure out how to get rid of their curse."

"Does she really think she has a chance?" Akane asked.

"I think she does. When I looked at their auras, I could see the swirl that she was talking about, and it is very weird looking. All three of them had it, all in the same place. Ryoga was the worst; it was about half again as big as his parents. A normal person doesn't have that kind of thing in their aura," Ranma said.

Kasumi gazed into the distance, her eyes lost in thought for a moment, and then she said, "If that's the case, and Cologne can see the disturbance, then I'm sure she can find some way of removing it."

"So what are we going to do with all of the free time we'll have between now and the second week of January, since Cologne won't be here to train us?" Akane asked.

Ranma shuffled his feet nervously and said, "Well, actually, since Mom decided that she didn't need to work those weeks, since Ukyo could be at the café all day, that we ought to start learning her style of martial arts."

"Oh, damn, here I was hoping we could have some time just to ourselves," Akane said, teasingly. Then she smiled and asked, "What is her style, anyway? She looks like she sort of knows how to use that katana of hers."

"I don't know what she calls it, but she learned it from her mother, who learned it from hers," Ranma replied.

"Does that mean it's only for women?" Akane asked, with a smile on her face.

Ranma looked at her in concern and said, "I certainly hope not."

Akane began to giggle at the look of horror on his face.

The phone hanging on the kitchen wall began to ring. She walked over and answered it, and then after a moment said, "It's for you, Ranma. Doctor Hojo wants to talk to you."

Ranma looked surprised for a moment and then remembered what Kuno had said at the party two nights ago. He walked over and took the handset out of Kasumi's hand and said hello. While he was talking, Akane and Nabiki headed into the family room, carrying some of that night's dinner to the table, while Kasumi performed the final finishing touches.

* * *

Ranma hung up the telephone with an odd look on his face, and walked back into the family room where everyone was waiting for dinner.

Nabiki said, "You look like someone who got some bad news. What was that all about?"

"I just finished talking to Doctor Hojo. He wants me to talk to Kuno about my curse," Ranma said.

"He really thinks Kuno-baby is ready for that?" Nabiki asked in surprise.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Apparently so. He couldn't tell me much, of course, because of, what did he call it, oh yeah, patient-doctor confidentiality, but it seems that Kuno has come to a stopping point in his progress. Dr. Hojo seems to think that finding out that the girl he was obsessing over really was a guy may be the spur that pushes him forward."

"Or sends him right over the edge," Akane observed.

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "I asked him about that. He admitted that was a possibility, but to be honest, I've not been happy about Kuno not knowing the truth. I haven't quite lied to him, but I've been dancing around the edge pretty damn close. And that bothers me a lot. It's just too much like how Pop would have done things, and I like to think that I'm more honorable than that."

"Oh my! You must be worried if you think you're acting like your father," Kasumi interjected.

"It's not like you wanted to do it, you were told to by Dr. Hojo," Akane reminded him.

"I know all that, Acchan, but still," Ranma said, again with a heavy sigh. He turned to Nabiki and asked, "Do you have any ideas how I can make Kuno understand?"

"You'll need to show him, several times, but I think it's better if you use someone else as an example," Nabiki replied after thinking about it for a while.

"Well, Pop is the obvious choice then," Ranma said, "After all, there's just the three of us with a curse, and I'd rather he not find out about Mousse until Mousse is ready to tell him. It wouldn't be fair to either Mousse or Kodachi, especially with the way her father is acting about her being with Mousse. Tatewaki is supporting them right now, and I don't want to jeopardize that."

"That's awfully nice of you," Kasumi said, "What's her father doing though, I guess I wasn't aware of any issues."

"Oh, he threw a fit about Mousse because he isn't Japanese. Like her father has any room to talk, what with the way he deserted them, and the way he acts," Ranma said in disgust, "So what if Mousse isn't Japanese, Kodachi loves him and that should be enough."

Nabiki replied, "Ordinarily I'd agree with you, but the Kuno's are an old family that traces their lineage back a long time. I can understand why her father feels the way he does, not that I agree with him, mind you. If she needs any help, let Kodachi know she can count on me."

"I think that if bokken-boy can keep it together, he'll run interference with Principle Kuno. I may not have much respect for Kuno, but he does care about his sister and wants her to be happy," Akane said, "I think we all will help with that."

Kasumi added, "Of course. Kodachi is such a sweet girl. She was so helpful at the party. I wouldn't want anything to happen that would hurt her."

* * *

Nodoka walked into the Tendo dojo to find Ranma and Akane anxiously waiting her. Before she had a chance to say anything, Ranma said, "Mom, before we get started in learning your family style, I wanted to talk about a few things. First, while I'm not into the whole kendo thing of scoring points by scoring touches, I do know my way around a blade. I don't like using weapons because it's easier to kill someone without meaning to. That's the main reason I usually chose not to use an edged weapon. Second, Akane is probably knows how to handle a bokken better than I do."

Akane gasped at hearing Ranma praise her skills. "I agree with Ranma about learning to use edged weapons, Mom. I'm a martial artist, not a warrior, not a killer," she said softly.

Nodoka smiled slightly and said, "Well, that's not totally unexpected. I would have thought that your father would have had you trained with a sword, if only to know how to counter any attacks. And it's nice to hear that Akane is familiar with them. But that does pose a bit of a problem. Our family style was handed down from my grandfather, Kenji, and has some unique features about it. The style was developed by his grandfather, who survived the Bakumatsu revolution. He rejected the ethics of the 'Swords that give death.' For long years, he strove to develop a style based on 'swords that give life.' After he died, his daughter ran the dojo. She later married a wandering swordsman, and then had his child, my grandfather, and taught him that style. So, you see my son and daughter, our family also wishes to protect, not to kill."

"That's good," Ranma said, with a sigh of relief. 'I never knew that about her style. I wonder why she never tried to train me before,' he thought, with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong, son?" Nodoka asked.

"Oh, nothing really. Just thinking about something and I guess I made a decision," Ranma replied. He looked at his mother and asked, "Would it be alright if you trained two girls in the family style?"

"You and Akane, you mean?" Nodoka asked, "Why as a girl? That's not very manly is it, my son?"

The hackles on Ranma's neck raised until he saw the slight upward curl on his mother's lips. "Very funny, Mom," Ranma said as he sighed and then continued, "For a couple of reasons I guess. One is that all my balance is different as a girl, for obvious reasons, and my stances that I know as a guy won't work. My hips move differently. Second, while I'm faster as a girl, I'm also weaker, so I won't hurt anyone as much. And I guess, three is that it'll be easier to learn everything because I'll have to start from scratch learning the stances anyway."

"Hm, actually, that makes sense," Akane said, "Because his muscles are wired to react a certain way because of all of his training, learning swordsmanship as a woman would overcome those patterns." She looked pensive for a moment and then said, "I'll have a lot to unlearn, I'm afraid."

"Not necessarily, daughter," Nodoka replied, firmly, "We build from a lot of schools, so it won't be as different as you might expect."

"Let me get changed and then we can start, sensei," Ranma said, as he took his shirt off for a moment. He picked up a sports bra from where he had set it down, and poured a glass of water over his head triggering the change. Akane walked over and helped her put her bra on and then Ranma slipped her shirt back on. She turned to see her mother giving her an amused look.

"Not much for modesty are you dear?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma smirked, and replied, "Well, it's not like we aren't all girls here right now, is it?"

Nodoka chuckled and said, "Well, I suppose you're right. So are you going to join us in the furo after practice?"

Ranma blushed furiously. "Mom!" she exclaimed, as Akane and Nodoka exchanged amused glances.

* * *

That evening, after a strenuous session in the dojo that exhausted both of them, Ranma and Akane were in their room, while Ranma was rubbing some of the secret Saotome healing salve into Akane's tired and bruised muscles. The door opened and Nodoka walked in. "How are you two feeling?" she asked.

"I've been better," Akane replied, "I'm just glad we went through the Breaking Point training, or I'd really be sore."

"She's got a good point," Ranma said, as she stretched, popping a few things back in place, "Being able to take a good hit and shrug it off doesn't hurt. Though I still think speed is the best part of the technique."

"So why haven't you changed back?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma frowned slightly and mumbled, "It's safer this way."

Akane giggled, causing Ranma to groan.

"Well, the real reason I came up was to see if you two wanted to join me in the furo," Nodoka said.

"Mom! It wasn't funny the first time. There are just certain images that I don't want to have, and you, in the furo, is one of them," Ranma exclaimed.

"I'll just wait for Ranma," Akane said, blushing slightly, "That way I can take care of my fiancé properly."

"Oh, my manly son," Nodoka breathed.

"That's not what she meant, Mom," Ranma said, blushing furiously, "We just scrub each other's backs now." 'Among other things,' she thought.

"Mother Saotome!" Akane exclaimed, her cheeks reddening more, "That wouldn't be proper until we actually are married."

Nodoka laughed gaily, tears of laughter running down her cheeks. "You two are just too easy," she said, once she regained her composure. But then she added, slyly, "Of course, there's nothing wrong with anticipating the ceremony by a few days, or weeks, or even months."

"Mom, you're incorrigible," Akane said, her face glowing.

"What she said," Ranma agreed, thinking, 'What exactly did she say?'

* * *

Ranma looked up as the door to the dojo slid open and she saw Nabiki framed in the doorway, with Tatewaki Kuno looming over the shorter girl. She waited politely until the two of them were seated on the tatami mats scattered across the dojo floor, and then said, "Thank you for coming to see us on such short notice, Kuno."

Akane echoed her thanks from where she was sitting next to Ranma.

"The message you sent with Nabiki Tendo was most persuasive," Kuno replied, "And since it appears that this meeting is relative to the sessions I have with Doctor Hojo, I felt it was in my best interest not to delay. Are we in time for some tea? I see that we interrupted yours."

"Oh, the tea kettles you see here are for a different purpose," Ranma replied, "But I am sure Kasumi has some in the kitchen."

"Sis, can you ask Mr. Saotome to join us?" Akane asked.

Nabiki looked at Kuno and said, "Sure, Sis. I'll be right back." She stood up and walked out the door of the dojo, leaving a puzzled Kuno behind.

"How can I help two such lovely ladies?" Kuno asked.

Ranma sighed and replied, "There is something that you need to be aware of, that your doctor has decided that now is the time for you to find out about."

"And what would that be?" Kuno asked, his face showing his confusion even more.

Fortunately, Ranma was interrupted by her father bellowing, "What do you want, boy?"

"Pop, sit down and shut up. We've talked about this already," Ranma said in an icy cold voice. She rubbed her eyes for a moment and then continued in a flat voice, "Kuno, I need you to listen to this and not interrupt."

"Of course, Saotome-sama," Kuno replied.

"Some time ago, my father and I were traveling in China as part of our training. He decided that we should visit a training ground called Jusenkyo that he had read about in a guidebook. What he didn't know is that the training ground was a valley filled with cursed springs," Ranma said.

"What kind of curses, Saotome-sama? Your father seems to be in perfect health," Kuno asked.

Ranma smiled wryly and replied, "Appearances can be deceiving, Kuno. The curses are water-borne, so, oh the hell with it, let's just show him. Nabiki, would you do the honors please?"

Nabiki smirked and poured some cold water over Genma, who promptly changed into a panda.

"What foul sorcery is this?" Kuno gasped, as he jumped back in alarm.

"That is what the curse does. When someone is doused with cold water, they transform into whatever creature last drowned in the spring," Akane replied.

"But they are still the same person inside," Ranma added.

Kuno asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, very sure," Ranma replied. She asked, "Pop, why don't you write something to Kuno on your board."

Quickly a sign appeared that read, 'Convinced yet? Ranma, change me back!'

Ranma nodded to Nabiki who poured some hot water over Genma. Kuno watched in fascination as the transformation occurred.

"Did you really change into a panda?" Kuno asked.

Genma growled and said, "What did it look like to you?"

"I need to see it again, I can hardly credit the evidence of my own eyes," Kuno replied.

Ranma shrugged and Nabiki repeated the cycle, first pouring cold water onto Genma and then once the change was complete, reversing the process with the hot water she had in the kettle.

Finally, a dozen changes later, after Genma showed that he retained all of his faculties, such as they were, during his time as a panda, Kuno said, wearily, "Enough." He turned to Ranma and asked, "To think that you have to be child to that. My heart goes out to you, Saotome-sama. You must have the patience of a holy man to be able to put up with his foolishness. But, what does that have to do with me? Why would the fact that your father changes into a panda be of importance to either myself or Doctor Hojo? In fact, why is it of any importance whatsoever?"

"Because, I too fell into one of the accursed springs," Ranma replied, "And because of that, I have a curse. Thanks, Pop, you can leave." Her father glared at Nabiki for a moment and then stormed out, muttering something under his breath that everyone was perfectly content not to hear.

"Well, I'm sure that you transform into something much cuter than that ragged panda," Kuno said gallantly, "Someone as lovely as you would deserve nothing less than that."

Nabiki began to cough violently.

"Ah, Nabiki Tendo, that sounds like a very bad cold. Are you coming down with something?" Kuno asked politely.

"No, I just had something catch in my throat," Nabiki replied after a few moments of composing herself. 'Yeah, like my lunch trying to come up, after that sickening comment,' she thought.

"Kuno," Ranma said very gently, "Because of my curse, I have misled you about a few things. While I had my reasons for what I did, that at the moment aren't important, they allowed you to believe something that wasn't true. You have my sincere apology for that, especially since it ended up touching on your honor. If I honestly had realized that was a possibility, I would have attempted to show you the truth."

"You have me very confused right now, Saotome-sama," Kuno said, missing the slight wince that Ranma gave him when he used the honorific.

Ranma closed her eyes briefly and then said, again in that same soft, gentle voice, "This is my cursed form. I fell in the spring of drowned girl."

Kuno froze in shock and then asked, "Why should that matter, then? If you were already a girl, it wouldn't change you, correct?"

Nabiki began to beat her head on the floor. 'I knew he was an idiot, but really!' she thought.

"Sis, please don't do that? You'll leave dents, and that could mess up my footwork when I'm performing my exercises," Akane said.

Ranma picked up a tea kettle and poured the hot water over herself, triggering the change. Kuno winced as he saw the male Ranma Saotome appear before his eyes.

"This is truly the form you were born in?" Kuno asked.

Ranma swallowed and said, "Yes, the hot water returns me to my original form. I am, and always have been, the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome."

"So all along you have been making a fool of me," Kuno said, his face getting red with anger.

"It had nothing to do with you, Kuno. **I** convinced Ranma to pretend to be a girl, to keep Daddy from forcing an unwanted engagement on one of us. And at the time, I really didn't have a very high opinion of boys. I think you know why that occurred," Akane said, in much the same tone of voice that Ranma had been using.

"I will free you from this monster, Akane Tendo! Someone as fair and wondrous as you should not be forced to wed him against your will," Kuno exclaimed, furiously, "I, Tatewaki Kuno, forbid it!"

"Kuno, shut up! I LOVE HIM! Ranma is** not** a monster! No one is forcing me to do anything against my will! Ranma is the one that I desire to marry, to be the father of my children! Someone to grow old with!" Akane roared. Her eyes flashed dangerously as her battle aura began to almost crackle around her.

Kuno went ashen as all of his fury washed out of him, intimidated against his will by the display of power in front of him.

"Calm down, Acchan, I think you got your point across," Ranma said softly.

Kuno replied, "Yes, she did. She does truly love you, not that you deserve her."

"I know that, Kuno. But she picked me in spite of everything," Ranma said, "And I'm more grateful than I can say."

"Don't you dare put yourself down, Ranchan," Akane said, the warmth in her voice cascading around him, causing his cheeks to redden.

Kuno asked, in a suddenly tired voice, "Who else knows about your curse?"

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Pretty much everyone at school. The only reason they didn't tell you about it is because Doctor Hojo was concerned about how it would impact you. We had to wait to tell you until he said you were ready to face the truth about me."

"And I've made it clear what will happen if they give you too much of a hard time about chasing after a guy," Nabiki said. She smirked and said, "You probably will get teased a little bit, but since most of the guys in school were lusting over that cute redhead, I don't think you'll have too much of an issue."

"Why would you do that? There is no reason for you to protect me from the results of my own foolishness," Kuno said.

"Because we asked her to. It's not your fault that the pretty girl that you lusted after was actually a guy," Ranma said.

Kuno suddenly paled and asked, softly, "Does anyone at the school know what I tried to do?"

Ranma replied, "No, the only ones who know are Akane, Kasumi and I." He hesitated for a moment and then added, "And your sister."

"What did you attempt to do, Kuno-baby?" Nabiki asked.

"It's not important, Nabiki," Ranma replied.

Nabiki frowned and said, "I think it is, Ranma. Why else would Kuno-baby have handed you his family honor blade."

"Sis, just drop it. It really doesn't matter anymore," Akane said urgently.

Ranma and Tatewaki looked at each other with almost identical bleak expressions. Ranma said, "I was planning on giving that back to him. I think with his actions he has regained whatever honor he may have lost."

Kuno looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "No, not yet, Saotome-kun. I still have some issues to resolve. And some demons of my own to put to rest."

Ranma sighed and said, "I understand about having demons. Doctor Hojo has helped me with some of mine. I hope that he has been helping with yours." Again, he hesitated for a moment and then suggested, "And you might consider talking to Kodachi. She cares for you in her own way."

"You've been seeing the same doctor?" Kuno asked in surprise.

Nabiki asked, "How come I didn't know about that?"

"Sis, you don't need to know everything that happens," Akane snapped.

"Yes, I've had a few sessions with him," Ranma admitted, "And I've talked out some of my issues. I thought I had come to terms with my other form, but he even helped there."

"Truly he is a marvel," Kuno agreed, "He is helping me work out my anger over my father now that he has deigned to grace us with his presence." Kuno looked puzzled for a moment and then asked, "You said other form, not curse. Why is that? Do you not think of what happened to you as a curse?"

Ranma gave a wry smile and replied, "Since there doesn't appear to be a cure for what happened at Jusenkyo, I decided that it would be best if I accepted it as just another part of my odd life. Since it doesn't bother Akane that sometimes her fiancé is her fiancée, I just decided to get on with my life. Because of that, I'm a not as much of a water magnet as I used to be. So long as I spend some time as a girl, the fates seem to leave me be."

Kuno actually appeared to be considering what he had heard, and said, "Why do you suggest that I talk to my twisted sister, Saotome-kun?"

Ranma smiled briefly and replied, "I think you'll find that she isn't as twisted as she led you to believe. Mousse has been an interesting influence on her. And like I said, she does love you. The two of you need to stick together, no matter what else may come."

Kuno stood up and said, "You have given me much to think about, Saotome-san. But I believe I understand why you were unable to tell me the truth before." He gave a wry smile, and continued, "I probably would not have believed you anyway." Kuno actually laughed, a bit rusty, but a laugh none-the-less.

Ranma smiled at that and replied, "You're probably right about that. If it hadn't happened to me, I don't think I would have believed it myself."

* * *

Shampoo rushed into the Tendo home, carefully going through the door. "Nihao, Ranma!" she called gaily.

Ranma looked up from where he was sitting around the table with Akane and said, "Hello, Shampoo. Back from China, already?"

"Yes, Shampoo back from visit to China! This present for Ranma!" Shampoo exclaimed as she dropped a large golden bell in his lap.

"Gee, just what I always wanted, a large golden acorn," Ranma said, sarcastically.

Shampoo pouted prettily and said, "It Mao Mo Lin, legendary bell," Shampoo said.

"Are you bringing him a large bike to go with it?" Akane asked, her sarcasm going right over Shampoo's head.

"No, silly peoples. Shampoo give Akane matching bell," Shampoo said as she handed a small golden bell to Akane, "You keep as pair, and couple get married!"

"I get it, another matchmaking charm," Ranma said, "But why? Akane and I are already engaged."

Shampoo giggled and said, "It good luck charm, and has much spirit power, maybe Ranma and Akane be in bigger hurry to get married now."

Akane and Ranma blushed matching shades as Shampoo smiled knowingly.

"Hey, how come every time someone gets married, they try to get us to move up the date?" Ranma asked.

"Maybe because Shampoo want Amazon sister to know same happiness she find," Shampoo said, "Even if she only part time sister, and sometimes silly male."

Ranma grinned wryly and said, "Okay, you win. I love your bell, Shampoo." 'There's something about this bell that seems familiar, what is it?' he thought, 'Damn, what is it? It's making my skin crawl for some reason. Where's the old ghoul when I need her?'

"How was the rest of your visit?" Akane asked.

"Visit very good. Council happy that Shampoo and Ryoga married. Also, they think they may be able to remove curse from Airen. But much research still left, so we come back for school. Unfortunately, parents get lost, but not before they say they'll be back to see grandchild," Shampoo replied.

Akane gasped and asked, "Are you pregnant?"

Shampoo replied, "Shampoo not ready to be mother yet. Too much to learn first, so much to do." But then she grinned, slyly, and added, "Not mind all the practice though. Too too much fun. But maybe Akane already know that."

Ranma groaned and said, "Not another one. What's with all of the teasing?"

Akane blushed and said, primly, "We wouldn't know about that."

"Then what good is Ranma?" Shampoo asked, "He not live up to name."

* * *

Late that night, as the two of them slumbered peacefully in their bed, Akane woke with a start as she heard the loud tolling of a bell. She sat up, clutching her blanket to her chest, and asked, "What, what's that?" There, in front of her, was the large bell, glowing in the dark.

Suddenly, two large glowing eyes appeared on either side of the bell, and an eerie voice said, "BE MY BRIDE." The bell rang loudly.

Akane screamed, waking Ranma up. He jerked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and asked, "What the hell's going on?"

The bell rang again, and they heard a weird voice say, "BE MY BRIDE!"

"What?" Ranma exclaimed as he swung at the bell, missing it entirely. The bell started moving away from them.

"It's getting away!" Akane exclaimed as the two of them leapt out of bed. Unfortunately, they managed to get tangled up in the bedding and by the time they freed themselves the glowing bell was almost downstairs. The two of them chased after it, and Ranma caught up to it just as the bell neared the family room.

Ranma jumped feet first at the bell, and slammed into it, knocking the bell into the family room, where it stayed motionless. The two of them heard a loud cracking sound, and then barely seen in the darkened room, there appeared a long arm, ending in a claw.

Soun suddenly appeared, carrying a long spear, and stood next to the two of them. Ranma squared his shoulders and said, "Well, there's no sense in putting this off. Now we're going to see its true form." He walked carefully into the dimly lit room

Akane whispered, "Ranma, don't get too close!"

"Feh," Ranma said, with an expression of disgust, "I'm a martial artist. You think I'm afraid of some monster!" He neared the motionless figure, and pulled it up. "Okay, you, let's see your stupid face!"

The figure jumped up, revealing itself to be a giant cat. The figure went, "Me-e-e-ow!"

Ranma jumped back, and began shivering.

"A monster cat!" Soun gasped.

"Oh my, how cute!" Kasumi gushed from behind Akane.

The cat grabbed Ranma and began to hug him. "I'm so sorry! Please don't hit me!" the cat exclaimed.

Ranma remembered his lessons with Cologne and Akane and pulled himself back together. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" he asked, as he pried himself away from the cat.

"I'll make some tea," Kasumi said, as Soun turned the lights on in the family room.

* * *

The four of them sat around the table in the family room, after having listening to the Ghost Cat tell its tale, Kasumi still not quite back from making the tea..

"Oh, what a heartbreak!" Soun exclaimed.

"Seeking your lost bride!" Akane added.

Ghost Cat asked, plaintively, "Have you seen a girl wearing a little bell?"

Akane went white as she remembered the bell sitting in their room. "Bell?" she asked, the scene from the morning when Shampoo gave her the bell running through her mind, "Uh, isn't the little bell supposed to be a charm to bring couples together?"

Ghost Cat began to purr loudly, and replied, "It's a charm all right. To bring a girl together with ME!"

"Where is the small bell, please? Do you know?" Ghost Cat asked, his mewing beginning to get on Ranma's nerves.

'Now I'm beginning to remember this,' Ranma thought, angry at himself.

"Well, uh," Akane began.

The door to the family room slid open and Kasumi walked in followed by Shampoo, who was holding the handle to a Chinese takeout box in one hand.

"Aiyee, what big cat you have!" Shampoo exclaimed as soon as she set eyes on Ghost Cat.

"I thought this might take a while," Kasumi said, "So I ordered some takeout."

"That was so considerate of you, Kasumi," Soun said.

Ghost Cat began to beg, "Please, have you seen the small bell?"

Shampoo said, ignoring the hushing motion from Ranma, "I gave small bell to Akane."

"MY BRIDE!" Ghost Cat exclaimed as he tried to hug Akane, who kicked him in the face.

Ghost Cat meowed in angry protest, and then backed off sputtering as he saw the aura flickering around both Ranma and Akane. "TH-then you don't want to marry me?" he wailed, tears beginning to flow from his vivid eyes.

"I'm engaged to Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, "And besides, you're a cat!"

"With him!" Ghost Cat exclaimed, then he smiled craftily, and said, in a venomous purr, "Then if I defeat him, you must marry me!"

Ranma cracked his knuckles, thinking, 'Good thing Cologne cured my phobia.' "Well, if it's a fight you want, you can have one, but Akane isn't a trophy to be won. She won't marry you anyway."

Ghost Cat charged at him, only to have Ranma slam both fists hard into his jaw, knocking the cat back on its heels. "So-o you think you have beaten me," the cat said, as he transformed back into the giant bell, "Well, you shall see!" The bell lifted off the ground and floated outside and then disappeared over the roof of the house.

"Not much for power, but he's a stubborn little puss," Soun said, as he gobbled down some of the ramen that Shampoo had brought.

"Exactly where did you get these bells from?" Akane asked Shampoo.

"Little shop in Beijing, full of Chinese artifacts. Wanted cute present to thank Ranma and Akane for being friend," Shampoo replied, "Shampoo did not mean to make trouble for friends." She began to tear up.

"It's all right, Shampoo. No harm done. The cat ran off," Kasumi said kindly.

"But I think he'll be back," Akane said.

"If he is, I'll be ready for him," Ranma replied.

* * *

Night was beginning to fall the next day, and the wind began to pick up. Kasumi quickly began to bring in the laundry from the line outside, but stopped to shiver. "What a strange wind," she said, "So damp."

"The sun will set soon," Soun said from the doorway where he was watching his daughter bring in the wash.

"It will be night soon," Akane agreed, "and cats come out at night." She thought back to the night before, remembering what the Ghost Cat had said, 'If I defeat Ranma, then Akane will be my bride.' "Like hell I will, I'll take that fleabag out myself," she swore, making her father's heart leap for joy.

'Ah, young love. The two of them, destined to be,' Soun thought, 'Saotome, we have trained them well. They will defend each other to the end.'

"If it were only a regular monster," Kasumi said, as she set the basket down next to where Nabiki was sprawled out lazily on the floor in the family room.

"Not with his luck. It figures, it would be the one thing that he is totally phobic about," Nabiki responded.

"But," Akane began, only to be interrupted by her father.

"Ranma is no coward!" Soun exclaimed, "He is brave enough to face anything!"

Suddenly, Soun looked out. "What is that?" he asked.

They began to hear the sound of a bell approaching, getting louder and louder as it neared.

"That sound," Akane gasped, "It must be the Ghost Cat coming!"

Ranma entered the family room, closely followed by his father. Genma began to pontificate, saying, "Since time immemorial, it has been the sworn duty of martial artists to defend mankind from monsters!" Shivering with fear, Genma pushed Ranma outside, and then exclaimed, "So go to it, Son!"

Ranma went soaring through the open door, past Akane and Soun, and slammed headfirst into the onrushing Ghost Cat.

The cat recoiled in pain, and exclaimed, "As I feared, you aren't a foe to be sneezed at!" Tears began to flow freely from the cat's eyes, as he rubbed the spot on his head where Ranma had hit him.

"Get him boy! You have him scared!" Genma exclaimed as he picked Ranma back up from where he had fallen.

"Alas, the battle has already begun!" Soun exclaimed.

"Battle, huh," Nabiki said sardonically, "It looks more like the cat is crying to me!"

"Oh Ranma!" Akane exclaimed.

"Pop, quit pushing me!" Ranma said, as he stood up and brushed himself off, "I can handle this without your help."

"But what about," Genma began.

"Stuff it Pop, there's more important things to worry about. No one is gonna take my Akane, you hear me!" Ranma said, his aura beginning to show.

"Now prepare yourself," the cat said, still sniffing back tears, "In order to ensure your defeat and my marriage to Akane, I've prepared a Cat Hex!" The cat opened its mouth, showing its fangs as it yowled in triumph.

Ranma jumped back in alarm, as Soun gasped, "A what?"

Akane replied, "A Cat Hex, whatever that is!"

Suddenly a glow of light began to show around the bell hanging from the cat's neck, and the Ghost Cat vanished. The bell began to rise until it was floating over Genma's head, when with a loud 'SHHH' the light vanished as the Ghost Cat possessed him. His eyes glazed over and he lurched into motion.

"Saotome!" Soun exclaimed.

Akane gasped, "What?"

Ranma looked grim and asked, "Pop, what's going on?"

Genma reared back and his mouth stretched in a rictous grin, as a cat's meow came from his mouth. "Ha, ha," he laughed, "I have taken over your father's body." Genma began to approach, his arms out in a parody of a clawing motion.

Ranma smiled grimly as he exclaimed, "No way!"

The eerie laughter continued and then Genma said, in the cat's voice, "Yes, way! You fool, there's no way you can strike your own father!" The laughter began again as the cat-possessed Genma neared.

Ranma chuckled, a sound that sent chills through the rest of the crowd. 'I remember this now!' he thought in exultation. "Pop, I'll know you'll forgive me," he said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Meo-ow!" Genma said in surprise.

"After all, since time immemorial, it has been the sworn duty of martial artists to defend mankind from monsters, right?" Ranma said, his face grim. He ran at his father, his fists flying in the Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken, blurring with his speed, as he exclaimed, "It's exorcism time!"

Kasumi exclaimed, "Oh my, as soon as there was no cat in his face."

"He turned back into the Ranma we know and love, the jerk," Nabiki continued.

"But, Ranma's not afraid of cats anymore. Didn't we tell you?" Akane asked.

"What kind of insolent child are you?" Genma asked, in the cat's voice.

"A lucky one! 'Cause your fatal mistake was taking over that old geezer's body!" Ranma said in a voice as cold as ice, "Because, I have absolutely no problem in beating him up!"

"M-my only hope," the voice said as it released Genma, "Is to run away in Akane's body!" The bell neared Akane who used her trusty mallet to slam the bell hard into the courtyard wall, where it rebounded back to her. Using the mallet again, she began to hammer the bell.

"Okay, okay, let's drop the Akane idea," the bell moaned.

Akane hugged Ranma and said, "Now you see how much the two of us love each other."

Unfortunately, the Saotome foot in mouth disease struck, and Genma said, "He fought to save my butt, idiot."

Akane began to glow as Ranma backed away. "Uh, Pop, that wasn't the," Ranma began.

Akane swung her mallet, sending Genma soaring into the koi pond, sending a large wave of water into the air. "Panda no baka!" she exclaimed, just as the water landed on top of Ranma.

"Why me!" Ranma exclaimed.

The bell rang loudly as the cat yowled, "A NEW BRIDE!"

"What?" Ranma asked, just as the cat grabbed her in his paw.

"Oh, you're cuter than the other one," the cat said, causing a tic to start in Akane's eye. He licked Ranma from top to bottom.

Ranma grinned then and suddenly a loud "Meo-ow" came from her mouth as she allowed the Neko-ken to surface.

"No! That sound, can it be!" Soun exclaimed, "It's Ranma's Cat-fu. When his ailurophobia is too much to handle, he becomes a cat!"

"Daddy, he's overcome his fears. He deliberately let it out, because he's invincible as the Neko-ken master!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma's chi claws extended and she began to attack the Ghost Cat. The two of them tangled up in a ball of flying fists, and a cloud of dust arose around them. The sounds of two cats yowling were heard.

"A cat fight!" Nabiki exclaimed.

When the dust settled, Ghost Cat was obviously in pain, his coat battered, large knots of fur missing, while Ranma stood there with a feral look in her eyes.

"Y-y-you're as mean as an alley cat!" Ghost Cat exclaimed as it tried to settle the fur on its paw, "I'm not marrying you!" The cat disappeared back into his bell and soared high into the air, again vanishing behind the rooftops over Nerima.

"The demon is gone!" Soun exulted.

"Yes, but I can't help feeling sorry for him," Akane said.

Kasumi turned to Ranma and asked, "I'm sure everyone else is as curious as I am. How come you weren't petrified with fear? And why were you able to control the neko-ken the way you did?"

Ranma smirked and said, "Part of the training that Cologne has been putting Akane and me through was for me to learn to handle the neko-ken. Now, when I think of cats, I think of something else entirely, and I'm not afraid anymore."

None of them noticed Akane blushing in the background.

* * *

The next few days went surprisingly peacefully, until it was time for the first day of the next school term. Many of the students were milling around the school courtyard, talking about how they spent their vacation time, when suddenly a balloon lifted off from the school roof, carrying a sign that read, 'Tardy Student Punishment Week.'

"Tardy student punishment week? What the heck is that?" were the words on many of the student's lips. Suddenly, in the middle of the gate, a hole opened up in the pavement, and a periscope lifted up.

"Huh? A periscope?" one of the students nearing the gate exclaimed.

The clock over the main door clicked forward one more minute, showing that it was now half past the hour. The bell began to ring, and the principal burst out of the pavement, the periscope in his hand as he gaily began to cry, "Da bell has rung!"

"Ak, the principal!" several of the students exclaimed.

"None of you tardy bruddas getting pass me!" the principal exclaimed as he pointed at the students standing in front of him. He began to laugh maniacally.

The students cowered in fear.

Just as the final bell was finishing its chime, Ranma came out of nowhere with Akane close behind him, and he landed with both feet on the principal's head, driving him back into the pavement. Ranma exclaimed, "Just in time!" as he continued toward the door. The sound of a herd of elephants seemed to come from behind him as the remaining students ran after him, cheering.

"Hm, Did I just step on something?" Ranma asked as he looked back over his shoulder, "Nah, must have imagined it. Come on, Akane, we don't want to be late!"

"Well, if you hadn't overslept, we wouldn't be this close!" Akane growled.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault that Pop came by to fight this morning. I was ready until he tossed me into the koi pond and I had to change my clothes." The horde of students poured into the school building. If anyone had looked behind them, they would have seen the trampled figure of the principal pull himself off of the pavement.

"CURSE YOU RANMA SAOTOME!" Principal Kuno exclaimed, shaking his fist at the back of his nemesis.

* * *

The students all groused as the settled down into their seats in the auditorium. "I thought we were rid of that idiot," Ranma groused.

"No, I'm afraid my fool of a father is still in charge of the school, Saotome-san," Kuno said as he walked by, "Even though he has been charged with many crimes, the school board could not simply dismiss him. Innocent until proven guilty, they all said. But, all he can do is enforce the existing rules, so how bad can it be?"

As fate would have it, the kendoist soon wished he hadn't spoken. The principal walked over to the podium and announced, "I say it simple. Anybody comin' late dis week, get rewarded by cleanin' out da toilets!"

"Cleaning toilets? Pretty lame for him," Ukyo said.

Ranma frowned and said, "I don't know. He's got something up his sleeve. I just know it."

* * *

The next morning rolled around and once again Ranma and Akane were hurrying toward school. The two of them were racing toward the campus, balancing on the chain-link fence, bundled up tightly against the cold January wind blowing across the canal towards them. "Hurry up, Ranma," Akane said from behind him, "Or we'll be late!"

"Don't sweat it Akane," Ranma growled, "If that goon gives us trouble, I'll just kick his ass!"

Suddenly, Ranma heard the sound of a projectile coming toward him. He turned to see one of the principal's trademark pineapple bombs coming toward him. As it neared, he and Akane jumped off the fence, just as the bomb exploded behind them. Ranma ended up just missing a board-covered hole in the sidewalk.

The principal zoomed by them on a skateboard, saying over his shoulder, "Ey boy, I jus' hate fo' you to be tardy." The sound of his laughter drifted back to them.

"Why that dirty little son of a" Ranma exclaimed.

"We don't have time for that!" Akane growled, "He's trying to make you tardy!"

"Feh! We'll see about that! Come on, what are you standing around for!" Ranma exclaimed.

The two of them took off running after the principal, and as they neared, Ranma yelled, "YOU! What are you up to now!"

The principal gave a huge grin, showing his pearly teeth and said loudly, "Ranma Saotome, I **know** how you get to school!"

"So, what good will that do you?" Ranma asked as he raced by the principal at street level, followed closely by Akane who merely smiled cattily.

The principal looked at the booby-trapped sign that was sitting on top of the fence where he expected Ranma to be and cursed under his breath. "That brudda not playing by de rules!" the principal said, then he yelled loudly, "A man gotta be creative. Be ready to spen' dis week polishin' porcelain!" He took off quickly on his skateboard and passed the two of them again. "Take your time, li'l sister," he said as he passed Akane who simply shook her fist and growled at him.

"RUN! We only have three minutes!" Akane yelled as she looked at her watch.

"More than enough time!" Ranma exclaimed. They neared the gate to see the principal standing there with a large mallet in his hand, preventing the remaining students from entering.

"I jus' startin' to fight!" the principal exclaimed. He slammed the gate closed, preventing all of the students from entering. He jumped up on top of the gate and hollered in glee as he danced around, "It don't count 'less you inside!"

"OPEN UP! The bell hasn't rung yet!" several of the boys called.

In answer, the principal threw several brooms at them and said, I t'inkin' you better get ready fo' dose toilets! Do-tah!"

Suddenly, from behind him, they heard the sound of hundreds of feet. A horde of girls came pouring out of the schoolyard, knocking the gate down and flattening the principal. Behind them, Ranma and Akane saw the figure of the Ghost Cat.

"Hi, little girl, do you want a bell?" the cat asked as he neared them. Akane sent the cat soaring into the sky. The other girls cheered and picked Akane up on their shoulders and ran back into the schoolyard, again flattening the principal.

Ranma raced in afterwards. He yelled, "Coming through!" and landed inside the courtyard just as the bell was beginning to ring. As the principal staggered to his feet, Ranma pulled the gate back up and slammed it closed, trapping the principal on the other side of the wall.

The final peal of the bell sounded and the students began to laugh at the principal. "Tardy, tardy, the principal's tardy!" they taunted.

"Looks like you're going to be scrubbing some toilets!" Ranma exclaimed as they all headed toward class, leaving a fuming principal behind. As Ranma neared the school building, Tatewaki Kuno stepped forward.

"Saotome, I need a word with you," the young man said.

Ranma frowned slightly as he heard the lack of an honorific. While it didn't mean anything to him, the change from sama to san to kun then back to san, but now to nothing, indicated that something was amiss. "What's up, Kuno?" Ranma said cheerfully, masking his concern.

"After our conversation the other day about your situation, I actually pitied you," Kuno said, "And felt that perhaps I had wronged you. Even though you can change into a girl, to my knowledge you never took advantage of that fact. Something that most of the boys here could not or would not understand. So I believed that you were honorable in your own way, not behaving as a pervert, seeking only to satisfy your own lusts by ogling the bare flesh of the women here at school."

Ranma looked puzzled and replied, "Thanks, I think. There was a compliment buried in there somewhere, I believe. To the best of my knowledge, I have never used my other form in any way that would be dishonorable. Well, I guess flirting with the man at the ice cream parlor to get bigger scoops of ice cream may be pushing the line, but other than that I haven't. Why, do you believe differently?"

Kuno glared at him and said, "There is a rumor that the master of your school is a perverted old man that chased after women, stealing their unmentionables, and peeking at them while they bathed. And that all of his students are taught that behavior. If true, then I can no longer believe that you are honorable."

Ranma sighed heavily and replied, "The former grandmaster of the Anything Goes School did pervert his art in the manner in which you describe. I believe he even was able to recharge his chi using his lust for women. That is one of the many reasons I sought to defeat him. What he was doing was defiling the very school that he founded and I would never have followed those teachings. I, too, consider those to be not only dishonorable, but also an abomination against the art."

"That is well spoken, but how can one from such a school be considered worthy of the title Martial Artist?" Kuno asked.

"Consider this. Is Akane Tendo a martial artist?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, the fiery and spirited Akane Tendo is a martial artist of some skill. Not as good as mine own, of course, since few can match my grandeur, but still I would consider her as worthy of that title," Kuno replied.

"You are aware that she has been taught her family art?" Ranma asked.

"Of course, as would only be right. Since there are no males in the Tendo family, her father had no choice but to make one of his beauteous daughters the heir to the family tradition, if only to hand it down to a worthy son. Else, that tradition would be lost, and that must not happen," Kuno replied.

"Do you consider her father an honorable man?" Ranma asked.

Kuno looked bewildered at the questions, but answered anyway, "Of course, Soun Tendo is considered a great man of honor, a man worthy to be on the town council, and definitely worthy of respect. Why do you ask?"

Ranma snapped the trap shut and asked, "And you know that the Tendo family art is a branch of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, one that is predominately ground-based? That Mr. Tendo was a disciple of the former grandmaster of the school, but broke away from him later. That the art he taught his daughter Akane is indeed still the art of that grand master."

Kuno looked stunned and then replied, "I was unaware of that. But what, pray tell, does that have to do with you?"

"I, too, would never have anything to do with the perverted teachings of Happosai, the once grandmaster of the school. My victory over him was part of my attempt to regain the tarnished honor of the school from the one who had ruined it. That is my lifelong quest, to make the Anything Goes School a school known for its honor," Ranma replied proudly.

Kuno looked abashed for a moment and then gazed at him with respect. "That is indeed a worthy goal, Saotome. I believe that I have inadvertently besmirched your honor. I humbly crave your pardon."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I can understand you thinking that way. If all you knew of the Anything Goes School was what you heard about Happosai, I would have thought the same way. Think nothing of it."

"That brings me to the other matter I wish to have words with you about. That is the other thing that concerned me, and made me believe that you may have less honor than I believed you to have. I have discovered that there is another victim of Jusenkyo here in Nerima," Kuno began, "And I am curious as to why you did not let me know that the man my twisted sister is dating turns into a duck."

"Ah, Kodachi and Mousse told you about him?" Ranma asked.

"No, there was an unfortunate mishap at my home last night, where Mousse ran afoul of a spilled drink," Kuno said.

Ranma blinked thinking that Kuno had made a joke, but quickly realized that it was an inadvertent pun.

Kuno continued, unaware that his audience had lost itself in thought for a moment, and said, "I was most upset over the situation, though my sister informed me quite pointedly that it was none of my concern. However, in doing so, she let slip the fact that you also knew. You lead me to understand that Mousse was honorable, and yet I find that he hid his curse from me. What other dishonorable acts can he be guilty of? And by extension, it shadows your honor."

Ranma frowned again, and replied, somewhat stiffly, "I know of nothing that Mousse has done that would be considered dishonorable. I hope that you do not hold his other form against him. But the reason I didn't tell you about him also being a victim of Jusenkyo is that it was not my secret to tell. A true martial artist would never tell anyone a weakness about another martial artist. That truly would be dishonorable to reveal Mousse's weakness with cold water, that he becomes essentially defenseless because of cold water. That truly would be dishonorable if I had told his secret to anyone."

Kuno's face cleared up and he suddenly smiled. "Ah, thank you for clearing that up. I had not considered that point. Truly you are correct; a man of honor could not reveal a weakness like that. My apologies again for doubting your honor, Saotome-san," he said.

"Think nothing of it, Kuno. Again, I can understand your thoughts, without knowing the whole story there would be reason for concern," Ranma said. He frowned slightly and asked, "Do you have an issue with Mousse and your sister?"

Kuno pondered that for a moment and then replied, "I have never seen my sister this happy, and I would never want to destroy that happiness. So to answer your question, Mousse has my blessing to pursue my sister. But the man who claims to be my father refuses to see that and would part the two of them because Mousse is not of our people."

"The man who claims to be your father? That's an interesting phrase," Ranma said.

"Even if they prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he indeed sired us, I will never acknowledge that he is my father. My father would never have deserted us in our hour of need, and certainly that warped individual pretending to be Hawaiian is not worthy to be called our father," Kuno said. The tardy bell began to ring, signaling the beginning of class would shortly occur. "We must fly," Kuno said, "I may wish to talk later, Saotome-san."

Ranma bowed politely and then leapt up to the third floor window of his classroom, sinking down into his chair just as the final sound of the bell died out. As he did so, the teacher entered the class and closed the door.

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. I have managed to get several good ideas for this story from them. They have also helped me to make this a better tale. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

Lonewolfno1: Thanks for the offer, but I have bought all of the volumes that Viz has published in the second edition, plus for those seven or eight volumes I don't have, there are a few websites that have translations and summaries. The pairings have been a fun to work in. Kalen Darkmoon has a story where Cologne started a sister tribe in Nerima, so I probably don't want to go there, but it is a nice idea.

The-Shadow002: First of all, welcome aboard for the rest of the ride. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Better than Heart of Ice! Well, in the words of Kasumi, Oh My! VBG Again, thank you for all of the kind words, and I hope I can continue to live up to that praise.

Soggy-doggy: Thanks. I have a link to that website and have used it to research several of the volumes.

Silver Zero X: I know, but I couldn't resist the tribute to her other stories. And they really didn't give us dates, so I can pretend they are contemporary.

Ss4-link: Oh, I have that volume, they just didn't call it that in my translation. It was the battle dougi, or something like that. I may still work it in, just with a different female character. I'll keep that in mind when I get closer to volume 30.

Drakus: You'll just have to wait on Nabiki, that won't happen for many more chapters. I always liked Kodachi, and wondered what she would act like if someone did love her. This was my take on. Well, I have several things planned for Kuno, after all, there was one girl in canon who actually liked him, remember.

Lerris: I'm mostly following the canon story line, obviously, with my own twist to it. There should be some interesting challenges coming up, at least if what I have running around in my head actually translates into the printed word the way I want it to. By the end of the story, I believe I will answer the first question, again if the plot bunny that popped up hatches correctly, mixing my metaphors. As to solving all of the relationship problems in a few chapters, that always struck me as a bit much myself. I agree that I need to have a few imperfections pop up; it's just a bit difficult sometimes. Don't worry about the tone of the review, I always appreciate anyone who can tell me where I can improve. That's how I can become better as a writer. Thanks again for taking the time both to read this story and then to provide such constructive comments.

Redgrrl: I don't know about everyone getting their true happiness, but I do have someone in mind for Nabiki.

Innortal: I've considered bringing Happosai back, but I'm not sure yet. I having a hard time not wanting to write a version of the Bathhouse Battle story, for instance, but I don't really like him that much. At least this time I didn't just kill him off. I haven't decided exactly what will bring Herb into the story. And having Ranma get his curse locked would give that nice moment when Akane finds out he's come back, so I may do that again. We'll see when I start writing that story.

Daniel Kim: Akari may have someone when it's all said and done. She at least will make a few appearances. The Tendo Christmas gave a little respite before we get into some more chaos.

Kyuubi-sama: Rats, why didn't I think of that? LOL I should have done that, it would have made the scene with the presents that much more interesting. Oh well, opportunity lost. As to the other characters, they will continue to show up. Remember in canon, the same sort of thing happens, where a major character disappears for a while. This is still a mostly Ranma/Akane tale, butI do have things to right about. For example, Mousse and Genma will play a big part in the next chapter.

Shinigami: I can't wait until I get there myself and start writing those scenes. It should be fun. I have someone in mind for Nabiki, but he hasn't made it to the story yet. And no, it won't be the pauper prince Kinnosuke or whatever his name was.

Weebee: Good eye, yes this was a blend of those two Christmas stories. Not everything made sense to leave in the way I had them combined, so that's why the Ryoga and Kasumi scene didn't make it. That will probably show up somewhere in a later chapter. And to answer your question from the Different Path review, I do write on it as a change of pace to help me work things out in this story. This chapter would have posted Sunday as normal, except it didn't get betaed until today. The weekend was just too busy for her to get to it until now.

Borg rabbit: I have a plan for Kirin and the Seven Lucky Gods story line. If I can write it half as good as the way I imagine it going, it should be pretty funny, I hope. I need to go back and re-read that story to see what that final attack is.

John Tannius: I'll have to think that through. I may change my mind and bring the Gambling King in, though I'm not sure how Ranma was supposed to know about the Tendo's when he was six.

Iceman: Well, I'm not even sure they are allies. Nabiki in canon basically used him as a way to get money, and I haven't drifted from that opinion.

Raver Styx: Hinako won't be next, but I think she may show up sooner rather than later. Nabiki just has to wait, poor girl.

Firestorm2004: Yes, I merged one of the anime episodes with one of the OAV's to come up with those scenes. The song, Equal Romance, is one of the theme songs from the anime, plus it is the one that the girls actually sing in the OAV. I just changed who was in the group. It's not so much a crossover with InuYasha as it is a tribute. Though I do have a plot in mind for how Kagome and InuYasha could make an appearance.

Wonderbee31: I'm trying real hard not to make Souta a smarter Kuno, but it's really looking that way for a while, at least until Konatsu sets him straight.

Dragon Man 180: I think that between them, Kodachi and Mousse will take care of any objections that the principal might have. But I did think that he would be one of the ones interested in racial purity. Can you imagine his reaction if I had placed Shampoo with Tatewaki? LOL


	39. The Quest for the Hidden Spring

Chapter 39 The Quest for the Hidden Spring

Mousse gazed down at the paper in his hand, his face glowing happily. His grin grew as he realized that he would finally be free of the curse that he had so stupidly obtained. The map in his hand was the salvation he had looked for, ever since he had realized that his foolishness had been his undoing. Kodachi deserved a real man, one that didn't turn into a duck when wet. Hopefully, the note that he had sent Kodachi would explain everything to her, the one that said he was going on a trip; that he wasn't sure how long it would take, but that hopefully he would have a surprise for her when he returned. "I don't know when I'll see you again, my dear Kodachi, but there is one thing that I can say, the next time we meet I will be a whole man!" he exclaimed, oblivious to the crowd around him, "And when I see you again, I will ask you to be my bride."

A sudden stillness in the air startled the sometime duck, as Mousse turned around. There he saw the elder Saotome, standing there in his dingy white gi, with his arms folded across his chest. Genma demanded, "What's that about being a whole man, duck-boy?"

Mousse glared at him and replied coolly, "It's just that soon I can say goodbye to this stupid curse. No more turning into a main dish for me. And it's all because of this!" He foolishly brandished the paper, only to see it ripped from his hand.

"What's this boy? A map?" Genma said half to himself, as he perused the map. Unfortunately, it was written in some strange foreign language. None-the-less, he took off running, away from the furious Mousse.

"Give me that back, you fur ball!" Mousse cried as he took off in pursuit.

Genma growled back, "So what is it? Some kind of treasure map?"

"GIVE THAT BACK!" Mousse yelled as he tried to grab the map back.

As Genma ran past one of the houses, suddenly he felt his transformation occur as the woman watering her sidewalk doused him with water. Cursing to himself, which was the only thing he could do since he could no longer talk, he continued running, still trying to decipher the words on the map which he now realized was Chinese.

"Give me my map to the Japanese Nanniichuan!" Mousse exclaimed. 'Oh shit, I didn't need him to hear that, now I'll never get it back from him,' he thought with a groan for his own stupidity.

'Japanese Nanniichuan! A Spring of Drowned Man in Japan!' the panda thought with glee, breaking out into some sort of shuffling dance. He continued to flee in front of the increasingly angrier, not to mention, more desparate Mousse.

* * *

Once again the peace-loving residents of the ward of Nerima were treated to the sight of a panda dancing down the streets of their fair city, though some were wondering what was going on, since they were sure that there was no circus in town. The odd thing was that the panda was waving a piece of paper around in the air, and carried a sign reading, 'Free, I'm gonna be free!'

Running after the panda they saw the somewhat familiar sight of the young man who worked in the Nekohaten café. To their surprise, the young man, who was named after a hair care product they thought, was yelling, "Come back here with that map, old man!"

The panda broke into a shuffling trot, attempting to outrun the speeding Mousse. As the young man caught up to him, the panda veered to one side of the street, the side that was paralleling the canal. Mousse tossed out a couple of his weapons on chains, taking care not to hit the map, and wrapped the panda up in the chains.

Growling in anger, the panda whirled and sent Mousse flying toward him, propelled by his own grip on the chains. Then the panda moved slowly out of the way, as Mousse soared over the chain link fence and down into the icy cold water below.

"QUACK! QUACK!"

'I don't understand duck!' the sign the panda was holding read. He turned to head back home, after shedding himself of the chains, only to run into his son's fist.

"What did you do to Mousse, Pop?" Ranma asked, in a cold voice, his eyes looking like blue chips of ice, glittering in the sunlight.

Genma held up a sign that read, 'He was selfishly trying to steal,' FLIP 'This map I found that,' FLIP 'shows us the way to a cure.'

Ranma looked at his father turned panda and exclaimed, "You found a cure!" Then Ranma's face fell as he remembered that the map led to an abandoned spring. He looked at the panda and growled skeptically, "I just bet you just happened to find a map. Let's fish Mousse out and we can get the real story. Don't move, or I'll get angry." He jumped onto the fence and looked down to see the white duck angrily swimming around in the water. Ranma sighed and said, "I'm going to so regret this." He jumped down into the water and after his transformation was complete, gathered up all of Mousse's belongings that were in the water.

The duck paddled over to her and went, "QUACK!"

Ranma said, "Meet us back at the Tendo's Mousse, and we can talk about this." The duck nodded its head and launched itself into the air in the general direction of the Tendo home. Ranma pulled herself out of the water and climbed the ladder back up to the road where she found her father waiting for her. "Let's go get changed back, Pop," Ranma said.

'But the spring,' the sign read.

"Pop, is the map written in Japanese or Chinese?" Ranma asked sweetly.

The panda looked at the map, and then looked sheepish, which was an odd expression on the face of the panda. 'Chinese,' the sign read.

"And you still can't read Chinese, can you?" Ranma asked.

'Nope!'

"Well, then, doesn't it make sense to give the map to someone who can read it?" Ranma asked, rhetorically.

"Grwf!"

Ranma glared at the panda and said, "Then, since I assume you just said yes, you'll head back to the Tendo's with me and we can have Mousse translate." 'Waste of my time,' she groused to herself, 'but it would sure look strange if I didn't think it was real and want a cure for myself.'

* * *

Ranma and the panda made a quick trip to the Tendo home. Kasumi had taken one look at the soaking wet Ranma, who was shivering in the January cold, and practically forced the girl into the furoba to get warm. While he soaked in the hot water of the furo, his peace was disturbed by the panda walking into the furoba. Ranma yelled, "Pop, use some hot water to change before you get in here! Kasumi has complained several times about having to get loose fur out of the bath when you are done. She said the next time she had to do that, she was going to look for a recipe that called for panda."

The panda froze and dipped up a pail of water from the furo and dumped it over its head, changing back. The duck flew in from the hall and landed in the water, sending a wave of water sloshing into Ranma's face when the duck suddenly transformed into Mousse.

Mousse looked sheepishly at Ranma and said, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to do that."

"No harm, Mousse," Ranma said, agreeably, once he had spat the water out of his mouth.

The three cursed men soon found themselves soaking in the comfort of the furo. Ranma asked, "Mousse, can you read this map?"

"Of course," Mousse replied, "It starts out with a story about how the spring was created. It reads, 'Long ago, in the land of the rising sun, a pack of wicked kitsunes, or fox demons, made life miserable for the people. Then one day, a great monk from China,' the one who apparently drew this map, 'took pity on the people of this area. He cast a Kitsune destroying spell, which created a new spring, where there had not previously been one before, and all of the wicked kitsunes fell into the spring and every one of them took on the form of a man.' It then goes on to read that, 'Thanks to the great monk the villagers were free from the wicked kitsunes at last.' Though, apparently it didn't solve all of their problems, since now they had a pack of mischievous men running around and getting into all sorts of trouble."

"It has to be a magic spring, a Nanniichuan!" Genma exclaimed. He stood up and reached for a towel, and said, "Well, I must be going."

"Wait a second, Mr. Saotome, that's my map," Mousse said.

Genma turned and growled at Mousse, "I don't need your help."

"Still can't read Chinese," Ranma reminded him.

"Uh, Mousse, could you find it in your heart to forgive this foolish old man, and allow him to come with you on your quest?" Genma asked, abjectly.

Ranma smiled to himself and climbed out of the tub, and began drying himself off. "I'll come with you as well, Mousse, so I can keep him under control," Ranma said, "And share in the spring of course." 'Might as well keep up the charade, besides I've already missed the morning classes anyway,' he thought as he began to get dressed.

* * *

The bell rang signaling the end of the last class before gym. All of the girls in Akane's homeroom headed toward the gym, though a couple were complaining. "Do we really have to go to gym class?" one girl asked.

"Yeah, I hope those boys don't try to peep in the window again," a second added.

"Don't worry," Akane said with a big smile, "They won't be able to."

"Oh, Akane, did you do something?" Yuka asked.

Akane simply smiled and replied, "Well, Ranma and I set up a few things."

Meanwhile, inside the fence surrounding the schoolyard, Mousse, Genma and Ranma were staring at an empty pedestal, with puzzled looks on their face.

"Are you sure this is right?" Genma asked, "This is right outside Ranma's High School!"

Mousse stared at the map for a few more minutes and replied, firmly, "Yes, I'm quite sure. But according to the map, there should be a statue of a fox right here on this pedestal."

Ranma pointed to something white, glinting in the tall grass behind the pedestal. "You mean, like that one?" he asked.

Genma picked up the statue and hit Mousse on the head with it. "Thanks for the help," he growled as he put the statue back on the pedestal.

Then he picked up the map and attempted to read it. Ranma simply stood there with his arms crossed and exclaimed, "Idiot. What did you do that for? You still don't read Chinese!"

Mousse stood up and glared at Genma who gave him the map back. Mousse read the directions out loud, "Now, face the same direction as the fox and go one hundred paces."

Genma started running, counting as he went. He exclaimed over his shoulder, "Nanniichuan, here I come!"

"Hey, old man, wait for me!" Mousse exclaimed as he started running after Genma.

"Stop following me!" Genma exclaimed, as he swung a fist at Mousse.

Mousse growled, "Dirty little sneak. Trying to hog all of the water for yourself. At least you don't turn into a helpless little duck."

Ranma walked behind them, counting out his steps. As he neared the final numbers, he began saying them out loud. "89, 90, 91, 92," he said.

Mousse and Genma screeched to a stop as they neared the building. Suddenly, all sorts of booby traps went off, and a balance beam came swinging down at them. The two of them leapt backwards, only to land in some more traps.

Inside the locker room, the girls heard the sound of the traps being sprung, and began to giggle. "Let's go see if we caught a couple of peeping Toms," Akane said eagerly. All of the girls followed her out as she ran outside. There they found the yard was filled with the debris of the various traps and pitfalls that Akane and Ranma had set up the night before, hoping to catch whatever boys had been peering in the windows. But there was no sign of anyone.

"HEY, where are they?" Sayuri asked.

"They got away," Akane hissed, her fists clenched, "Which means, they'll be back!"

"Well, there's nothing left for us to do except to go get changed for class," Yuka said.

"That's not true. Shampoo think we should defend locker room," Shampoo said, "Are you girls with me?"

All of the girls began to cheer, and then followed Shampoo back in to the locker room.

Up in one of the trees, Genma and Mousse looked glumly at each other. "The spring is under the girls' locker room," Mousse said.

"Well, nothing is keeping me away from that spring," Genma growled, "All we have to do is figure out how to get in there." He looked at Mousse and asked, "Are you with me on this?"

Mousse smiled grimly and said, "For Kodachi, I'll do anything. She deserves a whole man."

"You two looked pretty stupid running away from all of those booby traps," Ranma said from where he was standing on the ground looking at them with an amused expression on his face. 'This is a lot funnier watching it from the sidelines,' he thought, with a smirk.

Genma smiled craftily and said, "Look here, boy. You want to help your old father out don't you?"

"What do you want now, old man?" Ranma growled.

"You can change into a girl and waltz right in there and none of those girls would take a second look," Mousse said, catching on to what Genma was suggesting.

"Yeah, right. You forget, they all know what I look like as a girl. And I ain't going in there and make Akane mad at me, so forget it," Ranma replied.

"Ungrateful boy, and to think of all of the hardships I went through to make you the person you are to day," Genma said, with tears streaming from his eyes, "How could you do this to your old man? I only want what is best for us!"

Suddenly, Ranma was drenched with water, as Mousse snuck up from behind him. Genma dropped down, and the two of them wrestled Ranma over to the door to the locker room.

"Stop it," Ranma cried, "I'm not going in there!" Then, with a mighty heave, Genma and Mousse tossed Ranma through the door, into the room. As Ranma flew through the air, she promptly closed her eyes and covered them with her arms so she couldn't see anything. With a loud crash, she landed on the ground at the very feet of the woman that she loved.

"Ranma, I'm surprised at you! What are you doing trying to sneak into the locker room?" Akane asked, angrily, "You, you!"

Ranma yelled, "Wait a minute, I haven't seen anything. My eyes are closed, and I don't want to see anything I'm not supposed to see. Pop and Mousse tossed me in here. It's not my fault!"

Akane's battle aura dissipated, and she looked at her with a puzzled look on her face. "Why would they do that?" she asked.

"Can you get me out of here first?" Ranma begged.

Akane smiled then for the first time and said, "Sure." She quickly fashioned a blindfold out of her gym shirt, glad that she hadn't started changing yet, and slipped it over Ranma's eyes. Then she helped the smaller girl to her feet, and began to lead her out of the room. Once they reached the safety of the outside, Akane closed the door, removed the blindfold and asked, "What was that all about? It better be a good story."

Ranma giggled as she saw that Genma and Mousse had disappeared from sight. "Pop and Mousse have a map that's supposed to lead them to a Nanniichuan, spring of drowned man. The map shows that the spring is supposed to be under the locker room."

"Oh that's wonderful!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma shook her head and said, "It doesn't exist anymore."

"Oh, Ranma, I'm sorry to hear that," Akane said, softly. Then she asked, "But if it doesn't exist, why are you here?"

"Well, I had to go along with a chance for a cure, didn't I? It would look sorta strange if I didn't," Ranma replied.

"Well, why didn't you just come here after school then?" Akane asked.

"Pop, Mousse," Ranma said as if that answered the question.

After a moment of thought, Akane realized that indeed Ranma had answered the question. She smiled and said, "They are a pair of idiots sometimes, aren't they?"

Ranma grinned and replied, "Well, Pop certainly is. Mousse is only thinking of getting rid of his curse so Kodachi won't be involved with a duck. So at least he's thinking about someone else besides himself, unlike Pop."

"So what are you going to do about this? I'm sure they expect you to find the spring," Akane asked.

Ranma got an evil smile on her face and said, "Well, first I'm going to do this." She pulled Akane to her and kissed her hard on the lips, causing Akane's heartbeat to accelerate.

"What was that for?" Akane asked, once she got her breath back and her pulse under control.

Ranma smiled wryly and replied, "For letting me have a chance to explain before you threw me out of the building. And because you looked so cute standing there."

Akane blushed and looked down at the ground, knowing that she had come within seconds of hammering Ranma before. She said, sadly, "I almost did hit you, Ranma. I'm so sorry."

"The important thing is that you didn't and waited for an explanation. Hell, I wouldn't have been surprised if you had hit me. The Akane that I used to know would have just known I was a pervert and wanted to see all of the girls naked, and wouldn't have waited for a moment before she pounded me. You trust me, and that makes all of the difference."

Akane's eyes were shining with unshed tears and she said, "I must have really been awful to you in the other timeline."

Ranma hugged her and said, "That person never existed. Don't fret about it. We are together now, and that's all that matters." She hesitated and then said, "We do have to let those bakas into the locker room. Can you let me know when it's safe to go in?"

Akane giggled and said, "Sure. Tell you what, let me talk to the girls, and then you can come on in once they've gone into the gym. After all, they know you and trust you."

"Thanks, Akane, that'll be a big help. Now I just need to go back and try to convince Pop and Mousse to wait," Ranma said with a sigh. She frowned for a moment and then added, "You know, if the spring really was underneath the girls' locker room, they wouldn't have thought twice about setting it free. I sure wouldn't have wanted to get free of my curse only to have you gain one."

Akane shivered at that thought and said, "You're probably right about your father. He wouldn't have even given us a second thought." She hugged her fiancée, and then headed into the locker room to scout it out.

Ranma headed off to find her father, who was cowering behind some bushes. "Pop, what were you thinking? Those girls would have killed me," she said angrily. Her battle aura was flaring.

Genma immediately went into the Saotome secret technique, Crouch of the Wild Tiger, and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," bowing on each 'I'm sorry.'

Ranma shook her head in disgust and said, "Akane'll let you know when the coast is clear in there." At that moment, from the open door of the locker room, they heard Akane call out, "It's okay to come in now. The rest of the girls are in the gym."

"You heard the lady," Ranma began, only to see his father and Mousse race to the door. Akane jumped out of the way just in time for the two of them to get stuck tightly in the door.

Ranma began laughing so hard that tears began to fall from her eyes. 'Idiots!' she thought as she walked behind them. She pushed her father hard and he popped out of the door like a cork coming out of a champagne bottle. Mousse then fell forward and landed on the floor.

Akane stepped around Mousse and then wrapped her arms around Ranma and the pair of them started giggling. Mousse stood up, dusted himself off, and then grinned. "We are acting pretty silly, aren't we?" he asked.

"Just a bit," Akane agreed, her eyes dancing.

"You'd better get in there and keep an eye on Pop," Ranma advised.

Mousse looked at her a bit strangely and then paled. He rushed in looking for Genma.

Ranma and Akane stood watching from the open doorway, until suddenly they heard the sound of the two men arguing. Cries of "You selfish bastard," and "So what are YOU going to do about it," were heard. Then they began to hear the sounds of combat, as apparently the two men decided not to share the Nanniichuan spring. There was a loud crashing sound, as if someone had driven a fist through the floor, followed quickly by the sound of water exploding out of the hole. Suddenly, they heard the roof give way and they backed up to see a geyser shooting out of the roof, and two figures flying up into the air.

One of the figures came falling back down and the panda landed in a tree. The other figure resolved itself into a duck, which flew back to the tree and quacked angrily at the confused panda. Then a small urn flew out of the spume and landed on the panda's head. He reached up and saw a small piece of paper in the urn. He unfolded it and read, 'Thank you for visiting the former site of the Japanese Nanniichuan. Due to lack of patronage, we have closed this location. Please feel free to visit us at our main location at Jusenkyo, or at our satellite location in the Mayan city of Tulum.'

"What's the matter, Pop? You don't look very happy," Ranma asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

'The spring doesn't work anymore,' the sign the panda held up read, 'I got my hopes up for nothing!' He glared at the duck, who quacked back at him. 'It's all you're fault, Mousse!' the next sign read.

Mousse flew up at him and pecked him angrily on the head and then flew away, heading for the Nekohaten.

* * *

The early morning sun had barely begun to peek over the horizon, chasing the dampness from the night before away, when Ranma was rudely awakened by his father.

"Boy, I've been lax in my training of you. I've allowed you to become soft with all of this easy laying around that you've been doing. So get out of bed and meet me on the roof of the dojo. It's time and past time for me to bring you to the next level," Genma growled.

Ranma wiped the sleep from his eyes and glanced over at his fiancée, who was still sound asleep, fortunately for the continued health of the occasional panda looming over them. "Give me a minute Pop, because I doubt you want to piss Akane off," Ranma said quietly, "You wake her up, and I won't have to worry about kicking your ass all over the compound." He carefully got out of the bed he shared with Akane and walked over to the dresser to get changed.

Shortly thereafter the two of them squared off on the roof, both of them armed with quarterstaffs. "Okay, boy, I won't go easy on you," Genma warned.

"Bring it on, old man," Ranma retorted, "You're too old and too slow to beat me."

With a roar, Genma charged down the peak of the roof, swinging his staff. With a brisk tattoo of wood hitting on wood, the two of them traded blows, none of which reached their intended target as they met the other staff. After several minutes of the pointless exchange, Ranma leapt back as Genma came in with a sweeping leg kick.

"What did I tell you, Pop? You're getting predictable in your old age. Maybe you need to just lie down in front of the shogi board, with a shawl wrapped around you," Ranma taunted.

Genma replied, in a low, dangerous voice, "I haven't taught you everything I know yet, boy." He charged again, swinging his staff, only to have Ranma block the flurry of blows.

Ranma yawned ostentatiously, and said, "Bo-oring. Come on, Pop, hit me with your best shot."

Suddenly, the two of them heard the sound of Kasumi's voice as she called out to them. "It's almost time for breakfast. You need to get cleaned up."

Ranma lost focus for one fatal second as he was distracted by Kasumi's voice. Genma cried in triumph as his last blow caught Ranma in the stomach and launched him off the roof toward the koi pond. "A true martial artist wouldn't get distracted in a match," Genma called after his son. Then his face changed to a look of horror as he saw Ranma land in the pond, sending water flying, and hit his head on one of the rocks lining the pond.

* * *

Akane watched over her fiancé, well fiancée since Ranma was still female, as the poor girl lay in bed, her head bandaged from her impact with the rock on the edge of the koi pond. It had been three days since the accident, when Ranma had been almost fatally distracted by something while he was sparring with Genma, and landed badly in the pond, striking her head. Fortunately, Akane had pulled her out of the water prior to her swallowing anything, and Tofu had not yet headed towards the clinic. She was still furious at Genma for his attitude about his son and why it wasn't his fault that the boy got hurt. She smiled grimly as she remembered her reaction to that comment, and how lucky the panda was that she was too worried about Ranma to do more than send him via Akane Air into the canal. Tofu opened the door and asked, "Any change?"

Akane yawned hugely, rubbing her eyes and replied, "Nothing yet, Doc. Ranma still hasn't wakened up." She stopped and then with a broken voice, she asked, "What if he doesn't wake up?"

"Oh, I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about, Akane," Tofu replied in his best bedside manner voice, though the look of concern in his eyes belied the cheerfulness of his reply.

"But it's been three whole days?" Akane wailed, the tears beginning to stream down her careworn and drawn face.

Tofu frowned slightly and said, "Akane, you've been here almost the entire time. You look exhausted. Please, he wouldn't want you to ruin your health like this. I know you haven't gotten a bit of sleep since this happened and Kasumi tells me you haven't been eating right either. I'm going to have to send you home."

"NO, I won't go. I belong with him!" Akane exclaimed.

Tofu's face grew stern and he snapped, "I don't need another patient, Akane. I'll keep an eye on him for you. And if you promise to go straight home and get some sleep, I'll let you stay here tomorrow."

Akane sagged her shoulders in defeat and replied, "Yes, Tofu." She stood up, kissed Ranma and said, "I'll be here tomorrow. You'd better wake up. We have a panda's ass to kick around."

* * *

Ranma finally roused from her coma, to find herself in one of the rooms at the Tofu clinic. Her hand was sore, and as she looked over to her left, she saw that it was being tightly gripped by Akane, who was sleeping lightly in the chair next to her. She tried to sit up in the bed, the slight tug of her hand enough to wake Akane.

"You're awake!" Akane cried in delight, "I was so worried about you." She leaned over and kissed Ranma several times before pulling back. Tears were streaming down her face. "How do you feel?" Akane asked.

"I feel fine, Akane," Ranma said in a soft voice, one that Akane had never heard before, "It's like I have finally awoken from a long sleep, a nightmare that I couldn't escape. But now, I feel better than I have ever felt before."

Akane looked surprised and asked, "Why are you talking in that voice? And so politely."

"Why shouldn't I be? This is how I've always spoken. Aside from my throat being a little dry, I sound just like I always have," Ranma replied sweetly.

Akane poured a glass of water and handed it to the other girl, who gratefully sipped it.

"Thank you, Akane," Ranma said as she leaned back against the headboard, the covers of the bed pooling down in her lap, exposing the thin t-shirt that she was wearing. She reached out and grabbed one of Akane's hands and said, "Thank you for being you."

The door opened up and Tofu came in. "Ah, finally awake, I see," Tofu said.

Ranma squealed and jerked the covers up. "Tofu-san, I could have been dressing," Ranma exclaimed, "This is most improper." She was blushing in embarrassment.

Akane and Tofu exchanged worried looks, and then Tofu said, "I'm sorry, Ranma. I should have knocked and gotten permission. But I am a doctor, so I do have to be able to treat you."

Ranma obviously thought that over for a moment, and said, "That's true, Tofu-san. Please forgive me if I made you feel uncomfortable. I'm just not used to being this undressed in front of you."

Again, Tofu and Akane looked concerned. "How are you feeling?" Tofu asked.

Ranma thought for a moment and then replied, "Aside from a bit of an ache in the back of my head, I feel fine. A little tired, possibly, Tofu-san."

Tofu raised an eyebrow at the third use of the honorific. He hesitated and then said, "I need to ask you some questions now that you are awake, Ranma. That was a nasty blow to your head, and I'm worried about the effect it might have had on you."

"Of course, Tofu-san. I will try to answer as best as I may," Ranma agreed, again in that extremely polite voice.

"Okay, first of all, can you tell me who you are and then who I am?" Tofu asked.

"Of course, Tofu-san. I am Ranma Saotome, daughter of Genma and Nodoka Saotome, and fiancé to Akane." She looked at Akane tenderly and squeezed her hand. Then she continued, "You are Doctor Tofu Ono, husband of Kasumi Tendo, and soon to be my brother-in-law," the girl replied. Tofu's only reaction was a slight tic in one eye. Akane frowned quickly at hearing Ranma describe herself as a girl.

"Very good," Tofu said, smoothly, then he asked, "What's the last thing you remember before waking up here?" He looked at Akane and shook his head with a warning look to quell the outburst she was about to make.

"Oh, helping Kasumi-chan hang up the laundry outside on the line, while Akane and Father were sparring by the koi pond," the girl replied. "Tofu-san, do I have anything else to wear? This is a bit immodest," she asked, blushing furiously, "Even though we're are almost family, and you are a doctor, it's just not proper for a young girl like me to be undressed in front of you like this, with only this thin sheet protecting my modesty."

'Hm, he thinks he's really a girl, has feminine modesty, and is being extremely polite. That blow to the head was worse than I thought. I need to talk to someone about this,' Tofu thought. He shook his head and replied, "I believe Kasumi packed something for you to wear. Akane brought it this morning when she came back."

Ranma smiled at Akane and said, "I'm so sorry I worried you, dear. But even though I was unconscious, I knew somehow that you were with me. I hope you didn't wear yourself out too much trying to take care of me."

Akane smiled uncertainly and replied, "Now that you're awake, I'm fine. It was only while you were out cold that I was worried."

Tofu walked over to the small closet and opened it up to reveal a small suitcase. He picked up the suitcase and brought it back over to the bed and placed it there. "I'll go let everyone know that you're awake while you get dressed," he suggested.

Ranma opened up the suitcase and her face fell. "Tofu-san, uh, this is embarrassing, but she didn't bring the right things for me to wear," Ranma said hesitantly, distastefully fingering the pair of boxers, "I mean, there are no proper undergarments. A proper lady can't go out in public without, uh, you know, and these are boys." Her face was bright red. "She's usually so careful about that kind of thing," the girl continued.

"Uh, well, Kasumi has been worried about you," Tofu replied, "As have all of us. You had us concerned."

"I'm sorry to have been such a burden, Tofu-san," Ranma said. She pouted prettily and said, "Well, as distasteful as it is, I have no choice. I can't be seen like this, not in public. Could you bring me some hot water? I'll just have to change into my cursed form."

Tofu face-faulted, and then stammered, "Of course, Ranma. I'll be right back. I was just setting a kettle on to boil so it should be hot enough."

"Thank you, Tofu-san," Ranma said politely.

"I'll be right back, Ranma," Akane said, as she followed Tofu out of the room. Once they got far enough away from Ranma, Akane asked, softly, "What's going on, Doc? Why is Ranma acting like a girl? Hell, he's acting girlier than I do."

"I'm not sure," Tofu replied, hesitantly, "But apparently the blow to his head has caused him to believe that he really is a girl. I can't imagine what could have triggered that. Has he been under a lot of pressure lately?"

Akane blushed and replied, "Nothing really comes to mind. He seemed happy the day before it happened. He was having a good time watching Mr. Saotome and Mousse chase around after what turned out to be a phony Nanniichuan spring."

"That doesn't sound like that could have done it," Tofu mused, "Let me give Dr. Hojo a call and see what he thinks. Meanwhile, keep on doing what you are doing and play along with Ranma."

"Sure, I thought that was what you were trying to tell me with that glare," Akane said, "I'll take the water in for Ranma while you call." She went into the small, immaculately kept kitchen and walked out shortly with a tea kettle. She smiled uncertainly at Tofu who was busily talking on the phone, and headed back into the room where her fiancée was waiting for her. "Here you go," Akane said with a fake cheeriness in her voice.

Ranma smiled happily at her and clambered out of the bed. Then she took the kettle from Akane and poured the warm water over her head. She grimaced slightly as she felt the transformation occur. He looked sadly at Akane and said, "I know you really prefer me in this form, Akane, and I don't really mind changing into a guy for you. I'm just glad you understand why I need to spend time as the girl I really am and can still love someone like me." He quickly changed clothing, spending as little time as possible naked in front of Akane, who had politely averted her eyes while he changed.

Once Ranma was done, he walked over and hugged Akane tightly, squeezing her up against his chest. Then he sighed and said, "I love you so much, Akane Tendo."

"And I love you, too, Ranma," Akane said with a smile. They stood there in an embrace until they heard Tofu clear his throat from the doorway, and then they sprang apart with reddened cheeks.

"I don't see any reason why you can't go home now, Ranma, but I'd like you to stay home from school for a while longer. Akane can bring home your assignments, if that's agreeable with her," Tofu said, "And I've called home to let them know that you are awake and are coming."

"Sure, Tofu-san, I'm still a bit shaky, I think, so staying home would be a good idea, though I do hate the idea of missing too much school. Even though I plan on running the household when Akane and I wed, I still need a good education. We can't rely on Nabiki to handle the finances once Akane starts teaching in the dojo," Ranma said.

"You don't plan on teaching?" Tofu asked in surprise.

To their surprise, Ranma giggled and replied, "No, silly, you know how much I hate violence. Father was so disappointed when I refused to learn martial arts from him anymore, once we came to live here, and he could teach Akane instead. I hated to do that to him, but it just doesn't interest me. I'd much rather learn flower-arranging and tea-ceremony. That kind of thing."

"Of course," Tofu replied smoothly, "I had forgotten for some reason. Too many things on my mind, I'm sure."

Ranma bowed politely to Tofu and said, "That's all right, Tofu-san. Is there any thing special that you would like me to cook for dinner tonight?"

"Um, er, no, anything will be okay," Tofu replied, "But please take it easy. That was still a very hard blow to your head."

"Until this evening then, Tofu-san," Ranma said, "Come on, Akane. I'm sure Kasumi could use our help at home. And I can get some proper clothing and change back."

Tofu watched as the two of them started home. He cursed briefly at how once again life had thrown a curve ball at Ranma and then headed to the phone again.

* * *

Once Ranma and Akane reached home, Ranma stopped by the furoba to drop off the clothing that he had been wearing and then changed genders. She missed the look of disappointment that flashed quickly across Akane's face as she turned to go upstairs to change.

Akane walked into the kitchen to find her sister. As she had expected, Kasumi was sitting in the kitchen, sipping from a cup of tea. Kasumi said, "I've talked to Tofu so I know all about Ranma. Don't worry, Akane, he'll be fine. Tofu talked to Doctor Hojo, and he said the best thing we can do right now is go along with this fantasy of Ranma's. He was curious about why Ranma decided that he was actually a girl. Has he been under any kind of stress lately?"

Akane blushed faintly and shook her head. "I don't think so. Aside from his father being his normal pain in the a"

"Akane!" Kasumi exclaimed.

Akane giggled and said, "I was going to say arm, Sis. But to answer the question, nothing really comes to mind."

"Well, something had to set this off. I know the blow to his head was pretty bad, but to come up with a whole new life story," Kasumi said. She paused and then asked, "How has she been acting? Tofu says she isn't really the same person."

Akane looked like she was about to cry and replied, "She's acting very much like you, sis. You know, very sweet and kind. She said she hated violence, and wanted to be a housewife. And that she was glad that I loved her even if she really was a girl."

Kasumi took her into her arms and patted her soothingly on the back. "I wish I knew what the trigger was for this sudden personality switch."

"I wonder if it was all the pressure his father put on him to be the best," Akane said, softly, "Or the pressure Daddy and Mom keep putting us under to have children." Her cheeks went rosy at that thought.

"How are you two handling that?" Kasumi asked quietly.

"Well, we promised you that we would wait until we got married, so there's some tension there, I suppose," Akane replied, slowly. She blushed bright red as she said, "But it's a lot tougher than we thought."

"That's it, maybe," Kasumi replied, thoughtfully, "The tension between what your hormones are telling you to do, and the pressure from Daddy and Auntie about having heirs to the school, and the fact that you want to wait until marriage before having sex. He finally snapped under the strain, and this is his way of coping with it. If you're both girls, then he may think he doesn't need to worry about that."

"If that's so, then he's wrong," Akane said, the tips of her ears glowing. She mumbled something under her breath.

"Hush, she's coming," Kasumi said.

"How can you tell?" Akane asked in surprise.

Kasumi shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I'm not really sure to be honest. Maybe I can hear the stairs creak, or I'm just sensing something. I've just always been aware of what goes on in the house."

"Maybe it's the house's wa telling you," Akane said, half in jest.

"Odder things have happened," Kasumi agreed.

"Hello, big sister," Ranma said shyly from the doorway. She had changed clothing and was now wearing a jumper over a red and white striped shirt. On the jumper, the word 'CHINA' was picked out in white letters, and she had put her hair up in a loose ponytail.

"Would you like some tea, Ranma?" Kasumi asked. She had a hard time not reacting to the shy, polite girl that was standing there, talking in a sweet voice.

"Please," Ranma replied, "And do you need me to help with dinner tonight?"

"Shame on you, you know that Tofu said to take it easy," Kasumi gently chided the younger girl as she poured the other two girls a cup of tea. Handing each of the girls their cup, she poured a bit more in hers and then took a sip, calming herself down.

"But I don't want to lie around the house and do nothing," Ranma said in protest.

"Not today, dear," Kasumi said firmly, "If my husband says it's okay then tomorrow we can do the laundry together. Now, if anything feels odd, let me know. Ringing in your ears, spots in front of your eyes, anything."

Ranma looked down at the floor for a moment, and then replied, "Yes, big sister Kasumi." She sighed deeply and said, "I just hate to be so much of a burden for you."

Kasumi smiled and replied, "Ranma, you're not a burden. You've brought so much delight into this old house. Daddy is so much happier now that you are here, and I haven't had this much fun in years. And don't forget, because of you, I am the happiest woman alive because you helped me with Tofu."

Ranma blushed furiously and said, "I'm glad that you are happy. I just hope that Akane and I can be that blessed."

"Oh, I think you will be," Kasumi responded, "Both of you deserve that."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Ranma and Akane were working on the schoolwork that Nabiki had picked up from all of their teachers. Surprisingly, the teachers had been very understanding of Akane's absence the last two days while she had been tending to Ranma, and had allowed them to make up all of the work that they had missed. Unfortunately, that also meant that there was a great deal to do. Nabiki had also brought back a get well card from all of Ranma's friends, one that she had carefully screened to make sure that it didn't say anything that could upset Ranma. The two of them were sitting close together in a companionable silence, their pens busily scratching out the answers to the assignment they were currently working on making the only noise. Finally, with a sigh of relief, Ranma put her pen down and massaged her hand to attempt to remove the cramp that she was feeling.

"All done?" Akane asked, in surprise.

"Well, not quite," Ranma replied, "But my hand was hurting from holding my pen for so long that I had to give it a rest." She reached over and gave Akane a one-armed hug, and then rested her head on the taller girl's shoulder.

Akane put her pen down and said, "I could use a bit of a break myself. But we can't rest too long. Remember, Nabiki said that we need to turn the first half of the assignments in tomorrow."

"I know, but I'll think better with a few minutes of cuddling," Ranma said, with a cute pout.

Akane giggled and said, "I think we can squeeze that into our schedule." She placed one arm around Ranma's shoulders. The two of them sat there in contentment, though Akane was unsure how long she could continue to pretend that there was nothing wrong with the way Ranma was behaving.

After a few minutes of enjoying each other's company, Ranma smelled the aroma of fresh-baked cookies, and her eyes lit up with delight. "I'm going to go see if Kasumi will let us have some of those cookies. Would you like some milk, or tea?" she asked.

Akane replied, "Milk, I think. That always seemed to go better with cookies for some reason."

"Okay, I'll be back soon," Ranma said as she reluctantly pulled herself away from Akane and stood up. She stretched, arching her back, and then headed down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, she heard the roar of her father's voice coming closer.

"RANMA! Where are you, boy?" Genma roared as he came around the corner from the front door. He stopped in surprise when he saw her standing there on the bottom tread and said, "Oh there you are. What's this I hear about you giving up on martial arts?"

"Father, there is no need to yell. You're upsetting the wa of the home doing that, and it really isn't very polite," Ranma replied.

Genma blinked in astonishment at hearing that kind of dulcet tone coming from his son, currently in his cursed form. 'When did my son start channeling Kasumi,' he thought. However, before he could say anything, Ranma started speaking again.

"Besides, what ever happened to asking me how I am? After all, I was out cold for the last three days," Ranma asked, doing her best Kasumi imitation.

Genma flushed angrily, but then replied, "Since you're up and walking, I know that you are fine. And your mother talked to Tofu and he already said you weren't showing any signs of injury. Now, answer the question!"

"What question was that, Father?" Ranma asked.

Genma growled in anger and replied, "Tofu said that you were against violence and were giving up martial arts. I didn't sacrifice the last ten years of my life to see you run away from what I taught you. And why are you talking like this?"

"But Father, I don't like martial arts. I get all sweaty, I break my nails, and I can't do a thing with my hair," Ranma complained, "Besides, you have Akane to teach and she likes martial arts."

"What?" Genma spluttered in shock, "You are my heir, and the one to carry on the teachings of the Saotome School, not Akane. Now go change and come meet me in the dojo. You've obviously gotten soft, and I need to beat that out of you."

"No, Father. I refuse to train with you anymore. I would much rather spend my time doing something more productive," Ranma replied, tearing up, ready to go into a full-blown cry.

"I WILL NOT HAVE MY SON ACT LIKE THIS!" Genma roared.

"I'M NOT YOUR SON! I'M YOUR DAUGHTER!" Ranma screamed. The tears began to flow and she ran blindly up the stairs, trying to get away from her father saying those horrid things about her. She ran into her room, brushing past Akane who had been standing just outside the door listening to the row and threw herself on the bed, her tears quickly soaking her pillow.

Akane quickly followed her in and joined her, pulling her into her lap. Ranma put her head against Akane's chest.

"How could he say things like that? I'm not a boy, I'm a girl!" Ranma wailed, as Akane tried unsuccessfully to soothe her. "I hate him, I absolutely hate him!" Ranma continued.

Akane began rocking back and forth; gently caressing Ranma's back, trying to calm the distraught girl down. Slowly, the rocking motion and the caresses began to work its magic and Ranma began to relax, listening to the sound of Akane's heartbeat. Akane looked wistfully at the girl in her lap, hoping that soon she would remember who she really was.

Genma came roaring up the stairs only to see Akane glaring at him. "GET OUT!" she yelled, "You won't hurt Ranma anymore!"

Ranma cringed at the look of anger on her father's face, and she buried her head into Akane's shoulder, refusing to look at him any more.

Kasumi came rushing up and stood toe-to-toe with Genma. In a voice that he had never heard before, Kasumi hissed, "You are not welcome here, Mr. Saotome. Get out now and don't return until I tell you that you may come back. Can't you see the harm you are doing to Ranma? Your presence is undoing all of the good that we have accomplished today and may cause a relapse."

Genma gazed at Kasumi and suddenly gulped in fear. He didn't know how he had missed the steel in her core, but she was radiating power, a power that was all too familiar to him, since he saw it in his wife every time he did something foolish. He opened his mouth and then saw Kasumi's eyes get cold. He did the one thing that he was best at and fled.

Akane continued to hold Ranma in her arms, as the red-haired girl shivered. The tears had started again, until finally Ranma had cried herself to sleep. Akane awkwardly, with Kasumi's help, placed her in the bed. The two of them shared a bleak look, as they now truly understood why Tofu had warned them to go along with Ranma's fantasy.

Kasumi said softly, "It will turn out fine, Akane. Doctor Hojo thinks that this will only last a short time before he comes out of this. Until then, it'll be our job to keep him safe."

"Thanks, sis," Akane said.

Nabiki added from the doorway where she was watching the tableau, "You can count on me, Akane. I won't let anyone hurt my family. I called Auntie Nodoka and let her know what happened. Tofu had already told her the story, but the only thing the panda-man heard was that Ranma had given up on martial arts. She's going to give him a piece of her mind when Genma gets home. And all of his friends understand what happened, and agreed to wait until he gets back to school. Ukyo said to give Ranma a hug from her and tell him to get better."

Akane smiled sadly, and said, "I just wish we could get a break. I want him back."

Kasumi and Nabiki hugged Akane. Nabiki said, "You have to be strong for him, little sis."

"I can only pretend so long, Nabiki. I can't hide my emotions the way you can," Akane said.

* * *

The next few days went peacefully enough, especially since Kasumi had banned Genma from the premises after his performance the day Ranma had returned to the Tendo home. Akane had eventually managed to calm Ranma down once Genma had been chased off, but it was obvious to both Akane and Kasumi that Ranma had been severely shaken up by her father, since she spent most of her time as a girl. Her emotional state was still extremely fragile and she showed no signs of remembering that she actually was male normally. Akane was also beginning to unravel, as her concern over her fiancé continued to mount. Pretending that everything was fine and that this was her Ranma was taking its toll on her. Kasumi kept one eye on her, beginning to worry about her sister's mental state.

Kasumi could tell at dinner that the smiles on Akane's face and her laughter were both faked for Ranma's benefit. At the end of the meal, Kasumi asked, "Akane, please help me in the kitchen. I could use the company."

Akane replied, "Sure, sis. You go ahead and work on the rest of the schoolwork, Ranma. There's not that much left to do for tomorrow."

"Can I help, Kasumi?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi smiled gently and replied, "You've already helped with the laundry and cleaning the house. Let someone else have a turn."

"Okay, if you're sure you don't need my help," Ranma said, "May I be excused? Dinner was excellent as always, Kasumi."

"Certainly, dear," Kasumi replied.

With that, Ranma gracefully stood up and walked down the long hall to go upstairs. Kasumi and Akane gathered up all of the dishes and took them in to the kitchen.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?" Akane asked.

Kasumi replied, "I'm getting worried about you, sis. You look like you're starting to come unglued. Those smiles you are giving Ranma don't fool me."

Akane wailed, "I miss my fiancé. I like this Ranma, the way she acts, but it isn't the same. I want my sparring partner back, the boy that will be the father of my children. I want that arrogant smirk of his back on his face. I can't bear to see Ranma look so uncertain."

"I was afraid that it might be that, Akane. All I can say is to be patient," Kasumi said gently.

"But it's been so long!" Akane exclaimed, "And there's been no sign of him regaining his real memories."

Kasumi said, "I miss my little brother, too, Akane, but we just have to have faith that the Ranma we both love will come back. I have read some of the books that Tofu has on the subject, and all of them say that the suppressed personality will return, given enough time. Or if whatever triggered the personality change is removed, that will sometimes bring them back."

Akane immediately blushed as a thought flashed through her brain. Kasumi frowned slightly and said, "I certainly hope what you are thinking is not what I think you are thinking. It wouldn't be proper and besides it may not work."

Akane looked at Kasumi innocently and replied, "I have NO idea what you are talking about, sis." She thought for a moment and then asked, a worried expression on her face, "I don't know how much longer we can keep Ranma home from school. While we were working on homework this afternoon, she asked if I thought Tofu would let her go next week. What are we going to do on Monday if she asks? It's not like she's really weak anymore. Especially since she's been helping you around the house. Even Ranma will figure something out if we stop her from going next week."

Kasumi frowned slightly and replied, "Oh my, that could be a problem. I honestly don't know. I think Tofu was hoping that this would all be over before then."

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the comments and reviews. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below.

WeeBee: I was trying to show that even Kuno can change if given the right sort of help. And playing on his sense of honor was one approach that I thought would make him pay attention.

RanmaSaotome103: Grumble, I thought I had fixed most of those already. Thanks for catching them. I have reloaded those chapters so that the corrections are in them. Just goes to show you, no matter how many times you read something, or how many proof-readers you have, something will get through.

XeroReflux: The guy's nickname was Lucky, I forget what it's short for. He probably will make an appearance if it makes sense.

Ss4-link: I thought it would be a bit more realistic if he doesn't remember everything that happened in the original timeline, or that the memories are a bit foggy. I know I don't remember everything that ever happened to me four or five years ago, and with all of the junk that Ranma went through, some of the episodes wouldn't be as memorable. The Ghost Cat showed up again on New Year's Day when he kidnapped Shampoo, in a different episode. That will probably find its way into this story somehow. Well, the red hair had to come from somewhere, so I figured what the heck. And Kenshin is another of my favorite stories.

BTB: I'm glad both of you enjoy the story. A little forewarning can be helpful.

Innortal: Actually, I was thinking about doing exactly that, having Ranma go after the tea-kettle thing. Definitely want Ranma trained by Herb. He is the toughest opponent that Ranma actually faced before Saffron, at least in my opinion.

Lerris: I do intend to have things that aren't in either the manga or the anime. It's just that right now, that particular muse is being silent.

Kyuubi-sama: That's a good suggestion about the Gambling King. I may use that. I never did understand how Ranma could gamble away the Tendo dojo when he was six anyway.

Materia-blade: Hopefully this chapter and the next will be big enough.

Badgerwolf: I try to keep a balance with all of the characters. And yes, I think both Kagome and InuYasha would bring Souta crashing back to reality pretty quickly if he pulled a Kuno.

Psycho King: Just didn't have room for them in that last chapter, and I had spent a lot of time with Ukyo and Konatsu in the two previous. They should show up in the next chapter if it comes together the way I want it to.


	40. Big Trouble in Nekonron

Author's Note: There is a mild lime scene in this chapter, more implied than anything else.

Chapter 40 Big Trouble in Nekonron

That evening, as Ranma began to get ready for bed, Akane stopped her and asked, "Could I have my fiancé in bed with me, tonight?" She looked at the red-haired girl, with huge puppy-dog eyes and a slightly quivering lip.

Ranma pouted prettily for a moment and then gave in. She smiled shyly and nodded her head, saying, "Bring me some hot water while I change into some boxers."

Akane hugged her and said, "I'll be right back." She ran out the door and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Ranma shook her head and sighed. "The things I do for that girl," she said, shaking her head, "But she's worth it." Ranma quickly undressed, and pulled on a pair of boxers and a loose t-shirt. By that time, Akane had returned with a glass of hot water and handed it to her. Ranma poured the water over her head and changed genders.

Akane changed into a similar outfit and climbed onto the bed, holding her arms out. Ranma smiled briefly and joined her on the bed. The two of them hugged. "Thanks for doing this for me, Ranma. I just feel better in your arms when you're a guy," Akane said softly.

"Since you're the one asking me to be a guy, I don't mind. If it had been Father, then that would be a different story," Ranma replied, with a gentle smile. His smile turned a bit wry and he said, "And it's not like I'm not used to the way this body feels after the months I've had this curse."

Akane moved in his arms, pressing her lips hard against his. She felt glad inside as Ranma deepened the kiss, his arms pulling her tight against his chest. For a moment, she lost herself, believing that her Ranma was back, but then she remembered that he was lost somewhere in his mind. 'I hope this works,' she thought as she began to caress his body.

"Akane!" Ranma gasped as Akane's hand reached its final destination, where no hand had gone before. Then the sensation he was feeling drove all remaining thoughts from his head.

* * *

Ranma woke up slowly; his eyes squinting against the bright sun pouring in through the opened curtains, and found Akane still snuggled up next to him. He glanced down at her and saw her eyes staring at him with an odd hopeful look in them, and then as she realized that he was awake, her cheeks began to redden. 

"I can't believe we did that, Akane," Ranma said softly, "That was so unlike you." Ranma blushed furiously and said, "And I never knew that I could feel that way as a boy." He bent down and lightly touched her lips with his. Then he rolled out of bed and headed for the closet where he pulled out a cute sundress, and then grabbed some underwear from his dresser drawer. "I'm going to get cleaned up and change," he said as he headed out of the room and down the stairs to the furo. He missed the look of sorrow that flashed across Akane's eyes as she realized that her Ranma still wasn't back.

Silent tears streamed down Akane's cheeks as she lay back in the bed, her hopes dashed.

Kasumi walked in and took in the situation at a glance. "No change, I take it?" she asked, as she walked over to her sister and pulled her into an embrace.

Akane shook her head.

"Oh my, and I was so hoping that what you two did last night would break him free," Kasumi said. She hesitated and then asked, "How far did you go?"

Akane blushed and replied, "Sis, Ranma and I can still keep the oath we swore. But, it was further than we've ever gone. And he enjoyed what we did, I could tell."

"Where is he?" Kasumi asked, gently.

"He went downstairs to clean up and to change," Akane replied, her eyes dull.

"Akane, don't lose hope, please," Kasumi begged, "Try to keep your spirits up. I know it's been difficult for you, seeing a stranger looking out of Ranma's eyes."

"It's worse than that, sis. I'm starting to really like this version of Ranma. She's so nice, so gentle, but I want my Ranma back, too," Akane said, "This Ranma would make someone a fine housewife one day."

Kasumi just held her sister, feeling completely helpless.

* * *

Ranma slid the sign over showing that the furoba was occupied and then closed the door behind him. He placed his neatly folded clean clothes on top of the washing machine, and then took off the things he had worn last night, tossing them into the small hamper next to the dryer that Kasumi used for soiled clothing. He walked over to the small stool and sat down. After drawing a bucket of cold water to start washing his body, he glanced down to where Akane had touched him the night before. 'Why did that feel so right to me, what we were doing? It felt so good, almost like it was meant to be that way,' he thought, 'Was what I felt what a real boy would feel?' He giggled for a moment, and then sobered up. 'Why did she all of a sudden decide to do that? I thought we agreed not to cross that line. Would she really rather I was truly a boy, instead of this sham?" he wondered. He felt a dull pain beginning to throb right behind his eyes. 

"Does she like me better as a guy? Should I try to pretend to be male for her, and deny what I am?" he said out loud, "No, I don't see how I could do that and stay myself. Oh Akane, what am I supposed to think now?"

* * *

Cologne stopped what she was doing at the Nekohaten and froze suddenly. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to pin down exactly what she was sensing. 

"Great-grandmother, what is wrong?" Shampoo asked as the old woman stopped in the middle of the doorway.

"There's something huge coming into the city, with an enormous battle aura. I haven't seen anything like it before," Cologne muttered.

"I never thought I'd hear the old woman say that," Mousse mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately for the young man, while Cologne was old, she wasn't deaf, so he paid with his impertinence with a sharp rap on the back of his head from her cane.

"It's coming this way!" Cologne exclaimed.

"Aiyee, Shampoo sense it too. What can it be?" Shampoo added.

Cologne frowned irritably and replied, "I have no idea, but we'll have a chance to see it."

Suddenly, through the windows of the restaurant, they could see a large black mass rumbling down the street, completely obscured due to the large aura cloud hanging over it. Once it went by, Cologne rushed outside and started following it. "Come on, whatever it is, it's headed toward the Tendo dojo!" she cried as she hopped down the street. Mousse, Shampoo and Ryoga followed close behind, with Shampoo holding onto Ryoga to ensure that he didn't wander off.

* * *

"Akane, would you tell everyone that breakfast is ready?" Ranma called from the kitchen. She carried a large tray filled with bowls of soup over to the table in the family room, with Kasumi following close behind with the rice cooker, and a bowl of pickled cucumbers. The two girls set their burdens down, with Kasumi then heading back into the kitchen, while Ranma gracefully knelt down at the table and began to serve the rice. Soun was still reading his paper, though an observant man would have seen that his eyes were actually staring at Ranma. Akane walked in from the hallway, followed closely by Tofu. From the expression on their faces, it was obvious that they had been talking about something, and that neither of them was happy with the results. Akane walked over to her fiancée, and wrapped her arms around her in a brief hug. 

Nabiki walked in, saw Ranma wearing her sundress and sighed. Her clever eyes saw the pain in Akane's face that she was hiding from Ranma. 'I wonder if the local zoo can arrange for a panda to be returned to China?' she thought, 'That lazy bastard has hurt our family just once too often. I'm not sure how much longer Akane is going to be able to handle this.' She glanced over at Tofu and saw that he had the same concerned look on his face that she was sure was on hers. She sat down next to Tofu. As she did so, Kasumi walked in with the tea and placed that on the table. Then she knelt down and began helping Ranma serve the rest of the meal.

"Thank you for helping this morning, Ranma," Kasumi said pleasantly.

"You're welcome, Kasumi-chan. I enjoy doing the housework," Ranma replied, a bit absently. She rubbed her forehead for a moment.

"Are you all right?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I seem to have a small headache, Akane. Nothing to really worry about, though. I'm sure it will pass. Thank you for asking though, that was very sweet of you."

Tofu frowned and said, "If it keeps hurting, or gets worse, let Kasumi or me know about it, Ranma. Don't try to tough it out."

"Don't worry, Tofu-san. I don't like pain, so if it doesn't go away, I'll come looking for you," Ranma said, with a gentle laugh.

Suddenly, Ranma and Akane eyes narrowed in concentration. A small furrow appeared across Ranma's brow as she said, "Something's coming."

Akane added, with a slight tremble in her voice, "Something big."

Nabiki stood up and started walking toward the back of the house. With a loud crash, the exterior wall blew in, sending everyone crashing against the opposite wall. Ranma landed in Akane's lap, who instinctively embraced her, Ranma at first burying her head in Akane's shoulder. Then Ranma looked up, and turned in Akane's arms so she was facing the exposed yard.

There, a large black shadowy mass stood, a loud trumpeting sound coming from it, with what appeared to be sparks flaring around what they could see, with glowing red eyes. Then the shadow collapsed, the image resolving into a large Indian elephant, complete with a howdah on its back, and chains running from golden caps on its tusks.

"An elephant?" Soun said in surprise.

"Oh my, how cute!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"That's no ordinary elephant. Did you see that incredible battle aura?" Akane gasped, "What we thought was its body was actually its aura!"

The elephant trumpeted once more, then stared at the group in the wreckage with beady eyes. Apparently dissatisfied with what it saw, it trumpeted again, tail swishing angrily. Then its ears perked up, its trunk straightened out and it looked happier. It turned and raised its trunk to one of the trees on the property, and a slender foot appeared from out of the tree branches and stepped on the trunk. The elephant lowered its trunk, bringing a young girl, dressed in pantaloons, red shoes on her feet, and a red and blue tunic stepped into view. Her orange hair was topped with a flat cap, with long purple ribbons on either side. She glared at the scene in front of her.

"A girl elephant trainer?" Soun asked.

"Well done. Good girl, Jasmine," the girl said as she petted the elephant on its forehead.

"Happosai! Where Happosai!" she demanded in a highly accented voice.

Akane growled, "That pervert doesn't live here."

"When he was defeated for the mastery of the school, we turned him over to the women of Joketsuzoku where he was tried for his crimes and punished," Nabiki drawled from the safety of the hallway.

"My home!" Soun wailed.

"Oh my, Daddy, everything will be fine," Kasumi said soothingly.

The girl glared at them, and said, "I talking here. Where is Happosai?"

"As Mr. Tendo said, he is not here. He has never been here in fact. Can I ask why you are looking for him, young lady?" Ranma replied, calmly, once again apparently channeling Kasumi.

"He responsible for this! Lychee need give him this!" the girl exclaimed, who was apparently named Lychee. She pulled something out of her pocket and threw it at Ranma, who caught it.

"W-what is this? A scroll?" Ranma asked in shock as she stared at the purple oblong object in her hand, trying to read the odd symbols written on the outside cover.

"This Scroll of Luck has been handed down for generations!" Lychee exclaimed as she pointed her finger at the scroll, "Oh Happosai, because of you, I, I, give me back my carefree youth!" She reared back, clenching her fists in fury, and then cried out to the darkening skies.

The lightning crashed as the clouds parted. From the hole in the cloud, beams of light sprang out in all directions as a strange wooden ark descended from the sky. Everyone ignored the girl as they gazed up into the sky in astonishment.

"What? What is that?" Soun asked in shock, as he hooded his eyes to see.

"Live long enough, and you see everything," Cologne said from where she, Shampoo, Mousse, and Ryoga were standing at the gate to the Tendo compound.

Lychee clenched her fists again and growled, "Will you listen to me?"

As the vessel descended from the heavens, they began to see that there were several people standing on the deck. One, a young man, was holding a rice bowl and pointing a pair of chopsticks up in the air.

"Just who are you?" Ryoga asked.

The young man replied, coolly, "I am the master of the unbeatable martial arts school: Seven Lucky Gods Martial Arts! I am Kirin!" He suddenly struck a pose against the dragon emblem blazoned on the sail.

Lychee exclaimed, her eyes shining, "My Prince!"

"I've finally found you! The one foretold in prophecy," Kirin exclaimed, "The woman chosen by the Seven Lucky Gods! Come!"

Lychee came closer, clasping her hands in joy, and repeated, "My prince!" She started running toward the ship, repeating the words. She opened her arms as if to embrace the young man.

"Who are you?" Kirin asked coldly.

Lychee screeched to a stop in shock.

"I have no use for such as you. You do not possess the scroll," Kirin said, frowning, his eyes narrowing.

Lychee gasped in dismay.

Nabiki asked, "Hey, Ranma. Isn't that the scroll in question?"

Ranma looked down at the scroll in her hand.

Kirin said, "Ebiten."

A small figure moved up and cast something, crying, "Use a shrimp to catch the finest fish!" Suddenly, a cord wrapped itself around Ranma's arm. With a mighty heave, the fisherman pulled back his fishing pole, dragging Ranma toward him, pulling her up into the boat.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, as she rushed forward.

As Ranma soared past him, Kirin snapped the line with his chopsticks, allowing her to fall into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Ranma asked in shock, as she struggled to get away from Kirin, "Put me back this instant!"

"You creep, what are you doing with Ranma?" Akane asked as she tried to spring to the boat.

Kirin moved closer and exclaimed, "Do not presume to board my ship uninvited! You shall learn your lesson through pain!" He placed his bowl of rice in front of him and readied his chopsticks. With a cry of "Seven Gods School Secret Attack: Hundred Chopstick Sting!" he began flicking grains of rice at Akane.

Her battle aura flaring, Akane focused her ki. She screamed, "Genko Fenikusu," and a glowing ball of ki flew from her hands at the ship, blocking the rice from hitting her, but driving her backwards away from the ship. "GIVE ME BACK MY RANMA!" she cried, as the ball of ki was batted away by one of the crew swinging a large halberd, hitting it with the blade of the polearm.

Kirin frowned slightly and motioned to his crew. "The scrolls of the Ultimate Technique are now assembled!" he cried in triumph. He turned to Ranma and exclaimed, "Finally, the world belongs to the two of us!" He reached around and tried to pull Ranma to him.

Ranma protested, saying, "Hey! Put me back on the ground. I want my Akane!"

Quickly the ship soared back into the sky, leaving a frustrated and angry Akane behind. The last thing she heard was a despairing cry, "Akane!" from the mouth of her fiancée.

Akane's face grew cold as she watched the ship fly out of reach. The clouds opened up to reveal that the ship was actually suspended from a large hot air balloon. Quickly, she whirled and tossed a pail of water on Mousse who quacked at her in anger. "I don't have time for that Mousse. You get up there and keep an eye on that ship. I'm going after them and bring Ranma back," she said, her eyes flashing.

Mousse quacked in response, and launched into the air, and flapping his wings, soared off in pursuit of the ship.

"Akane! You can't! I won't let you!" her father cried.

Akane turned on him, her aura flaring as she snarled, "Ranma is MY fiancé, and I'm getting him back! And no one is going to stop me from doing that!" She visibly shook in anger and then took a deep breath. Calming, she added, "Daddy, what would Ranma do if that were me in that ship? He would be after them."

"She's right, Daddy," Kasumi said, "You know that's true."

"Besides, she's not going by herself," Cologne said, "Sonny boy is my student, and no one is going to take him away. We're going with her." She looked at Ryoga and Shampoo, who nodded grimly back at her.

"But you don't even know where they are going!" Soun continued to protest.

"Just how hard will it be to track a flying ship," Akane retorted.

Cologne cackled and replied, "Besides, they come from a small pagoda in China. I know where it is, at least more or less. The Seven Lucky Gods are fabled warriors from China's interior. A region called Nekonron. But why would they come to Japan?"

Nabiki replied, "It must have been that scroll. Kirin said something about the two halves of the ultimate technique."

"Wonderful! But how do you plan to get there?" Kasumi asked.

"I don't know yet," Akane admitted. She turned to Lychee who was still stunned, mumbling, "My prince," in a disbelieving manner.

"And I think we'll take this one with us," Akane said, "I want to know what Happosai has to do with all of this, and she's the key."

Lychee turned and whistled, the elephant picked up its ears and raced over to her.

"Wait a minute, missie," Akane growled, as she grabbed Lychee, "This is your fault. If you hadn't thrown that scroll, you'd be up there, not my Ranma."

Lychee began to cry, and said, "Lychee sorry, I did not know. I thought scroll was unlucky. You help Lychee, Lychee help you save your friend. I have boat."

"Good, that answers that," Akane said, "Give us a few minutes to pack, and we'll head to the dock." She turned to Kasumi and said, "Call Ukyo and Kodachi and let them know what happened. We could use the help."

Kasumi nodded and headed toward the phone while Akane raced up to her room. Cologne called after her, "We'll head to the café and get our things. We'll keep an eye on Lychee for you." She turned to the young girl and said, "Okay, come with us."

* * *

In short order, the war party assembled at the nearby port where Lychee led them onto the deck of a single-masted ship. They raised the sail, and began the slow process of tacking out of the sheltered harbor and out into the open sea, knowing that they had to go as fast as the little ship would sail. "What can you tell us about that scroll, Lychee?" Cologne asked once the expedition was underway. 

"Years ago, my grandmother was riding her elephant, also named Jasmine, by the shore of the river by our village," Lychee replied, "When she came upon a small man, dressed all in brown. He told her a horrific story, about how he overheard the members of a strange procession talking about the sacrifice of this young girl to the Seven Gods. That it would complete this scroll allowing them world domination. He swore that they would not get away with that, that he couldn't allow a young girl to be sacrificed to somebody's whims. He followed and stole into their headquarters and made off with one half of the scroll. The man was badly wounded and threw the scroll to my grandmother, telling her to take it for world peace."

"And that young man was Happosai?" Akane asked.

"Yes, grandmother nursed him back to health, and he told her his name," Lychee replied.

Ukyo growled, "So Ranma was kidnapped because that old freak stole the scroll."

"And Ranma-sama's going to be some sort of sacrifice?" Konatsu mused.

"Not if I remember the story correctly," Cologne replied, "I think it's more likely that this Prince Kirin intends to marry Ranma."

The rest of the Nerima crew goggled at her in astonishment. Then Akane began to laugh, almost hysterically. When she finally calmed herself down, she shook her head and said, "Only Ranma could get in this kind of mess. I wonder what Kirin will do once Ranma realizes that he really is a guy and proves it."

Now it was Lychee's turn to stare at the rest of them. "The girl who stole my prince is really a boy?" she asked in disbelief.

Cologne cackled and said, "Yes, sonny boy is male. He is just suffering from amnesia at the moment and thinks he is a girl that turns into a boy, instead of what he really is." She turned to Lychee and said, "Okay, dearie, tell us your story. Why did you come searching for the old pervert?"

Lychee turned and looked up into the sky, gazing at the cold light of the full moon and sighed. Finally, she said, "I've searched for so long for my prince through many hardships. And the moment I find him, like some ironic twist of fate, he's suddenly wrenched from me!" Then her shoulders began to shake, and to everyone's surprise, she laughed bitterly, and added, "Wrenched from me by a man." Tears began to flow from her eyes as she cried, "Surely Lychee cursed by the Gods. Can anyone know the unhappiness that Lychee has known? Please, prince, come back to Lychee?"

Akane went over and hugged Lychee, startling the other girl. "We'll get our princes back, Lychee. I'll save Ranma from Kirin, and you can have him."

"What Lychee do to deserve this?" Lychee asked.

"I don't know," Akane said, "But why did you come to our house anyway? If you had kept that scroll, you would be with your prince."

"Lychee know that now," the other girl replied, then her eyes lit up as she asked, "You hear Lychee out? All of her unhappiness up to now?"

"Sure, go ahead, be my guest," Akane said kindly. Then she added, "So you've been carrying that scroll around for the last ten years, hoping that some prince would carry you off on his white horse."

"You do understand. But only tragedy follow Lychee," the other girls replied, "It all started when Lychee only six year old. First, house burn down, then evil pirates come and attack."

"How'd you get the scroll in the first place?" Ukyo asked.

Lychee replied, "Grandmother got it from a man named Happosai. Lychee think it bad luck, so Lychee search for him to get rid of it. Then Lychee hope prince will come."

"So that's why you came to our house? To find the old man," Akane gasped, "Somehow, you thought that old man would be there. I wish you'd known that Ranma had taken care of him."

"It truly is a shame, child. Happosai is a prisoner of my people," Cologne said calmly.

"Then Lychee come all this way for nothing, lose scroll for no reason," Lychee wailed.

"That's true. If you had stayed at your home, Kirin may have found you," Akane said, in a not unkindly voice, though privately she was thinking about how far she could send Lychee with her mallet.

* * *

Meanwhile, high above the clouds, the ship of the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Arts School flew through the moonlit sky, driven forward against the wind by its large propeller spinning furiously from the aft end of the large yellow dirigible. Unseen by all of the crew, Mousse hid in the rigging with his head tucked under one wing, lulled to sleep by the wind whistling through the rigging. 

Ranma followed the small man into what could be best described as a throne room. A rich, red carpet stretched the length of the columned room, from the ornately carved double doors to the raised platform at the other end. The other retainers were sitting on either side of the carpet runner as the man, Ebiten, led Ranma into the room. Ebiten proclaimed, "I, Ebiten, head disciple of the Seven Lucky Gods School, have brought the woman at your request, sire!" Behind them where several dozen retainers as well, blocking the exit from the room.

"You have done well," Kirin replied from his throne-like chair on the dais.

"Oh my, aren't we formal. Hard to believe coming from a band of rotten kidnappers," Ranma said, her arms folded across her chest, glaring at them.

Ebiten blanched and whispered, "Watch your language!"

"Don't you think I deserve some kind of explanation? Why don't you just tell me what you intend to do with me?" Ranma continued, ignoring the frantically waving gnome next to her. Kirin sat cross-legged on his throne, waiting patiently.

"Hey, lady. Stop that! You mustn't talk to Master Kirin that way!" Ebiten exclaimed.

"It is no matter, Ebiten," Kirin said calmly as he rose from his chair.

"But, Sire!" Ebiten said.

"For it she who is to become my blushing bride," Kirin said.

Ranma stammered, "B-blushing bride?"

Ebiten said, "True, by the laws of Nekonron, the man and woman who bear the halves of the legendary scroll must be joined in matrimony. This is the half that Master Kirin bears, see." He pulled a matching scroll from his pocket.

"Come now, become my bride and we will build a home together. Shall we begin our lives anew?" Kirin said. He turned to Ebiten and asked, "That's what I'm supposed to say, right?"

"You were exactly correct, Sire!" Ebiten replied.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I love someone already! You are stealing me from my beloved Akane!" Ranma protested. She clutched her head in agony for a moment, and then to her surprise, swung a fist at Kirin who blocked it with his chopsticks. Angrily, she swung the other fist, and clobbered Kirin on the chin, sending him crashing back onto the dais.

"Master Kirin!" Ebiten cried. The retainers froze in shock as the pickled vegetable on the rice bowl in Kirin's hand began to slide off of the ball of rice. Before anyone could do anything, it slid completely off and fell crashing to the floor.

"Aahhh, how dare you woman!" Ebiten exclaimed.

"Huh?" Ranma replied, "I, uh, I don't know what came over me! I don't believe in violence. Why did I hit him? And so hard."

On of the retainers pulled a leaf-bladed spear from the wall and cried, "Your effrontery will not be tolerated!"

"Hold, Bishamonten!" Kirin exclaimed.

"Huh!" Bishamonten growled.

Kirin stood back up, a red spot high on his cheek from the blow, and glared at Ranma.

Ranma stuttered, "I, uh,"

Kirin motioned to Bishamonten and Ebiten, and said, "Take her away for now."

Ebiten nodded at Bishamonten and the two of them dragged Ranma out of the room, and took her to a small cell and tossed her in against the wall.

"Hey, wait a second!" Ranma exclaimed as she heard the door clang shut with a loud metallic clank. She felt around the walls of the darkened room, and asked herself, "What is this? It's like a storage shed or something."

Suddenly, a small panel in the bottom of the door slid open. Ranma turned to see someone push a small tray with a bowl of rice and a bowl of pickled vegetables through the slot and then close the panel, again causing the room to grow dim. She shrugged and picked up the tray and then sat down with her back to the wall. "Rice and pickles," she said, "Well, it's not like I haven't just had that before when I was on the trip with Father. Though this is an odd way to treat a bride. Of course, I did just hit that poor man. I wonder what could have possibly come over me. That's more like something Akane would have done."

Ranma's stomach complained as if to ask if her mouth had forgotten about eating. She giggled at the noise and said, "Oh my, that certainly wasn't ladylike. Hm, I wonder what they'll think about my curse. I doubt they'll be as accepting as Akane and my friends. Maybe I could use that to get out of this mess. But, it would be so embarrassing to be wearing a dress as a boy. What a dilemma." After daintily eating her meal, she looked up and noticed that there was a small amount of light coming from a window on one wall. She stood up and moved the curtain away to see a full moon shining outside, causing the clouds to look like a wonderland.

Ranma sighed to herself, and said tenderly, "Oh, Akane, I miss you." She crumpled to the floor and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Ranma was rudely awakened by the clanging of the door as it was thrown open, the light streaming through the open door. "Come, woman," Bishamonten said, "It's time for breakfast. Prince Kirin is waiting for you to join him after your ablutions." 

"Thank you, what was your name, oh yes, Bishamonten. Could I trouble someone for a change of clothing? It doesn't have to be a dress," Ranma said as she stood up.

"One of the women is about your size and she has graciously left some clothing in the bathing chamber," Bishamonten replied.

"Very good, tell her that I appreciate the loan," Ranma said, as she followed Bishamonten to the bathing chamber. Ranma went in, and washed up quickly. Her eyes lit up in appreciation when she saw the pretty dress that was waiting for her, even though it put paid to her plan to show everyone her curse. "It just isn't proper for a boy to wear a dress," she said to herself as she changed.

Bishamonten knocked on the door and asked, "Are you about finished in there?"

Ranma opened the door and replied, "Yes, you may escort me to breakfast." She followed him down the long hall to the same presence chamber that she had seen the night before and was escorted to an odd looking dining area. Kirin was already seated at the table, and there were pair of identical twins sitting on some sort of turning platform above them. Ranma sat in the ornately carved chair opposite Kirin.

Kirin smiled pleasantly at her and asked, "Have you assented to be my bride, as our laws say you must? We reach my home tomorrow."

One of the servants placed a bowl of rice in front of her, to match the one already in front of Kirin. Then he placed a pickle on the bowl of rice. Ranma grimaced slightly and asked, "First, tell me what this is?"

The platform turned and the servant then placed the same pickled vegetable in Kirin's bowl. "Why, it's breakfast, of course," Kirin replied, with a tone of surprise in his voice. Then some more pickled vegetables were placed in Ranma's bowl. She shuddered.

Kirin noticed her discomfort and asked, "What is it? Why don't you eat?"

Ranma sighed and said, "Not to be a difficult guest, but I'm curious. How can you bear to eat the same old rice and pickles day after day?"

"That is not true. Yesterday, we ate pickled cucumbers and Chinese cabbage," Kirin protested.

"That's not what I meant, Kirin-san. I want to know if you have any other kinds of food here," Ranma asked, politely.

"Well, then, what would you like? Pickled turnips? Pickled greens? Pickled scallions, perhaps?" Kirin asked.

Ranma sighed again and replied, "I've eaten worse on my travels with my father, but honestly, while it is better than nothing, it is basically subsistence fare." She just shook her head and added, "Things like hamburger, or fried eggs." She got a dreamy expression on her face and said, wistfully, "Or chocolate ice cream."

Everyone stopped in astonishment. The twins exclaimed, "What?"

"You eat bird embryo?" Kirin asked in disgust.

Ebiten walked up and said, "In Nekonron, our custom is to eat nothing but rice and pickled vegetables. Now that you are to wed Master Kirin, you must conform to our custom."

Ranma grimaced and said, "I think not. Besides, I have absolutely no intention of marrying him. My true love will rescue me from him." She stood up and stormed out.

"But Lady Ranma," Kirin protested as she slammed the door behind her.

As Ranma fled down the hall, still angered at the presumption that she would be willing to marry the man who stole her away from Akane, she grumbled to herself, "You should have at least eaten the food before you stormed off like that, baka. Now, what are you going to do about breakfast?"

Suddenly, she heard someone hiss at her from one of the small rooms. She turned to see the familiar face of Mousse peeking out from underneath one of the odd hats the attendants wore on the ship.

"Mousse!" Ranma cried, in a loud whisper as she rushed to him.

"Hey, Saotome, are you doing all right?" Mousse said softly, his eyes darting around in constant vigilance.

Ranma shrugged for a moment and then said, "I'm better now that I've seen a friendly face. Where's Akane?"

"All of your friends are coming. They are on a small boat that Lychee had, one I've seen from the air when the clouds have cleared," Mousse answered, "You would be very proud of Akane Tendo. She is determined to rescue you."

Ranma's face softened as she said, "I miss her so much. So do you guys have a plan? We are supposed to reach Kirin's home sometime tomorrow."

"I'm not sure what she has in mind. I've been on this vessel since she told me to fly after it, so I haven't had a chance to talk to her," Mousse admitted.

Ranma frowned for a moment as another dull ache began to form behind her eyes. She winced and then pulled the partial scroll out of her pocket. She handed it to Mousse and said, "Take this and fly to Lychee and give her the scroll. You can leave the outfit with me after you change. I think maybe it's time for Lady Ranma to disappear for a while."

Mousse grinned at her and said, "Lead on, Ranma. The kitchens are deserted right now."

"Actually, there's a bath not too far from here. Why don't we go there?" Ranma suggested.

Mousse replied, "Well, I was hoping for something to eat before I left."

Ranma grimaced as her stomach reminded her that she had foregone breakfast, as it gurgled. Mousse hid a smile as Ranma blushed and said, "Well, maybe the kitchen is a better idea. I just couldn't stomach the thought of eating nothing but rice and pickled vegetables."

"It's this way, Ranma," Mousse said with a grin.

Ranma glared at him and followed him to the kitchen where indeed it was empty, only a few pots sitting on the counter evidence that anyone had been here. Ranma took a look around and quickly threw together a quick meal using the ingredients that she found, though she did find it a bit odd that there were other things besides rice and pickled vegetables in the large storeroom.

Once they had eaten their fill, Mousse poured some cold water on his head and transformed. He quacked once at Ranma and then grabbed the scroll in his beak. Ranma picked him up and carried him over to the small window and tossed him outside. "Good luck, Mousse," Ranma said. She poured the hot water she had prepared over herself and then quickly changed into the robes that Mousse had left behind. Ranma picked up the clothing she had been wearing and rolled them up into a tight bundle. "That will surely create some nasty wrinkles," he said as he tucked the bundle out of sight in a dark corner of the storeroom. Then he made his way down to the bowels of the ship, hoping to stay somewhat out of sight.

* * *

Akane looked up as she heard the flapping of a bird to see a white duck carrying a familiar looking scroll land on top of the low cabin. She reached up to take the scroll and asked, "So you found Ranma?" 

The duck quacked once and Akane giggled. "I bet you'd like some clothing and hot water, wouldn't you."

The duck nodded its head as they headed into the cabin, where Akane found the pack that Cologne had brought containing Mousse's belongings. She filled a bucket with hot water from the teapot whistling on the small firebox and then closed the door to allow Mousse some privacy. In a few minutes, Mousse walked back out dressed in his robes to find Akane talking to Lychee. The elephant girl was holding the scroll in her hand, looking at Akane thoughtfully.

The boat slowly cruised into a small port on the western coast of China. Cologne tapped her chin thoughtfully and wondered, not for the first time since this expedition had started, 'Whydidn't Ranma tell me about this episode when he told me his story of the future. Did this not happen to him?' At last, she asked, "How can a scroll containing the Ultimate Technique grant happiness? Something about this just doesn't make any sense."

"That's an interesting question, Elder Cologne,"Ryoga replied, "I wonder what the answer is."

Akane grinned and replied, "The way I figure it, after hearing about Happosai from Daddy and Mr. Saotome, the old man ran up a big tab at a restaurant and then skipped out. He probably left them the scroll saying something about keeping it and one day their prince would come. And then he ran for it."

Lychee exclaimed, "Akane, how you know our family run restaurant!"

"Man, am I good or what?" Akane asked to no one in particular.

Lychee guided the boat up the large river that flowed into the harbor and continued to follow the directions that Cologne gave her. After several long hours, night began to fall, and a bilious moon appeared high in the sky.

* * *

As Ranma had expected, his absence was soon noted and he was swept up in the search party for the missing Lady Ranma. Keeping his head down, so that his features were obscured, he joined in the hunt, privately amused. After several long hours, where they had torn the boat apart looking for the missing girl, all of the crew of the ship were gathered in the main cabin of the flying boat. Ebiten paced angrily back and forth in front of the company, glaring at the bundle of clothing that was the only trace of evidence that anyone had discovered. Ranma smiled secretly to himself since he was the one who had pointed out the bundle to the senior enlisted man of the group that he was with. 

Ebiten finally growled angrily and asked, "Where else could that woman be? Did she jump out of the ship?"

Kirin sat in his chair, staring at his hands. Finally he said calmly, "She is on this vessel somewhere, making mockery of us. Find her."

"At once, my Prince," Ebiten groveled. He turned to the crew arrayed in front of him and said, "You heard our Lord. Find the wench and bring her to me. I will teach her not to disappear like this."

The crew dispersed to continue the hunt. Ranma allowed the mass of people to leave and then followed behind. When he was sure that he was unobserved, he slipped off into a compartment, and then waited. Once again his head was hurting, with images of a life that he just didn't remember flashing across his mind's eye, visions of a past where he actually was a boy, a martial artist. Shaking his head in dismay, Ranma thought, 'Spending all of this time as a guy is starting to affect me. I wonder if there was something in the food I ate last night. Well, tonight, I'll sneak back into the kitchen.'

* * *

Darkness fell, and the ship quieted as the most of the crew found their quarters. Ranma climbed back out of the corner of the storeroom he had found, putting the sacks of what appeared to be grain back from where he had made a small cubby to hide in earlier. His stomach growled again, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the morning, forcing him to head towards the galley once more. He smiled grimly to himself, glad that he had actually gone on that training trip with his father for once, since the old man had more than once sent him to bed with no food, all for the sake of training of course. He could still hear the sanctimonious words that his father would speak. Now, however, he knew them for the lie that they were, that instead his father was only wanting to ensure that his voracious appetite was filled and to hell with his son. Suddenly Ranma's eyes widened as he realized what he was thinking. 'NOOOOO!' he screamed in his mind, "I am not a boy. I AM A GIRL! I can't do this any longer. I have to change back.' He poured the remains of his drinking water over his head, and sighed in relief as he changed genders. "That's better," she said, as she adjusted her clothing to fit her better. She heard the ship's bells chime the number of bells for midnight, so she carefully opened the door to the hallway and looked around. Then she crept silently through the darkened corridors of the ship, and made her way back into the galley. She surveyed the contents of the icebox and pantry and made a selection of several things to prepare, while keeping the noise down to a minimum. In a fever of activity, the young girl prepared several of her favorite dishes. She ate her fill, and then filled up several chafing dishes with the remainder. After a few moments lost in a daze, she aroused and said, "I need to remember to thank Tofu-san and Kasumi-chan for the nutrition talk they gave me. This diet that Kirin is eating is so unhealthy according to them. They are missing out on so many important, oh what was that word, oh my, I just can't remember. Oh well, maybe I can change their eating habits with this food." 

Ignoring the pounding in her forehead, she went to another one of the storerooms that she had found that was filled with large vats. Climbing to the top of one of them, she opened the lid and recoiled from the stench. "Ugh, that pickling brine stinks," she said as she slammed the lid back onto the vat, closing off the sight of the carrots swimming around in the vat of brine. She attempted to lift one of the vats, and to her surprise, she was able to lift it.

* * *

Once her preparations were complete, Ranma walked over to the emergency alarm and smashed it, causing the sirens to go off. The ships lights sprang into action, and the beams of light from the searchlights could be seen from miles away. 

Ranma stood next to a small lever, behind a cloth covered table and waited for the ship's crew to arrive.

As she expected the six members of the Martial Arts School were the first to arrive, glaring at her. Then from behind them, Kirin asked, "What is the meaning of this? It's the middle of the night!"

"Master Kirin," his court gasped, and then bowed as he strode through them.

"And what are you doing with the vats?" Kirin continued as he took in the scene in front of him.

"Stay back!" Ranma exclaimed, "One step closer and I'll pull this switch!"

The twins exclaimed in unison, "No, don't! Please don't!"

Ebiten stepped up and exclaimed, "If you do that, the bottom of the ship will open, and all of the pickled vegetables will fall!"

"Ranma, why do you do this? Do you not wish to be Kirin's bride?" Kirin asked.

"I've already told you that a dozen times already. No, I will not be your bride. But that's not the reason that I asked you here. This is about your eating habits. I just don't like them. What you are eating is not healthy," Ranma replied. She turned and put her hand on the lever to emphasize her threat.

Bishomonten and the others all cried, "Please, Stop!"

Kirin said calmly, "Please, remove your hand from the switch. Stop this foolishness! Should we only eat rice from now on!"

Ranma smiled pleasantly and replied, "Of course not. That would be even worse of a diet. You would all sicken and die if that is all you ate. You need to eat something different." She reached for the cloth covering the table and whipped if off, exposing a eight or nine plates of steaming food, all prettily arranged, in such a manner as to make Martha Stewart proud.

To their surprise, the aroma from the table was very appetizing. Ranma gestured and said, "Please, help yourself!"

"What is this?" Kirin stammered as he approached the table.

Ranma backed away and stood by the switch. She replied, "It's my home cooking! Go on, try it! You'll like it, I'm sure."

Kirin hesitated for a long moment, only to have Ranma start to pull the lever. "Are you going to eat it or not?" Ranma asked pleasantly, but with some unexpected iron in her voice.

"If you insist," Kirin replied, to the shock of the rest of his companions.

Ebiten protested, "But, Master Kirin!" The rest of them surged forward.

Kirin whirled and ordered, "Stay back!" He turned back to the table and scanned the contents for a little while longer, a drop of sweat falling from his brow. Finally, he sighed and picked up a morsel of food with his chopsticks. He could feel the eyes of his audience as a palpable force. Slowly he brought the goza up to his mouth.

"No!" his retainers exclaimed as they watched him dismiss hundreds of years of his peoples tradition and place the goza in his mouth. He chewed for a moment and then swallowed. "I-incredible! This is 'home cooking!' This is what food other than pickled vegetables tastes like! I've never tasted something this good!" Kirin exclaimed.

"Now you understand," Ranma said, "But I know that it will be a slow process. If all you've ever had is rice and pickled vegetables, much of this will be too strange for your system."

Kirin ignored her as he picked up a bowl of miso soup and began drinking it.

"There's a lot more delicious food out there," Ranma said, her eyes bright with happiness, "You don't have to eat just pickles anymore!" She took the bowl out of his hand and placed it back on the table. "Just go slowly," Ranma said, "Or you'll make yourself sick."

Ebiten rushed forward and asked, "What have you done? Why did you force him to eat this? Our bodies aren't equipped to eat anything but rice and pickled vegetables."

"That's why I told him to take it slowly. The goza and the soup he had were pretty bland so they shouldn't have an impact on his digestive system," Ranma said as she watched Kirin carefully. Kirin turned, bumping into Ebiten, who went sprawling. Of course, as luck would have it, he slammed into the switch, causing it to move. The door in the bottom of the ship began to open, spilling the large vats into the air.

Kirin yelled at Ebiten, "Return the switch!"

"Aye, aye," Ebiten said, as he pulled the switch back to its original position. With a loud groan the door slammed shut, but not before a dozen of the vats had plummeted to the waters below.

"Clumsy oaf," Kirin snarled.

Ebiten groveled before him and said, "But, Master!"

"Enough of this foolishness! We will talk of this in the morning. Lady Ranma, if you promise to join me for breakfast, I won't have you locked away."

Ranma looked at him for a moment, and replied, "Only if I am allowed to fix something that I like to eat."

Kirin rubbed his chin thoughtfully and replied, "I can accept that compromise. If you feel strongly enough about our diet, I will not force you to follow our ways."

"Until morning then, Kirin-san," Ranma replied.

"We will have more suitable rainment for you as well," Ebiten said, "Sailor's garb is not for you."

"Actually, I would prefer slacks instead of a dress," Ranma replied, wondering where that stray thought came from.

"As you wish, Lady Ranma," Ebiten said, "I'll see what I can do."

"That is very sweet of you, Ebiten," Ranma replied, "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, it has been a long day."

"Certainly, Lady Ranma, it has indeed been a long day," Kirin replied, "especially since we spent most of it hunting for you after you disappeared."

Ranma smiled shyly and replied, "Well, you know how it is, sometimes a girl just wants to be by herself. Good night." She headed out the door, but just as she reached it, she turned to say, "Don't eat too much of that, Kirin-san. It could cause you problems, even though I deliberately made most of it very bland. I would hate to see you having difficulties tomorrow." She giggled as she watched Kirin's hand snap back to his side from where he had been contemplating some of the yakatori she had prepared. "That goes for the rest of you as well," she added. Then she strode off, her head high.

* * *

Far down in the river below, the small boat made its way upstream. Suddenly, Jasmine the elephant trumpeted in alarm, rocking the small boat, and waking the few people who were asleep up. 

Akane growled, "Quit rocking the boat!" angry at being awakened.

"What's wrong, Jasmine?" Lychee asked as she ran up to her pet and then stared up into the sky where the elephant was pointing her trunk. She cried in astonishment and exclaimed, "Look, the ship!"

"Faster!" Akane exclaimed, "We don't want to lose them." She turned to Mousse and asked, "How well can you fly at night?"

Mousse shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well enough, Akane Tendo. What do you wish me to do?"

Akane thought for a moment and then said, "I don't suppose you could carry a rope up there?"

Mousse replied, with a tone of regret, "No, a rope long enough to reach this far would be too heavy, I'm afraid. But so long as the river goes in the right direction, can't we wait until they land?"

Akane sighed heavily and replied, "I suppose that's what we'll have to do. I just wanted to see Ranma."

"Don't lose sight of the big picture, Akane," Cologne said, "We want to save your fiancé, that's what is important."

Ryoga smiled grimly and said, "We'll get him back, Akane. That's a promise from me to you."

"You said it, sugar," Ukyo agreed. Konatsu simply nodded his head emphatically. Kodachi laughed gaily.

Akane's heart swelled with gratitude at the show of support from all of their friends.

* * *

The next morning, Akane woke up from her tormented sleep, the bags under her eyes reflecting the lack of sleep she had received. She crawled out of her berth and made her way to the bow of the ship, where she saw that happily the flying boat that was the prison of her beloved Ranma was still in sight. In fact, it actually appeared that the Nerima crew had gained some ground on the kidnappers. 

Cologne said from behind her, "We are getting close to where the legends say the land of Nekonron starts. We should face them today. Are you ready?"

"Ranma is mine, old woman, no one will take him away from me," Akane replied simply, without looking back at her.

"I wonder how we got along?" Cologne mused.

Akane turned and replied, softly, after looking to see if anyone else was in earshot, "Well, according to Ranma, we mostly did except when you were encouraging Shampoo. I much prefer this relationship."

"So do I, actually. You are a good match for him, and he has trained you well," Cologne said, "You will be his wife. I can foresee that."

Akane smiled grimly and replied, "Well, there's a martial artist who might disagree with you at the moment. Of course, he may change his tune when he finds out that Ranma no longer has the scroll."

* * *

Ranma joined Kirin for breakfast, once again in the same chamber as before. Kirin looked a bit pale, so Ranma asked, "Are you feeling all right, Kirin-sama?" 

"Uh, nothing really to trouble yourself about, Lady Ranma, but I'm afraid I may have over indulged myself last night on your cooking," Kirin replied, oblivious to the retainers around them.

"Oh my, did my cooking make you ill?" Ranma asked, wide-eyed, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Don't worry, it wasn't your fault," Kirin replied, in his normal calm manner.

"But it is my fault," Ranma protested, "I should have warned you better about eating strange foods. Eating pickle vegetables and rice every day isn't healthy, but a sudden change in diet can definitely cause problems." She sighed and then added, cheekily, "And I thought that eating pickles and rice would be so boring. I hoped you'd like it if I made something different."

"It is all right, don't let it trouble you. You were doing what you thought was right, and to tell you the truth, I think I agree with you. The food you cooked was wonderful, and I hope to taste it again, but I did do it to myself. After you left us last night in the storage room, I had to indulge myself. I'm afraid that I ignored your advice and brought this slight queasiness upon myself," Kirin replied. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "There is no point in dwelling on what is past, anyway. When you served Kirin your 'home cooking' that was all for his sake, was it not?"

"Well, not exactly. I just remembered what I was taught by my doctor about a proper diet, and what you were eating just wasn't one," Ranma replied, a bit bashfully.

"But still, you are a kind soul," Kirin interjected.

"But Kirin," Ranma objected.

"You have pleased Kirin greatly. Since the day he was born to be the leader of the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial Arts, no one has cared for him so much as you," Kirin said, his tone gentle. He placed his chopsticks on the table next to his ever-present bowl of rice and placed both hands on her shoulders.

Ranma gasped in astonishment, her eyes large.

"Come to him willingly, Lady Ranma," Kirin said.

Ranma pulled herself away from Kirin and ran off, only to stop at the guarded door.

"Ranma!" Kirin called.

"Kirin-san, forgive me if I've somehow left the wrong impression, but I can't be your bride," Ranma said, her back to the young man.

"Ranma, why can you not love me? You are not thinking of that girl back in Japan are you? The one you called for from the boat? Are you trying to tell me that you have given your heart to that girl, the one you called Akane!" Kirin exclaimed, "That is unthinkable. How is it possible? You are a woman, how can you be in love with another?" Kirin said. He stood up and walked over to her, and added, "The one I bested so easily. You deserve to be with a strong man, who can take care of you properly. Surely you do not love that girl!" He chuckled and said, "That is just ridiculous! My dear little Ranma, I am the only one worthy of you."

Ranma whirled and swung her hand. Kirin caught it before it hit his face. Ranma growled, "Akane will come for me. She will be back! She won't rest until we are together."

"Let her come! You were born to belong to Kirin! And Kirin will make certain that it remains that way!" Kirin said. He bent toward as if to kiss her.

Ranma bowed her head for a moment and then raised it, her eyes shining. "NO. I belong to no one, but I chose to be with Akane. She WILL come and she will defeat you," Ranma growled, her eyes flashing dangerously. Then she slammed her knee where it would do Kirin the most good. "You do not own me," Ranma hissed, as she backed away from the young man who was gasping in pain, doubled up.

Kirin backed away, waving off his attendants. "Leave us," he gasped.

Ebiten asked, "Are you sure, Master Kirin?"

"I SAID LEAVE US!" Kirin ordered in a forceful voice. The room cleared. Kirin stood back up and said, "Very well then, when she is defeated, you shall come to Kirin of your own free will."

"Akane will defeat you. She will win. You can bet on it! And even if she doesn't, I will never, ever consent to be your bride!" Ranma exclaimed

"The word 'defeat' is not in Kirin's vocabulary. When Akane is brought to her knees a second time, you will give yourself to Kirin and become his bride," Kirin proclaimed.

"Are you familiar with the expression, 'When Hell freezes over?' I will never accept that!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Our Gods demand that the bearers of the scrolls wed, you have no choice!" Kirin insisted.

"There's always a choice," Ranma snapped, "I refuse!"

"Master Kirin," Ebiten said from the doorway, "We shall arrive at Nekonron soon."

"Very good," Kirin said. He turned to Ranma and said, "Prepare yourself for the ceremony."

Ranma flushed angrily and growled, "You don't listen very well, do you, you egotistical brat. Which part of I will not marry you, did you not understand?"

"Your feelings are not important," Ebiten said, "Only our laws matter and they say that the holder of the scrolls must wed."

Ranma clutched her head as it began to throb. One eye twitching, she turned to Ebiten and spat, "I don't give a damn what your laws say. I'm not into guys, never have been, and never will be! You're really beginning to get me angry! Oh, my!" Suddenly she groaned and collapsed to the floor.

"Lady Ranma!" Kirin exclaimed as he ran over to her. He rolled her over and found that she was out cold. He picked her up and carried her tenderly over to the divan and placed her on it.

"What's wrong with her, Master Kirin?" Ebiten asked.

"I don't know, Ebiten. Apparently the stress was too much for her," Kirin replied.

* * *

Author's Notes: Amazing, I just realized that I've been writing on this story for almost a year. For all of you that have stuck it out since the beginning, thank you. For those of you that came along later, my thanks as well. For a little plot bunny that I had over a year ago, this story has come a long way. And it is partially because of the feedback from the audience that made it as fun for me to write as I hope it is for you to read. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below. 

Jyao: Welcome aboard. I am generally following the manga for my plot outline, and the manga only had the one urn. I have the anime, so I do have that episode, but I made a conscious decision to stay with the manga instead. And I think I remember the story that did something similar to what you suggested, so that was another reason I chose not to. And as to putting the questions in the replies, I've thought about it, but I think that may get too close to violating the rules.

Talent Scout: I'm not sure how I could pull off someone else coming back from the original timeline, to be honest. In theory, that time no longer exists, since things have changed so much, but that's sort of a copout, I suppose. As to the differences in the chapter, some of those are simply because Akane and Ranma aren't the same as the manga/anime characters anymore, at least as far as their interactions with each other are concerned. And since Ryoga doesn't have a curse, I had to use someone else, and Genma and Mousse just seemed perfect.

Ss4-link: Yes, in 'Am I Pretty?' Ranma got knocked into the pond by Akane which triggered the belief that he was a girl, and getting hit on the head restored him. But that would be too easy this time around, wouldn't it? Plus, it allowed me to do what I did in this chapter and the next.

Raver Styx: I've had these chapters plotted out for a while, just waiting for the right time to spring them. I'm glad you like my female Ranma, though it is close to the way she behaved in the anime episode.

The-Shadows002: Thank you. And I hope you like this twist too. And it won't be a whack on his head that brings him back to his senses.

Kyuubi-sama: Grin. I'm blushing here. And good spotting, Ranma is more or less channeling Kasumi/Konatsu. I have a different cure in mind, next chapter.

Psycho King: I can understand that. There are several of the anime episodes that I just had to grit my teeth to watch. But I thought I could have a little fun with this one. Hope this chapter made it a bit more worthwhile.

Shinigami: The last chapter was based on the anime episode, 'Am I Pretty?' and yes, it was Akane who caused it. This chapter is based on the first movie, hence the title.

Xero Reflux: I'm trying to keep the other characters in the story line. But it is difficult. This chapter had some of them back in the story and the next one will have more. Taro will be along in a while, since I'm following the manga timeline, he's still several chapters down the road.

Wonderbee31: I'm afraid it was the unresolved sexual tension that caused him to snap. Well, that and the fact that I wanted to make Akane the heroine in this chapter and the next.

Redgrrl: It is based on the anime episode, 'Am I Pretty?' while this one is based on the first movie.

Lerris: Those are some good ideas. I'm going to let them percolate in the dark recesses and see what comes out. Thanks.

Borg rabbit: And yes, Akane was thinking what you were thinking. Though I didn't want to write it too explicitly.


	41. The Trouble with Scrolls

Chapter 41 The Trouble with Scrolls

Akane called up to Cologne, who was perched in the crow's nest, high above the main deck, "Hey, Cologne, are we there yet?"

Cologne made a megaphone of her hands and called down, "Almost. See that mountain over there? The one with a Buddha carved into the side of the rock. That's the site of the Seven Lucky Gods temple, I'm sure of it."

Akane shaded her eyes against the morning sun and watched as the ship carrying Ranma began to descend to the plateau surrounding the mountain. "How far away from them are we?" she asked.

"About an hour, maybe two, from where we'll have to leave the river, at least from what I can tell," Cologne replied as she began her descent to the deck below.

Lychee expertly steered the boat to the small pier sticking out into the river. The rescue party glanced at each other and then disembarked from the ship. Akane looked at Mousse and then asked, "Mousse, we could use some warning on what's ahead of us."

Mousse chuckled and replied, "Akane, not a problem. You don't even have to ask. Just bring my clothes. I really hate trying to find something to wear when I can change back."

Kodachi grinned and said, "Oh I don't know Mousse, darling. I like seeing you after you change back. You are very nice eye candy, especially with that long black hair."

Mousse blushed beet red as Akane laughed, saying, "Too much information you guys!"

Cologne cackled and said, "I like your spirit, girl. Are you sure there's no Joketsuzoku blood in you?"

Kodachi grinned back at the diminutive woman and replied, "As far as I know, my family is pure Japanese. That's one of the reasons that father was so upset with Mousse. Not that I give a damn about what he thinks. Anyway, I got a bit off topic there, thank you for the compliment. If what I have read about your people is at all accurate, anyway."

Konatsu jumped out to the small pier and tied off the bow of the ship, while Ukyo did the same at the stern. Mousse changed into his cursed form and flew off towards the flying ship, while the rest of the party gathered up their backpacks for the trek to the base of the mountain.

* * *

An hour later, the small party arrived at the foot of the mountain which was surrounded by many large geysers of hot water. They waited for a moment, and Mousse came flying down, and waddled over to one of the large boulders in the area. 

Kodachi ran over with his robe and a few moments later, the two of them walked out from behind the boulder, though Kodachi appeared to be a bit mussed from something.

"Couldn't you two wait until after we have Ranma back?" Ukyo teased.

Kodachi sniffed and said, "Huh, and who was it exactly that was kissing Konatsu on the way here?"

Akane smiled briefly and then turned to Mousse. "What did you find out?" she asked eagerly.

Mousse replied, "The main temple is on the top of the mountain. That is where they left the ship. Ranma was carried in, apparently unconscious. The path from here to the top has several gates, and I saw the other six martial artists of the school making their way down as if to stand guard. From what I overheard, they plan on the wedding taking place at sundown."

"I wonder why Ranma was unconscious," Cologne mused. She shook her head and then added, "It really doesn't matter, I suppose."

"How far away is the first gate?" Akane asked.

"It is right after the path bends around that shoulder there," Mousse said, pointing at a small outcropping that was blocking their immediate view of the landscape. "The guy with the halberd will be the first one we face," he added.

"Ah, a tactical blunder," Konatsu said, happily, "They are separating themselves, so we can defeat them in detail."

"Huh?" Ryoga asked.

"He means we can face them one at a time instead of all of them together," Akane explained patiently.

"Then why didn't he say that?" Ryoga grumbled.

"What we waiting for?" Shampoo asked impatiently, "We going to rescue Ranma or what?"

"Well, I thought we might have a plan first," Akane replied, "Instead of just running up there."

"Why don't the three of you use the breaking point technique and distract him with all of the rocks flying at him," Cologne suggested.

Ryoga shrugged and said, "Worth a try. He can't block them all, and if he is still in that armor, he'll be a little slow anyway."

The small band headed up the path until they reached the first gate, a towering edifice, six stories tall, that completely filled the area between the mountain on one side and a sharp dropoff on the other. Standing there, guarding the only gate in the building was the tall figure of Bishamonten. He chuckled evilly and said, "So you have come. With Bishamonten guarding the first castle gate, this is as far as you'll get. You'll not get through that easily!" He twirled his bladed weapon around and then pointed it at them.

In unison, Ryoga, Shampoo and Akane cried, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" and hit the ground in front of them. With a loud noise, a crack formed in the ground and propagated up the incline toward Bishamonten, spraying him with rocks and debris. A large cloud of dust formed, blocking their view. When the dust settled to the ground, they found to their surprise that the guard was completely covered by the rubble, one hand emerging from beneath the stones, and the polearm was cracked in two.

"All right, that's one down!" Akane exclaimed.

"Hm, don't get cocky girl!" Cologne advised, "I can't believe that they will all be that easy. He just relied on his weapon too much, and that cost him."

"Okay, Konatsu, I need you to go ahead and find out what's next. Mousse looks like he's a bit tired from all of the flying and could use a rest," Akane ordered.

Konatsu looked at her for a moment and then with a low bow, he replied, "Of course, my leader." He grinned at her for a moment and then vanished, while Akane blushed deeply.

"What he said was true, Akane," Ukyo said softly, "For this mission you are our leader. A role that you are filling well. Another good reason for why Ranma picked you."

Akane reached over and hugged Ukyo, and replied, "Thanks, soon-to-be sister."

Ukyo grinned and said, "That's true. We will be sisters-in-law when we marry our respective men. That's a nice feeling to have, a family."

Akane turned to the rest of the group and waved them forward, saying, "Come on, let's go. We still have a wedding to interrupt."

The war party moved forward for several more turns round the mountain, to finally be stopped by Konatsu before the next turn. He came out from behind some rocks and said, "The second gate is just ahead. It is closed, with no one outside. Inside, the two twins are waiting, playing go. I see no one else in the area."

"Can we go around them?" Akane asked.

"No, Akane-sama. The gate is much like the last, it stretches from the sheer cliff on one side to the mountain wall on the other, and I saw no way around," Konatsu replied.

"Well then, I guess I'll let them know I'm here," Akane replied, "Though, I'll hate to interrupt their game." She walked forward, rounding the corner to see a tall building, mostly white, with two tall doors, with red inset panels. As she neared, the gates began to open. Akane shrugged and said, "I guess that means 'come in' and I would hate to disappoint them."

"Wait, Akane!" Cologne cried.

Akane entered the building and walked down the main hall, not meeting anyone. Finally, she reached the main chamber. She noticed that the floor was made of stone blocks, and looked vaguely familiar for some reason. Through the mist filling the room, she could make out the silhouettes of two people sitting cross-legged, on either side of some sort of table. She could hear a strange clacking sound, one that she swore she had heard before. She shrugged and continued moving closer to them, until finally she was right next to them. It was two young boys, dressed in matching blue robes, with brown ribbons in their hair, hunched over a Go board, oblivious to what was going on around them.

"I think I'll try this," one of the figures said.

"Is that your move?" the second asked.

"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt," Akane said politely, "But are you the two guys guarding this gate?"

"Oh look, seems like we have company, Daihakusei," the second figure said in a pleasant voice.

The one apparently named Daihakusei replied, "Seems that we do, Daikokusei."

"Please don't let me interrupt your game of Go. I know how important that is. Though my father and his friend mostly play shogi instead," Akane said in a pleasant voice, "My friends and I would like to see the wedding. So if you don't mind, I'll let myself out."

"Why I never! That was rude, interrupting my concentration like that. Just when I was about to make the winning move," Daihakusei said.

"I agree. We'll have to teach our friend some manners. But I was about to win," Daikokusei said.

"First move, 4-14 black," Daikokusei cried. As he placed his black stone on the board in front of him, Akane heard a noise and looked up. A black stone was falling from the ceiling lost in the midst above her. As it neared the ground, she jumped back, landing on thenext intersection overjust as the black stone slammed into thespot she had just left.

"What the, that's it, it's a Go board, that's what the floor is!" Akane said.

"Quite perceptive," Daikokusei said, "That castle itself is a giant Go playing board. And we love to play!"

Daihakusei added, "And you're a new player. It's my move, but where shall I move to next? I wonder?" He picked up a white stone and cried, "Second move, 4-13 white!" slamming the stone onto its position on the board.

Akane looked and saw a white stone falling toward her and move out of its way.

"Here we go, next move, 6-16 black!" Daikokusei cried, placing a black stone on the intersection of row six and column sixteen.

"Second move, 8-13 white," Daihakusei cried, barely allowing Akane to move out of the way of the two falling stones. The two of them placed several stones on the board, triggering the traps while Akane continued to run around the board avoiding the stones.

"Man, they're out of control, playing that fast," Akane gasped.

"That's right, little girl. Run while you still can!" Daikokusei said.

"And when you run out of places to go, it's all over for you!" exclaimed Daihakusei. They quickly began to fill up the intersections on the board.

Akane grinned then as she remembered the rules of Go that her father had painfully taught her when she was a small child. "Places to go! That's it!" she said as she jumped onto one of the already placed stones.

"Hey, she disappeared!" Daihakusei cried.

Daikokusei cried, "You're right. Where'd she go?"

Akane stood on one of the stones overlooking the two twins and laughed. "Your attack has one fatal flaw! In Go, you can't place a stone in the same place twice," Akane gloated, "You jerks keep talking about having no place to go, but instead you built me a path right here. The more stones you put down, the more places I have to go! It's my turn now!"

The twins exclaimed in unison, "She's right! What an oversight!"

"My turn now!" Akane exclaimed as she leapt from the stone, kicking both of the twins in the chin with each foot, and then slamming her fist into the board, cracking it in two. "How about it! With the board broken, your game is over!" she cried.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" the twins cried.

"Huh!" Akane exclaimed, as the gate began to crumble around them. "Oops!" she cried.

When the cloud of dust settled, Akane pulled herself to her feet and looked at the two twins lying unconscious on the ground, covered by some of the debris of the building.

"Looks like that's number two and three down!" Akane said as she rubbed her hands in satisfaction.

Cologne simply shook her head in disbelief that Akane had been so lucky to defeat the two so easily. "Child, don't let this go to your head. There are still three more to face before we reach Kirin himself. If legend holds true, he will be a most formidable foe."

"That may be true, Elder," Akane said, her eyes flashing, "But I WILL rescue Ranma. He is my fiancé and that's all that matters. Come on, we're wasting daylight."

The group turned and made their way through the rubble of the second gate, though Kodachi stopped for a moment and carefully tied the two men up, and Mousse moved them away from each other so that when they awoke they would have a hard time freeing themselves.

Konatsu vanished as he scouted in front of them, this time without being asked. As the rest followed, Akane couldn't help feeling good about their efforts so far, though she expected that the other three would not be as easy to defeat. Restlessly, she pushed forward, soon outpacing everyone but Lychee, who was riding on Jasmine. After another strenuous climb, following the path winding around the mountain, they soon reached a green-roofed building, which was the third gate. To her surprise, the large doors were open at both ends of the building, showing a clear path to the other side. Lychee slid down off of her elephant and joined Akane, looking puzzled.

"Hm, that's odd," Akane said, "No guard at this gate?" She glanced around and didn't see Konatsu either. "There's something wrong, Konatsu isn't here either. He must have gone on ahead, but I don't know why he wouldn't have left some sign." She looked warily around again, but still seeing nothing, said, "I guess we might as well enter." She moved toward the open door.

As Akane neared the door, out of the shadows stepped a behemoth. A huge figure, looking like a sumo wrestler writ large, an odd white cap on his bald head, he towered over Akane. He looked at them childishly, his face in an open smile, and then said, "O-o-o-oh."

"He's enormous!" Lychee exclaimed, "He's many times bigger than my Jasmine!"

The four of them stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. 'I don't think I can defeat him, he's so large,' Akane thought in dismay, 'But I can't stop now. I gotta save Ranma!'

Jasmine walked forward, her eyes only on the giant in front of her. Lychee exclaimed in surprise, "Jasmine!" as the elephant stopped in front of the huge figure.

The giant glanced down at Jasmine and they locked eyes for a long moment. Then he gently took her trunk and rubbed it against his face, which broke into a blissful smile.

"Oh my," Akane exclaimed as she recoiled from the two of them.

"Looks like they're friends now!" Lychee exclaimed.

Akane shuddered and stammered in shock, "G-guess that means the coast is clear. Let's go while we can." She began to walk around the two huge figures who were lost in each other's eyes.

Lychee patted Jasmine on the leg and said, "Jasmine, stay here and keep him company for a while, okay." She turned and followed Akane and the two of them ran through the building.

"Ugh, I don't want that image in my head any more. Was it just me, or was there something disturbing about what just happened," Akane said as they exited the far gate and headed up the path.

"Not just you," Lychee replied, "But I'm happy just the same that we didn't have to fight him. Jasmine big girl, she knows what she is doing."

Akane shuddered as they quickly left the area, making their way once again up the trail winding its way around the middle of the mountain. "If we only have to face the seven members, there's only two more left to go before we face Kirin," Akane said, a feral grin on her face.

* * *

Kirin waited at the top of the tower, gazing down at the countryside far below, as he waited for his bride to be to make her appearance. Finally, he heard the door to the chamber open and he turned from the window to see her walk into the room. He frowned in displeasure as he saw Ranma standing there, arms folded across her chest, wearing a blouse and a pair of slacks, instead of the wedding regalia that he had sent to her chambers. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked, his voice toneless as he stamped out his anger, "Why are you not in the traditional wedding garb that Kirin provided for you? Do you not wish to go through the ceremony?" 

Ranma's eyes flashed angrily and a red dot appeared on each cheek as she struggled not to scream at the delusional fool in front of her. Stamping firmly on her anger, she said dryly, "Now how on earth did you get that idea? Aside from the fact that I've never agreed to this. Akane will come and she will rescue me."

"Kirin doubts that, but even so, the rest of the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial Arts is stationed at the five gates between here and the foot of the mountain. No one will pass them," Kirin said.

Ranma smiled serenely and replied, "Nothing will stop her. I have faith in my beloved."

Kirin smiled thinly and replied, "Soon Kirin will make you forget all about your female lover."

"Cocky, aren't you? A bit arrogant as well," Ranma said as she walked away from Kirin and leaned against the wall opposite him. Then she smiled sweetly and repeated, "Akane will be here."

* * *

As Akane and Lychee made their way up the steep path, Akane stopped. She listened for a moment and then asked, "Do you hear that? It sounds like someone is playing a lute." 

Lychee listened and nodded her head. "The next gate must be just ahead," Lychee said.

"I wonder where Konatsu is. I'm beginning to get worried about him," Akane said as she went around the turn in the path and then halted in surprise. There, sitting on the roof of the next gate, silhouetted by the setting sun, Konatsu was expertly playing a lute while talking to an attractive woman who was listening appreciatively.

"Um, excuse me," Akane said, hesitantly, "But I wonder if I can go on through the gate."

The young, blond-haired woman turned and put her finger to her mouth and went "Shh, Konatsu here is playing. Much better than I can, as a matter of fact."

"That's okay, Monlon. Akane-sama is in a hurry. You and I can talk after she's left. I still need to talk to you about your dressmaker, remember?" Konatsu said.

Monlon sighed heavily and retrieved her lute from Konatsu. "I wish I could, Konatsu. I've enjoyed our little chat, and the makeup hints that you gave me. But I do owe it to Master Kirin to prevent them from interfering with his wedding," Monlon said with another heavy sigh. She jumped down from the roof to confront Akane, who grimaced at how well the other woman was filling her tight, purple dress, giving her feelings of inadequacy at her smaller figure. 'How come all of the women have bigger breasts than I do,' she thought, 'It's just not fair.'

"Actually, your Master Kirin should be happy for this wedding to be stopped. He's marrying the wrong woman, after all," Akane said, "My fiancé doesn't have the half of the scroll, Lychee here does."

"No matter. Master Kirin has his eyes set on the woman Ranma," Monlon said, with regret, "I am Monlon, the guardian of the fourth castle gate. I'm afraid I'm unable to let you pass through here."

Akane sighed and replied, "I guess you didn't understand me. Ranma isn't a girl. He's actually a guy."

Monlon ignored what Akane said, and shouted, "Monlon Ultimate Technique: The Phantom Restriction Attack!" She spun around and when she was facing Akane again, sent streams of something at Akane.

Akane narrowed her eyes and jumped out of the way and then using her ki, she yelled, "Genko Fenikusu!" sending a ball of ki at the other woman. The ball of ki forced her to stop her attack, blinding her with its light, and Akane took advantage of her distraction by pulling out a mallet. She ran forward and slammed the mallet into the other girl causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Sorry, Akane-sama, I thought I had her distracted enough," Konastu said from the roof.

"It doesn't matter," Akane said wearily, "Just tie her up and send the rest of the crew after us. Then she started swaying unsteadily for a moment, only to be caught by Shampoo before she fell to the ground.

"Are you all right, Akane?" Shampoo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I should have eaten something, I guess," Akane said, "That took a bit out of me." Then she asked, "Where did you come from?"

"Great grandmother ordered me to catch up to you once we reached the last gate," Shampoo answered, "She didn't want you to get too far ahead of us."

Konatsu finished securing Monlon with some scarves he pulled out of his pocket, making sure that the colors didn't clash with the dress that Monlon was wearing. He said, "There's some food in my backpack, Akane-sama. Nothing fancy and we can have Ukyo whip up something as soon as she gets here." He nodded in satisfaction at the fashion statement he was making and then moved Monlon gently to the shade. He carried the lute and her lute pick over to the steps of the gate and began serenading the three women as they waited.

Ukyo arrived next, closely followed by Kodachi, Mousse and Ryoga, the latter still shaking his head at the scene at the previous gate.

Shampoo asked, "Akane hasn't had anything to eat, Ukyo. Do you think you could fix her up?"

"No problem, sugar," Ukyo said, as she pulled her portable grill out of wherever she stored it. In a few moments, she had the grill up and running, making several okonomiyakis for everyone, while Shampoo was busily preparing some shrimp-flavored ramen.

Cologne finally arrived at the gate just as everyone began eating their meal. "Pull up a rock and get something to eat," Ryoga called.

Monlon woke from her mallet-enforced slumber and glared at Akane. "What were you saying about the woman that Master Kirin fell in love with?" she asked.

"Ranma isn't a woman. He's a man that has a Jusenkyo curse," Cologne replied.

"Then why hasn't he said so?" Monlon asked, clearly puzzled.

"Because his idiot of a father hit him into the koi pond at our house, and he hit his head on a rock. When he woke up, he had come up with this entire life story about him really being a girl with a guy curse," Akane explained with a sad smile, "And he hasn't come to his senses yet."

"I wish we'd known about Lady Ranma having a curse," Monlon said ruefully, "Even if he really was a girl with a curse, that would make her unsuitable as a bride for Master Kirin."

"So Ranma isn't good enough for your master now, is he?" Akane asked, beginning to get angry at the insult.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Monlon said hurriedly, not wishing to face Akane's wrath again, "It would be most unlucky for him to wed someone with a curse, no matter what the curse is. Our Gods would frown upon Master Kirin greatly."

"Well, then I guess I'll have to break the good news to him, now won't I?" Akane asked cheekily. She stood up and said, "I hope you understand that we'll have to leave you tied up. It's not that I don't trust you. Well, actually, it is that I don't trust you, I'm afraid, so once we've got Ranma back, we'll send someone to free all of you."

Monlon grimaced and said, "I understand, Lady Akane. And I don't blame you. After all, I started the attack. It was just my misfortune that you were able to avoid it."

"I have a good teacher," Akane said, "And I'm going to get him back." She started walking through the penultimate gate, hearing the noise as everyone scrambled to catch up to her.

"Uh, Akane, would you mind if I took care of the next gate?" Kodachi asked quietly, "I think you need to save your strength."

Akane looked at her carefully and asked, "Do you think you can beat Ebiten?"

"Trust me," Kodachi said with an angelic smile.

Akane surprised Kodachi with a fierce hug and said, "I do trust you, Dachi. You're my friend and friends trust each other."

Kodachi sniffed slightly, a tear rolling down her cheek, and said, "Damn those allergies. They cause me to tear up at the strangest times."

Akane just grinned at her and said, "Don't they." She wiped a small tear from her eye. Then with an impish grin, she said, "Race you!"

The two girls took off at a run, startling the rest of the crew, who tried to keep up. As the sun began to near the far horizon, Akane and Kodachi reached the final gate. A massive structure, with a large bridge spanning a crevice in the ground, it guarded the final approach to the tower on the plateau above. Kodachi neared the lone figure standing athwart the bridge, his fishing pole at the ready.

Ebiten laughed and said, "So you've made it all the way to the fifth castle gate! But this is where your luck ends. I will allow no one to pass through here!"

Kodachi laughed wildly, a laugh that Akane hadn't heard since she and Mousse had gotten together, and said, "Oh I think we'll make it past you, little man. No one will stand between us and Ranma-sama. I, Kodachi the Black Rose, say this is so!" With a wicked laugh, she threw a bouquet of black roses at Ebiten, who knocked them aside with his pole, only to see them explode in a cloud of black dust.

Ebiten fell over, his muscles paralyzed from the powder, as the remainder of the horde ran by. With a cry, they all ran by as Akane and Kodachi looked on in amazement.

"I thought you got rid of all that stuff. And I thought the Black Rose was retired," Akane said.

"Well, you know, old times sake and all that. I figured some of my drugs might come in handy on this trip. And it is for Ranma-sama after all," Kodachi said with a smile.

Akane shook her head and said, "I'm glad you're on our side now, Kodachi."

"Come on, Akane, let's go!" Kodachi said as she ran after them.

Akane walked over to Ebiten, and tied him up. Then she started heading to the tower, followed closely by Lychee who had just managed to arrive.

* * *

As the sun began to set behind the tower, Kirin pulled out his half of the scroll. "We are to join the two halves of the scroll," he said, "When it is done, we two shall also be one. The time for the ceremony is now." 

Ranma smiled thinly and said, "Not going to happen, Kirin. Sorry about that. But I won't do it."

"But why?" Kirin asked.

"Several reasons," Ranma replied, "But"

"Why is it that you hesitate?" Kirin interrupted, "Come now, do you actually expect your Akane to rescue you at this late moment.

'Akane, where are you?' Ranma thought as she began to back away. Then she gasped as the door to the chamber burst open.

"Ranma!" Ryoga yelled as he ran by the remains of the door.

"Ryoga?" Ranma exclaimed in surprise. Then she watched as the rest of her friends arrived, except for Akane. "You all came to save me!" she gasped. Then she asked sadly, "Akane? Where's Akane?"

Ryoga bristled with anger and exclaimed, "How dare you try to force yourself on my friend! I'm taking Ranma out of here!"

Kirin said coldly, "You foolish barbarians. You have interrupted a sacred ceremony! You will be punished!"

* * *

As Akane and Lychee reached the tower, a bright light shone from the pinnacle. The two of them looked at each other and then ran rapidly up the stairs. 

Meanwhile, back in the tower, Ranma stared around the room in dismay as she saw all of her friends lying scattered around the large room where the force of the attack had sent them. "Ryoga! Shampoo! Kodachi!" she cried.

"What is wrong?" Kirin asked, "I've disposed of those meddlers, but you seem displeased."

"Who'd be pleased when their friends get beaten up?" Ranma asked, her face frowning in anger. Then she gasped as she heard Akane's voice.

"Come on, where is that jerk?" Akane asked.

Ranma's eyes began to tear up as she realized that Akane had come for her. "Akane!" she called as she turned to face the door.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed as she and Lychee rushed through the door. They stopped in dismay at seeing all of the friends who had rushed on ahead of them while they were taking care of Ebiten scattered across the room, groaning in pain.

"Akane, you did come!" Ranma cried happily, shooting angry looks at Kirin, "And you said she didn't care for me!"

"Come, Ranma, let us end this. We must wed now," Kirin said, calmly.

"I don't think so," Akane growled, "Ranma is MY fiancé, and no one will marry him but me!"

'Him?' Ranma thought to herself, her head beginning to pound again.

"Then, Kirin must defeat you and then Ranma will be Kirin's," Kirin said.

"I'm finally here!" Akane growled, her fists clenched, "Let's settle this!"

"But you could never defeat me!" Kirin said.

Akane smirked and said, "We won't know until we try, will we? Let's go!" With a loud cry of "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!" she sprang at Kirin, her fists blurring with speed as she attempted to hit Kirin.

Kirin smiled and spun his chopsticks, blocking each of the blows.

Ranma narrowed her eyes in concentration, as if something she was seeing was awakening something.

Akane thought, 'What the hell! None of my punches are getting through!"

"Your feeble punches can not touch the almighty Kirin," Kirin said, then he stepped through Akane's attack and struck her with a blow from his chopsticks, sending her flying. She was finally stopped as she slid into the wall.

"Akane!" Ranma exclaimed and rushed over to her. She knelt down next to Akane and was relieved to see Akane gazing back at her, slightly dazed but still there.

"Sorry Ranma, I guess I'm not good enough," Akane rasped out.

Ranma began to shudder, her shoulders shaking vigorously, as visions of all of the times that Akane had been rescued by the male Ranma flashed through her mind.

Kirin said, as he began to walk toward them, "The last of the ones who would get in Kirin's way is defeated. Come, Ranma, it is time and past time for you to become Kirin's bride."

"You sure have a strange way of trying to win my affections, Kirin. Beating up my friends and family is not a way to my heart," Ranma said, her voice tight with emotion. The pain in her head got worse and then something snapped and her eyes began to glow with purpose.

"Come, we have wasted enough time!" Kirin commanded.

In a slightly different voice, Ranma said, "You haven't defeated the last one, dolt. While you may have beaten my friends, there's something that you don't know yet. You still have to face me."

"Ranma, is that you?" Akane gasped.

"Yep, Akane, I'm back, and I know how to defeat him, I remember everything," Ranma whispered back. She stood up and turned to face Kirin, a look of implacable anger showing in her stance and countenance.

Kirin stared at her in astonishment and asked, "What happened to you, Lady Ranma? Kirin thought that you didn't believe in fighting."

Ranma smiled grimly and said, "That was then, this is now. You have hurt my friends, kidnapped me from my loved ones, and now have hurt Akane! That is a big mistake, one that you need to learn from. You only thought you knew who I was, Kirin." She moved away from the wall toward the center of the room, forcing Kirin to move away with her. With a loud cry of "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ranma slammed her fist into the floor. With a low groan, and then a rumble, a spray of water came from the hole in the stone floor, filling up the floor and spilling out the windows on all four sides, falling to the crater floor far below. The tower of gushing water separated the two combatants.

"An amusing parlor trick!" Kirin sneered, "But do you honestly think that this will help you break through the defenses of Kirin! That is something that Kirin would truly like to see!"

"Okay then, since you asked me so kindly, I'd be happy to give HIM a demonstration," a now male Ranma replied with a cheeky grin. Then he cried, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken revised! Take this!" and sent his fists flying into the hot water.

"Hah!" Kirin sneered, "That technique didn't work against Kirin before, why do you think it will work now!" His hands blurred as he flashed his chopsticks attempting to block the flying hands of the figure he could see dimly through the roaring waterspout. Something about the figure looked odd to him, but, he didn't have time to figure it out as suddenly something struck him. "What!" he cried in astonishment, "How can this be possible? How is Kirin being hit?"

Akane exclaimed, "What!" as she saw Kirin recoil from the blow to his stomach.

Ryoga gasped, "He got a body-blow in!"

"The gods may smile on anyone once!" Kirin exclaimed. Then he felt several more blows, each harder than the one before. "Impossible! The speed of the punches is the same as before! So why are they hitting Kirin?"

"What's the matter? You look surprised!" Ranma cried as his fists blurred sending more blasts of the hot water at Kirin, slipping them easily past his chopsticks. Then Ranma exclaimed, "How about this one!" as he sent once last blast at Kirin which slipped through his defense and clobbered him right on the chin, sending Kirin flying to land with a loud splash in the rapidly growing pool of water.

"That's it! Ranma used his Chestnuts technique to hit him with the hot water!" Ryoga cried.

"Of course! The same as if one tried to eat soup with chopsticks! The water slides right past them," Mousse added.

Cologne cackled from the doorway where she had finally joined them. "Not bad, sonny boy. That's pretty clever!" she said.

"That is pretty smart," Konatsu exclaimed.

"That's Ranma for you. He never loses," Ukyo added.

Akane simply smiled at her boyfriend, her eyes shining with happiness. "R-ranma," she said, with all the love in heart filling her voice.

Kirin crawled to his feet and said, "Kirin has never faced an opponent such as, but wait, where is the Lady Ranma? Who are you and what have you down with her, knave?"

Ranma grinned and said, "The name's Ranma Saotome, grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, the only child of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. The person you know as Lady Ranma does not exist. And what's with talking about yourself in the third person? Do you honestly know how annoying that is?"

"What? Kirin does not understand," Kirin exclaimed.

"Jusenkyo curse," Ranma said dryly, "This is my natural form. I fell in the spring of drowned girl."

"So you make mockery of Kirin, pretend to be a woman," Kirin growled, beginning to get angrier.

"Nope, wasn't making fun of you, up until a few minutes ago, I was believing I truly was a woman. But thanks to you hurting my fiancée, it snapped me out of my amnesia," Ranma replied.

"No matter. Kirin sees now that he will have to use his full strength to fight you! Kirin can not be defeated!" Kirin cried. A large yellow battle aura began to form around his body.

"Damn, idiot. Why do you still need to fight? You can just let us leave now," Akane cried.

"For the honor of the School of Seven Lucky Gods Martial Arts!" Kirin exclaimed.

Ranma allowed his battle aura to form, a large billowing cloud of blue light, easily rivaling the aura surrounding his opponent. "Everyone, get out of here!" he cried. 'I have to bet all of my power on this last blow. Just like last time,' he thought.

The two opponents squared off against each other as everyone but Akane and Lychee scrambled out the door and down the stairs.

Lychee's heart raced as she watched the prince that she was destined to marry glare at the young man standing proudly against him. She could see now why Akane had been so adamant to bring the man back. She only hoped that the two of them would not kill each other. "My Prince! I have the scroll!" Lychee called, hoping to calm things down.

"Kirin cares not about the scroll. This is a matter of honor now!" Kirin said angrily.

"Oh Ranma, be careful," Akane cried.

"Ultimate Technique, Hundred Chopsticks Sting!" Kirin cried as he began using his chopsticks to fling grains of rice from his bowl at Ranma.

Ranma smirked and cried, "Hiryű Shōten Ha!" as he slammed his fist straight out, sending a wave of ki at Kirin. The two attacks met in the center of the room, causing the spiral of the Dragon Ascension Attack to form, pulling Kirin up into the air, followed by Ranma, who was still screaming his attack.

"I-impossible! How can Kirin, of the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial Arts lose against the likes of HIM!" Kirin exclaimed.

"Yeah! I did it!" Ranma cried. 'It worked again!" he thought, 'But wait a minute, the water!' He looked down as the spiral of his attack began to draw the water into a gigantic waterspout. "Akane!" he cried as he attempted to make his way over to her as the waterspout began to destroy the room they were in. 'I sure hope everyone else got out okay!' he screamed in his head, 'Stupid, how could you have forgotten this happened!' Ranma saw Akane, swimming feebly in the roaring water and made his way over to her. Grabbing her around the waist, he began to swim strongly with one arm, keeping them away from the debris swirling around in the water.

"The scroll!" Lychee cried, wondering where it had gotten off to, as the water had torn it from her grasp. She gasped as she saw it safely riding on some flotsam swirling in the water. With strong smooth strokes, she briskly swam over to what she recognized as remains of one of the benches that had been in the room.

Kirin looked down from where he was and saw that Lychee was swimming toward the scroll. "The scroll!" he cried as he dove past Ranma and Akane, who were ignoring him.

Lychee stretched out her hand, straining to reach the scroll, battered by the swirling water. Just as her hand closed over the scroll, Kirin reached it and placed his hand over hers. The two of them looked deep into each other's eyes. Kirin swung around and grabbed the exhausted Lychee and swam away from the debris, just as the waterspout began to collapse.

Ranma held Akane tenderly in his arms, and whispered, tenderly, "Akane." He looked down to see Kirin cradling Lychee just as tenderly and smiled to himself. 'Just like before,' he thought, 'They look like they are together now. Good.' He held Akane carefully, as the pressure of the water began to abate, and they began to fall back toward the newly formed lake that was surrounding the ruins of the once multi-storied tower. With a splash, the two of them landed in the water. Ranma surfaced, quickly followed by Akane. "Jeez, that was rough!" Ranma exclaimed. He looked over at Akane and smiled at her and said, "You didn't do too badly against those guys, Akane. It looks like all of those lessons are paying off. Thanks for coming to save me."

"But I didn't save you!" Akane wailed.

Ranma smiled and replied, "Oh yes you did. But we can talk about that later. Let's get to shore and see if our friends are safe."

Ranma began to swim to the shore, propelling Akane along. Once they reached the shallows, they saw that Kirin had already reached safety, still carrying Lychee in his arms.

Kirin walked over to the ruins of his tower and gazed down tenderly at the girl in his arms. Finally, she roused, and turned to stare at him. Kirin gently set her down on her feet.

Lychee looked down and then with her eyes big, held out the scroll to Kirin. "Here. You really care about this scroll, right?" she asked.

"Thank you," Kirin said in a husky voice, as he reached out and took the scroll from her. He pulled the other half out of the pocket in his pants, and joined them. A bright light shone around the cut as the two halves were made whole. The two of them gazed at each other as the sun finally began to set, a glorious sunset full of red and yellow.

The moon rose over the horizon, as Ranma and Akane watched the two on the shore, the reflected moonlight casting a cold light on Kirin and Lychee. Kirin held out his hand and carefully clasped Lychee's hand with it.

Akane and Ranma joined them on the shore, along with the rest of their friends. The rest of the Lucky Gods School also had arrived and straggling around the new lake to join their leader.

"Thank you, Ranma. If it were not for you, Kirin would never have known these experiences," Kirin said.

"That's okay, Kirin. You don't need to thank me," Ranma said.

"But I do. And Kirin must admit, he has never met any one like you before," Kirin continued, "You defeated Kirin utterly!"

"I guess that means you're giving up on marrying me, right?" Ranma asked with a smile.

Kirin grinned back at him and said, "Kirin has definitely changed his mind." He turned to Akane and said, "And you are truly worthy to be his bride. You risked your life in an attempt to defeat me, and though you were unable to do so, you still showed great heart in facing Kirin."

Ranma held Akane close to him and said, "You don't have that quite right. I'm the one that is almost worthy to be married to her." He turned and asked, "So Lychee! What're you gonna do now?"

"Lychee start all over. Lychee find true prince on white horse, someday," Lychee replied. Then she looked at Kirin and sighed.

Ryoga asked, "By the way, what's written on that scroll, anyway?"

Shampoo walked over as Kirin unrolled the scroll and said, "Let's see. It say Seven Lucky God Ultimate Technique, How to make too-too delicious seven lucky pickled vegetables!"

The Nerima crew looked at each other in surprise as Shampoo continued to read, "This is first step for couple, when good woman and good man are joined, make this in first step of new life together. First, groom wash vegetables, then bride add salt, and press. Then happy couple pour soy sauce together."

"All of this for a pickling recipe?" Akane asked, "So what was all of that blather about a threat that Happosai fed Lychee's family?"

"No matter," Kirin said as he walked over to Lychee. He bent down and asked, quietly, "Lychee said she was looking for a prince on a white horse. Kirin doesn't have a horse, but if Kirin gets one, would Lychee consider Kirin to be her prince?"

* * *

Akane snuggled up against Ranma's chest as they snatched a few minutes of privacy in the ship's cabin as the boat sailed back towards Japan with all of their friends. She asked, "What did you mean, before, about me actually saving you? You know, back when we were in the water." 

Ranma thought for a moment and then answered, "Well, I remember everything that happened when I thought I was a girl, so that's the best place to start, I suppose."

Akane blushed and asked, "You remember everything?"

"Yeah, I remember what we did the other night," Ranma said, with a matching blush, "And I meant to ask you about that. I thought we were going to wait for that kind of thing."

"Uh," Akane stammered, "That was because of a theory that we had about why you thought you were a girl. Kasumi, Tofu and Doctor Hojo all thought that because we were flirting with danger the way we were going and still trying to avoid being, um, intimate, that you thought that would be a way out." By the time she finished that statement, both of them were blushing furiously.

"Uh, you mean that I was running away from having, uh, sex," Ranma said, "Unresolved sexual tension, huh? So you thought that"

"Uhuh, I thought maybe," Akane interrupted, "But it didn't. You were just the same the next morning. This is so embarrassing."

"Um, well, maybe, it did start something," Ranma replied, "Cause, I think after that is when the girl me started getting headaches, and she started getting images of my life. Then, when I saw you try to beat Kirin, and get hurt, she got a ton of flashbacks of all of the times that I had saved you, both from the future as well as both pasts."

Akane quirked a smile and said, "Now you are talking about yourself in the third person. Did Kirin rub off on you?"

"Ha ha, not funny. You know, this is making my head hurt just thinking about it. Anyway, that finally allowed the two of us to merge," Ranma finished.

"Merge?" Akane asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah, I guess that's what I mean. Like I said, I remember everything that she went through as if it were me. Did that sentence even make any sense? And not that I could tell any difference anyway, but I'm not sure I'm really the same person anymore," Ranma said, "I think maybe I'm a bit of both. I just hope you still love me, whoever I am."

"Did that confuse you as much as it did me?" Akane asked, with a teasing smile, "Don't worry, the one thing that I'm sure of is that I love you." She started tearing up, causing Ranma to look worried.

"Hey, you know I can't handle it when you cry. What did I do this time?" Ranma asked.

"N-n-othing," Akane blubbered, "It's just that I suddenly realized that I almost lost you. I was so afraid that you were going to keep thinking that you were a girl, and then leave me. I couldn't bear that."

Ranma hugged her tightly and said, "Well, I'm back, and I'm not planning on disappearing on you like this again."

"Ranma," Akane said quietly, once she dried her tears, "I don't wanna wait any longer."

"What, you mean now?" Ranma asked, in surprise, a small trickle of blood beginning to flow from his nose.

"Mind out of the gutter, Ranchan," Akane said fondly, "I meant, I didn't want to wait to get married. I want us to get married as soon as we arrive in Japan." To her amusement, Ranma's face paled and then he fainted, only Akane's arms around his waist preventing him from falling to the deck.

After a few minutes, Ranma slowly opened his eyes, to see Akane smiling serenely at him. "Uh, what happened?" he asked, his mind befuddled.

"You fainted," Akane replied.

Ranma snorted and said, "Guys don't faint, that wouldn't be manly." After a moment, he quirked a smile and waiting for Akane to smirk back at him. Then he asked, "Okay, now that I got that out of my system, why'd I – Oh, now I remember. You want to get married. As soon as we get home."

"That's not what I said. I said I want to get married as soon as we reach Japan," Akane said, "We can send Mousse on ahead to get permission."

Ranma looked at her sheepishly and said, "Mom already signed the form for me. She gave it to me a little while ago, when she saw how 'close' we were getting. Something about 'just in case,' I think she said."

Akane began to giggle and said, "Well, Daddy did the same thing. The two of them must have planned it."

"But don't you want the ceremony and everything?" Ranma asked.

Akane shrugged and said, "Yeah, I did. But that's really for Daddy and your mother, anyway. I'd be just as happy to skip all of that." She grinned at him and said, "Besides, you told me about the last wedding we had, remember? Bombs going off and everything. We can have a ceremony in August when we planned, but I want to be Akane Saotome now!"

Ranma smiled at her and then said, "It's only a few months earlier than we had originally planned anyway. It's a good idea now that I've had a chance to think about it."

Akane smirked and said, "All of my ideas are good. And don't forget it." She promptly kissed him, making him forget everything else that was going on, a kiss that was beginning to send blood rushing from his brain and sending it somewhere else.

* * *

Author's Notes: Finally this chapter came together. I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves so far. Amazing, this story now has had a birthday, not bad for a little plot bunny that came to me on the drive to East Texas. As always, constructive criticisms are welcomed. They have helped make this story what it is. Specific comments are below: 

Shinigami: No, I think you are thinking about the Koi rod episode. But, what I did was merge the anime episode with the first movie so that's why it is different. Pickled vegetables are exactly that, vegetables that have been placed in a brine solution, which while it preserves them, does leach out some of the nutrients. And rice, I don't think is a source of protein. So that's why I wrote that the diet was a little unhealthy.

Xero Reflux: The Dragon whisker got mentioned in a flyby scene so you may have missed it. Ranma was talking about wearing his hair down, and being glad that this time he remembered not to eat the soup. Also, I hope you enjoyed Ranma's remark about talking in the third person. That was for you (and me). If you think reading that was rough, try typing it. Seriously, next time I'm using the captions, not the voice-overs. And yes, you guessed how I intended for Ranma to remember who he was. Good job!

Martrex: Welcome aboard. I'm always glad to get a new reader. Thanks for reading.

Redgrrl: Why whatever could you be talking about? And yes, as you can see, he did.

Weebee: Glad you managed to read this with lousy monitor and all. The girl Ranma WAS over the top, but I had a lot of fun writing it that way. Hope you like this half.

Lerris: No Jusenkyo curse for Akane. I wouldn't do that, it's been done too many times before. And yes, between the unresolved tension, the memories and the actual timeline, I figured Ranma would eventually snap. As to wandering away from the canon story line, I do have a couple of ideas percolating. If one of them starts to really gel, then I hope you'll like it.

Kyuubi-sama: To answer your real question, I don't like writing the fight scenes because I don't think I do a good job. But, this chapter has a few scenes. Thanks.

Lord Strife: Blush! When I first thought of the idea, I only hoped I could write it as well as I was imagining it. I hope it worked.

Borg rabbit: Yep, the amnesia was slowly wearing off. I guess you saw that answer in this chapter.

Wonderbee31: Yeah, the I don't care what you think, my opinion is the only one that matters, does get around, doesn't it?

Delta-Theta: Thanks for the catch. I've corrected it in the version online now.

Realsmartz: Uh, what Akane and Ranma did in the privacy of their bedroom was exactly that. Seriously, I deliberately left it vague on purpose/


	42. Wedding Belles

Chapter 42 Wedding Belles

Author's Note: Warning, mild lime scenes ahead.

Ranma and Akane were waiting at the station for the train from Nerima to arrive. Mousse had been willing to fly on ahead to Nerima and to return to the small port with the permission letters as well as the stamps that Ranma and Akane would need to finalize the wedding. He had managed to get a message to them that he was arriving on the noon train, so they had walked down from the small hostel that they were staying at to meet him.

The train finally came to a stop, and a handful of passengers left the cars. Mousse was easy to spot as he came through the door, but what caught the two youths by surprise was the two people with him.

"Hello, sister, did you really think I would let you get married without me?" Kasumi asked her little sister.

"And I wouldn't let her go by herself. Besides, you need someone to stand with you when you do this," Tofu added, his eyes twinkling.

Mousse grinned and said, "I wasn't quite as clever as I thought I was. I found the letters where you said they were, but Kasumi Ono had your stamp, Akane-san."

"Well, actually Daddy had it, but I knew where he kept it," Kasumi corrected, "Oh my, I'm so excited."

Tofu chuckled and said, "She hasn't been this excited since we got married."

Kasumi swatted her husband on the arm and said, "It's not everyday that my baby sister gets married."

"True," Tofu agreed. "Why did you not want to let the parents know?" he asked.

Ranma grinned wickedly and replied, "I owe Pop for the last week, Doc. So I intend to make him sweat just a bit. I want to be the one to tell him that Akane and I got married without him. Mom and Soun couldn't keep it a secret from him. But you can tell Nabiki, just ask her not to tell anyone else first."

Akane turned to Mousse and said softly, "Thanks for all you did for us. Kodachi is waiting for us at the registry."

Mousse's eyes brightened as he said, "Thank you. Congratulations, by the way. I'm very happy for both of you."

Akane leaned over and kissed his cheek, and said, "Let's go. I have a wedding to get to."

The five of them walked down the street towards the town hall. As they began to near the town hall, Akane could feel Ranma tensing up as he gripped her hand. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and could see that he was beginning to look a little panicked, a feeling that she was all too familiar with herself. She stopped walking, forcing Ranma to stop or else drag her.

"Ranma, something is bothering you, isn't there?" Akane asked softly, "You look terrified."

"Nothing scares me, Akane, you know that," Ranma said in protest.

Akane snorted in derision and said, "Yeah, right. Then why is my hand starting to get numb from how tightly you are holding it, and why is your face so pale?" She looked around for a moment and then her eyes lit up as she saw an ice cream shop across the street. "You guys, Ranma and I are going to get some ice cream. You three go on ahead," she said.

Kasumi turned around and looked at Ranma and then whispered to Tofu, "Looks like Ranma is having some jitters about getting married."

"Let Akane handle it," Tofu replied back. He said louder, "Don't eat too much. We're planning on taking the two of you out for dinner in celebration."

Kasumi added, "Mousse, go on ahead and greet your fiancée properly. We'll give you a few minutes."

Mousse looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face, which quickly cleared up as he took in the situation. Ranma's face was pale, and had little beads of sweat in his hair. "That works for me, Tofu-san. I'll go on ahead." He sped up his pace a bit, with an avid gleam in his eyes.

Tofu took Kasumi by the hand and said, "We'll meet the two of you at the city hall." The two of them walked slowly up the street away from the two youths.

Akane led Ranma into the ice cream parlor and sat him down in one of the booths. "What's wrong?" she asked, "Don't you want to get married?"

Ranma looked quickly at her and saw the tears beginning to form. "That's not it at all, Akane," he said rapidly, hoping to stop the tears, "Please don't cry. You know I can't handle it when you do." He stopped for a moment to try to collect his thoughts and then continued, "I'm just nervous, that's all. It's not like I've ever done this before. You know, get married, have children, and it just hit me all of a sudden. I mean, what do I have for a role model? Pop essentially deserted Mom when I was six, dragging me all over Japan and then to China. What do I know about being a good husband? With that as my example?"

Akane gazed at him, her eyes full of understanding, and said, "You're not your father."

"But," Ranma began.

"Don't," Akane said, as she put her finger on his lips, "Just don't even think about it. You won't make the same mistakes that he did." She quirked a smile then and added, "You'll make different ones."

Ranma grinned at her reluctantly and said, "I suppose you're right about that. At least I won't drag our children off on a ten year training trip."

"I should hope not," Akane said, "And don't forget, I don't know anything about being a wife. I mean, I can barely cook, and that's after you, your mom, and Kasumi all tried to teach me. I can keep the house clean, Kasumi made sure of that, but I can't sew to save my life."

"There's much more to being a wife than homemaking skills, Akane," Ranma said, "Even I know that. So don't feel badly that you can't cook like Kasumi, or Mom, for instance. You've already shown that you know how to be my wife, my partner."

Akane blushed prettily and said, "And I know that you'll be a good husband. We'll have our share of ups and downs. With my temper and both our pride we can't help but have some troubles, but if we can talk to each other, we'll get through them."

Ranma's nervous expression cleared and he visibly relaxed saying, "This has helped, Akane. I'm still feeling a little nervous, but I know that I want to marry you. That's the one thing that I've been sure of ever since I got my second chance with you."

Akane said, "I've got some butterflies in my stomach, too. But I'm tired of waiting. I want you and it's been so hard sleeping in the same bed with you and not acting on that desire." By the end of the sentence Akane was blushing and looking at Ranma through downcast eyes.

Ranma stiffened in his chair. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and stammered, "You mean, like, uh,"

Akane said softly, "Yeah, exactly like that. I don't want to have to stop before it goes too far any more."

Ranma stood up and grabbed Akane by the hand. "Then, what are we doing sitting around here for?" he asked, just before he kissed her.

"I think we're ready," Akane said as the two of them walked out the door, hand-in-hand.

* * *

After the brief meeting at the town hall, the three couples celebrated at a small café that Kodachi had found while she had been wandering the town. Ranma sat next to his new wife, his arm around her, chuckling slightly. 

Akane looked at him with a puzzled look on her face and asked, softly, "What's got you so amused?"

"Just thinking about the reaction that Kodachi will get from her father when we get back to Nerima," Ranma replied.

"Hey, Mousse and Kodachi have been dancing around the issue for a couple of weeks. Kodachi isn't one to let her deluded father tell her what to do," Akane said, "I think it's kind of sweet that they went ahead and got married with us."

"They do make a cute couple," Ranma said, "And I like both of them like this." He watched in amusement as Kodachi wrapped herself around Mousse, both of them ignoring the food in front of them.

Kasumi leaned away from her husband for a moment and asked, "When do you plan on letting everyone know about you two?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Once we tell Mom and Pop. I thought we'd invite them over to the dojo after we get home."

"Did you tell the school that we'd be gone the rest of the week?" Akane asked.

"Yes, though they weren't very happy about it. I told them it was a family emergency," Kasumi replied.

Ranma shrugged and said, "I think taking a quick trip to China to rescue me would count as a family emergency."

"That only takes care of the first two days, Ranma," Kasumi said.

"Well, getting married so I can have peace of mind is pretty important, too," Akane said with a smile.

"Peace of mind, huh?" Tofu asked.

Kasumi frowned at Tofu and said, warningly, "Tofu!"

"Just teasing, dear," Tofu said.

Ranma looked a question at Akane who was blushing. Akane looked at her watch and said, "It's getting late. If you two are heading back home, we'd better let you get to the station."

"And you have a honeymoon night that you want to start," Kasumi teased, "That we're keeping you from."

Akane giggled and said, "There is that," as she gazed passionately at Ranma.

"And we really need to get those two a private room," Tofu said with a chuckle, nodding his head at Kodachi and Mousse who where oblivious to the rest of the world.

* * *

Ranma ushered the bellboy out of the room, after ensuring good service with a decent tip, and then placed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the doorknob before closing the door. He turned to see his new wife walk into the private bathing room of the western style honeymoon suite that somehow Kodachi had managed to book for them while Ranma and Akane had been waiting at the train station. As he watched appreciatively through the open door, she bent to test the water in the heart shaped bath tub that was visible in the center of the room. "Remind me to do something nice for Dachi when we get back," Ranma said with a smile. 

"It's nice to have a friend like her isn't it? Someone with a bit of money who isn't bashful about helping," Akane replied as she walked back into the main room of the suite.

"She certainly greased the skids both at the town hall and then here at this hotel," Ranma agreed, "The clerk at the town hall nearly hit his head on the floor, he was bowing so low when we arrived. And he didn't bat an eye when she told him to fill out the paperwork for her and Mousse, even though she was underage and didn't have anything from her father permitting the marriage."

"Is she much different this time?" Akane asked softly.

Ranma thought for a moment, and then replied, "Well, she was never really the most serious of any of the girls chasing me. And after I pretended to be her boyfriend so she could show me off for that girl, what's her name, the White Lily, she really gave up on me. Though she did show up for our wedding in a wedding gown, now that I stop to think about it. But this time, she has someone who loves her and that makes a big difference." He paused for a moment and then said, "But that's really not a topic for our wedding night, is it?' He walked over to Akane and wrapped his arms around her and began kissing her neck, causing her to squeal.

Akane arched her back, pressing herself tightly against Ranma's chest, and moaned slightly as he began to rub small circles in the small of her back with his right hand. Then she reached up and pulled his head toward her, as she captured his lips with hers.

The two of them stayed in that embrace until the lack of oxygen forced them apart. Akane grinned lasciviously, as she saw the look of wanton desire in her husband's eyes, and felt the evidence of that desire pressing upon her. She said huskily, "Ranma, go take a bath, and then get ready for bed."

Ranma pulled away reluctantly and then chuckled as he saw that Akane was licking her lips hungrily. "I won't take too long," he said in a voice that caused shivers to run up Akane's spine. He kissed her again, and then with a wicked smile, started undressing, dropping his clothes on the floor and, then walked proudly to the tub and climbed in. After a few moments, he heard a hesitant footstep and then to his surprise, Akane joined him in the tub, her eyes glancing down at the water.

"On second thought," Akane said, her eyes showing her hunger, just before Ranma claimed her lips.

Ranma began rubbing the small of her back, his firm but gentle fingers causing small shivers to run up her spine, and she arched her back, tormenting him with the feel of her breasts brushing lightly against his chest.

Akane gazed into his eyes as she slid onto his lap, and then the two of them began the consummation of their long pent-up desires.

* * *

Ranma woke up the next morning to find Akane sleeping peacefully next to him in the large bed. He smiled tenderly down at her, remembering how surprised he had been when she had joined him in the tub and initiated their first bout of lovemaking. The mess they had made when most of the water sloshed out of the tub had made him glad that the designers of the hotel had included a small drain in the floor for just that occurrence. Their second bout was less fierce, much more tender as they now were able to take their time. Once they had exhausted themselves, the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms. His smile grew larger as he realized that he had finally achieved the one thing that had driven him for so long, that he had successfully married the girl, no the woman he had grown to love. 

The first thing that Akane saw as she opened her eyes was the sight of her husband, her lover, gazing at her with a happy grin on his face. The sheer happiness in his eyes thrilled her to the core, as she realized that she was the cause of that happiness. Then she watched as those gorgeous blue eyes darkened with desire, stirring something deep inside her. As she reached for Ranma, the moment was ruined as first his stomach growled and then hers answered. The two of them broke down in laughter as Akane said, "I guess we need to feed a different appetite first."

"Room service or do you want to dress?" Ranma asked as he climbed out of bed.

Akane gazed at the naked body of her husband and replied, huskily, "Let's eat in."

Ranma chuckled as he made his way to the telephone sitting on the dresser. "Anything in particular, or just soup, rice?" he asked.

"Actually, I was thinking maybe a Western style breakfast. Maybe an omelet and some bacon?" Akane replied, "I need some protein after last night."

Ranma glanced down at the room service menu and read the selections. "How about a ham and cheese omelet," Ranma suggested. Seeing Akane nod in agreement, he called down to the room service number and made his order. He turned and asked, gently, "Are you okay? I remember from what Doc told me that, well,"

"I'm fine, Ranma," Akane replied, "You didn't hurt me last night. As active as I've been with sports, there wasn't anything to break. And it was everything that I hoped for." She grinned at the look of relief on Ranma's face.

"I'm glad that I didn't hurt you," Ranma said.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Akane said with a smile, "After all, those are muscles that I've never exercised before. And I prescribe plenty of exercise so they get stronger." She laughed as Ranma's eyes glazed over and a small trail of drool slid from his mouth. "Oh dear, I think that may have been too much for him," Akane said with a throaty chuckle.

After a few moments, Ranma began to frown.

Akane looked at him in surprise and asked, "Did I just miss something?"

"No, Akane, not really. I was just thinking about last night and how lucky we were that the water stayed warm enough until we, um, er, finished our water sports," Ranma replied. He began to blush, and added, "I mean, it would have been, uh, well awkward if I had changed into a girl, while um"

Akane began to blush too, and she said, "Er, yeah, that would have felt, um, strange if, um, it had happened while we were um, yeah. I mean while you were in, um, yeah. Maybe we ought to avoid water sports for a while."

Ranma grinned wryly at her and said, "Exactly. I couldn't have said it any better than that. I, um, that is, that's not a road I'm ready to explore yet. I want us to be, um, comfortable with what we do with each other before, well, you know."

"You'd better throw a robe on before the food gets up here," Akane suggested. She threw the covers off of herself, and slid out of the bed, causing Ranma to lick his lips at the sight of her nude form. "We have the rest of our lives for that, Ranma," Akane said as she noticed the sign of his interest. She smiled victoriously to herself as she saw the look of disappointment flash across his face as she pulled her own robe on, and pulled the sash tight.

Ranma hurriedly tossed his robe on as he heard the sound of someone knocking on the door to the suite. He left the bedroom and with several quick strides crossed the sitting room to the door and opened it. There he found the bellboy with a tray full of covered dishes. He stepped out of the way, and allowed the young man to enter and place the tray of food on the small table. He handed him a few coins, and said, "Thank you. That was pretty fast."

"This hotel prides itself on its service, and then Miss Kuno said that you two were special friends of hers, so that means we will do the best we can to ensure that you have a pleasant stay. If you need any assistance with anything, call down to the concierge desk and one of us will be happy to help," the boy said as he pocketed the tip. He bowed himself out of the room, closing the door behind him as he left.

Ranma chuckled to himself as Akane joined him at the table. He uncovered the dishes to find a large omelet and a rasher of bacon. The two of them seated themselves at the table, Akane sitting in Ranma's lap, as they began to eat. Ranma began to blush at the sensations he was feeling, when suddenly a look of horror appeared on his face. "Uh, Akane, I'm going to sound like a total ass for asking this, but I didn't think about what we've done. I mean, I'm not ready to be a father, but I didn't do anything to prevent it," he began, stammering in his embarrassment, "And you didn't do anything."

"Relax Ranma," Akane said with a laugh, "Even though it's a bit embarrassing, Kasumi sat me down when we started sharing a bed and gave me the TALK."

"The TALK? What's that?" Ranma asked.

Akane blushed and replied, "Oh, telling me how things worked, what went were, and telling me not to do anything that would get us in trouble. That kind of thing. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

"Uh, this is me you're talking to remember. The only person who could have given me that kind of talk would have been Pop. I shudder to think what he would have told me," Ranma said, "In fact, I'd rather not think about what he would have told me."

Akane giggled and said, "You're probably right about that. Anyway, after she embarrassed me sufficiently, she told me to be careful. I told her not to worry, that we wouldn't do anything until we got married, but she said something about passion running high and hormones. Then she handed me a prescription for birth control pills that she got from Doc." She tried not to giggle at the sigh of relief that Ranma made.

Ranma frowned for a moment and said, "Don't get me wrong, one of these days I do want us to be parents, but not until I've grown up a bit."

Akane smirked at him, and said, "Oh, so you expect me to be a mother when I'm forty or so, do you?"

"Well, maybe a bit sooner than that," Ranma said, "I'm not quite that bad." He grinned to show he knew that she was teasing.

"So what else are we going to do on our honeymoon?" Akane asked.

"Well, first of all, if you don't stop wriggling in my lap like that, we won't be finishing this food," Ranma said, with a husky voice. After Akane stilled, and he recovered his composure, he continued, "I thought that sometime today we should go shopping. I want to buy something for a souvenir of our first night together as a married couple."

"Ah, that's so romantic. I didn't think you had that in you," Akane replied, with a look of pride on her face.

"What? I'm not totally clueless," Ranma protested, with a hint of a smile in his voice as he recognized that Akane was teasing him, in more ways than one, as she bounced in his lap once more. Ranma finished eating, and slid the plate away from himself. He waited impatiently until Akane finished her last bite of food, and then he picked her up and turned her around so that she was facing him, and slid his hands under her robes and began to caress the smooth skin of her back. "Now where were we?" he asked with a growl.

Akane leaned into his caress and kissed him, parting her lips in invitation. She said, huskily, "Looks like we are going to be exercising those muscles again."

* * *

Akane stopped at the gate to the Tendo compound and turned to look at her husband. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, looking at the currently red-haired girl, dressed modestly in an attractive blouse and skirt. 

Ranma giggled and replied, "It's just for tonight and tomorrow, Akane. Please let me have some fun with this. I owe Pop big time for hitting me into the pond and we can't tell your father the truth or he'll ruin the joke."

Akane sighed and said, "Well, I guess I can understand." She began to smirk and said, "But you'll owe me big time. I got used to having my husband with me at night."

"Yeah, and in the morning, at lunch, in the evening. You just liked the exercise," Ranma said with a wicked grin.

Akane blushed furiously and swatted Ranma. "You enjoyed it as much as I did," she said with a grin, "And I can't wait until we can get in bed tonight."

"I've created a monster, she's insatiable," Ranma teased.

Akane pulled her eyelid down and went, "Biee." Then she opened the gate and walked in, closely followed by a demure Ranma. As they neared the front door, it opened and revealed Kasumi standing there waiting for them.

"Right on time for dinner, you two," Kasumi said as she hugged Akane and then Ranma. "How come you're female tonight?" Kasumi asked.

"Just play along with me," Ranma said softly, "I'm still pretending to be a girl."

Kasumi began to giggle as she led the two girls into the house. Ranma and Akane dropped their backpacks at the foot of the stairs and then made their way into the family room to find the rest of the Tendo family already sitting around the table.

Soun stood up and rushed over to Akane. "My baby girl is back, safe and sound. I thought I had lost you when you didn't return with the others," he wailed, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Daddy, Ranma and I just took a short break so she could relax after what she went through," Akane said as she pulled herself away from her father before he could soak her anymore than he had already done.

"Ranma, how are you feeling? Are you?" Soun began to ask and then realized that Ranma was standing in front of him, her eyes downcast.

Ranma said softly, "I'm fine now, Tendo-san. Now that Akane has rescued me from those horrid people. I was so scared while they had me. I didn't know what they were going to do to me, but Akane and all my friends came. You should have seen her; she was wonderful. When she burst through the door after battling all of the other members of that awful school, all I could think of was My Hero." Over Soun's shoulder, Ranma could see Nabiki rolling her eyes at how thick she was shoveling, while Kasumi and Tofu had their hands in their mouth stifling their laughter.

Soun whispered to Akane, "Does he think he's still a girl?"

Akane frowned at her father and said, softly, "There's been no change since we left Nekonron behind."

"Alas, the schools will never be joined," Soun cried.

"Don't worry so much, Tendo-san. I still love your daughter more than anything. I would do anything for her," Ranma said, batting her eyelashes at Akane, "Even pretend to be a boy."

"Daddy, let them sit down. Our dinner is getting cold," Kasumi said. The three of them sat down in their places, with Ranma cuddling up next to Akane, who put her left arm around the other girl, allowing Ranma to lean her head on Akane's shoulder.

"How long has that been going on?" Soun asked, his eyes wide.

"Ever since we got back to Japan," Akane replied, her eyes filled with hidden mirth, "Ranma is very touchy-feely right now."

"I'm sure that Ranma has touched you in places that no one ever has," Nabiki teased.

Akane choked on the tea that she was drinking as Kasumi hid a smile. Ranma said innocently, "Akane seemed to enjoy the deep massages that I've given her. At least from the sounds she was making."

"I'm sure that she did," Nabiki smirked.

Ranma poured some more tea for Akane, and placed some more food on her plate, playing the part of a traditional Japanese wife.

"Ranma, I can feed myself, you know," Akane said.

"But, dear, this is my obligation," Ranma protested, "My duty as your spouse."

Soun stared at the two of them, mechanically eating his dinner.

"How was your stay in Niigata? Did you have a good time?" Tofu asked.

Ranma gushed, "It was wonderful. We spent time running around with Mousse and Kodachi, sightseeing, things like that. Swimming in the hotel pool, and generally just relaxing." She reached out and grabbed Akane's hand, and added, "Just being with my rescuer was the best part."

"Yes, it was a lot of fun. I couldn't thank Kodachi enough for arranging our hotel, and she even paid for our meals," Akane added, with a blush for the effusive praise, "Plus it helped us unwind from everything that happened." She looked at her father and asked, plaintively, "For now, don't ask about it. Just be glad that everything worked out."

"Are you done eating, Tendo-san?" Ranma asked politely.

Soun merely nodded, so Ranma gracefully stood up and took his dishes, Akane's dishes and her own toward the kitchen. "Akane, if you wish, you may go to the furo and I'll help you wash your back. It was a long train ride," she said as she went through the kitchen door.

Soun's eyes went vacant for a moment and then he walked over to the cabinet where he kept his liquor. Pouring a large cup, he slammed back his best saké. "Kasumi, I think I'll be staying in bed late tomorrow," Soun mumbled as he left the room and headed toward his bedroom.

Ranma walked back out of the kitchen as Akane and Nabiki broke out laughing.

Nabiki asked, "Don't you think you were laying that on a bit thick, Saotome? Gee, even Kasumi isn't that much of a traditional Japanese housewife."

"Why sister, whatever do you mean by that?" Ranma asked, batting her eyes at Nabiki.

"Oh stop that already," Nabiki growled.

Ranma pouted for a moment and then said, "Well, you're no fun anymore." She grinned and said, "Okay, I admit, I was spreading it pretty thick. But this is your father remember? While he's not quite as clueless as Pop, he does come close."

"So, when are you going to tell him the truth?" Nabiki asked.

Akane smiled wickedly and replied, "After we pull the same kind of prank on the old panda."

"So little sis, how's it feel to be married?" Nabiki asked.

"It's the best thing I've ever done," Ranma replied, "Now I wish we'd done it sooner."

"What Ranma said," Akane answered.

"You do know that we'll want all of the details?" Nabiki asked.

"Tomorrow, okay," Akane replied, "Right now, I have an appointment with the furo. Coming, dear?"

* * *

Nodoka knocked on the door to the Tendo house, eager to see her child. The odd phone call from Kasumi that morning had caused all sorts of strange thoughts to run through Nodoka's mind. Especially when she said that Ranma wished them to come over this afternoon, and that they were to be dressed in their best kimonos. And the fact that Kasumi had ignored her questions about Ranma concerned her greatly. Nodoka hadn't even been aware that Ranma had come back to Nerima after being kidnapped. 

Silently the door opened and Kasumi appeared. "Ah, Auntie Nodoka, Mr. Saotome, right on time. That is excellent. Please come on through to the kitchen. They are waiting for you in the dojo," she said. Once they reached the kitchen, Kasumi frowned slightly in the direction of Genma.

Nodoka glanced over and saw that his obi was not correct. Tsking under her breath, she straightened out the fold of the belt and then raised one eyebrow in surprise as Kasumi held out a small stone basin of water. "A tea ceremony?" she asked, not surprised at all when Kasumi nodded in the affirmative, her normally placid features alight with a hint of something. Nodoka elbowed her husband and the two of them began preparing themselves for the ritual, by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths. Kasumi then handed them two ornate fans and sent them out the back door towards the dojo.

"I'm not sure why they are doing this, Genma, but you'd better be on your best behavior," Nodoka hissed as they reached the sliding door to the dojo and began the ritual on entry. Once they had completed everything, and reached the center of the dojo, Nodoka's eyes twitched as she saw an elegantly dressed young girl, with flowing red hair, which she could barely recognize as her son turned daughter, and if she wasn't mistaken wearing just the faintest touch of makeup, with earrings dangling from each ear. Akane sat behind her, her face impassive, dressed in a kimono similar to the one that Ranma was wearing, also looking very attractive.

Ranma expertly prepared the tea, taking a scoop of the powdered green tea from the natsume and placing it into a gaily-decorated tea bowl, which was already filled with hot water from the kettle sitting next to Ranma. Without a word, she whisked the tea as it brewed and when she judged that it was ready, the four of them performed the ritual of tea flawlessly, except for when Genma forgot to turn the bowl around. Aside from a slight tightening of the muscles around her eyes, Ranma did not react to the slight.

Once the four of them had completed the ritual, Ranma gathered everything up and placed them on a small tray. "Thank you for coming today, Mother, Father," she said in a soft voice, "I'm sure you have many questions, but I wanted to show my appreciation for the two of you."

"Thank you, dear, this was very kind of you," Nodoka replied equally as soft, "We have been worried about you. When the two of you didn't come back with your friends, and then they wouldn't tell us what happened, I was beginning to get concerned."

"I know. That was another reason for the ceremony this afternoon, to make amends for the anguish that I may have caused you by my actions," Ranma said.

"But many things have happened since Ranma was abducted and we wanted to make sure that you heard the story from us," Akane added, "As you can see, we were able to rescue Ranma without harm, but she and I needed some time alone together. There were some things that we needed to discuss and the chance of us having any privacy here wasn't very high. You know how Daddy can be, getting overly emotional."

"You look exquisite, both of you," Nodoka said, "Two very attractive young women."

"Thank you, Mother," Ranma said.

Akane smiled her thanks.

"Is Ranma cured?" Genma interrupted.

"Father, what do you mean cured?" Ranma asked in her pleasant soprano voice, "I feel perfectly fine, but that is no different from when I was carried off by that awful man. Akane was so heroic." Ranma batted her eyes at Akane who blushed prettily.

"I couldn't just leave you there, Ranma. You know that," Akane said, wondering if Ranma was laying things on a bit too thick.

"True, I do know that," Ranma agreed with a smile, "But I can't begin to describe how I felt when I saw you standing in the doorway."

"So what things did the two of you have to discuss?" Nodoka asked, trying to get to why they were having this conversation.

"You two aren't breaking up are you?" Genma growled suspiciously. 'They better not ruin my retirement,' he thought.

"Oh no, Father. Entirely to the contrary. Akane insisted that we get married as soon as we arrived in Japan," Ranma said as she reached for Akane's hand. With the other, she pulled a small chain out from under her robe and showed a small, plain gold band threaded through the chain.

"You two are married?" Nodoka asked in shock.

"Yes, Mother," Akane replied, "I couldn't bear the thought of losing Ranma again, so I insisted that we get married."

"I know that will disappoint you a little bit, Mother. I know you wanted to see me in my wedding kimono and everything, but we went down to the town hall and registered as soon as Kasumi arrived with our stamps," Ranma said.

Akane added, "We do plan on having a real wedding ceremony in August so all of our friends can help celebrate."

Genma looked on in shock, and asked, "But, what about the future?"

"Father, I'm afraid that I don't understand," Ranma said.

Nodoka grimaced and said, "I think he is wondering about children."

Ranma giggled and said, "Honestly, Mother. I'm still too young to bear children. We need to get out of school first, maybe even finish college, and get the dojo on a firm footing financially before we can even consider that."

"You bearing children," Genma sputtered in shock.

"Well, of course. Akane is going to be entirely too busy teaching in the dojo for her to carry them," Ranma said in surprise.

Genma started talking incoherently, saying things like, "Ranma, bearing children, Ranma, mother," and then his eyes glazed as he fell over in a faint.

"Oh dear, I think we broke him," Ranma said.

Akane began to giggle, causing Nodoka to look at the two of them closer. She saw identical looks of mischief in their eyes.

"Okay, how much of what I just heard is the truth?" Nodoka asked, trying unsuccessfully to keep a smile from forming.

"Well, Mom, we are married, we do plan on a formal ceremony in August, and definitely I don't plan on bearing any children soon or otherwise," Ranma replied with a smile, "And to answer the question that you are afraid to ask, I know that I'm your son by birth. We just owed the panda man some grief."

Nodoka chuckled and said, "Well, then, I guess I can forgive you for this." She smiled wickedly and added, "But you do make such a pretty girl."

Ranma glared at her for a moment and then gave up. "Thanks, Mom," she said softly, "But I get that from you."

"Fortunately," Akane said dryly, causing all three of them to giggle.

After several minutes of laughter, Akane said softly, "Mom, the other thing that Ranma said in there is true in a way. We need to get through school and have the dojo running well before we have children. I hope you can understand that. We talked about it and, well as much as we both want them, we're still children ourselves."

Nodoka smiled fondly at her and said, "It's true that I want some grandchildren to spoil, after all that **is** what grandmothers do, but I understand why you feel you need to wait. And I agree with that, though the fact that you came up with such an adult reason tells me that you two aren't children anymore. Genma on the other hand hasn't grown up at all."

"Why don't we head back into the house where we can get a bit more comfortable?" Ranma suggested.

"That's a good idea," Akane said, "Besides, you probably want to go change."

Ranma giggled and replied, "Nah, I think we'll keep this up for a while. I'm having fun messing with the panda's mind."

Nodoka hid a smile and said, "That's not very manly of you, Ranma."

Akane gave a less than ladylike snort and said, "Oh, I can vouch that he is very manly." Then she blushed as she realized what she said.

"Looks like the Saotome foot in mouth disease is contagious," Ranma said as she rose from the floor carrying the tea equipment.

"It appears so," Nodoka said, as she rose gracefully with Akane. She turned to Akane and asked, innocently, "So my son is a good lover, is he?"

"Mom!" Ranma exclaimed, "Can't you at least wait until I'm not in the room?"

Akane giggled as she followed the other two women into the house, leaving a comatose Genma behind on the dojo floor. Ranma dropped off the tray in the kitchen and said, "Thank you for helping me set this up, Kasumi."

"Oh my, it was my pleasure, little sis," Kasumi replied. She smiled serenely at Nodoka and said, "Welcome to our family, Auntie. Now it's official instead of just pretend."

"Does your father know about the wedding?" Nodoka asked.

"Er, well, we were afraid to tell him because it would ruin the prank we played," Ranma said sheepishly, "I just knew he would run off to tell Pop."

Kasumi giggled, and said, "Daddy would dance around the house singing, wouldn't he?"

"And then run off to find Genma so the two of them could celebrate over a couple of bottles of saké and some expensive sushi," Nabiki drawled from where she was standing in the doorway.

"Does he still think you have amnesia?" Nodoka asked.

Akane replied, her eyes dancing with mirth, "Yes, Mom. Ranma played it up for all it was worth last night when we got in. I felt a little sorry for him, but we couldn't resist." She smiled then, remembering some of the stupid plans the two fathers had tried that Ranma had told her about. 'Yes, even though Daddy isn't really the same person that did those things, we still owe him for the engagement in the first place,' she thought.

"Well, then ladies, shall we go in to the family room. I want all of the details," Nodoka said.

"Details?" Ranma asked.

Nodoka smiled at her daughter and said, "Of course, I want to hear all about the adventure you had." She waited for a moment for Ranma to relax and then added, "And about how the honeymoon went."

Nabiki and Nodoka both laughed at the identical expression on the other two girls' faces, while Kasumi had an understanding look on her face.

The two of them spent the next hour or so describing the journey to Nekonron, and the battles that the two of them faced before Ranma finally defeated Kirin.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, once they were finished, "That sounded so dangerous."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "It had to be done. Though, since I didn't want to hurt him badly, I chose not to use the Neko-ken." She looked a little sheepish and added, "I'm still not quite sure where the ends of the claws are, and they could do a lot of damage if I misjudged them."

"That was wise of you," Nodoka said calmly.

Ranma wiped her hand across her face and said, "There's something else that happened when I got all of my memories back, Mom. I've already talked about this with Akane, but, I'm not sure I'm the same person."

Nodoka frowned and asked, "What exactly does that mean?"

Ranma grew still for a minute and then said, "I remember what I was like before I hit my head, and I remember what I was like when I thought I was a girl, but that's not who I am anymore. I think I've sort of merged the two personalities."

"Oh dear," Kasumi said.

"Oh, it's not bad, and there probably isn't any real difference in how I'll act, but then, maybe there will be," Ranma said softly, "I think some of the edginess that I used to have is gone, because I don't react quite the same way, I think."

"Well, you're certainly a lot more introspective now," Kasumi said.

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

"That hasn't changed," Nabiki teased.

Soun stumbled into the family room, his eyes bloodshot. "Oh, hello Nodoka, I didn't realize that you were here," he said.

"Where else would I be?" Nodoka asked in response, "After all, it's been over a week since I had seen Ranma, and I was so happy to find out that the two of them were here. Genma is in the dojo, I believe."

"Tendo-san," Ranma said, straightfaced, "Akane and I still have something to tell you. We would have mentioned it last night, but you ran off so fast after dinner that, well, we just didn't get a chance. And this was really something a girl should tell her mother first."

Soun asked wearily, "Well, what else is there to tell me?"

Akane held out her hand, and showed him the small gold band on her ring finger. "Ranma and I got married while we were in Niigata," she replied.

"Isn't that wonderful, Soun, though I have to admit I was hoping to a real ceremony," Nodoka said.

Genma staggered in from the dojo, his eyes wild. "Tendo, did you know about this?" he roared.

"Know about what, Saotome?" Soun asked, bewildered.

"That, that these two ran off and got married!" Genma exclaimed.

"I just found out," Soun said, "Akane told me just before you walked in." He began to wail, "My daughter married another girl!" He sank to the floor in shock.

"Daddy, please don't cry," Kasumi said, "I just finished getting the floor polished, and your tears will ruin the finish."

"Soun, we need to talk," Genma said, "Let's go into the dojo."

Soun walked over to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a full bottle of saké and two cups. "Okay, I'm ready now," Soun said as he followed Genma out of the family room.

Kasumi glanced at the delicate watch on her arm and exclaimed, "Oh dear, I didn't realize that it was this late. I need to start on dinner."

"Do you need some help?" Ranma asked.

"That would be great, thank you," Kasumi said. She stood up and went into the kitchen, followed by Ranma and Akane.

* * *

Soun sank down on the floor of the dojo and then poured two cups from the bottle in his hand. He handed the first one to Genma, and then slammed back his. 

"Do you know what that son of mine said to us this afternoon?" Genma growled.

Soun replied, "Of course not! I wasn't here."

"He still thinks that he is a girl," Genma said.

"What are we going to do? I can't have my daughter married like this! I love the real Ranma dearly, but this person he, she, whatever, has become," Soun babbled.

"Ranma even talked about being the one to have children," Genma said, shuddering, "We've got to snap him out of it."

Soun poured another drink for both he and Genma, and then they promptly downed them. "Well, it all happened when he hit his head," Soun said hesitantly. He poured a third round, both of which vanished rapidly.

"That's it. Maybe all we have to do is hit him again and he'll snap out of it. Tendo, you're brilliant!" Genma exclaimed, as the alcohol began to hit him. Genma grabbed the bottle away from Soun and gulped down a large portion of the saké.

"Hey, that's mine!" Soun exclaimed muzzily as he snatched the bottle away and copied Genma. The two of them fought over the bottle for a few moments and then Soun said, "Look, one hundred yen!"

Genma glanced down, letting the bottle go, looking for the money.

Soun drank most of the rest of the bottle.

"Tendo! No fair!" Genma said. He shook his head and said, drunkenly, "We need to develop a plan."

"Well, I can lure him out here and you can hit him with one of the concrete blocks," Soun said slowly, talking very carefully, his eyes beginning to cross.

Suddenly, the scrape of metal was heard from the doorway, a sound so chilling it made the hair on the back of the two men's necks stand up. Genma turned to see his wife standing in the door, as the temperature of the dojo seemed to plummet. Her katana blade was glittering in the light of the afternoon sun, blinding Genma.

"You will not touch my child!" Nodoka said heatedly.

"But, No-chan," Genma began.

"Don't No-chan me," Nodoka snapped, "Remember what both Tofu and Doctor Hojo said about this case. You could cause more damage by your clumsy attempt to cure him. I wouldn't be surprised if Ranma snaps out of it soon."

"Nodoka, think of the scandal if he goes to school like this and everyone finds out that they are married," Soun whined.

"Why does it matter? The school knows about his curse and that he really is a man. They'll understand," Nodoka said, her eyes chill.

"But," Genma began to protest.

Nodoka sighed wearily and said, "Genma, you have done so many things to hurt your son. Why can't you just leave things alone right now? Our son is happy at the moment. Remember, I still haven't forgiven you for all of the things that you did during the ten years he was gone from me. Or has the fact that I've not let you share a bedroom with me, much less a bed, not made you realize that?"

Soun blearily said, "That was too much information. But, Saotome, old friend, she's right. There's nothing we can do except wait and hope."

* * *

Kasumi called out in her gentle voice, "Dinner time!" Suddenly, the family room was filled as the family gathered around the table. Kasumi walked in, wearing her favorite apron over her dress, carrying a large tray of food. Ranma followed her, also wearing a flowery apron over her dress, with an equally impressive tray. Akane brought out a tray with the tea, several bottles of wine, and a bowl of pickled vegetables. The three women set the trays down on the low table and then knelt down gracefully. 

Kasumi filled bowls with rice from the rice cooker sitting next to her and passed them around the table, while Ranma dished up bowls of miso soup and handed them out. Akane placed a plate with many skewers of chicken yakatori in the middle of the table, and then added a plate with gyozas to the mix. Finally, she placed the bowl of pickles in the middle of the table.

Kasumi opened two of the bottles and poured glasses for everyone. Soun looked at her in surprise and asked, "Are we celebrating something?"

"Well of course, Daddy. We're celebrating the safe return of Ranma and Akane, and their wedding. Isn't that a good enough reason?" Kasumi replied.

"Of course it is," Nodoka replied, with a warm smile at the younger woman, "That also explains all of the food, I suppose."

"Yes, Auntie," Kasumi replied.

Genma cleared his throat and asked, "How are you feeling boy?"

"What do you mean Father?" Ranma asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"You were gone for several days with those kidnappers," Genma said, "And I wanted to make sure that you didn't have any injuries."

"No, they didn't mistreat me at all. Well, except for the first night when I was put in a storeroom," Ranma said. She blushed, and added, "Of course, I deserved it for hitting Kirin. I still don't know why I did that."

"Yes, that **is** so unlike you," Nabiki said, her sarcasm being missed by everyone else in the room.

Ranma added, "We reached Nekonron and that day Akane and my friends came and got me away from them. It turned out fine, since Kirin decided he would marry Lychee because she was the true owner of the scroll."

"Anwer my question!" Genma growled.

"Father, I really don't know what to say. I feel fine. Akane and I had a great time relaxing," Ranma replied, pretending to get upset.

"Relaxing?" Nabiki drawled, "Is that what they're calling it now?"

Akane blushed bright red and then replied, "We **are** married, sis. We **didn't** spend all of our time playing board games." 'Or any of it as a matter of fact,' she thought. She reached out and caressed Ranma's leg, and then wrapped her arm around the smaller girl possessively.

Soun's mustache quivered and his eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead. "Uh, I guess that means you're not a little girl any more," he said, a tear showing in the corner of his eye.

Ranma shrugged, and said softly, "I did say that I would be a guy for her, Tendo-san. I will do anything to make her happy." There was a sharp crack as suddenly Ranma's hands blurred. Everyone looked to see Genma's hand trapped between Ranma's chopsticks. "Father, those are for Akane. You can't have them. I made them specially for her," Ranma said, two red spots appearing on her cheeks.

"You would begrudge your old man some of that grilled salmon?" Genma asked, his eyes narrowed.

Akane blushed again and said, "Really, Ranma, there's way too much for me to eat. But I have to admit it is very tasty. The teriyaki sauce is perfect for it."

"Tendo, did you see that block?" Genma whispered.

"I certainly did, Saotome," Soun replied equally softly.

Genma lifted up his glass and said, "Well, I'd like to make a toast to the happy couple."

The rest of the group raised their glasses and joined in the toast, and then took a sip. Ranma and Akane gazed adoringly at each other, causing Nabiki to snicker.

Soun cleared his throat and asked, "Why did you two decide to elope?"

Akane frowned slightly and replied, "That was my idea. I thought I had lost Ranma. I swore an oath that if I rescued her there would be no more waiting. I couldn't bear the idea that we wouldn't be together."

Ranma giggled and added, "She was very persuasive. And once I got over my surprise, I realized that I was tired of waiting myself." She shrugged and added, "There's no telling what might happen in the future. For all I know, there might be more fiancées or fiancés out there." Here she glared at Genma and continued, "At least now, Akane and I don't have to worry about them."

Genma cowered under Nodoka's gaze as he said, "There isn't any one else, I swear on my honor."

Soun paled slightly.

Nodoka chuckled grimly and asked, "For your sake, there better not be. As clan chief, I have not decided how your actions over the years have affected our honor. If I find out that you have been less than honorable, then I will have no choice but to cast you out."

Genma looked down at the floor and grimaced. "I have made many mistakes, Nodoka, I will admit that,but everything I did was for the sake of the school."

Ranma's eyes flashed dangerously and a growl almost escaped her throat. Her anger nearly overwhelmed her until she felt Akane kiss her lightly on the cheek.

"Really?" Nabiki drawled, "So stealing poor Ukyo's dowry was for the school? That seems to be a bit of a stretch."

Kasumi added, "And starving Ranma so you could feed your stomach! That was for the sake of the school?" The hint of anger in her voice caused everyone to turn and look at her. Her normally placid expression was gone, and instead she was glaring at Genma. If looks could kill, he would have been a dead man. She turned to her father and said, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I know that he is your friend, but I have lost my patience with his excuses."

"Mom! Nabiki! Kasumi!" Akane exclaimed, "Please, let it go for now. This should be a happy time. Please don't ruin it for us."

Nodoka bowed to Akane and said, "Daughter, you are correct. We should be happy for you. And I can tell from the glow around you that Ranma does make you happy." She turned to Ranma and said, simply, "Play time is over, dear."

Ranma sighed and asked, "Do I have to?" She pouted prettily at her mother.

Nodoka smiled briefly and then replied, "Yes. It's time. You wouldn't believe some of the things they were planning."

Ranma grumbled for a moment and then said, "Yeah, I guess you're right Mom." She cracked her knuckles slightly and narrowed her eyes. "Okay, Pop, I'm only gonna say this once. One, I'm back, and two, stay out of our lives. You couldn't even be bothered to come and rescue me. What does that say about you?"

"What do you mean you're back?" Soun asked.

"Mr. Tendo, we were playing a prank on Pop. I was only pretending to believe I was a girl. While I was in Nekonron, I realized the truth and remembered who I really was." She squeezed Akane's hand and continued, "Thanks to my wife, well fiancée at the time."

"And we couldn't tell you, Daddy, because you would have spoiled our fun," Akane continued, "But we always intended to come clean tonight."

"So let's just have our party," Tofu said.

Soun smiled happily and said, "Then that means my daughter didn't marry another girl."

"Well," Ranma said as she glanced down at her impressive chest, "Not totally, I suppose."

Genma frowned and asked, "What did you mean by stay out of your lives?"

Akane growled at him and said, "What do you think, idiot?"

"Daughter, please don't talk to our guest that way," Soun commanded.

Ranma placed her hand on Akane's and said, "Let me take care of this." She gazed coldly at her father and said, "You have to **ask** after everything that you've done. Seriously, you have managed to totally screw up my life in every way possible. The Nekoken training, being too stupid to listen to the guide at Jusenkyo so we ended up with these curses, and then to top it off, nearly getting me killed by hitting me into the koi pond. Stealing Ukyo's dowry and getting me engaged to her when you ALREADY had a prior agreement with the Tendo's!"

"Ungrateful child," Genma shouted, "I gave up ten years of my life to turn you into the best martial artist of your generation. And this is the thanks I get for my sacrifices. Well, if that's the way you want to treat me, fine. You're no son of mine." He stood up and said, "Come, Nodoka. We aren't wanted here."

"Sit down, and get over yourself, Genma," Nodoka said calmly, her face impassive, "Ranma is MY child and nothing you or anyone else can say or do will make me abandon him, or her, as the case may be." She asked, rhetorically, "Did Ranma say anything that was untrue? Of course not, in fact, she left a lot of what you did out."

"And what I was trying to say, Pop, is that now that Akane and I are married, it is our life to do what we want with it. So no more trying to tell me, or her, what we should do. If we want your opinion on something, we'll ask for it," Ranma said, "That doesn't mean you aren't wanted, it's just that it's time for you to let go."

"Daddy, that goes for you, Nabiki and Kasumi, too. I know we will make our share of mistakes, but that's the only way that we will learn," Akane said softly, "Please let us live our lives as best we can."

Soun sighed heavily and replied, "But you are still so young."

Kasumi said, "Now Daddy, they are nearly eighteen."

"We still have school to finish and then on to college," Ranma said, "So the next several years are pretty well laid out as to what we have to do."

"And I'll always be your little girl," Akane said softly as she hugged her father.

Soun wiped a tear from his eye and said, "They grow up so fast." He paused for a moment and then added, "Nabiki, I need the papers I had you draw up. Where are they?"

"It's already taken care of. Kasumi told me about the wedding, so I filed them at City Hall the next day. The house and dojo have been transferred to Ranma and Akane," Nabiki replied.

Ranma frowned ever so slightly and asked, "You didn't change the name of the school, though, did you?"

"What do you mean?" Soun asked.

"Akane may have taken my family name, but as far as I'm concerned this is still the Tendo Dojo. Hell, it should rightfully belong to her anyway," Ranma replied.

"We'll just be teaching the Anything Goes School at the dojo," Akane added.

"Both branches, plus whatever we have learned together," Ranma finished.

"That means that the Tendo name will live on, so you'll still have a legacy, Daddy," Nabiki said, "No matter what else happens."

Soun began to cry tears of happiness.

Akane stood up and said, "Ranma, I think it's time we exercised again. I need to strengthen those muscles."

"I'll just go change," Ranma said as she rose.

The rest of the family stared in confusion as Akane headed out of the family room toward the stairs and Ranma dashed toward the furoba.

"But why aren't they going to the dojo?" Genma asked, "I thought they were going to exercise." He looked puzzled as everyone else broke into laughter.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. I know that I'm having fun writing it. As always, reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. Comments to specific reviews are below: 

Are-en1: Sorry, no lemons, but hopefully the mild lime scenes were enough. I am still trying to keep this T.

Silver Warrior: Thanks, I enjoy dropping the little snipovers in occasionally. There will be others later. Tsubasa and Akari, oh my, that does make me cringe. Fortunately, we probably have seen the last of Tsubasa, I think.

Kyuubi-sama: Blush, thanks. I did think about doing something like that, but went this route instead. Violence, I don't much like it, but I recognize that it is part of the world. I wish that wasn't true, but it is.

Celestial Lelila: I've surprised myself with some of the twists that I've come up with. The Shampoo and Ryoga pairing was one of them, but it just seemed to feel right. I'm glad you like the way this is going.

Weebee: Yes, writing is fun. It's also addictive, I've found. The more I write the more ideas pop up. And it is always the greatest praise when someone says that my writing has inspired someone else to write, so thanks. Welcome to our ranks, and good luck with your stories. And Ranma snapping to in the middle of the fight was where I was heading all along. I'm glad that worked for you. Personality-wise, Ranma will be more in touch with his 'feminine' side, kind of like a more aggressive Tofu, I think.

Wonderbee31: Thanks, I wanted to flip the normal pattern of Ranma rescuing Akane from some danger. And Akane has improved under Ranma and Cologne's teaching.

Lerris: Ranma, Genma and Mousse and now Happosai are the only ones with a curse, at least of the characters that have shown up. Ranma got his curse saving Ryoga from falling into one of the springs in this story.

Shinigami: No, the Koi rod was three chapters in the manga, originally volume 23, but I've forgotten where it is in the Viz translations, probably around vol 20 or 21 which I don't have yet. The amnesia episode was only an anime episode. There aren't any official birthdays given so in my story, Ranma and Akane were both born in August, but I haven't picked any dates. I guess I need to do that.

Borg rabbit: Grin, I like WAFF. As to the Mary Sue, are you talking about Akane? Double wedding, I like that as you can now see, thanks for the idea. The reactions of the Kuno males will be in the next chapter.

a.Nonymous: I thought I had fixed all of those. Going back and checking, nope, I missed a couple. Fixed em, thanks.


	43. Stormy Weather

Chapter 43 Stormy Weather

A/N: Once again, there is a small lime scene in this chapter. Read and enjoy

The next morning, Ranma and Akane arrived at school earlier than normal. Nabiki had reminded them that the staff at the school needed to be informed of their marriage, and Akane's name change. They walked through the gate and into the schoolyard, holding hands. As they neared the steps leading up to the main door, Yuka, Sayuri, Hiroshi and Daisuke joined them.

"Hi guys, where have you two been?" Yuka asked, "We missed you the last two weeks Ranma, and then Akane was gone all last week."

Sayuri squealed, and pointed. "Look, look!" she exclaimed pointing at Akane's left hand.

"No, you two didn't!" Yuka shrieked.

Ranma pulled the chain out from under his shirt and showed the matching band. "Yeah, we got married last week," he said.

"But why so suddenly?" Hiroshi asked.

Daisuke's eyes went wide as he asked, "Akane isn't pregnant is she?"

Ranma growled angrily, "Of course not. She's not pregnant!"

"Well, then are you?" Hiroshi asked.

"Neither one of us is pregnant," Akane said, her face flaming, "We didn't have to get married. We got married because we wanted to."

"There's a whole list of reasons why that we'll tell you at lunch. For now, we need to get to the office and get the records changed," Ranma added.

Nabiki walked over and rescued the pair. "Come on, we need to hurry," she said. The three of them entered the school and walked down the long hallway to the main office. Nabiki opened the door and the three of them walked in to find the principal's receptionist sitting at her desk, busily typing away on something.

"Good morning, Mrs. Fujita," Nabiki said in greeting.

The old woman narrowed her eyes at Nabiki and asked, "What do you need, Tendo?"

"Actually, she's just here to help. Uh, Akane and I got married last week, and, well, we need to get our records updated," Ranma said, hesitantly.

"And you are?" Mrs. Fujita asked.

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck nervously and said, "Uh, I'm Ranma Saotome."

"Saotome, Saotome, where have I heard that name before," the old woman said half to herself. She rolled over in her chair to a long bank of file cabinets, and opened one of the drawers and pulled out a large manila file folder. She opened it up and began reading, only to stop and say, "Wait, you can't be Ranma Saotome, she's a girl. And she's too young to get married anyway, according to this she won't be eighteen until August fifteenth."

"I think if you look, you'll find out that Ranma actually is male," Nabiki said gently, "Remember me coming here at the beginning of last term to straighten out the records."

Ranma and Akane looked at Nabiki in shock.

Nabiki turned and whispered, "I'll explain later."

The old woman turned her rheumy eyes back to the paper and then said, in triumph, "Oh, here it is. You are indeed correct, Miss Tendo. Here's the note in my own handwriting. I just forgot to update the information on the first page. Now why are you here?"

Nabiki sighed and replied, "Ranma and my sister Akane are married and we need to get her name changed in the records. And of course show that they are no longer single."

"They are still underage," the old woman protested.

Akane said softly, "Our parents gave us permission to marry. We've been married since Wednesday afternoon."

"And, as of Friday, they are legally adults. My sister and I went down to city hall and spoke with the Family Law judge and she signed the order making them emancipated minors," Nabiki added.

"I didn't know that you did that," Akane said.

Nabiki replied, tersely, "Well, I couldn't risk Daddy putting the house and dojo in your name otherwise."

Ranma frowned in thought and said, "You were afraid that the old man would try to sell it out from under us if he thought he was our legal guardian. Actually, I don't think he would have done that. Granted he would have gotten some amount of money for it, but he's really looking forward to having a place to retire to."

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Just couldn't take that chance. I don't trust him any farther than I can throw him. In fact, the only thing that I trust is that he'll do whatever he can to feed himself, and the hell with anyone else."

"Uh, while that is all very interesting," Mrs. Fujita said, "I need you to fill out these forms and show me a copy…" She was interrupted by Nabiki handing her a sheet of paper from the registrars' office in Niigata showing everything properly witnessed.

Ranma and Akane quickly filled out the two forms and handed them to the old woman. She smiled her thanks and placed Ranma's form in his folder and closed it. "That's all I need from you two. Congratulations on your marriage, but do try not to become parents. You still have over two years to go before you graduate from Furinkan," she said, not unkindly.

Ranma bowed slightly and then the three youths left. "Thanks for the help, Nabiki," Ranma said softly.

"No problem, little brother," Nabiki said with a smile. She hugged him tightly and said, "Welcome to the family and you'd better take good care of my baby sister. I'm very happy for both of you. Not to mention just a little jealous. Now, I'm the only one without someone."

Akane smiled at her sister, and said, "Don't worry, sis. There's someone out there for you."

"She's right," Ranma said, "You just need to be patient. After all, you're not much older than either of us."

"Look at the time, we'd better run or we'll be late to class," Nabiki said. The three of them separated and headed off to their respective homerooms. However, once Ranma and Akane reached the room, they found that they were still several minutes early arriving at the still empty room. The first bell hadn't even rung, alerting the students that it was time to get to class.

The two of them exchanged looks and then found their desks. "I wonder what was with Nabiki," Akane said, "Normally she's better at keeping track of time."

"I think we were upsetting her just a bit," Ranma replied softly, "She may be feeling a bit lonely now that both you and Kasumi are married."

Akane considered that for a moment and replied, "You may be right. She always planned on making her mark in the world as an independent businesswoman, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't want someone in her life. He'd have to be something special though."

Ranma reached over and held her hand. The two of them shared a brief moment of camaraderie, just before the peacefulness of the classroom was shattered by the sounds of their classmates rushing in. Their friends almost stumbled over themselves in their eagerness to join the two newlyweds and question them about what had happened.

Ukyo walked in and sat down at her desk. Her eyes snapped to the plain circlet of gold on Akane's finger and Ranma saw an indescribable look flash across her face, one of regret, mixed with happiness. She turned to Ranma and asked, almost accusingly, "Why didn't you tell me you were getting married?"

Ranma sighed heavily and replied, in a low voice, "We didn't do it to hurt you, Ucchan. We just went down to the town hall; there wasn't any ceremony or anything. The only ones there were Kasumi, Tofu, Kodachi and Mousse." He paused and gazed at her for a moment and then added, "And I was afraid that if you were there it would be too much for you. I know you have asked Konatsu to be your husband, but it's not been that many weeks since you were still chasing me, and I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

Ukyo looked down at the floor for a moment, hiding her face from Ranma's gaze, and then she straightened up, her eyes suspiciously moist, and said, softly, "I would have liked to have been there anyway. I guess to give me closure, if nothing else."

Ranma smiled apologetically and said, "It really was something we just decided to do. Akane was so scared that she had lost me, she was adamant about getting married as soon as we got back."

'Damn,' Ukyo thought, 'I promised myself I wouldn't cry about him anymore. Pull yourself together, sugar.' She smiled weakly at Ranma and said, "I understand why she felt that way, Ranchan." She stood up and kissed him lightly on the cheek and said, "Congratulations. I really am happy for you both." Then she hugged Akane and whispered, "Take good care of him, Akane."

"I will," Akane whispered back.

Ukyo walked back to her chair and sat down, just as the teacher walked into the room.

The teacher leaned back against her desk and announced, "I understand congratulations are in order, Mr. and Mrs. Saotome." She smiled briefly and said, "I'd like to see the two of you after class." There was a brief knock on the door, and the teacher looked over to see a tall, slender girl with long dark hair standing there. "Yes, can I help you?" the teacher asked.

"My name is Kodachi Kuno, I've just transferred to Furinkan from St. Bacchus, and they've put me in this homeroom," Kodachi replied

"What's she doing here?" several people asked as the room erupted.

"Silence!" the teacher ordered, then once calm had descended upon the room, she said, "Obviously your reputation has preceded you, but is there anything you'd like to say about yourself?"

Kodachi smiled briefly, seeing how several of the boys were drooling over her, and replied, "I'm interested in Rhythmic Gymnastics, as some of you know." She winked at Ranma and Akane as they smirked at her, and then she said, "I'm also newly wed to Msu Tse of the Joketsuzoku." She chuckled briefly at the look of chagrin on the face of many of the boys in the class, and a few of the girls.

"Since you know the Saotomes, you may sit next to them," the teacher said, pointing to the empty chair behind Ranma.

Kodachi smiled her thanks, and walked over and sat down gracefully in the desk.

"Now open your books to chapter ten, and get out your notebooks," the teacher said.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class period and the beginning of lunch. Akane turned to Yuka and Sayuri and said, "Save a place for us. I don't know what sensei wanted but it shouldn't take long." 

Yuka asked, "Kodachi, would you like to join us? We could talk."

Kodachi looked bemused for a moment and then smiled. She replied, "I'd like that." She grabbed her ornate bento and followed the other two girls out, while Ranma and Akane waited at their desks for the horde of students to thin out.

Once the last student was out of the room, the teacher closed the door to give them some privacy. "Saotome, I was told that the reason you were missing a week ago is because you were ill. Then last week, you and Miss Tendo, I mean Mrs. Saotome, were both gone. This will not look good on your record," she said sternly.

Ranma shuffled his feet nervously and then said, "The truth of the matter is that the week before last I was ill in a way. I was suffering from an odd form of amnesia. In fact, I believed that I really was a girl, and that I was cursed to turn into a boy. My doctors felt that it was best for me to, oh what was the phrase you used, Akane?"

"Limit his interactions with others, I believe. Their belief was that if he was continually told that he was really a boy, that the impact to his mental state might be severe," Akane replied.

"So anyway, I was told to limit my contact with the outside world. Unfortunately, the outside world had other plans," Ranma said wryly, "Still thinking that I was a girl, and also not liking martial arts, I got kidnapped."

Akane grinned and said, "And, so my friends and I went off to rescue the damsel in distress. During the process, Ranma remembered who he really was, and then we managed to escape and return to Japan early last week."

"So that was the alleged family emergency that your sister informed the school about," the teacher said, "I suppose that being kidnapped would constitute an emergency. But what did you do for the remainder of the week?"

"We got married on Wednesday, and then had our honeymoon. I hope I don't have to tell you what we did then," Akane said with a bit of a growl.

The teacher blushed for a moment and then replied, "I think that's more information than I really need. I can understand what happened now. Very well, I will allow you to make up the work that the two of you missed, but try to stay in school."

"Thank you, sensei," Ranma said sincerely, "We'll try our best."

Akane echoed him and said, "Thank you."

"Okay, the two of you get out of here, and I'll talk to the other teachers and see if they'll agree with me," the teacher. Ranma and Akane walked out the door and headed off to join their friends, their bentos swinging in their hands. 'What a cute couple,' the sensei thought as the door closed behind them, 'Weird things sure seem to happen to them, though.'

* * *

Ranma and Akane joined their friends outside in the courtyard beneath their tree. Kodachi was chatting gaily with Yuka and Sayuri, while Ukyo chimed in occasionally from where she was grilling her okonomiyakis. "So what did sensei want with you two?" Yuka asked as Ranma and Akane sat down. 

Ranma wrapped his arm around his wife, and replied, "She just wanted to know where I'd been for the last two weeks and what happened to Akane last week is all."

"So where were you? Akane said you were sick, and then she disappeared," Sayuri asked, "For that matter, Shampoo was gone last week and she hasn't come back to school."

"Cologne took Ryoga and Shampoo to visit her home again," Kodachi said.

"Didn't you miss the first part of the week too, Ukyo?" Yuka added.

Ranma sighed heavily while Akane giggled. "Where to start?" Ranma grumbled.

"Try the beginning," Akane suggested, "Kodachi and Ukyo only know a piece of the story themselves."

"You were with them too?" Yuka asked, in surprise.

"Ranma-sama and Akane-sama needed my help. Of course, I went," Kodachi said simply.

"What's with the –sama, Kodachi? I thought we were past that," Ranma asked softly.

"I was reminded of my giri to you when I returned home, Ranma-sama," Kodachi replied, her eyes downcast.

Ranma reached out and covered her hand with his and said, solemnly, "Kodachi, as far as I'm concerned, you coming to rescue me removes any obligation you believe have toward me. I want nothing else from you but your friendship."

"Ranma's right," Akane added, placing her hand on top of theirs, "You have fulfilled any debt of honor that you owed either of us."

"What was that all about?" Yuka asked.

"I'm sorry, Yuka, but it really isn't something to discuss," Kodachi replied, "I owed the two of them a debt because of some of my actions. Now that my honor has been restored to me, it would be best to drop it." She briefly hugged Ranma, causing Akane to frown slightly, only to drop the frown when Kodachi hugged her. "Thank you, both of you," Kodachi said quietly, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "Enough of this, you were telling them about what happened."

"Two weekends ago, I was sparring with Pop, and he landed a low blow while I was distracted. He knocked me into the koi pond and I hit my head on one of the rocks lining the pool. The odd thing was that when I woke up, I thought I was a girl, and I hated martial arts," Ranma said.

"It was weird. He'd come up with this whole alternate life, where he thought he was cursed to become a boy. The only bright spot was that he knew that the two of us were engaged, and in fact, were in love with each other," Akane added.

"That sounds a bit kinky," Sayuri interjected.

"How come this is the first time I'm hearing about this?" Ukyo asked.

Akane blushed and said, "Tofu didn't want too many people around. That's why we pretended that he was sick."

"Then, just to make it even better, I was kidnapped by a group of people calling themselves the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial Arts. They thought I was the owner of one half of their sacred scroll, and because of that I was supposed to marry their Master," Ranma said with a look of distaste on his face.

"I called on all of my martial artist friends and we went after them. After several battles, where everyone helped, we reached Ranma. I attempted to defeat the Master but didn't. That was apparently what Ranma needed to see, because suddenly he was back. He beat the Master, and then we headed home," Akane added.

Ranma smiled and said, "But on the way, Akane convinced me that we should just go ahead and get married, so we did. Mousse and Kodachi got married that day too, and we spent part of our honeymoon with them sightseeing around Niigata."

Kodachi giggled and said, "Not very much of your honeymoon. There was a lot of time when we didn't see you."

Akane arched an eyebrow and asked, "Where those the times that you two stayed in your hotel room all day long?"

"Busted," Ukyo crowed.

Kodachi squirmed for a moment and then smirked, adding, "You're one to talk. You're living with your fiancé, actually sharing a bed I believe, aren't you?"

Ukyo blushed bright red and tried to find a hole to hide in as the rest of her girlfriends began to giggle. "We've never, I mean, I've never," she stammered.

Kodachi grinned at her and said, "What a waste of a golden opportunity! Maybe you ought to fix that!"

"Just be gentle with him," Akane teased. Ukyo got even redder.

Ranma leaned over and asked softly, "How did your family react about you and Mousse?"

Kodachi replied, "Tachi knows better than to give me a hard time about Msu Tse. He was surprised that we got married, but he's okay with it. I think he likes Msu Tse, even if he can't pronounce his name correctly." Her eyes hardened for a moment, and she added, in an icy tone, "And as far as that fatuous ass who claims to be my father, he doesn't get a vote. You weren't the only one that became an emancipated minor on Friday. Nabiki Tendo took Tacchi with her and had us declared as emancipated because of being abandoned so many years ago."

"That's good news then," Akane said happily, then she asked, "How come you decided to leave St. Bacchus? I thought you liked it there."

Kodachi frowned and replied, "The Black Rose liked it there, but I found out that the person I was becoming didn't fit in anymore. I thought that everyone worshipped me, but I soon realized that it wasn't worship, but fear. I had terrorized the entire school because of my old behavior, and I couldn't handle the look of fear that I saw. And the principal won't allow married women to be students. I guess she things we'll corrupt the innocent girls. I decided I needed to start over, and even though St. Bacchus is a better school, Tacchi was here, and well, you guys were here, so I thought I'd come here." She grinned for a moment and then added, "Besides, it's closer to home, so I can spend more time with my husband. And that's important in a new marriage."

Akane laughed wickedly and replied, after looking fondly at Ranma, "Yes, it's very important to spend **quality **time with them."

"Ooh," Yuka squealed, "So tell us all about it. What's it like?"

Ranma began to blush, looking for a hole to crawl into. "Don't you dare," he stammered, "At least not while I'm here."

"It's just girl talk," Sayuri teased.

Ranma glared at her and said, "I'm not a gir" Suddenly, he was drenched with cold water. Ranma turned to Nabiki who had snuck up behind her and glared, saying, "Very funny." The other girls broke out laughing at the expression on her face.

"Sorry, Ranma," Nabiki said, with no trace of apology in her voice whatsoever, "But it was just too hard to resist." She snickered and said, "Now that we're all girls now, spill it. How was it?"

Ranma grumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "We really need to find you someone."

"What, little sis, I didn't quite hear that," Nabiki teased.

"So come on, Akane, Kodachi, what's it like? Being married and all? How's the sex?" Sayuri asked.

Ranma sat there for a second looking at the eager expressions of the other girls and did the wise thing. "I don't wanna talk about it and I don't want to hear about it either," she said as she stood up and bolted. She cringed as she heard Akane start to talk just as she got out of earshot.

* * *

After making a quick detour to the lavatory, Ranma returned to his classroom and sank down in his chair to finish his bento. He had barely finished it before the rest of the class arrived and found their chairs. To his dismay, Yuka and Sayuri couldn't look at him without giggling, while Ukyo was visibly undressing him with her eyes. Kodachi merely smiled at him. 

Ranma sighed to himself, and made a mental note to find out exactly what Akane had told them. He scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and handed it to Ukyo.

Ukyo read the note, looked at him with a question in her face.

Ranma nodded and Ukyo blushed furiously and then turned around, a speculative look on her face, as if she had been given something else to think of.

Akane heard Ranma sigh and leaned over. She whispered, "I didn't tell them much. Just that you were very gentle with me and that making love with you was everything I ever hoped it would be. And that it only got better. I wouldn't tell them anything that would embarrass either of us."

Suddenly Ranma felt better about the whole thing. He whispered back, "I know you wouldn't. I trust you."

"What was the note you wrote?" Akane asked softly.

"I reminded Ukyo that Konatsu was trained as a kunoichi, and what that meant," Ranma whispered back.

Akane giggled as she realized what Ukyo was thinking about now.

The teacher walked in and said, "Okay, class, today we're going to"

Ranma stopped paying attention as he became aware of something happening outside in the hallway. Suddenly the door to the room burst open, and Kuno appeared, breathing heavily, his eyes blazing.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, upperclassman?" the teacher asked.

"I FORBID THIS ATROCITY! I WILL NEVER ALLOW IT!" Kuno roared, his bokken clasped firmly in both hands as he approached Ranma, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?"

Ranma sprang from his chair and watched warily as the kendoist approached. "What atrocity are you talking about?" he asked, keeping both eyes on the bokken as it neared. 'Shades of déjà vu,' he thought, with a groan, 'Just like when he found out about our engagement.'

"Nabiki Tendo just informed me of your marriage to the beauteous Akane Tendo," Kuno spat, "That atrocity!"

"Kuno, you have no right to tell me what to do!" Akane exclaimed, her face getting red in anger. Her battle aura began to flicker around her, and her hair began to crackle.

Then to both of their surprise, Kuno lowered his bokken, grinned and said, "Congratulations!"

"Huh!" they both exclaimed, their chins dropping down low.

"I'm just upset that I had to find out from your sister. I didn't get a chance to give you a present," Kuno explained with an odd twinkle in his eye, "My own sister didn't tell me that you two had gotten married at the same time she did."

Ranma looked at Kuno. 'Kuno has a sense of humor. That's as odd as a talking dog,' he thought. "You were playing a joke on us?" he asked.

"I'll have you know that my sense of humor is one of my more endearing traits," Kuno said haughtily, ignoring the shocked look on his sister's face.

"Yes, brother dearest, your sense of humor is exceeded only by your humility," Kodachi said with a straight face.

Ranma smiled weakly and said, "I thought that you had backslid a little into your old self."

"No, Saotome-sama, I pray that I will never be that delusional again," Kuno replied, "Before I was blinded by my arrogance. Again, congratulations to both of you." He turned to the teacher and said, "Forgive my bursting in on your class, sensei." He bowed to her and then departed the shocked classroom.

"Okay, who was that person, and what did he do with the real Kuno?" Akane asked.

"My brother seems to have learned from his mistakes," Kodachi said simply, "He has been most supportive of Mousse and I, though, when he found about my husband's curse, he was taken aback for a few days. Saturday, when I told him about my marriage he was unhappy that I had wed without his permission. However, **he** made no objection though when Mousse moved into my bedroom."

"Class, now that I have your attention, let's get back to the lesson," the teacher said.

* * *

That evening, Nodoka and Genma joined them at the Tendo home for dinner. As they were eating, Ranma looked at his father for a moment and then said, "Nabiki, I think it's time to give Pop those papers." 

Nabiki tapped her finger against her chin in thought and then replied, "You're probably right. They're in my room. I'll have to go get them after dinner."

"Papers, what kind of papers?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma smiled grimly and replied, "A kind of insurance paper, basically, Mom."

Nodoka looked puzzled, and Nabiki took pity on her. "Ranma and Akane are legally adults now, Auntie," she said, "So they won't need a guardian until they turn twenty-one."

"Why would they need to do that?" Soun asked, "Isn't it bad enough that my little girl is married?"

Ranma, Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi all glared at Genma as Nabiki replied, "We just wanted to make sure things stayed the way they are supposed to be once the dojo and house get transferred to Ranma and Akane like you asked me to."

Nodoka thought about that for a second and then her face paled. She said, icily, "I agree with what you have done. That reminds me of something else that needs to be handed down." She reached down and picked up a familiar bundle, or at least a bundle that looked familiar. As she unwrapped it, however, Ranma realized that the sheath and sword was one that he had never seen before. "This is my family honor blade," Nodoka said reverently, "One that has been handed down for the last several generations. It now belongs to you, my daughter." She bowed first to the sword and then to Akane. Then carefully, she held out the sheathed blade with both hands.

Akane got a lump in her throat, and said, huskily, "Thank you Mom." She likewise bowed first to the blade and then to her mother-in-law. Reaching out, she grasped the weapon with both hands and then clutched it to her chest.

Genma gasped and asked, "Where did that come from?"

"Husband, many things changed after you left. Just before Father died, he gave me this blade, a blade that defends," Nodoka replied.

"A blade that defends?" Akane asked. She pulled on the hilt and then saw that instead of the katana that it on the surface appeared to be, the sword was actually a sakabatou. "I see," Akane said reverently, "A reverse blade sword."

"Yes," Nodoka said softly, "One that I am sure you will honor."

"But why the girl?" Genma sputtered, "Shouldn't our son and heir receive such a gift?"

"Are you implying that my wife is not worthy of such an honor?" Ranma asked, his eyes flashing.

"Now boy, that's" Genma began.

Akane growled, as a faint red glow began to shine around her, "You will show my husband the respect he is due. He is the grandmaster of this school and your superior, not that that takes much. And he is definitely not a boy anymore. He is a MAN, in fact he is more a man than you are or ever will be!"

Kasumi frowned at Genma and said, "Mr. Saotome, take care not to insult my brother again, or you will no longer be welcome at our table."

"Tendo, are you going to let them talk to me this way?" Genma asked angrily.

Soun shrugged and replied, "They aren't saying anything that I disagree with, Saotome. I'm proud to be able to call Ranma my son-in-law, and he has more than proven himself to me. The two of them still have some growing up to do, but then, so do I."

"We need to find a place of honor for that sword," Ranma said.

"I have a stand in the attic that we can place in your bedroom," Kasumi said, "It'll need to be cleaned up and polished, I suspect, but other wise it will do that sword justice."

"I'll bring it down for you later," Tofu said, "And we can get it cleaned."

"Thank you dear," Kasumi said, as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

* * *

After dinner was over, Genma and Soun drifted over to the shogi board. Kasumi had brought out a tray with a couple of bottles of Kirin Ichiban, and the two men were busily playing a game. Nabiki was ensconced in front of the television, watching the news, while Ranma and Akane were cuddled up next to each other. Ranma suddenly jerked out of her embrace as he stared intently at the picture on the screen. There, a man looking amazingly like the king of diamonds from a deck of playing cards was staring back at him. "The Gambler King," he whispered. 

"The Gambler King? Oh, yeah, now I remember," Akane said.

"Hey, sis, could you turn that up?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki leaned forward and turned up the volume on the television set. Ranma heard the announcer say, "…local news, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police announce the conviction of the man known only as the Gambler King on thirty counts of larceny, one hundred counts of petty theft and one count of jay-walking. The police spokesperson stated that this predator was caught in a sting operation several months ago after complaints that a man was cheating young children ages four to ten at various forms of card games came to the attention of the local police. After his arrest, additional complaints came to light as angry parents sent in letters describing how he had cheated their children out of their allowances. Due to the severity of his offences, the judge in the case has sentenced him to sixty years with no parole. And now, here's Kaede with the local weather."

"Thanks, Nabiki, that's all I needed to hear," Ranma said as he began to laugh.

Nabiki turned the TV off and turned as Akane also began to giggle. "So what's so funny?" Nabiki asked.

"Nothing really, I suppose," Ranma replied after a moment.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes in thought and then asked, "Did you know that guy?"

Ranma smirked and said, "Ukyo and I ran into him when we were both six. He was doing the same things then, preying on little children. Ukyo challenged him to a game of Old Maid. After she lost her father's yatai to him, we discovered that he was cheating, when he moved wrong and a bunch of cards fell out of his coat sleeves, so we tied him up and threw him in the river. I guess he just didn't learn his lesson."

"You really should have told your parents," Nabiki said.

"Tell Pop? You've got to be kidding! Though, at six I hadn't started to see through him yet. To be honest, I don't know why we didn't," Ranma replied, with a straight face, "Anyway, what's done is done. I can't go back and change the past after all."

Akane stared at him and then really began to giggle. That set Ranma off again as he fell against her and began to laugh.

"Okay, now what's so damn funny?" Nabiki asked, beginning to get a little irritated. 'There's something going on with them, and I don't like not knowing what it is,' she thought.

"Nothing really, sis," Akane replied once she got her composure back, "Ranma just said something that struck me as funny for some reason, I don't really know why." 'Right, Ranma, like you didn't do exactly that,' she thought happily.

"Oh, Ranma, I found that address you wanted, by the way," Nabiki said as she handed Ranma a small slip of paper, "I hope it's not another fiancée."

Ranma laughed a bit nervously at the expression on Akane's face as he read the note. He showed it to his wife, as he replied, "No, this has nothing to do with Pop or fiancées that he might have stuck me with. This is left over from the old freak, another victim of his."

"Do you want to go see her this weekend?" Akane asked.

"I thought we might. It would help if you were with me, I suspect," Ranma replied.

"Well that's settled then," Akane said happily, "And hopefully she'll be happy to see us."

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, I hope she is. If she remembers Happosai at all, she may not want to have anything to do with us."

Akane stretched and winced. "I think I need to go soak for a while. My shoulder is a little tight from our sparring this afternoon," she said.

"That's not a bad idea," Ranma said, "Let me run upstairs and get something for us to change into and I'll join you."

* * *

Ranma knocked on the closed door to the bathing chamber, and asked, "Akane, are you in there?" 

"Yes, Ranma, I am. Come on in," Akane replied.

Ranma opened the door, after making sure the 'in use' sign was displayed and walked in. Akane was sitting on the bathing stool, her naked back to the door and had just finished rinsing herself down. Ranma caught his breath at the sight.

Akane stood up and said, "Your turn." She stared at him, her eyes heavy-lidded.

Ranma sat down and shivered as Akane poured the bucket of cold water on him, triggering the change. Then she jumped slightly as she felt Akane brush her lips across the nape of her neck, Akane's breath tickling the back of her ears. Then she felt Akane begin to rub shampoo into the long red tresses of her hair, Akane's breasts tickling her back every time she moved.

"That feels good," Ranma said softly as Akane massaged the shampoo into her hair. Then she felt a sponge rub across her shoulders and back, then dipping down lower to her bottom. Akane then walked around in front of the red-haired girl, and began to gently scrub her legs with the soapy sponge, making sure she got all of the important bits.

Akane bit her lower lip, and then began to run the sponge across Ranma's stomach and then worked up higher. Ranma closed her eyes as Akane ran the sponge under the swell of her breasts and then gently across them. Akane bent down and lightly pressed her lips against Ranma's lips and then parted. She then picked up the rinse bucket and then began to rinse Ranma down with water that wasn't quite warm enough to trigger the change. Once all of the soap was gone, Ranma opened her eyes.

Ranma began to speak, only to have Akane kiss her. Ranma felt Akane's tongue demanding entrance, so she parted her lips and allowed it in. The two of them kissed passionately for several minutes, Akane gently caressing Ranma's back as she pressed herself against her, and then she allowed her hands to wander to uncharted territory.

Ranma began to feel a moist heat, a sensation that she had never felt before. She pulled back, her eyes glazed slightly, and asked, in a husky voice, "Is that what I do to you?"

Akane replied, in a similar voice, "Yes, that's what you do to me. I want you to know what it feels like."

Ranma pulled away a little reluctantly. "I'm not ready for that yet," she said softly.

They heard a gasp from behind them. Akane looked over Ranma's shoulder to see Nabiki staring at them, her face flushed, breathing a little heavy, her body clad only in the towel she had wrapped around her. Akane's face went rosy in embarrassment.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Nabiki stammered, "I th-thought you were finished in here."

Akane grinned and said, "Pleasant dreams, sis." She smirked and thought, 'Not that sis is into girls, but that looked like we excited her. Tired fingers tonight, I bet.'

Nabiki blushed furiously, and backed out of room and closed the door, returning them to their privacy.

Ranma began to giggle, and then Akane collapsed against her, giggling as well. The mood broken, Ranma kissed her wife and then stood up. "Let's get in the tub, but no 'water sports' tonight. I remember how much Kasumi complained about the fur in the tub when Pop kept getting in as a panda. She'd really have problems with us making a mess."

Akane blushed, and said, "I thought the sign was out."

Ranma smirked and said, "It was. I think Nabiki just wanted to see what was going on. Boy, did she get an eyeful." She slid into the water, triggering the change. Akane joined him a moment later.

"Ranma," Akane began.

Ranma put his finger across her lips and said, "Don't worry. I'm not upset or anything. It felt good, what was happening, and one day, we'll finish." He chuckled for a moment and said, "I have to admit to some curiosity about how it feels. But for now, we have a lot of other things to explore." He lay back against the tub wall, and pulled Akane in front of him so she could lean back against his chest. He placed his arms around her waist.

"You're still Ranma, no matter what body you have," Akane said softly, "And I love the you that's inside."

"I know and that's one of the many reasons that I love you," Ranma replied simply.

Ranma felt Akane smile as she said, softly, "It's funny. I never once was turned on by a girl, but now, when I look at you, it's all I can do to keep my hands off of you."

"It must be all that manliness shining through. I'm so manly that even when I'm a girl it shows," Ranma said with a smirk.

Akane punched his arm and giggled. She said, "Jerk."

"Tomboy," he teased.

"Damn straight, and proud of it," she shot back.

"And you should be," Ranma said, "There's nothing wrong with that."

They fell silent for a while, enjoying the warmth of the water. Then Akane asked, "Ranma, something bothers me. How come you didn't tell either me or Cologne about Kirin?"

Ranma's eyes grew wide as he replied, "I must have told you about him. Surely I wouldn't have forgotten about that."

"No, Cologne asked about it when we were going over to rescue you," Akane replied.

"I could have sworn I told you," he said, "Especially since I had to rescue you. I remember how I felt when you were kidnapped and everything. I even told Kirin that you were my fiancée, and that he couldn't have you." He smiled ruefully at the memory and added, "Of course then I had to ruin the moment by making a stupid joke that you called me on." He squeezed her and said, "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I was then, or for that matter now, about how badly I treated you. I'm just glad I got a second chance to make things right."

Akane replied, softly, "According to that dream I had, I didn't really treat you that much better myself for the longest time. All that jealousy and miss-directed anger."

Ranma shrugged and said, "Oh, I deserved some of what happened. There were times that I was a real jerk." He smiled and said, "Kasumi was right about you though. She told me that you were a very sweet girl, just a bit violent."

Akane began to giggle uncontrollably. Finally, with a snort, she got herself under control and said, "That sounds like her. But do you really think I'm violent?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Is it really safe for me to answer that question? Seriously, you have had a problem with your temper, but all of the exercises that we've done have gone a long way in helping you control it. Just like me, and my attempts to control mine."

Akane smiled and said, "I've soaked long enough. Now, I think it's time that we go to bed, Mr. Saotome."

"Ah, but I'm not sleepy yet," Ranma said with a straight face.

"Oh, but who said anything about sleeping. We started something, and I fully intend to finish it, don't want to let those muscles get out of shape, now do we," Akane replied.

"In that case, Mrs. Saotome, let's get dried off," Ranma said.

* * *

Kasumi headed down the long hallway toward her room after cleaning the kitchen. As she turned toward her room, she heard an odd noise coming from Nabiki's room. She changed direction and listened at her door, and then knocked quietly. "Nabiki, are you okay in there? Can I come in?" she asked. 

The noise stopped and Nabiki said, shakily, "Sure, sis. I could use someone to talk to."

Kasumi opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her. She saw Nabiki sitting up in her bed, the covers pooling around her lap, as she hugged her pillow to her chest. Kasumi walked over and sat on the bed, when to her surprise Nabiki dropped her pillow and hugged her desperately.

"Who are you and what did you do with my sister?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki shivered and replied, "It's me, sis. I just can't handle this any more."

"Handle what?" Kasumi asked, the concern in her voice very evident.

"I'm just so lonely!" Nabiki wailed, "You have Tofu, and Akane has Ranma. Who's there for me?"

Kasumi smiled sadly at her little sister and said, "Akane and I got lucky is all. But why is this getting to you now? Is it just because they got married last week, or is there something more?"

Nabiki wiped her eyes angrily, and replied, "I accidentally walked in on them in the furoba. They were busy making out, and didn't notice I was there for a few minutes. Even though they were both girls at the time, you could feel the love in the room, not to mention a large amount of lust. I had this huge rush of jealousy that she had someone."

"Why, are you interested in Ranma? I admit he's nice to look at. Even as a girl, he's very attractive," Kasumi asked.

"Well, when he smiles a certain way, I do feel a little weak in the knees," Nabiki replied.

"Oh my, I know exactly what smile you're talking about," Kasumi said, blushing slightly, "And I agree with you about its effect." She smiled wickedly and added, "Tofu always appreciates what it does to me, not that he knows the cause."

"Kasumi!" Nabiki exclaimed in shock. She paused to gather her thoughts and then finished her reply, "To answer your original question, no, I'm not interested in him per se. It's just that I can see the connection between the two of them, or you and Tofu, and I want that. I just don't see it happening."

"Sis, you're a bright, attractive woman. Don't worry so much, there'll be someone out there for you one day. You're still very young, and besides, I thought you wanted to be your own woman," Kasumi said.

Nabiki made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "I do want to have a business career, but it'd be nice to have someone to love," she said softly.

Kasumi squeezed her sister and said, "I can't give you any advice other than to not be quite so unapproachable. You put up this icy front and that probably scares the boys off."

Nabiki looked at her, her eyes unreadable, and said, "Thanks for putting up with me. What would I ever do without you?"

"Probably learn how to cook and clean house," Kasumi said wryly, "Unless you wanted to eat Akane's cooking, or at least what she cooked before Ranma taught her."

Nabiki grimaced and said, "You mean a lot more to me than that. I'm glad that you've managed to get back to school. You always were the smart one of the family, so I thought it was sad that you had to forget about college and your dreams when Mommy died."

Kasumi smiled and said, "I never forgot about my dreams. I just put them off for a while. I always hoped that I could get back to school once the two of you were out of high school. I just didn't know how we could handle tuition for three of us." She paused, and asked, "Are you okay, now?"

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. Go find your husband and give him a big hug from me," Nabiki replied, "He doesn't know how lucky he is."

Kasumi hugged her sister one more time and then got up. "If you need to cry on my shoulder again, I'm always here for you. Don't keep things so bottled up inside that you end up exploding," she said. Then she opened the door and walked out.

* * *

The next morning, Ranma and Akane went to school, with Ranma carrying a large satchel containing the schoolwork that they had completed the afternoon before. He smiled slightly as he remembered exactly how his wife had encouraged him to do his best. He glanced over at her and squeezed her hand. 

Akane looked over at him and asked, "What was that for?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "No real reason, I guess. Just that I was thinking about you."

Akane blushed and said, "That's so sweet."

As they neared the gate to the school, they heard a loud crack. They entered the school yard and saw Kodachi standing in front of the principal. He was dressed in his usual florid print Hawaiian shirt, but on his face they could see a lurid handprint.

" dare you, Principal, how dare you tell me to leave my husband!" Kodachi was saying, "You are only the person who got my mother pregnant at best. How dare you call yourself my father! My father would not have run off and deserted my brother and me! You are not my father! I do not know you!"

"But keiki," the principal began.

"Keiki my ass," Kodachi screamed, "How dare you talk to me about honor? About my proud bloodlines? How I dishonored my family by marrying a gaigan? You wouldn't know anything about honor, you cur! How many half-brothers and half-sisters do I have in Hawaii?"

Tatewaki walked over and put his arm around his sister's waist. "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you still be in jail awaiting your trial? How dare you upset my sister now that she has finally found happiness?" he said, his eyes flashing in anger.

"Do you know how much you abandoning us hurt? I know that you were grieving over Mother's death, but so were we. Once you left, we all fell apart. Tachi was obsessed with his honor and his foolish notions of samurai, and I, well I went a little mad," Kodachi asked a bit calmer.

"But the Big Kahuna only want what best for my keiki. That dirty gaigan canna touch keiki, soil my little dove," the principal said.

Kodachi screamed at him, her chest heaving with emotion, "Get it through that palm-tree covered head of yours that I love Msu Tse. And he has more than touched me. What he does to me makes me feel alive, makes me feel wanted, makes me feel loved. And we've made love more times than I can count and each time is better than the last."

"I forbid you to see him again," the principal yelled, forgetting his fake persona.

Kodachi stared at him and then replied, "HE is my husband. You are nothing to me." She pulled herself away from Tatewaki, flipped off the principal and stalked away.

Nabiki drawled, "Uh, Mister Kuno, two words. Restraining order, remember?"

The principal turned to look at her and paled. "Big Kahuna forget," he mumbled as he walked out of the gate in a hurry.

"That was fun," Ranma said dryly.

"What the hell was that all about?" Akane asked.

Nabiki grinned evilly, and replied, "We had a restraining order put in place. That idiot isn't even supposed to be on the grounds, or within one hundred feet of either of the Kuno's. Just being here could have gotten him arrested."

"I still don't know how he got out in the first place," Kuno grumbled.

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders and said, "Don't worry, the trial comes up reasonably soon. And he has no authority over either of you anymore anyway."

"True, thanks to you, Nabiki Tendo," Kuno said, "You are a true friend to the Kuno family."

Nabiki looked at him speculatively and said, "Don't get any funny ideas, Kuno-baby. Just because you obsessed over one Tendo girl."

Kuno smiled and said, "Not to worry, Nabiki Tendo. I have learned my lesson. While the rose is pretty, it has sharp thorns. I think I will set my sights on daffodils instead." He bowed and left.

Ranma looked at his retreating back and said, "I think it may be time to return his sword. What do you think, Akane?"

"He's changed, at least some, so yeah, I think maybe it's time," Akane replied.

* * *

Ranma walked down the hallway of the nondescript apartment complex, looking for the number on the paper that Nabiki had given him. Akane followed him, her face furrowed, as she wondered why they were there. Ranma had been uncharacteristically silent as they rode the local train from Nerima to the ward of Adachi, and then had confused her entirely by the one stop he had made before he headed toward the apartment building. 

Ranma stopped in front of an apartment door, obviously girding himself for some sort of confrontation. Finally, he knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Ranma, why are we here?" Akane asked quietly.

"Giri," Ranma said simply, refusing to elaborate.

The door finally opened and a young girl, around eleven or twelve, with long brown hair and brilliant blue eyes, was revealed.

"Hello, Miss Hinako Ninomiya, my name is Ranma Saotome and this is my wife, Akane," Ranma said.

"Hello, are you one of my students? I'm afraid I don't recognize either of you," the girl asked.

"No, we aren't, but I've been looking for you for a little while," Ranma replied, "And I brought you a small present."

The young girl clapped her hands together, her face shining with glee. "Goody," she squealed, "I love presents. Did you bring me candy?"

Ranma brought the bowl out from behind his back, the three fighting fish circling around. "No, I brought this to help with the problem I see you have," he replied as he handed her the fish bowl.

Suddenly, the little girl grew into an attractive, well-developed woman of about twenty-seven or so. Her dress that had been a bit large on her before, was now straining at the seams, showing off a pair of extremely attractive legs, with dimpled knees.

"You told me about this, but I didn't believe you," Akane gasped.

"How is this possible?" Hinako asked, "What are these fish?"

"Fighting fish. Tropical fighting fish born to fight, extremely violent in nature. It is said that the 'ki' generated by two males is almost endless," Ranma replied, "And that endless flow is constantly being absorbed by Miss Ninomiya through the circular opening of the bowl, keeping her in her adult form."

"What a clever idea!" Akane exclaimed.

Hinako frowned, and asked, "Who are you and how did you know about this?"

"Can we come in? This is a long story that involves us all," Ranma replied.

"Where are my manners? I'm so scatter-brained sometimes," Hinako said, "Please come in. Excuse the mess. When I'm a little girl, I well." She opened the door all the way, and led them into a tiny apartment, with clothes and toys scattered around. She grabbed the clothes off of the couch and loveseat and motioned for them to be seated.

"Do you live here by yourself?" Akane asked, looking around the messy apartment.

"Yes, and I teach at one of the local high schools," Hinako replied, "I'm there as a disciplinarian to chastise delinquents. Now why are you here?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I'm not sure where to start."

"How about at the beginning? How do you know about me and my ability to absorb ki?" Hinako asked.

"I'll have to tell you a little bit about myself, then. First, I'm the grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. I got that title by defeated the previous grandmaster, a perverted little old man named Happosai. I also inherited all of his books, one of which was a journal that described his travels, including a time around twenty years ago," Ranma replied.

"That's interesting, but what does it have to do with me?" the young woman asked.

"Your name was in the journal," Ranma replied. Then he asked, "Do you remember being very ill as a young child?"

"Vaguely, I think I was six or seven, staying at the Monkey Regional Hospital. I was very weak, as I recall," Hinako replied.

"He wrote that when he met you, he took pity on you. That he asked if you would like to learn a health regimen that would make you stronger, and that you agreed," Ranma continued.

"Yes!" Hinako exclaimed, "I remember. He taught me something he called the 'good child' exercise."

"Well, first he pushed the pressure points for energy absorption and then taught you what he called healthy exercise routines for about a month," Ranma said, "A technique to make you better. But it was actually a technique that allowed you to drain someone's fighting spirit."

"So Happosai was his name. He never told me," Hinako said softly. She picked up a lollipop, unwrapped it and began to lick it. "Hello, would you like a lollipop?" she asked as she began to skip around the apartment.

"Miss Hinako, please," Ranma begged.

"What were we talking about? Oh yes, that nice man called Happosai. He disappeared shortly after I was cured," Hinako said.

"That was because he was chased out of town because of his perverted ways," Akane said, "He was a peeping Tom, and had an obsession with women's underwear."

Hinako giggled at that and said, "I knew about the underwear. I just thought that was so the nurses would chase him so I could tap their ki. It was fun and I enjoyed it."

Ranma smiled and said, "While his motives might have been murky, I read enough to know that he truly did want for you to recover from your weakened condition. But he also wrote about a serious side affect. And I guess you know what that is, you constantly switching from a child to an adult."

"Okay, that explains why you know about me. Why are you here?" Hinako asked.

"Giri," Ranma replied as if that answered everything.

The teacher frowned and asked, "I don't understand. Why do you have a debt toward me?"

"Because, inadvertently as it is, you are a student of my school," Ranma began.

"Our school," Akane corrected.

"Sorry, our school, and therefore we needed to see how you were doing. I had you tracked down so I could at least talk to you and make sure that you were okay," Ranma replied.

"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" Miss Hinako asked, as she idly played dress-up with one of her dolls, "I wanna play now. Can we pretty please?"

Ranma sighed heavily and replied, "We were talking about why Akane and I were here to see you."

Akane added, "We'll play a little later."

Hinako pouted prettily, and then said softly, "I apologize. I want to listen and understand, but I have a young child's attention span, even if I look like an adult." Then she drifted off and said, "I want some ice cream. Let's go get some ice cream!"

Ranma sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Sure, why not?" he said, "That sounds like a good idea. Let me go change."

"Change?" Hinako asked, "What's wrong with what you are wearing?"

"Ah, time for my secret to come out," Ranma said, as he walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. A few moments later, Hinako was surprised to see a very attractive red-haired girl of about seventeen walk out of her kitchen.

"Where's Ranma?" Hinako asked, "And who are you and how did you get into my kitchen?"

Akane and Ranma shared a glance and began to giggle. "I'm Ranma, Miss Ninomiya. I picked up a curse in China so when I get splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl," Ranma said with a cute smile.

Hinako stared at her in consternation and then fainted.

"That went well," Akane said dryly.

Ranma smiled wryly and began cleaning up the apartment, waiting for Hinako to wake up. In short order, the small apartment looked almost as clean as Kasumi could have done, with all of the toys put neatly away and the clothing picked up.

Hinako roused herself, and asked, "What happened to that nice young man?"

"I'm right here," Ranma said from behind her.

Hinako turned to see the same red-haired girl. "So it wasn't a dream," she said in disbelief.

"No, welcome to my world. Just a little something I picked up in China. We can talk about it later," Ranma said, "Do you still want some ice cream?"

Hinako's eyes lit up and she replied, "Yes, let's go." She jumped up from the sofa that she had been laying on. She grabbed her purse and slung it over one shoulder and then asked, "What are you two waiting on?"

Ranma and Akane exchanged glances and then followed Hinako out of the apartment. They hadn't gone more than a few feet when suddenly Hinako shrank back to her child self as they had forgotten the fish bowl in the apartment. She said, "Oopsie! I forgot."

Ranma smiled down at the young girl and held out her hand. Hinako grabbed the outstretched hand, and Akane came around on the other side and held her free hand. The three girls walked down the street. Hinako was skipping down the street, swinging her hands back and forth, giggling prettily. They reached the ice cream shop and walked in, a small bell over the door chiming as they entered.

"What would you like?" Ranma asked.

"Could I have a banana split?" Hinako asked.

Ranma replied, "Sure, you two find a booth and I'll bring the ice cream over."

Akane and Hinako walked over to a booth by the window, and sat down.

"Do you love Ranma?" Hinako asked.

Akane smiled and replied, gently, "Yes, very much. We've only been married a few days, but it has been wonderful."

"I hope I find someone that loves me," the little girl said, "Most people are afraid of me 'cause I'm different."

"I'm sure you will," Akane said.

"Can I be your friend? I don't have any. I've been so very lonely since I moved away from my parents," Hinako asked, just a little sadly.

Akane smiled sadly at the young girl and replied, "Sure, we'll both be your friend. We feel responsible for what happened to you because of Happosai."

"Oh I don't mind what he did to me, at least not much. I mean, it did keep me alive," Hinako said.

Ranma walked over with a tray and handed out a banana split to Hinako, a chocolate sundae to Akane and one for herself. "There's something to that. At least it made you well," Ranma said as she sat down next to Akane, "But doesn't it get old changing back and forth like that?"

"Huh?" Hinako asked as she paid attention to her banana split. "Oh sorry, it is a pain. But maybe those fish will take care of that," Hinako said.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "That's really only a short term answer, though."

"What's a short term answer?" Hinako asked as she looked up, her mouth messy with her ice cream.

"You really don't have much of an attention span, do you?" Akane asked.

"Hey, this is ice cream, it should get all of my attention," Hinako replied.

An old woman walked by and stopped. "Your little sister is so cute. What's her name?" she asked.

"Uh, she's" Ranma began.

"It's Hinako," Akane replied, interrupting her, "Thank you. I think she's pretty cute too."

"Thank you," Hinako lisped.

Akane looked at her husband, turned wife, and asked, "Do you think we could? I mean, maybe she ought to live with us. I'm worried about her living by herself like this."

Hinako looked at her wide-eyed, hope shining from them. "Pretty please, could I?" Hinako asked, giving Ranma a set of puppy-dog eyes.

"Are you sure about this? I mean, what about your job?" Ranma asked.

Hinako looked at her sadly and replied, "I want to teach. I really, really do, but I'm just not very good at it. I get so easily distracted. When I'm like this, if I see candy, or a manga, or a toy, I lose track of what I'm doing. Even when I'm a grownup, it's the same, unless I'm punishing delinquents."

"Maybe if you could stay an adult that would fix your concentration problem," Akane suggested.

"What problem? Ooh, look at that, pocky! Can I have some?" Hinako asked.

Ranma looked at her wife, who was glaring at her. She gulped and said, "I guess we can ask your father if it would be all right. She could stay in your old room for now, since it is empty."

"In that case, let's go back to her apartment and get her some clothing," Akane said, "She can at least spend the weekend with us."

"Oh, goodie, goodie, can we have a sleepover, and everything?" Hinako asked.

Ranma reached over and tousled her hair and said, "Sure, I think we can do that. Just promise to behave and none of your ki attacks, okay?"

Hinako looked at her with wide eyes and asked, "You know about those?"

"Happosai was pretty thorough in his journal about what he taught you. I still have some reading to do in his training manuals, though most of the techniques in them aren't ones that I ever intend to try," Ranma said.

"Why's that?" Akane asked.

"Well, do I really need to know how to steal your underwear off of you?" Ranma answered, rhetorically.

"Ooh, that's so gross. Don't talk about things like that," Hinako said.

Ranma shrugged and said, "I told you he was a pervert. That's what it looks like a lot of his techniques were for. I'm hoping that somewhere in there is something that will allow you to live a normal life, without the ki absorption anymore. That's really the only reason I'm still looking."

The three girls finished their ice cream concoctions, Ranma having to clean off Hinako's face. Then they returned to her apartment, where she promptly returned to her adult stage as the ki from the fighting fish restored her.

Akane used the telephone to call Kasumi to let her know that they were bringing a houseguest for a few days, so she could get the spare room prepared. Hinako packed a suitcase with several changes of clothing and her necessities. She glanced over at Ranma, who had changed back, and asked, "Are you going to explain that?"

"I was on a long training trip with my Pop and we ended up in a training ground called Jusenkyo. It's full of spring-fed pools, and if you fall in one you get cursed to turn into whatever last drowned in the pool. Pop wouldn't listen to the guide and he fell into the spring of drowned panda, and in the excitement, I ended up in the spring of drowned girl. Kind of makes for an interesting life," Ranma replied.

"Kasumi said to come on home. I told her where we were, but she said she'd wait dinner for us," Akane said as she hung up the phone.

"Do you have everything?" Ranma asked.

"If you can take the suitcase, then I'll carry my fish," Hinako replied.

"That's probably a good idea. I was tempting fate carrying that fish bowl around as it was this afternoon," Ranma said.

* * *

Authors' Note: Again, thank you all for reading this story. I'm glad that so many of you seem to be enjoying this. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed, and encouraged. Many of them have been quite helpful in both improving my writing, as well as generating additional ideas. Again, thank you for all of them. Specific comments are below: 

Jetforce: Thank you for all of the kind words. The greatest compliment any author can get is when they are told that a story has inspired someone else to write. And I enjoy keeping the other characters in the story and bringing them to life.

Firestorm2004: I won't know how long it will be until it's done. LOL. Seriously, so long as I can come up with ideas that make sense, it will continue for a long time. Herb won't show up until somewhat later, unfortunately. I may or may not have a use for the love pills, but yes Ranma does have the ring. Saffron won't happen until near the end of the story, since at the moment that is where I am planning on ending this tale.

Daouid: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I guess it must have shown. I'm glad I had the right touch with the lime scenes.

Wonderbee31: I've never thought of Genma as particularly evil either. I really had fun writing the prank scenes.

Daniel Kim: I'm not sure about the tipping. To be honest, that wasn't something that I researched, so I probably relied too much on what I read in other stories.

Celestial lelila: Genma always has struck me as someone who looks out for himself first, but that doesn't make him evil. Kodachi always intrigued me, so I wondered what she would be like if she actually had someone love her back. Mousse and Kodachi just seemed like an interesting pairing that I have rarely seen before, and getting two people together who were obsessive struck me as neat.

Kyuubi-sama: I've had the occasional urge to write something original, but right now it's more fun to play in someone else's playground. The things on FF are the first fictions that I have written. As to where I find the time, I generally carry a notebook around with me and when the urge strikes, I write the scene down. I also only need about five to six hours of sleep, so that gives me several hours at night to write.

Xero Reflux Strike: Actually, Ryoga and Shampoo were in the rescue of Ranma chapters. Now, though, they are back in China. Next chapter there should be a scene or two about what they are doing there. I could barely write the scene with the prank, I was laughing so hard as I wrote it.

James Axelrad: Picollet Chardin will show up soon, or at least as soon as I can figure out what I want to do with him. In the manga, I don't think there are any more fiancées, so that's probably done. There will be other troubles for them, however.

Hououza: Saffron will show up later, much later. Ranma still can't quite take him out yet, and needs to have additional training.

Silverline Scimitar: All of that unresolved sexual tension had to finally cause something to snap. And I agree, when I try to stay within the existing manga storyline, the words don't flow as easily, since I feel like I'm forcing things, so it's actually easier to write the original stuff.

Borg rabbit: Thanks for reminding me about the emancipated minor thing. I meant to have it in the prior chapter.


	44. Infinite Battle Ki

Chapter 44 Infinite Battle Ki

"Tadaima," Akane called as she entered her home.

"We're in the family room," Kasumi called.

"I'll run your suitcase upstairs, Miss Hinako," Ranma said, suiting actions to his words.

Akane led Hinako into the family room, where her family was already gathered around the table. "Miss Hinako, this is my father, Soun Tendo. Daddy, this is Hinako Ninomiya, another victim of your old master," Akane said.

"Welcome to our home," Soun said as he stood up to bow.

"Thank you for allowing me to join you for dinner," Hinako said as she returned the bow.

"This is my older sister, Nabiki, my eldest sister, Kasumi and her husband Tofu Ono," Akane finished the introductions.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kasumi said, echoed by her husband.

Nabiki asked, her eyes narrowed, "Why are you carrying around a fish bowl?"

"It was a present from me and Akane," Ranma said from the doorway.

"No, Ranma, they have a right to know," Hinako said with a sigh. She handed the bowl to Ranma, and after a few minutes shrank to her child form.

Nabiki's jaw dropped in surprise.

"It's a long story," Ranma said, "So why don't we eat while we tell it."

"Excellent idea, son," Soun said quickly.

Ranma and Akane sat down, with Hinako sitting next to him. He placed the fish beside her and she grew back to her adult form.

"That is simply amazing," Tofu said.

"Gee, I turn into a girl and he's never said that about me," Ranma said, with a smile.

"Happosai ran into Miss Hinako when she was a little girl. She was in the hospital because she had a condition that left her chronically very weak, so he used some pressure points and showed her some exercises to allow her to absorb ki. That cured her of her weakness, but somehow the ki transfer changes her from her normal adult form to that of a child," Akane said.

"Oh my, that sounds like it could cause problems," Kasumi said.

"I use the Happö Go-en Satsu, or Eight Treasures of the Deadly Five Yen Piece technique in my job, so it has come in handy, but this life does come at a price," Hinako said.

"What do you do?" Tofu asked politely.

"Oh, I'm a school teacher," Hinako replied.

"What a horrible thing the master did to you," Soun exclaimed, tears bursting from his eyes.

"Well, I've sort of gotten used to it I guess," Hinako said, "Though since I can't really wear clothing that fits me well, at least up until now, I was starting to get a little tired of all of the perverted looks I was getting when I am an adult."

"You do pose a striking figure," Soun said, "But I can understand how that could be an annoyance."

"Mr. Tendo," Ranma began.

"Ranma, what happened to Dad, or Soun," Soun interrupted.

Ranma tried again, saying, "Okay, Dad, um, Akane and I were thinking that maybe she could stay here for a while. You know, she's more or less a student of the Anything Goes School, and kind of my responsibility. And I thought maybe Doc, or Cologne, could take a look at her."

"Yeah, Miss Hinako, I know you seem to be handling this well, but surely you'd like a cure," Akane added.

"This nice present that Ranma gave me is a step in that direction. I can be an adult without having to absorb someone's ki," Hinako replied. She giggled for a moment and then admitted, "I **would** like to be able to carry on a decent conversation without my attention wandering off, however."

"We would be happy to have you stay here," Soun said, "As Ranma has said, we do have an obligation to you because of what my former master did to you, but even if that weren't true, you would still be welcome here."

Ranma smiled and said, "Then it's settled."

Soun looked at him and asked, "You do know that this is really your house now, don't you? You didn't have to ask me for permission."

"It's not just my house," Ranma replied, "It is **our** home, you, me, Akane, Kasumi, Nabiki and Tofu. It wouldn't be good manners to invite some stranger to move in without talking it over with the rest of you."

"Miss Ninomiya, when you get a chance, I would like to take a look at your aura in both your forms," Tofu said, "And get a good idea of your physical age too."

Hinako replied, "Any time is fine with me, and since I'm going to be here for a while, please call me Hinako." She took another bite of food, smearing some of the bean paste around her mouth. "MMMM, this is good!" she said, happily.

"Thank you, I'm glad you like it," Kasumi said, "There's plenty more where that came from."

"Only because Pop isn't here," Ranma muttered. "Where are they by the way? I'm a little surprised that Mom and Pop aren't here."

Nabiki replied, "Your mother said something about giving you and Akane some space now that you are married. I think she was worried about hovering too much. And I know she didn't want the old panda around mouthing off at you. She did say that she'd be by soon to continue teaching Akane how to use that sword."

Akane's eyes shown as she replied, "Oh that'll be good. I definitely like the way it feels. It has a nice balance to it."

"Can we play after dinner?" Hinako asked suddenly.

Kasumi smiled kindly at her and replied, "After we get the dinner dishes clean and put away we can find something to do."

"Akane and I still have some homework to finish," Ranma said.

Akane added, "Yeah, it's the last of our makeup work from the week we were gone. It shouldn't take too long."

"We do need to practice in the dojo after that. Would you like to watch, and maybe learn from us? You are a student of Anything Goes after all," Ranma suggested.

"Oh goody, that sounds like fun," Hinako replied.

Tofu gazed at her, a puzzled look in his eyes.

* * *

After dinner, Ranma and Akane retreated to their bedroom to work on their remaining schoolwork. To their surprise, Hinako followed them upstairs and joined them, still carrying her fishbowl, so she maintained her adult form. "I thought I could help with your work, after all I am a teacher," she said, when Ranma looked at her in confusion.

"You're welcome to help," Akane said, as she and Ranma sat at their desk and began to look over their algebra assignment. Hinako stood next to Akane as they worked in silence, only the rasp of their pencils against paper disturbing the quiet.

After several long minutes, Hinako sighed and set the fish bowl down on the floor next to the large bed. She then sat down on the bed, unintentionally getting out of view of the circle formed by the opening in the bowl. She sat watching the two youths, when suddenly the battle spirit she had received from the fish wore off and she shrunk, turning back into her child form. Laughing with glee, she began to bounce on the bed, chanting, "Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy," repeatedly.

Akane turned in her chair, with a faint look of annoyance, one that quickly dissipated as she saw the look of glee on the little girl's face. She nudged Ranma, who turned and looked also. "That does look like fun," Ranma said softly.

Akane giggled and replied, "True, but I think you and I are too big to do that. Besides, we still have homework that's due on Monday." She was surprised when Ranma leaned in a stole a quick kiss.

Akane looked at him with a question in her eyes. Ranma said softly, "I was watching her, and started thinking about how it'd feel when that's our little girl doing that."

"You too, huh," Akane whispered back. She reached over and squeezed Ranma's hand.

"That homework won't finish itself," Hinako said when she saw that she had an audience.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Yes, Miss Hinako." The two of them turned around and returned to their assignment.

Akane looked through her bookshelves for a moment and then pulled out a thin book. She walked over and handed it to Hinako. "Here, why don't you read this?" Akane suggested.

Hinako squealed with excitement, as she turned to the first page and began to read the manga.

"Do you really think that's a good choice? I mean, Naru and Motoko are pretty violent," Ranma said.

"Well, it was either that or Maison Ikkoku," Akane said sheepishly.

"Let's see if we can get this done. I only have a handful of problems left, how about you?" Ranma asked.

"Same here. I figure about another half hour or so for me," Akane replied.

* * *

Ryoga lay on the floor of the council chamber, his face showing his embarrassment. Khu Lon cackled and said, #Be thankful son-in-law, a hundred years ago you would be naked. At least we left you some modesty.#

Ryoga replied, #I don't think a speedo is all that modest.#

#We needed as much skin contact as possible, son-in-law. You have to be in touch with all of the runes inscribed in the floor, or this won't work,# the old woman reminded.

Xian Pu added, #It could be worse, great grandmother. He could be passed out on the floor from blood loss. Remember one hundred years ago, the entire ritual was done in the nude.#

#Thanks for that mental image,#" Ryoga said, #Now I'm scarred for life.#

Khu Lon cackled again, and said, #We should be about ready to start. Our Loremistress has finished setting up all of the wards.#

#He still needs to drink the potion, great-grandmother,#" Xian Pu said.

#That's right. Well, sit up, boy, we really don't have a lot of time to waste,# Khu Lon ordered.

Ryoga sat up and took the cup from Xian Pu. He looked doubtfully at the steaming contents and then after receiving a look of encouragement from his wife, he opened his mouth and drank the green liquid. He shuddered briefly, as a faint look of disgust passed across his face. He handed the cup back to Xian Pu and lay back down. #Ugh, that stuff was nasty,# he muttered. He began feeling a little light-headed as the concoction began to work.

The final members that were to participate in the ritual circle walked into the chamber to join the other three women already there. Each of them sat down, in one of the thirteen positions surrounding the young man. They began to chant, in a language that Ryoga was unfamiliar with. He slowly drifted off as the sound of the chanting began to fill the chamber, with the last thing he remembered a dome of opalescent light surrounding the circle.

* * *

Xian Pu held the hand of her husband, waiting for him to regain consciousness. She hid her concern well behind a stoic face, only the dullness of her eyes betraying her feelings.

#Don't worry child, he'll be fine,# Khu Lon said.

#But great grandmother, the ritual was so different. His parents never acted like this,# the young woman said.

#I know, Xian Pu,# Khu Lon replied, hoping that she had kept the worry she felt out of her voice. 'Xian Pu is correct, this shouldn't have happened,' the Amazon Elder thought to herself, 'Why did it? Fortunately, the boy is strong.'

Xian Pu winced in pain as the pressure in her hand rose, as her husband began to arch his back, and he clamped down hard on her hand. Then with a heavy sigh, almost a cry, Ryoga relaxed, and fell back down on the pallet.

Ryoga opened his eyes, to find them crusty with unshed tears, and blinked blearily. In a rusty voice, one he had never heard before, he asked, "What happened?"

#Oh Ryoga!# Xian Pu cried as she pulled him to her and began to hug him.

#Hey girl, Ryoga needs to breathe,# the young man said.

Xian Pu blushed, and relaxed her death grip. #I thought I lost you,# Xian Pu cried, only now allowing the tears to fall that she had stoically prevented during her long vigil over the still body of her husband.

Khu Lon said, impatiently, #Girl, let me examine him now that he is awake.#

Xian Pu reluctantly let go of her husband, but not until she had kissed him thoroughly, leaving a completely dazed Ryoga in her wake.

Khu Lon reached out with her senses and examined Ryoga's aura. She frowned slightly to herself as she saw the scar in his aura that was the sign the curse had left on him. While fainter, it was still there. 'Damn, why can't Ryoga ever get a break,' the old woman thought. #Well, son-in-law,# she said in a raspy voice, #I have good news and bad news.#

Ryoga snorted derisively and replied, #Why am I not surprised?#

Khu Lon smiled in spite of herself and continued, #Nice to see that you can joke about this. Well, the bad news is that the curse isn't gone. It's diminished some, so maybe you won't get lost quite so easily. But I don't know why we couldn't remove it entirely. We didn't have that problem with your parents.#

Ryoga let out a breath that he didn't realize that he had been holding and said, with a bit of a smirk, #Probably because they only got the curse from one parent. I got it from both of mine.# He grinned at the look of utter astonishment on the old woman's face.

#I can't believe I didn't think of that. Of course, that's it. Damn, I must be getting senile,# Khu Lon muttered. She shook her head sadly, and said, #Looks like you may need to take my place on the council sooner than I expected if I missed something so obvious, great granddaughter.#

Ryoga said, #Oh, I think you have a few good years left, old woman.# He grinned at the glare she gave him and asked, #So what's the good news?#

#There's a real good chance that you are the last to have the curse,# Khu Lon answered.

#You mean our children won't be affected?# Xian Pu asked.

Khu Lon replied, #I'm almost positive that they won't be.#

#Well I can live with this result,# Ryoga said calmly, impressing both of the Amazons, #I've had this lousy sense of direction since I hit puberty, so it's no great loss if I haven't gotten rid of it. But if our kids don't get the curse, that's the best result. Poor Xian Pu didn't need to wonder where all of us had wandered off.#

* * *

Ranma squatted down so that she was at eye level with the little girl. "This is sort of like a game, Miss Hinako. Watch Akane and I go through this kata slowly and see what you can do," Ranma said, "I think you'll have fun with it."

"But why are you a girl right now, Ranma-chan?" Hinako asked.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Ranma-chan?"

"I like you, you're nice and pretty and you gave me a present and everything," Hinako replied, her cheeks reddening.

Ranma chuckled and said with a smile, "That's okay, Hinako-chan. I like you too. We both do. Now, I changed for a couple of reasons. One, the kata that we're going to show you was taught to Akane by her mother when she was a little girl. And, two, just between you and me, I think I look silly when I do it as a boy." She grinned again at the young girl.

Hinako giggled for a second, and then said, "I guess I'm ready to try."

Ranma stood up and said, "Okay, first just watch us and then when you figure out the pattern see if you can follow." She walked over to Akane, gave her a brief kiss and said, "I'm ready when you are."

The two girls stood there for a moment, both of them in a sports bra and shorts. Then they began moving in unison, performing very slowly to allow Hinako to see each leg and arm motion. Hinako stood there enraptured at the beauty of the movements, as she watched the two of them. Then they stopped and bowed to each other, both of them glowing.

Hinako squealed in glee and said, "That was wonderful. Let me try now."

Ranma and Akane shared a grin and then Ranma replied, "Sure, Hinako-chan. You and Acchan can run through the kata and I'll watch. She'll go a little slower just to make sure you get the movements."

Hinako ran up and stood behind Akane. "Okay, let's begin," Akane said as she slowly moved into the first position. She froze, waiting for Hinako to follow. The young girl moved a bit awkwardly as she mimicked Akane. "Next form," Akane said, as she again moved. They spent the next several minutes moving from one position to the next, Ranma only having to correct Hinako a few times.

The two of them stopped in the final position, as Ranma applauded. "Very good, Hinako-chan. That's the idea. Now let's do it a little faster," she said with a big smile.

The young girl danced around for a moment, happy that she had performed the exercise and had been praised for it. She then rushed over and hugged Ranma. "Thank you, both of you," she gushed, "You don't know how happy this makes me."

Ranma looked helplessly over the little girl's head at Akane, who was shoving her hand in her mouth to keep from laughing. Ranma smiled weakly at her.

"What is it with you, Ranma? Married barely a week and you already have other women hitting on you?" Akane said, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Ranma giggled and said, "Hinako-chan, it really isn't proper to hug your sensei like this. It ruins our manly image, doncha know?"

Hinako joined her in giggling and said, "Well, that breast rubbing against my face really feels manly."

Akane broke out laughing at that point, and walked over and joined the group hug. "It's kind of nice having a little sister," she said softly, "I never really realized that before."

Hinako made a silly face at Akane and said, "I'll have you know that I'm at least ten years older than you. Little sister my foot." The three of them stood there laughing.

Finally, Hinako wiped the tears from her eyes and asked, "Ranma-chan, why are you so comfortable as a girl?"

Ranma replied, "I've been told that there probably isn't a cure, so I decided I might as well accept me for who I am."

"And he, or in this case she," Akane began, only to be interrupted by Ranma sticking her tongue out, "Very mature, dear. ANYWAY, I love my husband, the person. The body he is wearing really doesn't matter to me."

"Enough seriousness," Ranma said, with a gentle smile, "My students are shirking their duties."

"Yes, evil taskmistress," Hinako teased.

The two girls began the kata again, at a slightly faster pace. Ranma watched them with a wistful look on her face. 'Someday,' she thought, 'Our children will be doing this.'

* * *

Tofu walked into the family room with an odd expression on his face after finishing his examination of Hinako.

"What do you think, Doc?" Ranma asked from the floor where he and Akane had just finished watching the latest episode of Yu Yu Hakusho.

Tofu rubbed his eyes wearily and said, "I can't tell you much. You know, the whole patient-doctor confidentiality thing. She did say that she trusted you two, so as soon as she finishes getting dressed, we'll talk. And if she gives me permission, I want to talk to Cologne about her soon, and have the two of them meet."

Ranma frowned and asked, "Is she healthy? All of this changing back and forth worries me. I figure it can't be good for her."

"Ranma-chan, thank you for your concern. It makes me feel all tingly inside knowing that you and Akane are worried about me," Hinako said from the door to the family room. The now adult Hinako walked in and knelt gracefully down onto the wooden floor of the room, not spilling a drop of water from the fishbowl that she was carrying. She smiled up at Tofu and said, "Tofu-san, you have my permission to tell them anything. They are my first true friends, and should know the truth as you see it. I really need someone to look after my interests for me, especially since soon my childish nature will reassert itself. And yes, I am willing to see this Cologne and allow her to examine me as well."

"Are you okay, Hinako-chan?" Akane asked softly.

"No, I'm not. I finally realized after watching what you two have that I am not happy with my life. I'm a schoolteacher, supposedly, but with my short attention span, how can I really do justice for the children in my class? They really hire me to be a class disciplinarian, to come in and take care of a class-full of delinquents. And I do that by stealing the battle aura out of the ones that cause trouble, making me a kind of vampire, so I end up with all the students afraid of me. What kind of life is that really? How can I ever know the kind of love that the two of you share?" Hinako replied, as she began to cry.

Akane moved over and hugged her, and crooned, "Whatever we can do to help you, we will. You have my promise on that."

Ranma joined them and said, "OUR promise. I know that somewhere in the mess of stuff I got from Happosai that there is something that will cure you." He blushed and added, "Of course, knowing the old freak, it'll be something perverted. I'll keep looking until I find it; you have my word as a martial artist on it."

"I know you will, both of you, and that is why I like you both," Hinako said sincerely, "I don't know exactly why, but somehow I feel a connection to both of you." She looked thoughtful for a moment and then continued, "I suppose because I've never had anyone actually accept me for what I am. My parents love me, but couldn't understand what happened to me. I could always tell that they were uncomfortable around me."

Akane grimaced and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine what your life must have been like."

"Well, it wasn't too obvious for a while that I changed. It wasn't until I got up into my teens, and went through puberty that all of this started anyway," Hinako said, "And that's when my parents started looking uneasy whenever I walked into the room. They would stop their conversation, and then look at me with an odd expression."

'I never knew this before,' Ranma thought, 'I guess I never really thought about how hard her life had to have been.' He said, "I can relate a little bit, I guess. After all, I change into a girl, so I sort of know what it must be like. Though, to be honest, you've had to deal with this a lot longer than I have."

Akane tapped her chin thoughtfully and added, "That's probably why it was so easy to accept what happens to you, Hinako-chan."

"Can we play something now?" Hinako asked, "I'm bored now."

Tofu sighed and said, "I'd like to talk to Ranma for a few minutes."

Hinako began to pout, and said, "But I want to play with him."

"You can play with me, or I've got another manga you can read if you'd like," Akane suggested, attempting to head off the temper tantrum she thought she was detecting.

Hinako smiled happily and said, "Manga, please."

"Okay, it's upstairs in our room. You want to go up there with me and get it?" Akane suggested.

Hinako nodded happily and the two of them walked out of the room.

"Okay, what did you need to talk about, Doc?" Ranma asked.

"There's something very odd about Miss Hinako," Tofu said.

Ranma chuckled dryly and asked, "You think?"

"Besides the obvious. No, I'm talking about her attention span issue. She can act like an adult for only a little while before she reverts back to her childlike behavior. What's odd is that she doesn't act eleven or twelve but more like seven or eight," Tofu said, with a slightly pained expression on his face, "And I don't understand why."

"Well, if I remember her story correctly, seven or eight was when she ran into the old pervert. So maybe learning the ki absorption technique at that age sort of froze her at that stage, except for short periods of time," Ranma said after a moment.

"That may be what it is. Hopefully, if she stays adult more, then she'll mature a bit, and be able to act her age more often," Tofu replied thoughtfully.

Ranma shrugged and said, "You and Cologne are the experts on this kind of thing. Which reminds me, have you ever read about what Happosai did to her? Or something similar? She really needs to be cured; I just hope the cure isn't worse than the disease in this case."

"I'm not familiar with what he did, but I've got a few books that I can look in. And I'll talk to Cologne about her. I could look at the stuff that Happosai left behind," Tofu said.

Ranma shook his head and said, "You really don't want to look at his journals, Doc. Some of the things in there aren't fit for any one to read." He grinned at the young doctor and added, "But I guess you're old enough to handle it."

"Gee thanks," Tofu said dryly, before he broke out in a matching grin.

"You're welcome," Ranma replied, matching Tofu's tone perfectly. 'I need to talk to Akane about those pressure points. We've got to find some way to get that to Tofu but so far I haven't found anything in those damn books of Happosai's,' Ranma thought, 'I can just imagine telling Doc about those five pressure points, and that we've got to do it for thirty days. 'Just how do you know?' he'd ask, and he'd really believe my explanation of 'Oh, because I've already done this once before in a different version of my life.' Yep, that'd go over real well.'

"You and Akane seem to have bonded rather quickly with Hinako," Tofu began.

Ranma shrugged and said, "Yeah, I think we have. She's a real sweet little girl, and a nice woman. And to be honest, I still feel guilty because of what Happosai did to her. Not that I could have done anything about it. I wasn't even a twinkle in Pop's eyes when the old freak ruined her life."

"Don't beat yourself up too much about it, you're doing the best you can to make things right for her," Tofu said seriously. He stopped talking as he heard Akane and Hinako returning. "We'll talk some more later," he said.

"I'll bring the journals down later. Keep them hidden, I really don't want Pop to see them," Ranma said as the girls walked into the family room.

* * *

Tatewaki smiled broadly as his sister and brother-in-law made their way into the dining room. He tossed the morning paper down onto the table and said, "Good morning, sister dearest. Morning, Msu Tse. How is my favorite brother-in-law doing on this glorious day?"

Mousse grinned at him and replied, "Well, unless there's another sister somewhere, I'm your only brother-in-law, so that's faint praise if ever I heard it. But we're doing great. What has got you so happy? I don't think I've ever seen you this way."

"Several things," Kuno replied, "One is that I'm feeling better than I have in several years. Probably because my twisted sister has stopped testing out her concoctions on me." He shot a pointed look at Kodachi who had the grace to blush. "I expect I have you to thank for that, brother," he continued, "Another reason that I'm glad the two of you are together. And my twisted sister is no more."

"I'm actually rather glad about that myself," Kodachi said quietly, "And I'll continue to apologize to you about all the things I did to you."

"It's fine, Ko-chan," Kuno said grandly, "I've decided to forget about what was in the past, and just worry about our future."

Mousse asked, "That's only one reason for you to be happy. What are the others? And why is this such a glorious day?"

Kodachi stared out the window as a crash of thunder was heard. The rain was coming down in sheets. "You do know that it is pouring out there, don't you?" she asked.

Kuno glanced out the window and said, "That doesn't matter. Why it is a glorious day is easy." He slid a thick envelope over to his sister.

Kodachi looked at him in surprise as she recognized the return address on the envelope. She flipped open the unsealed flap and pulled out several pages of heavy parchment and began to read. As she neared the middle of the second page, she looked up at her brother, her composure shattered. "Is this true?" she whispered.

"According to Uncle Kenji, it is. I've traded several letters with him over the last several weeks, and this was the result," Kuno replied.

Mousse gazed at his wife with concern. "What is in that letter, Dachi?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"Uncle Kenji became the head of our clan once our Grandfather died," Kuno replied, "Our mother's elder brother. It turns out that our father married into the clan. I haven't seen our uncle for several years, but when our alleged father showed up, I began corresponding with him. To my surprise, he informed me that that man had been removed from the clan roll."

"He is ronin?" Kodachi asked softly.

"Yes, sister, he has been declared ronin. Our Uncle felt that he had tarnished the clan's honor when he disappeared. Then Kenji-san came and talked to him after his return and arrest, and that was enough for him to decide that this man we will no longer name had no honor," Kuno replied.

Kodachi was unsure whether to laugh or to cry at that revelation. Her secret dream that one day her father, who she could barely remember, would return and make everything okay had turned to ashes when the one who claimed to be her father had returned. He was so unlike the few memories that she had, but on the other hand, her marriage to Msu Tse had actually brought her peace. An errant tear made its way down her cheek as her emotions threatened to overcome her.

Mousse glanced around the room to allow Kodachi time to regain her composure. As he did so, he saw something that he had not remembered seeing before. "When did you get that?" he asked, pointing at the sheathed katana blade resting on two hooks.

Kuno thought back to early that morning. "Saotome-sama arrived here very early this morning," he said.

Flashback

"Master Kuno," Sasuke said, as the diminutive ninja stepped into the room, "You have a visitor."

"Well, who is it?" Kuno asked, sipping his tea, not looking up from his paper.

"Me," a familiar soprano voice answered.

Kuno started in surprise, and raised his eyes to his visitor. A slight tightening of his jaw and a brief flash of pain were the only reaction to seeing Ranma standing there, toweling herself off.

The red-haired girl shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sorry about coming so early, but I needed to take care of this. Should have checked the stupid weather report, though. I was nearly here, when the skies opened up." She looked down at herself, and smiled wryly. "I hadn't really intended to show up like this," Ranma added.

"Saotome-sama, I had hoped that you wouldn't test me like this," Kuno said, "Even though I now know the truth, seeing you like this isn't helping."

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "I hadn't planned on showing up as a girl, Kuno. But I did feel that it was time to return this." She handed Kuno a heavy package.

"What is this?" Kuno asked.

"Just open it," Ranma said.

Kuno shrugged and tore the paper off from the package, revealing his family honor blade. Kuno simply asked, "Why?"

"I believe that you have earned the right to have your sword back. You aren't the same person that attacked me so long ago, Kuno. That person wouldn't have accepted Mousse so easily. But the person you have become stood up to your father and supported your sister in her marriage. You have treated me with respect, a respect that I'm not quite sure that I deserve because of how I deceived you," Ranma replied, "You accepted Akane and I marrying, even well enough to make a joke. So we talked and decided that you have regained your honor and deserved to have your blade returned."

"Sasuke, please restore this to its rightful position," Kuno said, his voice thick with emotion. The ninja retrieved the sword and left the room.

"Thank you, Saotome-sama," Kuno said simply, "But you were wrong about one thing. You are worthy of respect." He smiled wryly and added, "If you weren't, your wife would not have married you. Not that you are worthy of her, of course."

Ranma grinned and said, affably, "Of course. I know that, but somehow she decided that I was the one for her."

"No accounting for taste, I suppose," Kuno said, with a grin.

End Flashback

"He, or rather she, brought my sword back," Kuno finished, "Basically Saotome-sama told me that I had regained my honor in their eyes because I support the two of you. But how could I not. What would I have gained by standing in the way of true love? The love that the two of you share, the love that changed my sister for the better. That returned the sister that I thought I had lost forever when Mother died and Father ran away." He looked away for a moment and then mumbled, "That showed me what I felt for Akane Tendo and the pig-tailed girl was never love, but obsession."

Kodachi reached across the table and placed her hand over his and squeezed it. "It sounds like both of us grew up," she said quietly, "I'm proud of you, Tachi, for facing your demons and defeating them."

"Thanks, Dachi," Kuno replied. He sighed heavily.

"What was that for?" Kodachi asked.

Kuno smiled ruefully and replied, "Just thinking about all of the time I wasted chasing those two. Not to mention all of the pain that it caused me. I tried to pick two roses and forgot to avoid the thorns."

"Roses?" Mousse asked, puzzled.

"Ah, Akane and Ranma are the two roses, were they not, brother dear? I think I'm almost insulted, you forgot to ask me about roses," Kodachi said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

"True, you are an expert about thorns, aren't you?" Kuno said with a smile, "I could have saved myself a great deal of pain then."

"So are there any women that interest you? Nabiki Tendo perhaps?" Kodachi asked.

Kuno replied, "While she is an attractive woman, Nabiki has her own set of thorns. She is as much a wild rose as her sister, so no, I am not interested in her. Nor do any of the other girls at school appeal to me." He smiled wryly and added, "Of course, they would all probably say the same about me, since they've seen the way I was acting all year. No, I have probably ruined any chance of romance with any of them, so I must search for love somewhere else."

* * *

Ukyo slowly opened her eyes as the strident tone of the alarm clock ringing pierced the quiet of her bedroom. She sat up in her bed as the last vestiges of the pleasant dream she had been having, the one that had brought a slight flush to her cheeks, and interesting sensations to her body, disappeared. As she heard the sound of her fiancé's footsteps, her blush became more pronounced as she realized that the physical signs left behind by the dream were still present.

Konatsu shouldered the door to the bedroom open and entered, seeing his lovely fiancée blushing in the bed. "Good morning, Ukyo," he said as he brought forward a tray of food.

"Oh, breakfast in bed," Ukyo exclaimed, "I could come to like this. You're spoiling me, Konatsu."

"I fully intend to do that for the rest of our lives together," Konatsu said with a grin, "After all, you're definitely worth spoiling."

Ukyo gave a cheeky grin and replied, "Well, **I **certainly think so. I'm just glad you realize just how special I am."

Konatsu simply shook his head and set the tray across her lap, letting the legs of the small tray rest on either side of her legs. He then carefully sat down next to her. "I, um, I asked Mom if she could arrange to run the restaurant tonight," he said, "I'd like to take you out on our next date."

"So what did you have in mind?" Ukyo asked, coyly.

"I was sort of thinking about dinner and maybe some dancing," Konatsu replied.

Ukyo said, "That's sounds good, sugar. Now where's my good morning kiss?"

Konatsu grinned at her and replied, "I thought that I'd wait until you'd finished your breakfast. Wouldn't want to make a mess."

Ukyo put the tray down on the floor and then launched herself at Konatsu. "In that case, I think I'm finished," she purred just before she kissed him.

* * *

Nodoka opened the door to the small bedroom and walked in to see her lump of a husband lying on the thin pallet, filling the air with the ferocious sound of his snoring. Sighing to herself, she wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to the strong man that she had married. "I should never have let him take my child on that damnable training trip," she said softly, "Look what it allowed Genma to become. Or is it true what they say that love is blind and did I simply overlook the faults that were there?" As had become her morning ritual, she tossed the bucket of warm water over her husband's head.

Spluttering, Genma wiped the water from his eyes and growled, "I really wish you hadn't started that."

"You don't wake up any other way, Genma," Nodoka replied coolly, "Now if you want to be able to eat breakfast, you'd better get up. You know how Haruno-san gets when you are late to work."

"That old woman," Genma spat.

"Remember your promise, Genma," Nodoka commanded, "You have much to repay for the things that you did while you were away. Or are you ready for me to pass judgment on your behavior?"

"No dear, I will repay the money that I 'borrowed' during my trip," Genma said, nervously. Since he wasn't totally sure what Nodoka would do if she decided that he had damaged his honor sufficiently, he didn't want to find out. That sword of hers had an entirely too keen edge in his opinion. And the idea of a tanto blade across his stomach was enough to ruin his appetite. He scratched himself and then rose from the bed. Nodoka gazed at him dispassionately and then turned and walked out of the room.

Genma dressed quickly and then all but ran down the stairs to the kitchen where he found his wife already seated at the small table. He grimaced slightly at the small amount of food that was at his place, but he had already learned the futility of protesting. He shivered as he remembered the look on Nodoka's face as she simply rose and destroyed the two bowls sitting in front of him with her katana, and the icy words as she said, "Eat this."

"Nodoka, dear," Genma began, only to stop as his wife gave him a look of disgust.

"You haven't earned that right, Genma," Nodoka said coolly, "I am allowing you to atone for the mistakes that you made, more for my son's sake than for yours. Don't make me regret that decision."

Genma sighed and said, "All I wanted was to make him the best martial artist of his generation."

"And that you probably did. But, he became the person he is in spite of your teachings, not because of them," Nodoka replied, "My son is a good person. A person with a terrible curse that your stupidity gave him, but something he has come to accept because of the love of a good woman. I will never forget what you did to him. Only time will tell whether I will forgive you, or myself, for what happened."

Genma hung his head in shame.

Nodoka glanced at the clock and said, "You need to get going."

Genma grumbled for a moment. "I still don't know why I'm doing this?"

"Because we can't afford to pay you as much as Haruno-san does at her place," Nodoka replied.

He nodded briefly and then poured cold water over himself, transforming him into a panda. Then Nodoka helped him put on the sign that read, "Eat at Toshio's" on the front and back.

"Don't forget, come by Ucchan's tonight after work," Nodoka said as the panda walked out the door on his way to spending the day walking up and down the sidewalks in Nerima advertising the restaurant.

* * *

Nabiki knocked on the door to the bedroom, and asked, "It's me, can I come in and talk to you?"

Ranma replied, "Sure, I'm decent."

Nabiki opened the door and retorted, "Rats, I was hoping to see more of you."

Ranma grinned and asked, "Didn't you see enough a few days ago?"

"Ha ha," Nabiki replied, her face pinking up, "Where's sis?"

"She's downstairs helping Hinako get ready for school," Ranma replied, "So what's up? Why'd you want to talk to me? Are we having money problems?"

Nabiki replied, "No, actually that's going fine. Tofu is paying for he and Kasumi, and we earn plenty of money from both the Nekohaten and Ucchan's, so we're doing fine, even though Akane is beginning to eat nearly as much as you do. I'm just glad your father doesn't eat here much. That would put a strain on the budget."

"How about the college fund? I know that you weren't really planning on Kasumi going back to school?" Ranma asked, surprising her.

"Like I said, Tofu is earning enough to take care of that for Kasumi. And I'm putting enough away for the three of us," Nabiki replied. She hesitated for a second and said, "That's not exactly why I came in though. The fact that we are making a decent amount of money is causing a problem. I got an odd note in the mail yesterday asking for a meeting."

"Okay, and what do you want for me to do?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki frowned slightly and replied, "Basically, I want you to watch my back, I suppose. I thought you could do that invisible thing you do and make sure that nothing bad happens."

"So, when and where?" Ranma asked, "And what was so odd about the note?"

"This afternoon at two in the park, by the big fountain," Nabiki replied, "And it was just the way the note was worded, and the color of the ink that was used. A funny brownish red."

"I'll be there, don't worry," Ranma said, "You're family."

"Thanks, Ranma," Nabiki said in relief.

"This isn't really like you, Nabs," Ranma said suddenly, "You don't usually let things get to you like this."

"I've heard a few rumors that concerned me," Nabiki admitted, "You know that I sell information and run a few betting pools, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Ranma replied. 'Though it's not like it was before. She's been pretty careful to stay on the right side of things this time,' he thought.

"Well, I guess someone wants to muscle in on what I am doing," Nabiki said.

Ranma frowned and asked, "You don't think it is the Yakuza, do you?"

"I'm not sure, that's sort of why I want some backup," Nabiki replied.

* * *

That afternoon, the sun was shining brightly as a well-dressed man waited impatiently by the fountain in the park. He carefully looked around, the mirrored shades he was wearing preventing anyone from noticing his piercing stare as he took in the scenery. Over under the shade of a large elm tree, a little girl was sitting with her older sister, listening as she read aloud from the manga in her hands. His expression brightened as he saw his quarry approach the fountain.

"Tendo?" the man asked.

Nabiki replied coolly, "Yes, I'm Nabiki Tendo. Who are you?"

"Ah, my name is not important," the man replied.

"Then you don't know me very well. I don't talk to people that won't give me their name. Thanks for wasting my time," Nabiki said as she turned to leave.

The man reached out quickly and grabbed her hand, bruising it with the strength of his grip. "It is in your best interest to listen to me," the man growled.

Nabiki looked down at the hand holding her and said icily, "And it's in your best interest to let go of me. Otherwise I'll have to take steps."

"You're just a young girl. What can you do to me?" the man sneered.

"I'm also the daughter of a martial artist," Nabiki replied, narrowing her eyes.

The man chuckled and said, "So what's that mean? You going to beat me up?"

"No, but I will if you don't let her go," a cold voice said from behind him. He whirled and saw a stone-faced young man standing lightly on the balls of his feet.

"Who are you?" the man asked, wondering how he had missed the approach of the young man and wondering where his backup was.

Ranma chuckled lightly and replied, "No one of consequence."

"Right, quoting movie lines now are we?" Nabiki asked.

"Hey, I liked the Princess Bride. It was a good movie," Ranma said defensively, "Even if the fighting was a bit bland."

"You shouldn't have poked your nose in my business, boy," the man said. He released Nabiki as he began to reach inside his jacket.

Ranma moved quickly, and grabbed the man's wrist. "You'd better be wanting to scratch an itch," Ranma said, his eyes cold. Quickly twisting his arm, he turned the man around and drove him to his knees. He reached in and pulled out a small handgun, and dropped it on the ground with a look of distaste on his face.

"Watch out Ranma!" a familiar voice screamed.

A second cried, "Delinquents! Happö Go-en Satsu!"

Ranma whirled around to see two men, obviously running toward him, weapons drawn, only to watch as the Eight Treasures of the Deadly Five Yen Piece technique drained them of their battle ki.

"Thanks, Hinako!" Ranma called. He turned to the man kneeling on the ground and asked, "So who are you and what do you want with Nabiki?"

"I'm just a messenger," the man stammered, his eyes wide with fear as he saw his two compatriots lying withered on the ground.

"So what's the message?" Nabiki asked impatiently, "You're costing me time and time is money."

"The Boss thought you were getting too big for your britches. He wants a piece of your action," the man stammered out.

"And where might I find this Boss?" Ranma spat out, "You'd better tell me before I start taking off body parts."

"He'll kill me if I do," the man stammered.

"Then it sounds like you're fixing to have a really bad day," Ranma said.

Akane said, "Just let him go, Ranma. You know you don't want to kill him."

Ranma sighed and said, "You're right. It always makes a mess, and Kasumi always complains about trying to get the blood out of my clothing." He glared at the man cringing on the ground, and said, "Tell your boss to stay away from me and my friends. He won't like the results if he doesn't. Take your friends and go."

The man scrambled to his feet and ran to the two men lying on the ground.

Nabiki bent down and picked up the gun, and unloaded the clip from the handle, and handed them to Ranma. "What do you want to do with this?" she asked.

Ranma grinned and said, "I think I'll return it to its owner." He waited for a few moments while the man staggered off with his partners. With a wave, he said, "I'll see you three at home."

Nabiki said, "Wait, Ranma." She surprised him with a fierce hug, and then kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks," she said softly.

Ranma looked over at Akane, a slight look of fear in his eyes. Akane smiled sadly as she realized how much she must have hurt him in his previous lifetime if he was worried about Nabiki hugging him. She gave a faint nod and watched him relax in relief.

"Hey, I told you, you're family," he said just as softly as Akane wrapped her arms around them both.

"Hey, sis, I still don't share, but I'll make an exception this time," Akane said, with a smile.

* * *

In a brightly lit office, in the neighboring ward of Nakano, a corpulent man of indeterminate age was sitting in a large overstuffed chair, tapping his fingers impatiently as he waited for the return of his men. 'A teenage girl,' he thought, 'who does she think she is, opening up two restaurants and not paying me off.'

The door to his office opened and the man from the park stumbled in, his face still pale from his altercation.

"What happened to you, Sumigawa?" the man in the chair asked.

"Ito-san, I met the Tendo girl in the park like you asked me to, but we never got started. I screwed up. She asked me who I was, and I refused to tell her, since if she's a smart as she is reported, she would have figured out who I worked for," Sumigawa replied, "But since I wouldn't say who I was, she turned to leave. That's when I really messed up. I grabbed her."

"Sumigawa, I thought you were smarter than that," Ito said shaking his head, "So what happened then?"

"Some kid appeared out of nowhere, and threatened me if I didn't let the girl go. I reached for my gun, like an idiot, and before I knew it, I was on the ground with my arm nearly torn from its socket. The guys came running and something strange happened. I heard a voice cry, 'Happö Go-en Satsu!' and they were sucked dry and turned into two withered husks. After threatening me, the kid let me go, and I came here with Kato and Ogata," Sumigawa replied.

"You idiot! Why did you bring a gun?" Ito exclaimed, "Never mind, just get out of my office you fool. It should never have come to that!"

Sumigawa bowed and backed out of the office, closing the door behind him.

"Now what am I going to do? It wasn't supposed to go down this way!" Ito asked out loud.

"Well, first of all, you can tell me why you sent a goon like that to meet with Nabiki Tendo?" a voice said from the corner of the room.

Ito started and said, "Who's here?"

"No one of consequence," the voice replied, from a different corner. Ranma grinned to himself.

"Show yourself, Dread Pirate Roberts!" Ito demanded.

A red-haired girl materialized from the corner, her face in a quirky grin as she said, "Oh good, someone else who knows the movie. Now answer the question, please?"

"I can have twenty men in here in an instant," Ito spluttered.

The girl buffed her nails on her shirt and said, "Good, I could use the workout. Now, why don't we cut to the chase? Who are you and what do you want with my sister? Why'd you send a thug like Sumigawa after her?"

"First of all, Sumigawa is not a gangster. He's my office manager," Ito said quickly.

"I didn't realize being an office manager was such a dangerous profession," the girl said, as she pulled Sumigawa's gun out of a pocket. She gripped the gun with both hands and with a bit of a strain, bent the barrel in two. 'Damn, I wish Ryoga had been here to do that,' she thought with a quick grin.

Ito gaped at the girl for a moment, not believing what he had seen.

The girl began to tap her foot impatiently, and then asked, "Are you gonna talk or what?"

Ito stammered, "I just wanted to talk to her. She opened up two very successful restaurants in Nerima ward, and I wanted to pick her brains."

"First of all, she didn't open any restaurants. She's a partner with a group of Amazons from Joketsuzoku in China, but she just owns the building for the other restaurant," the girl said, "So your information is flat wrong."

"Damn incompetents," Ito grumbled. He turned a flat gaze on the girl and said, "As you gathered, my name is Ito. I am the head of the Restaurant Guild here on this side of town, and I thought she had gone around us. There are dues to be paid and things like that."

"You're not with the Yakusa?" the girl asked in surprise.

"Do I look like a gangster?" Ito retorted.

"How the hell should I know what a gangster looks like?" the girl shot back.

Ito chuckled and said, "So we had a bit of an honest misunderstanding it appears. Who actually owns Ucchan's?"

"A good friend of mine named Ukyo Kuonji," the girl replied.

Ito groaned and asked, "Is he related to Hikaru Kuonji?"

"**She** is his daughter," the girl replied, "And Elder Cologne owns the Nekohaten."

Ito rubbed his eyes and said, sardonically, "That's just wonderful. The daughter of one of the leading Okonomiyaki vendors in Japan, and a Chinese Amazon. Miss Tendo travels in interesting company." He shook his head and opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a slim file folder. He quickly jotted down some notes using an odd pen and then placed the file back into the drawer. "Tell Miss Tendo that I made an unfortunate error based on misinformation given to me by my subordinates," Ito said, "And I can assure her that it will not happen again. Give her my regards." Suddenly, he realized that he was speaking to an empty room, as the drapes over his windows flapped open for a second. The only evidence that he had had a visitor was the damaged pistol that he saw on one of the chairs.

* * *

Nodoka smiled to herself as she watched the two waitresses serving the crowded tables. Ranma had only grumbled for a few minutes when Nodoka had informed her son that she needed someone to cover for Konatsu and Ukyo that evening, and then had resignedly changed both gender and clothing. Akane had only shaken her head and changed into a matching outfit, and then the two of them had bickered good-naturedly about who would do most of the cooking in the back kitchen. Fortunately, most of the menu items were simple enough so that they only needed to be kept warm on the stove, so Akane wasn't tempted to be creative. Even though she had learned to cook reasonably well, there was still the odd accident that occurred when she allowed herself to become flustered or distracted.

The bell over the door chimed as it opened. Her husband walked wearily into the café, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. Akane showed him to a small table located near the back, while Ranma rushed into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came out carrying a small tray with a bowl of soup, and some pickles. She set them down in front of her father, who acknowledged her arrival with a grunt.

"Boy," Genma said wearily, "What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"I'm helping Mom tonight, both of us are," Ranma replied, batting her eyes at him.

Genma snapped, "Don't do that! It's bad enough you're a girl. Stop flirting like that."

"Ewwww, that's an image I didn't need," Ranma said in disgust, as Akane choked back a laugh, "I wasn't flirting, certainly not with you."

"That's true, Mr. Saotome, Ranma only flirts with the guy at the ice cream shop," Akane said with a grin at her husband, as a tinge of red appeared on Ranma's cheeks.

"Ice cream? You eat ice cream?" Genma ranted only to be stopped by Ranma dumping a cup of cold water on him.

"What's that Pop? I can't quite hear you," Ranma said as she turned on her heel and headed toward the kitchen. As she did so, a noise from the stairs caught her attention. She turned and her jaw dropped in amazement. There, standing at the bottom of the stairs was Ukyo dressed to go out. She was wearing a black dress, slit up one leg, with a narrow waist, and more than a hint of cleavage showing above the tight bodice. Her hair was brushed until it shone, and for the first time since Ranma could remember, she was wearing just a touch of makeup.

'Man, she sure cleans up nice,' Ranma thought, as Akane nudged her in the side. Ranma turned and saw that Akane's eyes were glaring at her. Ranma's jaw snapped closed and then she smiled apologetically at Akane. "Sorry, Akane, but I'm married, not blind. But don't worry, you're the only woman I want. Besides, you're still the most beautiful woman in the room," she said softly.

Akane's eyes warmed as she blushed at the compliment. "Hush, you," she hissed back, though since she was smiling, Ranma relaxed.

Konatsu appeared from nowhere, dressed in a sharp suit, one that Akane couldn't help but notice that he filled out very well.

Konatsu approached his fiancée, and handed her a small corsage for her wrist. "You look amazing," he stammered out nervously, "In fact you're gorgeous."

Ukyo blushed prettily, and stuttered, "You look handsome, yourself." She slid the corsage on her wrist and asked, "Were you afraid to get one that you'd have to pin on me?"

"Didn't want to run the risk. For some reason, I'm very nervous," Konatsu admitted, "And I knew that my hands would be shaking."

Ukyo looked at his hands, and sure enough, she could see them trembling. "It's just me," Ukyo said softly.

"I know, but this is the first time that I'm taking you out to eat and then dancing," Konatsu replied just as softly.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Ukyo said tenderly, as she reached out and caressed his face.

Ranma and Akane exchanged smiles. Nodoka grinned to herself, and said, "Children, you'd better get going. It's not very long until your reservation."

"Night, Mom, Ranma, Akane," Konatsu said as he offered his arm to Ukyo.

"Don't stay out too late," Ranma teased.

Akane retorted, "Sometime tomorrow is soon enough."

"Behave you two," Nodoka said, with a glint of humor in her eyes.

* * *

Konatsu drew back the chair from the table and waited for Ukyo to seat herself. Once she did, the well-dressed young man pushed the chair in and then sat down in the chair opposite. Glancing around the Western-appointed French restaurant, Konatsu was pleased with the advice that his mother had given him. While fancy, the dining area was not too overwhelming, and based on what he had overheard on their way to the table, the wait staff was helpful without being condescending.

Ukyo was also looking around the room, a faint frown on her face, with an odd light in her eyes.

Konatsu reached across and held her hand. He then said, "This wouldn't really work in your restaurant, you know. It's really the wrong style."

Ukyo flashed a quick grin and said, "It's **our** restaurant, Konatsu. Just because we aren't married yet doesn't change that fact. And you're right. I wasn't really trying to imagine us having a place like this, though, I promise."

Konatsu smiled indulgently and said, "I believe you."

They looked at each other for a moment in silence, that was only broken by the approach of the waitress. Once she had left with their menu selections, Konatsu hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Are you truly happy with this?"

Ukyo stayed silent as she pondered the question. Finally, just before Konatsu began to get worried, she replied slowly, "I think so, Konatsu. I care deeply for you, I know that. And it means we're in better shape than many arranged marriages. And to be honest, if that weren't the case, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me in spite of my father's ultimatum. I would have gone ronin rather than force myself to wed someone I could not see falling in love with."

"I'm glad then that things worked out this way," Konatsu said happily.

Ukyo sighed and said, "I just wish I knew for sure what love felt like. I thought I was in love with Ranma." She shrugged, and added, "But was it really love or was it just an obsession? Oh well, it's over and done with now."

"I didn't mean to get you depressed, this is supposed to be a night out where we can have some fun," Konatsu said softly, "I'm sorry."

"That's okay, sugar. I didn't mind talking about it. I need to get on with my life, and you're a good person to do that with," Ukyo said sincerely.

"Well, then, let's talk about that. Where do you see us going from here?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo looked pensive for a moment and then replied, "Honestly, I see us getting married once I'm out of school, and expanding Ucchan's when I can work there full-time. Then, a few years later, when we can afford it, having a couple of children."

Konatsu said, "I look forward to that. I hope we have a daughter that looks just as pretty as you."

Ukyo blushed, and said softly, "Thanks, but you really don't have to keep giving me compliments like that."

"I know I don't have to, I want to. You are a very attractive woman, Ukyo, and I'm very lucky to be the man you want to marry," Konatsu replied.

Ukyo laughed lightly, and said, "Thanks again, but I'm beginning to think I might be the lucky one here."

* * *

Ukyo sighed happily as the two of them moved together on the small dance floor. She rested her head against Konatsu's shoulder as they swayed in rhythm with the music the small combo was playing, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Feeling comfortable, are we?" Konatsu asked softly, his breath tickling her ear.

"Very," Ukyo replied, "This was a wonderful idea. I'm having so much fun. And you're a fantastic dancer."

"You're pretty good yourself," Konatsu responded, with a light chuckle.

Ukyo blushed prettily, and closed her eyes, allowing Konatsu to guide them around the floor, her body molded against his. "Hmmm, this feels so nice," she said softly, "I could do this all night."

"What?" Konatsu asked.

"I could stay in your arms all night," Ukyo said breathlessly, "I feel like I belong here." She felt him grin widely.

Konatsu said, in a husky voice that sent delightful shivers up and down her spine, "I love you so much, Ukyo." The girl in his arms opened her eyes and saw him gazing down at her, with all of the love he felt for her shining in his eyes.

Ukyo felt giddy as she realized how much that statement meant to her. A stifled sob escaped from her throat, as she shed a few happy tears.

"Ukyo, I didn't mean to make you cry," Konatsu began, only to have her place a finger against his mouth.

"Silly boy, I'm not crying because I'm upset," Ukyo said, "I think I finally realize how much you mean to me and it's just a little bit scary."

Konatsu chuckled and asked, tongue-in-cheek, "So now I'm scary, huh?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Ukyo replied, "I've never felt this way before, my heart is pounding, my palms are damp, and I feel so happy and contented."

"Mine too," Konatsu told her.

'Does that mean I'm falling in love with him?' Ukyo thought with a gasp.

The music stopped, and the band leader said, "We'll be taking a short break now."

With great reluctance, Konatsu released his fiancée from his embrace, and stepped back, only to have her reach up and gently kiss him. The two of them walked back over to their table, only to stop as they recognized someone sitting at a table on the way.

Souta was flirting outrageously with an attractive girl with short brown hair. He reached across and brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. He looked up and he saw Ukyo staring at him. He smiled at her and said, "Hi Ukyo, Konatsu. Fancy running into you two here."

Ukyo, while surprised, was very glad that she had not felt anything when she saw Souta. 'He certainly seems to have moved on rather quickly,' she thought. "We're celebrating our engagement," Ukyo said with a nervous titter.

"Ukyo, Konatsu, this is my date, Mariko Konjo. Mariko, this is Ukyo Kuonji and Konatsu Saotome," Souta said.

"It's nice to meet you," Mariko said.

Konatsu bowed politely and said, "Miss Konjo, Higurashi-san."

"That's a pretty ring," Mariko said as she glanced at Ukyo's hand.

"Thank you, it was my mother's engagement ring," Konatsu said.

Ukyo smiled briefly and added, "And it's perfect. I love it."

"Would you like to join us?" Souta asked.

Konatsu hid a wince as Ukyo crushed his hand. "Actually, Higurashi-san, we were about to leave," he said, "I have a busy day tomorrow."

"Ah, then I suppose I will see you at school, Ukyo," Souta said.

* * *

Akane wrapped her arms around her husband as they lay in bed together. She hesitated for a long moment, not wanting to spoil the afterglow, but what she had seen that afternoon had bothered her, and then the brief conversation with Nabiki had concerned her even more. Gathering her courage, she asked, "Ranchan, do you think Nabiki is attractive?"

Immediately alarms went off in Ranma's head. 'Danger, danger!' a voice in his head screamed. He stammered, "Why do you ask?"

"Just answer the question, please," Akane begged, as she felt Ranma stiffen.

A large drop of sweat rolled off of Ranma's forehead as he replied, "Your father has three very attractive daughters. Nabiki has curves in all of the right places."

"When she hugged you and then kissed you on the cheek, I saw a look of fear in your eyes. That worried me," Akane said. She paused as she saw the look of pain on her lover's face. She sighed and asked quietly, "Were you afraid that I would be jealous? Is that why you started to react when she hugged you and then suddenly stopped? What did I do to you to make you afraid? Please tell me, was I really that horrible to you before?"

Ranma heard the fear in his wife's voice. With a heavy sigh, he replied, "Acchan, **you** have never done anything wrong."

With a catch in her voice, Akane asked, "What did the other me do to you?"

"Acchan, love, really you have never treated me badly," Ranma replied. He looked at his wife and then sighed. "You've seen how Shampoo always hugs Ryoga. Think about how you would have acted if you didn't know how I felt about you, and she was doing that to me. "

Akane paled as she whispered, "I would be so jealous, especially if you didn't try to get away from her."

"The problem with that is where to put my hands to push her away without touching something I really didn't want to be touching," Ranma replied, "So I really couldn't get away, no matter how much I wanted to. And I learned to control my reaction to her rubbing up against me, because I hated it. I didn't like her touching me."

"Oh Ranma, I'm so sorry," Akane said, as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Hush, don't cry," Ranma said, tenderly, "It doesn't matter now. You aren't that girl, and honestly, I'm not that boy, not any more."

"But," Akane protested.

Ranma silenced her with a gentle kiss. She leaned into him, their nude bodies touching, as she deepened the kiss.

Suddenly, Akane grinned as she felt something stirring. She asked, huskily, "So you think you're ready again, huh?"

Ranma replied, with a smirk, "Not only ready, but able."

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, Gentle Readers, thank you for reading this tale. I hope all are continuing to enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. As always, I encourage you to provide constructive criticisms, and suggestions. Specific comments are below:

Wonderbee31: We'll have some more fun with Miss Hinako in the next several chapters. Nabiki's love interest won't show up for a while, poor girl. Someone needs to provide some angst.

Kyuubi-sama: Thanks for the idea, I hadn't quite figured out what to do with the Gambler King, and that suggestion was just what I needed. Hmm, Ranma and big words, I'll have to watch out for that. LOL. I've got a couple of ideas about Herb. Sorry, no clues about Nabiki.

Xero Reflux Strike: Taro should be showing up in a few more chapters. The fish are actually a manga chapter, though I veered sharply in what I wrote.

Silver Warrior: Yes, she is very kawaii as a child. She's really more of a strict disciplinarian, but she reverts back to a child very quickly.

Ss4-link: Oh, I'm not done with Hinako yet. Picolet Chardin will be showing up as soon as I can figure out what I going to do to him. I like Nabiki too much to do that to her. The Ghost Cat may show up again if I decide to do the New Year's Eve episode. And remember, Akane is married now, so she's allowed to be a little, um, forward.

Jetforce: Hinako is a character in later chapters in the manga. She also was introduced in one of the OAV's.

Hououza: I have a couple of options as to who Nabiki ends up with. Eventually, Hinako will have the technique to remove her ability to absorb ki. Don't know about Soun, I have something else in mind if I can pull it off.

Khim: Thanks, I knew that about the honor and just blew it. I've gone back and edited that scene so Nodoka doesn't say that any more. Sorry about the court order thing, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

Shinigami: Yes, Nabiki does need to find someone. Kuno was being Kuno, talking flowery (yes that was a deliberate pun) Akane is a rose, with sharp thorns, so Kuno will be looking for a tamer girl, (ie a daffodil)

Doctor Emmit Brown: You're right about that, Ranma did figure that out to quickly. BTW, how are you coming on your story?

Ryan L. Spradling: Akane will be taught Nodoka's style, though if you remember Kenshin swore never to teach Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Though, some of it may have crept into the Kamiya Kasshin style.

Kasha: Those chapters will probably make an appearance, in my own uniquely warped way.

Firestorm2004: Thank you. Yes, there is an episode like that, and probably I'll write something around it. As to how big this thing gets, I haven't the faintest idea. So long as I can come up with good ideas, and people continue to read, it will continue to grow. MASN and Relentless are great stories, and I'm glad Grayson finally finished Relentless.

Psycho King: Exactly, that's the effect I was trying to convey. He's had so many odd things happen to him, it's not too hard to believe that he'd either forget some of it, or think he's told them when indeed he hadn't. I like Hinako, she's hilarious to read. I plan on having some fun with her.

Silverline Scimitar: Nabiki won't end up with Kuno, sorry, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I going for a different pairing. That's a good idea with Copy Cat Ken, need to think about that.

SlickRCBD: She's in several of the later chapters of the manga. There she is a bit more childish. In the chapter Infinite Battle Ki, which I loosely (very loosely) used as the inspiration for my chapter, she had a very short attention span, and acted childish even when she was in her adult form.

Celestial lelila: I'm glad you liked that. I did want to make Hinako less of a cardboard character and flesh her out a little bit. Nabiki won't end up with Kuno. And if my scene with Kuno made you laugh, then my work is done.


	45. Havoc at the Hot Springs

Chapter 45 Havoc at the Hot Springs

The next morning, Ranma woke up before his wife. He pulled himself gently away from her, cracking a grin at her sleepy protest at the loss of his body heat. Quietly, he slipped out of the bed, and leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss. Akane smiled in her sleep and rolled over, clutching the pillow that Ranma had left behind. Gathering a change of clothing, Ranma headed downstairs to the furoba. Bathing quickly, he dried himself off and changed into his fresh clothing and tossed the muscle shirt and boxers from the night before into the clothes hamper by the washing machine. Then, he walked back to the kitchen, where Kasumi was already busying herself with food preparation, with Hinako sipping a cup of tea and singing along with the music on the radio.

"Good morning, Kasumi-chan, Hinako-chan," Ranma said with a smile.

"Morning, little brother," Kasumi replied.

Hinako waved and said happily, "Good morning to you, Ranma-chan."

Ranma asked, "Do you need a hand with anything?"

"I haven't fixed up the bentos yet. Everything is ready, they just need to be filled," Kasumi replied. She turned and saw that Ranma was alone and asked, "Where's Akane?"

"Oh, she's still asleep," Ranma replied, "So I thought I would let her sleep until the alarm went off. We were up a little late last night."

"I know," Kasumi said, with a smirk.

Ranma blushed, and hung his head a little in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, we'll try to keep it quieter next time," Ranma mumbled. He made his way over to the kitchen counter and began filling up the compartments in the bento boxes with the food that Kasumi had prepared.

"Don't worry about it, Ranma, I was just teasing you," Kasumi said.

"Don't worry about what?" a sleepy voice asked from behind them.

Ranma turned and replied, "I guess we were a little noisy last night, Acchan."

Two little red spots appeared on her cheeks as Akane walked over and gave her husband a hug. She hid her head against Ranma's chest.

Hinako stood up, allowing Ranma to see what she was wearing for the first time. "Is that a new outfit, Hinako-chan?" he asked.

"No, Ranma-chan, it's one that Kasumi altered for me last night," Hinako replied.

Ranma chuckled and asked, half in wonder, "Is there nothing that you can't do, big sis? You're amazing, did you know that?"

Now it was Kasumi's turn to blush as she replied, "It wasn't that big a deal. I just needed to fix the hem, that kind of thing. I'm just glad there was plenty of material for me to work with."

"I just wish that I could sew as well as you do," Akane said wistfully.

Ranma frowned briefly and said, "It just takes practice, Acchan. It took me me a while to learn myself."

"**You** know how to sew?" Akane asked in surprise.

"I thought I told you that already. As cheap as Pop was, I had to learn how to make simple repairs and then later on how to alter clothing," Ranma replied. With a wry smile he added, "I'll make you a very good wife, Acchan."

Akane giggled as she snuggled deeper into his arms and said, impishly, "Oh good, you can cook and sew and take care of a house. I always wanted to have a good woman take care of me. Kasumi spoiled me with her care."

Ranma startled them with a bark of laughter. "I think that's a bit of a stretch comparing my skills to Kasumi's, but thanks," he said finally.

Nabiki stumbled into the kitchen. Kasumi put an extra strength cup of coffee in her hands. The half-awake girl took a sip of her coffee and shuddered. "Ah, that hit the spot," she all but moaned in ecstasy.

"Good morning, Nabiki," Kasumi said in greeting, "Now, everyone scoot. Breakfast is ready."

The final syllable had barely left her mouth before she was talking to an empty room.

* * *

Hinako looked at the clock on the wall behind Kasumi and squeaked in dismay, "Oh my, I'm going to be late." She sprang up, leaving her fish bowl behind, and ran over to where her bag was.

Ranma jumped up, and said, "Grab our things, Akane, and I'll meet you at school. I'll get Hinako-chan to the train." He swung Hinako into the classic bridal position, and said, "Put one arm around my neck."

Hinako squealed in surprise at being swept up into Ranma's strong arms, but then complied.

Akane frowned briefly, squashing an instanteous pang of jealosy and then joined her husband. "Baka," she said, fondly, "I'll go with you. Remember, I can roof hop too."

"Roof hop?" Hinako asked, as she shrank back to her child form. "Oh no, my fish!" she cried.

Akane placed the covered fish bowl in Hinako's lap, and said, "Use your other hand to hold onto that." She grabbed the bento boxes from Kasumi and shoved them in her bag, and then got Ranma's as well. "Time's wasting," she said with a smirk.

"Think you can keep up, tomboy?" Ranma teased.

Akane narrowed her eyes in pretend anger and said, "I can go anywhere you can, husband dear." She ran out into the backyard and sprang up onto the wall surrounding the property.

Ranma followed, jumping up onto the wall, eliciting a joyful shriek from the little girl in his arms. Then Ranma and Akane jumped to the roof of the next house and started heading to the train station.

"Faster, faster," Hinako cried as they disappeared into the distance.

* * *

The morning class had sped by, though Ranma and Akane had barely made it to class, just beating the tardy bell as they slid into their seats. Fortunately, the teacher had walked in immediately after, and began the lesson, forestalling any questions that their friends might have asked, and preventing any notes from being handed to them also. Ranma had been surprised to see Shampoo in class, since he had thought that she would be gone another week.

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of the lunch period. The teacher closed her book and said, "The vice principal has asked me to tell you that because of the inclement weather, that lunch will have to be eaten inside. Those that wish, of course, may go to the cafeteria. The rest may stay here in the classroom."

Ranma caught Akane's eye and she motioned to stay, so he nodded in agreement. She pulled out his bento from her bag and handed it over to him, as most of the class cleared out.

"Hey, Shampoo, I thought you were going to be gone another week," Ranma said.

Shampoo shrugged her shoulders, which unfortunately for Daisuke and Hiroshi, caused her chest to move very interestingly under her thin blouse. The two boys quickly averted their eyes, but not fast enough to avoid a thin trickle of blood to flow from their noses. "Great grandmother want to come back sooner," Shampoo said, trying not to laugh at the reaction of the two perverted boys, not to mention the glare that each of their girl friends was sending their way. She turned and said, "Besides, we do ritual on Airen to break curse, so no real reason to stay away from home. She missing her television shows, anyway, I think."

"Did he get cured?" Akane asked.

"No, not completely," Shampoo said, with a hint of sadness in her voice, "He still have curse, just not as bad. Good news is think that children won't have it."

Ukyo smirked at her and asked, "So are you planning on testing out that theory any time soon, sugar?"

Shampoo smirked back and said, "Shampoo not ready for children yet. Don't mind practice though. Ryoga very good lover."

Kodachi giggled and said, "Msu Tse pretty good too. Martial artists must have a lot of stamina. Right, Akane?"

Akane blushed and said, "That's between me and my husband, Dachi."

"Oh, almost forgot," Shampoo said, "Have present for Ranma." She rooted around in her bag and pulled out a small package and handed it to Ranma, who looked at it in confusion.

"What's this for?" Ranma asked as he began unwrapping the plain brown paper from around the parcel.

"Just something that Shampoo found. Guide came to village with how you say, sample goods," Shampoo replied.

After getting the paper off, Ranma found several bars of what appeared to be soap. Keeping his face impassive, since he thought he knew what it was, he asked, "This looks like bars of soap. Are you trying to tell me something?"

"This waterproof soap. Guide say it not cure for curse, but keep you from changing if you get wet," Shampoo replied.

Ranma looked at the bars thoughtfully for a moment, and then handed some of them to Kodachi. "Here, give these to Mousse. He really needs them more than I do. At least when I change, I don't turn into a menu item."

"That's very nice of you, Ranma, thank you," Kodachi said softly, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure it's been a little difficult for you, I mean, him turning into a duck and all," Ranma mumbled.

Kodachi smiled at him, and then changed the subject, "We should be getting a new principal soon. The man whose name I no longer mention has been cast out of my mother's clan."

"Oh, when did that happen?" Yuka asked.

"Tachi got a letter from my mother's brother and showed it to me over the weekend," Kodachi replied, "And now that he is a ronin, a word or two to those old class conscious bigots on the school board and they will have no choice but to remove him from the school. After all, having a man with no honor would stain the reputation of the whole school."

"True," Akane said thoughtfully, while Ranma had an odd look in his eyes.

Ukyo asked, "Guess who I saw on a date last night?"

Sayuri responded, "Who?"

"Souta Higurashi. He was with some girl named Mariko Konjo," Ukyo replied.

Ranma started slightly, then asked, "Are you okay with that? I mean you were dating a little."

"It's okay, Ranchan. I'm getting very happy being with your brother," Ukyo said, with a smile that Ranma was happy to see reach her eyes.

"Who's Mariko?" Yuka asked, "I don't think I know her."

"She's a cheerleader at Seisyun High School," Ranma replied without thinking.

Ukyo stared at him and asked, "How did you know that?"

Ranma gave her a panicked look and replied, "Uh, I'm not sure."

"I met her at a tournament and pointed her out to Ranma, I think," Akane said hurriedly.

"Oh, that make sense then," Sayuri replied, "So how did your date with Konatsu go?"

"How'd you know I was on a date?" Ukyo asked in surprise.

"Well, Souta really isn't the kind of guy that would take a girl to your restaurant after you broke up with him, so I figured if you saw him on a date, you'd have to be on one too. And since you're engaged to Konatsu, it had better have been with him," Sayuri explained.

Ukyo giggled prettily and replied, "It was nice. He took me to a fancy French restaurant, and we had a good meal, and some nice conversation. He's surprisingly well read, and I found out a lot more about him. And then we danced for what seemed like forever. It was so romantic."

"Oooh," Yuka squealed, and then she turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Are you taking notes? Ranma and Konatsu are setting a pretty good example for you to follow."

"My darling Msu Tse is like that as well," Kodachi added, as both Hiroshi and Daisuke started to look a little wan.

"Ranma, you're killing us here," Daisuke complained.

Ranma smiled complacently, and replied, "Not my problem if you don't know how to treat your girlfriend."

* * *

Ranma groaned to himself as Hiroshi and Daisuke made their way toward him across the crowded gym floor. Normally, physical education was his favorite subject, but today, even though the sun was shining brightly outside, the brisk wind had caused the teachers to keep everyone inside, so he couldn't avoid the duo.

"Hey, Ranma," Hiroshi said as he stopped in front of where Ranma was leaning against the gym wall. His greeting was quickly echoed by Daisuke.

"Hi guys," Ranma replied, waiting the inevitable interrogation. His two friends had been after him to talk about being married ever since they had found out the week before, and hadn't taken the hint that he really didn't want to talk about it at all.

Hiroshi leaned closer and, after taking an exaggerated look around, begged quietly, "Come on, Ranma. Spill. We're dying to find out how she is. I bet she's a screamer, isn't she?"

"Is she pretty violent? Have you two done it as a girl, yet?" Daisuke asked.

Ranma frowned in anger and said, wearily, "Why do you think I'd tell you this time when I haven't any of the other times that you asked?"

"Cause we're your friends?" Daisuke replied, with a hopeful note in his voice.

"And they can't award the pool until we find out," Hiroshi blurted out, to Daisuke's dismay.

"Pool? Does that mean someone was betting on our relationship?" Ranma hissed, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Well, maybe a few people," Daisuke admitted, glaring at Hiroshi, "And a couple of people already asked Nabiki and she nearly cut them to shreds, so finding out from you is our only hope."

With a growl of anger, Ranma pushed himself away from the wall, his fists clenched. "It's none of your fucking business what she's like. The only thing I'll tell you is that it's fantastic, and that's it. What happens between us is exactly that, between us. Akane won't tell her friends and I won't tell mine any different. And if you don't stop sticking your nose into something that doesn't concern you, I may have to rearrange some body parts. Got that?"

"I knew this was a bad idea," Hiroshi said quickly to Daisuke.

"What do you mean; you said he'd tell us. This was your idea in the first place," Daisuke shot back, warily eying the enraged martial artist standing in front of him.

Ranma took several deep breaths, attempting to regain his composure.

Akane looked over from where she was standing in line to work the balance beam to see her husband obviously irritated. She excused herself from her friends, and ran over to calm him down. "What's wrong, Ranma?" she asked softly.

"Our so-called friends wanted to know how you were in bed," he replied, still furious.

Akane gasped as she saw how tightly he was wound up, and pulled him away from the two cowering boys. She turned and spat over her shoulder, "Get out of my sight, and stay away from us."

"Akane, I'm," Daisuke began.

"Don't even try to apologize right now," Akane growled, as she pulled Ranma to the door, where they ran into one of the gym teachers.

"Where do you two think you are going? Just because you're married, doesn't mean you can sneak off," the instructor asked.

"Just getting Ranma away from those two," Akane replied, "Before he loses complete control of his temper. I need to get him outside so he can calm down."

The teacher paled and asked, "What happened?"

"They were just getting a bit too nosy about our personal life, damn perverts," Ranma growled, through clenched teeth, his eyes glowing eerily.

"Take him outside, quickly," the teacher said, as she got out of the way.

Akane smiled in thanks and dragged Ranma outside, where he promptly slammed his fists against the brick wall.

Again, breathing deeply several times, Ranma worked on getting his anger under control.

"And you say I've got a temper," Akane said softly.

Ranma rubbed his hands together, and sighed, "I overreacted, I guess. I know that they are curious, but still, it's not something that they need to know. What we have is special, and I don't want to make it out to be something less. It just seems that talking to them will make it perverted or something."

* * *

Nabiki sat at her desk doing her accounts, a bemused smile on her face. She tapped her finger against her chin as she thought back to the day before. It had been such a strange day. First, when Ranma had rescued her from her attacker, she had been so scared. Holding onto Ranma had allowed her to regain her composure, especially since it had felt so comfortable to be in his arms. Then, when Ranma had returned from her mission, not even bothering to change back into a guy before she ran upstairs to tell what she had found out, Nabiki had laughed so hard that she had almost cried. Ranma had looked so confused, and then nearly ran off when Nabiki hung her arms around her and held on tight. She shook her head and returned to the present, as she thought, 'Akane is a lucky girl. I'm glad he's with her.' She looked down at her final tally and realized that Ranma had been the best thing for her as well. The money from the two restaurants, plus what he had given her to invest, was turning into a considerable amount of yen.

A knock on her door startled her. She closed her computer program down and walked over to her door. When she opened it, Hinako was standing there. The young woman said, "Ranma told me that you take care of the money around here."

Nabiki frowned ever so slightly and replied, "That's correct. I do the household accounts. Why?"

"I wanted to pay my share," Hinako replied.

Nabiki shook her head and said, "I can't let you do that. Daddy said that you were a guest, and that means I can't accept any money from you."

Hinako thought for a moment and then grinned. "In that case, I have a business proposition for you. I was very impressed with those lesson plans that you wrote out, and I would like to pay for you to help develop the ones for the rest of the term. Would you be interested in that?" she asked.

Nabiki's eyes lit up for a second and then she gave a matching grin. "I think that would be a marvelous idea. The three of us actually enjoyed writing them this weekend," she replied.

Hinako smiled and said, "Then it's a deal, Nabiki-chan. Now for something more important, Akane said you have a stash of pocky. Can I have some? And can we read a story together?"

Nabiki grinned wryly and said, "Don't tell me, did I just get another little sister?"

Hinako giggled prettily and replied, with a cute pout, "Don't you like me, Nabiki-chan?"

"Not if you're going to eat up all of my candy," Nabiki teased, as she tossed a box of the sweets to Hinako.

* * *

Hinako cried out gaily, "Tadaima!" as she skipped through the front door and down the hallway to the family room.

Ranma looked up from where he was sitting on the floor to see Hinako, carrying her fish bowl, skipping around like a little girl. "So how was school today, getting to stay an adult all day?" he asked, with a big grin.

"It was so cool," Hinako replied, as she twirled around, reveling in the fact that she was able to wear clothing that actually fit instead of the usual compromise that she had developed over the years. "And I owe it all to you, Ranma-chan, this has been a wonderful week," she said as she danced over and hugged him.

Ranma blushed as he realized exactly where his head had been a moment ago, and making a mental note to have Kasumi talk to Hinako about wearing a bra now that she was staying an adult most of the time. 'I'm sure glad Akane was in the kitchen helping with dinner,' he thought, 'I don't think she would have taken this the wrong way, but I'd rather not find out the hard way that I was wrong.'

Hinako sat down next to him and asked, "What are you working on?"

Ranma looked down at the book in his lap and grimaced. "Just looking at some more of the old pervert's books hoping to find out more about that ki absorption thingy he used on you," he replied, "And trying to avoid reading about some of the really gross things that he learned." He shuddered for a moment, causing Hinako to look at him concerned.

"That bad, huh?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, I didn't know about a lot of this before. Him wanting to steal women's underwear and the groping he liked to do was his way of regaining his ki," Ranma said, "And that's just the least perverted thing in this book."

"I'm glad that he's not around then," Hinako said with a grimace, "Though he did save my life back then."

"Yeah, there is that, I suppose. That's one of the few more or less good things that I can remember him doing," Ranma replied. In an obvious attempt to change the subject, Ranma asked, "Where you able to stay an adult all day?"

"Mostly. There was one delinquent that I had to punish, so I blasted him with my Happö Tsurisen Gaeshi. That sends all of the ki that I have absorbed out, and when that happens I revert," Hinako replied. She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment and added, "I'm still having problems staying focused when I'm an adult, though. One of the girls had a manga hidden in her textbook, and when I saw it, I sat down and began to read it."

"Hey, it's early yet. This was only your first full week trying to stay adult," Ranma said, "Don't let it get you down, at least not yet."

Hinako smiled uncertainly and replied, "I'll try, Ranma-chan, but I've been this way for a very long time. What if I don't get better?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Ranma replied.

Soun entered the family room with his newspaper under one arm. "I thought I heard voices in here," he said. He sat down by his shoji board and asked, "How was your day, Miss Hinako?"

"It went very well, though I did get a lot of strange looks from my students when I walked in as an adult and stayed that way," Hinako replied, "The lecture notes that your daughters put together helped me stay focused, so maybe I actually managed to teach them something."

"That's good news," Soun said, "By the way Ranma, your mother called to say that she would be by Saturday and Sunday to work with you and Akane."

* * *

"Akane," Ranma said, once they were alone in their bedroom, "I know how to cure Hinako. It's a technique called Weakening of Evil Spirits, but as I expected, it is a bit perverted."

"Why is that?" Akane said from her spot in front of the mirror where she was brushing her hair.

Ranma sighed and walked over to show her the chart that he had finally found in one of the old pervert's journals. "Here, take a look at this," he said handing her the open book.

"Oh my, I see what you mean," Akane said as she saw the five pressure points.

"And all five of them have to be pressed at the same time. Ja and Aku are okay, they are just on the back, but Byo, Tsu and Ma are all situated on the right breast," Ranma said, blushing slightly.

Akane frowned and said, sarcastically, "Oh goodie, that means someone gets to grope Hinako. How wonderful."

"Yeah, and guess what, it has to be done for thirty days for the process to work. She's really going to appreciate that," Ranma added.

"Have you told her yet?" Akane asked.

"No, I wanted to talk to you first, and get your opinion on this," Ranma said.

Akane grinned wryly and said, "Yeah, I imagine you would at that. You knew that this technique existed, didn't you?"

Ranma nodded his head and said, "Yeah, Happosai showed it to me when Hinako showed up at our school in the other time line. Unfortunately, he was too short to perform the technique, so he forced me to do it. And, well, you sort of took exception to what I was doing the first time I tried."

"Oh, Ranma, let me guess, you just went ahead and tried it without explaining to either of us what you were doing, didn't you?" Akane asked.

"Oh yeah, just charged in like an idiot, and got hit for my pains. After I explained to you and showed you the chart and why I was doing it, you were more understanding. Especially after she kept draining everyone's ki for no real reason," Ranma replied. He shrugged and said, "I can learn from my mistakes, so this time I figured that I'd better tell you first. But, I had to find the chart in the book. I knew that you would trust me, but I could just see going to Hinako and telling her what would need to be done without it."

"Yeah, I can imagine her reaction. Pervert would be the nicest thing she would call you," Akane said, "So when are you planning on showing her this?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and frowned. "I'm not sure. I think we need to wait for a while, until she learns to trust us," Ranma replied slowly thinking it through, "After all, she's only known us for barely a week, and well, this is going to be embarrassing for her."

"That's a good point," Akane said, "But, we could have Tofu perform it. He is a doctor of sorts, so she might take that better."

Ranma smirked at her and said, "You just didn't want me to be the one to do it."

Akane swatted him on the shoulder and said, fondly, "Baka. No, that isn't it at all. Well, maybe a little bit, I suppose. She is an attractive woman."

Ranma grinned and said, "Fishing for compliments again, Akane?" He chuckled at her blushing face, and said, "I know I don't tell you often enough, but I think you are gorgeous. And, you are the only girl I ever want to hold. Especially where those pressure points are."

Akane blushed even redder and then bit her lip, uncertainly. "You don't think I'm too small, do you?" she asked.

Ranma pulled her to him and said, simply, "Acchan, I love you just the way you are. You were an athletic woman before I came here, and now that we're training together, you're working out even more, so you just won't keep a lot of body fat on you. That's the main reason that you aren't as endowed as Nabiki, for example. You two do have the same body type, but she doesn't work out like you do."

"Been checking out my sister, have you?" Akane asked with a mock glare.

Ranma cringed slightly, and admitted, "Maybe a little. Actually, the main reason I know is from helping Kasumi with the laundry. Her cup size is bigger than yours, so unless she's padding her bra, she's a bit bigger. And you have to admit, her swimsuits usually leave very little to the imagination."

"Yeah, almost like the ones you wear," Akane teased, feeling a little better about things. Then she frowned, and asked, "Then how come your girl side is so big?"

Ranma grinned and asked, "So, have you been checking me out? Seriously, I don't know. I suspect that it's because I wasn't a girl growing up, and that I haven't worked out that much as one. I would bet I'd lose some of it if I did."

"That actually makes sense. Doesn't explain Shampoo though," Akane said.

"Oh I don't know. I sometimes wondered if she didn't fall in the spring of drowned bimbo," Ranma said with a chuckle.

* * *

Nodoka knelt gracefully down in the dojo and gestured for her son and daughter-in-law to do the same. The young couple exchanged a brief look and then joined the older woman. Nodoka said softly, "One of the many things that I regret about allowing your father to take you training is it kept me from telling you about your heritage, Ranma. A heritage that will now include you, my daughter."

"What kind of heritage, Mom?" Ranma finally asked; his eyes alight with curiousity.

"As you know, my family name is Himura. But we are members of the Kamiya clan. They were a proud line of samurai, but nearly one hundred and forty years ago, the last male member died sometime after the Meiji restoration. He had been a fiercesome soldier, but once he saw the horrors of the war prior to the restoration, he decided to develop a technique that saved lives instead of taking them. He founded a dojo in what was the town of Edo and began to teach the Kamiya Kasshin style, and after his death, his daughter continued his teaching," Nodoka said.

"So why are you a Himura?" Akane asked.

"Ah, that's so romantic. According to our family legends, the daughter ran into a wanderer named Himura, a man several years older than she. He had been a fighter working for the Choshu clan, a legendary assassin called the Hitokiri Battousi, but once the war was over, he renounced killing and left his sword. The sakabatou that I gave you is his sword that has been given to the eldest child of each generation," Nodoka replied.

"Mom, I'm confused. It sounds like the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu actually doesn't believe in killing, and I guess that ties in well with the idea of a reverse-blade sword, but you carry around a katana. And the seppeku pledge," Ranma said in a rush.

Nodoka began to laugh, a rich laugh that Ranma had never heard before. Finally, she caught her breath and replied, "The katana is the Saotome honor blade that was given to me by Genma's father. Remember, I told you that it wasn't my style of blade. I could never actually kill someone; it goes against how I was trained. But, Genma never knew about how I was taught, so I just let him think the worst. It helps me keep him under control."

Ranma's face paled, and his eyes went bleak.

Akane gasped as she saw her husband's reaction and hugged him. She hissed, "Baka, you did what you had to do. He wouldn't back off. And maybe, this time, you won't have to."

Ranma began to breathe again as he returned the hug. "Kami, thank you Acchan. But I don't know enough to take on Saffron yet without killing him," he whispered in her ear.

"Then **we'll** just have to learn more," Akane said in a fierce whisper that sent an electric shock up Ranma's spine.

Ranma's eyes lit up again as he realized the truth of Akane's words. He gave her a slow nod.

Nodoka cleared her throat and asked, "What was that all about?"

Ranma looked at his mother with a sheepish grin and replied, "Akane was just reminding me of something I once told Cologne. I don't remember how it came up, but I told her once that I would never make a good Amazon, because I was a martial artist not a warrior. And because of that, I would rather not ever have to kill some one. To be honest, I think it would make the art seem dirty." 'I know I felt that way after I killed Saffron. The fact that he came back to life didn't help any,' he thought with a mental wince, 'It took me years to feel better about myself after that.'

"That's a good attitude to have. I feel the same way about using a sword," Nodoka said looking very proud of her son, "Now are you two ready for your next lesson?"

They nodded their heads, and waited for her instructions.

After several hours of training, Nodoka called a halt for the evening pleased with the progress that both of them had made.

"Mom, after we get cleaned up, I'd like to talk to you. Are you planning on sticking around?" Ranma asked, an odd note in his voice.

"Kasumi asked me to. Your father and Soun decided to make a night of it, so they left, and Tofu is off at that conference," Nodoka said, "So it'll just be us women tonight."

"Uh, Mom, what exactly did you mean by us women?" Ranma asked, nervously.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've had a girls' night out, so I thought we could all sit around and talk. And of course, I'd like my daughter to be with us," Nodoka said, with a wicked look in her eyes.

"I do want my husband sleeping with me tonight, Mom," Akane cautioned, while Ranma had a look of horror on his face.

* * *

Ranma shook her head in disbelief, as she turned to Akane and asked, "How did I get talked into this again?"

"You just didn't want to make Mom unhappy," she replied, as she looked through her husband's closet for an outfit. Finding a skirt and blouse combination, she handed them to Ranma and said, "You look really cute in this."

Ramna rolled her eyes and muttered, "Just what a top martial artist wants to hear, the 'cute' word."

Akane batted her eyes at her and asked, in a fake teary voice, "Don't you think I'm cute?"

Ranma smiled and said, "Well, cute really isn't good enough to describe you, and before I put my foot in my mouth, yes, you're turning into a pretty good martial artist." She sighed as she began to change clothing, still mumbling, "The things that I do for the women in my life," as she adjusted her bra, and then slipped into her blouse.

"Ah, but you love us anyway," Akane said.

Ranma smirked and said, "Well, there is that. Okay, let's go."

"Uh, not yet," Akane said as she tossed her a necklace with a small locket.

Ranma opened the locket to see two photos, which Nabiki must have taken. One, showed the male Ranma kissing Akane, while the other had Akane with her arm around the female Ranma. The red-haired girl turned around and lifted up her hair. "Please," she said in a trembling voice, "Could you put it on for me?"

Akane drew the chain around the smaller girl's neck and affixed the clasp. Then, she softly brushed her lips across the nape of Ranma's neck, causing her to shiver. "Now, we're ready," Akane said, softly.

Ranma spun around and planted a gentle kiss on her wife's lips and said, "No, now we're ready."

The two of them shared a smile and then left their room, hand in hand. Once they reached the family room, they made their way to the table in the middle of the room and gracefully knelt down next to Hinako and her fish.

Nodoka walked in, carrying a tray of food and placed it on the table. Nabiki walked in, followed closely by Shampoo, Ukyo and Kodachi. The four girls also found their place at the table.

Kodachi stopped suddenly as she suddenly realized that Ranma was there. "Ranma-sama, why are you here?" she asked, "I thought this for women only."

"I asked my daughter to join us," Nodoka replied calmly.

Kodachi raised an eyebrow and then smiled, impishly. "And you have a very attractive daughter, Mrs. Saotome," Kodachi said, "And that is a very cute outfit that you have on, it flatters you quite well."

Ranma rolled her eyes and said, "Why thank you, Dachi. Akane picked this out for me." She grinned and added, "And you're right, I do look good in this. Ucchan, you ought to dress up more often, yourself, you look very nice tonight."

"Thanks, Ranchan," Ukyo said, turning her head to hide her blush.

"Ranma!" Akane growled dangerously, "You're not supposed to notice other women."

"Ah, Acchan, I'm married, not blind, but I still picked the prettiest girl in the room to marry," Ranma said, as it became Akane's turn to blush. The rest of the women simply sighed.

"Hinako, this is Kodachi Kuno, Ukyo Kuonji and Shampoo of the Joketsuzoku," Akane said, "Girls, this is Hinako Ninomiya. She is staying with us for a while."

The girls arranged themselves around the table as Kasumi brought the last of the food in from the kitchen. Working quickly, Kasumi and Nodoka served up another exquisite meal.

Hinako turned to Kodachi who was kneeling next to her and asked, "Are you by any chance related to the principal of Furinkan High School? I believe his name is Kuno."

Kodachi hid a frown and said, softly, "We no longer acknowledge that man in our clan, and he is no longer the principal of our school."

"I didn't know, I'm sorry," Hinako said, "If I have caused you any distress, please forgive me. I only mentioned it because he had arranged for me to teach there next term."

"There is nothing to forgive, Miss Ninomiya," Kodachi said, "You could not have known, and indeed it is a recent change."

"Please, while I'm away from school, my name is Hinako," the other woman said.

Kodachi looked at the earnest expression on the older woman's face and smiled. "If you wish, Miss Hinako," Kodachi said. Then she asked, "Why do you have a bowl of fish sitting in front of you?"

"I take my little friends with me everywhere," Hinako began, but then shrugged. "It would be hard to keep this as a secret anyway," she finished. She stood up and moved away from the table.

The rest of the girls stopped to watch as suddenly the young woman transformed in front of their eyes to a young girl, of about twelve.

"What happen here?" Shampoo asked, as she backed away from the table, as if to ready herself for combat.

"What she said," Ukyo said in agreement as she started to reach over her shoulder for her battle spatula, only to realize that she had left it behind since it really didn't go with the dress she was wearing.

"Uh, guys, let me explain," Ranma said, quietly, "Hinako-chan is another victim of Happosai. When she was a little girl, he changed her into someone who can absorb battle aura from someone. It has the side effect that you see here. When she releases ki, she reverts from her true adult self into the young girl you see here."

"That's too bad, sugar," Ukyo said.

"Aiyee, that is bad," Shampoo agreed, "Maybe Elder can help."

"Doc has talked to Cologne," Ranma said, "And we are looking at all of the pervert's notes. I know that there has to be a way to reverse what he did."

Hinako walked back over and absorbed some ki from her fish, changing back. "That's enough about me and my little problem," Hinako said with a smile.

"Okay, what else should we talk about then?" Akane asked.

"Hey, where were you three this morning? You missed class," Ranma asked.

"That's right, we did. There was an obstacle course race that we were all at," Ukyo replied, "You should have come with us. It was a lot of fun."

"Nah, we couldn't have gone. Mom had arranged to come over to train us in Kamiya Kasshin style," Ranma said.

Ukyo chuckled and said, "You know something, Ranchan, I think I'm glad that you and Akane are together. I like martial arts, but I don't live and breathe it the way you two do. And I bet the two of you had fun while you were training."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders, while Akane grinned. "Like Ranma always told me, if I ain't having fun, I'm not doing it right."

"So tell us about this race," Nodoka said, "It sounds like it might be a fun story."

Ukyo said, "Well, somehow the three of us each won the same lottery prize, free admission for two to the Screaming Hot Springs Festival obstacle race."

"It looked like fun, and the prize for the winning couple was an all-expense paid trip to any hot or cold spring in the world," Kodachi added.

"I figured it was probably too good to be true, but I also thought that a lot of people would be there so it might be good for business," Ukyo continud.

"Shampoo think it be too too good fun, so Shampoo talk Ryoga into going," Shampoo said.

"So Friday night we all went to the Sports Spring valley where the race was located, and then this morning they had the race," Ukyo said, "The rules were pretty simple. It was a three-legged race, with each team being tied together by one leg, and then we just had to race from spring to spring."

Akane noticed Ranma trying to hide a smile. She looked at her and Ranma whispered back, "I'll tell you about it later."

Ukyo turned to Shampoo and giggled. "Remember the first obstacle?" she asked.

"The log ride," Shampoo replied, "Good thing Ryoga tied to Shampoo. Bad thing was he went wrong way at start. But once we get to river, not even Ryoga go wrong. Can only go downstream on log."

"A lot of the contestants wiped out on that part of the course. And then the stupid river went over a cliff and we fell down the waterfall at Zekkyo Falls," Kodachi said, with a chuckle, "But between my darling Msu Tse and his hidden weapons, and your lovely boyfriend Konatsu, we landed safely."

"Yes, except land on Ryoga," Shampoo added.

"Poor Ryoga," Kasumi said, with a gasp, "I hope he wasn't hurt."

"No, he has hard head," Shampoo replied, "Log hit him there, log break in half."

The group all began to giggle at that. Finally, Kodachi wiped tears from her eyes and said, "And then the next obstacle was the Alligator Hot Springs."

"Alligators?" Akane gasped.

"Yes, but they really weren't very big. You should see my pet, Midorigami," Kodachi said, "He lives in the pond on our estate."

"Kodachi, you are a dear friend, and I mean this in the kindest way, but there's no way around it, you're still pretty weird. An alligator for a pet," Ranma said with a big grin.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way, Ranma-sama. Normal people are so boring, but then I know so few of them," Kodachi said gaily.

Ranma touched her head in the manner that a fencing master would acknowledge a point.

"She's got you there," Nabiki crowed.

"Uh, sister dear, I think she was including you in the category of not normal," Kasumi said with a straight face.

Nabiki turned to her sister and asked, "How could you say that, Kasumi? You wound me."

"No, I just know you, little sis," Kasumi teased.

Nabiki sank back down on her knees and huffed for a moment, while the rest of the group laughed at their antics.

"After the alligator springs, which were surprisingly easy, then we had to make our way through the Land Mine Geysers, which were cold water springs hidden under a heavy snowfall," Ukyo said, barely keeping her composure, as she added, "Poor Mousse!"

"Oh yes, my poor Msu Tse, even though he had used some of that waterproof soap that you had so kindly given him, it eventually wore off, and one of the geysers transformed him," Kodachi said, with a wry smile, "Fortunately, the next obstacle was a nice hot spring fed pool. That warmed us up nicely, though a little privacy would have been nice. Though carrying all of his clothing certainly slowed us down."

"Shampoo glad no one else have curse," Shampoo added, "Also, very glad ribbon girl remember to bring Mousse's clothing when get to sand bath."

Kodachi laughed and said, "Oh my yes, the chains that he had certainly came in handy to pull the rest of you out of the pit. Those fools in the helicopter that thought we would quit just because of a minor setback like a bottomless pit of sand. Of course, none of us were stupid enough to put on those weighted robes and sandals."

Ranma giggled to herself, and thought, 'This is definitely a milder version. I can't wait to tell Akane what happened when I went through it.'

"The last obstacle was the Sauna Maze," Ukyo said, shaking her head, "Poor Konatsu. I wasn't sure he was going to survive going the easy way. First the women's bath. Good thing he can still pretend to be a girl, or they would have killed him, I bet. Then the dead end. Good thing that Ryoga accidently broke down the wall or we wouldn't have gotten out."

"Yes, Shampoo and Ryoga take wrong turn, so Ryoga get angry and hit wall with Breaking Point," Shampoo said, "Then really get lost."

"Msu Tse and I simply went over the building. That was simple, we just avoided the maze entirely," Kodachi added.

"Then when we finally got in sight of the finish line, we found out that the contest was rigged and there wasn't supposed to be any winners. The mayor and some of his cronies kept moving the goal," Ukyo said, getting just a bit angry.

"Shampoo and Ryoga showed them though," Kodachi said, "You should have seen the mayor's face when the two of them popped out of a snowbank and walked through the goal."

"First time the Lost Boy actually managed to find someplace," Ranma said.

* * *

Once dinner was over, Nabiki turned on her stereo that she had brought down from her room, and the group separated into smaller groups. Kodachi, Ukyo and Shampoo were together, and from the little bit of conversation that Ranma could hear from where she was sitting, it seemed like they were still talking about their adventure. Hinako had changed back into her little girl form and was sitting in Nabiki's lap, while listening to her read from a manga.

Ranma closed her eyes for a moment, as she enjoyed the feeling of Akane brushing her red hair. She was truly surprised at how much she had enjoyed the evening. At first, the other girls had been a little reluctant to girl talk in front of her, but buoyed by the example set by Akane, Kasumi and Nodoka, soon they had seemed to accept that for tonight at least, Ranma was a girl. She had drawn the line though when after dinner Kasumi had offered to do her finger and toe-nails, especially with the bright red nail polish that she was currently using on Nodoka.

"A yen for your thoughts, Ranchan," Akane asked from where she was sitting behind Ranma.

"You'd be vastly overpaying, Acchan," Ranma replied, "But I was just thinking about how much fun this had been. This was a good idea of Mom's, just having an evening to sit around and relax. We don't do that very often. I don't even really mind that idol singer music that Nab's is playing."

"This is nice," Akane said, as she leaned in, her breath tickling the short hairs on Ranma's neck.

"And I never knew how sensual someone brushing my hair could be," Ranma said huskily, her eyes heavy-lidded for a moment.

"So you're enjoying this, are you?" Akane asked.

"Oh yeah," Ranma breathed, "I'm actually glad I'm wearing this bra, since everyone else would be able to see how much I'm liking this through the thin material of my blouse." She thought, 'Or worse yet, they'd really really know if I was a guy right now.' Her cheeks heated up as she blushed furiously.

Akane giggled and then said, "Then I guess I'd better stop. I wouldn't want to embarrass either of us."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. We can finish this later once everyone is gone," Ranma said with a smirk.

Nodoka blew lightly on her nails as she watched Akane and Ranma while they talked. Even from where she was sitting, she could tell that they were enjoying each other's company quite a bit. She smiled fondly, wondering how much longer before they made an excuse to disappear.

"Oh my," Kasumi said softly, breaking Nodoka's chain of thought, "They really should think about getting a room."

Nodoka's smile grew even larger as she nodded her head in agreement. "They certainly make a cute couple," she said, "and I'm glad Akane doesn't care about the curse."

Kasumi said softly, "I asked her about that once. She said that it's still Ranma, no matter which gender he is, so it just doesn't matter to her. And sis is very stubborn, so once she made her mind up that she loved Ranma, she wouldn't let a little thing like him being a girl sometimes stop her."

"And he is equally devoted to her," Nodoka said, wistfully.

Kasumi frowned so quickly that Nodoka missed it. "What's wrong, Auntie?" she asked.

"Just feeling a bit sorry for myself," Nodoka replied.

"I know it's really none of my business, but if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm available," Kasumi offered hesitantly, knowing how much pride the older woman had.

Nodoka sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then she said, "That's a kind offer. I may take you up on that, sometime, when we can have a bit more privacy."

"Whenever you are ready, Auntie," Kasumi said softly, "You are family as well as my friend, after all."

Nodoka turned and smiled warmly at the younger girl, and said, "Thank you, Kasumi. That means a great deal to me, more than I can say." She hastily wiped something from her eye, and said, softly, "After I foolishly allowed my husband to disappear with Ranma, I was afraid that I would never have a family again. And now, my son is back, married to a woman who loves him. I envy him right now. And I miss the man I married."

"Come on, I think you need a shoulder to cry on," Kasumi said as she rose gracefully to her feet. She held out her hand, and pulled Nodoka up, surprising the older woman with her strength. "Hey, I'm not the daughter of a martial artist for nothing," Kasumi said with a grin, "Just because I don't practice in the dojo doesn't mean I haven't kept up some of my skills. Anything Goes School of Housekeeping, don't you know?"

Nodoka simply rolled her eyes and followed Kasumi out into the back yard where they sat on one of the decorative stones surrounding the koi pond. Nodoka finally allowed the tears that she had been suppressing to flow, as Kasumi pulled her into a hug.

"You must think I'm a foolish old woman," Nodoka said.

Kasumi said, "You're neither foolish, nor old, Nodoka. I can't imagine the strength that you must have to have survived this long without your family. To be honest, I've been a little surprised that you haven't had some sort of reaction to their return. I expected it much sooner, actually.

"And you are wiser than I had realized," Nodoka said.

Kasumi grinned and replied, "Nodoka, I know I sometimes seem to be oblivious to what is going on around me, but that's not true. I almost always know what's happening." She frowned briefly and continued, "And what's happening right now is a person that I care for is hurting, and I don't know how to help her."

Nodoka smiled weakly and replied, "Just having someone to talk to is what I need. You know how traditional I am, don't you?"

Kasumi nodded her head, not exactly sure where this was going.

Nodoka took a deep breath and said, "I've been avoiding making a decision for a while now, actually ever since I read my husband's journal."

"What decision would that be?" Kasumi asked, when Nodoka hesitated.

"A decision about Genma. I was very young when we wed, only eighteen, and very much in love with him. We had several good years before he took Ranma away. He had spent several years training with your father and Happosai, but I didn't realize the impact that the old pervert had. Genma knew that he was damaged by what the old man had done, and even though we were married, he didn't think that he was worthy of me," Nodoka replied, her eyes filling again with tears that she refused to shed, "Until I read that in his journal, I never realized that he felt that way."

"I'm confused, why would that require you to make a decision about Mr. Saotome?" Kasumi asked.

Nodoka sighed heavily and replied, "I'm not that same naïve young woman any more. So even though he only hinted at some of the things that he had done during the trip, I know that he must have been less than honorable. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the only thing that I know for sure about is the agreement with Mr. Kuonji, when he already had promised that Ranma would wed one of you girls."

"And that has been more or less been settled now that Ukyo and Konatsu are engaged," Kasumi interjected.

"True, so our honor has been restored in that matter. And in his journal I found out that he hoped that turning Ranma into the best martial artist would be a form of redemption. While he was sometimes cruel to Ranma, he also swore never to teach my son the way that Happosai taught your father or Genma. So he became monomaniacal about that, to the point of doing some really stupid things, all in the name of providing Ranma with the best training," Nodoka said, "But that gets me back to where I started. I really should remove him from our life, either through having him commit seppuku or by removing him from our clan but since I only suspect that he was not honorable, I can't in good conscience do that. Ranma would miss him, if I sent Genma away, or if he died." Both of them missed the sharp exhalation from behind them.

"And you would too," Kasumi said, with a knowing glance, "You want him back, don't you?"

Nodoka grimaced and replied, "Yes, I do. Even though he isn't the same man that I thought I married, I miss him badly. He was a very good lover, after all. And therein lies the crux of my dilemma. I can allow him a chance to atone for the things that he has done wrong, such as the petty thefts, and perhaps regain the man I loved, or I can disown him. But if I do that, I know that he would never pay for the wrongs he has done. So do I allow him the chance to regain his honor, or not, that is my problem."

"Oh my," Kasumi breathed, "That is a problem. I'm not quite as traditional as you are, so my instinct would be to err on the side of mercy." She shrugged her shoulders and added, coolly, "And if needed you could always change your mind if you decided that his honor could never be restored. It's a bit harder to fix things if you have him commit seppuku or toss him out of the clan if you decide later that that was the wrong thing to do."

"So you are suggesting that I continue as I am doing, allowing Genma to repay what he can?" Nodoka asked.

"Yes, I suppose that I am," Kasumi replied.

Nodoka surprised Kasumi with a fierce hug and said, "Thank you, dear." Over her shoulder she saw a distressed looking Ranma. She gasped and asked, shakily, "How long have you been listening?"

"Long enough," Ranma replied, as she ran over and knelt in front of her mother. "Mom, he may not be the best father in the world, but he is the only one I've got. I know that he has done many things wrong, but promise me that you'll give him a chance to change," the girl said, "Everything he did was to make me the martial artist that I am now, so I don't hate him for what he did. Even forcing me to learn the Neko-ken, or taking me to Jusenkyo. Besides, he is still one of the few people that I don't have to hold back much on when I spar."

Nodoka sighed heavily and replied, "Ranma, I don't know if your father will ever change, but I'm willing to let him try. You know that I've gotten him off his lazy ass and working. I don't know how long that will last, but while it does, the money he earns will be used to pay for the things that he stole, at least the ones that I know about anyway."

"That'll have to be good enough, then," Ranma said, "Because I'm not sure I know all of the things that he might have done. This takes care of what I wanted to talk to you about this afternoon. I've come to realize how much honor means to you, and well, I was worried about your thoughts about Pop. But I guess now I understand what you are trying to do. I just hope for our sakes that it works."

"So do I, Ranma, so do I," Nodoka replied, "Now why don't you go back to your lovely wife."

"Actually, Mom, I was getting ready to change when I saw you out here talking to Kasumi, and overheard a bit of what you were telling her," Ranma admitted, "She's probably wondering why I'm not upstairs with her." She giggled and said, "I just hope she doesn't start with out me. Night." She turned and headed back toward the house and the waiting furo.

* * *

Kasumi looked up from the small table where she was working on her biology homework as Hinako trudged wearily into the kitchen. She was obviously distraught, tear tracks on her face, as she set her fishbowl on the kitchen counter and collapsed to the floor, leaning against the cabinet.

'She's been getting more upset as the week went on,' Kasumi thought. "Oh my, what's wrong, Hinako-chan?" Kasumi asked as she rose from her chair to kneel gracefully next to Hinako.

Hinako hesitated for a moment, long enough for the ki she had absorbed from the fish to dissipate and convert to her childish form. "It's been three damn weeks that I've tried to stay an adult," she hissed, the curse sounding odd coming from the mouth of the young girl, "And I still can't maintain my frigging concentration for more than twenty minutes or so. All the students have to do to distract me is to show me some candy or a manga, and I just lose it." She screamed in frustration, "WHY CAN'T I BE NORMAL?" pulling on her hair with both hands.

Kasumi gathered the little girl up into her lap, and held on, while Hinako cried on her shoulder. "Language, dear," Kasumi said, softly.

Akane walked into the kitchen and stopped in shock at the tableau in front of her. "Another bad day?" she asked quietly, her voice filled with concern.

Hinako choked out a "yes," and continued crying.

Akane stuck her head back into the hallway and shouted, "Ranma! Bring that book down here so we can talk to Hinako-chan!" She heard a startled, "Coming!" and then knelt down nest to her sister. She said, "Hinako-chan, dear, look at me, please."

Hinako lifted her tear-streaked face from Kasumi's shoulder and sniffled. Akane handed her a handkerchief and she dried her tears.

"Do you trust us?" Akane asked, gazing intently at the now little girl.

"Yes, I guess so," Hinako replied. Her curiousity aroused, the girl asked, "Why?"

"Because we finally found a way to remove the ki draining ability from you," Ranma answered as she walked through the doorway, "But like everything else Happosai wrote in his journals, it is a bit, well, perverted."

"And, well, because of the pressure points involved, you need to trust the person who applies them," Akane said, a slight blush on her face, "The five points are Ja, Aku, Byo, Tsu and Ma."

As Ranma opened the book to the correct page, Kasumi gasped, "Oh my! Those last three pressure points require you to be pretty intimate."

"Yeah, and guess what? They have to be pressed at the same time, and it has to happen for a whole month," Ranma said.

"But, it will cure me, right?" Hinako asked, her eyes bright with hope.

"According to what the old pervert wrote, the Weakening of Evil Spirits technique will remove the ability to absorb ki from you," Akane confirmed.

"And I guess that means then that I wouldn't change forms anymore," Hinako said.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "That what I think. Doc basically agrees with me. Since it's absorbing ki that causes you to turn into your adult form, if we get rid of that ability, you won't change anymore."

"But will I be twelve again, or twentyseven, when this is done?" Hinako asked.

"I honestly don't know," Ranma replied. She unbuttoned her shirt, and turned to Akane. "Okay, show her where the pressure points are."

Akane stood up and faced her husband, placing her left hand on the swell of Ranma's right breast, and reached around to Ranma's back with her right hand. Splaying her fingers, she lightly touched the five points."

"That's where someone has to touch you," Ranma said, "Though, you don't have to be topless. I just wanted you to know exactly what was required."

"I, I, uh, need to think about this," Hinako stammered, her face blushing slightly.

Akane dropped her hands, a faint look of disappointment flashing across Ranma's face, as she buttoned up her shirt.

"No hurry, this has to be your decision," Ranma said.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. I would like to respond to the reviews that I have received, but it now appears that that is against the rules. Several of the stories that I have been following have been removed from Ffnet, so until I find out whether that is true or not, I wish to err on the side of caution. Please don't let my lack of responses cause you to believe that I am not interested in your thoughts, Gentle Readers, because I am. 


	46. Kung Fu Stew

Chapter 46 Kung Fu Stew

Late that evening, Nabiki woke to the sound of someone crying. Grumbling to herself, she pulled herself out of her comfortable bed and made her way into the hall, where she realized that the sound was coming from Hinako. She crept down the hall, and opened the door into the room that Hinako was occupying to see the small girl crying in her sleep. Drawn by some maternal instinct, she went over to the bed and crawled into it and pulled the little girl into her arms. She made a gentle cooing sound, gently caressing her cheek.

Hinako held onto her with a vice-like grip, and settled down, a smile upon her face.

Nabiki sighed and allowed the little girl to snuggle up to her as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Nabiki woke up disoriented because of the sun shining from the wrong angle, to see an inquisitive little girl staring at her with eyes wide open. 

"Uh, Biki-chan, why are you in my bed?" Hinako asked.

"You were crying last night, and when I came in and held you, you quieted down. You know, you have a grip like an octopus, so I ended up falling asleep in here with you," Nabiki replied.

"Oh yeah, I remember. I was thinking about my curse when I went to bed last night, and I guess it gave me a nightmare or something," Hinako said. She drew a deep breath and said, "I can't continue to live like this. Would you help me get rid of this curse?"

"What would I have to do?" Nabiki asked.

"There's a set of five pressure points that have to be pressed at the same time for the next thirty days. After that, I can't absorb ki any more and we think that will cure me," Hinako replied. She hesitated and said, "But before you answer, I need to let you know that three of the points are on my right breast."

Nabiki looked at the look of despair on Hinako's face and what was left of the Ice Queen façade that she had adopted, melted. "Sure, Hinako-chan, I'll help you," she said, "Who can show me the five pressure points?"

"Ranma-chan, Akane-chan and Kasumi-san all know where they are, and I suppose Tofu-san does to," the little girl replied.

"Well, I'll have Ranma show me where they are, and then we can start your treatment tonight," Nabiki replied.

Hinako reached over and kissed her on the cheek, chastely. "Thank you, oh thank you," she said, as Nabiki reached over and touched where she had been kissed.

* * *

Akane reached into her locker to get her slippers, when she encountered a stiff piece of parchment. She pulled it out and looked at it curiously. 

"What's that?" Ranma asked.

"It appears to be an invitation to lunch, but it's written in French," Akane replied.

Ranma's face paled as he said, "We need to find Nabiki, and call home."

"Why?" Akane asked.

"Remember about that guy named Picolet Chardin the second?" Ranma asked.

"Uh, yeah, vaguely," she replied, "Wasn't that the guy that you learned Martial Arts Dining from?"

"Yeah, but I never told you why we met," Ranma replied, his eyes cold. He turned to her and said, "Find Nabiki and get up to the roof. We need to warn her. Kasumi, too, though now that I think about it, she should be on the train heading to campus."

"You're scaring me, Ranma," Akane said.

Ranma ran his hands through his hair and said, "Sorry, I'll explain it to both of you, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, she should be in her classroom by now," Akane said as she headed toward the stairs.

Ranma sighed and headed toward the administration office where he hoped he could sweet-talk the receptionist to allow him to use the phone.

* * *

Nabiki turned and snapped, "What is this all about, Ranma? Why did Akane drag me out of class?" 

"Did you receive an invitation to lunch?" Ranma asked.

"Well, there was something in my shoe locker, but since I don't read French I didn't know what it was until Sis read it to me," Nabiki admitted, "It was pretty expensive parchment, too."

"That's why I had Akane get you," Ranma said, "I called home, and talked to your father. There was a note for Kasumi left at the dojo, but she had already left for school."

"So all three of us got the same invitation," Akane said.

"Yeah, looks that way, and I know the reason why," Ranma said.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes at him and growled, "Okay, then spill it."

"He's looking for his bride," Ranma replied.

The two girls exclaimed, "WHAT!"

"It seems that Pop isn't the only one who thinks only with his stomach," Ranma said, "Over twenty years ago, Pop and your father were on a training mission, and as usual, they had little money and were starving. They ran into a restaurant ran by the Chardin family, which had a contest. If you could eat all of the food before the owner finished his dinner, then the meal was free."

Nabiki put her head in her hands and groaned, "Let me guess, he lost."

"Yep, and of course, he told the owner that he would give him anything but money," Ranma confirmed, "SO your father swore on his grave."

"Don't tell us, he promised one of his unborn daughters as a bride," Akane said.

"Yeah, I guess he figured that he wouldn't have any girls," Ranma said.

Nabiki looked at Ranma oddly and said, "Thre's something weird about this. How do you know all of this?"

"Um, Pop's journals," Ranma said quickly.

"Anyway, what do you know about this guy?" Akane asked, changing the subject.

"Well, he is the heir to the La Belle France Martial Arts School of Dining, his family is pretty well off, and there is a rather ostentatious French chateau that is the family estate. However, the secret to their success with their martial arts school, well, do you remember watching the nature channel, and they showed how an anaconda eats. You remember, unhinging its jaw and swallowing whole. Well, that's kind of the way he eats, except faster and neater," Ranma said.

'There's something really off about this. How can Saotome know so much?' Nabiki thought. She looked accusingly at the man in front of her and said, "There's still something that you aren't telling me and you know how I hate secrets."

"There's really nothing more that I can tell you about him," Ranma said, a drop of sweat appearing in his hair.

"That's not important any way, Sis," Akane said, "Kasumi and I are safe, I mean, we are married. You're the only unmarried Tendo girl,"

Nabiki said, slowly, "True. And it sounds like the only thing he has going for him is that he is rich. From his name, he has to be gaijin, and that wouldn't help me in the Japanese business world. It will be hard enough just being a woman."

"I'm not sure that he would let you work anyway," Ranma said softly.

Nabiki frowned and said, "Well, then, let me think of a way to get out of this." She sat there for a few minutes and then said, "Okay, I have a plan. Ranma, you meet with this Chardin jerk at lunch and let him know that we aren't coming."

* * *

The lunch bell rang, and a large group of the students gathered in the cafeteria, trying to get through the crowd before all of the food was gone. A gentle breeze ruffled the crowd, until suddenly one of the girls cried, "My sandwich! Someone stole my sandwich." Which cry was quickly followed by others as all of the students realized that the food they had just purchased had vanished. 

A tall, blonde, well-dressed boy appeared, his shoulders draped in a tri-color cape, by his appearance, obviously not from Japan. He carefully wiped a few crumbs from his face.

"Hey, a foreigner!" a girl exclaimed.

"Hey, you stole my sandwich!" one boy accused.

"Yeah, give it back," a girl exclaimed.

"Why would I have this sandwich?" the foreign boy asked.

The first girl said in surprise, "He speaks Japanese."

"Gimme back my sandwich!" the first boy demanded.

"And how can I have this sandwich?" the foreigner asked.

"It's under your cape!" another student chimed in, "Open it up you food thief!"

The foreigner twirled his cape, saying, "As you wish!" A small table, set with exquisite china and crystal, with antique silverware appeared. "Though I have nothing under my cape but this!"

"No way!" one girl gasped.

"He didn't even break a glass!" a second exclaimed. The room fell silent only to have the quiet disturbed by the sound of someone clapping.

The foreign boy looked up to see a Japanese boy leaning against the door to the cafeteria, a look of amusement on his face. "Very good, Mister Chardin, very impressive," the boy said.

"And who pray tell might you be?" Chardin asked.

Ranma rolled his eyes and answered, "I'm Ranma Saotome."

"The pleasure is all mine," Chardin said grandly, "But why are you interrupting my luncheon. I am waiting for three lovely ladies to join me, one of which will be my future bride."

Ranma bowed ever so slightly and said, "I regret to inform you that they will be unable to accept your kind invitation. All of them have a previous engagement that prevents them from joining you. No discourtesy of course was intended." 'Damn Nabiki and that stupid speech,' he silently grumbled to himself.

"That is a fair turn of phrase, Mister Saotome, but why are you here in their place?" Picolet asked.

"I have the honor to be married to one of the Tendo women," Ranma replied, again remembering what Nabiki had told him.

Picolet narrowed his eyes and then smiled. He asked, "In that case, would you care to join me, since it appears that I have no companions for lunch?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "I'm sorry, but no, I'm afraid that I have someone waiting for me."

Picolet smiled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes, and said, "Until we meet again, then, Saotome."

Ranma gave a shark-like grin and replied, "Anytime, Chardin." He bowed ever so slightly and left to find his wife.

* * *

Soun Tendo was normally not a very perceptive man, as even his friend Genma would admit to, but even he could tell that something was wrong as his three daughters, and two son-in-laws filed into the family room where he was having a pleasant game of shogi with the aforementioned friend. Of course, the fact that the room temperature had dropped twenty degrees Centigrade upon their entrance, and that the hot saké that he had been drinking was now frozen solid, may have had something to do with his realization. 

"Father dear," Kasumi asked, her eyes cold, "What can you tell me about La Belle France School of Martial Arts Dining?"

"And a boy named Picolet Chardin the second," Nabiki asked, her voice colder than the backside of Mercury.

Soun sputtered in shock.

"So, I take it you do recognize the name?" Akane drawled, her tone drier than the Sahara desert in August.

"Oh my, I hear that Hokkaido is pleasant this time of year," Soun said, as he began to attempt to escape to his room.

"Daddy, he was talking about one of us being his future bride!" Nabiki growled, completely deflating Soun as he cowered behind Genma.

Genma promptly spilled water over himself, and put up a sign that read, 'Ignore the cute panda behind the curtain.'

Ranma glared at his father and asked, "Speaking of which, does Mom know you're here? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

The panda looked sheepish and put up a sign which read, 'Oops, I forgot.' It ambled over to the side and put on a red vest, and then over that, a sandwich board advertising a local restaurant. The panda waved at Soun and then departed.

Soun spat, "Coward" as he saw his friend disappear.

"Let's have an explanation!" Kasumi said, "And oh by the way, we know the truth from Mr. Saotome's journals."

"But daughter, that was such a long time ago. I never expected him to track us down, and besides, how was I supposed to know that I would have daughters?" Soun rambled. He hung his head and asked, plaintively, "What are we going to do?"

"No, Daddy, it's what are you going to do about it?" Nabiki snapped, "After all, I'm the only girl at risk here, since Kasumi and Akane are married."

"I don't know, what can we do?" Soun asked.

Nabiki's face firmed and she said, "You will go along with whatever gets said, no overreaction, no nothing, or I will personally see that you have years of hell. Do you understand?"

"Yes, daughter," Soun said, and then he wailed, "My daughter yelled at me!"

"Tadaima!" Hinako called from the entry hall.

Nabiki grinned and said, "Excellent timing," as she stood up and raced to the hallway where they could hear the buzz of conversation as Nabiki started talking to Hinako, followed by a cry of "What?" from the older girl. Then more words from Nabiki, and then the sound of the two girls laughing, until finally, Nabiki called, "Akane, come give us a hand."

Akane glanced over at Ranma, who shrugged. "She must have some sort of plan in mind, Acchan. That's the only thing that I can think of," Ranma replied to the unspoken question.

Akane stood up, bent down and kissed her husband and headed off to join the other two girls and then they heard the sound of them going upstairs.

* * *

Ranma's eyes nearly popped out when Nabiki and an adult Hinako made their appearance, with Akane close behind, biting her lip to keep from laughing. He recognized the suit that Nabiki was wearing as one of his, though he didn't think he could wear it as well as she did, while Hinako was wearing something that would have done justice to Sheherazad with diaphonus silks that hid what they promised to reveal. 

Tofu choked on his tea, while Kasumi simply said, "Oh my," when the two of them saw Nabiki and Hinako.

Soun began to splutter in indignation until he was frozen by a look from his three daughters.

Ranma looked a question at Nabiki and she replied, "Just follow my lead, okay, Ranma?"

"Sure Nabs, this should be fun," Ranma replied, as they heard the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"I'll get it," Ranma said, trying to hide a smile and failing miserably. He stood up and walked down the hall and opened the front door, where he found as he expected, Picolet Chardin, dressed to the nines.

"Hello, Mister Chardin, welcome to our house," Ranma said.

The young man entered, and took off his shoes, showing that even though he was a gaijin, he was at least familiar with the customs. He followed Ranma into the family room, where Ranma said, "Mister Chardin, this is Soun Tendo, patriarch of this family, Doctor Tofu Ono, and his wife Kasumi, my wife Akane, and this is Nabiki and her …"

Nabiki interrupted and said, "This is Hinako, my 'partner' and you must be Picolet Chardin the second."

Chardin's eyes widened everso slightly as he saw the two of them sitting there, with the older woman hanging possessively on the arm of the younger woman. Curiously, she had a fish bowl sitting in her lap for some odd reason. He bowed politely to all of them and then said, "Since you know who I am, then I'm sure you are aware of why I am here."

"We have some idea;" Nabiki said dryly, "Since Daddy has decided to tell us about his foolish promise."

"Well, I am anxious to find out who is to become my bride, since for some reason, the Chardin men have a hard time finding a wife," Picolet said, his mouth gaping wide open.

Hinako squeaked in fright, causing Nabiki to pull her into a hug, allowing the older woman to hide her face against Nabiki's chest.

"Gee, I wonder why," Ranma said in an aside to Akane.

"That does pose a bit of a problem," Soun said, earning a glare from the three girls.

"As Daddy said, this is a bit of a problem. Akane and Kasumi, of course, are out of the question, since they already are married," Nabiki said, "And well, you just aren't what I'm looking for, I'm afraid."

"And why is that?" Chardin said, affronted.

"Well, a couple of reasons, I'm afraid. One, your mouth is just too large, and two, you're gaijin," Nabiki said calmly.

"And based on the fact that your 'partner' is hanging on to your arm like that, I'm guessing you don't like boys," Chardin snapped.

"Oh of course I like boys, don't I, Akane?" Nabiki cooed, just as Hinako turned and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah, tied up and with an apple in their mouth," Akane said, with a grin, as she got into the spirit.

Hinako pouted prettily and said, in a little girl voice, "If you don't behave, I won't wear that leather outfit you like so much."

Ranma glanced over at Akane, who whispered, "Don't even go there."

Nabiki widened her eyes and said, "I'll be good. I don't want to miss that. Just forget about the whip this time."

Picolet frowned slightly at the byplay, realizing that what he heard had confirmed his suspicion about the attractive brunette. "This does pose a problem," Chardin said, "I just don't see how you would be a suitable bride, given your proclivities."

"Her what?" Ranma asked quietly.

Akane giggled and replied, "Her thing for girls." Ranma reddened slightly.

Kasumi's cheeks were bright red as she excused herself and went into the kitchen.

"So Mister Tendo, how do you intend to redeem the promise that you made to my father?" Chardin asked, "As it appears that you have no daughters for me to wed. How can you reclaim your honor?"

"Exactly how honorable was it to take advantage of two starving, yenless men? I'm sure they didn't know about your Martial Arts Dining technique when they entered, did they?" Ranma asked.

"Well, I suppose they might not have seen the fine print on the challenge," Chardin ventured.

"So, it was a rigged contest then," Ranma said, "So there wasn't any way for them to win."

"And because of that, you have no rights," Akane said triumphantly.

"I suppose I could challenge Ranma for the right to be Akane's husband," Chardin said.

"No, actually you couldn't," Ranma said, his eyes cold, "You have no idea what I went through to become her husband, no idea at all. And she isn't a prize to be won, in any case. And don't get any ideas about Kasumi, either." The growl coming from Tofu showed his agreement with that assertion.

Chardin slapped Ranma across the face, and said formally, "I challenge you to a duel of Martial Arts Dining. The winner gets to wed the fair Akane Tendo."

Ranma flushed angrily and said, "Which part of that didn't you understand, moron? I refuse your challenge; Akane is **my** wife and will be forever. Aside from it being a matter of our family honor that predates any agreement that your family may have had with Mr. Tendo, we love each other."

"Coward," Chardin spat.

Ranma narrowed his eyes in anger, and commanded, "You have outworn your welcome in this house. Now if you'd like to leave under your own power, I suggest you leave now."

"Your manners leave a great deal to be desired," Akane added, "Coming here and insulting my family like this."

"I shall not leave until I have had my satisfaction," Chardin said, "Your refusal has sullied my family honor."

"Akane, would you like to do the honors?" Ranma asked.

"With great pleasure," Akane said as suddenly the mallet of doom appeared, and with a mighty swing, she launched the hapless Frenchman out of the fortunately open door and over the wall.

"Not gonna get much distance on that one," Ranma remarked mildly.

Akane shrugged and said, "Didn't want to damage the house."

"It's just as well that he decided he didn't want Nabiki as his fiancée," Ranma said.

"Oh, why is that Saotome?" Nabiki asked, affronted, "Is there something wrong with me?" She puckered up her face as if she was about to cry.

Ranma babbled, "No, there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that, well, uh"

"Spit it out, Ranma," Nabiki said, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, I just think you'd be high maintenance, I mean, uh, shit, just shoot me now," Ranma finished, as he paled.

"Uh, Akane," Nabiki said.

"What, Sis?" Akane asked.

"Why don't you get your husband out of here before he puts his foot any further in his mouth," Nabiki suggested.

Akane put her hand over her mouth as she dragged Ranma out of the family room.

Nabiki turned to Hinako and said, "Thanks, I sorry I had to put you through this. Thanks for playing along with me."

Hinako looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes and purred, "Who said I was playing?" She drew one finger gently down Nabiki's arm and added, "I find you very attractive, Biki-chan."

Tofu chuckled as he saw Nabiki totally non-plused for the first time that he could recall.

Hinako giggled prettily and replied, still running her finger lightly up her arm, "Don't worry, I'm only teasing. It was a fun game. Can we play it again, sometime?"

Tofu began laughing even harder, cauing the two women to look at him in some concern. 'I can't believe Hinako had that in her. She always acts so innocent,' he thought.

Nabiki relaxed a bit, though she still looked at the other woman a bit warily. "We may have to, I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of that jerk," Nabiki replied.

"I expect that you are right," Tofu said, "This isn't over with, I'm sure."

* * *

Akane nibbled her lower lip for a second as she watched Ranma get ready for bed. Finally, she took her courage in both hands and asked the question she had been dreading since that afternoon. "Ranma," she asked, hesitantly, "What did you mean when you said that Nabiki would be pretty high maintenance as a fiancée? It sounded like you were speaking from experience." 

"Damn," Ranma said softly, "I knew I shouldn't have said that." He rubbed the back of his neck for a few moments, as his mind stalled. Eventually, he sighed heavily, and walked over to the bed and sat next to her. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her close against her half-hearted protest. He said, "Because for a few days last time around, I was her fiancé, that's why. Not that I really wanted to be, mind you."

Akane pulled herself away from him and asked, in shock, "How did that happen?"

"Because, dear, you got mad at both of us and gave me to her," Ranma said softly.

"Why would I have done that?" Akane asked.

"What, get mad?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"Ha ha, very funny. I've gotten a lot better about my temper, you have to admit that," Akane said. Ranma nuzzled the back of her neck, and she flushed as she began to respond. "Stop that, you're trying to distract me," she said.

"You're right, is it working?" Ranma admitted.

"I really have to know," Akane begged.

"It won't happen. Even if you tried to get rid of me, I wouldn't let you," Ranma said. He looked at her worried eyes and sighed again. "Okay, I'll tell you what I can remember. You were angry with Nabiki for some reason, probably having to do with finding out that most of the clothes in her closet actually were yours," he said.

"Yeah, that whole what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable attitude of hers," Akane grumbled.

"Something like that," Ranma agreed with a brief chuckle. "Anyway, then you got mad at me for something that I can't really remember. Later that day, the three of us were out on the balcony, with Nabiki and me attempting to apologize, but for some reason that just made you angrier. You punched the balcony in anger, and that caused it to collapse. Well, I knew you could take care of yourself, so I caught Nabiki. Unfortunately, when you landed, you hurt yourself a little. More embarrassed than anything else, I suspect, though. You turned around, and there I was standing on the ground, cradling Nabiki in my arms. You exploded and said that since I seemed to care more for Nabiki then I might as well be her fiancé," he added.

"Oh my, oh dear, oh shit. I can actually see myself say something that stupid," Akane said.

"Well, it didn't help that later Nabiki called me to her room and told me that for the longest time she had been in love with me, and of course, being a typical clueless male, I bought it," Ranma said, "Though I found out later that was just her making fun of me." He grinned at her and said, "Of course, she wasn't quite as smart as she thought she was. Remember in the other time line, I had all of those other fiancées, well, they sort of took exception that she was now my fiancée, and so she got attacked several times."

Akane snickered at the thought of her oh-so-clever sister making that mistake.

Ranma smiled and said, "Yeah, she kept trying to sell me back to you, but you were still mad at both of us and wouldn't have anything to do with it. She also kept renting me out for all sorts of things. Then I happened to overhear her talking to Kasumi where she admitted that she didn't have any feelings for me, so I came up with some sort of elaborate plan to get revenge on her. And like most of my elaborate plans, I mostly just embarrassed myself." He looked sheepish for a moment, and added, "The only good thing that came out of it is that we got back together so I was engaged to you again. And that's why I know that she would be a horrible fiancée, at least to me."

Akane had collapsed against him, her shoulders shaking with laughter. "I think you're correct, that's not likely to happen," she finally said.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it won't. And not just because we're married, not engaged. But because those two immature teenagers don't exist anymore, after all, timewise I've experienced about twenty six years now, so I'm not totally clueless anymore," Ranma said, "I'm not that arrogant jerk who was too afraid to tell you how I felt about you, and you aren't the hot-headed girl who was also too afraid to say her feelings."

"Ranma," Akane said, her voice a little husky.

"Yes, Acchan," Ranma replied.

"You can go back to distracting me now," Akane said.

With a bright smile, Ranma, as any husband would, of course obeyed his wife, especially with that request.

* * *

Ranma groaned as he saw Picolet Chardin weaving his way through the crowded courtyard at lunchtime, the lunches vanishing into his maw as he passed, making his way over towards where our hero was sitting with his friends. 

"Excellent, the coward is here," Chardin said as he stopped in front of them.

"That's rich coming from you, you pretentious fop," Akane growled, "You're nothing but a thief and a cheat yourself."

Ranma made a mental note to find out what 'pretentious fop' meant, while Kodachi surprised him by laughing uproariously.

"I'm no coward, Chardin," Ranma said smoothly, not showing any other reaction, "But I don't take challenges that are nothing more than a sucker bet. I'm not stupid. You're wagering nothing and wanting me to put up something. Something, mind you, that I don't own."

"You're just afraid that you'll lose," Chardin said with a sneer.

Ranma's eyes flashed angrily, but all he said was, "Run away, little man, before I hurt you."

"Ha, your reputation is that you never lose. I see that it is undeserved," Chardin said, still trying to get a rise out of the martial artist sitting calmly on the ground in front of him.

"You're right, I never lose. But if you insist on challenging me, it won't be to a duel of Martial Arts Dining," Ranma replied, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, "I may not know everything about dueling, but I do know that as the challenged party, I get to pick the method and place of the fight."

Chardin gulped and said, softly, "Sacré bleu," in French, then added in Japanese, "How did you know that?"

"As I said, I'm not stupid. Now go away, I have no intention of fighting you. The stakes that you have proposed are totally unacceptable," Ranma said.

"Then I shall teach you the techniques of the La Belle France School of Martial Arts Dining if you win," Chardin said grandly.

Ranma folded his arms across his chest and said, "No thanks. I already know the secrets. Your family has had a large mouth for generations and a long tongue to go with it that allows you to stuff a large amount of food into your mouth very rapidly. I've got a normal mouth, so that wouldn't work for me, and I already know the Parlay du Foie Gras technique which would be the only one that would allow me to compete with you."

Chardin gasped, showing his large gaping mouth and distorted tongue,"How could you know that technique? This is one of the most closely guarded secrets of my family."

"The former grandmaster of my school has been alive for a long time and collected many techniques, including a large book that had chapters on the secrets of your school, including one on a maverick knicknamed 'Le Petit Bouche' or the 'Little Mouth," Ranma replied.

"And if you don't leave us alone, we'll make sure everyone knows about it," Akane added.

"The cursed secret that nearly overturned the standards of the La Belle France, and scandalized the Chardin family," Picolet said, in shock, "It cannot be borne. I must think on this. I shall return." With a swish of his cape, Chardin made his exit.

"That went well," Akane said, half-sarcastically.

"Yeah, didn't it just," Ranma replied in much the same tone.

"Sugar, what was that all about? I've never seen you back down from a challenge," Ukyo asked.

Ranma sighed heavily and began to reply, only to be stopped by a gentle touch of Akane's hand.

"It's my story," she said softly. Ranma nodded his head in understanding.

Akane said, "It seems that my father is almost as much of an idiot as Mr. Saotome. I guess the two of them were still traveling around, before they settled down and got married, I suppose, but anyway they ended up in the middle of nowhere, with no food and little money. They found a restaurant run by the Chardin family that had a contest. Your food would be free if you could win. Well, my fool of a father lost, and promised that one of his unborn daughters would marry the Chardin heir."

"And that of course is Picolet Chardin the second," Ranma interjected, "The jerk that was just here."

"He finally tracked Daddy down yesterday, and demanded that one of us girls fulfill the agreement," Akane said.

"Well, then it has to be Nabiki, doesn't it?" Yuka asked, "Since both you and Kasumi are married already."

"Sis didn't much like the idea. You know that she wants to be pretty independent and make a name for herself in the business community, and she didn't think marrying him, even though he is wealthy, would be good for that" Akane replied, "So, she persuaded a friend of ours to pretend to be her lover. And that was enough to turn Chardin's attention away from her."

"That doesn't make any sense," Kodachi argued, "Aren't the French famous for their reputation for taking lovers? Why would that have bothered him? Wouldn't he be arrogant enough to think that he could steal Nabiki from another man?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Because the friend is a girl."

The silence was deafening and then it was broken by everyone in the group laughing their head off. "You should have seen her, she was dressed in a suit and was looking very mannish, while Hinako was in something, I have no idea where it came from," Akane said after she regained her composure.

"But what's that got to do with you, sugar?" Ukyo asked.

"After he decided that Nabiki wasn't a suitable bride, he decided to challenge me for Akane. That's when I turned down his challenge. There's no way I'll do that, Akane means too much to me to risk losing her," Ranma said. 'Not again, that's for damn sure,' he thought as all of the girls went "Ahh" at the sentiment he had expressed.

"That's so sweet," Kodachi said softly, "You're a lucky woman, you know that Akane?"

"Yeah, I know," Akane said, as she wrapped her arms around Ranma possessively. "He's mine and I'm never going to let him go," she added.

* * *

Picolet Chardin watched from his hiding place as Akane Tendo came running home, closely followed by an attractive red-haired girl. As the two of them neared the gate to the Tendo compound, Kasumi Tendo opened the gate. 

"Hey, big sis," the red-haired girl called, "Are you going shopping?"

"Yes, I am, little sis," Kasumi replied, "Would you two like to come with me?"

The two girls exchanged looks, and Akane said, "We really shouldn't. We've got a ton of homework."

"Akane's right. We really do have a lot to do, and I've got a kata that I want to work on with her too," the red-haired girl added, "Maybe next time. Unless you're going to need some help carrying stuff back."

"That's fine, I was just looking for a little company. I'm just going down to the market to pick up a few things for dinner tonight, is all," Kasumi said, "Oh, and if you want, there's fresh cookies in the kitchen."

"Come on, Akane," the red-haired girl cried, "There's nothing better than some of Kasumi's fresh cookies." She grabbed Akane by the hand and the two of them took off running.

Kasumi waved and turned down the street going away from Chardin.

* * *

After dinner was over, Nabiki and Hinako excused themselves and went to the furoba. Ranma and Akane were sprawled out on the floor in the family room, still working on their homework, while Kasumi finished up the little bit of cleaning up that was left from preparing the meal. Tofu was watching his wife as she worked, fascinated as always by how she could take a mundane chore and turn it into a graceful dance. Soun was sitting on the porch overlooking the back yard, smoking a cigarette and enjoying the sunset. The quiet of the evening was only broken by the sound of one of the koi as it idly swam in the pond, one fin breaking the top of the water, causing ripples to disturb the otherwise still surface. 

Of course, since this is Nerima, this calm scene was soon disturbed by the sound of someone knocking of the front door of the house. Kasumi glided down the long hallway from the kitchen and opened the door to find their unwanted visitor from the day before once again looming across the threshold. "Mr. Chardin, what can I do for you?" Kasumi asked.

"We still have unfinished business, your family and I," Chardin said smoothly, "May I come in?"

Kasumi replied, calmly, "Of course. Please come this way." She led him into the family room.

"Oh, it's you again," Ranma growled, "Didn't you get the message that you aren't wanted?"

"Ranma, don't be rude, he is a guest," Kasumi reprimanded.

"I'll go get Nabiki. I think she's still enjoying water sports with Hinako," Akane said as she jumped to her feet and heading toward the furoba.

"Oh my, I've told her not to do that in there, I always have to refill the furo when they're done," Kasumi fretted.

Soun walked in through the open doors and stopped as he saw that Chardin was here.

Akane walked back into the family room and said, "They'll be right out, they were just getting dressed."

"Where is your other daughter?" Picolet asked.

"Akane just said that Nabiki would be here soon," Soun said.

"No, I'm talking about your fourth daughter," Chardin responded, "The one I saw this afternoon, talking with Kasumi and Akane. They called each other sister."

Kasumi and Akane began to giggle.

"I really don't know what you are talking about," Soun said.

"She had gorgeous red hair, and was very voluptuous," Chardin said.

They heard Hinako say, "You have such gentle hands, Nabiki-chan. I love how you touch me." The two girls walked in to the room, holding hands, with Hinako carrying her fish bowl under the other arm.

Soun chuckled and said, "That's not my daughter."

Nabiki looked at him and asked, "Who's not your daughter?"

"My sister Ranko," Ranma replied, "You know the girl with the red hair. She came home with Akane."

"Oh, yes, such a sweet girl," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Yes, isn't she," Kasumi added, her eyes dancing with mirth, "Always willing to help around the house when she visits."

"Not too mention, she's very attractive," Akane stuck in.

Ranma turned to Chardin and scowled. "Are you spying on us?" he asked.

"I just happened to be in the vicinity," Chardin said, with a bead of sweat popping up in his immaculately groomed hair.

"R-right," Ranma said sarcastically, "Like I'm supposed to believe that. There's nothing here for you so you might as well head back to your home, wherever that is."

"Not until I get my bride," Chardin said stubbornly.

"I'm afraid that none of my daughters will be that bride," Soun said.

Chardin glared at Soun and said, "You have no honor."

"You're one to talk about honor. Sniffing around after my wife, running a rigged contest, lying to your customers," Ranma said, his battle aura beginning to show, until Akane reached out and clasped his arm.

Soun's face grew grim and he spat, "I will not be insulted like that in my own home. You are not welcome here. Ranma, see that he leaves. And if he returns, do with him what you will."

Ranma cracked his knuckles and said, "You heard the man. Would you like to leave under your own power this time?"

"You have not heard the last of this," Chardin said, "I will leave, but I will return to claim my bride."

"There is no bride for you here," Nabiki said icily, as Ranma moved toward Chardin.

Ranma escorted Chardin out of the house and to the front gate. "A word to the wise, Chardin. Don't come back. None of the girls are available, nor do any of them want you," Ranma said, "And I am going to teach all of them the Parley du Foie Gras."

Chardin scowled and said, "I will be back. My chatelaine and I will be here in a week and we will end this farce."

"Your chatelaine? What the hell is that?" Ranma asked.

"Madame St. Paul is responsible for training my bride to be," Chardin explained, "As well as sees to the proper functioning of the chateau. Until then, I bid you adieu." The young man flared his cape and disappeared down the darkened street.

Ranma stared after him, lost in thought for a moment, and then a wicked grin appeared on his face. He spun on one heel and walked back into the house.

* * *

Nabiki looked up from her desk where she was busily doing her accounts on her computer as someone knocked on the door. She turned and asked, "Who is it?" 

"Hinako," came the response, "Can I come in?"

Nabiki smiled and replied, "Sure, I'm almost done."

Hinako opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her. Her fish bowl was nowhere in sight, and she had reverted to her younger form. "Thank you, Na-chan," Hinako said shyly, one hand idly playing with her hair.

"Na-chan? Where did that come from?" Nabiki teased.

"Do you like it?" Hinako asked, "I mean, well, you're my best friend and everything."

"Naw, I don't mind. It's kind of sweet actually," Nabiki said after a moment of thought.

"Just like you," Hinako said softly, as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Let me get this last bill entered and I'll be right with you," Nabiki said, not hearing what the young girl had said. She entered the last bill, and began shutting down the program.

Hinako crossed over to the bed and sat down on it, waiting with her ankles crossed, a demure smile dancing on her lips.

"There, all done," Nabiki said as she told the computer to turn itself off. She stood up from her chair, stretching her arms high over her head; causing the thin shirt she was wearing to mold itself against her body. She groaned as her stiff muscles protested.

"What's wrong, Na-chan?" Hinako asked.

"Too much time hunched over that keyboard," Nabiki replied.

Hinako looked at her and then said, "Lie down, and I can help."

Nabiki cocked her head and said in surprise, "You know massage." She sank gracefully to the floor and then rolled over to lie on her stomach.

Hinako said artlessly, "It'll work better without the top."

Nabiki rolled over on her side and looked at the young girl, smiling uncertainly at her. She sat up long enough to pull the shirt off over her head and tossed it to one corner of the bedroom, leaving her just in her panties, and then returned to her previous position.

Hinako walked over and knelt next to Nabiki, flexing her fingers. She then began to knead Nabiki's shoulders, feeling the knots in the muscles melt under her surprisingly strong fingers.

Nabiki began to purr, as the tightness in her shoulders began to disappear. Once all of the knots in her shoulders were gone, Hinako's firm fingers began to drift down her back, driving the soreness out of the other girl's shoulderblades and then finished off on the small of Nabiki's back.

"O-o-oi-h," Nabiki moaned, "That feels so good. Your massages are as good as Ranma's."

A momentary flash of annoyance appeared on Hinako's face, but as Nabiki started to roll over, it cleared.

"Thank you, Hi-chan," Nabiki said, "I feel much better." She stood up and headed over to get her shirt.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Hinako asked, once again shyly, "I don't want to have those nightmares again."

"Sure, Hi-chan, there's plenty of room," Nabiki said, as she slid her t-shirt back on. She turned and asked, "Are you sleepy, or do you want to read for a while?"

"No, I think I'm ready to go to bed, actually, it's been a long day," Hinako said softly.

"Okay, then, I'll turn the light off and we can go to sleep, then," Nabiki said as she walked over to the switch. She waited for Hinako to crawl under the covers and then flicked the switch off, plunging the room into darkness. She gingerly made her way to her bed, and joined Hinako under the covers.

Hinako squirmed around for a moment, and then the little girl gently kissed Nabiki's cheek, and then placed her head on the larger girl's shoulder. "Night, Na-chan," she said softly.

Nabiki placed her arm around Hinako and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Hi-chan," she replied.

* * *

The next evening, Akane was humming a pleasant tune as she headed toward her older sister's room, carrying the basket of clean clothes that Kasumi had handed her. As she neared the closed door, she heard Nabiki ask, "Are you sure about this, Hi-chan? I mean, do you really want to go through with this? It won't change the way I feel about you if you don't. And it's definitely not too late to change your mind." 

Akane stood there, the basket of clothes in her arms forgotten, as she strained to hear Hinako's reply. 'I didn't think they were serious about a relationship,' she thought, her cheeks flaming, 'Wasn't it just an act to fool Chardin?' She missed Hinako's reply, but she did hear her sister say, "Okay, then if you're sure. Don't be bashful, now. Take off your top, and come join me and we can get started."

Akane dropped the basket on the floor and fled down the hall, her eyes wide. 'Oh my,' she thought, 'I would never have thought she really liked girls.'

* * *

Akane looked up as Hinako steered a bleary-eyed Nabiki into the family room. The two of them knelt down across the table from the younger girl, who continued to watch with interest the interaction between the two. Hinako continued to cling to Nabiki's arm, as Ranma carried out a cup of coffee for Nabiki. 

"Morning, sis," Akane said with a smirk, "Did you sleep well?"

Nabiki yawned, and took a large gulp of coffee, to get her first dose of caffeine for the day. After waiting for it to take affect, and remove the remaining cobwebs from her brain, she replied, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever slept better."

"Me, too," Hinako replied, "I'm just glad you don't move around too much."

Akane's jaw dropped as she looked first at Nabiki and then back at Hinako. She stammered, "Are you two sleeping together?"

"Yes, ever since she moved in actually," Nabiki replied, calmly, "It seems to help with the nightmares."

"Na-chan has been so nice to me," Hinako added, "She heard me crying and came in and held me until the scary dreams went away."

"But it's not proper," Akane said, her eyes wide.

"What's not proper?" Kasumi asked as she brought the food in for breakfast.

"Nabiki and Hinako are sharing a bed!" Akane exclaimed.

Kasumi replied calmy, "Well, that explains why I didn't have to make up the bed in your old room yesterday morning. Good, that'll save me a few minutes every day."

"Acchan, what is your problem?" Ranma asked, puzzled.

"They're sleeping together," Akane replied.

"Okay, and why is that any of our business?" Ranma asked.

Akane took a deep breath and asked, "How can you two be so calm about them having sex?"

"Having sex?" Nabiki asked, "Why would you think that?"

"Because I overheard you last night when I brought up your clean clothes," Akane admitted.

"Akane," Nabiki said, icily, "What I do in the privacy of my own room, and who I do it with is none of your business."

"Acchan, aren't you being just a little hypocritical, anyway?" Ranma asked quietly.

Akane turned to her husband and suddenly blushed. "That's different, it's you," she whispered.

Nabiki arched an eyebrow at her sister and smirked. "Why the sudden red face?" she asked. Then she added, "Besides, Hi-chan and I aren't having sex anyway."

"But, what did I hear then?" Akane asked, "Oh, I'm so embarrassed."

"Haven't a clue, sister dear, but you need to keep your mind out of the gutter," Nabiki replied, "Having all of those perverted thoughts about the two of us. Shame on you."

Taking pity on her sister, Kasumi asked, "What are we going to do about Chardin when he returns this weekend?"

"I've got an idea wandering around in my head," Ranma replied, "But to make it work, we'll need the town clerk here."

"I can arrange that," Nabiki said confidently, "But what do you need him for?"

"For stamping off the marriage that will occur," Ranma said with an evil grin.

"I'm not marrying that jerk," Nabiki growled.

Ranma chuckled and said, "That's good, I don't particularly want him as a brother-in-law anyway. No, I have someone else in mind. And, that reminds me, once Chardin shows up, I'll take them to the dojo, and then all of you can make yourselves scarce."

* * *

Picolet Chardin knocked politely on the door of the Tendo home. After a bit of a wait, the door opened to reveal an extremely attractive, red-haired girl, wearing a formal kimono. 

"Hello, may I help you?" the girl asked politely, as she gazed without recognition at the young man. Standing next to him was a tall, elegantly dressed, stern-looking, yet attractive older woman, wearing her hair pulled up into a bun with a pair of pince-nez glasses perched on her nose.

Chardin said, through a suddenly tight throat, "My name is Picolet Chardin the second, and this is Madame St. Paul. I believe that we are expected."

"Oh my, I was told that you might drop by," the girl said.

"And you must be Ranko Saotome. It's a shame that you aren't a Tendo girl, you are definitely the prettiest of them all," Chardin said gallantly, reaching to kiss her hand.

Ranko pulled her hand back, blushing prettily, and replied, "Why thank you. That is entirely too kind of you to say." She sighed and continued, "Unfortunately, I am the only one here right now. It is Visitation Day and the immediate family is at the cemetery. They should be back reasonably soon, though."

"Visitation Day?" Madame St. Paul asked.

"That's what I call it anyway. Today is the anniversary of Mrs. Tendo's death, so they always make a point of going to the gravesite. I was about to eat my lunch in the dojo and you are welcome to join me while you wait," Ranko said.

"I'd hate to interrupt your meal," Madame St. Paul began hesitantly.

"Oh, it's no bother. I always make too much anyway. If I ate all of the sandwiches that I fixed, I would never keep this girlish figure," Ranko said with a titter, "Please, join me, I insist."

"Well, if you insist," Chardin said with a smile.

Ranko clapped her hands together and said, "Good, it's settled. Just follow me, the dojo is around back." She led the two of them around the side of the house and through the open door of the dojo. There they saw a large stack of sandwiches sitting covered on a plate. The young girl handed them each a sandwich on a plate and then said, "Oh, darn. I forgot the tea. I'll be right back." She headed out of the dojo, and said, "Please, go ahead and eat. I'll be right back." She bowed and closed the door behind her.

Once the girl was gone, Chardin and St. Paul shrugged their shoulders. "She seems nice enough," Madame St. Paul said.

"Yes, very attractive isn't she. Hm, these sandwiches look delicious, I wonder if she made them herself," Chardin said, "Good looking and a good cook, too."

"She did say not to wait on her and breakfast was a long time ago," Madame St. Paul said. They smiled at each other and the sandwiches promptly disappeared. "Hm, they were good," she said as she turned to Chardin. The two of them locked gazes for a moment, and then they both shuddered as something happened.

"It's like blinders have fallen off my eyes," Chardin said as he walked over and knelt on one knee in front of Madame St. Paul, "How have I managed to overlook your beauty and your grace. You are the only woman for me. Please, Victoria Regina, would you do me the great honor and agree to become my wife?"

Victoria's eyes grew misty as she replied, "Oh yes, my darling. How I have longed for this day when my love for you would be fulfilled. With all my heart, I will marry you!"

Ranko opened the door to the dojo to see the two of them in a passionate kiss. "Oh my," she said, "Please forgive my intrusion." She made to back out, but the two of them sprang apart, Madame St. Paul blushing furiously.

"We were just celebrating our engagement," Chardin stammered.

Ranko squealed and said, excitedly, "That's wonderful. I'm so happy for the two of you. When is the wedding going to take place?"

The two lovebirds exchanged besotted looks and Chardin answered, "As soon as possible. I cannot wait any longer to make her my own."

"Well, in that case, by an odd coincidence, the Nerima town clerk just stopped by," Ranko said with a smile, "You could get married right now."

"Oh could we, my love?" Victoria asked, her eyes wide.

"Would you like that, heart of my heart?" Chardin asked.

"Send him in! Let us not dally any longer," Victoria demanded imperiously.

Ranko turned and summoned a thin, elderly man, who walked gingerly into the dojo. Within minutes, he had filled out the requisite forms, only stopping once to find out the bride's full name. After receiving the tax payment from Chardin, he stamped the papers and said dryly, "Congratulations, you are now married under Japanese law. I'll run down to the office immediately and get these filed." He walked out quicker than he walked in.

Ranko wiped a few tears from her eyes and said, "I'm so happy for you both. Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. May your lives together be long and happy."

"No, thank you for witnessing our union," Chardin said, with a bow. He looked besottedly at his blushing bride and added, "We must be off, there is a honeymoon that I am looking forward to." Clasping his new wife's hand, he said, "Come, Victoria, let us prepare for our new life together." Walking hand in hand, the two of them left the dojo. If they had looked back, they would have seen the young girl staring at a small bracelet, which had two empty settings as if the stones had fallen out.

"Well, it looks like I guessed right. I wonder which one got the lifetime pill," the girl murmured to herself. She headed off to the furoba to change clothes and gender, with a satisfied smirk on her face.

* * *

The rest of the extended family walked into the family room to find a smug-looking Ranma watching television. 

"What are you looking so pleased about?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma grinned and replied, "I think I have taken care of your little problem with Picolet Chardin the second."

"Oh, how on earth did you do that?" Nabiki asked, still irked that she wasn't in on the plan.

"He got married today," Ranma said with a smirk.

"He what!" Nabiki almost shrieked.

Ranma said, "For some reason, he declared his undying love to his chatelaine, and they promptly got married in the dojo while you were all gone. They're on their honeymoon even as we speak."

Nabiki gaped at him.

Soun said, "Son, that is wonderful news. Now we're free of him forever, and Nabiki doesn't have to pretend to be a, a, woman-lover any more."

"Oh darn, and Hi-chan and I were having so much fun, weren't we dear?" Nabiki asked.

Hinako snaked her arm around Nabiki's waist and said, in a husky voice, "Yes, you were wonderful in bed last night." Soun's chin dropped to the ground.

"Oh my, they make such a cute couple, don't they?" Kasumi asked with a straight face.

Tofu grinned at his wife and said, "My thoughts exactly. I'm glad that you found someone Nabiki, I was worried about you."

Akane looked at her husband and said, "I'm amazed, you actually came up with a plan that worked."

"Well, hopefully," Ranma replied, "After all if he's married to someone else, he can't very well get married to one of you three."

"True, very true," Tofu said.

"But what did you do to them?" Nabiki asked.

"No fair, but that would be telling," Ranma said, "Let's just say that I found something in Happosai's collection of junk that came in handy."

* * *

The next day, around mid-afternoon, Ranma answered the door to find Madame St. Paul standing there, but a Madame St. Paul that was transformed. Her hair was down, reaching nearly to the middle of her back, her stern expression had vanished, and she looked years younger. 

"Yes, may I help you?" Ranma asked, unconsciously echoing himself from yesterday.

In a breathy voice, Madame St. Paul replied, "Yes, is Ranko Saotome here?"

"No, she's at home with Mom and Dad," Ranma replied, "But I'm her brother Ranma."

"Oh, well, I'm Victoria Regina St, oops, rather, I'm Victoria Regina Chardin, and I wanted to thank her. I don't know what she did to us, but I needed to tell her that last night was the most wonderful experience of my life," Victoria breathed, her eyes alight with happiness.

"I'll be sure to tell her," Ranma said, "But I can't imagine what she could have done. I'll be honest, when she told the family that the two of you got married yesterday, none of us could believe it."

"Oh, I've cared for Picolet as long as I can remember, but yesterday, suddenly I fell in love with him. I just didn't think he returned my feelings for him. But last night, and then this morning were fantastic. It was all I could do to pry myself away from him this afternoon," Victoria said.

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out for you," Ranma said, "But I'm sure that Ranko had nothing to do with you two getting together. It's not like there's a love pill or anything like that." He chuckled to show how ridiculous that would be.

Victoria smiled, and said, "I suppose you're right about that. It was just so out of the blue that he professed his love for me, I couldn't help but think what could have caused it. And it is so convenient for the Tendo family. Now that he is married to me, he had no interest in any of them." She smiled saucily, "And as long as I'm with him, he'll never want a mistress."

Ranma grinned and said, "I'm sure you'll do your best to keep that from happening. Again, we are happy for both of you."

"Thank you. Anyway, I'd better get back to my beloved Picolet. Tell your sister for me," she said with a smile.

"Of course," Ranma replied. He watched as the transformed woman walked away, his lips twitching as she sashayed away from him.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. I would like to respond to the reviews that I have received, but it now appears that that is against the rules. Several of the stories that I have been following have been removed from Ffnet, so until I find out whether that is true or not, I wish to err on the side of caution. Please don't let my lack of responses cause you to believe that I am not interested in your thoughts, Gentle Readers, because I am. 


	47. The Demon from Jusenkyo

Chapter 47 A Demon from Jusenkyo

Ranma glanced over at his wife as they walked through the crowded streets, with the rest of the fairgoers. He had to admit that she was looking especially fetching in her new kimono. She was looking around at the booths, hunting for something that might catch her fancy. Ahead of them, Tofu and Kasumi were also walking hand in hand, chatting just out of earshot, but whatever the subject was appeared to be amusing based on the gentle laughter he could occasionally hear.

Akane snuck a look over at her husband, and when she saw his eyes on her, she smiled fondly, and squeezed the hand that she was holding. "What is it, Ranchan?" she asked softly.

"I was just thinking how pretty you look tonight," Ranma said honestly, "You look very nice in that kimono."

Akane looked a little flustered at the compliment, and then she blushed. "Thank you, but you really don't have to keep complimenting me," Akane said.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to," Ranma said. Then in a much softer voice, he added, "There are a lot of insults that I have to make up for."

"You never insulted me," she chided him gently.

Ranma shrugged his shoulder and looked carefully around to see who was near. Nabiki and Hinako were several feet behind them, the currently little Hinako holding onto Nabiki's arm. A slight frown flashed quickly across his face as once again he wondered about the odd relationship between the two of them. 'Almost like Hinako has fixated on her,' he thought. As he gazed at the pair, he once again saw a strange speculative look cross Nabiki's face as she caught his eye. Ever since the Chardin incident that occurred two weeks ago, he had seen that same look and it was beginning to concern him. "That's true enough, I suppose, but you know what I meant," he said.

Akane sighed heavily. She gently kissed his cheek and said, "I wish you would let that go. Things are different this time around. Remember what you said, we aren't those same people."

That tender moment was interrupted by a barker calling, "Hurry! Hurry! See Three-thousand year old Chinese accursed scroll!"

"Ooo, that sounds like fun!" Akane squealed.

"Let's go!" Kasumi exclaimed. Then her face fell, and she asked, "Where did Daddy and Mr. Saotome go?"

Nabiki looked around and said as the two girls hurried to catch up, "Oh, they're probably just lost."

Ranma looked worried for a second and then followed his wife and the other two couples into the tent, where they found an elderly Chinese gentleman standing on a raised platform.

"The three scrolls you are about to see," the performer said, "are truly the most horrifying on earth."

The crowd listened in rapt silence as he continued, "The first one, my grandfather died one year after finishing." He pulled a string and a long scroll unrolled, revealing a horrific horned demon, sitting on a pile of human skulls. A small piece of parchment covered in elaborate script was affixed to one corner of the scroll. The crowd gasped in fear.

"The second one! My father died three years after completing this one," the elderly gentleman said as he pulled a second string. This scroll unrolled to show a large eight legged monster, apparently a spiderlike demon, also with what was probably some sort of holy seal attached.

The crowd once again gasped, as Akane turned her head and buried it in Ranma's chest. "How horrible," she cried.

"You not see anything yet! Here comes the worst one of all!" the performer cried as he began to pull a third string.

At that moment, a commotion broke out in the audience as two figures came battling into the tent. "Hey! Saotome, give me back my octopus balls!" the one figure cried as he battled the second.

"Oh, Hello daddy," Kasumi said, just as Genma crashed into Ranma, sending Ranma flying. With a loud crash, Ranma slammed into the final scroll, and a small piece of paper fell and landed on his head.

Soun plucked the plate of food away from the dazed Genma, and said, "Thanks, Ranma for stopping this thief."

The announcer backed away in fright. "Aiyee, the seal, it came off!" he exclaimed, covering his eyes.

The scroll began to shake, and a billow of smoke began to come out of the scroll and take shape.

"Th-the picture's coming out," one of the men in the audience warned.

Ranma picked himself up from the stage, his expression dazed.

The announcer cried, "Aiyee, three thousand year old magic behind this scroll. I paint with accursed brush on accursed vellum, making accursed art! And you just knocked off the seal holding it in!" He grabbed the seal from Ranma's head, glaring at the young man. "My most accursed scroll come to life and escape into accursed world," the man continued.

"Not again!" Ranma groaned.

Nabiki narrowed hereyes and asked, "What do you mean, not again?"

"It's not my fault, it's that baka of a Pop who did this," Ranma said, "So once again, he's done something to screw things up!"

The smoke coalesced and began to take solid form.

"A monster!" someone cried.

Suddenly, a cartoonlike panda appeared out of the smoke, dancing with glee. "I'm free!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Genma exclaimed.

"My most accursed work!" the announcer cried.

"What is it?" Soun asked.

"It's a girl panda, what does it look like?" the man said affronted.

"That's art?" Akane questioned dryly.

"Must be surrealism," Kasumi said.

"More like sucky artistism," Nabiki said.

"Hey, you set her free, you must capture her," the announcer said, "Put seal on her forehead, and she'll go back into scroll."

Ranma shook his head and grabbed Genma. "Pop, you did this, you take care of it," he growled.

"It is a martial artist's duty to protect the weak," Genma retorted, pulling himself free.

"Oh, freedom! Liberty!" the panda cried as she continued to dance.

"Pop, how on earth would you know?" Ranma said angrily. He glared at his father for a few moments, only to see his father's eyes widen in fear at something he was seeing over his shoulder.

Ranma turned, and sure enough the cartoonish panda was standing there, with a happy expression on her face.

"Oo! It's you!" the panda exclaimed, "The hero who set me free! Thank you! Thank you!" Then her eyes grew sad as she saw the ward in the announcer's hand. "N-n-oooo! I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back!" she screamed.

"Is that a female panda?" Nabiki asked.

"You can't tell by the way she looks," the announcer replied, affronted.

"P-p-lease, now that I've tasted freedom," the little panda begged, as she knelt on the ground, tears flowing from her eyes, "J-just give me one night of freedom, to live my dream. Just let me go on one date with a nice boy, t-that's all I ask."

Akane glanced at her husband and said, in a shaky voice, "That's so sad. I feel so sorry for her."

Hinako added in a wispy voice, "She doesn't seem dangerous. Maybe one night can't hurt."

Kasumi bent down and asked, "You'll go back willingly if you get your wish?"

The panda blushed and said, "Yes, oh yes!"

Ranma grabbed his father who was attempting to sneak away unobserved. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, "This is all your fault, you know. You're the one who set her free." He poured a convenient bucket of cold water over Genma, and pushed the instant panda toward the little panda girl. "Here you go, one boyfriend," he said, crossing his fingers that it would work this time. 'No way am I putting myself through all of that humiliation,' he thought.

The panda pouted and said in disgust, "You're so mean. My one night of freedom and you're trying to set me up with this ugly panda.'

Somehow Genma managed to look affronted. 'What do you mean, ugly?' his signe read.

"And ancient, too," the girl panda said, as she started crying again.

"Hey, what's your name?" Akane asked quietly.

The little panda stopped her crying for a moment and replied, "I don't know. No one ever asked me for one." She thought for a second and brightened. "I know, you can call me Mei Xiang," she said happily.

"That's such a pretty name," Akane said.

"Thank you," Mei Xiang said, blushing, though everyone was still trying to figure out how they knew that a fur-covered animal was blushing. She looked at Ranma, with hope in her eyes, and asked, "Would you be my date?"

Ranma knelt down and replied, "I can't be your date, Mei Xiang, not really. I'm married, which means I only date my wife. That was a solemn promise I made when we wed, and unlike some people, I keep my promises." He deliberately didn't look at his father turned panda.

"I wouldn't mind, Ranchan," Akane said quietly so that only he heard, "I wouldn't get jealous of a panda."

Only she heard the response, "You did before."

Akane looked stricken and said, "Oh, Ranma,"

Ranma cut her off and said, "Don't worry about it. It wasn't you." He turned to Mei Xiang and said, "But, we would be honored if you would come with us, May Shong."

Akane held out her hand to pull Mei Xiang to her feet. "Please, we'd like to show you around," she said.

Mei Xiang looked down at the ground and said, sadly, "That's kind of you, but it's not what I was wanting." She sighed to herself and said, "Alright, that fat, old, ugly panda can take me on a date."

"You heard her, Pop. Show her a good time," Ranma said.

'What about my marriage?' the sign said.

"Weren't you the one who said Mom was dead?" Ranma asked, "And what about those various places you went in Sapporo, and Kyoto, and Shanghai, and"

'I get the point, but that's all in the past,' came the next sign.

"Don't you feel sorry for her, Pop?" Ranma asked.

The panda glared at him and then nodded. 'Okay, you win,' the sign said. He took Mei Xiang by the hand and the two of them wandered off.

Akane had a dangerous glint in her eye. "What about those places, Ranma dear?" she asked, with a note that Ranma had come to recognize all too well in the previous lifetime.

"Hey," Ranma said defensively, "Just because I know what he did there doesn't mean I went in. The only reason I know about what he did is he sometime talks in his sleep. You know very well that you are the only girl I've been with."

Akane's face relaxed and she giggled. "I was only playing with you," she said.

* * *

Ranma and Akane continued to wander around the festival, catching the occasional glimpse of the two pandas. Once, on the merry-go-round, another time Mei Xiang was feeding Genma the panda something, a third time, Genma was chasing a laughing Mei Xiang, both of them apparently having a good time. 

As it grew dark, Akane led Ranma over to a secluded park bench and sat down, pulling him down next to her. She put her head on his shoulder and asked, in a small voice, "Was I really that much of a jealous person?"

Ranma wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and sighed. "It's hard to answer that Akane. You didn't know how I felt about you, because I was too afraid to admit to myself that I loved you, much less tell you. You felt so insecure about everything because of Kuno and the rest of the idiots, and I didn't help with my stupid mouth. And I had the other three girls chasing me all of the time," Ranma said tenderly, "And then any time we even started to act like we were getting close, our idiot fathers would do something to ruin it. So I guess, you were jealous of the attention I would get from the other girls." He snorted in amusement, and added, "And I think you were jealous of the attention I got from all of the guys when I was female. The funny thing is you really had no reason to be jealous of the attention I got, because you were the only one I wanted."

"I glad that you came back for me," Akane said softly.

"So am I, this time it's so much better," Ranma replied, his eyes suspiciously damp. He bent down and pressed his lips against her forehead, both of them oblivious to the person hiding in the bushes behind them, who was sitting there, with her mouth wide open in surprise, wondering what all of that had meant.

Akane half-turned on the bench, lifted her head up and kissed Ranma passionately. She snaked her arms around his head and held him.

The observer in the bushes watched, blushing furiously, and then shoved her hand in her mouth to keep herself quiet, as the tableau in front of her began to affect her breathing.

After several long minutes, Genma and Mei Xiang interrupted them. Ranma and Akane sprang apart as they heard the cheerful little panda say, "I'm so happy, this has been fun. But I know that this is no world for me, I know that my place is in that scroll." There was a moment of silence and then she said, "Thank you, Mr. Panda. I'll never forget this night." Then she asked, bashfully, "Could you do one little thing for me? Could you kiss me?"

Ranma and Akane watched as his father held up a sign that read, 'Sure, I've survived this long.'

The large panda bent down as if to kiss Mei Xiang only to freeze. 'I can't do this,' Genma thought, as a large drop of sweat began to flow down his forehead.

"She just wants a kiss on her forehead, Pop. For crying out loud, just do it," Ranma said, startling the oddly matched couple.

Genma bent down and kissed the little girl panda's forehead.

Mei Xiang squealed in delight and said, "Oh thank you. Goodnight now!" and danced off to find the artist who had drawn her.

Nabiki sat back in the bushes, her eyes still wide with astonishment. 'What is going on here?' she thought to herself. Then she narrowed her eyes, angrily, and thought, 'I'll get to the bottom of this. He's pulling some sort of trick.'

* * *

Ranma opened the door to his room, only to freeze in dismay as he saw Nabiki sitting in the middle of the bed, several books scattered around her. She crooked her finger at him, and made a come-hither gesture. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, hoping he could brazen this out. 

"Reading," was the reply, "Very interesting reading it is, too."

Ranma grinned weakly and asked, knowing that he was on thin ice, "Oh, what are you reading?"

Nabiki grinned, showing her teeth, and replied, "Oh, your father's journals, and Happosai's. And you know, your father didn't write anything about an arranged marriage with Chardin, nor did Happosai write anything about Hi-chan." The ice parted, and Ranma fell through. "So, spill, Saotome. How did you know those things?" she asked.

Akane walked into the room just in time to hear that last. She glared at her sister and replied, "Is it really any of your business, sis?" a hint of anger in her voice.

"It is if he has been lying to us all this time," Nabiki retorted, giving a glare just as good as the one she was getting.

"He hasn't lied, not to me," Akane snapped back.

"There is something that I've been hiding from you, though, Nabs," Ranma said slowly, "But I'm not gonna tell you, at least not here. Why don't you meet us under the third bridge on the canal after school?"

"You'd better be there," Nabiki said.

"We both will, sis," Akane said softly.

* * *

Nabiki clenched her fist in anger as she arrived at the third bridge only to realize that there was no way for her to get past the locked gate to the access ladder that led to the canal below. And Ranma and Akane were nowhere in sight. She drew her jacket tightly around her as the brisk March wind blew right through what she had thought was adequate for the day. 'Damn you, Saotome, where the hell are you?' she thought to herself. She was able to keep from shrieking as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, but she was unable to keep from jumping in surprise. She turned to see a smirking Ranma standing there. 

"Where's Akane?" Nabiki growled, the look in her eyes showing that she was not amused.

"Down below waiting," Ranma replied, "I came back up when I remembered that the gate was locked and you couldn't climb down. So I'm here to help you get down."

"What kind of help?" Nabiki asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Do you trust me, sis?" Ranma asked, his eyes gazing intently at her.

Nabiki felt her pulse race as she felt the power radiating from the young man in front of her. Not trusting her voice, she gave him a slow nod.

"Okay then, hold on tight," Ranma ordered as he effortlessly picked her up and then cradled her in his arms. She automatically flung her arms around his neck and held on for dear life as she felt him spring up to the top of the bridge guardrail. "Here we go," he said softly as she felt him flex his knees and then lightly jump forward off the bridge.

As they fell, Nabiki did indulge herself with a scream, and then promptly buried her head in his chest, certain that they were going to die on the concrete below. To her surprise, she felt a brief jolt as they landed on the embankment. Then Ranma let her legs swing down until she was able to stand shakily, while she still held onto him for support until her traitorous legs would stop their trembling. She hissed, "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Saotome, or I'll make you regret the day you were born."

"If you're quite done holding onto my husband, sister dear," Akane said from where she was sitting under the bridge, "Come over here and join me."

Ranma helped her over to the small ledge and Nabiki sat down next to her sister.

Nabiki heard a chuckle coming from the direction of her sister. She turned and glared at her. "Are you done laughing at me yet?" she snapped.

Akane smiled briefly and replied, "I wasn't laughing at you. I was really laughing at myself. Not too long ago, if I had seen you, or anyone else, in his arms, I would have blown a fuse. It just struck me as funny how much I've changed. Though, knowing how much Ranma loves me is probably the reason I can be as calm as I am."

Nabiki quirked a brief grin and agreed, "You have grown up a bunch, especially since you learned how to control your temper."

Akane shrugged and said, "He managed to convince me that losing control like that was actually hurting my martial arts."

Nabiki chuckled and said, "You martial artists are weird. Everything is about training with you two."

Akane smirked at her sister and said, "Not everything."

Nabiki blushed and said, "Well as amusing as this is, time is money. So little brother, sis, why don't you come clean about what you've been hiding?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, and said, "Okay, but first, you need to promise to keep this to yourself. I don't want anyone else to find out about this."

"Sure, I won't tell anyone else, but what's the big deal?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, sis, the truth is so strange that I'm not sure you'll believe us," Akane said.

"Why wouldn't I believe you?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma grinned wryly and replied, "Because I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't happened to me. I don't want you to think we're crazy. Damn, where to start?"

"How about you just tell me how you knew about all of those things?" Nabiki ordered.

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck nervously and then blurted, "Because I remember them, that's why!"

"Huh, how can you remember something that hadn't happened yet?" Nabiki asked, confused.

"Because it happened to me before," Ranma replied. He hesitated and then asked, "Nabiki, remember when you asked me why I picked Akane and I told you that I had fallen in love with her a long time ago?"

Nabiki looked guiltily at Akane, who simply shrugged. "Yeah, I remember, so?" she asked.

Ranma sighed, and answered, "Because I've been in love with her for about six years now. Though it took me a long time to figure that out."

"Now I'm really confused," Nabiki said, "Daddy would have made a big fuss if the two of you had shown up six years ago. You can't have known Akane that long."

"That's because four of those years haven't happened yet, and this is the second time I've lived this year," Ranma said, "What I'm trying to tell you is that I've lived this life already once, or at least a version of it. I'm from a future."

Nabiki stared at him in disbelief and then fainted.

Ranma chuckled and said, "That's certainly not the reaction I expected. Now what?"

"We wake her up and take it from there," Akane replied. She splashed her sister, rousing her from her swoon.

"What happened?" Nabiki asked.

"You fainted," Akane replied with a smirk.

Nabiki took a deep breath, and then another. Finally she said, "You've got to be kidding me. That isn't possible. You can't be from the future."

"Well, I certainly hope it's not the future, because some of what happened really sucked," Ranma said, "But I'm not kidding, sis, I did come back in time."

Nabiki turned to Akane to see her reaction, but to her surprise, Akane was nodding sadly. "You believe him about this?" she asked.

"Yeah, sis," Akane said softly, "I had a nightmare where I saw what happened." She closed her eyes in pain and added, almost too low to hear, "Especially the day he died saving us from a demon." Akane began to shiver.

"Acchan, that won't happen this time. We took care of the old freak, so he won't be sending any demon after me," Ranma said as he pulled her into a hug.

Nabiki looked at the two of them, and asked, "You're really serious about this, aren't you?" At their slow nod, she added, "So how come you got sent back?"

Ranma replied, "I really don't know how it happened, all I really remember is dying, with my last thought being that I wished that I had told Akane that I loved her. Then I saw a bright, white light and heard a laughing voice say. 'Wish Granted.' I woke up the morning that Pop and I arrived at Jusenkyo. And before you ask, I tried to not fall into the spring this time, but it seems like certain things just can't be changed."

"Does that mean you have changed things?" Nabiki asked, shrewdly picking up on what he had said.

"Yeah, I have. Kasumi and Tofu got together, and Akane and I are married. Happosai is out of the picture, and I solved a few other problems," Ranma admitted.

"Why did you have to do something about Kasumi and Tofu? It was obvious to everyone that they were crazy about each other," Nabiki asked in surprise.

"A few months from now, at least the first time I lived through this, Doc disappears. I guess he realized how he acted around Kasumi, and just couldn't handle it," Ranma replied, "Kasumi was miserable after he left, though she hid it reasonably well. You tried to find him, but as far as I know, never had any luck. When I had a chance to fix that this time, I took it."

"That is a good thing you did," Nabiki said, warmly, "What else have you fixed?"

"Well, I got back together with my mother much sooner, which is a plus. This time I managed to resolve the situation with Ukyo, though I think you had a hand in that. My grades are better because I decided to pay more attention in school, things like that," Ranma replied.

"Anything else?" Nabiki asked, not dropping the subject.

Ranma looked helplessly at Akane who nodded. He frowned quickly, and then replied, "Well, I helped you become a nicer person, too."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes and asked, "Exactly what do you mean by that, older brother?"

"I knew I shouldn't have said that. Seriously, remember how before I came you were always stressing out about earning enough money to keep the budget afloat?" Ranma asked.

"Well, yeah, you sure helped us out when you showed up," Nabiki replied.

Ranma said, "Well, the first time I went through this, the only way I helped out was from you selling nude pictures of me, and the betting pools you placed on me. That turned you into, well for lack of a better phrase, a manipulative bitch. You even went so far as to ruin our wedding."

Nabiki gasped and said, in shock, "I didn't. I mean, I couldn't have done that."

"The you that you became could and did," Ranma said softly, "But, I'll tell you the same thing I told Akane. You aren't that person, and I don't blame you for what the other you did. The you that I know now is someone that I care a great deal for, if that makes any sense. In fact, I've come to love you like the sister I never had."

Nabiki's eyes softened as she said, "Thanks, Ranma. I love you too." She smiled reassuringly at her sister as she added, "Not that way, though, sis. He's my brother, not just your husband." Then a sudden thought struck her. She asked, "So, if you're really from the future, can you give me some stock picks? You know, we could really get a lot of money."

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Somehow I knew that you'd ask that. Sorry, I never paid attention to anything like that. Most of the time, I was just practicing, at least until I went to college, so no, there's nothing like that that I remember. You've lived with me for nearly a year now, you know what I'm like."

"Damn, that's a shame, older brother," Nabiki said with a smirk, "Just imagine all of the opportunities that we just lost."

"That's the secret that we've been hiding from you, sis. I hope that you understand why we want to keep it hidden. Aside from the three of us, Cologne is the only one that has figured it out," Akane said.

"I can understand that I suppose," Nabiki said. She frowned slightly and then asked, "So, can you tell me if I find someone to love me?"

"Why, I thought you were happy with Hinako. You sure looked like you were a couple. Don't tell me that you're just toying with her affections?" Ranma teased.

"You know full well that we're just friends, and besides, neither of us swing that way," Nabiki retorted.

Akane grinned and asked, "Are you sure about that, sis? You two were certainly looking pretty cozy last night. And you are still sharing a bed."

Nabiki glared at her and said, icily, "Just answer the question, Ranma."

"To be honest, I don't really know. After you graduated from high school, you managed to get a scholarship to Harvard so you could go to the business school there. I doubt that you had much time for romance, but you rarely called home, and the letters you sent home didn't say anything either," Ranma said.

"Oh," Nabiki said, sadly, "That's a little depressing. Now that I've seen what you have and what Kasumi and Tofu have, I kind of want that too."

Akane reached around and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "I'm sure that someone is out there for you, sis," she said softly.

"She's right, Nabs," Ranma added, joining them in the hug, as he wrapped his arms around both of them, "Just because it hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean that it won't. You're not even out of high school yet, so there's a lot of time for some lucky guy to find you."

"Thanks, guys," Nabiki said softly, "That means a lot to me."

"No problem, sis," Akane said.

Nabiki turned in Ranma's arms and said, "And big brother, I am so glad that you were able to return. Akane is the happiest that I have seen in years and we have you to thank for it, Kasumi is with the man that she has adored for years and Daddy is finally beginning to come to terms with Mommy's death." Then she surprised both of them by pulling Ranma's head to her and kissing him hard on the lips.

Akane began to growl, "Ra" only to have Nabiki surprise all three of them by turning around and kissing her sister equally hard. When Nabiki pulled back from her sister, Akane was sitting there with a glazed look in her eyes.

"Whoa," Ranma said, "Some guy is in for a real treat one of these days. You do that almost as well as Akane." He stopped and looked at his wife and said, "Sorry, I did enjoy that. But, uh, Na-chan, not that I'm really complaining but why'd you do that?"

"For loving my sister so much that you came back from the dead for her," Nabiki replied, "For being a good friend to me, even when your prior experiences with the other me should have made you hate me, for saving Kasumi from herself and reminding her that it was okay for her to live her dreams. And to satisfy my curiosity, I guess, about how well you kiss." She finished with just the hint of a blush.

"B-b-but why'd you kiss me?" Akane stammered, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Because you're the best little sister in the world, and I wanted you to know how I feel about you," Nabiki replied. Then she smirked and added, "And besides, I figured if I kissed you, you'd be too stunned to hit either of us. Seriously, sis, you're a real lucky woman, take good care of him."

"Yeah, I know," Akane said.

"I think I'm the lucky one," Ranma said, "But now that we've satisfied your curiosity, Na-chan, and I do mean all of your curiosity, we need to be getting home."

"Yeah, Kasumi is probably getting worried about us," Akane said, "Even though I did tell her that we'd be a little late getting back."

* * *

Akane came back from the hallway where she had answered the phone. "Ranma, that was Kodachi. She said she found Mousse in his cursed form, lying outside their estate, unconscious. The weird thing is he was bound up in pantyhose," she said, "She changed him back, but he's still catatonic. It's like he saw some horrible monster." 

"Sounds like Taro has shown up," Ranma said. He looked up as a battered panda shuffled in, also tied up with several pairs of hose.

The panda held up a sign that read, 'It was horrible. A demon.'

The telephone rang again, this time Ranma went to answer it, while Akane went into the kitchen to find a kettle. When she returned, Ranma had finished the call. She poured the hot water over the panda.

"Damn it girl, why is it always boiling!" Genma screamed.

Akane looked at him innocently and said, "Ooops."

"That was Cologne. The guide there at the springs finally got word to her that the Jusenkyo visitor registry was stolen," Ranma said.

Genma asked, "So what does that mean?"

"Well, probably the pantyhose guy and the thief are one and the same," Ranma replied, "Because one of the things that the robber said to the guide was that he was looking for a man."

"Can you tell us anything about the guy who attacked you?" Akane asked.

"Well, he didn't look like much, really, but the first thing he did was drop a bucket of water on me," Genma replied, "I was beating him rather handily actually, until he got wet. Then he turned into a demon, and that's the last thing I remember before waking up, tied up in these things."

"I wonder why he's come here," Akane said, shooting a glance at her husband.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, the one thing that we know for sure is that he is after victims of Jusenkyo. And I'm the only one he hasn't come after yet, so I guess it'll be my turn soon."

"You must restore the honor of the Saotome clan, Ranma my boy, and avenge my defeat," Genma orated.

"Oh shut up, Pop," Ranma growled.

"What did I ever do to earn such disrespect from my son? After all of the sacrifices that I made to train you for so long. How did I fail so badly," Genma said, just before Ranma tossed him through the open door and into the koi pond.

"Give it a rest, Pop, I'm tired of that line of bull," Ranma said. He turned to Akane and said, "I think we ought to go talk to Cologne and tell her what we know."

* * *

Akane and Ranma walked back from the Nekohaten on the chain link fence, the gloomy sky threatening a downpour. Akane asked, "Ranchan, are you sure you're going to be all right? I remember what you told me about this Taro character." 

"I should be fine," Ranma replied.

"But, your father and Mousse aren't exactly pushovers," Akane said softly, "So Taro must be pretty powerful."

"Not really, unless he gets transformed. When he's human, he's pretty much a lightweight," Ranma replied.

"Well, I'm still going to worry," Akane said.

Ranma chuckled for a second, and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way, Akane. That's one of the things that makes you you. But I am looking forward to this." Right on cue, Ranma looked up to see a figure falling from the sky toward him. As he watched, the figure dumped a bucket of water toward where Ranma was walking. Forewarned, Ranma stepped away avoiding the deluge.

The two of them jumped off the fence, as the caped figure landed near them.

"So, Taro, you've come for me, now?" Ranma asked, "I've been waiting for you."

The figure froze in shock, and then removed his cloak, revealing a reasonably attractive, young man, of around twenty years of age, with wavy, brown hair. He wore his hair with long bangs that hung in his eyes, with two strands of longer, curly hair in front of his ears. In each ear, he was wearing an earring. The young man was wearing a vest and bracers, and oddly enough a sash made out of pantyhose. Taro asked, "How do you know my name?"

Akane did a double-take as she wondered how this slim figure managed to beat Mousse and Genma, until she remembered the cursed form that he had.

"That's not overly important right now," Ranma replied, standing in a relaxed stance, "What is important is why you are attacking people that have Jusenkyo curses."

"I'm trying to find someone who was at Jusenkyo twenty years ago," Taro explained.

"Well, gee, you sure are going about it weird. And here I thought you were the smart one," Akane snapped, "Did Mousse look old enough to be at Jusenkyo twenty years ago? Does Ranma?"

Taro looked puzzled, and asked, "How do you know all this about me?"

Akane took a look at the sky and said, "We need to hurry this up, Ranchan. That rain is getting closer."

Taro growled and said, "Well, it doesn't matter. I came here to beat you up, so I might as well get on with it."

"Well, unlike the others, I'm not that easy to beat," Ranma said, "Besides, I owe you one for attacking Mousse."

"What about getting vengeance for me beating up that old man?" Taro taunted.

Ranma laughed, and said, "Naw, I don't have a problem with that. I consider beating Pop up pretty much a public service, kinda like picking up the trash."

"Less talk, more fight," Taro exclaimed.

Ranma smirked and said, "Bring it on, little man."

As Taro charged, the rain actually came down in sheets. Ranma felt the familiar transformation as she leapt out of the way of the now onrushing monstrous form. As he had told Akane, Taro had fallen into Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan, the spring of drowned yeti holding an eel and crane riding an ox, so he looked like a winged minotaur.

While Taro skidded to a stop, Akane cried, "Genko Fenikusu!" and fired off a ki blast that scorched the minotaur's tail. Taro screeched in anger, just as he felt something sharp scoring his side, creating a series of shallow cuts, which immediately started oozing blood. He turned to that side and saw a red-haired girl standing just out of reach drawing back her hand, spread as if it had claws on it. He paid for his lack of attention as another blast hit him in the opposite side. He sprang into the air, his wings beating furiously, as he soared into the air, hopefully out of the reach of the two girls.

"While this had been fun, Taro, I know who you are hunting for," Ranma yelled, "So once you've decided to play nice, we can talk some more." She spread her fingers out again, and swiped forward, the ki claws from the Neko-ken again raking across Taro's shin.

Taro screeched in anger, and dove at Ranma, his tail lashing only to have a third ki blast knock him hard into one of the buildings across the way. He fell to the pavement.

Ranma cried, "Möko Takabisha!" and a ki blast soared from her hand and slammed Taro against the building again, stunning the minotaur for a moment.

Taro shook his head and ponderously leapt into the air, and started flying off into the distance, screeching as he flew off.

"Well, that went real well," Ranma said in disgust as all of a sudden her arms were filled with a soaking wet Akane. "Hey, you did good, Acchan, we make a pretty good team," Ranma said, just before she was locked in a passionate kiss.

Finally breaking from the embrace, Akane said, huskily, "We need to get you home and into some hot water. And then we're gonna find our bedroom."

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Ranma asked. 'I guess fighting must have turned her on,' she thought smugly, until she realized that her heart was racing from something other than the battle she had just fought.

The two girls raced home.

* * *

Akane rested her head on her husband's chest, as they lay in bed, resting from their exertions. A small crease appeared on her forehead as she frowned. "Do you know why Taro is attacking you?" she asked quietly. 

Ranma asked, sleepily, "Huh? What?"

Akane poked him in the chest, rousing him, and repeated, "Why is Taro here and attacking everyone with a Jusenkyo curse?"

"I never did figure out why he came and attacked us. He was searching for Happosai, but Happosai didn't have a curse, so it never made sense to me," Ranma replied.

"You're right, that is pretty odd. Why is he after Happosai though?" Akane asked.

Ranma stared up at the ceiling for a moment and replied, "It's a long story. But the short answer is that he wants the old freak to change his name. Remember what I told you about him."

Akane frowned for a moment and replied, "That Happosai was at Jusenkyo for some reason, and stumbled across a pregnant woman that was about to give birth. The old freak." She stopped as Ranma chuckled. "Oh stop, now you've got me calling him that. Anyway, he helped with the delivery and then, bathed the newborn in one of the springs, giving him a curse," she finished.

"Yeah, that's the story in a nutshell. Taro doesn't mind changing, he thinks it's pretty cool," Ranma said, "The problem is that the mother asked Happosai to name the baby, because it was her village law that whoever bathes the newborn gets to name it. Well, the jerk thought for three days and three nights, and the best he could come up with was Pantyhose Taro. So he's after Happosai because he's the only one who can change his name to something else, unless he's dead."

"That still doesn't explain why he came here, though," Akane said with a frown.

"I know, it never made sense to me either," Ranma admitted, "But that's what happened before, too. And he developed some sort of a grudge against me, for some reason."

There came a knock on their door. "Ranma, are you in there?" they heard Tofu ask.

"Yeah, Doc, give us a minute, will you?" Ranma replied.

"I just wanted to let you know that dinner was ready," Tofu said.

"Oh, okay, we'll be right down," Akane replied.

* * *

Ranma and Akane came stumbling into the family room, laughing at something one or the other had said and joined the rest of their extended family at the table. Akane smirked at her sister when she saw exactly how close Hinako was to Nabiki. 'I wonder if it's more of an imprinting thing, like baby chicks do with their mother,' she thought to herself. 

Nabiki noticed Akane smirking at her and rolled her eyes. 'Not that again,' she thought, 'I guess pretending to be interested in girls may not have been the best plan.' "What was all of the noise up in your bedroom, sis? There sure was a lot of moaning," she asked, hoping to get a rise out of either of them.

"Nothing really, Nabiki. We were just working out some frustrations," Akane replied, with a faint tinge to her cheeks, "We ran into the guy who attacked Mousse and Mr. Saotome this afternoon, and had a little excess energy to get rid of."

"Oh my, what happened?" Hinako asked, causing everyone else to drop their jaw in surprise.

'Looks like Hi-chan may be spending too much time with Kasumi,' Nabiki thought.

"Oh, nothing much. He attacked me and I dodged him pretty easily. He's got a Jusenkyo curse, and the rain came while he came at me, so it wasn't too hard to get out of his way. But it did get a little exciting. Akane got him good a couple of time with a ki blast, and I used the claws of the Neko-ken to gouge him pretty good. Then to top it off, I hit him with my ki blast and he gave up and flew away," Ranma replied.

"Hm, that explains the patient I had late this afternoon," Tofu said, "I had a young man named Taro, wouldn't give me his first name for some reason. He staggered into the clinic with several gashes and what looked like scorch marks. He had a couple of cracked ribs, too. I patched him up and then he left."

"Must have gotten that when I slammed him into the building," Akane surmised.

"Sounds reasonable," Ranma said.

"Waaa, my baby was fighting a monster. She could have been killed," Soun wailed, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Oh, stop that Daddy. I'm a martial artist, remember. I can take care of myself," Akane snapped, her eyes showing her anger.

"Waaa, now my daughter is angry with me!" Soun wailed again.

Nabiki rolled her eyes at her father's antics and then decided to get back down to business, ignoring the flood of water. "Taro, huh, so that's his name. I wonder why he's attacking other victims of Jusenkyo. You got any ideas, little brother?" she asked, with a knowing smirk at Ranma and Akane.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I don't really know why he's attacking us. He didn't say anything before he attacked, though this might shed some light on the subject." He held up a leatherbound book, which read, that is if anyone in the room could read Chinese, 'Jusenkyo Visitor Registration Log.'

"What's that?" Kasumi asked.

"Don't know that either, but it looks like a list of names, though," Ranma admitted, "He dropped it during the fight when he transformed. While I can speak a little Chinese, I never learned how to read it. I thought I'd take it by Cologne later on."

Nabiki sighed in exasperation. "Ranma, Ranma," she asked, "When are you ever going to learn to bring these little problems to me?"

"You read Chinese?" Akane asked.

"Of course," Nabiki replied, smugly, "China is a big, untapped market for trade. A girl has to get prepared, that is if she wants to get ahead, now doesn't she?"

Ranma said, dryly, "I should have known." He handed the book across the table to her.

"Hmm," Nabiki said, after glancing at the cover, "This is the Jusenkyo Visitor's Registry. A list of all of the people who visited the valley in the last thirty years. And looking at the way that the names have been marked out, it looks like this Taro person has been systematically tracking each of them down. There's only one name left. It's a little hard to make out, but." She gasped, and said, "Well, what do you know, it's Happosai."

"So what does Taro want with the Master?" Soun gasped.

"He doesn't want the master, cause that's me. He wants Happosai," Ranma snapped.

"My son-in-law growled at me," Soun wailed.

"Would you stop that, Daddy!" Kasumi exclaimed, her patience beginning to come to an end.

"I guess I'll have to ask him that the next time I run into him," Ranma said, carefully keeping his face blank.

Nabiki gave him a look that said she didn't believe him, and that she would be tracking him down for the truth. She turned to Hinako and asked, "Hi-chan, did you remember to give notice at your old school?"

"Yes, they know that March 26th will be my last day there," Hinako said softly, "That will give us the chance to finish my cure before school starts again on April 6th. I am so looking forward to that. I'll be able to leave these fish at home and start my life anew." She gazed intently at Nabiki and mouthed the words, "Thank you, Na-chan."

Nabiki smiled gently at her friend, hoping that indeed the treatments she was receiving would cure her.

* * *

Akane squealed in surprise from where she was straddling her husband as she heard the door behind her open, and dove for the safety of the covers, pulling them up over the two of them. "I thought you locked the door," she hissed. 

"I thought I did, too," Ranma said, blushing as Nabiki entered the room and shut the door.

Nabiki blushed as she saw the flash of skin, just before it disappeared under the covers. "Sorry, guys, I guess I should have knocked," she said, "But I saw the light on and wanted to talk some more."

Ranma sat up in the bed, exposing his chest. "What is it now, sis? We were a little busy," he asked, acidly.

Nabiki's eyes widened slightly as took in his muscular frame, and licked her lips involuntarily. "I know you know what Taro wants with Happosai," she said slowly, "And I can understand why you can't let the rest of the family know that you do."

"Yeah, I can just picture the scene," Akane said, as she rolled over to glare at her sister for her untimely interruption. "They'd think we were crazy. I wish you hadn't figured it out myself, but there's no use crying over spilt milk," she continued.

Ranma groused, "You know, I just had this conversation with Akane this very afternoon. It would have saved time if you'd been here for it then. Though, now that I think about it, it would have been just as awkward then for you to have been involved." He blushed as he realized exactly where her eyes were resting and he pulled his pillow around and placed it in his lap.

"Sis, would you mind not looking at my husband that way?" Akane asked, a little heatedly, "And stop licking your lips. He's not a piece of meat."

"Oh, but he does look good enough to eat," Nabiki breathed. She closed her eyes for a moment and thought to herself, 'Focus, girl. This isn't like you. Must be all of the pheremones flying around the room.' "Sorry, sis," Nabiki said.

Ranma smirked and said, "See something you like, Nabs? It looks like you're pointing at me without using your hands."

Akane swatted his shoulder, and exclaimed, "Ranma! You're not supposed to be looking at her."

"Hey, turnabout is fair play, she started it anyway," Ranma said with a mock pout. He grew serious and said, "Okay, you're right. I do know what Taro wants the old freak for. Happosai was at Jusenkyo when Taro was born and bathed him in one of the springs so that's why the poor sap has a curse. But, the real curse is that the pervert is the one who named him. And Taro has a point; his first name is a major embarrassment. He wants to find Happosai to force him to change his name."

"So what's so horrible about his name?" Nabiki asked.

"This is Happosai we're talking about, and he wanted to come up with a name that meant a great deal to him. And you know what his favorite things are, don't you?" Akane related, "The name he came up with is Pantyhose."

"Pantyhose!" Nabiki exclaimed, her jaw dropping for a moment.

"Flies, Nabiki, flies," Akane said gently.

"Damn, that's really bad," Nabiki said, sympathetically, "I can see why he's after him. I just wonder why it's taken him this long to start tracking him down."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I never knew, but I guess he got shot down by some girl when she found out his first name."

Nabiki winced and said, "Yeah that would probably send someone over the edge. So, I guess you'll tell him where to find Happosai, and hope that takes care of it?"

"Yeah, if I can get him to stand still long enough for me to tell him. Granted, I wasn't the most sympathetic guy the last time, but he had a real chip on his shoulder when it came to me for some reason," Ranma replied, "I'd like to change that if possible."

"You can't fix everything," Akane said, softly.

"True, nor am I really going to try," Ranma said, "And a lot of the craziness won't happen this time anyway, because I've changed enough already."

Nabiki said, "Thanks for telling me the truth, you two. I hope you know that I'm here to help." She smirked at them and said, "And I suppose I'd better leave so you two can get back to entertaining yourself."

"Wait, sis," Akane said, "Before you go. I just want to say that you need to be careful with Hinako. Don't hurt her."

Nabiki's eyes softened and she sighed. "We've talked, sis. She does love me, but not that way. She sees me as her sister, and friend," she said, "She never really had anyone once she left her parents, and I guess I filled a void in her life."

"Just don't let her use you as a crutch," Ranma urged, "She has to grow up sometime."

Nabiki's eyes danced with hidden mirth and she turned to leave. "You two be careful too, I'm not quite ready to be an Auntie," she said, "And maybe you should lock the door, next time."

Ranma smirked at her and said, "I did. Or wasn't that a lockpick in your hand when you came in."

Nabiki chuckled and walked to the door and opened it. She turned and said, "You two have fun," and shut the door behind her.

"Now where were we?" Akane asked.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Nabiki was leaning against the wall, her eyes damp. 'Akane, I am so jealous of you, do you really know what you have?' she thought. Then she brightened as she headed to her room to join Hinako.

* * *

Ranma quietly stood guard during lunch as they sat around the courtyard at school, his casual stance fooling no one as his piercing blue eyes scanned the area. He had already asked Akane to brief their friends on the events of the day before. 'This is starting to get on my nerves,' he thought, not listening to his wife as she told the story, 'I really expected him to attack on the way to school, but I never saw hide nor hair of him in either of his forms. Surely I didn't scare him off. Besides, I have that register, so he won't know who the last name is. He has to come back.' He was brought back into the conversation as he heard Kodachi growl in anger. 

"So, you're saying that the man who attacked my darling Msu Tse is really going after Ranma's old master?" Kodachi asked.

"He was **never** my master, Dachi," Ranma said calmly.

"Going after our father's old master, yes, that's what it appears to be,"Akane replied.

Kodachi said coldly, "Then that Taro is a dishonorable coward as well as a thief. When my darling woke up from his stupor, he said he was on his way home from the restaurant, when suddenly a bucket of cold water was poured on him. Before he even had a chance to get free of his garments, this horrific monstrosity had attacked him, and after administering a beating that left him unconscious, left him tied up in those disgustingly cheap nylons. They weren't even a good brand." She stood up proudly, and swore with her eyes flashing dangerously, "On my honor as the wife of Msu Tse of the Joketsuzoku and a member of the house of Kuno, I will get my vengeance on this man. No one hurts my beloved with impunity." As she spoke, a strange chill wind blew through the area, which caused them to shiver, yet left the leaves on the trees unmoved.

"I don't know, sugar, sounds like he might be pretty tough to beat, at least once he transforms," Ukyo said, thoughtfully. After a moment, she reached into her bag and pulled out a whetstone, and began to hone the edge of her large battle spatula. "Don't want a dull edge on this, but if it gets too sharp, it might stick," she said. She began whistling tunelessly as she worked.

"I'd work on your distance weapons," Akane said softly, "I don't think you really want to get too close to him, at least once he transforms."

Shampoo smiled nastily, and said, "Great grandmother give Shampoo something before Shampoo come to school." She held up a plastic bottle of what appeared to be detergent. "Need hot water and container is all," she added, "Waterproof soap in liquid form."

"Hot water balloons," Ranma said absently.

"What was that, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked.

"We need hot water, maybe in some thermos jugs, and balloons," Ranma replied, expanding his earlier comment.

"So while some of us are distracting him, the rest of us hit him with hot water," Akane said, "Then with the waterproof soap, he can't transform into that flying minotaur. He won't be able to fly off this time."

"And then we **talk** to him," Ranm asaid, still keeping constant vigilance.

"But what about my vengeance?" Kodachi asked.

Ranma chuckled dryly, and asked, "What do you think would happen to him if he went and visited Happosai in your village, Shampoo? Especially if they knew about his cowardly attack on Mousse."

"Shampoo not sure. We no like strange people coming to village. Only those brought by Jusenkyo guide or other allies are allowed in," the Amazon replied, slowly, "He probably get attacked. If beat Amazon woman, he become husband, if lose, he become slave."

"I'm not sure there's much of a difference," Ranma said, sotta voce, "At least not in that village."

"Besides, we still have to knock him out long enough to tie him up so we can explain the facts," Akane said, "So you'll get a few good hits in on him, I'm sure. Do you still have your toys?"

Kodachi smiled thinly and replied, "Yes, when Msu Tse darling was hurt, I dug them out of my hope chest where I had stored them."

Akane giggled and said, with a smile, "Dachi, you're weird. Most girls store their wedding kimono and things like that in a hope chest."

"Oh, those are in the other one," Kodachi said, "This one is where I store all of my playtoys, you know silk ropes, leather costume, spiked heels, a riding crop, you know things for me to have fun with." She looked at the stunned faces in front of her.

"Shampoo not know Mousse liked that kind of thing," Shampoo said.

"Kinky," Yuka whispered.

"Just kidding," Kodachi said with a saucy smile, "I'm not into that lifestyle, either. I kept all of my weapons from when I was the Black Rose in a chest in my greenhouse."

"Well, damn," Ranma said, with a wink at Akane, "I was hoping we could borrow some of that stuff."

Akane punched Ranma in the arm. "We already have most of it, honey," Akane purred, causing Ranma to react, "Remember the clothing that we had to wear during your training." She looked pensive for a moment and then added, "Don't think we've got a riding crop though."

"Ranchan, Akane, I can't, I mean, I never, you aren't," Ukyo stammered, as she blushed.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and broke out laughing. "You're right, Dachi, they are just too easy," Akane said.

Ranma relaxed slightly as the bell rang, and everyone gathered up their stuff and headed back into the school building. He still made sure that he was the last one of the group to enter the doorway. He turned and took one last look as the door closed behind him. 'Still no sign of him,' he thought.

* * *

Ranma leaned against the bleachers, pretending to watch the girls play softball, but again, in reality he was scanning the area for any sighting of Taro. Daisuke and Hiroshi on the other hand, while pretending to scan the area for signs of anything strange, were actually enraptured by the two girls who had caught their fancy. Ranma saw where they were looking and simply shook his head. 'Boys,' he thought, "When will those two ever grow up.' Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he saw someone jump over the wall and start running toward them. He smiled in anticipation as he nudged Hiroshi and said, "Stop drooling over your girlfriend and tell Shampoo he's here." 

Hiroshi nodded and took off running toward the dugout where Shampoo was sitting. Once he got close enough, he yelled, "Ranma says that he's here!"

Shampoo nodded and trotted off to the gym, and the locker room. Ranma smiled in anticipation as he made his way over to greet the oncoming figure.

"Hello, Taro," Ranma said calmly as he neared Taro, "You look like Doc patched you up pretty good after yesterday."

"Right, fem-boy, I want that book back," Taro said.

Ranma chuckled and said, "You know, I might have cared about being called that once, but not now. There's no real need for us to fight."

"Not so tough when your girlfriend isn't around," Taro taunted.

Ranma sighed and said, "You just don't get it do you. There's nothing for me to gain by fighting you. Frankly, you aren't in my league."

Taro's face flushed with anger. "This was supposed to be for you, cross-dresser," he spat as he pulled a bucket out from behind him and poured it over his head.

Ranma looked sad for a moment, and then said, "You truly are a fool."

The minotaur growled and charged, only to see his target elude him.

Ranma landed behind the transformed boy and watched as Taro was surrounded by a bevy of girls. First, Ukyo stung the beast with several carefully placed throwing spatulas, one of which got perilously close to a particular portion of the monster's anatomy. In fact, he froze for a second realizing that he had almost been gelded. Kodachi was also in her element, using her spiked clubs, several of which had torn large chunks out of the beast's hide. Akane was merely content to throw the occasional ki blast at Taro, while they waited for Shampoo to arrive.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men are oft gone astray. Taro ponderously took to the air, his wings beating furiously. He flew over to where Sayuri and Yuka were standing next to their boyfriends.

"Go away!"Hiroshi screamed as he stood in front of Sayuri, trying not to show any fear.

Daisuke was frozen in terror, staring at the monster in front of him.

Taro grabbed Yuka wih one taloned claw and started to fly away, hoping that the girl would be a shield. Soon he was nearly forty meters above the ground.

Shampoo came rushing out of the gym, and took in the situation at a glance. She aimed carefully and sent several water balloons at the beast flying away. Most of them hit, and suddenly, the minotaur transformed back into Taro.

Wingless, the force of gravity prevailed and Taro began to fall to the ground. With a wicked grin, he dropped Yuka.

Yuka screamed as she fell, knowing that the sudden stop at the end was really going to hurt. To her surprise, she felt someone hug her, and say, "I've got you, don't worry." She opened her eyes to see that Akane was holding her. Within seconds, she felt the small shock as they landed on the ground. Once safely on the ground, the two girls embraced and then turned to see what had happened to Taro.

Ranma walked over to the small crater and stared down impassively at the semi-conscious boy. "Taro, you just crossed over the line with me. You can attack me all you want, I'm a martial artist and I can take care of myself. But when you start picking on a noncombatant like Yuka, you've gone entirely too far." Taro stared back at him, his eyes still glazed, unaware of his unclothed state.

The girls also walked over and stared down, with Ukyo, Akane and Yuka blushing furiously at the naked boy at the bottom of the pit. Kodachi merely sniffed and said, "That's certainly much ado about nothing."

Shampoo walked up with a blanket and tossed it down to him. Taro shakily stood up and wrapped the blanket around him, restoring a small semblance of modesty. He clambered out of the small pit, and then bent over, as blood started gushing from his lips.

"Damn, he's got some internal injuries, I bet," Ranma said.

"Those ribs I cracked yesterday," Akane said, paling.

"We need to get him to a doctor," Ranma said.

"But we shouldn't move him if it's one of his ribs," Akane said.

Shampoo backed away slightly, her face an unreadable mask as she saw what she had done.

"Already taken care of," Kodachi said, smugly, as she put her cell phone back in her pocket, "Got an ambulance on the way right now."

Ranma looked at the still somewhat ashen faced Yuka and asked, "Are you okay, Yuka?"

"I'm a little shaky," she admitted, just asDaisuke reached her. She threw herself into his arms with abandon, as he began to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Yuka, I froze, I couldn't protect you," he babbled, "And then when he dropped you, I thought I'd lost you."

Ranma turned toDaisuke and said, simply, "If you had tried to fight him, you would have lost. You aren't a fighter,Daisuke, so Taro would have had you for lunch, and he would have seriously hurt you."

The paramedics arrived then and chased the youths back. Quickly analyzing the situation, the two medical workers had Taro on a stretcher and then took him away to the local hospital.

Ranma felt sick to his stomach as he walked back toward the school with his wife and their friends. 'That wasn't exactly what I intended to have happen,' he thought, with just a little feeling of disgust, 'though, he didn't need to try and snatch Yuka. But it does seem to be a habit, after all, last time he took off with Akane.'

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, another offering to my Gentle Readers. I only hope that you are enjoying this as much as I am in writing this, well no so little, tale. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. I have a few comments to specific reviews below: 

Lokichaosgod: Nope, Nabiki won't be a couple with Hinako. I have other plans for both of them. VEG

Van: You should have seen me when I was trying to write it. I was laughing so hard I could barely find the keys on the keyboard.

Ss4-link: I always try to throw a few curveballs in my writing. Always expect the unexpected, you'll never know what will pop out of my twisted mind.

Manika: Nabiki and Hinako do make a cute couple, and they will get together, just not romantically involved, but that's for a different chapter.

Silver Warrior: Exactly! And fortunately, Chardin got the lifetime pill.

Xero Reflux Strike: I didn't think it was a rule either, but I did see several stories pulled and that was the reason they were given.

Amasaki Reyoko: Thank you, as I take a bow. I have a very fertile, if warped, imagination, which gets inspiration from some of the oddest places. Yes, Chardin got the lifetime pill.

Tamika: Yep, Nabiki is suspicious, and this chapter the house of cards falls apart. I'm glad you like my stories.

Majinbuu7985: Which RPG were you talking about? What is the story? As for InuYasha, there's a little plot bunny running around in my head of a scene between the tow of them. I'm just waiting for it to mature a bit.

Psycho King: Yeah, that was pretty creepy arc. Especially when Chardin kissed Ranma-chan, and nearly swallowed her head. Yeech!

Wharpt: Yes, that was the first treatment. And I always thought that Akane was the one with the perverted thoughts. I agree, a two or three page story followed by thousands of words of comments is annoying. I find that I can't even read those any more.

Wonderbee31: Yep, this Ranma does have more than two working brain cells

Khimenko Victor: Thank you very much. I have gone back and corrected that in chapter 46. I definitely want to be as accurate as I can with the culture.

Shinigami: Her prince hasn't shown up, yet, but we're getting close. Taro made it in this chapter, and will finish in the next.

SlickRCBD: On the other hand, he didn't want to go through the martial arts dining training scenario again, so he decided that this was the lesser of two evils.

Celestial lelila: Thank you. Taro as you saw showed up. And yes, I fully intend to do the Ryugenzawa story, once I've figured out where I want to be different.

Dennisud: I'm honored that you find my story enjoyable. As with all of the characters, I've tried to show Akane maturing at least some.


	48. The Demon, Part II

Chapter 48 The Demon, Part II

A frantic, red-haired girl, rushed into the Emergency Room of Nerima General Hospital. She stopped for a moment to get oriented and saw a small discreet sign over a counter that read 'Admitting.' She walked over to the counter and found an extremely harried reception clerk, filling out a form. "Excuse me, Miss," the girl asked, in a slightly panicked voice, "Is my brother here? The paramedics said they were bringing him here from school."

"There was a young man brought in here about an hour ago from Furinkan High School. We don't know who he is, he was naked, except for a blanket and didn't have any identification," the clerk said. She looked surprisingly grateful. The clerk thought, 'Our anonymous patient. If this is his sister, I can get a name for him, and get the records filed correctly. That would be so much better than trying to fix it after they are filed.'

The girl sighed in relief and said, in a soft voice, "That sounds like it is my brother Taro. That's the only name he uses by the way."

The receptionist looked annoyed for a second and then shrugged. She crossed out the alias that she had entered on the form, and wrote 'No First Name' in that block, and then 'Taro' in the 'family name' block. "Well, that's better than nothing," she muttered under her breath.

"Can you tell me where he is?" the girl asked.

"He should still be in the operating theatre," the clerk replied, in a not unkind voice, looking at the obviously worried young girl, "If you'd like, there's a small waiting room through that set of doors where you can stay. One of the doctors can fill you in on how he is doing when they get a chance."

"Thank you," the girl said, as she swung a small backpack off her shoulder, "I brought some of his things with me."

"Just take them with you," the clerk replied, "Once he gets out of the theatre and into a room, someone will come find you."

The girl pushed the door to the waiting room open and walked in. There she found a young, female, police officer listening patiently to a be-spectacled intern.

"Excuse me," the girl said hesitantly, "The receptionist said I should wait in here. And that maybe I could find out how my brother is."

"Your brother?" the officer asked, her gray eyes lighting up.

"Yes, Miss," the girl replied, "That is my brother Taro in there, I believe. He only goes by the one name."

"Well, Doctor Tanaka was just telling me that he'll be fine. It'll be a while before he can get out of here, but he was very lucky. The rib that broke only grazed his lung, instead of punching through. It did enough damage though that it did cause some internal bleeding," the officer said, "I'm Officer Eri Takugami."

The girl bowed politely first to the doctor and then to the officer. "My name is Ranko," she said, "I brought some of his things."

"The amazing thing is that he isn't hurt more than he is," Tanaka added, "Aside from sprained ankles and knees, the only other thing we could find is some spinal compression, and a severely bruised kidney. He should have been dead, or at least have broken his legs when he landed. The paramedics told us that there was about a three meter impact crater where he landed."

"He is a martial artist, of some skill," the girl replied, "And one of the things that they are taught is how to land from a great height." She shrugged causing the doctor to blush slightly as his eyes followed her top, and added, "Though, I suppose he is lucky. Falling as far as he did is perhaps not something that I would like to do."

"He should be out of the theatre in about another half-hour or so, we were just closing him up when I came out here," Tanaka said, "Unless you have any questions, I need to get back."

"No, I'm done for now," the officer said, handing him her card, "If I think of any others, I'll give you a call."

The intern bowed and walked through a different set of doors that led into the scrub room. The officer turned and said, "I hope you can answer some questions for me."

"I'll try," Ranko stammered.

"Well, first of all, how did he end up nude, in the middle of the softball field, with what appears to be damage that could only be caused by him falling from a great height?" the officer asked.

"That's sort of difficult to answer," Ranko said softly. She paused as if to gather her thoughts and asked, "Do you believe in magic?"

"I'm a rational person, so no, I don't believe in magic," the officer replied stiffly.

"Then this isn't going to be easy at all," Ranko said, worriedly. Again, there was a long pause and then the girl sighed. She said, "This is going to sound very strange, but here goes. Taro is from the Quing Hai province in China. There is an infamous martial arts training ground near there in the valley of Jusenkyo, full of spring-fed pools."

"That's all very interesting but what does it have to do with what happened today?" the officer asked, her patience beginning to fray.

"I'm getting there. Anyway, if you fall in one of those pools, you end up being cursed to transform into whatever drowned in the pool," Ranko replied, "Taro fell in Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan, the spring of drowned yeti holding an eel and crane riding an ox, so when he gets splashed with cold water, he turns into a winged minotaur. And when he gets hit with hot water, he transforms back."

"You seriously expect me to believe that?" the officer asked, her good humor all but gone.

"You asked what happened. He showed up at the high school today to pick a fight with one of the local martial artists. In the process, he changed into his cursed form, which is why he wasn't wearing any clothing. He started losing the fight badly, though, and decided to escape. Unfortunately, he decided to take a hostage with him. Well, one of the others there took exception to that and hit him with several hot water balloons. He was about thirty meters or so above the ground when he transformed back, and he lost against the pull of gravity," Ranko replied.

"How many people saw this?" the officer asked.

"Well, the three girls fighting him, the martial artist he came to attack, who actually never fought him, the girl he flew off with," Ranko replied.

"Names?" the officer asked.

"Uh, Ranma Saotome, his wife Akane, Ukyo Kuonji, Kodachi Kuno, Shampoo," Ranko recited.

The officer looked up and snorted, "Shampoo, huh?" and shook her head. Then the rest of the names sunk in and she asked, "Ukyo Kuonji, the young girl who runs Ucchan's?"

"Uh, yeah," Ranko replied.

"And Kodachi Kuno," the officer groaned. Then her eyes widened and she said, "Wait a minute. I've heard Souta, he's the brother of a friend of mine, talk about a red-haired girl that used to go to Furinkan High School, who had a reputation of being a pretty good martial artist. And her name was Ranma Saotome." She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Now who are you really?"

The girl sighed and said, "I guess I'm busted."

The officer surprised her by laughing heartily, and then said, "Yeah, I'd say you're busted. Probably a D-cup, if I was guessing."

The girl looked down at her impressive chest and blushed. "That's so not what I meant," she said, "My name is really Ranma Saotome, and actually I'm the martial artist he wanted to fight today."

"Wait a minute, you said Ranma and his wife," the officer said, faintly.

"Yeah, I'm really a guy," Ranma said dryly as the officer sat down hard in one of the chairs. Ranma walked over to the coffee machine and filled up a cup with hot water. She poured it over her head, wincing at the heat, and the officer's jaw dropped as the very cute redhead grew taller, and her hair darkened into black. There in front of her was now a medium height, very attractive, young man, wearing a dress.

"So that story was true. Souta said something about that and I didn't believe it. I thought he was just pulling my leg," the officer stammered, as Ranma got some cold water and changed back.

"Yeah, every bit of it," Ranma replied, dryly.

The officer groaned and said, "The people down at the station will never believe it."

"Sorry, Takugami-san," Ranma said, "But I won't lie to you." She had the decency to blush and added, "Well, at least not any more."

"So why'd you come here?" Eri asked.

Ranma frowned and said, "I felt a little responsible for his injuries, and wanted to make sure he was okay. And the friends that were with me were worried about him, too."

"But why the act?" Eri asked.

"I figured that if I pretended to be a family member, I might have an easier time getting answers. And I've found that most people don't mind talking to my girl side," Ranma replied.

"That's assuming they can see past your boobs, you mean" Eri said dryly.

Ranma grinned and said, "Well, they have to be good for something. It's not like they'll ever be used for what they were made for."

Eri giggled for several seconds. After she regained her composure, she asked, "Why did he attack you?"

Ranma replied, "Haven't a clue. I never met him before yesterday. He attacked me then, and Akane and I beat him off. That's when he cracked his ribs, by the way. Also, I need to give the orderly that takes care of him some soap."

Eri looked confused.

"I have some soap that will keep Taro from transforming when cold water hits him, though it's only good for a short time. I figured it wouldn't be too good if he transformed with all of his injuries. If nothing else, the sutures would probably pull out," Ranma explained.

Eri looked worried for a moment and then sighed. "I'll tell the doctors. Would you mind showing them your transformation? They'll probably not believe me otherwise."

"Yeah, I don't have a problem with that. While I think Taro is an ass, I don't want him to die because of something that I had a hand in," Ranma replied.

* * *

Ranma eased the door to the hospital room open and walked in, closely followed by his wife. Taro was leaning up against the headboard of the narrow bed. 

"Come to gloat, have you?" Taro sneered.

"Why should I do that?" Ranma responded, coolly, "I just came by to see how you were."

"Why should you give a damn about me?" Taro asked, equally cold.

Ranma grinned and replied, "Actually, I don't give a damn about you, to be honest. Quite frankly, I thought you got what you deserved for attacking us, grabbing Yuka, and then dropping her. You crossed a line there that you shouldn't have crossed."

Taro growled, "I didn't drop her because I wanted to. I just couldn't hold her when I changed back."

"You shouldn't have had her up in the air in the first place," Ranma snarled, "She isn't even a fighter. You had no business doing what you did!"

"So I should have grabbed your girlfriend, instead?" Taro sneered.

Ranma took a deep breath. 'Soul of Ice, Ranma,' he thought. In a voice cold enough to freeze nitrogen, he said, "You touch my **wife **and that'll be the last thing you do."

"Touched a nerve, did I, fem-boy?" Taro asked, in a mocking tone.

"Not really, jerk," Akane growled, "Cause I'll take you out myself."

Ranma sighed and said, "You're awfully cocky for someone who's as battered as you are. You really don't want to go for round three with me. Which brings me to the real reason I came by. Why did you attack me in the first place?"

"I was hunting for a man, and I wanted to find out if it was you," Taro replied, "The man who cursed me when I was an infant."

"Okay, and attacking me is the plan that you had to find out. Not a particularly good plan. Akane had a good point. Do I look old enough to be whoever you're hunting for?" Ranma asked, in a mocking tone.

"Well, no, now that you mention it, you don't. But, the names on the registry didn't have any dates, so I didn't know when you'd been there. For all I knew, you'd fallen into the spring of young boy," Taro said defensively, "And that you really were an old man."

"Uh, that was cold water you tried to hit me with," Ranma reminded him.

"It started out as hot, it just took me a while to find you," Taro admitted.

Ranma shook his head in disbelief at the arrogant stupidity of the man in the bed. "I'm seventeen. So obviously, I'm not the one who cursed you. Secondly, that doesn't explain why you tried to attack me yesterday. You knew what my curse was then," he said.

"No, that was for two reasons. One you had the registry, and two, for the beating you gave me the day before," Taro explained.

"Did you ever think to just ask?" Akane asked, "We would have given the book back to you. It doesn't mean anything to us, and we don't care about whomever you're searching for. Especially, since we know who it is."

"You do?" Taro exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, we do. His name is Happosai. So are you wanting to track him down because he gave you that curse?" Ranma responded.

"Uh uh, don't get me wrong, I like having the power of a monster," Taro replied, "I hate him for doing something far worse to me."

Ranma and Akane traded looks, already knowing the answer. "So, what is it? What's worse than transforming?" Ranma asked.

"After bathing me in that cursed spring, that man, you called him Happosai, didn't you? Anyway, that old freak did the worst thing that you can imagine," Taro said, and then hesitated.

"Well, what is it?" Ranma asked, "We can't help you if you don't tell us."

"It is," Taro said, "None of your business."

"Hey, don't get bullheaded with us, Taro. You made it our business when you attacked my friends and me," Ranma said, an exasperated look in his eyes.

Taro frowned quickly as Akane stifled an inappropriate giggle.

"Like he said, after everything that you've put us through, you sure the hell can't say it's none of our business now," Akane growled.

Taro sighed and said, "Okay, you've got a point. Well, the short story is because of our tribal traditions, the person who first bathes a baby gets to name it. That honor got bestowed on that stupid pervert Happosai. I have no idea what he was thinking but I was told that after three days and nights he finally came up with a name. A name so horrible, that I want to scream."

"That's okay, Taro. If it's that bad, you don't need to tell us," Ranma said.

"But if you hate your name so badly, why don't you change it?" Akane asked.

"Hey stupid, do you think that I would go through all of this if I could?" Taro replied, angrily, "There's another stupid tradition that says only the person who names me can change the name."

"What if he's dead?" Akane asked.

Taro looked at her horrorstruck, and said, "Please don't tell me that. If he's dead, I'm stuck with this name forever."

Akane and Ranma looked at each other with a confused expression on their faces. 'That's odd, I thought that if he was dead, then Taro could change his name,' Ranma thought. "Are you sure about that?" Ranma asked.

"Positive," Taro replied, looking positively miserable at the idea that Happosai might not be alive.

"Well, then I guess, the good news is that he isn't dead. The bad news is that he is a prisoner of the Joketsuzoku," Ranma told him.

"That is bad news indeed," Taro said, "I've heard many tales of that tribe. None of them good."

"When you get out of the hospital, talk to Elder Cologne at the Nekohaten, she's a member of the ruling council. Perhaps she may be able to help you," Ranma said.

Taro looked at him suspiciously and said, "Why are you helping me? How did you know this Happosai person?"

Ranma frowned for a moment and replied, "I helped the Amazons capture him after he freed himself from where he had been confined for a very long time. Other than that, I'd never met him." 'At least not this time around,' he thought, 'so that's not a total lie.' "Anyway, the Amazons punished him, and took him back to their village."

"That didn't anwer the first question though. After what I did to you, why are you helping me?" Taro persisted.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Mostly because I don't carry a grudge. I don't know why you decided to attack me, or my friends; don't really care to be honest. I figure you ending up in here is punishment enough for what you did, so why hold what you did against you. Mind you, if you go try hurting someone who can't protect themselves, like Yuka, then I'll have to take steps."

"You're awfully arrogant, aren't you, fem-boy?" Taro sneered.

"It isn't arrogance if you can back it up," Ranma replied, calmly, though his eyes narrowed just a bit.

Akane reached out and grabbed Ranma's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I think we'd better leave before the testostorone levels in this room get any higher," Akane said, "I doubt we'll see much of you again, Taro, but good luck with Cologne and getting Happosai to change your name." She practically dragged Ranma out of the room, and closed the door.

Ranma whirled on her in anger, not even quite sure why he was angry. "What'd you go and do that for?" he growled.

"Because you were getting mad at him and he's not worth it," Akane said quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation, "Please, let's not fight over him."

Ranma stared at her coldly for a second and then spat, "Then you shouldn't have humiliated me like that in front of him by pulling me out of the room." He tried to go into the Umi-Ken-Sen and vanish in front of her, but his anger prevented him. "Damn," he said, as Akane began to get angry as well, so he did the only thing he could do and run down the hallway.

"Ranma Saotome! You get back here right now!" Akane hissed loudly.

"No," Ranma shot back over his shoulder, "I can't talk to you right now, because I'll say something stupid and really make us have a fight. You go home while I find a place to calm down." He disappeared through the door to the outside and turned a corner and vanished from her sight.

Akane sagged back against the wall of the hospital, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

Ranma walked tentatively into the Tendo home, and was relieved to find Kasumi standing there. He cringed a little at the look the normally placid woman was giving him, though. 

"Fix it!" Kasumi hissed, her eyes narrowed in anger, a look so unlike her that Ranma actually quailed in fear.

"Where is she?" Ranma asked.

"In the dojo, and from the sounds of things, she hasn't completely cooled down from whatever happened between you," Kasumi said, frostily, "So what did happen?"

Ranma sighed unhappily and replied, "We had a fight, what else? Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go face the music."

Kasumi said softly, "After Akane came storming in, and Daddy started crying, I chased everyone else away. So no one else is home, except for my husband."

Ranma took a deep breath and smiled his thanks as he headed passed her.

Kasumi stood aside as Ranma left the house and made his way to the dojo. As he neared, he could hear the sound of his wife breaking concrete blocks, which was barely covering the sound of her voice as she cursed. He slid the door to the dojo open and entered onto a scene of total devastation. There where concrete blocks shattered, no more accurately pulverized, several of the sparring dummies were nearly destroyed beyond recognition, and pieces of broken lumber were everywhere. He knelt down and said, "I'm sorry, Akane. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. I was a total idiot, you were right to do what you did."

Akane sank down to her knees and hugged herself, her gi covered with dust from the concrete, her face muddy with tear tracks. She looked down at the floor and said in a small voice, "Maybe so, but I could have handled it better. The fight was just as much my fault as yours. And I hate to admit it, but you were right to run off. We would have stood there screaming at each other and made things worse if you hadn't."

Ranma reached around and handed her a small bouquet of flowers that he had been blocking from view. "These are for you, sort of an apology," he said softly, "I was afraid that I had lost you because of my stupidity."

"Let's not do that again for awhile," Akane said as she hiccupped, "I never knew my heart could hurt that much."

"Am I forgiven, or am I sleeping on the floor tonight?" Ranma asked.

Akane opened her arms in a welcoming hug that he gratefully accepted with a choked back sob.

With a tired laugh, he said, "You don't know how happy I was when I got home and my things weren't outside the door."

"Kasumi took one look at me when I stormed into the house and wouldn't let me go upstairs. She basically all but ordered me into the dojo," Akane replied, a little sheepishly.

Ranma said, softly, "I guess I need to find a way to thank her for that." He sighed and continued, "After I got over my anger, I felt so hollow inside. I don't like fighting with you and I felt like I had let us down."

"All couples have misunderstandings," Akane said, "We just have to remember that we love each other." She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips, only to have him pull her to him and return the kiss with interest.

* * *

Kasumi stood watching as Ranma entered the dojo, the bouquet of flowers clutched desperately in his hand. 'I hope they can work whatever this was out,' she thought, 'Akane hasn't been this angry since Ranma arrived.' She shook her head as she resolved to stay out of it. 'They have to do this on their own, as much as it hurts me to watch them, they'll never be able to stand on their feet if I interfere,' she thought sadly. She returned to hanging up the sheets on the line stretched from the house to the wall, until she noticed an ominous silence coming from the dojo, a silence that was suddenly broken by a loud scream and then another. Kasumi rushed toward the dojo, glancing in the window as she passed, and then came to a complete halt as the glimpse she had caught registered. 

"Oooh, Ranma," Kasumi heard her sister moan, as she stood there watching for a second.

'Oh my,' Kasumi thought, as her face turned beet red, as she watched her sister entwined with Ranma, their bodies moving together. 'Is that position even possible? Akane certainly is, um,' she thought, as she saw the radiant glow on her sister's face. She backed away quickly, hoping that neither of them had seen her. 'I guess they worked whatever it was out,' she thought, just before she began to giggle. Then a wicked smile passed across her face as she wondered where her husband was, and decided to go find him. 'Dinner will just be a little late,' she thought with a throaty laugh, 'Somehow I don't think those two will mind, either.'

* * *

Akane knelt down at the dinner table a little gingerly and hoped that no one had seen her wince. Even after sitting in the furo until the water had started to cool hadn't helped with her sore muscles. 

Ranma glanced over at his wife, a self-satisfied smirk warring with the concerned look in his eyes. He asked, quietly, "Are you okay?"

"Just a little tender," Akane hissed back, "I knew we shouldn't have tried that last position this soon."

Tofu walked in from with a slightly glazed look in his eyes as he sat down across the table from the young couple, totally oblivious to what was going on. Sitting unnoticed, was a small smudge of lipstick on one side of his jaw, and what appeared to be an interesting bruise peeking out from the collar of his slightly rumpled shirt. His top collar button also appeared to be missing.

Kasumi glided in serenely from the kitchen carrying a large tray of food that she set down on the table before kneeling down before it. "Sorry dinner was late. Something arose and I needed to take care of it," she said.

Ranma traded a knowing glance with his wife and replied, "No problem, Kasumi. Akane and I had, er, a few things to work out."

"Did you two fix whatever was troubling the two of you?" Kasumi asked, as she passed around the bowls of soup, and then handed everyone a large bowl of rice.

"Yeah, we did," Akane replied, as she reached over to squeeze her husband's hand.

Ranma took a bite of his rice, just as Kasumi asked, blithely, "And I've always heard that makeup sex is great. Is that true?" He spit his rice across the table, as Akane's face reddened and she slowly disappeared below the tabletop.

"Kasumi!" Akane shrieked from where she was hiding in embarrassment, finally rousing Tofu from his daze.

"What was that?" Tofu asked.

"Oh nothing much, Doc. Kasumi just succeeded in embarrassing us," Ranma replied, his cheeks burning.

"All I asked was how was the makeup sex," Kasumi said gently.

"We were just exercising in the dojo," Akane said, half-heartedly.

Tofu grinned and asked, "Is that why you all but jumped me in the family room two hours ago, not that I'm complaining mind you?"

Kasumi reddened as Ranma added, "I take it you must have seen us."

"Well, yes," Kasumi admitted, "It was an accident; I heard a scream and looked in the window." She narrowed her eyes at her husband and added, "And yes, it did give me an idea for a pleasant way to spend the afternoon."

"Well, I for one wasn't complaining, Ka-chan, though it would have been embarrassing if I hadn't insisted on going to our room," Tofu said with a grin.

Ranma smirked at the mental image. 'Yeah, we have to eat on this table,' he thought, 'Though, exercising in the dojo will have a totally different meaning for me now.'

Akane sat back up, her poise restored. "So that explains why dinner was late this evening," she said slyly, imitating Nabiki at her best.

Kasumi blushed furiously as Tofu grinned sheepishly.

"Now that we've sufficiently embarrassed everyone, I think I'll change the subject," Ranma said, "Dinner is excellent as always, Kasumi." He held out his empty bowl and asked, "Could I have some more rice, please?"

"You and that bottomless pit you call a stomach," Akane teased, "Where do you put it all?"

Ranma grinned at her and said, "It's all of the exercise I get. You ought to eat a little more than you do, especially now that we are getting into some of the more strenuous katas. And now that school is out for the year, I thought that we might go on a short trip for the week we have off."

"That's not a bad idea," Akane said, her eyes lighting up.

* * *

The next morning, Nabiki stumbled into the kitchen, still in her bathrobe, with her eyes half-closed. She gratefully accepted the steaming cup of coffee that Ranma had waiting for her. After taking a few careful sips, the caffeine hit her and she opened her eyes the rest of the way. "Thanks, Ranma," she said. 

Ranma shrugged and then asked in a teasing tone, "Where's your shadow this morning?"

"She's still sleeping," Nabiki replied, "Last night took a lot out of her."

"What happened last night?" Kasumi asked from where she was stirring something on the rangetop.

Nabiki replied, "Last night was Hi-chan's final treatment. And it affected her more than we expected. Once she comes down, would you let her try to absorb some of your ki? We still need to make sure that what we did actually accomplished something."

Ranma glanced over at Nabiki and noticed that she seemed to be oddly apprehensive of something. "Sure, Nabiki," he replied, in a light tone.

"Thanks, little brother," Nabiki shot back, with just a hint of stress on the word 'little.'

Akane joined them, her face still slightly flushed from the heat of the bath she had just finished. "Morning, sis," she said, "Where's Hi-chan?"

Nabiki replied, "Upstairs," just as the door to the kitchen slid open, and a young girl slipped in.

"Morning," she said in greeting.

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed.

Ranma opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He tried again, and asked, in a strangled voice, "I thought you said that she was cured. Why is she still a child?"

Hinako smiled serenely and replied, "Because I was treated while in this form."

"But, why?" Akane asked, "You were an adult."

Hinako shook her head and replied, "Not really. I may have had an adult body, but I was never really an adult. I mean, I stayed in my adult form for most of the last month, and yet I never truly adapted. No, I realized that I'm really just a child. This is better, and maybe I'll really grow up this time."

"But why didn't you tell us?" Kasumi asked.

"Because I was afraid that you'd try to talk me out of this," Hinako replied, "But this truly is the best thing for me. And before you get angry with them, I asked both Na-chan and Tofu-san not to tell you. Can you be happy for me?"

Kasumi smiled gently and replied, "Of course I'm happy for you, dear. I think this was a very adult decision that you made and I'm looking forward to raising one more little sister."

"You are planning on staying here, aren't you?" Ranma asked, "You know that you're welcome."

"I'll stay as long as Na-chan wants me," Hinako said shyly.

Nabiki turned and pulled Hinako into a hug, and said, fiercely, "Of course I want you to stay. You're a part of this family now, and I won't let you go."

Hinako smiled shyly as the three girls and Ranma surrounded her in a large group hug.

Nabiki broke the silence after a few minutes and said, "Okay, that's enough of the touchy-feely stuff. We still need to make sure that everything is fixed."

"Let's take this to the backyard, then," Ranma said. He led the way out the kitchen door and stood in the middle of the walk, waiting for the others to follow. He concentrated on developing his fighting spirit, to the extent that a blue aura seemed to shine around his figure.

Hinako pulled out a five-yen coin, and yelled, "Happö Go-en Satsu!" To her delight, nothing happened and she absorbed none of the battle aura blazing around her target. Her eyes brightened and then she pulled out a fifty-yen piece and cried, "Happö Goju-en Satsu!" Once again, nothing happened. She made a small triangle from her thumbs and forefingers, and cried, "Happö Tsurisen Gaeshi!" No blast of ki shot out. Squaling in delight, she charged Nabiki, staggering the bigger, and now older, girl as she leapt into her arms, showering Nabiki's face with little kisses. After each kiss, Hinako cried, "Thank you, oh thank you!" until finally one of the innocent kisses landed smack on Nabiki's lips.

Blushing furiously, the two of them separated, while Ranma and Akane snickered in the background. Kasumi had the decency not to laugh, though from the expression on her face, it was a hard fought battle.

"Oh, sis, is there something that you've forgotten to tell us?" Akane gasped out.

Ranma grinned and added, "She may be a little young for you now."

"It's not like that," Nabiki said, loudly, glaring at her sister and brother-in-law.

"What do you plan on doing now, Hinako?" Kasumi asked.

"Nabiki will me enrolled in the local junior high school, so I'll go to school and hopefully get a chance to grow up this time," Hinako replied, "Be a silly little girl, if I want, make friends. Oh, that reminds me, I need to let them know I won't be teaching at Furinkan after all."

"Yeah, I can just see the principal's face when you walked in looking like this," Nabiki said.

Ranma shared a glance with Akane and grinned. "Seriously, while this isn't exactly what I expected, I'm happy for you, Hi-chan. If you're happy with this, then I'm happy," he said, softly, yet earnestly. He grinned, and added, "Of course, you know that I intend to play the big brother role now. I'll get to approve all of your boyfriends."

Hinako smiled shyly and said, "It's a little early to worry about boy friends. Wait until I'm fourteen or so, and then you can worry about me."

"What about your apartment?" Akane asked.

"Oh, Nabiki and I already took care of that. The things I needed we brought here, and put the rest in storage until I can figure out what to do with them. Then I let the lease run out like I was planning to anyway," Hinako replied, "If I had actually ended up teaching at Furinkan, I would have wanted something here in Nerima anyway, so I'd already given notice."

Nabiki pulled Ranma and Akane aside and asked, "Are you two good now?"

Ranma frowned slightly, but stilled as Akane laid her hand on his arm. "Yeah, we're fine, sis. Just a little disagreement that got blown out of proportion," Akane said, softly, "Nothing to concern yourself with."

"But," Nabiki began.

"Leave it alone, sis," Akane said, urgently, as she saw her husband begin to fume. She pulled him into an embrace and said, "She's just concerned, okay?" She felt him relax in her arms.

"Yeah, I know, but I wish they'd butt out. It's our life," Ranma replied in a tired voice, "Why can't they leave it alone?"

"I don't know," Akane replied, "I guess they think they're helping."

"They're not. It really starts to get on my nerves sometimes," Ranma said.

Akane sighed, as she dropped her head against his shoulder. "Mine, too," she breathed, "Though they've been better than I thought they might be."

Nabiki said, sadly, "I'm sorry you two. It's just that I care, you know."

"We know, and that's why we really haven't said much up til now," Akane said, "But sometimes it can get a little, oh I don't know, overwhelming, I guess."

* * *

The family gathered around the table as once again Kasumi brought in breakfast, assisted this morning by Hinako, who wanted to show that she was a part of the family now, and no longer a guest in the house. Ranma sat down next to his kneeling wife, a little unsettled by the glare that he was receiving from his father-in-law, who was looking askance at him over the part of the newspaper that Nabiki had left him. She, of course, had absconded with the business pages and was busily enraptured by the Nisei exchange closing figures. 

Hinako and Kasumi placed the trays down on the table and began serving the rest of the family. Kasumi smiled fondly at the young girl next to her. "Hinako and I wanted to try something a little different today. So, today we have strawberry crepes, and Belgian waffles," she said.

"And there's bacon and sausage, both," Hinako added.

"It all looks very good," Tofu said as he accepted a plate, "Not that that is any great surprise."

"I don't think there's anything that Kasumi can't cook," Akane said, causing Kasumi to blush.

Soun put his paper down, and then to everyone's surprise, he manifested his demon head, as he yelled at Ranma, "Apologize to my little girl. You made her cry."

"DADDY!" Akane yelled, as she felt her husband begin to grow cold next to her. She could hear him whisper, "Soul of Ice, remember, Soul of Ice."

"Father," Kasumi said, her voice cool with disapproval, "That is not appropriate." She actually glared at her father, and between that and the lack of warmth in her use of the word, 'Father,' Soun backed down.

"But you made my daughter cry," Soun complained.

Ranma closed his eyes and grabbed his temper with both hands, metaphorically speaking, to try to keep calm. Finally, after several deep breaths, he said, icily, "Actually, I didn't make your daughter cry. I did something much worse. I hurt my wife's feelings. But, that is between the two of us and none of your concern. Now that the two of us are married, we don't need or want anyone telling us how to live our lives."

"Ranma, gently, they're just concerned," Akane said as she grabbed his hand, then she turned to stare coolly at her father. "Daddy, I know you mean well, but I agree with Ranma. This is our life. Yes, we had a fight yesterday. And we resolved it. All couples have disagreements, why would you expect us to be any different? This isn't a fairy tale romance, we're real people. Hell, with as hot-tempered as he and I are, and with as much pride and stubbornness as we have, I'm surprised we haven't had a major blowup before now."

"And not that it is really any one else's business but ours, I did apologize to her, and she apologized to me," Ranma said, not giving any quarter at all. He abruptly stood up and said, "I'm sorry Kasumi, the food is good, I'm just not hungry anymore. Akane, I'll be upstairs packing." He stormed off, nearly tearing the door to the family room off of its track as he slid it closed.

The room was totally silent as the occupants, except for Akane, were stunned. Finally, Soun asked, fearfully, "Pack, what does he mean by that? You aren't moving out, are you?"

Akane was almost as furious as her husband but she managed to say, "No, we aren't moving out. This is our home after all, now. No, there's a week of vacation before we have to go back to school, so we are going on a training trip, somewhere." She finished her waffle and tossed back the dregs of her tea and stood up. "Kasumi, if you could put together a few staples, I'd appreciate it." She glared at her father for a moment and then left the room.

"Oh good. That was fun," Nabiki sneered, "Congratulations, Daddy, you have successfully pissed off both of them. What would you like to do for an encore?"

Hinako reached out and clasped Nabiki's hand and whispered, "Don't. He's just insecure from losing his baby girl." Then she gently kissed Nabiki's cheek, causing her to blush.

Nabiki said, "Daddy, we have something else to discuss this morning."

"What might that be?" Soun asked, glad to get away from the uncomfortable feeling that he had successfully messed up, just unsure exactly where he had misstepped.

"Hi-chan is cured. She no longer has the ability to absorb ki," Nabiki said flatly.

"But, she's still a little girl," Soun protested.

Kasumi frowned as she decided to take charge. "Yes, she is, Daddy. She decided that she wasn't able to face life as an adult because of the way she grew up before. So she made a very adult decision to stay a child. A decision that I am extremely impressed with," she said.

Nabiki shot a look of gratitude towards Kasumi and said, "What I was trying to say is that I've already asked if Hinako could continue to live with us. Ranma agreed. I just wanted the rest of the family to know."

Tofu cleared his throat and suggested, "Hinako, don't forget, I want you to stop by the clinic this afternoon. We need to do a physical to set a baseline. I want to see how things change for you over the next several months."

"I'll be there. Besides, you have the best tasting candy," Hinako said, agreeably.

* * *

When Akane joined her husband upstairs, she found him staring morosely into space over a backpack haphazardly filled with clothes. Ranma turned remorseful eyes to her and said, "I don't know why I let it get to me like that. I guess it was all the interfering they did the last time. They really haven't been that bad this time and didn't deserve that outburst." 

Akane pulled the backpack from his unresisting hands and drew him into an embrace murmuring, "It's okay, I'm sure they will understand. It must be pretty hard to keep it all separate and remember that they really aren't the same people who made things so difficult before." She released him and went to the closet for her own backpack.

Ranma began to repack his clothes thinking, 'Yea, I'm sure they'd understand that their in-law gets angry with them for things they did in another lifetime. They'd lock me up somewhere and throw away the key.'

* * *

"So where are we going?" Akane asked as they joined the queue at the rail station. 

Ranma replied, "It's a little bit of a surprise. And even though I had already planned this trip before our little spat, this is sort of to make up for that."

"That's nice, but I distinctly remember that we made up several times yesterday," Akane said.

Ranma grinned at her and said, "Actually, while I intend for us to do some training, I really want us to have a chance to relax, just the two of us. I love your family dearly, but sometimes they can be a bit much."

"I know. I've lived with them all of my life, remember," Akane said, with a cheeky grin.

Ranma returned the grin, warming Akane's heart. After the disaster during breakfast, she had been worried that he would be in a sour mood, but once he had walked out of the gate of the compound, his mood had lifted.

They entered the train and walked down the aisle until they found an empty pair of seats in the car. They placed their backpacks under the seats and then sat down, with Akane leaning on Ranma's shoulder. He placed his arm around her and drew her close, while they waited for the train to pull out of the station.

"Did you tell anyone where we are going?" Akane asked, and then she yawned.

"No, I didn't want us to be disturbed," Ranma replied. He asked, "Why are you so tired?"

"Because somebody kept me up late last night, remember? You wanted an encore from the afternoon," Akane said.

"I didn't hear you complaining," Ranma said with a chuckle, "Though I distinctly remember the other things you were saying."

Akane punched him lightly in the shoulder and said, "Baka, don't you dare embarrass me."

"Wasn't trying to, tomboy," Ranma said lightly, "I enjoyed the sounds you were making. I look forward to hearing them again tonight."

"Oh you do, do you?" Akane purred, causing Ranma to twitch.

"Yeah, I do," Ranma replied, the timber of his voice causing her to shiver.

Akane looked at him heavy-lidded and asked, huskily, "How long is this trip?"

"Too long, unfortunately," Ranma said with a sigh, "We'll just have to control ourselves."

"Then I guess we'd better change the subject," Akane said with a matching sigh. She frowned slightly and asked, "What are you going to do about Taro once he gets out of the hospital?"

"That kinda depends on him, now doesn't it?" Ranma responded, "I mean, I just want him to go away. I feel sorry for him having such a crappy name, but there's nothing I can do about that. And if he leaves us alone, then I'm good with that."

"Do you think he will?" Akane asked.

"Haven't a clue. You heard how he was yesterday," Ranma replied, "But if he starts anything, I'll end it. But don't worry, like I said, I'm not looking for trouble."

Akane smiled at her husband, and said, "Yeah, I'm just afraid that trouble will come looking for you."

"Yeah, it usually does," Ranma agreed in a disgusted tone.

"What do you think about Hinako?" Akane asked.

Ranma thought for a while and replied, "I think she made the right choice. There were several afternoons last month when she would come back from teaching very distraught because she just couldn't stay focused on what she wanted to teach. There were a couple of times that she ended up crying on my shoulder, she was that upset."

"I'd wondered about that. I remember the one time I walked into the family room and saw her asleep on your shoulder," Akane said, softly, "That night you told me what had happened. I didn't realize it had occurred more than once, though."

"I think that's one of the reasons she was sharing a bed with Nabiki," Ranma said, thoughtfully, "Nabiki helped her a lot more than I did in getting through the pain she was in. It looks like she's all but adopted her, too."

Akane said, "I think so, too. And I like what it's done for Nabiki," Akane said.

"She never got as bad this time around," Ranma said, "She didn't get the chance to become the Ice Queen that I remember from before, partly because we didn't let her this time, and now because she has a real friend in Hinako. That little girl touched something in her."

"You noticed it too. There's some sort of connection between them," Akane said, "and I think it's pretty neat." She yawned again and this time allowed her eyes to close. "I think I'm," yawn, "going to catch a nap," Akane said.

"Sleep tight," Ranma said, as she snuggled up next to him.

* * *

Taro looked up from the magazine he was reading as the door to his hospital room opened. A diminutive hag hopped in on a large staff, and stood there looking at him. He growled, "Who are you and what do you want?" 

"Sonny boy was right about you," the old woman replied, "My name is Cologne, I am one of the chief Elders of the Joketsuzoku."

"Oh, uh, sorry about that," Taro said, in a half-hearted attempt at an apology, "It's just that I've had a few too many people sticking their head in here. I was actually planning on stopping by to see you when I got out of here."

"I know, sonny boy told me," Cologne said, coolly, "But I decided to come see what you were made out of. So tell me, why should I allow you to visit my village?"

"Because you are holding prisoner a man I need to talk to," Taro replied, a tad condescendingly.

Cologne frowned and asked, "And why should I care about that? Why is meeting Happosai something that I should allow?"

"What did Saotome tell you about me?" Taro asked.

"Not much, that Happosai got you cursed at Jusenkyo and then ruined your life," Cologne replied, "Oh, and he also mentioned that you were arrogant and a bit of a jerk. That you wanted what you wanted and didn't care who got hurt in the process. So far, it sounds like he's described you pretty well, wouldn't you say?"

Taro glowered at her, only to have her crack him over the head with her cane.

"So, Taro, you still haven't answered my questions," Cologne asked, "How did the old pervert ruin your life?"

"I don't want to tell you," Taro replied.

"And I don't want you to visit my village," Cologne retorted, "So it sounds like you have a problem."

Taro glared at her, his eyes flashing in anger, and said, "You can't stop me from going, you know."

"You don't know me very well then, Taro," Cologne fired back, "If need be, I can prevent you from ever leaving this room. Convince me otherwise."

"What, a little thing like you?" Taro scoffed.

Cologne said, "I'm over three hundred years old, little boy. You tend to learn how to take care of yourself after a while. So, would you like to try again, or would you rather I start removing body parts?"

Taro's arrogance deflated like a balloon and he sighed. "The old pervert ruined my life by giving me the name that he did, and according to my tribe's tradition, he is the only one that can change my name."

"There, see that wasn't so hard," Cologne said, "But why should I care? You aren't of my people." Her eyes stared coldly at him, classifying him as nearly beneath her notice.

"I may not be of the Joketsuzoku, but I am from your region. You trade with my tribe, and we pay you tribute in exchange for your protection," Taro replied.

Cologne stared at him thoughtfully for a moment and then asked, "If I give you passage to my village, what are your plans?'

"To force that bastard to change my name," Taro replied, breathing a little easier.

"That might pose us a small problem," Cologne said, "We generally keep him in his cursed form. Though I suppose we could put him in a larger cage before we change him back."

"Cursed form?" Taro asked.

"Oh, yes, after sonny boy defeated him, we cursed him with the waters from Heituenniichuan," Cologne replied, "It's easier that way. We do allow him to get a little female ki, just enough to keep him alive, but he spends most of his time as a pig. But, while I know this may humiliate you, I need to know what he named you."

Taro looked horrified for a moment, and asked, "Promise not to laugh?"

"On my honor as an Amazon, I will not laugh, nor will I tell anyone else," Cologne said solemnly.

Taro sighed heavily, and said, "The bastard named me Pantyhose Taro."

Cologne blinked and said, "I can see why you would wish a new name. That indeed is horrific." She leaned on her cane for a moment and then said, "Very well, I will support your request. Make sure, however, that you behave yourself while you are there. I can assure that if you cause any trouble whatsoever, you won't live to regret it."

"Thank you, Elder Cologne, I am in your debt," Taro said.

"I can't promise that Happosai will agree to change your name," Cologne cautioned.

"Well, if he doesn't, I won't mind having a bit of a snack. My other form isn't a herbivore, after all," Taro replied.

"When you get discharged from here, come see me at the café. I'll have arranged for you to meet someone at the village entry point," Cologne said.

Taro grinned and said, "Once again, I am in your debt."

"Till we meet again, young Taro," Cologne said. She turned and hopped out of the room, leaving a deliriously happy man behind.

* * *

Ranma led Akane up the pebbled path to the small inn that he had made reservations in for the week. The wooden structure consisted of a main building with several small cabins scattered around the hillside. He stopped for a moment and pulled her around and asked, "Look, isn't that the most gorgeous sunset you have ever seen?" 

Akane leaned against her husband as he wrapped his arms around her. The two of them stared at the wonderful shades of red and yellow off toward the west as the sun began to sink into the horizon. The ocean was barely visible in the distance, as it reflected what remained of the sun's glory. She turned briefly and stole a kiss, and said, "Let's find our room. I need you badly right now."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Your wish is my command, lovely lady." He clasped her hand once more and the pair made their way up the rest of the path to the lobby. They made their way over to the check-in counter and rang the small bell discretely placed there.

After a few minutes, an elderly woman tottered out, and said, in a wavery voice, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we have a room reserved under the name Saotome," Ranma replied.

The woman opened a small ledger and scanned down the list, mumbling to herself, until she stopped at one line in the book. "There it is, Ranma and Akane Saotome," she said to herself. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at the two of them and said, "One of our honeymoon suites, you look awfully young to be married."

"Perhaps, but we are married," Akane said sweetly.

"What is this world coming to, children getting married," the woman grumbled as she turned to a small pegboard with several keys hanging from the pegs. She picked up one set and handed it to Ranma. "It's cabin six, outside and to the right. Meals are available either in the dining room here in the main building, or there is room service," she continued.

"Thank you," Ranma said politely.

"Enjoy your stay with us," she replied.

Ranma took Akane's hand and the two of them walked back out of the lobby and headed down a flagstone path that wended its way through some ancient trees toward the cabins. They passed several cabins, until they arrived at cabin six. Unlocking the door with the large ornate key, Ranma allowed Akane to enter and then followed. He barely had time to lock the door, and put down his backpack before Akane was in his arms, with her legs wrapped around his waist, kissing him passionately.

Once they came up for air, Ranma arched one eyebrow at her and asked, "Eager, aren't we?" He carried her over to the large bed placed against the far wall of the room and set her down.

"Well, I suppose we could unpack and look around a bit first," Akane said, with a smirk. A smirk that vanished as first Ranma's shirt, and then his pants fell to the floor, leaving him in just his boxers and undershirt, his need for her quite obvious. "Or perhaps not," she muttered as her top and skirt joined the mess on the floor. She reached up and pulled Ranma onto the bed beside her.

"It's a good thing I'm a teenager, you're insatiable," Ranma said, "Who would have thought it?"

"Shut up and kiss me," Akane growled, as she nipped lightly at his chin.

Ranma wisely obeyed and pressed his lips against hers, and then he felt her lips part as she accepted his questing tongue. Ranma moaned slightly as Akane slid her hands under his undershirt and gently caressed his back, and then one small hand slid under the waistband of his boxers and cradled his cheek. He reciprocated by delicately caressing her breast through her lacy fabric of her bra, causing a slight flush to appear on her face.

Akane arched her back, allowing Ranma access to the clasp of her strapless bra. He swiftly undid it, and whisked the small scrap of fabric away, freeing her breasts from their captivity. She pulled him to her and they lost themselves in each other.

* * *

Taro waited patiently at his campsite, staring intently at the crackling fire that kept the darkness of the night at bay, as he relaxed from his strenuous day. First, flying all the way from Nerima to this isolated area in China, the province of his birth. Then, after he spotted a convenient hot spring so he could change from his monstrous form, he was able to scramble into the clothing that he had pulled from the clever backpack that Cologne had provided him. Finally, the long march through the somewhat desolate countryside until he had reached the outskirts of the valley that sheltered the Joketsuzoku, and found the spot where he had been told to set up a camp and wait, faithfully following all of the instructions that the withered old woman had given him. After finishing his dinner and cleaning up the mess, all he could do now was wait for the Amazon patrol that he was positive was wending its way through the forest to where he was, and hope that the scroll that he was clutching in one hand would indeed give him the safe passage that Cologne had promised. 

As he sat there, he remembered all of the tales of the Amazons that he had heard in his childhood, so he was inclined to believe in the bloodcurdling warning not to deviate from Cologne's instructions, but he was also arrogant. 'I doubt that they could handle me in my other form,' he thought smugly, unaware that at that moment he was under observation by an unseen warrior.

'A stranger,' the young woman thought to herself from the shelter of the hidden sentry post, 'but that is the agreed to campsite for visitors. So is he there by coincidence or was he sent here by one of my sisters?' She watched for an hour, patiently waiting, until she saw the fire die down and the young man crawl into the small tent and disappear from view. She turned to her second and said, #Have our sisters keep watch. When he rouses, wake me.#

#Yes, Par Fum,# her sister replied, #I'll take the first watch, myself.# The two girls exchanged smiles as they parted. Lin Lin to find her rest, while Ran Ran made herself comfortable in the blind that overlooked the campsite.

* * *

Par Fum woke quickly at the touch to her shoulder, and sprang to her feet. She turned, and motioned to her comrades. She pointed to four of her subordinates and the five of them ghosted away from the post. As they neared the campsite, two of them peeled off, and notched an arrow, and pointed it at the silent figure. The remaining three made sure that they stayed out of the line of fire and approached. 

#That's close enough,# Taro said as he sensed the three Amazons, #I have a scroll from Elder Khu Lon. One of you may approach.# Taro smiled grimly to himself as one of the figures he sensed neared. A very attractive, very buxom, girl with long red hair approached.

#I am Par Fum of the Joketsuzoku. Who are you and what is your business here?" the warrior girl asked.

#My name is Taro, and I have come to talk to the old pervert Happosai,# Taro replied, tossing her the scroll.

The young girl examined the seal and recognized it as the personal seal of the Elder Khu Lon. The seal appeared undamaged, with no sign of tampering. She slit the seal with her belt knife and unrolled the scroll and quickly read it. #Come, this must be brought before the Council,# Par Fum said, #Do not stray from my sight.# 'What are you thinking, Elder,' the girl thought, 'I don't understand why you are asking this.'

#Give me a second to strike camp,# Taro said as he stood.

#Be quick about it,# the attractive girl snapped, #We have a long walk ahead of us.# She watched discretely as the young man quickly packed all of his belongings, and slung the pack over one shoulder. At his nod, she headed down the path toward the village.

Taro walked behind her and watched as four more women formed up around him. #I'm flattered, all of this for me, you must think I'm really a threat,# he said, with a smirk.

#No we treat all of our unknown visitors this way. Constant vigilance is a way of life that we have learned the hard way# Par Fum replied.

Taro chuckled as he watched the sway of her hips. 'Nice ass,' he thought, 'but you aren't here for that. Stay focused on the mission. Once you get your name changed then maybe.'

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, another offering to my Gentle Readers. I only hope that you are enjoying this as much as I am in writing this, well not so little, tale. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. I have a few comments to specific reviews below: 

Mozes: First of all, congratulations on your safe return from Iraq. I'm glad my story may have helped you and your men through what has to have been a difficult time. Thank you for the service that you provided.

Roastedponytail: Welcome aboard. And thanks for the kind words.

Ss4-link: No, he wasn't locked in his cursed form. Ranma did perform the Ultimate Moxibustion point, so Happi has no strength.

Van: Thanks for the comment sticking up for my opinion.

Firebird2083: Akane hasn't quite gotten to her potential yet, if you remember the battle dougi episode. In that one, when she was wearing the suit, she was pretty much an equal to Ranma, and supposedly all the suit was doing was bringing out her full potential. As to how strong they are, actually I think there about at the level that Ranma was when he faced Prince Herb, so they can't go toe-to-toe with Saffron, at least not yet.

K-dog the Fire Beast: Nabiki has better taste than Taro, so they won't be getting together. Taro will have his hands full with a different problem.

Silver Warrior: Nabiki won't end up with Taro. He's just too much of a jerk in my opinion. And yeah, it won't be Kinnosuke. Herb, Ryu, well they are a possibility. VBG. Ryugenzawa is a few chapters away, I was thinking of it happening in the August break, and its just now March/April in the timeline I am following.

Shinigami: Taro still strikes me as an attack first, ask questions later kind of person based on what happened in the manga.

A.nonymous: Ryu will show up. Akane has to learn his techniques after all. Was that what you expected with Hinako?

Celestrial lelila: Sorry, Taro doesn't deserve Nabiki. She will get to pine for a bit longer also.

Silverline Scimitar: I could barely type that line I was laughing so much. My wife got a big kick out of when she beta'ed.

Borg Rabbit: Now that's an idea. Microsoft, Dell, I need to do some research. Oh my the possibilities.

Hououza: I guess this chapter sort of answers that question.


	49. What's in a Name?

Author's note: Warning – severe WAFF alert in this chapter. You have been warned. On a separate note, there are several references in this chapter to other series. I'm curious to see how many are caught. Enjoy.

Chapter 49 What's in a Name?

Akane awoke to the sounds of birds chirping outside the cabin, nestled up against her husband's body, one arm lightly lying across her stomach, as he continued to sleep. 'I guess I finally wore him out last night,' she thought, smugly, as the memories of the night before flashed by. The two of them had had a pleasant dinner, followed by several hours of practice, before they had found themselves behaving like children and having a water fight in the onsen outside of their cabin. She smirked at that memory, 'He looked happy doing that,' she thought, 'Not too many chances for him just to have fun as a kid, I suppose.' Then, once they had managed to make their way back to the cabin, it had taken them almost no time to shed their towels and engage in another bout of gentle lovemaking.

Ranma felt the girl in his arms stir, as he pretended to be asleep. The feel of her body pressed up against his was soon going to cause a problem, a problem that he certainly hoped she would help solve, but for now, he was content to stay where he was while he considered the conversation he was going to be having with her soon. Unfortunately, that plan soon went by the wayside as Akane begin to gently grind her buttocks against his groin, as she had obviously realized that he was not only awake, but that she was also aware that he was aroused. "Minx," he teased as he gently nibbled her earlobe, causing her to squirm.

"Um, that feels nice," Akane replied, huskily, "I was afraid I might have broken you last night."

Ranma snorted in amusement, as he switched to kissing the back of her neck, knowing exactly where it would send the amusing shivers down her spine that she seemed to enjoy so much.

"Hm, I'll give you one hour to quit that," she moaned, as she ground just a bit harder.

Unfortunately for the two lovebirds, at that moment there was a knock at the door and a cheery voice calling, "Room service!"

"Whose bright idea was that?" Akane complained.

"Dear, I think it was yours," Ranma replied, trying very hard not to laugh. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his robe, while Akane licked her lips at the sight of her nude and rampant husband. He threw the robe on and walked over to the door and opened it to see one of the kitchen staff with a large tray of covered platters.

"Good morning, here's your order," the young girl said, as she stared in awe at the Adonis who had opened the door.

Ranma grinned and said, "Thank you." He took the tray and closed the door, waiting for the inevitable reaction from his wife. "Eat first," he said, "Play later."

Akane pouted cutely for a moment that was spoiled by the rumble of her stomach as her nose smelled the aroma arising from the tray in her husband's hands. She giggled as an antiphonic echo sounded when Ranma's stomach rumbled as well.

"Okay, I agree, we need to feed the beasts," Akane said, as Ranma took the tray over to the small table tucked discretely in one corner of the room. She grabbed her robe as she rolled out of bed, and slipped it on and joined him.

"Yeah, and while we eat, we need to talk," Ranma said, "I want to go find the Kai-sui-fu, the teakettle of liberation, so we'll have it for when Prince Herb makes his appearance. It's supposed to be on Treasure Mountain, which is only a few kilometers from here."

"That's not a bad idea," Akane said, after she took a moment to sip her tea, "I suppose you want to get on his good side."

"Well, yeah, I want him to teach me what he can," Ranma said, "And while I don't regret what happened with Happosai this time, there's no denying the fact that everything he did to me the first time around helped train me. I've got to get good enough to defeat Saffron, not that I really want to face him again if I can help it. There was entirely too much luck the first time I faced him, and I'd really rather not rely on that again. And I definitely don't want to put you where you could get killed."

"If you fight him, I will be by your side," Akane said, spiritedly, "So don't even think that I won't. I'd go crazy if you left me here."

Ranma sighed as he said, with resignation, "I expected you to say that, so yeah, I won't try to convince you otherwise. We'll just have to get faster and more powerful, together."

Akane smiled at that and said, "I'll always have your back."

* * *

Ranma halted at the entrance to the long bridge that spanned the chasm between the plateau he was on and the steep mountain that he could barely see in the distance. Akane was right behind him. Even though they had set out on this sidetrip somewhat later than he had originally planned, they had made excellent time and had managed to arrive here only a little later than he had anticipated. And remembering back to the reason why they were delayed, he had to admit that the extra time they had spent in bed was definitely time well spent, even if what Akane had done to him had made him weak in the knees for the first hour of this journey.

"Are we almost there?" Akane asked as she saw the sign on the bridge that read, 'Treasure Mountain.'

"Nearly," Ranma replied as he searched his memories, "We cross this bridge, and then it's a bit of a climb up a pretty steep hill. After that I'm gonna have to stop and look for that odd rock formation."

"Then lets get going," Akane said as she trotted onto the bridge, leaving Ranma behind for the moment. He grinned as he took the opportunity to ogle his wife as she filled out the jeans she was wearing very nicely. Akane smirked, knowing full well what he was doing, especially since she had been returning the favor most of the morning.

Ranma quickly sprang onto the bridge and raced after his wife. They quickly covered the distance, though Akane's face began to pale as she neared the almost shear cliff.

"I'm not sure I can climb that!" Akane exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I thought of that. There's a rope in my backpack, and a harness. I'll climb up, and lower the rope down. All you'll need to do is slip into the harness, and then tie the rope on. Then you can climb while I pull you up," Ranma said.

"You can climb up that thing?" Akane asked.

"Well, yeah, remember I did it when I came here before, well, you know what I mean. Anyway, I can jump from the bridge to that outcropping there," Ranma replied, as he pointed, "And then from there I can jump to the top."

Akane gauged the height and shook her head. "I'm not there yet," she said, "I can't leap that high."

"You will eventually, Akane. It just takes practice and some confidence," Ranma said, with a grin.

They reached the small ledge where the bridge ended. Ranma pulled a coil of rope out of his backpack, and the aforementioned harness. He helped Akane into it, making sure that the straps were snug. "Okay, when I get up there, I'll lower the rope. This shackle clips onto this hook on the front of the harness," Ranma instructed. He waited for her to nod, and then placed the rope back into his pack.

Akane quickly grabbed him and kissed him. "You be careful," she said fiercely.

"Always," Ranma said with a smirk. He took a minute to look at where he wanted to land, and then leapt. Akane held her breath as she watched, until he had landed safely onto the rocky outcropping nearly ten meters above her. He waved and then sprang once more, soaring up and over the lip of the cliff, presumably to land safely on the top of the mountain. With a loud clatter, the end of the rope came slithering down the side of the mountain, to land at her feet.

Akane grabbed the rope, and fastened it to her harness, and then gave the rope a sharp tug. She felt the rope grow taut as she started her ascent, though Ranma was doing most of the work. As he pulled, she found that mostly what she needed to do was use her legs to absorb the impact while she held onto the rope with both hands. Shortly, she arrived at the top of the mountain, and clambered over the side, where she found her husband standing in the middle of a small clearing, the rope wrapped around a tree. She unfastened the harness, and stepped out of it, while Ranma began coiling the rope.

"So which way is the kettle?" Akane asked, as she looked around the small clearing with interest. The underbrush did not appear to have any paths through it, at least none that she could see.

Ranma turned and said, "It's through this mess, but I figured we'd tree-hop. We still need to run the monkeys off that will start showing up any minute now." He placed the rope and the harness back into his pack, and said, "Let's get started." He concentrated for a moment and then yelled, "Möko Takabisha!" and a ki blast soared from his hand into the shrubbery, rattling all of the bushes. A loud chattering arose as dozens of monkeys fled the area.

"That was easy enough," Akane said, as her husband smirked at her. She leapt into one of the larger trees, and waited for Ranma to join her. The two of them headed off, leaping from one tree to the next, until they found where the forest ended. There, up on the very crest of the mountain, they saw a strange kettle-shaped rock formation. "You've got to be kidding me," Akane said.

"Nope, that's where it is, inside the spout," Ranma replied, "Someone actually carved the rock into that shape, I think." He thought for a moment and then jumped to the summit. Concentrating hard, he took a swipe at the spout with his ki claws, cutting through the rock with ease, and exposing a small chamber. There, suspended from a wooden framework, the two of them saw a battered teakettle. Ranma grabbed the kettle, and jumped down, as they began to hear a rumbling sound from deep inside the mountain. "Let's get out of here!" Ranma exclaimed.

The two of them sprang back up into the trees, just as a spray of hot water erupted from the rock formation, and poured down the mountainside.

* * *

Kasumi slowly woke up, feeling fully rested for the first time in several weeks. Between her schoolwork and maintaining the house, she had been getting up early and going to bed late, and it was beginning to take a toll on her. As she finally opened her eyes, she could tell from the amount of light in the room that it was very late. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, "What happened to the alarm?" She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was nearly seven, nearly two hours later than she needed to be up to get everything done for breakfast. Panicked, she pushed the sheets away and tried to get out of bed.

Her husband grinned for a moment, as he appreciated the view, and then grabbed her. "No you don't. You get to sleep in this morning," Tofu said softly.

"But someone has to fix breakfast," Kasumi said in protest.

"I've already taken care of that," Tofu said, "You've been working too hard these past few weeks, so we're taking the day off."

"But what about class?" Kasumi asked, "And your patients?"

"Love, first of all, it's the break between semesters, you don't have classes this week. And second, you've been entirely too stressed out, so I took the day off. Today is a day for just us," Tofu said, "We're going to just enjoy the moment." He bent down and rained gentle kisses on her neck.

Kasumi giggled and said, "Someone is feeling a little frisky this morning."

"So that's what they call it now," Tofu retorted, "Besides, you know what you do to me."

"Yes, I suppose I do by now," Kasumi purred as parts of her began to really enjoy what he was doing.

Tofu grinned and added, "And by now I know what I do to you."

"Less talking, more action," Kasumi demanded, as she stripped the nightgown she wore to bed off, and then pulled her husband to her.

* * *

An hour later, the door to the bedroom slid open, and Nabiki walked in. 'Oops!' she thought as she blushed bright red, though at least the two of them were sort of covered under the blanket. She ran out of the room, and shut the door, and then knocked loudly, hoping that they hadn't seen her.

Kasumi called, in a voice that was carefully modulated, "Yes, Nabiki. What is it?"

"Um, br-breakfast is almost ready. You barely have time to get to the furoba," her sister stammered.

That was enough to set Tofu off, as he laughed a deep, rich laugh. "I think we've scarred her for life," he said once he calmed down.

"I guess we'd better get up," Kasumi said.

Tofu had a wicked gleam in his eye as he asked, "How much do you think she saw?"

"We still bathe together occasionally, so it really doesn't matter about me. On the other hand, I don't think I'm real happy that now she knows that you have a cute butt," Kasumi said, as she pulled the covers off, and got up from the bed.

"Speaking of cute butts," Tofu said with a grin, "I definitely like yours."

Kasumi wiggled her hips at him as she headed for her half of the dresser. She glanced at herself in the full-length mirror and said, "All that walking at school hasn't hurt. I've lost the little bit of excess weight I was carrying, and toned up everything else. And the fun exercises that we've done haven't hurt, either. Need to keep that up." She put to gether a change of clothing, and slipped into her bathrobe. "Hey, you need to get out of bed to you know," she said.

"Just admiring the view," Tofu replied. With a sigh, he jumped out of bed and started dressing.

Kasumi rolled her eyes at him and tossed him his robe. "Come on, I need to see what damage has been done to my kitchen," she said, "There's no telling what happened to it since I wasn't fixing breakfast."

"You weren't complaining twenty minutes ago," Tofu teased, "Of course, you weren't very coherent in the noises you were making."

"Hush, you," Kasumi replied, with a giggle.

"Shall we, my lady?" Tofu asked gallantly, as he crooked his arm.

"Certainly, kind sir," Kasumi replied as she laced her arm with his. The two of them walked out the door, and then down the stairs into the furoba. After washing quickly, keeping their hands to themselves for a change since they knew everyone was waiting to eat, they dried off and dressed. Then they walked to the family room, where Soun was waiting.

"Good morning, daddy." Kasumi said in greeting.

Soun lifted his eyes from the newspaper he was perusing and replied, "Morning, daughter. Good morning, Tofu."

"So where is everyone," Tofu began, only to finish with, "Never mind," as a sight that he never thought he would see happened. Nabiki walked in wearing one of her sister's aprons, carrying a small tray of food that she set on the table. Hinako followed bearing a tray with more food, as well as a teapot. She set that on the table and the two girls knelt down.

"You cooked?" Soun asked in surprise.

Nabiki rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes, daddy, I can cook. Maybe not as well as Kasumi but I can find my way around the kitchen."

Hinako giggled as she interjected, "But I've never actually seen someone burn water. And you did that this morning."

Nabiki reddened in embarrassment, as she hung her head. "I got distracted," she snapped, "The financial report was on the radio and I was listening to that instead of watching the pot."

"Speaking of distractions, you need to learn how to knock before you enter a room, sis," Kasumi gently chided her.

If anything, Nabiki blushed even redder. "Both of my sisters are having hot steamy sex, it just isn't fair," she mumbled under her breath.

Unfortunately, Hinako heard her and said, "I want hot steamy sex too. We could do it together."

A massive face-fault occurred, as everyone's jaw hit the floor. "By the way, what's hot steamy sex? Does it taste good?" the little girl asked. Only Kasumi caught the twinkle in the little girl's eyel, realizing that she was putting them on.

* * *

Mousses stood watching his wife as she moved around her greenhouse, humming a pleasant tune, as she trimmed back some of the canes. While many of the flowers were still her trademark black roses, she had recently begun adding other plants to the mix, such as traditional red and yellow roses. In one corner she was growing several different colors of chrysanthemums, and they had actually bloomed in the moist environment of the greenhouse.

"There, that's done," Kodachi said to herself, "Now, there's just transplanting these, and I'll be done."

"I was wondering if you could create some hanging baskets," Mousse suggested diffidently, "It would brighten up the gazebo in the back."

Kodachi whirled in surprise, since she hadn't heard him come in. She set her shears and gloves down on one of the tables and ran to him. "Msu Tse darling, that's a wonderful idea!" she exclaimed as she threw herself at him, crushing him in a glomp that rivaled the ones Shampoo used to give, except that she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I missed you!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, we ate breakfast together this morning," Mousse protested slightly.

"But that was hours ago," Kodachi replied, coquettishly, "And I missed your lips." Putting action to her words, she brushed her lips gently against his, as he cupped her bottom to keep her from sliding down.

After they broke apart, Mousse with his hair nicely mussed from where Kodachi had ran her hands all through it, he said, "You looked like you were enjoying yourself. I'm sorry I interrupted you."

"Oh, you're never an interruption. I was nearly done, anyway," Kodachi replied, "I've got a few pots that are getting too small for the plants that are in them, so I need to move them, but that can wait."

"Good then, because I thought we could sit outside by the pond and have some tea," Mousse suggested, "It's such a pleasant day with the sun shining and the gentle breeze."

The two of them linked hands, and walked out of the greenhouse and over to the grassy sward overlooking the large koi pond that dominated the center of the backyard. There, Mousse had laid out a large blanket on the grass, with a teapot and two cups already waiting. Kodachi knelt down on the blanket, and poured.

"It is nice out here, but seeing the pond reminds me of Midorigame. I miss my pet," Kodachi said, a little sadly.

"I still don't know why you gave away your alligator, though where you came up with the name Mr. Green Turtle, I'll never know," Mousse said softly as he wrapped one arm around her.

"He was getting too big for the pond, and when that nice man from Scotland came and asked if he could borrow him for his class, I couldn't say no to him. Oh, what was his name, Haggard or something like that? He was so big and tall, with such an accent I could barely understand him, but he said he had a large lake that would be perfect for Midorigame," Kodachi said, a little wistfully, "But it's for the best." She grinned a little impishly, and said, "I thought we could turn it into a duck pond, now anyway."

Mousse grinned wryly at her and said, "Making fun of my curse again, are we?"

"But you'd look so cute paddling around the pond," Kodachi teased.

"But when I'm the duck I can't do this," Mousse said, as he began to kiss her neck, moving her ponytail out of the way. "Or this," he said softly, as he gently caressed her arm.

"Ooh, that does feel good," Kodachi said as she shivered, "But if you keep doing that we might scare the servants." She closed her eyes as he moved his hand over to cup her breast, and said, in a husky voice, "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Oh heavens, whatever gave you that idea?" Mousse replied, "I just wanted to spend some quality time with my beloved."

"I like when you call me that," Kodachi said, "It makes me feel all tingly inside." She turned and pulled his robe off of him, leaving him in his shirt and trousers. She tossed the robe to the side where it landed with a loud metallic clank.

"Sorry, I never go anywhere without a few weapons," Mousse said to her raised eyebrow.

"Me either," she breathed as she pulled a club from somewhere and tossed it away. Then she pushed him to the ground and straddled him, running her hands up and down his chest.

* * *

Ryoga and Shampoo stood outside his parents' house for a moment and then he knocked on the door. They heard the sound of a dog barking and then the door opened and Checkers and his mother appeared. She greeted them both with a massive hug.

"Ryoga, Shampoo, this is a pleasant surprise. You're just in time for the midday meal," Mrs. Hibiki exclaimed, "Please come on in." The two youths stepped into the house and took their shoes off and placed them on the mat. Then they slipped a pair of slippers on and followed their mother into the kitchen. "Look who's here!" she exclaimed.

"Good morning, son, daughter," Mr. Hibiki replied in greeting, "What brings you two by?"

"Nothing, really, we just wanted to see how the two of you were doing," Ryoga replied, "And to let you know that I'll be going back to school next week."

"That's wonderful news, son," his mother replied.

"Shampoo very happy too, Ryoga be in same class at Furinkan," Shampoo said.

"So you'll be in class with all of your friends then," his father said.

"Yes, Shampoo can make sure I get to school, and back," Ryoga said.

"I'm sorry they couldn't get rid of the direction curse like they could with us. I feel that it's all our fault," his mother said.

Ryoga shrugged his shoulders and said, "I wouldn't be the same person if I hadn't had it. And it is better, I didn't have any trouble following Shampoo here."

"No, only two wrong turns," Shampoo said proudly.

"You didn't have any trouble getting into the school, did you?" his father asked.

"Well, a little. My record of attendance is so spotty, especially since I missed all of last year that I had to have a few strings pulled. My test scores were good enough though," Ryoga replied.

"But it worth every yen paid to Mercenary Girl to get Ryoga into school," Shampoo said, "Great grandmother always say education very important."

"She's a very wise woman, your great grandmother," Mr. Hibiki said.

"Well, considering how old she is, she can't help but have learned a few things over the years," Ryoga said.

Whack! Ryoga got swatted in the head by a cane. He turned and glared. "Why'd you do that for?" he asked, rubbing the bumps on his head.

Shampoo looked at him innocently, and said, "Great grandmother not here to defend herself. Shampoo only looking out for her."

"That old woman can take care of herself," Ryoga muttered as his mother served a large bowl of soup to everyone.

"Shampoo brought ramen," the Amazon girl said as she remembered her takeaway container.

"I'm glad you two decided to come by today. We just found out some wonderful news," Mrs. Hibiki said.

"Oh?" Ryoga asked.

"Well, since we've actually managed to stay in one place for several months, now that the Amazons managed to cure us, well," his father began.

"What Sano is attempting to say is that we're having another child," Megumi said.

Ryoga fainted.

"Shampoo so happy for you. When it happen?" Shampoo asked, her eyes wide open with excitement.

"Near as I can tell, I must have gotten pregnant while we were at your village," Megumi replied, blushing prettily.

"Must have been something in the water," Sano said boisterously.

Ryoga groaned from the floor and stared up at his mother. "Must have been a dream," he said softly.

"No, son, you're going to have a little sister," Megumi said.

"But, you two are so old," Ryoga protested.

"I am not old, I'm still in my mid thirties," Megumi said, "And my mother had me when she was forty."

"Anyway, now that we don't wander off like we used to, this is a nice bonus. I'll still have to travel to write my travelogues, but it won't be months at a time when I'm gone," Sano added.

"I'm happy for you, really I am, it's just this is a bit of a shock," Ryoga said, "But, I guess you'll have a lot of help."

"Shampoo agree. We have lot of family and friends in Nerima that would be too too happy to take care of baby," Shampoo said, "Shampoo need practice anyway, for when Shampoo become mother."

"Not any time soon, dearie. I don't need grandchildren to spoil quite yet," Megumi said with a grin.

"Shampoo agree," Shampoo said, "But have too too much fun practicing. Ryoga very good lover."

Ryoga blushed bright red as his father sputtered in shock. Then a big booming laugh erupted from him, as his wife said sotto voce, "Some things are hereditary, I guess."

"There's such a thing as too much information, Dad," Ryoga said from the floor, "I really don't need to know about your sexlife. Believe me, I really, really, don't need to know. Definitely, not a mental image I needed. Ewwww, gross."

"When do baby come?" Shampoo asked.

Megumi replied, "I'm about four months along, I guess."

"July or August then" Shampoo said.

"That's what the doctor said," Sano agreed.

* * *

"Come on, Akane," Ranma whined, "Do I really have to practice with a shinai?"

"You know Mom wanted us to work on her school while we were on this trip," Akane said with a smirk.

"Fine," her husband said, "But you owe me one." He walked over and kissed her.

"Didn't you get enough this morning?" Akane asked, with a saucy grin.

"Complaining, are you? It's already a lot later than I intended to start practice," Ranma shot back.

The two of them grinned, and then Akane watched as Ranma poured some water over his body, triggering the change.

"All right, hand me one of those things," Ranma said, her voice showing her resignation.

Akane tossed her a shinai, and asked, "Why are you so reluctant to learn this?"

"It's not that really," Ranma replied, "I just don't like fighting with weapons. You know that."

"Yeah, but the Kamiya Kasshin style is strictly defensive," Akane said.

"It's the principle of the thing," Ranma replied. She sighed and said, "Okay, let's do it. We'll start out slow and pick up speed. If nothing else it'll teach us to dodge."

"Remember what she said, watch the hilt, not the blade," Akane said.

The two of them began fighting with the shinais, the clatter of the rattan swords disturbing the silence of the morning, and causing the birds in the trees to fly away, cawing their dismay at the racket.

"Come on, Ranma, take this seriously, and show your mother's art the respect it deserves!" Akane snapped as she easily parried one of the redhaired girls blows, and landed one of her own.

Ranma backed off, and held up her hand for a moment. She quickly tied her hair back, to keep it out of her face and said, "You're right, I should take this a bit more serious." She stepped back into position and nodded, this time not taking her eyes off of Akane.

Slowly at first, the two girls battled, as they attempted to strike, only to see their blow parried by the other

"Looks like all that training is paying off, Akane," Ranma grunted, "You seem to be keeping up. Ready to take it up a notch?"

"Think you can keep up with me?" Akane asked with a grin.

"Remember, I'm faster as a girl," Ranma shot back.

"Bring it on, tomboy," Akane retorted with a grin.

Ranma chuckled and said, "That's my line."

The two of them fought on, raining blows on each other even faster, in fact if there had been an audience, they would not even have seen the blades move. Neither one of them took their eyes off their opponent, until Ranma cried, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken revised!" and suddenly became faster.

Akane widened her eyes and then she too cried, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!" and began blocking all of the blows raining down on her. The two of them danced around the small yard outside their cabin, parrying unseen blows that somehow they were able to sense until Ranma jumped back, and shouted, "Stop!"

Instantly Akane froze, remembering her training. The two of them panted for a moment, catching their breath. "That was incredible," Akane said, "You were so fast. I was having a hard time keeping up with you. It was almost godlike speed there for a moment."

"If I have to face Saffron, almost godlike speed won't be enough. I have to be faster than that, beyond godlike speed," Ranma gasped. She looked up at the sky, and shook her head in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Akane asked.

"Nothing, just look what time it is. We've been practicing most of the day," Ranma replied.

"No wonder my arms and legs are sore," Akane said, as she came down from the adrenaline rush that had helped power her, the rush that had kept her from feeling the places where the other girl had slipped through her blocks and hit her.

"Tell me about it," Ranma said, "But it's nothing that a soak in the onsen won't fix. After that, I'll give you a massage if you're still a little sore."

"I'll hold you to it, though a bath sounds nice. I'm pretty ripe, and I bet you are too," Akane said. She slung her shinai up onto her shoulder and headed back into the cabin with Ranma. She glanced over and said, "Though I'm not quite as sore as I expected I would be for as long as we worked out. I'm also surprised you managed to practice through lunch. Normally you'd be starving by now."

"We'll make up for it at dinner, wait and see," Ranma replied, "Besides, I grew up used to missing meals, remember. All part of Pop's training."

The two girls entered the furoba, and quickly stripped. They rinsed off first with some cold water, and then soaped each other down. "This would be a lot more fun if I had any energy," Akane said.

"Hush, you'll be fine after dinner," Ranma said, as she dumped some warm water over her wife, rinsing her off. "Looks like I got you several times," she said softly, pointing at a couple of bruises, "Sorry about the one on the boob, that has to hurt. Remind me to get some of the cream out later."

Akane returned the favor, rinsing her off, and triggering the change. "Speak for yourself, dear. You missed a few too," she said with a grin, pointing out a massie bruise on his side. They grabbed some large fluffy towels and headed out into the little private courtyard to find the best feature of the cabin. Each of them had a private onsen, screened from view by a tall hedge surrounding the flagstone courtyard. They eased into the hot spring fed pool, and sat down on one of the seats carved out of the rock.

"That is already making me feel better," Akane moaned.

"We've still got to get much better, though," Ranma said, as he enjoyed the warmth of the water. Akane leaned her head on his shoulder, and allowed the heat of the water to ease some of the soreness out of her muscles.

"It's all about training with you, isn't it?" Akane asked fondly.

"No, not everything. The time I spend with you is never wasted, whether we're training in the art or simply watching the sunset. I'm just worried, that's all," Ranma replied softly.

"But you're the best martial artist I've ever seen," Akane protested.

"Yeah, maybe, but is that good enough to beat Saffron?" Ranma asked, "I couldn't bear to lose you. When I faced him before, and I thought you had died, I didn't want to live. And then, when you awoke, and." He began to sob.

"That won't happen this time," Akane said, with confidence, "You and I together are better than you by yourself. We CAN take him; you just have to have faith in your abilities. I trust you, my baka. We have plenty of time to get ready."

Ranma looked at her shining face, and in a sudden mood swing, began to laugh. "You are something else," he said softly, "And you're right. We'll get through this so long as we're together. And after that, we'll have plenty of time to have a dozen children and raise them all to be tomboys and bakas just like you and me."

"A dozen, huh?" Akane asked, archly, "Six from me and six from you, right?"

Ranma grinned and said, "Well, maybe not a dozen, but I do want a son and a daughter. Especially if the daughter turns out as cute as you."

"That sounds a lot better to me," Akane said.

* * *

Ranma watched, an amused smile on his face, as Akane gobbled down almost as much food as he had for dinner. "Why am I so hungry?" she asked, "And where am I putting it?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "We've been training together for almost a year now, Akane. I'm surprised you haven't started eating more already. You've been burning so much energy during our training, you've actually lost a little weight, even though you added a lot more muscle."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

"Look at yourself in the mirror when you get a chance. There's not a lot of fat on you, well, except in your breasts, and a little in your ass. But everywhere else, it's all muscle," Ranma replied, "You've pretty much burned off all of the reserves you had built up with all of the training we've done. And today was pretty intense, all of that we were doing. And you look real good."

Akane blushed beet red, but asked, "So you think I'll eat like this for a while?"

"Well, you've seen how much food I can pack away, haven't you?" Ranma replied, "What'll happen is your metabolism will adjust just like mine did."

"Ooh, big word," Akane said with a grin.

"Shut up and finish your rice," Ranma replied, "I still owe you that massage."

"Actually," Akane said, softly, "I'd rather go down to the hotel, and dance. They said there was a combo that played around eight."

"No residual soreness, or anything" Ranma asked.

"No, between the bruise cream and soaking in the onsen, I'm fine. I really want to go dancing," Akane said, with puppydog eyes.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Aye, my love. If that is what you want, I'm game. There's nothing I'd rather do than have you in my arms."

* * *

Ukyo let her eyes wander around the packed restaurant as she took a short break from the grill. A pleased smile appeared as she watched her fiancé, dressed to kill in his female persona, glide gracefully from the kitchen to one of the tables, as the kunoichi delivered something that Nodoka had prepared. While this wasn't exactly what she had planned when she had first dragged the elder Saotome to Nerima while searching for his son, she was content for the first time in a very long time. She had her restaurant, and it was indeed hers as the deed in the lockbox at her bank attested; she had her honor restored by being engaged to a Saotome son, even if it wasn't the one she had hoped for; her father was satisfied with the situation, and indeed had dropped less than subtle hints in his last letter to her about making him a grandfather, something that she wasn't yet ready for; she had a woman desparately wanting to be a mother in Nodoka; and a good set of friends. All in all, not too shabby for a girl who had once only wanted vengeance for her tarnished honor and miserable childhood.

Konatsu walked over with a fresh order. Briefly kissing his fiancée, which upset one or two of the men in the room who had been flirting with the attractive waitress serving them, he said, "Table nine needs a seafood and a pork."

"Okay, it'll only be a moment, hon," Ukyo replied. She quickly spread a small amount of oil on the cooking surface of her grill, and then used one of her spatulas to create a thin film. While the oil was heating up, she poured some of the already prepared batter into two small bowls. She then dropped several pieces of thinly sliced pork in one of the bowls, and similarly cut fish in the other. With a small whisk, she stirred both bowls to mix the contents, and then deftly poured two small dollops of batter onto the freshly oiled surface. Konatsu watched her work for a few moments, memorizing what she was doing so that he could help out more. "I could use more batter," she said quietly, and then glancing around at the array of ingredients, she added, "And some more of the sauce."

"I'll bring them out," Konatsu replied as he headed toward the kitchen.

Ukyo glanced back fondly at him and then turned her attention back towards the grill. Sure enough, several bubbles were forming in the center of the two pancakes, so after sprinkling some more pork and seafood onto the pancakes, Ukyo adroitly flipped them over, exposing the now golden surface.

By the time the okonomiyaki were done, Konatsu had returned, with another container of batter, and the brown okonomiyaki sauce. He was also carrying a tray, with two plates, a small bowl of pickled vegetables, a bowl of soup, and two bottles of Sapporo beer.

Ukyo flipped the okonomiyaki up, and Konatsu caught them in the empty plates. Then she squeezed some of the sauce out in a smiley face pattern to finish them off. Konatsu headed over to table nine to deliver the meal.

* * *

Ukyo shivered in his arms as Konatsu bent down and lightly kissed behind her ear, his breath tickling her ever so slightly. "Mmmm," she moaned, "That feels good." She felt secure leaning back against his chest, his legs spread out on either side of her as she snuggled up against him.

"I.m glad you like it, Ucchan," Konatsu purred. He slipped one hand inside her top and gently cupped her breast, making gentle circles with his thumb.

Ukyo closed her eyes as she enjoyed his ministrations, as her breathing became ragged, especially when his other hand began to caress the bare flesh around her navel, being careful not to cross the lines that they had drawn. "When do you want to get married?" she gasped out.

"Oh, I don't know," Konatsu replied, only to moan slightly as she wriggled her bottom in his lap. "Soon, though," he continued, with a grin, "I'm getting very frustrated with waiting."

"Tell me about it," she agreed as she continued to press herself against him, relishing in what she was doing to him.

"You don't have another real break from school until August once you start next week," Konatsu reminded.

"And there's not enough time to put together a ceremony this week," Ukyo sighed, "And I want to let Nodoka have a real wedding. She never said anything, but I could tell she was hurt when Ranma and Akane got married without her."

"We really couldn't stay away from Ucchan's for a whole week," Konatsu said, "But could we be gone for a long weekend? Is there something like that in May?"

"There should be," Ukyo replied. She thought for a moment and said, "I like that idea. You're right, we really couldn't afford to shut down for a whole week, but we could manage to take three or four days. Why don't we talk to Mom tomorrow and have her help arrange a Shinto wedding?"

"And maybe see if the Tendo's would allow us to have the ceremony at the dojo," Konatsu suggested.

"That's another good idea," Ukyo said warmly.

"Well, I am the genius kunoichi," Konatsu replied, with a straight face.

"What do you want to do after we get married?" Ukyo asked.

"Aside from helping you with the restaurant, and being a good parent to the children we'll have, you mean?" Konatsu replied. At her nod, he shrugged and said, "I wouldn't mind getting a bit more of an education. I don't know if I can somehow get into college, but I do want to take a few business courses, accounting, financial planning, that kind of thing, to help with running this place. And I imagine you want to eventually have a bigger place."

"Yeah, I would," Ukyo replied, "Though I don't want to get too big. Maybe take over some of the space of the building next door, a couple of small private dining rooms, that kind of thing. I like this location, and I'm ready to start putting down some roots. And yeah, maybe a couple of kids, one each, that would be neat."

* * *

Taro followed the young Amazon woman into an ornate chamber, in the middle of which was a round table with a dozen chairs around it. Two guards stood at the door through which they had walked, while across the chamber, two more guards stood on either side of an intricately carved door.

#The matriarch will be here shortly,# Par Fum said, as she gazed dispassionately at the young man that she had brought from the trader's campsite. 'What an odd young man, I finally realized those are what the outsiders call pantyhose tied around his waist,' she thought, 'Why would he be wearing those?' Her musing was disturbed as the far door opened and an elderly woman hopped out on an elegantly carved staff.

Taro tried not to groan as he saw a woman, even older and more withered than the Elder in Nerima.

#Par Fum, have you read the scroll?# the woman asked, ignoring the stranger in front of her.

#Yes, Matriarch,# Par Fum replied.

The old woman gazed at her, her face an unreadable mask, and then she sighed. #Do you understand what it is asking?# she asked finally.

#Of course, Matriarch,# the warrior replied, proudly, #And if that is the will of the Council, then of course, I will obey.#

#Very well, go prepare a place for him to stay,# the old woman said.

#Yes, Matriarch,# Par Fum said as she spun on one heel and walked out of the room, reminding Taro of nothing less than a proud panther as she ghosted past him.

#I am Lo Xien, the Matriarch of this people. My sister, Elder Khu Lon, has presented me with a conundrum that I am unsure how to answer,# the old woman said in opening.

#I am honored to be meeting with you, but this talk of a conundrum worries me,# Taro replied.

#Yes a conundrum indeed,# Lo Xien said grimly, #For she has asked us to provide you the assistance that you need. Indeed, three of my sisters have requested that I do all in my power to grant you your wish.#

Taro looked puzzled, and said, #I only met Elder Khu Lon, who are the other two sisters that you speak of and why did they ask for you to help me?#

#Her great granddaughter Xian Pu and her sister Xiao Mei. As to why they asked, I do not know,# Lo Xien replied, #However, I'm not sure of my path at the moment.#

#Just allow me to meet with the old pervert,# Taro replied, #And I will convince him to change my name.#

#Therein lies the crux of my dilemma,# the old woman replied, looking suddenly all of her years.

Taro's patience ran out and he snapped, #Speak plainly, old woman. Where is Happosai?#

At his tone and his words, all of the guards growled, and leveled their spears. #Gently, my daughters,# Lo Xien said, softly, #I admit there is some provocation, not to mention a great deal of disrespect, but he is under an inordinate amount of stress.# She hopped over to stand next to Taro and she said, #However, you will address me with the respect due my position or, in spite of my sisters' entreaties, you will be cast out of our valley, forbidden to ever return. And, in case you were wondering, I know about your Jusenkyo curse, so that won't help you either.#

#Then speak plainly, Matriarch, instead of in these riddles, I beg of you,# Taro said, backing down just a bit, #I meant you no disrespect, it is just important to me to see him.#

#Very well, I will allow you to meet with him. However, since we do not wish him to escape, we have been deliberately keeping him in his cursed form, caged in a pen, surrounded principally by some of our serfs,# Lo Xien replied calmly.

#The sooner I see him, the sooner I can get my name changed,# Taro said, anxiously.

#Then come,# the old woman said. She turned and motioned to two of her guards and then hopped through the door and outside.

Taro followed, his heart pounding as he hoped that he could persuade the old freak to fix what he had done so long ago. He ignored the two spearwomen as they fell in behind him. The small parade attracted a little attention, as several of the women noticed the strange young man walking behind the Matriarch. They stopped outside of a small hut, and the Matriarch opened the door. She hopped in and stopped next to a small metal cage, where a small pig was sleeping quietly, covered by a small blanket.

#Is that him?# Taro asked, trying not to laugh.

#Yes, this is our ancient foe, Happosai the perverted, Lo Xien replied. One of the guards walked in carrying a pot of hot water and she poured it on the pig, which instantly transformed it into a wrinkled old man, waking him up in the process. Fortunately for all concerned, the blanket preserved his modesty, as Taro was sure that seeing Happosai in the nude would have driven all of them insane. The young Amazon warrior Par Fum walked in and nodded to the Matriarch.

"Happosai, you have a visitor," the old woman said.

"Lotion, why did you wake me? I was having the nicest dream," Happosai whined.

"Old man, do you know who I am?" Taro growled.

Happosai stared at the odd looking young man, wondering if the pantyhose had ever been worn. "Can't say that I have," he finally replied, "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Looking around, Taro found a bucket of what appeared to be cold water. Rushing over he grabbed it and exclaimed, "Do you recognize me now?" He poured the water over himself, triggering the change. The minotaur loomed over the old man, the ragged remnants of his clothing littering the ground. To the transformed youth's shock, the old man began to shiver, and then his eyes went vacant as he collapsed to the ground, dead.

#Change him back!# Lo Xien snapped. Stunned for a moment, the warrior with the hot water stood without moving. Par Fum grabbed the bucket and tossed it over Taro, changing the minotaur back into a now nude Taro. The warrior gave him an appraising look, and then licked her lips in anticipation.

Taro placed his hands across his groin, until suddenly a large blanket was tossed across his shoulders. Grateful, the young man wrapped himself in the blanket and then collapsed to his knees. His face paled and he began to rant, #Damn it, why did he have to die? How could you let him?#

Lo Xien stared at Happosai in shock and said, #I certainly didn't expect that to happen. But, his health hasn't been the same since he was defeated by Sho Mei. So I guess the shock of seeing you was too much for him.#

Taro groaned and exclaimed, #What a mess, now I'll never get my name changed!#

The old woman put one hand up in an imperious gesture and said, #There is another way.#

#And what might that be?# Taro asked, interested, #According to my tribal traditions, only the one who named me can change my name.#

Lo Xien smiled mysteriously and said, #Boy, just trust me with this.# She closed her eyes for a moment in silent regret. 'Sorry, great grandniece, but the needs of the tribe outweigh the needs of the one.' #Come, let us depart this chamber," the old woman said, #We need to find you some clothing and then we should talk.#

#Matriarch,# Par Fum said, #His belongings have been placed in one of the small guest cabins.# 'He doesn't look too bad, and his physique shows that he does know some skills,' she thought, 'And it's not like any of the single men in this village interest me. Spineless weaklings, most of them. Msu Tse was the only one, and he left to chase after Xian Pu.'

#Excellent, Par Fum,# Lo Xien said, #Show him the way, while I arrange for what must be done.#

The attractive girl bowed her head slightly and then headed toward the door without glancing at Taro. The young man looked a little confused, but wrapping the blanket around him even tighter, he followed, paying careful attention to the way her hips were swaying. A wicked smile graced the lips of the girl, as she was fully aware of what he was doing, especially as she was deliberately exaggerating her motion to attract his attention. Soon, they arrived at their destination, a small, single-roomed cabin, with an attached bath. #Your belongings are in there,# Par Fum said, as she opened the door.

Taro brushed past her, but then stopped. #Thank you for your help,# he said politely. Then he asked, #Do you have any idea what the Matriarch has in mind to solve my problem?#

Par Fum smiled slightly and replied, #Get dressed and then you'll find out.# She lightly shoved him into the room, and then with an impish smile, pulled the blanket away from him.

Taro froze in shock for a second and then dove for his backpack. #Do you mind?# he growled.

#No actually I don't mind at all,# Par Fum replied, not taking her eyes off of him, #I think you're actually rather attractive. Nice ass, by the way.#

Taro reddened, as he quickly pulled out a pair of boxers and slid them on, covering the aforementioned ass. Par Fum gave a mock look of disappointment, and watched as Taro donned the rest of his clothing, which consisted of a pair of loose pants, and a laced up vest of some sort of scaled hide, with a pair of matching bracers on his wrists. Then she did raise one eyebrow as the young man tied a pair of pantyhose around his waist as a sort of belt.

#Did you enjoy the show?# Taro asked, once he was dressed.

#Very definitely,# Par Fum replied. 'I will certainly enjoy breaking him in,' she thought, 'I wonder how badly I'll have to throw the fight?'

#Let's go find the Matriarch, then, and get this over with, whatever it is,# Taro said, somewhat abruptly.

#Yes, what must be done is best done quickly,# Par Fum replied as once again she led the young man outside, where they found Lo Xien waiting patiently.

#Are you ready?# the old woman asked, a question that Taro found somewhat confusing.

He was even more confused when Par Fum whirled and announced, #Outsider male, you have insulted me by your behavior, ogling my body like a piece of meat. For that you must pay.#

#What?# Taro exclaimed, #And what do you call what you just did in there?#

#I challenge you for the insult you gave me,# Par Fum spat, #Or are you truly a coward?#

#No one calls me a coward, girly. Do you think I'll be merciful simply because you are a woman?# Taro replied, #Go ahead, bring it on.#

#The challenge has been made and accepted. Par Fum, Taro, follow me to the challenge log," Lo Xien ordered, her stern visage hiding her true feelings. After the pair glared at each other for a moment longer, they turned and followed the old woman over to a large log, stretched across a set of supports. #Whoever stays on the log is the winner of this challenge, however, since this is not a challenge to the death, no mortal blows are allowed,# Lo Xien said.

#So all I have to do is knock her off this log, right?# Taro asked.

#Yes, outsider, that is all you have to do,# Par Fum sneered.

Taro kicked his shoes off, leaving him barefooted. #Then lets do it, girly,# Taro sneered back. He hopped onto the log, digging his toes into the bark.

Par Fum pulled her long red hair back into a ponytail, and tied it off. Then she joined Taro up on the log, a couple of meters away from him.

#On three,# Lo Xien said calmly, silently praising her great niece's sacrifice. 'The girl didn't even blink at what was in the scroll,' she thought. She counted down, and even as the word 'Three' slipped past her lips, the two combatants moved.

'I still have my reputation to maintain,' Par Fum thought, 'So I have to make this look good.'

'Damn she looks hot,' Taro thought, 'Focus boy, or she'll beat you.'

Par Fum charged, spinning her spear as if it were a quarterstaff, her hands in the middle of the shaft, while Taro narrowed his eyes watching as she approached, gauging her attack. She swung the shaft, only to have it blocked by one of his dragon hide bracers. Before she could attack again with the other end, her foot was snared by the knotted pantyhose that Taro had pulled from around his waist. He tugged the hose, flipping the girl up into the air. She landed lightly on one arm, and backflipped away from him, landing squarely with both feet on the log.

Par Fum grinned at him, showing all of her teeth. #Not bad for a male,# she sneered, #I look forward to your defeat at my hands.#

#Big talk, little girl,# Taro retorted, #I won't go easy on you just because you are a woman, even a fox like you.#

#Wouldn't have it any other way, panty boy,# Par Fum snapped. She approached a bit more warily, watching him a bit more carefully this time. Her spear continued to spin, but this time, when she attacked, she lunged forward, with the cloth-covered point aimed directly at Taro.

Once again, Taro deflected the strike with his bracer, but he reached out with the other hand and tried to grab the shaft.

#Naughty, naughty, I don't let just anyone play with my toys,# Par Fum said, as she pulled the spear out of reach.

#My turn, girlie,# Taro said as he snapped the pantyhose forward, wrapping it around her wrists. He jerked hard, pulling her toward him, and while she tried to bring the spear around, it missed him as he ducked and she went sailing over him, to land on the ground behind him.

Par Fum stood there in disgust for a second and then traded a look with her great aunt, who nodded. She jumped up onto the log and kissed Taro, and said, #Wo ai ni, Airen.#

Taro groaned. 'Stupid, stupid, you let yourself get trapped. You knew the laws, idiot,' he thought angrily to himself.

#Welcome to our tribe,# Lo Xien said, #And because you defeated my great niece, you not only are her husband, but we will honor you with a new name to signify you becoming part of my family. Welcome, Aw Sum.#

#Wait, how did you know that was the name I wished to have?# Taro asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

#It was in the letter from Elder Khu Lon. She said that was what she had been told, but she didn't say how she knew,# the old woman answered.

Taro sighed and asked, #You tricked me into this didn't you, Par Fum?#

#Yes, my Airen, but is it so bad?# Par Fum asked, shyly.

#No, I suppose not, but I'm not sure that I will fit in with your tribe very well. I'm not going to be a pushover like the rest of the men around here,# Taro replied, #So you may regret what just happened.#

Switching to Japanese, Lo Xien said softly, "We need some spirited men, Aw Sum. And because you are already a warrior, there is no harm in this. Fresh blood can only help my people, otherwise, the Elder you met in Japan would not have suggested that somehow we have you join us." She glanced over at her great niece, and said, fondly, "And Par Fum wouldn't have accepted just any man as her husband. Consider yourself fortunate that she took a fancy to you."

"She is an attractive woman," Taro replied.

#Show him to his new home, and get him settled,# Lo Xien ordered, #Then get to know your new husband better.#

* * *

Author's Notes: I did warn you about all of the WAFF. I hope the chapter was amusing, but I did want to get some of the other characters back into the story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and encouraged. Specific comments are below:

Xero Reflux Strike: I seriously considered roast pork, but couldn't bring myself to it. I figured Happi would give anyone indigestion. VBG

Kyuubi-sama: Welcome back, and I really don't want to know details. Seriously, it was time to shed some light on the Hibiki situation. That was scheduled for this chapter, and the other characters should start getting more time.

DoWnEr: Since he already knew the technique in the previous lifetime, and knew that Cologne taught others techniques all of the time, it doesn't make him honorless. Besides, in a later chapter, Cologne will start training both of them. And yes in chapter 8 Ranma was exaggerating a bit to build up her confidence. And in response to chapter 3, he may know the techniques, but his body didn't come back in time, so he's slower and can still get distracted.

D2Killerz: Well, in this story she is. Since she has red hair, and carries a sword around, I figured why not.

Darth Hawk 32: In canon, I would agree with you. Ryoga getting with Shampoo is as likely as Mousse getting with Shampoo. But, I wanted at least a few non-canon pairings. As far as who in canon I think Ryoga would be with, well, it was obvious to me that Akari was brought into the story especially for him, just like Konatsu was brought in for Ukyo. I think that if the manga had managed to continue, those relationships would have been developed.

Weebee: I needed some sort of reason for the two of them to have a lover's tiff. It had been too much sweetness and light as Akane pointed out after they made up. And lover's quarrels can be about the silliest things. Lord, I know, I've been happily married for 24 years, and been with the girl for longer, and we can still find the dumbest things to get mad about.

Vixen2: I thought when I read those chapters that it did bring out the potential. I will admit I'm relying on my memory instead of rereading like I normally do, so I suppose I could be mistaken. And Ranma having a bit of a temper, well, in canon he did, but he's kept in under wraps a bit better this time. Finally, a bit too much pressure, and maybe some resonance from what he remembers, and he needed to let off some steam. That was my intention, anyway.

A.Nonymous: I was afraid that I might have been a bit blatant that was the way I was heading. Now, as to her age as a child, that's hard to tell. I've seen it quoted as around 6-8, and 12 around on various references. The pictures in the manga seemed to me to show her older than 6-8, so I went with 12, since she did seem to have a pair of budding breasts, but the lack of concentration made it seem like she was younger.

Shinigami: Herb should show up pretty soon, I'm not sure which chapter though.

Hououza: I swear my computer must be bugged. LOL

Majinbuu7985: Didn't like the Toma story, so I will probably pretend it didn't happen. The rest of the OAV's will make some sort of an appearance, though filtered through my imagination they may not be quite the same.

Wonderbee31: I'm glad you caught that piece of them making up. That was certainly something that would have helped in canon if they had managed it then. Sigh

Celestial lelila: I thought that too, that's why they had a silly fight. Even old married couples have them, so it was overdue for them to have an onscreen fight.


	50. When You Wish Upon a Sword

Chapter 50 When You Wish Upon a Sword

Par Fum led Aw Sum away from the center of the village, ignoring the calls from the Amazons that had stopped to watch the fight. Taro was amazed at how well she was controlling her emotions, since the little that he could understand was embarrassing him. She turned down a small lane between two buildings, both of which appeared to be small temples dedicated to a different goddess. On one building, he saw an icon that depicted a stern looking, but beautiful, woman with an owl perched on her shoulder. On the other, he saw a woman in armor, carrying a bow with a large quiver of arrows slung over one shoulder. The cacophony of noise from the central square diminished as they neared the end of the lane, where they stopped in front of a much larger cabin then the one he had been shown before. The Amazon woman opened the door to the cabin, and walked in. Taro shrugged and followed her in, to find himself in a large common room, that had a small kitchen against one wall, and a sitting area surrounding a stone fireplace on the opposing wall, with a small table with four chairs in the middle of the room. What appeared to be a bedroom was barely visible through a half-opened door at the other end of the room.

#Welcome to my hearth and home, Airen,# Par Fum said, with a hint of nervousness in her voice, #Your belongings will be brought here from the guest hut shortly.#

Taro looked at her, still slightly dazed by the turn of events. Finally, he cleared his throat and asked, #Why'd you play along with this, Par Fum? Taking a strange man into your home, your life, like this?#

#You forgot to mention taking you into my bed,# she replied, with just a faint tint of pink in her cheeks, which told him that she hadn't been quite as oblivious to the comments that some of the younger women had made. She sighed, and continued, #To really answer why will take some time.# She walked over to him and gently kissed his lips and said, #But one reason is that I do find you attractive, and I don't care about your curse.#

Taro walked over to the sitting area and sat down heavily on one of the heavy, overstuffed chairs. He glanced down at his waist and tore the panty hose that he had been wearing as a sash off and tossed it violently away. #It's over, I'm finally free of that horrible name! No more Pantyhose Taro!# he exclaimed, as the shock finally wore off. He began to laugh hysterically.

Par Fum eyed him nervously for a moment and then walked over and knelt before him. She asked, #Are you okay?#

#I will be,# Taro answered finally, #It's just a bit overwhelming. I've dreamed of this day for a very long time.# After a moment to pull himself back together, he asked, #You've avoided my original question though. Why did you agree to this scheme?#

Par Fum sighed, then answered, this time in Japanese, "Several reasons, Airen. The first is that I do find you very attractive, especially now that you've gotten rid of that silly sash. I knew why you wore it, so I was happy to help you get rid of that awful name. That doesn't mean I think you're perfect. You are a bit of a jerk, but, you're my jerk now, and I can live with that. I could do with a lot less arrogance, though."

"As I was told once, it's not arrogance if you can pull it off," Taro interjected.

A quick smile graced her lips, and she continued, "Secondly, the women of my tribe, well, I guess our tribe, have been entirely too successful in the training of our men. Most of them are entirely too domesticated for me, too tame, too mild. I didn't want a sheep or a lapdog; I wanted someone worthy to stand by my side. I wanted a challenge." She grinned at him then, and added, "But I suppose I should have been a bit more careful of what I asked for." She was rewarded by a brief chuckle.

"And you thought I could be that person," Taro said in wonder, "But why, you know next to nothing about me?"

"That's not really true. The scroll that Cologne sent actually had quite a bit about you in it, including her recommendation that somehow we bring you into the tribe through marriage," Perfume replied, "And she mentioned that Shampoo agreed. Surprisingly enough, the highest recommendation came from our third sister. She wrote that she thought you were an arrogant jerk, but that you also had a strong sense of honor. According to her, you aren't the best fighter in the world, but that you could be trained."

"Not the best fighter in the world!" Taro growled, "Who does she think she is? And how would she know anyway?"

"Simple, she fought you once before," Perfume replied, "And beat you up pretty badly, according to Cologne."

"The only one who has ever beaten me is a guy by the name of Ranma Saotome," Taro snapped, "And he had help!"

Perfume began to laugh, causing Taro to start fuming. Wordlessly, she held up her hand in a silent apology. Finally, she was able to say, "That is the name that our sister goes by when she is not here in the village."

"Saotome is an Amazon?" Taro asked in surprise.

"Yes, she was adopted over a year ago when she saved the life of Shampoo from a rampaging panda," Perfume replied, with a hint of mischief in her voice.

Taro goggled at her for a moment and then asked, "What is his name when he is here?"

#**Her** name is Sho Mei,# Par Fum replied, reprovingly, #We can not adopt males, that is against our traditions. The only way a male can become part of the tribe is either as husband, or slave.#

#You know I would have died first before accepting slavery,# Taro said after a moment, #You took a bit of a risk in fighting me. What if I had lost?#

#You wanted to change your name, didn't you? If you lost, you would have been a slave, and slaves have no name. And if you died instead, your name wouldn't have mattered,# Par Fum said, coolly, #So it was a no-lose situation for us. Whatever the outcome, we would have fulfilled our sisters' request.#

Taro stared at her, taken aback by the callousness of that statement. Par Fum sighed and stood up and then sat down in his lap. #When I'm in your lap, it is okay for you to put your arms around me,# she said softly, an odd smile flickering on her lips.

"I don't understand you, Perfume," Taro said, "You can be so cold and then to jump in my lap like this." However, he did wrap his arms around her waist.

"Well, we are supposed to get to know each other better. That's what the Matriarch said, and I always do what she suggests," she said, impishly.

Taro grinned and said, "Then tell me about yourself. All I know is that you are stunningly attractive and have excellent taste in men."

"Just a bit full of yourself, aren't you, Airen?" Perfume retorted, "But thank you for the compliment. Seriously, the Matriarch is my great aunt. We are members of one of the most prominent families in the tribe; only Elder Cologne's family is more renowned. My parents are both dead, so I live by myself. While I have many cousins, I grew up an only child, with Lotion serving as my guardian once my mother died fighting against the people of the Phoenix. Obviously I am a warrior, currently serving in the guard, but I'm being groomed to serve as an ambassador, when I get somewhat older. That is why I speak Japanese, as well as ten other languages."

"An ambassador?" Taro asked in shock, "I didn't know that the Joketsuzoku had embassies. But that explains why your Japanese is so good."

"We are hidden inside the Chinese delegations around the world," Perfume explained, "Looking out for our interests, but blending in with the rest of the staff." She added, "And before I forget, I'm eighteen, which means I am considered an adult by our people."

A loud knock was heard on the door. #Come in,# Par Fum called.

The door opened and a teenage boy walked in carrying Taro's belongings. #Warrior Par Fum, where do you want these?# he asked.

#The bedroom is fine, my Airen can unpack later, Apprentice,# Par Fum said, with a kind smile.

The boy bowed slightly and carried the pack into the bedroom, and then walked back out.

#Are you done with your lessons?# Par Fum asked.

#Yes, then I got drafted to bring his things over,# the boy said, wryly.

Par Fum chuckled and said, #Then, let me give you another errand. I seem to be all out of shiitake mushrooms. You know where the best ones are. If someone stops you, tell them you are hunting them for me. And I expect that to take you until dinnertime.#

The boy grinned and said, #I expect your are correct, Warrior.# He ran out the door.

#He certainly seemed eager to run that errand,# Aw Sum commented.

#If he's doing something for me, none of the other warriors will have him do anything. And he is my favorite cousin,# Par Fum said, #Now, while we didn't work up to much of a sweat, I want to take a bath. Would you care to join me, Airen?#

Taro studied her as she stood there with an innocent look on her face. Finally, he shrugged, and replied, #Why not?#

Par Fum led the way into her bedroom, which to Taro's surprise was lavishly furnished. There was a large bed, a dresser and a tallboy all made out of what appeared to his untrained eye to be teak. On the wall hung various implements of war, a pair of bonborri, several different swords of various styles, and numerous daggers. #The tall dresser is basically empty, so you can put your things in there,# Par Fum said in passing.

#Are you trained in all of these?# Aw Sum asked.

Par Fum replied, #Of course. I am a warrior of the Joketsuzoku.#

Taro suddenly stopped as something finally registered. #You said Ranma Saotome is known as Sho Mei. That is the name of the person that Lo Xien said defeated the old freak. If he could beat Happosai, then he did go easy on me,# he said.

#I watched her spar with Xian Pu, our best warrior. She truly is something to see,# Par Fum replied, #So it was no surprise to me to find that she had defeated one who had killed so many warriors. And to think, he died so easily today. What a pitiful death, not even in combat.# She unbuttoned the leather vest she wore, and hung it on a hook hammered into the wall. #You might want to take off that dragonhide yourself,# she suggested, #The slaves will come while we are at dinner and oil the leather to help keep it supple.#

Taro took off his vest and bracers, and looked around helplessly for a moment. Par Fum took them from him, and hung the vest on a similar hook, and placed the bracers on a small shelf that he had missed.

#Our armor is stored here,# she said softly, #Now come, I need to start the water.# She walked through a door tucked away in the corner, Taro following. There he saw a nicely appointed bathing area, a bath that was large enough for six people, well, at least if they were friendly, and a small vanity with a sink, with gold taps. Then she took off the undertunic she was wearing, and tossed it into a hamper discretely tucked away in a corner, leaving her in her breast bindings and loose slacks. A slight smirk passed across her face as she saw that she had captured his attention. Though she wasn't as large as Xian Pu or Sho Mei, she was content with how well she was endowed, and apparently he was too based on his reaction.

Her husband stepped closer to her and she saw his face change. He reached out and delicately traced one of her scars, the remnant of a small puncture wound caused by a spear point finding a weak spot in her armor. #You've lived a pretty dangerous life,# Aw Sum said softly, #Judging by some of these wounds.#

Par Fum glanced down at her nearly nude torso and saw what he was seeing. The faint traces of the scars she had collected over the years were old friends to her, each one reminding her of a mistake she had made once, but never again. She shrugged, a gesture that captured Taro's attention, and said, simply, #I am an Amazon warrior, Aw Sum. These aren't bad, though when I get older, the couple of fractures that I received will let me know when the weather is about to change.# She pulled him to her and briefly passed her lips against his, and smiled. #Come on and finish undressing, I still need you to wash my back,# she said.

Taro's cheeks tinged for a second, and then not taking his eyes off of hers, he stripped, tossing everything into the hamper. #Like what you see?# he asked, in a challenging tone.

Par Fum's eyes widened with pleasure, as she quickly joined him by stepping out of her slacks, and panties, and unwrapping her breasts. She stood there, arms akimbo, and with a cheeky grin, said, #Yeah, I think I do.# She once more kissed him, the tips of her breasts brushing lightly against his chest, and then stepped into the bath, evading his grab. She turned and looked over her shoulder and asked, #Are you coming?#

Aw Sum gazed at her with a hungry expression on his face and slipped into the tub behind her. #You are so going to pay for that,# he growled as he reached for a washcloth and began to scrub her back.

#Oh, what do you have in mind for revenge?# Par Fum asked.

Taro reached around and gently caressed one breast. #I'm sure I can think of something,# he said as she leaned into his hand.

Par Fum smiled broadly and purred, #I like the way you think.#

* * *

Genma tossed and turned in his sleep, his face twitching as he dreamed, his eyes obviously moving rapidly under his eyelids, if anyone was awake to see. He was huddled under a thin blanket in his lonely futon, as for the fourth night in a row; his dreams were somehow forcing him to relive many of the events from the training trip, only this time from his son's perspective. 

"No, daddy, I don't want to go in there," he said in his sleep, "It's dark, and the cats hurt me. Don't make me do this!"

Genma screamed then, and shot up in his bed, completely awake. "I need a drink," he muttered. He crawled out of his bed, and over to the dresser. He pulled open a drawer, and after rummaging around for a moment, drew out a bottle. He unscrewed the top from the bottle and took a healthy swig. After a second drink, he stood up on slightly unsteady feet and looked at himself in the mirror above the dresser. "A martial artist's path is full of peril," he said to himself, "But, Saotome, was it really worth it?" He walked back over to his bed and sat down, taking another drink. Slowly, he sank into a drunken stupor, the only way that he had been able to avoid the nightmares.

Nodoka quietly closed the door, and walked back to her bed.

* * *

Genma walked wearily into the family room, a small steel chest under one arm. He was looking very tired, with dark shadows beneath his eyes, and a drawn look on his face. He knelt in front of Nodoka and handed her the chest. 

"What is this?" she asked.

"It is the money that I have saved over the years. There is also a small diary, one that no one else has ever seen, that I have written sporadically in over the years. You read my journal, that I know, but that never had all of my deepest thoughts and fears," Genma replied.

Nodoka asked, "But why give me this?"

Genma sighed heavily and said, "Working for Toshio's isn't the hardest job in the world, and it left me a lot of time to do something that I haven't done in some time. And for the last several days, I have been afraid to go to sleep because of the nightmares that showed up once I did. Nightmares showing me the path that I was on, and where I was heading. That forced me to do some soulsearching. And I suddenly realized that my son hasn't called me father since he was ten, since I threw him into a pit of cats, and turned my back on him. And that brought me to a sudden epiphany. I did what I set out to do. I turned my son into one of the best, if not the best, martial artists around. But then I realized the price. And suddenly everything I did turned to ashes. I had to ask myself was it truly worth it? And I didn't like the answer."

"And what answer was that?" Nodoka asked, her eyes filled with tears that she refused to shed. 'I am a samurai, the daughter of a samurai, I will show no weakness to my enemy,' she thought. A quick indrawn breath as she thought, 'When did my husband become an enemy?'

"It cost me my soul, it cost me my son, it cost me my honor," Genma replied, "And it cost me my wife."

"You are my husband," Nodoka said with a quiet dignity.

"That may be true, but I have not shared your bed since Ranma and I left when he was six," Genma replied, "Not that I should. I betrayed us both when I left all those years ago. Somewhere, somehow, I lost myself. And before I can ask, no beg, to share your life, your bed, I need to find the man that I once was. The man that was worthy of being your husband. This one is not worthy."

"So what do you plan to do?" Nodoka asked.

"The money is for you to make reparations. With my journal, you should be able to find out all of the places where I ran away and stiffed someone. There may not be enough in there to pay for everything, but at least it's a start. As for me, I need to leave. There's really nothing here for me, at least until I can find myself,"Genma said softly.

Nodoka froze for a moment and then replied, "My door will always be open, my husband."

Genma averted his eyes for a moment and then said, "If I can redeem myself I will return. If not, well, perhaps, it is better that I continue on my journey."

Nodoka sighed and asked, "Are you sure? I do miss the man that I married."

"But am I still the man you married?" Genma asked as he walked out the door, carrying a backpack that she hadn't realized he had. Nodoka ran out the door only to find that her husband had disappeared.

'Damn martial arts to hell! How can he move that fast?' she thought. The tears that she had refused to shed flowed down her cheeks. "Genma, I do love you. Please, find yourself and come back to me," she whispered.

* * *

Daisuke tugged at the collar of his shirt that suddenly seemed to be too tight. He had spent the last ten minutes standing across the street from Yuka's house, too scared to move. 'I hope none of the neighbors are watching, they'll probably think I'm a stalker or something,' he thought. He sighed and walked across the street and rapped on the door. 

After a few minutes, Yuka herself opened the door. She smiled in delight to see her boyfriend standing there, since he hadn't called to say that he was coming over and she hadn't seen him in a couple of days since his parents had dragged him off to visit his grandfather as soon as school had ended for the term. "Daisuke, I didn't expect you back! I thought you said that you would be out of town for the whole week," she exclaimed.

"I came back early," Daisuke said softly, "I needed to see you."

"Come on in. Mom and Dad are in the back," Yuka said. She pulled him into the house and then glancing around quickly, she pulled him into a fierce hug. "I missed you too," she said, shyly. She let him go and then laced her hand in his. She headed down the entry hall toward the back, only to feel Daisuke stop. "I need to let them know that you are here," she said, a confused look on her face.

"Can we stop in the family room first?" Daisuke asked, "I wanted to talk to you for a moment." Now that they were inside in the better lighting, she could see that he was looking a little wan, with small beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Sure," Yuka agreed, so she led him into the family room, "So what's this all about?"

Daisuke gulped and replied, "Yuka, we've been dating for almost a year now. It's been great and everything, but lately I've been wanting more."

Yuka's eyes began to tear up. "Are you breaking up with me?" she stammered.

"Kami, no! Damn, I knew I was going to screw this up!" Daisuke exclaimed. He pulled her to him for a moment and their lips met in a brief kiss. He released her and took a step back. "I had a whole big speech and everything. I froze in fear, and didn't do anything when he came and grabbed you. I was scared to death when he dropped you; I just knew that you were going to be killed. And then Akane saved you. I knew then that I had to do something," he said. He hesitated, and then knelt on one knee, and pulled a small box from his pocket. Taking her left hand, he asked, "I know we're still too young to really do this, but, Yuka would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

Yuka's right hand had covered her mouth as soon as Daisuke had knelt in front of her. Wordless for a moment, all she could was nod her head. At his sigh of relief, she giggled.

Daisuke opened the box and took out a simple gold engagement ring with a small diamond. He took her hand and gently slid the ring on her hand, and then kissed her hand.

Yuka pulled him to his feet and then gave him a rib-cracking hug, as she kissed him. Finally, she pulled away from him, her heart racing, and said, "We need to tell my parents."

"Yeah, well, of course," Daisuke said. He allowed her to lead him into the backyard, where her parents were sitting on a small patio overlooking an ornate garden.

"Mom, Dad!" Yuka exclaimed, "Guess what?"

Her mother set her book down and gasped. "What is that on your finger, young lady?" she asked.

"Dai asked me to marry him, and I said yes," Yuka replied.

"But you're too young, you can't get married," her mother protested.

"You aren't pregnant are you?" her father asked, just a little suspiciously, springing up from his chair and glaring at the young couple.

"Daddy!" Yuka almost shrieked. She glared at him.

Daisuke drew himself up and replied, with a lot of dignity, "Of course she's not pregnant. We haven't done that, not even close. I thought you knew me well enough, and you certainly should know Yuka well enough, to know that we wouldn't do that."

Mollified, her father sat back and said, "Sorry, you're right Daisuke. I do know my daughter, but sometimes teenage hormones can get out of control."

"And while we may be too young to get married without permission, we're certainly not too young to get engaged," Yuka said, "I love him, Mom, Dad, I really, really do."

"I believe you think you do, but you just turned seventeen. How can you be sure?" her mother asked gently.

"How were you sure about Dad?" her daughter shot back, "You weren't much older than I am when the two of you got engaged."

"That was different," her mother said.

"How?" Yuka asked, tears beginning to form.

"That's enough dear," her father said, placing a hand on his wife's arm. "I think you've found out what you wanted to know," he added, "So, Daisuke, what are your plans?"

"We haven't had a chance to talk about things like that, but I think once we graduate from high school and are of age, then we can talk about setting a date for a wedding," Daisuke added, "And while I do plan on going on to college, I expect that I will also be learning the ropes at my father's company, so it'll have to be a local college. He hasn't said so, but I know he expects me to take over for him when he retires, which I hope is years from now. I'll start at the bottom, probably working in the shop, so I can get some hands on experience."

"It sounds like you have thought about the future," her father said, "But are you good enough for my little girl?"

Daisuke said softly, "I'm not sure anyone is good enough for her, but I'm gonna do my best to make her happy. Her happiness is all I care about."

"Could you two give us a minute?" her mother asked.

"Sure, Mom. Come on, Dai, they want to talk about us," Yuka said. The two of them walked off and entered the garden, Yuka pointing out one of the bonsai trees that she had formed under her mother's supervision when she was a small child.

"That's right, I'd forgotten that your mother liked to do bonsai," Daisuke said. He hesitated and asked, "Do you think they'll accept us being engaged?"

Yuka stopped and leaned back against Daisuke, who promptly wrapped his arms around her waist. "I hope so. But if they try to make me chose between them and you, they won't like the answer," she replied.

"I'm not coming between you and your parents," Daisuke warned, "I love you very much, but I'm not going to do that."

"I can't not be with you," Yuka said forcefully, "The months that I have been with you are the happiest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but Dad is wedded to his job, so I don't get to spend as much time with him as I'd like. Mom, she's been great, but sometimes I don't think she understands me. I'm much more modern than she is. Even though she raised me to be a traditional Japanese girl, I'm not. Don't get me wrong, though, I do love a lot of the traditions, but that doesn't define me the way it defined her."

"What do you want to do? I mean, besides marry me," Daisuke asked.

"Well, I'm nowhere near as ambitious as Sayuri, much less Nabiki Tendo, but I do want to work outside the home. I was thinking about teaching, probably grade school," Yuka replied.

"Nobody's as ambitious as Nabiki," Daisuke replied with a chuckle, "And I think you'd be a good teacher. You've helped me a great deal with my homework. And while I haven't spent a lot of time with your folks, I like them, and I think they like me."

"Yuka, Daisuke, could you two come here?" her mother called.

"Sure, Mom," Yuka said. She grabbed her fiancé and kissed him hard.

The young couple walked back, holding each other's hand tightly.

"Sit down you two," her father said. He waited until they sat down in the other two chairs, and then continued, "First of all, I'm can't say that I'm very happy about all of this. Before either of you protest, partly that's because the two of you are only seventeen, and that just barely. And some of it is because you two haven't actually dated anyone else but each other." He sighed and added, "And a lot of it is the fact that I don't want to admit to myself that my little girl is all grown up."

"Sir," Daisuke began, only to stop as the older man held up his hand in an imperious gesture.

"Let me finish first, son," he said, "On the other hand, as my wife reminded me, Yuka is all grown up and quite capable of making her own decisions. And as I was also reminded, since she started dating you, she has been happy, nearly giddy sometimes. And in spite of all of that, she's kept her grades up."

"My turn," her mother said, "Yuka, I've tried to raise you to be a traditional Japanese woman, so I always hoped that you would follow our traditions. But instead, it appears that you aren't interested in that."

"That's not totally true, Mom," Yuka protested mildly.

"We haven't had a mi-ai, nor have we celebrated your betrothal with yui-no gifts," her mother retorted.

Yuka roller her eyes and whined, "Mom, Dai and I don't need to have a mi-ai, we've known each other for years, and we've dated for nearly a year. What would a formal interview get us?"

"And we can certainly have an dinner with my family, and exchange our engagement gifts then, Mrs. Amiya. That would satisfy the tradition," Daisuke added.

Mr. and Mrs. Amiya exchanged glances. A brief nod from her husband, and she said, "Very well, we'll talk to your parents and set up a dinner on an auspicious date. You have our blessings, young man, but you'd better treat my daughter right."

"Of course. I'll have my parents give you a call, er, once I've broken the news to them, that is," Daisuke said.

"They didn't know you were going to propose?" Yuka asked.

"Well, I didn't want to make a fool out of myself if you said no," her fiancé replied, "But they really like you and know how I feel about you. They probably knew before I did that I was going to ask you."

"Would you like to stay for dinner, son?" Mr. Amiya asked.

Daisuke looked at his fiancée and smiled uncertainly. "Would it be okay if Yuka and I went out for dinner?" he finally asked.

"I don't think that would be a problem," her mother replied, "I'm sure there's still a lot for you two to talk about. Just don't keep her out to late."

"Thank you both," Daisuke said as he bowed to both of them. Yuka grabbed his hand and the two of them ran off.

* * *

Ranma was startled awake out of a deep sleep as he was suddenly jostled. He rolled over and in the dim light he saw Akane sitting up against the headboard, her pillow clutched to her chest. Her eyes were almost glowing in the moonlight shining through the window overlooking the private courtyard. "What's wrong, love?" he asked softly, sensing something was amiss because of the way she was sitting. 

"I was having a hard time sleeping for some reason, and my mind started replaying some more of that dream. And then I finally connected some of what I remembered with one of the stories that you told me," Akane replied. She turned and asked, "When are we going to Ryugenzawa?"

"Worried about Shinnosuke?" Ranma asked, trying to keep the instant pang of jealousy that sprang up from affecting his voice.

"A little," Akane admitted, "I do owe him a debt for him saving my life so long ago, and him getting hurt in the process. I can't believe I actually forgot all about that. But that news report we saw on the television this afternoon reminded me, I guess."

Ranma sighed and sat up in the bed. He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair, breathing in the slight vanilla fragrance from her shampoo. "He should be fine for now. I don't remember exactly when you went after him the last time, but it was several months from now, so I hadn't really thought about when we needed to go," he finally replied.

"If you don't go, I'll go by myself," Akane warned, "I owe it to him."

"That wasn't what I meant. I just figured that we had plenty of time still," Ranma said soothingly, "Of course, we'll both go. It's just."

Akane interrupted him and said, "You're jealous of him."

Ranma looked away from her for a minute and then replied in a small voice, "Yeah, a little. Even though I know better, there's still that insecure boy that was too afraid to admit how I felt about you living inside me. I've got so many memories of what happened, most of them bad. And sometimes, when it's dark, those memories surface. I'm damaged goods in a lot of ways, Acchan."

"Even though we didn't say those words, I married you for better or for worse, Ranma. How's the rest of the Western vow go? Oh yeah, something like this. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. I love you and if I have to tell you that every day for the rest of my life, I will," Akane said fervently, "You're stuck with me and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Ranma ran his hands through his hair and said, "I know that, I keep telling myself that this time we were smarter. But even though I remember you coming home with me, he was really the only guy that I ever was afraid that you'd stay with; because of the debt that you felt you owed him. One of my happiest memories was when I reached back and you took my hand that day, on our way home. If only I had acted on what that meant to me then, things would have been better between us sooner."

Akane leaned into him and said, "Remember what you told me before. We aren't those two people. Don't beat yourself up about what happened. That past, that future, whatever, doesn't count any more. I repeat, I will never leave you." She bent down and kissed him, bruising his lips with her intensity.

After several minutes, Ranma pulled away. He shook his head to get the cobwebs out. "You know, when you kiss me like that, I can't think straight," he said, breathlessly.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Akane asked, with a smirk.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't do too much thinking," Ranma agreed, with a faint smile. After a moment, he added, "Maybe we can go during the summer break. But I'd like to take more than just us. Facing the Yamata no Orochi by ourselves didn't work out too well. I'd just as soon not do that again, especially jumping into his mouth." He shook his head and added, "Not my brightest move, in retrospect."

"I didn't see that in my dream," Akane said, her eyes wide with horror, "Promise me you won't do that again."

"He was going after you," Ranma said softly, "And even though it'll irritate you no end, I won't let anyone or anything hurt you. I'm not trying to insult your skills as a martial artist, but if you got hurt, I just couldn't bear it. I'd rather I got hurt, instead. Remember, I thought I lost you once, I just, I mean…" His voice broke.

"Hush," Akane said, her eyes huge, "I know how you feel, because I feel the same way. I saw you die in that dream, no that nightmare, and when I did, my heart almost stopped."

Ranma hugged her and said, "Well, then, I guess the only thing to do is make sure neither of us ever gets hurt seriously."

"Sounds like a real good plan," Akane said, "It'll be a real cute trick to pull off, though. I doubt the universe will let things work out like that."

"That's a very good point. I can't imagine how I didn't think of that," Ranma said in a mock serious tone, causing Akane to giggle.

"All kidding aside, who do you plan on asking to come with us?" Akane asked, once she sobered up.

Ranma thought for a moment, and replied, "Well, Ryoga for sure. I'd ask Mousse, but since the Yamata no Orochi lives in a lake, I'm not sure taking someone who turns into a duck when wet is a good idea. I'd hate to lose him if the Yamata no Orochi wanted a snack, and Kodachi would kill me if that happened. Konatsu would be helpful, I think."

"That's just guys," Akane protested, "What about the girls?"

"I don't know. I'd like Shampoo, Ukyo and Cologne to come. There are eight heads after all. But, what draws the beast's attention is liquor and girls, so I kinda had intended for me to be the bait," Ranma replied.

"What am I, day-old sushi?" Akane asked, with an acid tone to her voice.

"Of course not, I just, well, damn," Ranma replied, "Give me a second to get my foot out of my mouth. There I go, thinking again. I really need to stop that and let the experts do it."

Akane punched him lightly in the arm, and said, "Don't put yourself down like that. I know you were just being overprotective Ranma again." She yawned and said, "I think I'm tired enough to try to get some sleep."

Ranma glanced over at the clock and said, "Works for me. Morning is gonna get here awfully soon." The two of them slid back down to the mattress, and Akane cuddled up on Ranma's shoulder. "Night, dear," Ranma said, as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Daisuke led Yuka into the family room of his parents' estate. While nowhere near as large as the Kuno's or even the Tendos, the Ito compound still was an attractive two-story home surrounded by a modest yard. His family was a bit more modern than Yuka's, with more of a Western influence in the furnishings, though the family room where they ate their meals was still a traditional Japanese setting. The sliding doors to the outside were open, allowing the pleasant evening breeze to enter, while they found his parents sitting on the steps leading to the outside, watching the fireflies flit around the backyard, the small paper lanterns hanging from the trees providing a minimum of light. 

"Mother, Father," Daisuke said, in greeting, as he entered holding Yuka's hand.

"Hello, son," Mr. Ito said, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Amiya."

Mrs. Ito smiled a welcome, and then noticed the addition to Yuka's hand. "I think you have something to tell us, don't you dear?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I, no we do," Daisuke replied, "Yesterday I asked Yuka to marry me, and well, she said yes. And before you say we're too young, we're waiting until we get out of high school first."

Mr. Ito frowned slightly and then asked, "Does this change any of your plans, son?"

"Not really, we both want to go on to college, I know I need to get a business degree to help with the firm, and Yuka wants to teach, so that part of the future won't change," Daisuke replied.

"So you still expect to take over the firm when I retire," his father mused.

Daisuke shrugged and said, "It's what is expected of me, I thought. And the times I helped out, I enjoyed some of it."

"Some of it?" his father asked.

"The hands on in the shop was fun, though the old men liked to tease me a bit, but I could do without some of the paperwork," Daisuke replied.

"You definitely are your father's son, then," his mother said with a laugh. She turned to Yuka and said, "Welcome to our family, dear. I can't say this is a surprise. I've been expecting this for several months, especially once the Saotome's got married."

"That's not why I asked her," Daisuke snapped, his face getting just a little flushed.

"That's not what I meant. The few times I was around the two of you, I saw the same look in your eyes that your father had, just before he asked me to marry him. And you two being best friends with the Saotomes, I expected that to maybe provide you the courage you needed to ask her, that's all," Mrs. Ito said calmly.

"My parents know that we are engaged, and while they have given us their blessing, Mom is very traditional. She'll want to get with you and set up an engagement party some time soon," Yuka said.

"Traditions have their place," his mother said, "Though we've left some of them behind, like arranged marriages, for example."

"And I'm glad of that," Daisuke and Yuka said in unison, causing all four of them to laugh.

"You have very good taste, son," Mr. Ito said softly, "In both your choices."

Daisuke looked a little puzzled, so Yuka took pity on him. "I think he said you have good taste in jewelry and well, women," she whispered, causing him to blush.

"Well, he's right. I do have good taste in women," Daisuke whispered back.

"We'll need to take you shopping this weekend to get the yui-no gifts. The obi won't be a problem, and before you leave tonight, Yuka, we'll give you his hakama size. I'll call your mother tomorrow and we can arrange the party," Mrs. Ito said.

* * *

Ranma watched as Akane went through her last kata for the day. The week of training had certainly paid off as she had quickly learned the things that he was able to teach her, proof once more that it had been a shame that her father had abandoned her training. 'She'll never be as good as me, of course,' he thought, with just a touch of arrogance, 'but she has certainly come a long way from that angry tomboy I first met. I'm not sure she'll ever be able to pull off the Hiryű Shōten Ha, but I still should show her how to develop the Soul of Ice. The tree and roof-hopping she's got down. And her speed is getting real good.' 

Akane finished up with a flourish and then bowed briefly to Ranma.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, "I thought I told you none of that. I may be your teacher for now, but you don't have to bow like that."

"So what do you think?" Akane asked, as she caught the wet towel he tossed her and wiped the sweat off her face.

"There's not much more that I can teach you, Akane. The Soul of Ice, and then the hidden techniques of the Umi-Sen-Ken, and the Yama-Sen-Ken are the only things left in the Saotome School. And I don't have the Yama-Sen-Ken scrolls," Ranma replied.

"That Ryu guy has those, right?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, and I don't know where to find him. He'll show up one of these days, I guess, to get vengeance on Pop, and we can talk to him then," Ranma replied, "So that leaves the techniques of the Tendo School. I haven't learned them, so I can't teach those techniques yet."

"We could learn those together. I remember the stuff that Mommy and Daddy taught, at least a little, and we could go over his scrolls," Akane said eagerly.

"That's a good idea," Ranma said, "Mom still has a lot to teach us about Kamiya Kasshin still. It'll be interesting to see how we meld all of the things we've learned into a coherent whole."

"Mm, big word, but you're right. I think I'm gonna be better with the weapons side of things though," Akane continued.

"You've gotten pretty good at the hand to hand stuff, but yeah, that'll work. You always preferred using a weapon before, so I'm not surprised that you're good at it," Ranma said, with a slightly rueful smile.

Akane arched an eyebrow and snickered. "You mean things like mallets, and bokkens," she said.

"Not that I miss getting malleted, but yeah," Ranma replied, lightly.

"So what are we going to do for the rest of the day? I really don't want to go back home tomorrow, this has been nice just the two of us," Akane asked, a little despondently.

"After we bathe, and eat some dinner, I thought we could go to that club and dance for a while. We probably won't get much opportunity to do that once school starts up again," Ranma said.

"And after that?" Akane asked.

"Well, there is that one position in the book that Nabiki gave us for a honeymoon present that you said you wanted to try," Ranma said with a grin.

* * *

Ranma and Akane left the train at the Nerima station, their eyes bright, as they entwined their fingers. As they made their way through the station, they heard someone call, "Ranma! Akane!" Looking up, they saw most of their family waiting for them. 

"You look like you two had a good time," Kasumi said as she kissed first her sister and then her brother-in-law.

"Yeah, it was great," Akane gushed, "We practiced all sorts of things, and Ranma took me dancing three of the nights"

"Dancing, huh?" Kasumi asked, with an arch look at her husband.

"Gee thanks, Ranma, now you've got me in hot water," Tofu said with a grin, as he hugged his sister-in-law and shook his hand.

"Hi, Daddy, Mom," Akane said in greeting, just before she was swallowed up in a big hug by Nodoka, something she had really never done before.

"Oh, my little girl is so grown-up," Soun wailed.

"Daddy, stop that," Akane snapped.

"Hi Mom, Dad," Ranma said. He looked around and asked, "Where's Pop and Nabiki?"

"Uh, Nabiki couldn't come," Soun said.

"And we'll talk about your father later," Nodoka said.

"I'm really surprised that all of you came to meet us anyway," Ranma said, as he tossed his backpack over his shoulder, "You ready, Acchan?"

Akane shouldered her backpack and gave a brilliant smile. "Yeah, Ranchan, let's go home," she replied. The six of them headed out of the terminal, with Ranma and Akane telling them a bit more about their trip, though Akane thought there was a weird undercurrent.

"Um, be careful when you get home, Ranma, Akane," Tofu said, "Something odd happened to Nabiki. Hinako is keeping an eye on her."

Now Akane was really worried. It sounded to her like the chaos that centered around Nerima had struck again.

* * *

Akane opened the door to her home, and started to walk in. To her surprise, only Ranma was following her. She turned and watched as the other four blushed furiously. 

Tofu's eyes glazed over slightly and he grabbed Kasumi. He said, "I think we'll go visit the clinic." The two of them vanished out the front gate, a hungry look in Kasumi's eyes.

"We'll, um, just wait in the dojo," Soun stammered as he took Nodoka by the hand and disappeared around the corner of the house.

Akane looked at Ranma, who shrugged his shoulders. Then he sniffed and said, "There's something very weird going on in there, Acchan. I'm not sure exactly what I smell, but it's very odd."

"Okay, you take our dirty clothes to the furoba, and I'll find Nabiki. Maybe then we can get to the bottom of this," Akane replied. She entered the house then, ignoring the odd sensations she was beginning to feel. 'Stupid train trip, it's got me so primed I was ready to jump Ranma as soon as we got inside,' she thought. She handed her backpack to Ranma and he left her at the closed door to the family room and headed down the long hallway to the furoba.

Akane opened the door to the family room, and entered. She screamed, "What happened to you?"

Ranma had reached the bend around the kitchen, as he heard Akane shriek. He dropped the backpack where he stood and raced back to the family room where he found Akane frozen in shock, one hand over her mouth and the other, pointing very shakily at what seemed to be her sister Nabiki.

Ranma's eyes widened in shock as he saw Nabiki, but not the girl who he had last seen at the beginning of the week. She was dressed in clothing that was extremely tight on her, as somehow she had developed an extreme hourglass figure, with a tiny waist, and a chest that was bigger than Shampoo's. Her hair had grown, so that it was nearly down to her extremely shapely derriere. Her eyes were red from crying, but somehow she had never been more attractive. "What happened to you?" he echoed, stumbling over his tongue.

In an extremely sexy voice, Nabiki replied, "Tatewaki Kuno, that's what happened."

"How could he have done this?" Akane stammered, her face flushing for some reason.

"It's all my fault," Hinako said sadly.

"No it's not, Hi-chan," Nabiki said quickly as she gathered the younger girl into a hug.

"Hi-chan needs to breathe," the young girl said from amongst Nabiki's monstrous bosom, as she was about to pass out from asphysixiation.

Suddenly, Nabiki shivered and moaned in pleasure. She blushed and released Hinako, and turned away.

"Would one of you like to explain what's going on? And what just happened, sis?" Akane asked.

"She just had an orgasm," Hinako explained, blushing a little.

"From your hug! Now I'm confused," Ranma exclaimed.

"What does that moron Kuno have to do with this?" Akane snarled.

"It happened a couple of days ago," Hinako explained, "We were sitting in the park, watching all of the cute couples walk by and got to talking."

Flashback

Nabiki sighed bitterly. Hinako turned and asked, "What's the matter, Na-chan?"

"Just a little lonely, I guess, Hi-chan. I really never expected to feel like this, but I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend," Nabiki replied, sadly.

"An attractive woman like you shouldn't have any trouble getting a boyfriend," Hinako said, sharply, "Kami knows, when I was an adult, their tongues were always hanging out following me around."

Nabiki chuckled tiredly, and said, "You're good for me Hinako, but answer me this, why don't I have one then?"

Hinako snorted loudly. "Probably because you haven't really wanted one before," she said wisely.

Nabiki grinned wryly and replied, "You're right about that, Hi-chan. I guess my hormones are on overdrive today, is all. Thanks."

Hinako frowned slightly, making her look older than her years for a moment, and said, "I think it's more than that. You've pretended to be so self-sufficient for so long, at least according to Kasumi-chan, that you've suppressed yourself. Why else would you have reacted so strongly to all of my affection, otherwise?"

Nabiki glared at the young girl and exclaimed, "I haven't suppressed my feelings!"

"Yeah, right! What was that nickname that Ranma said most of the school called you? The Ice Queen, wasn't it? That's why no guy wants to ask you out, he's afraid of frostbite," Hinako said calmly.

"That's not true! If I wanted a date, I wouldn't have any problem getting one," Nabiki snarled.

"Put your money where your mouth is, Na-chan. Two thousand yen says that you can't get a date with the next cute single guy that walks by," Hinako challenged, smugly crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're on, Hi-chan," Nabiki said, her eyes glinting, "Easy money if you ask me. Like taking candy from a baby."

"Well then, there's your target," Hinako said, as she pointed to a tall young man that had just rounded the corner and was approaching them. A well dressed young man, wearing what appeared to be samurai robes, cradling what appeared to be an ancient sword sheathed in an ornate scabbard.

Nabiki's heart sank as she recognized the figure of Tatewaki Kuno. While not quite as bad as he had been, he was still not someone she really found attractive. In fact, if it weren't for his bulging wallet, she wouldn't even give him the time of day. "No," she breathed, "Anyone but him."

Hinako swiftly held out her hand as if to say, "Where's my money, loser?"

"Oh, no you don't, you haven't won yet," Nabiki snarled. She sprang to her feet and sauntered over to Kuno. She asked, in a very warm and friendly voice, "Hello, Kuno-baby. How have you been?"

Tatewaki blinked suddenly, bringing him out of whatever reverie he was in. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and stared down at the sword in his arms for a second, as he mumbled under his breath, "I guess it does work. But who would have thought that Nabiki Tendo was the one I was searching for?" He turned to Nabiki, and appeared to truly see her for the first time. He replied, "My week has been very pleasant, Nabiki Tendo. I have had an interesting experience. Perhaps we could go on a picnic and I could regale you with my glorious exploits?"

Nabiki asked, "Are you asking me out on a date, Kuno-baby?"

Kuno straightened up and replied, "Strangely enough, I believe that I am."

Nabiki smiled smugly at Hinako, who was snickering at her. "I gladly accept, Kuno-baby," she replied, shooting a 'so there' look at the laughing little girl.

"Then I shall meet you tomorrow, say around ten, and take you on a picnic," Kuno said grandly, "Until we meet again." He bowed politely to them and headed back the way he had come.

Nabiki waited until he had gotten out of earshot and then groaned theatrically. "What have I done!" she exclaimed in horror, "That's Kuno. UGHHH!"

End Flashback

Akane gasped, "You went out on a date with that pervert!"

Ranma felt ill, and asked, "But what does that have to do with your, um, well, Barbie-doll condition?" 'And why am I feeling these strange urges?' he thought.

"He had just returned from a sojourn in the mountains where he visited an ancient temple. Legend had it that the temple housed an artifact, a sword, that would bring great fortune to the person who could draw it from a large stone," Nabiki said tiredly, but still in a voice that seemed to send shivers up both Ranma's and Akane's spine.

A strange look passed across his eyes as Ranma said, "So that was the sword that Kuno was carrying when he met you and asked you out." He tried to unobtrusively adjust himself as he noticed the tightness in his trousers.

Nabiki sighed as she saw the effect she was having on both of them, as Akane was gently biting her lip.

"Yes, he was apparently able to draw it out of the stone, and it grants the wielder some wishes," Hinako replied, quickly, also noticing what was happening. 'Just like this morning, with Tofu-san, Kasumi-chan, Soun-san, and Nodoka-san,' she thought in dismay.

"Don't tell me? He used one of the wishes to do this to you?" Ranma asked in horror.

"Yeah. It's partly my fault, though. When he told me about the sword, and the wishes, I went a little crazy. He told me that when I saw him the day before, he had wished to find a woman who would go on a date with him. When I heard that, I wanted him to wish me great wealth, but somehow he had discovered how I was feeling that nobody desired me. He made some sort of wish that I didn't hear, but nothing seemed to happen. At least, not until this morning, when I woke up, like this!" Nabiki wailed, "Now look at me! How can I possibly be taken seriously as a businesswoman, when I cause every one I see to, well,"

"Be aroused," Hinako interrupted, "And the worst thing about it, apparently, is the effect works on her, too. She's been in a constant state of arousal ever since she got up, and the slightest stimulus seems to set her off. And it was scary this morning."

Ranma shivered as those same chills ran down his spine. He licked his lips, and thought, 'Soul of Ice. Akane wouldn't appreciate it if I jumped her sister.' He watched as Akane showed obvious signs of her arousal. 'Oh no, it's affecting her too,' he realized. "Don't worry, Na-chan, I'll go get the moron and get this fixed!" he exclaimed as he ran from the room.

"He feels the effect too, doesn't he?" Hinako asked.

"Yeah, whatever Kuno wished for, he's certainly turned my sex appeal up on high," Nabiki said throatily.

"Don't do that!" Akane exclaimed, "It doesn't just affect guys, you know." She shuddered as she bent her will to keep her traitorous body under control. "It's getting to me, and I don't like girls that way, especially my sister," she whimpered.

"Oh, and who was that female voice I heard screaming in the furoba last weekend, it sure didn't sound like you," Nabiki purred.

"That's different," Akane said, swaying slightly toward Nabiki. She gasped and begged, "Please, you don't know what this is doing to me!"

"We know. Why do you think the rest of the family didn't come into the house? Even though I think it's probably too late. I seem to mostly be immune to whatever it is, but everybody else seems to want to jump her as soon as they see her or hear her voice," Hinako replied, "It was bad enough this morning when Tofu-san made a move on her."

"Daddy? Kasumi? Mom?" Akane asked in shock, as her eyes opened wide.

"They were able to fight it off, but only because they vanished shortly afterwards," Nabiki said huskily, "I guess Tofu and Kasumi figured out a solution. And I guess, Daddy and Mrs. Saotome did too."

Akane's eyes opened wide as she went, "Ewwww. Does that mean you think Daddy and Nodoka? Bad mental image! Don't go there!"

At Nabiki's silent nod, Akane said, "Ewwww!" again. She shuddered and then asked, "Why didn't they warn us when they met us at the station?"

"Because I asked not to tell you too much," Nabiki replied, "Can you imagine the reaction of all of the people at school if they found out that I had turned into some sort of sex goddess? If they saw me looking like this? I'd lose all of my reputation!"

"You'd certainly have a different one, that's for sure!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma came bursting in, dragging a befuddled Kuno behind him. "Okay, Kuno, you're going to undo whatever you've done to Na-chan, and right now," Ranma commanded. 'Why do I keep wanting to call her Na-chan? Don't think about her like that!' he thought, as he saw the mental pictures that his brain was trying to send him.

Kuno gasped as he saw Nabiki for the first time, and he licked his lips, and his eyes went heavy-lidded as he felt the effects. He stood stiffly and said, "I see that my wish worked. You're gorgeous, Nabiki-sama. Come, I will let you date with me again to allow you to show your gratitude. But, first, I still owe Saotome-sama a debt of honor. Allow me to use my last wish to remove your curse."

Quicker than thought, Ranma whisked the sword away from Kuno before he could utter another word. "No! Kuno, I can live like this. I don't even care about my curse. But Nabiki can't. How could you do this to her? Don't you know what she dreams of?" he asked angrily.

"Why wouldn't she wish to be the object of every person's desire?" Kuno asked in bewilderment, "Look at her. She's magnificent!"

"Is that what you wished for you, you moron? Turning me into a succubus!" Nabiki exploded, finally completely losing her composure, causing everyone in earshot to start breathing heavily as they watched her heaving bosom.

'Soul of Ice!' Ranma thought as he forced his emotions away. He closed his eyes and said, "Kuno, she wants to be a businesswoman, to make her fortune in the business world by working behind a desk, not spread over it. She wants to get ahead by being smarter than anyone else. As a woman in Japan, she's going to have to be twice as good as everyone else just to get considered. How can she do that when no one will take her seriously when she looks and sounds like this?"

"Ranma, I didn't know you cared about me like that?" Nabiki exclaimed in wonder.

Ranma waved her to be quiet, and continued, "Now, you will wish that she be returned to the way she was before, or your attack on me will known throughout the school and I will take great personal pleasure in destroying your reputation!"

"And I'll help!" Akane snarled, "Nabiki is not a Barbie-doll, her best asset isn't her body, it's her brain! Don't you dare destroy my sister!"

Kuno sagged, still not taking his eyes off of the goddess in front of him. "Very well," he replied, in a defeated voice, "If that is what you want, then it would be churlish of me to refuse. Hand me the sword."

Ranma said, "Be very careful with how you word the wish, Kuno. Anything else goes wrong, and there won't be enough left of you to identify." He stared at Kuno coldly, and handed him the sword.

"I understand," Kuno said. He drew himself up with dignity and said, "I wish Nabiki Tendo to be restored to how she was before my wish." The sword began to glow brightly, and a sudden light filled the room.

When the glow faded, the sword was gone, and Nabiki began to shrink before their eyes. With a glad shriek, Nabiki ran out the door, presumably to check things out in the full-length mirror in her room.

Ranma said coldly, "She's happy right now, Kuno, but when she gets down from her high, she's going to be royally pissed at you. And an angry Nabiki is not someone you want to see. I would suggest that you make yourself scarce for a while, and not come near her, or certain parts of your body will lose all entertainment value."

"What? I don't understand," Kuno asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"He means that if Nabiki sees you before she calms down, she's likely going to emasculate you , you moron," Akane said, her eyes twitching angrily.

"Huh?" Kuno asked, still not getting the message.

"Moron," Hinako said, "What they are trying to say, in their delicate fashion so as not to offend my virgin ears is simple. If Na-chan sees you anytime in the next month, she is likely going to cut your balls off and cram then down your effing throat." She smiled angelicaly at him.

Kuno's eyes widened as the message finally sank in. He paled as he heard Nabiki's voice say, "Oh Kuno-baby, don't let me forget to thank you for what you did!" He turned and vanished out the back door, leaping over the wall surrounding the compound.

Nabiki came running back in, dressed in her normal clothing, a huge smile on her face. "Ranma," she said, "Thank you. You gave up a chance at a cure for me. I don't know how to repay you for that. And Akane, you too. You backed him up. I can't begin to thank you."

"Hey sis, you would have done the same thing if it had been me in that situation," Akane said, elated that whatever had been causing her to have those perverted thoughts about her sister seemed to have vanished.

Nabiki hesitantly approached Ranma and then embraced him, wrapping her legs around his waist. The surprised man staggered back a step, and then with an apologetic look at his wife, carefully held Nabiki. Her eyes went wide for a moment, as she felt him against her and she said, "I'm sorry, Akane. It's not his fault!" just before she crashed her lips against his. She moaned into his mouth, and then shuddered.

Ranma set her down gently, as he lightly touched his lips. "I guess it's a bit of a cliché, but was it good for you?" he asked.

Nabiki bit her lip and nodded, then turned to her fuming sister. She walked over to Akane, and said, "Please, if you get mad at someone, get mad at me."

Akane reached out and pulled her sister into a hug, and said, "Nabiki, I know this isn't you doing this. I just hope it wears off soon." She gently caressed Nabiki's cheek, only to draw back as Nabiki moaned once more. Akane sighed and looked over at her husband, who nodded wearily at her. Then she bent down, and kissed Nabiki, who parted her lips. Akane's eyes widened as Nabiki French-kissed her, and tightly gripped her rear. Then her sister shuddered again. Akane released her, staring at her wide-eyed.

"Uh, sis, don't get any ideas, I don't share and neither does Ranma," Akane said, warily.

"Hinako, why don't you take Nabiki into the furoba and help her take a cold shower? A very long cold shower," Ranma suggested.

"T-that's a very good idea, Ranma dear," Nabiki said, "I think that might do it. This last one wasn't as intense, so maybe finally, I'm settling down."

Hinako took her by the hand and led her out of the family room and down the hall.

Ranma walked over to his wife, and held her. "You okay, Akane?" he asked.

"Yeah, I will be," Akane replied, shivering against his chest, "You know how worked up I get on the train, and then to feel whatever Nabiki was sending out. It was all I could do to keep from ripping her clothing off."

"Tell me about it," Ranma said softly, "I barely could keep myself under control, and then when she touched me."

"Same here," Akane said, "And except for you, I don't swing that way."

"Is it safe to come in, now?" his mother's voice asked from outside the family room.

Akane replied, "Yes, it should be. We managed to cure Nabiki. She's taking a cold shower."

Ranma turned and dropped his jaw in surprise. His mother was standing there with Soun, both of them very mussed, his mother's lips bruised. "Mom, Mr. Tendo, what happened to you?" he asked.

"After this morning, we got sensitized to the pheremones, or whatever else it was, that Nabiki was pumping out," Nodoka said, her cheeks very rosy, "And, well, it has been a long time since I've seen your father."

"Ewwww, bad mental images," Ranma exclaimed.

Akane giggled to his surprise. He turned and looked at her and she said, "I had the same reaction when Nabiki told me what happened this morning."

"We managed not to go that far," Soun said, with what remained of his dignity, "Can we just pretend that none of this ever happened?"

"I think that is a very good idea," Nodoka agreed hastily, refusing to look in his direction.

"Where's Pop?" Ranma asked.

"He's gone," Nodoka replied, "He is atoning for his mistakes."

"He didn't?" Ranma gasped.

"Oh, sorry, nothing like that. He's wandering the countryside attempting to regain who he was when I married him," Nodoka replied.

"That's probably for the best," Ranma said softly.

"I'll call Doc and let them know that the problem is taken care of," Akane said as she headed toward the phone in the hall.

"Uh, why don't you give them some more time, Akane, dear," Nodoka suggested, "They are after all, young and married."

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. I had some fun with this chapter and the last. For those who were curious, the various Anime and Book references were the obvious Rurouni Kenshin reference, and the Harry Potter reference. The Harry Potter reference, BTW, is a tribute to one of my favorite HP fanfictions, Backwards Compatible by Ruskbyte. Unfortunately it hasn't been updated since July but it is still a good read. There was also a very quick InuYasha reference again, in that the Policewoman was Eri the friend of Kagome. The one reference that no one seems to have caught was the one that Hinako used. "Is it good to eat?" That is one of Kaola Su's favorite phrases from the anime/manga Love Hina. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For specific comments to some of the reviews, see below. 

Xero Reflux Strike: Actually, I think Rumiko brought Konatsu and Akari into the manga for Ukyo and Ryoga respectively, she just didn't manage to bring them together. I think that was probably supposed to be the canon pairings.

Silver Warrior" Of course Taro will make another appearance, besides this one that is. He and Par Fum will make their way to Nerima, eventually.

Kenshin-Battosai: Welcome aboard. I enjoy adding the little snipovers to other animes that I drop in occasionally. Kenshin is one of my favorites and to be honest, I just couldn't resist creating the connection between Kenshin and Nodoka. Had to explain the red hair somehow.

Kyle: I needed to write a very WAFFy chapter to counteract the chapter I was writing in my other fic. That one was pretty angsty. Nabiki will eventually end up with someone, she just hasn't told me who she wants yet. VEG And YES, you picked up exactly why Happosai died the way he did. I really wanted something very anticlimactic.

Dralan: Because I don't like him. Seriously, he was weakened by the Ultimate Moxibustion point that Ranma applied, his ki levels were low because he was mostly guarded by men, and lastly, it seemed like a nice plot device for the next scene.

Aznelemants: Again, welcome aboard. Glad for the review. Thanks, I have never liked pairings that came out of the blue so I wanted to make sure mine made sense within the context of this story. Mousse and Kodachi were easy, two delusional people in love. And I had never seen that particular pairing before. Haven't decided if Taro will end up fighting the Phoenix people yet, but he will show up again in Nerima at least. VBG, everyone seems to wonder who Nabiki will end up with? I wonder why that is.

Shinigami: See the response to Dralan. Nabiki? Would you believe I really haven't decided yet. SNICKER

Crystlshake: Yep, ironic is definitely the word I was looking for. VBG I'm glad you liked the way the chapter fit together. I worked hard on that.

Hououza: Too late, I have the traces. Um, yes eventually Nabiki will find true love. Though she, er, had fun in this chapter. Running and dodging furiously. Taro and Par Fum will make an appearance in Nerima. While I haven't actually plotted out the Saffron arc, I do know some of the things that I am planning. And that is probably saying too much already.

Celestial Lelila: Yeah, I thought Tofu and Kasumi would be all proper in front of people and then cut loose when they are by themselves. That dialogue wrote itself.

Wonderbee31: No, no trick, probably. Yeah, makeup sex isn't bad, but seriously, they really hadn't had any real disagreement in a while, and that simply isn't realistic.

CrowKenobi: Grumble, grumble. I forgot I had described her that way in the other chapter. SO the answer is long red hair, mainly because I like long hair. I went back and fixed it. Taro will show up in Japan again, and we'll see what happens. And yes, at least one of the things will end up biting Ranma in the ass. Not real painfully, but not everything can go smoothly.

majinbuu7985: BLUSH. Yes, Cologne found out from Ranma. I have a plot bunny with InuYasha if I can figure out a way to pull it off.

Holy-Psychic-Vulpix: Damn. There goes the diet. VBG Enjoy this chapter. Was it good for you?

Silverline Scimitar: I know. Fortunately the fluoride in the water stops that from happening. No wait, that's a different conspiracy theory. Sorry, forget about that. I enjoy writing Hinako's lines. I can have sooo much fun with her. Mind out of the gutter. That's not what I meant. Happi just had to go. And at least this way, it was more or less peaceful.

Psycho King: I'm glad you like that. You missed the InuYasha one and the Love Hina one, though I admit the Love Hina one was pretty obscure. As I've mentioned, Taro shows up again.


	51. Thawing of an Ice Queen

Chapter 51 Thawing of an Ice Queen

Ranma smiled faintly as he gazed around the family room. Dinner was somewhat strained after the events of the day, with his mother and Soun sitting tightlipped next to each other, the two of them still trying to avoid each other's eyes. 'I really, really, don't want to know what happened between them,' he thought. Kasumi and Tofu were more or less back to normal, though there was a lot more touching than they normally showed in public, and they continued to look a little warily at Nabiki when they thought she wasn't looking. Hinako was sitting in her normal spot, all but joined at the hip with Nabiki, though she had a slight frown on her face, instead of her normal cheery disposition. Finally, he finished his dinner, and said, breaking the strained silence, "Dinner was very good, Kasumi."

"Thank you, Ranma," Kasumi replied, "But Hinako and Auntie Nodoka did most of the cooking." A faint blush stained her cheeks, as she added, "I was a little too busy this afternoon, after all."

"Oh, sorry then, Hinako, Mom, you two did an excellent job," Ranma said. He stood up, and gathered his dishes and took them into the kitchen and placed them in the sink. Then he walked out and sat down on the steps outside, staring at the koi pond. He heard a faint footstep, and then Akane sat down next to him, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Ranma smiled once more, and slid his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight.

"A yen for your thoughts," Akane said, after a moment.

"Vastly overpaying," Ranma replied, "Just thinking about today is all. It was weird even for Nerima."

"Yeah, wasn't it though," Akane said, as she stared off into the distance.

"Can I join you?" Nabiki asked from behind them.

Akane replied, "Sure, sis."

Nabiki sat down on Ranma's other side, and nervously laid her head on his shoulder too. She shivered for a moment as she touched his shoulder.

"You aren't still affected, are you?" Ranma asked, worried.

"No, thankfully, just a little cold," Nabiki replied.

Ranma hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her to him. Nabiki sighed happily and said, "This is nice. You're very warm. I bet Akane likes that at night."

"Yes he is, and yes I do. Just don't get too used to it, sis," Akane said, lightly.

"I won't, don't worry. I just need to decompress after everything that happened today," Nabiki said, "I mean, I lost count of how many times I, um, climaxed, and I'm still a bit, well, worried about how I'll behave." Her cheeks gained a rosy hue.

"This really isn't like you, Nabiki," Akane said, softly, "You're usually so reserved and in control."

"After today, I don't think that's possible anymore," Nabiki said, "I was anything but reserved and in control because of that damn wish."

"But that wasn't really you," Ranma said gently.

Nabiki smiled sadly and said, "I think some of it was me. Between you and Hinako, the Ice Queen role that I was playing was wearing pretty thin, and then today, that basically finished it off. I've held myself aloof, avoiding affection. I can't do that anymore, I enjoyed a lot of what I was feeling, and I want that back, some day. I'm just not sure how to find the right person. You two got lucky."

Ranma's eyes darkened for a moment, and then he said, softly, after checking to see who was around, "We almost didn't, little sis. You know that."

"Yeah, but it did happen," Akane said.

Ranma sighed and lightly kissed the top of her head, "And I can't be happier." He sighed deeply and said, tenderly, "Nabiki, you are a very attractive woman, and once you stop pushing people away, you'll find someone. You never did turn into the horrid Ice Queen bitch, not this time, so it'll be easier than you think. Just don't rush things, make sure you find Mr. Right, and not settle for Mr. Right Now, just because you get some urges that you want filled."

Nabiki chuckled and said, "That's pretty good advice, big brother, but how do I pull that off?"

"It's a good question, Nabiki," Ranma replied thoughtfully, "And I don't really have a good anwer. I mean, look at me, I found the perfect girl for me, but I literally had to go through hell to find her. Not a path that I would recommend to anyone. But she's most definitely worth it."

"And the right person is definitely worth waiting for, sis," Akane said, "Not that either of us has anyone else to compare to, mind you, but I've always been told that it's better with someone you love."

Ranma let out a small oof as suddenly Hinako dropped into his lap. He chuckled briefly and asked, "Getting comfortable, are we?"

Hinako giggled and said, "Very. This looked like a fun cuddle, and I wanted to join."

Ranma smiled contentedly. His eyes grew misty as he bent down and lightly kissed her hair.

"What was that smile for?" Akane asked quietly.

"Just thinking a little. Here I am, surrounded by three lovely girls, enjoying a nice spring evening, watching the sun go down. It really doesn't get much better than this. I mean, think about it, I have my best friend, lover and wife on one shoulder. On the other shoulder, I have an attractive woman, who's going to turn into a very nice person, though I hope she still keeps some of that edge that makes her the most dangerous person I know. And sitting in my lap, is a girl who will be a heartbreaker in another year or so, and I get to play overprotective big brother. Practice for when you and I have a daughter," Ranma replied.

"That's pretty deep, especially for you," Kasumi said as she knelt down behind him, and loosely hugged the three of them. He leaned back against her, blushing slightly as he realized where his head was nestled, as she said, "I heard some of what you were saying Ranma, and I agree with him, sis. Wait for the right person. I can't pretend to understand what you were feeling today, but you had a pretty rough introduction to sex because of that foolish boy. Don't let those urges control who you are. And, yes, I know that's easy for me to say, since I have someone to be with."

Nabiki sighed and replied, "I'll be good, don't worry. I have absolutely no intention of jumping the next guy I see. After all, I've seen you and Tofu together, and Ranma and Akane together, and I want that. Not some cheap fling, but a partner that will stand with me like you guys have. Neither one of you can see it, since you're too close. But Akane, Kasumi, you two have changed, very much for the better. Akane, you aren't the little girl that was angry with the world anymore, Ranma has helped you overcome that."

"She did most of that on her own, Nabiki, I just pointed out what it was doing to her," Ranma said quietly.

"That may be true, but she listened to you, no one else. And Kasumi, you're happier than I've ever seen you. And it's not just because you're married. It's because you've gotten out of the shell that we forced you into, the happy homemaker, and are beginning to live the life that you wanted before Mommy died," Nabiki said.

"You're a little too close to things yourself, sis. You are changing, too. Finally turning into the person you were before things went bad, before Mommy died and Daddy fell apart. We all grieved in different ways, I threw myself into keeping the house, you closed down and took over the finances, and Akane, well, she dove into martial arts," Kasumi said. She paused then, as she saw her father and Nodoka talking by the dojo.

"What's that all about?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma smirked and replied, "I expect that they're still trying to work out what happened between them today. I don't think either of them is very happy about it."

"I guess I should apologize for that," Nabiki said.

"Wasn't really your fault, Na-chan," Hinako said.

Ranma frowned and added, "She's right. A lot of it has to do with the fact that they are both lonely. Both of them lost their partners entirely too early, your mom through her death, and my Pop for disappearing with me. And there's probably a lot of guilt mixed in with it, because they probably enjoyed it. They'll work it out, eventually."

"But I still feel responsible," Nabiki said.

"Don't. I know how they felt. I mean, I was ready to push you to the floor and take you," Ranma said, blushing, but not worried about his embarrassment so much as worried about how she was feeling.

"It was a very powerful attraction, sis. Like, Ranma said, I was ready to do the deed with you myself," Akane said.

"Indeed," Kasumi said, a faint blush on her face, "I'm able to control myself better than all of you, Nabiki, and I wanted you this morning, and I definitely don't like girls that way. You effectively were a lust demon for all intents and purposes, with none of it under your control. So don't feel bad about any of it."

"They're all telling you the same thing, Na-chan," Hinako said in a small voice, "So the best thing to do is to just forget it ever happened."

"I'm still curious why you weren't affected," Kasumi said.

Hinako's eyes twinkled with mirth and retorted, "Who said I wasn't affected? You have no idea how hard it was not to react. But, Nabiki couldn't be left alone, not in the state she was in, so I just suppressed what I was feeling. After all, I've had years of practice at it. Remember, I yo-yoed back and forth between this body and an adult woman, so I had a lot of experience with yearnings that I couldn't do anything about." She grew serious for a second and said, "Na-chan, I'm so sorry about what happened. If I hadn't made that stupid bet, you wouldn't have gone through all of that."

"It's okay, Hi-chan," Nabiki crooned, "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Hinako asked, in a little girl voice.

Nabiki's eyes watered slightly and she sniffed, "Yeah, pretty sure."

* * *

Meanwhile, over by the dojo, Nodoka exclaimed, "Oh my son is so manly. Just look at him surrounded by all of those girls. I'm so proud of how he's turned out in spite of the example of his father." 

"You should be very proud of him, Nodoka," Soun said, "He's a good man, one I would be proud to have as my son. Though that might have caused a problem with Akane. He treats my baby girl right, and she adores him." He hesitated for a moment and then took the plunge. "Nodoka, neither of us has anything to feel guilty about. We stopped before we betrayed any vows, and what we felt, what we acted on, wasn't really us," he said softly.

"There had to be something there for to have caused us to act like a pair of randy teenagers," Nodoka replied with a frown, still refusing to look at him.

Soun looked down at the ground and said, "How about too many years of loneliness, Nodoka? We both have been without a source of comfort, someone to love, for a very long time. I won't deny that I think you are a very attractive woman, because that would be lying, and I won't do that. But, what happened was nothing more than hormones getting a little out of control. You've been without your husband, and even though he is back, the two of you haven't been intimate, so I know that has got to be frustrating you. I know it was frustrating Genma, I swear every time we went somewhere, that was the biggest thing he had to complain about. Well, besides having an ungrateful child. So, while we may be a bit more familiar with each other than is strictly proper, nothing happened. Nor is it likely to in the future."

Nodoka preened slightly as she heard him say she was attractive. "So just accept that we got caught up in something that neither of us had any control over, and get on with our lives," she said, thinking it through. She nodded decisively and said, "I can accept that."

"Good," Soun said with a wry grin, "Because I would hate for our friendship to become strained, especially if it caused any problems for our children. It wouldn't be good for them to be caught in the middle if we had issues."

Nodoka smiled briefly. "True enough, he has burdens enough. I wouldn't want to cause them any problems." She giggled prettily for a moment and asked, "Did you see the look of horror on his face when we walked in?"

* * *

Ranma and Akane hopped down from the fence and held hands as they joined Nabiki. Nabiki simply shook her head at them and said, "That still amazes me that you two can do that." 

"It just takes practice, Nabiki," Akane said.

"Aren't you afraid of someone seeing up your skirt?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma chuckled and said, "She's wearing shorts under her skirt, so there's really nothing to see, well, except for a cute pair of legs."

The three of them walked through the main gate of the high school and headed toward the stairs leading up to the front door. There they ran into Kodachi, who was pacing back and forth in front of the first step, obviously waiting for someone. Her face lit up when she saw the trio approach.

"What on earth did you do to my brother?" Kodachi asked, a look of amusement on her face, "First, he goes out on a date with Nabiki, and then Ranma-sama drags him off yesterday afternoon. When he got back, he locked himself in his room and refuses to come out."

"He did something that made me very angry," Nabiki replied, her tone neutral, and her face impassive.

"And he really doesn't want to face her when she is angry. We, uh, sort of suggested that she might remove certain body parts the next time she sees him," Akane added.

"That would probably explain it," Kodachi said, with a throaty chuckle, "Well, if nothing else, the house will be quieter."

"Don't forget guys, save me a place at lunch today," Nabiki reminded, "I need to go see some people before class." She pulled Ranma into a chaste hug, causing Kodachi to raise one eyebrow, since this was the first time she could recall Nabiki showing anyone affection.

"Okay, sis," Ranma said, returning the hug, "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I'm a big girl," Nabiki growled playfully.

Akane pulled her into a hug and said, softly, "It's just that we care, you know that."

Nabiki sighed, and asked, plaintively, "Are you two going to be like this for a while?"

"Probably, at least until you understand how we feel about you," Ranma said softly, "Like Acchan said, we care about you."

"I know, and well, thanks, it helps, you know," Nabiki said. She bounded up the stairs, feeling much better. With a jaunty wave, she disappeared through the doors.

"Okay," Kodachi said slowly, "Who was that girl, and what did you do with the real Nabiki?"

"Like we said, we had an interesting weekend," Akane began, "Let's just say that she's feeling a bit rocky right now, and wants some affection. We love her, so it's nice to finally be able to show her how we feel."

"My brother didn't try to do the same thing to her that he did to you, did he, Ranma-sama?" Kodachi asked quietly.

"Do ya really have to ask, Kodachi? You're a smart girl," Ranma said, coolly, "If he had tried that, do you really think he would be cowering in his bedroom?"

Kodachi frowned slightly and shook her head. "No, he would be in a drawer in the local morgue, what was left of him," she said finally, "You wouldn't have allowed him to get away with that."

Ranma laughed, mirthlessly, and said, "I wouldn't have needed to do anything, nor would either of us wanted to get between her and her vengeance. In her own way, Nabiki is much more dangerous than I am. And, yeah, if he had tried something like that, you'd be the last of the Kunos, unless of course, your children use your name."

"Ryoga, come on, the school this way," they heard Shampoo say, with a faint touch of exasperation in her voice. They turned to see her pulling her husband into the courtyard. Ukyo was right behind them, with her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Hey guys. I missed you this week. Where were you?" Ukyo asked.

"Oh, Ranma and I went on a training trip. We just got back yesterday, and with everything else, didn't get a chance to stop by," Akane replied.

"Looks like you had a good time," Ukyo said, clinically.

"Well, yeah we did," Ranma said, "Though we didn't spend all of our time doing martial arts."

"I can imagine," Kodachi said suggestively.

"I don't know, Ranma. I thought you said what we were doing was from the Martial Arts School of Dancing," Akane teased.

Shampoo gave Ryoga a piercing look and said, "Ranma take Akane dancing? Maybe Ryoga take notes."

"Gee thanks, buddy. I see you again for the first time in a week, and I'm suddenly in trouble. It's your fault," Ryoga said, then grinning.

"All work and no play makes Ranma a very dull boy," Ranma retorted, "I glad it was just the two of us. If Pop had been with us, he would have thought we were wasting time. I don't think there's a romantic bone in his body." He grinned at Ukyo and asked, "Is my brother treating you right, Ucchan?"

"Yeah, he is. We finally set a date for the wedding. We were thinking about the first weekend in May. If I remember the calendar right, we have a holiday on Friday, and then we're off that Saturday. So we were thinking of getting married Thursday after school, and taking a quick trip somewhere for the weekend," Ukyo said.

"That's great!" Akane squealed. Ranma asked a question with his eyes and she nodded.

"Hey, do you want to have the ceremony at the dojo?" Ranma asked.

"We wanted to talk to you about that, we just didn't get around to it. I need to talk to your Mom about helping with getting a priest that quickly," Ukyo said, "I just can't seem to get myself organized for some reason."

Ranma grinned and said, "I think that Mr. Tendo can find someone pretty quick."

The first bell rang, signaling that they had ten minutes before the class started at 8:30. "We'd better get going," Ranma said. They group ran up the stairs and headed toward their lockers so they could change into their uwabaki. There they found Yuka and Daisuke who had just put their shoes in their locker and put their indoor shoes on.

Yuka held up her left hand and announced, "Guess what? We're engaged!"

A loud "squee" sound came from all the girls. Ranma chuckled and said, "Finally got up the nerve to ask her, did you? About time is all I can say."

"Thanks, Ranma," Daisuke said as he watched all of the girls examine the ring.

"I guess it's safe to say you had a good break," Ranma continued.

Daisuke smiled happily and replied, "Yep, the best one yet. You guys are the first ones we've told, well, outside of our families, that is. And they're cool about it."

"We'd better get upstairs and find our homeroom, we can talk more at lunch," Akane said, "Is everyone in class 2b?"

Everyone nodded and they headed up the one flight of stairs that led to the second floor where all of the homerooms for juniors were situated. When they got to the room, they found Hiroshi already present, his head resting on his desk as he waited for class to start.

"Hey, Hiroshi, what are you doing?" Ranma asked, softly.

Hiroshi lifted his head up enough for Ranma to see his eyes and he said, "Nothing, just leave me alone." He put his head back down on the desk.

Ranma and Akane traded worried looks.

* * *

"Class, I am Miss Morisato," the young, dark-haired, teacher said, as she wrote her name up on the blackboard, "This is my first year here at Furinkan High School, and I am very excited to be here. I intend to get to know each and every one of you over the course of the first few weeks." The door opened and Sayuri slipped in. "You are late, young lady," the teacher said. 

"I'm sorry, sensei, I have no excuse. It won't happen again," Sayuri said quickly, as she bowed slightly.

The teacher sighed and said, "Normally, I'd send you out to the hall for bucket duty, but since this is the first day, I'll let you off with just a warning. Find yourself a desk."

Sayuri glanced around the room, and saw only two empty desks. One was by Hiroshi, and the other was next to Ranma. She glared over at Hiroshi and walked over to sit in the desk by Ranma.

Ranma, Akane and the rest of their friends exchanged worried looks, as they watched as Hiroshi ignored Sayuri. The temperature of the room actually seemed to lower, as they watched the couple give each other the cold shoulder.

The teacher cleared her throat and continued her lecture. "As part of me getting to know you, when we get to the English lesson later on in the day, I will be assigning a three page essay where you will write a little bit about yourself."

At that announcement, the entire class groaned.

Miss Morisato smiled briefly, which made her look much younger than her years. Several of the boys were gazing dreamily at her. "Don't worry, it'll be due on a Monday, so you'll have plenty of time to work on it." She pulled out her class roster and began to call roll, "Before I start, I noticed that we seem to have two pairs of brothers and sisters in this room. I hope that you don't have problems sitting next to each other, since I want you all to arrange yourselves by last name." She looked up as she heard some giggling from a few of the girls. "Could I ask what is so amusing?" she asked, with a faint frown.

Akane raised her hand. At the teacher's nod, she asked, "Are you talking about Ranma and I, and Ryoga and Shampoo? If so, we aren't brother and sister. Ranma and I are married, as are Ryoga and Shampoo. Though, it's an understandable mistake."

The teacher blushed and said, "I did make an assumption when I saw your last name was the same. I apologize for that mistake." She hesitated for a moment and then said, "As I call your name, answer and then move to the next available seat." She began to call roll, and the classroom slowly rearranged themselves until everyone was sorted by surname. "Excellent, now, pull out your math books, and we will start learning pre-calculus."

* * *

The morning dragged along, even though the teacher was able to make the lessons interesting enough that Ranma was actually enjoying what he was learning, the obvious coolness between Hiroshi and Sayuri was definitely disturbing the wa of the classroom. There was so much tension between the two of them, especially since because of the accident of the their last names they were sitting in the same row, next to each other, that you could have cut it with a knife. Finally, the bell rang, and the morning class was over. "Okay, everyone, remember your homework assignments are due next Wednesday. Have a good lunch break and I'll see you back in here," the teacher said. The students filed out and down the stairs. As they headed outside, Sayuri walked over to Souta who promply put his arm around her. Hiroshi watched her for a moment and then walked off, his face miserable. 

Ranma flicked his eyes over as he watched his friend stalk off, and then exchanged a look with Akane.

"I don't know what happened, either. I thought they were happy together," Akane replied to the unasked question. She reached over and held his hand, as they walked over to their tree and sat down with the rest of their entourage, minus Sayuri who was currently wrapped in an embrace by Souta, and Hiroshi who had disappeared around the corner. Nabiki wandered over through the crowd and sat down next to Ranma. They all opened up their bentos, except for Ukyo, who fired up her grill.

"Oh, good, some of your curry," Ranma said, as he saw what Kasumi had placed in his box.

"Nabiki, have you heard anything about that?" Akane asked, pointing at the newest couple.

"Not really. There's a few rumors floating around, but I don't traffic in rumors. I'll nose around and see what happened," her sister replied, "Better be quiet, here they come." Nabiki's clever eyes had just spotted Sayuri and Souta approaching the group.

Yuka jumped up and pulled Daisuke to his feet and approached Sayuri. "Hey, Sayuri, guess what Daisuke and I are engaged," she said.

"Ooh, that's a pretty ring, you have good taste in jewelry, Daisuke," Sayuri said, an odd look flashing across her face.

"Congratulations, you two," Souta added.

Sayuri asked, "Do you have room for us?"

Yuka frowned slightly and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, Sayuri. But Hiroshi is our friend, too, and well, right now we don't really want to be in the middle of whatever happened between the two of you."

Sayuri replied, her cheeks reddening, "We broke up at the beginning of break."

Daisuke said, "We kind of figured that out. It's going to be awkward for a while, though. None of us want to lose either of you as a friend, but right now it's a bit uncomfortable for us."

Yuka added quickly, "Please understand, we not turning you away. But maybe could you give us a few days. What ever happened between the two of you was so sudden, not that we're taking sides or anything."

Sayuri's eyes grew cold for a moment and then she said, "I'm going to miss you, Yuka. Let's go, Souta."

"It doesn't have to be like that, Sayuri. You're one of my best friends, but Hiroshi is one of Dai's. Please, understand. None of us want to lose either of you."

"She's right, Sayuri-chan," Souta said softly, "I should have realized how uncomfortable this would make them all feel. Give them the time they need, Hiroshi the time he needs to come to term with everything. I don't want you to lose their friendship, I'm not worth that."

"That's all we're asking for, Sayuri," Daisuke said, "Thank you, Souta, for saying that."

"I could never tell you no, Souta," Sayuri said.

Yuka looked a little wistful as Sayuri and Souta turned and walked off. Then she settled back down with her fiancé.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get to the important stuff. Like when's the wedding?" Akane asked.

"Not until we get out of school," Daisuke replied.

Akane and Ranma traded looks. Ranma chuckled, and said, "Good luck with that. That's what we started out planning, and look as us now."

Daisuke grinned and said, "I doubt somehow that I'm going to be kidnapped by some Chinese prince who wants to marry me."

"Good point," Ranma replied, as the rest of the group broke into laughter.

"When did you get engaged?" Ukyo asked

"A few days ago. Dai came over one evening and proposed. He was so nervous, it was so cute," Yuka replied, "He was so serious when he came over, I was so afraid that he was going to break up with me. But he got down on one knee, and asked me to do him the great honor to become his wife."

"Yeah, I had this great speech and everything, but I forgot it all when I saw how scared she was. Not to mention, how nervous I was about the whole thing. What if she'd said no?" Daisuke added.

"I know the feeling," Ranma said, a bit ruefully, as Akane laughed brightly.

Yuka pulled Daisuke to her and kissed his nose. "Not a chance in hell would that have happened," she said passionately.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that," Daisuke said with a grin.

* * *

The first opportunity that anyone had to talk to Hiroshi was during physical education. Daisuke pulled Ranma aside and said, "Let me go talk to him. Maybe I can cheer him up a little." 

"Yeah, he's known you longer, and he's more likely to open up to you. Let him know that as far as we're concerned, he's still part of the group," Ranma said after a few seconds of thought.

Daisuke cornered his friend at one end of the building, where Hiroshi was busily feeling sorry for himself. "Hey, Hiroshi," Daisuke said, as he neared, "Wanted to talk to you for a moment."

"Hi, Daisuke," Hiroshi replied, his tone leaving no doubt that he wanted to be alone.

Daisuke sat down next to him and said, "I don't know if you heard, but Yuka and I are engaged."

A brief spark of something appeared in Hiroshi's eyes and an excuse for a smile showed up on his face. "That's great, tell her that I'm happy for the both of you," Hiroshi said, tonelessly.

Daisuke looked at him, his face showing his concern. "You want to talk about it to someone?" he asked finally.

"Talk about what?" Hiroshi replied.

"We've been friends for how long now?" Daisuke asked.

"Ever since second grade," Hiroshi replied, "You know that."

"So don't you think that I can tell when you're unhappy? I'm not sure what happened between you two, but you're taking it very hard. All of us are worried about you. I won't pry, but we're there for you when you're ready to talk, okay?" Daisuke said.

Hiroshi sat there for a minute, and then sighed heavily. "It just hurts, you know? I love her and I thought she loved me. But I blew it big time," he said finally, "And it's all because of that monster that attacked us the last week of school."

"Okay," Daisuke said, not understanding that at all, "You want to explain that?"

"When I saw him come at the four of us, I got scared," Hiroshi said.

"Yeah, but at least you did something," Daisuke said, "All I did was freeze. I was scared shitless. You at least jumped in front of Sayuri."

"Like that would have done any good," Hiroshi grumbled, "I don't know how to fight, and neither do you. Like Ranma said afterwards, the monster would have just killed us. And I got to thinking about that, even a couple of really bad nightmares. It got so bad, I could barely get any sleep."

"I can relate to that, I had nightmares of Yuka being killed," Daisuke said, "But what's that got to do with you and Sayuri?"

"I did something really stupid. I decided that being friends with Ranma and Akane was too dangerous. And then I told her that we needed to stop being friends with them," Hiroshi said, ashamedly.

"And she told you where you could put that idea, I guess," Daisuke said.

Hiroshi smiled ruefully, and replied, "Yep, and it went downhill from there. The next thing I knew we were screaming at each other, and she finally said we were through. I've spent the entire break feeling like a complete ass over the whole thing. That's part of the reason that I didn't sit with you guys at lunch. I'm so mad at myself for my stupidity. I let the best thing that ever happened to me slip through my hands, and I don't know how to get her back."

Daisuke grimaced and said, "I don't know that you can. Souta was sort of all over her at school today. When did they hook up?"

"Don't know, really," Hiroshi answered with a shrug. Then he said, a little bitterly, "Didn't take her long to find a replacement."

"Buck up, buddy. You're irreplaceable, when they made you they broke the mold," Daisuke said, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Yeah, but unfortunately I was still in it," Hiroshi quipped, causing the two of them to laugh.

"You gonna stay friends with Ranma and Akane?" Daisuke asked.

Hiroshi shrugged and said, "Yeah, it's not their fault some idiot comes after them all the time. If nothing else, I figured that out while I was moping around."

"Then, I expect to see you at lunch with us," Daisuke said, "Ranma and I are outnumbered otherwise."

"We're still outnumbered even when I'm there," Hiroshi said, puzzled.

"True, but it's not nearly as bad," Daisuke said.

* * *

Sayuri read the note that she had found in her locker once again. 'Sayuri – I need to talk to you. Please come up onto the roof after class for a few minutes, Hiroshi,' it read. She thought for a moment, wondering if she wanted to talk to him. What they had done to each other was still hurting her. 'I can't just ignore him, it'd be too awkward, especially since he's still friends with my friends,' she thought. Not even paying attention, she was already on the last flight of stairs. She paused, her hand on the doorknob to the roof access, and then sighed. Turning the knob, she opened the door and walked out. 

"I was afraid that you weren't coming," Hiroshi said, with a note of relief in his voice.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Sayuri asked, a bit harsher than she intended.

To her surprise, Hiroshi knelt in front of her. "Sayuri, I am an idiot. There is no excuse for what I tried to do, other than to say I was scared that one of us could have gotten hurt. I had no right to tell you who you could or should be friends with, and I was very wrong in trying. All I can ask is that someday I'll earn your forgiveness," he said, his head bowed.

Silent tears running down her cheeks, Sayuri knelt down, and lifted his head up. "Hiroshi, I won't deny that what you said to me hurt. I'm not your property, and that's what telling me who my friends could be sounded like. I will not abandon my friends, just because sometimes things get a little crazy around them," she said softly.

Hiroshi closed his eyes and said, "I didn't mean it like that, I really didn't. It was just those damn nightmares that I had, where some horrid monster came at Ranma or Akane, and somehow you got hurt, or even killed. I couldn't bear to lose you, and now, because of my fears, I have."

Sayuri gasped, as she paled. "You didn't tell me why you wanted us to leave them, Hiroshi," she said.

"I really didn't get a chance to. You blew up at me, and then we were off to the races, without really having an opportunity to think about what the other person was saying. In fact, the only thing I remember is when you told me you were breaking up with me," Hiroshi whispered.

"I'm sorry about that," Sayuri said, "But it seemed like what needed to happen."

"I understand, sort of, but I miss you, I miss our friendship," Hiroshi said sadly, "But I'm not asking for us to get back together. I know you've moved on, though, it hurts that you were able to get over me that quickly and find another boyfriend." That last came out bitterly.

Sayuri had the decency to blush and said, "Souta just sort of happened."

Hiroshi sighed and said, "Just remember his reputation. He's supposed to be a bit of a player." He hesitated and said, "I'm gonna rejoin my friends for lunch tomorrow. Why don't you and Souta join us?"

"Yuka and Daisuke asked us not to. They didn't want to get caught in the middle of us," Sayuri replied.

"If we're friendly towards each other, they'll be cool," Hiroshi said, "And neither of us should lose our friends because of my stupidity."

Sayuri reached out and gently caressed his face. "It wasn't just your stupidity, Hiroshi. Some of this is my fault. I shouldn't have blown up as badly as I did," she said, "I still want to be friends with you."

"I'll be honest, it'll be real hard to see you with Souta, but we were friends before we started dating. There's no reason we can't be friends again," Hiroshi agreed.

Sayuri leaned over and rested her forehead on his. "I want that, Hiroshi," she said.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, I'm sure Souta is waiting for you," Hiroshi said.

"Yeah, I guess I'd better go," Sayuri said, just a touch reluctantly. She stood up, and brushed the dust off her skirt. Pulling Hiroshi up, she gave him one last chaste kiss, and turned and walked through the door.

Hiroshi stood there, successfully hiding his misery until the door closed behind her. He gave her a little time and then followed her downstairs.

* * *

Nabiki waited until Sayuri and Souta walked off, and then she stood by the door for a few minutes. Finally, Hiroshi appeared, his head hanging. "Hey, Hiroshi," she called softly, "Do you need a friend to talk to?" 

Hiroshi looked up and replied, "I don't have any money, Nabiki Tendo."

Nabiki winced and said, "That's a little cold, Hiroshi. I thought we were friends."

"Not really, just schoolmates, and that just barely," Hiroshi said.

"Well, then, let's change that," Nabiki said, grabbing his arm, "We're going to get some ice cream."

"I told you I didn't have any money," Hiroshi said.

"Who said anything about you paying? I invited you, remember," Nabiki said.

Hiroshi halted in shock. He turned and asked, "Are you asking me out?"

Nabiki pondered that for a moment and grinned. "You know what, I guess I am, at that," she said.

"I'm not really ready to date any one yet," Hiroshi said, "Just to let you know. The wounds are too fresh."

"Don't worry your head over that, I'm not looking for a boyfriend, either," Nabiki replied, "Especially not with someone on the rebound from being kicked in the teeth by his girlfriend. I don't have any vested interest in what happened, unlike the rest of our circle. I don't know you as well as the rest of them do, and I'd like to change that," Nabiki said.

Hiroshi grinned suddenly and said, "Why the hell not? If a pretty girl asks me out, I'm really not foolish enough to turn her down."

"Now you're flirting with me," Nabiki said.

"Maybe a little," Hiroshi admitted, "But I was also telling the truth."

"So how are you feeling?" Nabiki asked.

"A little down," Hiroshi admitted, "And a little mad at myself."

"Why is that? I can understand being unhappy about breaking up with Sayuri, but why are you mad at yourself?" Nabiki asked.

"Because I tried to tell her who her friends should be. That was out of fear of her getting hurt," Hiroshi replied.

"Ouch, dumb move," Nabiki said, "I can see why that didn't go over well."

Hiroshi gave a rusty laugh and said, "That was an understatement if ever I heard one. I screwed up in epic proportions. You know, it would be nice if you girls came with a set of instructions. Or, better yet, a book. 'How to Treat Girls Right for Dummies.' Otherwise, how are we guys supposed to figure girls out?"

"That takes all the fun out of it," Nabiki replied, with a cheeky grin.

"Miss Tendo," Hiroshi began.

Nabiki put her finger to his lips and said, "It's Nabiki for my friends. And whether you realized it before or not, you are my friend."

Hiroshi embraced her, noting with pleasure that her head fit just below his chin. "This is really a side of you that has been hidden away," he said softly, "So why did you decide to open up like this?"

"I just got tired of the act," Nabiki said, "And I didn't like the way you appeared to be hurting. I can't pretend to know how you're feeling, Hiroshi. I've never broken up a relationship before. Hell, I've never been in one, so how can I know what's it's like to lose one." She looked up to gaze into his compassionate eyes. To her surprise, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Hiroshi kissed her cheek, where the tear had been and said, "That's a shame. A beautiful girl like you and no boyfriends. I don't understand."

Nabiki grinned for a moment, and said, "That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me all day." She pulled away and grabbed his hand, and said, "Come on, I hear some ice cream calling me."

The two of them hurried down the busy street and entered the ice cream parlor. They placed their order, and Nabiki paid for the banana split that she wanted, and the double dip chocolate cone that Hiroshi had ordered. They took their treats over to one of the booths, and slowly began to eat them.

"Do you want her back?" Nabiki asked, after they had eaten in silence for a while.

"If she'll have me, but I'll settle for being her friend if that's all I can have," Hiroshi replied.

"I'd start with that," Nabiki said, "Just be yourself, and try not to get visibly upset when she's with Souta."

Hiroshi sighed. "I just wish she hadn't started dating someone else so quickly," Hiroshi said. He shook his head and asked, "How could she move on that fast?"

"I honestly don't know," Nabiki replied, "Did you try to talk to her last week?"

"Yeah, several times, once I got my head out of my ass, anyway," Hiroshi replied, "But her mother wouldn't even let me talk to her on the phone."

"Hmm," Nabiki said, tapping her teeth while she thought about that. Finally, she said, "I guess she didn't want to give you another chance to hurt her baby girl."

"I suppose, that might be it. I had planned on talking to Sayuri first thing this morning, but I saw her walk into the school with Souta," Hiroshi said, "At least she talked to me this afternoon, and we were able to part as friends."

"Don't give up on her. Souta will move on sooner or later, and knowing him, it'll be sooner," Nabiki said, "Once that happens, give her a little time, and then see what happens."

"Do you really think she'll go out with me again?" Hiroshi asked, his eyes shining with hope for the first time that day.

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "I think she will. If she really feels for you the way it looked like she did, she's probably regretting what happened as much as you do," she said finally.

Hiroshi finished his ice cream, and glanced down at his watch. "Shit," he said, "Listen, I'm sorry to have to do this, but I really need to run. My mom is going to kill me for being late. Thanks for, well, thanks for everything, actually."

"Not a problem, Hiroshi," Nabiki replied, "I'll just stay here long enough to finish. You run on home, so you don't get into any more trouble."

Hiroshi stood up and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, then." He turned and walked out the door of the restaurant.

Nabiki sighed, as she touched the place where he had kissed her. 'Are you really wanting to get involved in this?' she thought, 'He's a nice kid, but he's definitely a kid. You're just a romantic at heart and you know it.' She smiled wryly and began to eat the remnants of her banana split. Finally she was done, so she gently patted her lips clean with her napkin, and rose from her seat. She headed out the door and then turned down the street to make her way home. She was about a third of the way home when she heard someone calling her name. She turned, and Sayuri was running after her. She stopped and waited.

"What are you playing at?" Sayuri hissed.

"Come again," Nabiki asked in bewilderment.

Sayuri glared at her and replied, "I saw you with Hiroshi this afternoon. What were you doing with him?"

"Why do you care? You broke up with him remember? He's a free man, now," Nabiki asked in return. 'Yeah, she wants him back,' she thought, 'This is for you, Hiroshi.'

Sayuri stammered and replied, "I just don't want to see him get hurt, that's all. You know, because it's only been a week since we broke up, and, well, I'm sure he's feeling pretty down about the whole thing. He shouldn't rush into a relationship too quickly."

Nabiki grinned toothily, and asked, "I would never hurt him, that is if we decide to have a romance. But, you're sort of being a little hypocritical, aren't you? Or wasn't that you who was hiding in one corner of the courtyard while Souta was checking to see if you still had your tonsils this afternoon by shoving his tongue down your throat?"

Sayuri blushed bright red and stammered, "Uh, well, yeah, I didn't know that anyone was watching."

Nabiki chuckled and said, "Sayuri, you should know better. I know everything that happens at school because it's my business to know."

Sayuri looked down at the ground and asked, "So what were you doing with Hiroshi?"

"Eating some ice cream. That always cheers me up when I'm down, and it looked like he could use a little pick-me-up," Nabiki replied, in a gentle voice, "And I thought he needed someone to talk to."

"What were you talking about?" Sayuri asked.

"Oddly enough, we were talking about you. He's hurting pretty badly," Nabiki replied.

"Well, if he was hurting so badly, why didn't he try to see me last week?" Sayuri snapped.

"He told me he tried, but your mother wouldn't let him talk to you," Nabiki replied.

Sayuri's face fell. "He tried to see me?" she said in a small voice, "But why would Mom not let me talk to him? She likes him, at least I thought she did."

"You'd have to ask her about that. Why'd you hook up with Souta? He's a nice enough guy, but he usually doesn't move that fast," Nabiki asked.

"He was over at the house for some reason, and asked me out. Mom basically shoved me out the door with him, saying she was tired of me moping, and that I needed to get on with my life," Sayuri replied.

"That's good advice, but well, just be careful, that's all I'm going to say. I don't want to see you get hurt," Nabiki said. 'Why did her mother push her at Souta,' Nabiki wondered.

"Souta would never hurt me," Sayuri said defensively, her hackles rising.

Nabiki put her hand on Sayuri's shoulder and stared her in the eyes. "Sayuri, you just went through a bad break-up with Hiroshi. That makes you very vulnerable right now. I agree, Souta isn't the kind of guy who would deliberately hurt you, either physically, or emotionally, but just for your sake, slow down a little," she said softly, "Don't rush into anything that you're not ready for."

"I'm not that kind of girl," Sayuri said, with a lot of affronted dignity. She twisted her shoulder so Nabiki's hand fell off.

Nabiki smiled sadly, and said, "I didn't say that you were."

Sayuri deflated and said, "I guess you're just being a concerned friend. And I'd be a fool to ignore what you're telling me. Thanks, Nabiki. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch, then, since it looks like you've joined our circle."

"Yeah, I have," Nabiki replied, "I don't really have friends in my year, so I thought I'd hang around with you guys. See ya." To Sayuri's surprise, Nabiki pulled her into a brief hug, and then walked off.

"Okay, who was that person? And what did they do to the real Nabiki?" Sayuri asked as she stared at the departing girl.

* * *

Ranma walked up the long flight of stairs, through the wooden archway onto the shrine ground proper. To one side of the house, he saw a huge tree, shading a significant chunk of the side yard, surrounded by a low fence. He walked up the path to the front door of the house and politely knocked on the door. After a few moments, an attractive middle-aged woman, wearing an apron, with just a hint of gray in her hair, appeared at the door. 

"Mrs. Higurashi, I'm Ranma Saotome. I go to school with your son, Souta. I was wondering if he was here," Ranma said.

"Pleased to meet you, Saotome-kun," Mrs. Higurashi said, as she dusted off her hands with her apron, "Souta is probably out back by the shrine sweeping up the leaves. Let me change shoes, and I'll take you there."

"That's very kind of you," Ranma said, "But I can find my own way. I wouldn't want to take you away from what you are cooking."

"Oh, that's all right," the woman said, only to stop. "Kagome, you're home. When did you get back?" she asked.

"Just a few minutes ago, Mom," a girl said from behind Ranma. He turned to see a slightly familiar looking girl standing there, oddly enough carrying a bow, with a quiver of arrows over her right shoulder.

"Saotome-kun, this is my daughter Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi said, "She can take you to Souta."

"Sure, Mom," Kagome said cheerfully. She turned to Ranma and smiled, "Like she said, I'm Kagome Higurashi. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome. I go to school with your brother," Ranma replied, taking an instant liking to the spirited woman in front of him.

"Come on then," Kagome said, "Let's go find my annoying little brother. He's around back talking to InuYasha."

"Oh, your **friend** is here too?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, "I'd better put some ramen on to cook then."

Kagome sighed to herself, and grabbed Ranma's hand and started pulling him around the side of the house. "What's with her? Do we have to have a child first before she calls him something other than my friend?" she said in a low voice that he was sure he wasn't supposed to hear. She looked up at his carefully schooled face and exclaimed, "Wow! You're aura is all messed up."

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, that's right. You probably don't know. I'm a miko, or priestess, so I can sense auras, among other things. And yours is weird," she said excitedly.

"My name didn't mean anything to you? Your friend Eri had heard a little bit about me," Ranma replied, with a tired smile.

"Oh, wait. Souta said something about you being a shapeshifter," Kagome said, after a moment of thought.

"That's not completely accurate, Higurashi-san," Ranma said, "I just have a water-borne curse. When I get splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl." He shrugged, and added, "As far as I can tell, she's what I would look like if I had been born female."

"There's something else in your aura, something I just can't put my finger on," Kagome said, "And the name's Kagome, okay?"

They neared the small shrine, where Ranma saw two people standing. Souta was leaning on a broom, talking to a man about his height, with long, flowing silver hair, wearing a baseball cap. Suddenly, the man turned and sniffed the air. His eyes narrowed and he yelled, "Get away from my woman, cat demon!."

"Demon, what the hell does that mean?" Ranma asked, "I'm no demon." Then he caught the distinct smell of dog and his hackles raised. He stepped away from Kagome and hissed, "You're not human, what are you?"

"Your death!" the man yelled. He started running toward Ranma.

"No, InuYasha! That's no demon!" Souta screamed.

"SIT BOY!" Kagome yelled, and InuYasha crashed to the ground headfirst, his cap flying off, exposing two pointed ears sticking up through his hair.

"Why'd ya go and do that for?" InuYasha exclaimed.

"That's what's in your aura!" Kagome exclaimed, "I sensed cat."

"Oh, that," Ranma said flatly. He looked at the prone figure on the ground and snarled, "I'm fully human, moron. There's no demon in me."

"He's right, InuYasha, I sense no demonic aura in him," Kagome agreed.

"Then what did I sense?" InuYasha said as he pulled himself into a cross-legged sitting position.

"It's a long story," Ranma said dropping down into a squatting position. He rubbed the back of his neck, and stuck out his hand. "Name's Saotome, Ranma Saotome," he said.

InuYasha reddened slightly and shook his hand. "InuYasha is what I am called," he growled, "So spill it. Why do I smell cat?"

"Pop tried to teach me something called the Neko-ken when I was younger. It's supposed to be an unbeatable technique, but it was flawed. Basically, he would wrap me in food, and toss me into a pit of starving cats. Eventually, I snapped, and when I saw a cat, if I couldn't get away from it, I thought I was one. But the weird thing was, I got some abilities out of it. Like claws of ki, that kind of thing. Anyway, that's the way it stood until this year, when with the help of my wife I learned to control my fear. That allowed me to fully integrate the Neko-ken and keep it under control," Ranma replied.

"And I guess what really happened is you absorbed it into your aura," Kagome guessed.

"You're good," Ranma said in awe, "That's exactly what the old crone figured out. So what's his story? How'd you hook up with a dog demon for a friend?"

Kagome blushed and replied, "He's a bit more than a friend. But that's too long a story to tell. Especially when I need a long hot bath and I'm hungry to boot." She pulled InuYasha to his feet.

"Sorry, Saotome, I guess we kind of got off on the wrong foot," InuYasha said.

"Yeah, me too," Ranma said as he stood up. The other two wandered back to the house. Ranma heard Kagome say, "You really need to stop jumping to conclusions like that. What if you had hurt him?"

Ranma listened to them until they got out of earshot and then glanced over at Souta and said, "I actually came by to talk to you."

"Me, what did I do?" Souta asked.

Ranma frowned and said, "Nothing yet. It's just Sayuri and Hiroshi are friends of mine and I don't want them hurt. That's all."

"So are you telling me to back off from Sayrui?" Souta asked, bristling.

"Nah, nothing like that. Sayuri's free to make her own decisions. It's just that the two of them were dating and I thought, madly in love with each other. This breakup came out of the blue, and she's gonna be a little vulnerable right now," Ranma said.

Souta grimaced and replied, "I thought they had broken up longer ago than that. At least that's what her mother told me when I went over there to do some repairs for her."

Ranma had a puzzled expression on his face.

"Oh, duh, my mom knows her from school, and I've had to help Gramps keep the shrine repaired ever since I was old enough to help, so I've picked up some skills," Souta replied, to the unasked question on Ranma's face, "One day, when I was taking a break, she brought out some water and we got to talking. She mentioned that Sayuri was a little down, and suggested I take her out."

Ranma's face cleared up and he said, "Well, that makes sense, I guess. The only reason I came by was to ask you to keep it cool around Hiroshi. He's taking this pretty hard."

"Back off on the public display of affection around him, huh? I can do that. Hiroshi's a pretty decent guy," Souta said, "So I don't particularly want to make him any unhappier than he already is."

"Thanks. I'll see you at school tomorrow, I imagine," Ranma said.

"Yeah, probably. I guess we'll be joining you at lunch. Sayuri and Hiroshi talked after school, so I think some of the awkwardness might be gone between them now," Souta said.

"That's good. It wasn't very pretty in class today," Ranma said. He waved and headed down the path toward the street level far below.

* * *

"I'm home!" Sayuri cried as she took off her shoes and set them by the front door. She walked into the family room and found her mother watching television. She sighed as she counted the number of empty bottles lined up on the endtable. 

"How was your day, dear?" her mother asked, tearing herself away from the show.

"It started out kind of awkward, but Hiroshi and I talked afterwards, and, well, I think we'll be fine," Sayuri replied, absently.

Her mother frowned briefly but said nothing.

"Oh, how could I forget the big news?" Sayuri exclaimed, slapping her head, "Yuka and Daisuke are engaged."

"I know," her mother said, "Word gets around. I hear that she's pregnant, that's why they're getting married."

Sayuri stared at her in disbelief, and exclaimed, "No she's not! They aren't even sleeping together."

"Still that's what I've heard," her mother insisted, "What are kids coming to these days?"

"Well, if she's pregnant, it's going to be a long pregnancy. From what I was told, they don't intend to get married until they are out of high school, and that's two years away. So whatever old biddy you heard that from is flat out wrong," Sayuri said.

"I'm sorry, dear, I just don't think those friends of yours are a good influence. I mean look at them all, what's his name Ranma and Akane Tendo got married, then your friend Ukyo has his girlfriend living with him. That crazy Kodachi Kuno ran off and married a gaigan. And that bimbo waitress is living in sin with her boyfriend," Mrs. Sato complained.

"Mom, you don't know anything about my friends. I thought you liked Yuka, and Akane? And Shampoo is married according to the laws of her tribe," Sayuri said, not comprehending what was happening.

"I'm seriously thinking of having you moved to another school, maybe that girl's school," her mother continued.

"MOM!" Sayuri exclaimed, "Those are my friends and I'm not turning my back on them. That's the argument I had with Hiroshi and why we broke up. He wanted us to pull back from them because of some of the crazy things that happen around them, and I refused." She frowned for a moment and then asked, "Speaking of Hiroshi, why didn't you tell me that he had called last week to apologize?"

"He didn't call," her mother replied, refusing to meet her eyes.

Sayuri said, coldly, "Don't lie to me. I know that he tried." Her eyes widened and then she said, "You didn't want me to get back with him, that's why you wouldn't tell me he called. And that's why you all but pushed me into Souta's arms the other day. How could you?"

Her mother snapped, "Don't take that tone of voice with me, young lady. I'm only looking out for what's best for you. I didn't want you to end up pregnant like Yuka. I can't believe her family. They're so traditional"

"MOM!" Sayuri screamed, "For the last time, Yuka is NOT pregnant. None of my friends are, married or otherwise. So for you to keep on going on like that just tells me that your friends are completely out of touch with what is going on in our lives. And do you really know anything about Souta? He's a nice guy, but there's some talk that some of the girls he dated went a lot farther than they intended."

"I just don't want you to do something that you might regret later," her mother said quickly, "I know the pressure girls your age can have. Especially if you've been in a relationship for a long time and some of your friends are experienced."

Sayuri closed her eyes to attempt to keep her calm. "Mom, I have no intention of having sex until I am married. And for your information, Hiroshi has never asked me to do anything like that," she said coolly, "He is always a perfect gentleman. Neither one of us wanted to do anything that might alter our future." 'Unlike someone I know,' she thought.

"I don't care, I don't want you hanging around with any of them any more," her mother said.

Sayuri snapped, "You won't tell me who my friends are, mother!"

"You don't talk to me like that! Go to your room and don't come out until I call you for dinner," her mother ordered.

Sayuri narrowed her eyes, and said, "Fine!" She turned and left the family room, and went to her room.

* * *

Mrs. Sato called, "Sayuri, dinner is ready. Come and eat." She waited for several minutes, and her daughter didn't come. "I'll be right back," she said to her husband, who grunted disinterestedly. With a sigh for what might have been, she walked down the hall to her daughter's room. The door was closed, so she knocked on it and said, "Sayuri, dear, dinner is ready." Hearing no answer, she opened the door, to a vacant room, with the window open, the curtains flapping in the breeze. She rushed to her daughter's closet to find most of her clothes were gone. On the floor, where the wind must have blown it, was an envelope. With trembling hands, she reached down and picked it up. She tore it open to read, 'Mom, I can't live like this. I'm leaving. I'll call in a few days to let you know I'm okay. Sayuri.' She fell to her knees and began to wail. 

Her husband leisurely walked in and asked, "What's the problem? Why isn't dinner on the table?"

Mrs. Sato handed him the letter, and clutched her chest.

Her husband scanned it quickly and said, "Oh well, one less mouth to feed. Let's

eat."

"You don't give a damn about her, do you? You never did," Mrs. Sato cried, "That's my baby that left me."

"Well, you shouldn't have made her upset. Couldn't have been me, I never talk to her," Mr. Sato said, annoyed, "I'm starved, and the baseball game comes on in an hour. I'm supposed to meet some friends at the bar and watch it with them."

Mrs. Sato stood up, shakily, and walked back to the kitchen and brought out his dinner. "Go ahead and eat, I'm not hungry. I-I think I'll make some phone calls, see if I can find her," she said.

"Bring me a beer first," her husband growled.

* * *

Kasumi opened the door to find Yuka, Daisuke and Sayuri standing there, shivering slightly in the brisk April wind. "Come on in, everyone is in the family room," she said, kindly. 

"Thanks, Kasumi," Yuka said, as they took their shoes off.

Daisuke followed the three women, carrying the two large suitcases that Sayuri had brought from her house.

"Just set them down at the foot of the stairs. We can take them up later," Kasumi said.

With a sigh of relief, Daisuke set his burden down, while the two girls put the smaller suitcases on top.

"Let's get some food into you three," Kasumi suggested.

Daisuke replied, "Yuka and I have already eaten, but Sayuri didn't get to Yuka's until they were done eating. We came right over when Akane said she could stay here for a while."

Kasumi smiled kindly and asked, "Some tea then, to warm you two up while we finish eating?"

"That would be wonderful," Yuka replied with a feeling of relief. The last hour was one she didn't wish to repeat. Sayuri showing up on her doorstep was fine, but once her parents had realized that she had left home, to everyone's surprise they had refused to let her stay. Fortunately Daisuke had been visiting to get to know his prospective in-laws better and had quickly taken charge. He had immediately called Akane and explained the situation. Almost before he had finished the story, she had told him to bring her over.

The party walked into the family room, where the extended clan was just finishing. "Find a place to sit, and I'll bring out some more food, and some tea," Kasumi said.

"Please, let me help, it's the least I can do," Sayuri said.

"Tonight, you're a guest, Sayuri. Just relax for tonight, this can't be easy on you," Akane said.

"Akane's right," Soun said, "Please be welcome in our home for as long as you need to stay."

Sayuri bowed deeply to Mr. Tendo and said, "Thank you, sir. This is most kind of you."

"Nonsense, it's the least we could do," he said kindly.

With a heavy sigh, Sayuri sat down next to Akane, who promptly pulled her into a hug. "Things will turn out fine, Sayuri, don't worry," Akane said.

Nabiki added, "She's right. You're with friends here. I can't believe in this day and age, your mother would try to control you like that."

"It's not just that, Nabiki, it was the fact that she just wouldn't listen. I mean, there's a rumor going around that Yuka is pregnant and that's why they're getting married," Sayuri said, "I told her that was preposterous. But she didn't care. Her friends told her that so it had to be true. And all of my married friends must be a bad influence on me, getting me interested in well, you know."

"Here's some soup and some grilled fish," Kasumi said carrying in a tray, "And there should still be some rice in the rice cooker. Ranma didn't eat it all for a change."

Ranma grinned and said, "Hey, I'm not Pop. Besides, I knew that she hadn't had a chance to eat yet."

"This looks delicious, Kasumi," Sayuri said as she began to eat.

"Yeah, she's about the best cook, though Mom gives her a good run for her money," Ranma said. He looked fondly at his wife, and added, "And you're getting there."

"Baka," Akane said, with a grin. She sobered for a moment and said, "This little girl is Hinako. She lives with us."

"Sayuri's staying in Akane's old room, right?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi replied, as she poured the tea, "Yes, we moved the rest of Hinako's things in with Nabiki. She hadn't used that bed, anyway."

Sayuri looked askance at Nabiki. Nabiki said, "Hinako had a lot of bad nightmares. When she's with me, she doesn't seem to have them."

"Oh, so you two aren't?" Yuka asked.

Hinako giggled as she leaned against Nabiki, and said, "No, we're just good friends. Neither of us swing that way. Though, she is cute."

Nabiki exclaimed, "Hi-chan! Just for that, I won't read to you tonight."

Hinako looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. "Please, pretty please, I'll be good," she begged.

"Just teasing, Hi-chan," Nabiki said, quickly, as she gave her a brief hug.

"This really isn't a side of you that I was expecting," Daisuke said, "Please don't take offense."

"None taken, Daisuke-kun. Let's just say that the persona that I portray at school is not me," Nabiki said.

"Well, I like this side of you," Yuka said.

"Hey, sis, should have done that sooner," Akane said.

"It's kind of hard not to have changed when I've got this cute girl hugging me all of the time," Nabiki said ruefully.

"Thank you very much," Hinako said, as she wrapped an arm around Nabiki's waist and leaned into her side.

"You're very welcome," Nabiki said, as she lightly ruffled her hair.

"More tea, anyone?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah, I'll take another cup, dear," Tofu said, holding out his teacup.

Sayuri pushed her empty bowls away and said, "Kasumi, please, would you teach me how to cook like this? Home EC won't ever get me this good."

"Certainly, Sayuri. It would be my pleasure," Kasumi replied.

Sayuri turned to Daisuke and Yuka. "Guys, thanks for helping me bring my stuff here. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Yuka shook her head good-naturedly and said, "Hey, that's what friends are for."

"I hope you don't get into any trouble over this," Sayuri continued.

Daisuke shrugged and said, "It'd be worth it. But, naw, my parents will be cool."

"My parents won't give me any trouble, they just couldn't get involved as traditional as they are," Yuka said.

"You'd better get her home," Sayuri said.

"She's right. It's not too late, but, I know I have homework still, and I bet you do too," Daisuke said.

Yuka hugged Sayuri and said, "Things will be better tomorrow."

Daisuke gave Sayuri an awkward hug, and said, "See ya." He turned to Kasumi and said, "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Any friend of Ranma, Akane or Nabiki is always welcome here," Soun said simply.

Kasumi stood up and showed them to the door.

"Tell you what, let's go get you settled in to your room," Ranma said. He stood up and then held out his hand. Akane took it and he pulled her to her feet. Sayuri sprang up and the three of them headed toward the stairs, where Ranma grabbed the two large suitcases, while Akane and Sayuri got the overnight case and her briefcase. They walked up the stairs, and down the L-shaped hallway to the last bedroom.

"That's nice," Ranma said, pointing with his chin.

Akane smiled to see the duck hanging on the door, reading, 'Sayuri.' "Kasumi is something else, isn't she?" she asked.

Tears streamed down Sayuri's face as she realized that everyone was considering her family.

"Hey, none of that, Sayuri," Ranma said, "I can't handle it when girls cry."

"Silly man, those are happy tears," Akane sniffed.

"I knew that," Ranma said, sheepishly, as he pushed the door open.

"Oh, this is wonderful," Sayuri said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Ranma placed the two suitcases by the closet. "There should be plenty of hangers in there," he said, "But if you need more, I think we've got a few empties, and I'll check with Kasumi and Nabiki."

"When you're settled, come to our room. We can help you finish your homework," Akane said.

"Just knock first, if the door is closed," Ranma said with a cheeky grin.

"Seriously, thanks you two. I really don't know what I would have done if you two hadn't taken me in," Sayuri said fervently.

Ranma traded a look with Akane and said, simply, "We're martial artists. Our duty is to help those who need help." He grinned, and added, "But we would have done it anyway, martial artist or not. YOU are our friend, and we will never turn our back on you if you need help."

Akane added, "I can't say it any better than that, Sayuri. You're a part of this family now, whether you wanted it or not. And you're welcome to stay here for as long as it takes for you to settle whatever issues you have with your parents."

"And if that's a lifetime, that's fine," Ranma said simply. He paused and suggested, "There's a couple of simple exercises that we can teach you that will help you keep your center. You might want to try them."

"Gonna turn me into a martial artist?" Sayuri asked with a grin.

"Only if you want to. No, I think what he was trying to say is that you've had several emotional shocks over the last week. And doing some of our simpler exercises, and meditation, will help you learn to relax and possibly cope with them," Akane replied.

Ranma grinned and said, "Do you want to let your parents know that you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'll call them after I get unpacked. I don't really want Mom to worry, at least not about where I am," Sayuri replied after a moment of thought.

"Whatever else they are, they are still your parents," Ranma said, "Try not to push them away more than you have to."

"Ranma, I hate to ask this, but I really need my best girlfriends with me tonight," Sayuri said softly, "Could you?"

Ranma shared a look with Akane and replied, "Sure, Sayuri." He headed out the door to change.

Akane turned and said, "When you want to talk, you know you can come to me, right?"

"Thanks, not right now," Sayuri said quickly.

"You've got a lot of support with this group," Akane said, simply.

Sayuri actually chuckled and said, "Yeah, I've already talked to your sister and she gave me some good advice."

"Kasumi's like that," Akane said.

"Um, actually, I was referring to Nabiki," Sayuri retorted.

* * *

Author's Notes: Wow, this chapter puts me well over half a million words. Not too shabby for a pot bunny that wouldn't die. Thanks for all of the comments and constructive criticisms, as always they are welcomed and appreciated. For specific comments, see below: 

majinbuu7985: Thanks for the suggestion, but I had come up with this idea. And I guess, this answers when I'm going to update. VBG Glad you enjoyed the chapter. My sides were hurting from the laughing I was doing writing it. Kaollu Su always asks what something is and if it is good to eat.

Wonderbee31: I certainly plan on doing something different with Genma this time. Hopefully, I can pull off a decent redemption scene.

Pkaceboshotgun: No, this won't have any more SounxNodoka, that was definitely an effect of the succubi that Nabiki had turned into. Besides, I already did that once in a different story. Timing-wise, Genma had been gone a few days, BTW, not that that matters to the point you were making.

G-man: I'll have to plead guilty for the one mistake, I haven't actually read the Saffron arc yet, so I had forgotten, (or never knew) that the Phoenix people were considered a myth. Oh well. As to the second, I'm pretty sure that it was a temple, I looked at both the manga episode and the anime and it sure looked like a Shinto temple that he walked into.

XeroRefluxStrike: Actually, Akari likes Ryoga because he knocked her sumo pig out with one blow. Her grandfather told her to marry someone who could do that. She didn't even know about his pig curse until much later.

Shinigami: Yep, a sex goddess. I bet no one saw that coming. Dai and Yuka are just engaged, but yeah, there may be something in the water. This is Nerima after all.

ZRO4825: Then I did what I set out to do. I wanted to bring in the wishing sword, and then voila, this idea came to me.

Hououza: Thank you. I hope that I can pull off a redeemed Genma. It'll mostly happen off screen as it were, when it does happen.

Celestial lelila: I had a lot of fun writing those scenes. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Moi, dragging out Nabiki's one true love. Never. Shinnosuke isn't exactly next, there are still a few months to go. Got a wedding to take care of with Ukyo and Konatsu first, and oh a few other things that need to happen. It is only April, after all.

Darth Hawk: Don't actually disagree. In order for Akari and Konatsu to have worked as love interests, the manga would have needed to be longer. I have to believe that the author intended to do that, but just ran out of time and/or interest

Ss4-link: No, Harry Potter won't be making an appearance in the story, well, not any more than his world has already. I just like slipping in those little references to other universes. Kind of my signature, I guess.

Dragon Man 180: Speaking of bad mental images. LOL


	52. Realizations

Chapter 52 Realizations

Sayuri walked into what had become the master bedroom to find Akane brushing Ranma's long red hair. Ranma had changed for bed already, wearing a pair of boxers, and one of her muscle shirts. Sayuri cleared her throat causing Akane to turn around. "Just a moment, Sayuri, and then we can get started. Just put your things on the floor next to ours," Akane said.

"Did you get a hold of your mother?" Ranma asked. "Ouch, I think you found a tangle," she complained.

"Finally. The first few times the line was busy. I told her I was fine," Sayuri replied, "And that I'd talk with her some more once I had cooled down. She sort of understood, I guess. Anyway she agreed to give me some space. Then I called Souta. He was pretty frantic when I talked to him. I guess Mom must have called over there and he was worried about me. I told him we needed to talk tomorrow. I also got a hold of Hiroshi, but he already knew. I guess Daisuke had called him to let him know I was fine. I hope that was okay."

Ranma waved it off and said, "No problem."

"There, all done," Akane said, as she put the brush down. She pulled Ranma's hair back and gathered it into a loose tail, using a rubber band to hold it in place.

They walked over and plopped down on the floor next to Sayuri. "So what should we work on first?" Akane asked, once the three girls got settled.

Ranma shrugged, causing an interesting ripple in her shirt and replied, "Let's get the pre-calculus out of the way. I think that'll be the hardest, at least for me."

"Sounds good, then history, I think. The essay for English composition we'll have to do by ourselves, and then physics was mostly reading," Akane suggested.

"Literature was mostly reading, too, though wasn't there a short set of questions we were supposed to answer?" Sayuri asked.

"Yeah, there were, but they didn't look too hard," Ranma said.

They opened their math books, and looked at the problem set. "Great, limits," Ranma groaned, "I hate limits."

"Just shut up and work," Akane said with a giggle.

Kasumi stuck her head in the door and asked, "Homework on the first day?"

"Yes, our new homeroom teacher is a real slave driver," Sayuri said.

"I've got some cookies baking in the oven. Once they're cool enough I'll bring a plate up," Kasumi said.

"Better bring up two, one for Ranma and one for the two of us," Akane teased.

Ranma stuck her tongue out and said, "Nah, one should be enough. I don't want to ruin my girlish figure."

Sayuri's jaw dropped and then the three of them began to giggle. "I've missed you, Ranma," she said softly.

"I think we're closer than that now, Sayuri-chan. You're one of my closest friends," Ranma said softly.

Sayuri's eyes grew misty for a moment and then she reached over and hugged the smaller girl. "Thanks, Ranma-chan. That means a lot to me," she replied softly. She turned to Akane and asked, "You don't mind, do you Akane-chan?"

"Of course not. I feel the same way about you, Sayuri-chan," Akane replied.

Sayuri worked on the second problem and then asked, "What's the deal with Nabiki and Hinako?"

"That's a difficult question to answer, but, I think it's safe to say that what is going on there is mostly a mother-daughter, or big-sister, little-sister relationship. I haven't quite decided which," Akane replied after a moment of thought.

"When Hi-chan moved in, she stayed in the room you're in, but she was suffering from some horrible nightmares, nightmares that she still refuses to describe. Nabiki being the nearest to her, heard her cry out the first night and went in and was somehow able to comfort her. Ever since then, they've shared Nabiki's bed," Ranma added, "They care a great deal for each other, but like Akane said, it's platonic. They like to mess with people's heads though, so they tease about it being something else."

"That's so like Nabiki," Sayuri said with a giggle, "But who is this Hinako?"

The other two girls exchanged glances. Ranma shook her head, and Akane sighed in acceptance. Ranma said softly, "It's not really our story to tell. She has had an extremely difficult life, and we've helped her solve her biggest problem, or more accurately, Nabiki did. That's one of the reasons that they are so close. There's very little about Hinako that Nabiki doesn't know. She was living by herself, and we really didn't think that was the best thing for her, so we invited her to stay with us."

"Whoa, she's what, all of eleven, maybe twelve, and she was living by herself? And I thought I had problems," Sayuri said, shaking her head.

"Akane, could you help me with this one? I don't think I've got it set up right?" Ranma asked, pointing to her paper.

Akane glanced at it for a while, and then said, "There it is, baka. You have the sign wrong in this term. It should be positive, not negative. Then it'll reduce correctly. See, you did the transform wrong when you went from this step to the next."

Ranma looked at the paper for a moment, and then colored. "Baka isn't quite strong enough. That was simply carelessness. Damn," she said quietly.

Kasumi brought in a large plate of chocolate cookies fresh from the oven, with three glasses of milk. "This should take your mind off that, Ranma," she said gaily.

"Since you three are here, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Sayuri asked.

The three other girls looked at each other and shrugged. "Ranma-chan, Akane-chan, when did you know that you loved each other, and how did you know? Kasumi-san, the same thing with Tofu-san," Sayuri asked softly.

Ranma's eyes darkened for a moment and then she said, in her soft, soprano, voice, "I felt something the first time I met Akane, and then when she asked me to be friends that first day, I felt something stronger. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, partially because I hadn't really been exposed to a lot of love growing up, but finally I realized what it was. As to how did I know, I guess it was when I realized that I would die for her, even kill for her, but more importantly, I want to live for her." She reached out and gently caressed Akane's cheek with one hand.

Akane smiled at her and said, "It took me a bit longer, of course I had to get over that whole I hate boys thing that those idiots at school had instilled in me. But, Ranma was patient and kind, and nothing like them. The first day we actually sparred and he, well, she, beat me so easily, I saw that I wasn't close to her skill level, and then when I found out that she was really a he, I was scared because of Kuno and company. But, Ranma refused to take advantage of me, and showed me that not all guys were like Kuno. And somewhere in there, we started dating, and well, I fell for him."

Kasumi looked pensive for a moment, and said, "I don't remember when I knew that I was in love with Tofu. There's a quote that I read once, by the American author Heinlein, where he wrote that 'Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.' I can't think of a better working definition than that. That is how I feel about my family, and have for a long time. I then realized I felt the same way about Tofu, only stronger, if that was possible. I was scared a little, because it was such a strong feeling. But that's also when I knew that not only did I love Tofu, but that I was in love with him as well, and hoped that eventually he would feel the same way."

"Of course, he already did, but being a typical clueless male, he didn't know how to behave around her," Ranma said, with a grin.

"Sounds like the voice of experience there, huh, Ranma-chan?" Sayuri asked, with a cheeky grin.

"Won't disagree that I'm clueless a lot of the time about girls," Ranma said with a grin, "But, I've gotten some hands-on experience so I'm getting a little better."

Akane leaned into her and said, half in jest, "The only hands on experience you get better be with me."

Ranma grinned at her as the other two girls giggled.

"Does that answer your question, Sayuri?" Akane asked, softly.

"Yeah, I think it does. Thanks. I especially liked what you said, Kasumi-san," Sayuri replied. 'And I've got a lot of thinking to do,' she thought.

"Looks like all of this is hard work," Kasumi said as she picked up the now empty plate of cookies.

* * *

Sayuri woke up the next morning to the sound of Kasumi's voice calling her. "Sayuri, it's about time for you to get up. If you hurry, you can take a turn in the furoba before Ranma and Akane get back from working out in the dojo, and then breakfast will be ready," the older girl said from the door.

"Thanks, Kasumi-san. I'll be down in a minute. Just let me grab my uniform," Sayuri said, once she was completely awake. She got up and walked over to the closet and picked out a skirt and blouse, and then a change of underwear and walked downstairs and then around the house to the furoba. As Kasumi had said, it was currently unoccupied, so she was able to get cleaned up and changed. As she walked out the door, she was met by Ranma and Akane, who had definitely been working out pretty strenuously. "It's all yours, you two," she said in passing, "And take a good long bath. You both need it."

"Morning, Sayuri-chan," Akane said.

"Good morning," Ranma echoed as the two of the vanished into the furoba, where shortly, Sayuri heard them laughing at something. She sighed, wondering when she would be able to be that happy, and walked back to the kitchen to see if Kasumi needed any help with breakfast. When she got there, she found Kasumi bustling around, humming some little ditty as she prepared breakfast. Nabiki was finishing a cup of coffee and idly chatting with Hinako, who was preparing lunches for everyone.

"Good morning, Sayuri," Hinako said brightly, "Is there anything special you would like in your bento?"

Sayuri smiled gently at the kindly little girl and replied, "There's nothing that comes to mind. Mom usually didn't put much effort in fixing it up, just plain fillings, in fact, so whatever you make will be fine."

"Would you like some tea, or coffee?" Kasumi asked.

"I can wait until breakfast," Sayuri replied, and then asked, "Is there anything I can do to help? I don't want to just sit here and watch you work."

"You could go check on the rice cooker in the family room. The rice should be about finished, and if so, the cooker needs to be turned off," Kasumi replied.

"I can do that," Sayuri said, as she turned around and went into the family room.

Ranma and Akane walked into the family room and sat down, Akane wrapping her arms around his waist, as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Tofu and Soun were also present, though Soun was oblivious as he was engrossed in his newspaper. Shortly, the rest of the household walked in as Kasumi and Hinako fetched the meal.

"Is there anything special you would like for dinner, Sayuri, any favorites that I could prepare?" Kasumi asked after she had served the meal.

"No, Kasumi-san, I'm not that picky, whatever you want to make is fine with me," Sayuri said, quickly, "I don't want to be a burden on you at all."

Akane replied, "You would never be a burden, Sayuri."

"She's right, you're our friend, and that's all that matters," Ranma said.

"Well, in that case," Sayuri said bashfully, "I like gyozas and tempura."

"I haven't made those in a while," Kasumi said, with a gentle smile, "I'll try to remember to get the ingredients at the market today."

"Did you sleep well?" Soun asked.

"Yes, sir, I did. Thank you for asking," Sayuri replied. She stared down at the table for a moment, and then said, "I really appreciate you allowing me to barge in like this, but please don't do anything out of the ordinary for me. I'm nothing special."

Akane smiled sadly and said, "But you are special, Sayuri-chan. You're my, no, our friend, and friends take care of each other."

Ranma reached out and clasped her hand and said, "Sayuri-chan, I'm gonna go farther. You're my family by my choice. Somewhere I read, don't laugh, Nabiki, I do read something other than mangas, anyway, somewhere I read that it's the family that you chose that is important, not necessarily the family that you are born with. We chose you as part of our family."

"And as part of our family," Kasumi said, "If one of us wants to do something special for you, that's part of what being a family is all about."

Sayuri wiped a tear from her eye and whispered, "My parents never cared for me like that."

"Then that's their loss," Nabiki said, as she reached over and laid her hand on top of Ranma and Sayuri. Akane reached out and joined her hand with them.

"Son, daughters, I am proud of each and every one of you," Soun said, his eyes moist.

* * *

Sayuri watched in amazement as first Ranma jumped up onto the fence running beside the street, and then Akane surprised her by joining him. Akane flashed a smile at her and said, "It's balance training, among other things. Maybe you ought to try it."

"No thanks, I'm gonna keep my feet firmly planted on the ground," Sayuri said quickly.

Nabiki looked thoughtfully at Ranma and asked, "You two have given me a little training. Should I try?"

"Maybe not today, sis," Akane replied, "Unless there's something under your skirt that you don't mind showing everybody."

"Don't tell me they've corrupted you with their wicked ways," Sayuri said with a grin.

Nabiki giggled, causing everyone's chin to drop and she replied, "No, not really, though I've gone on one training trip with them and learned a few things. And like I said, I've worked out with them a few times in the dojo doing some simple katas. So some of the things Daddy taught me have come back. I'm never going to be as single-minded in doing martial arts as those two are, but performing the exercises has been good for my peace of mind."

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

"It's like what you told me. When I'm doing the movements, I'm not thinking about what I am doing, instead I'm just living in the moment," Nabiki replied, "And that allows me to forget about the problems that I may face, at least for a little while, and regain my focus on what's important."

Sayuri stared at her and said, "All that from simple exercises." She thought about that for a moment and then said, "Ranma, Akane, you two suggested that I might benefit from learning a few exercises. I think I'll take you up on that. What they taught us at school wasn't very much fun, though."

"Great. We can start after school this afternoon. One of us has a gi you can borrow, and a sports bra," Akane said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we probably ought to do whatever schoolwork we get assigned first," Ranma said, with a grin.

"I don't believe you said that, either," Nabiki teased.

Akane grinned and said, "He just wants to try Martial Arts Homework, that's what it is. I'm sure of it."

"Martial Arts is a way of life for you two, isn't it?" Sayuri blurted out.

Ranma stopped for a moment, unfortunately Akane didn't and ran into him. She kept herself from falling by wrapping her arms around her husband. "Sorry, no brake lights," Ranma muttered. "It's really more than just a way of life. It's a philosophy, a lifetime study, at least if you do it right. The way I do it, it's also supposed to be fun. Like I've told Akane on more than one occasion, if it isn't fun, you're doing it wrong. You should enjoy what you're doing."

"You've also told me to do, not think," Akane retorted.

Nabiki snorted and said, "That's sounds more like your philosophy, Ranma. No offense, but you aren't the deepest of thinkers."

"Never said I was, Na-chan, never said I was. Sometimes, if you stop to think when you're in a fight, you'll lose. The way I was taught, it has to almost be instinctive. But, sometimes, when I'm faced with something I haven't seen before, and don't have a counter, then I have to think, but even then it has to be quick. At my level, and the level that Akane is getting to, though she's still a ways from, a lot of people play for keeps," Ranma said, "So you can't get too distracted by thinking, but you can't just react. It's gotta be a balance of the two. The trick is to find that balance."

"There are unplumbed depths to you, Ranma, I'm impressed," Nabiki said.

Akane muttered something, that Ranma swore sounded something like, "I've plumbed most of his depths. That's my job."

Ranma blushed, for a moment, and then said, "Hey, we're there. Oh, and Sayuri, looks like Souta is waiting for you at the steps." Ranma and Akane jumped down, and joined the other two girls as they made their way into the courtyard. Even at that distance, Ranma could see the look of relief on Souta's face.

"Sayuri!" Souta cried as he swooped down upon her and placed her in an enormous hug.

Sayuri squirmed free, and said, "I told you I was fine. I'm just staying with friends until things blow over."

Souta looked a little hurt for a moment and then said, "I know you told me that, but I was still worried about you. That's all right, isn't it?"

Sayuri looked at the ground for a moment and then replied, softly, "Of course it is, I didn't mean that. I know you care, and that helps. I'd better get inside though. I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

"Sure," Souta replied. He bent down and kissed her, though she moved so he only kissed her cheek. She walked up the stairs, and through the front door, missing the slightly hurt look in his eyes.

"She's just got a lot of things on her mind, right now, Souta," Ranma said softly as he, Akane and Nabiki followed Sayuri.

"Ranma, wait, could I ask you something?" Souta asked.

Ranma stopped as Souta joined him.

"What's going on with her, do you have any idea?" Souta asked.

Ranma looked at him in surprise and replied, "Just because I can turn into a girl doesn't mean I understand them any better than you can. This has just been a couple of rough weeks for her. Seeing Yuka almost get hurt, she and Hiroshi breaking up, you two getting together, and then this thing with her mother. Just give her some space until she can pull herself back together, is about the only thing I can suggest." He grinned suddenly and asked, "I don't have to tell you what I'll do to you if you hurt her, do I?"

"Not the overprotective big brother speech," Souta groaned, "Do you know how many times I've heard that?"

"You're a good guy at heart, Souta," Ranma replied, "Just be gentle with her when you leave her, okay?"

"I just started dating her, Ranma, what gives you the idea that I'm planning on stopping?" Souta asked, a bit amused.

Ranma shrugged and held up two fingers. "One, your past track record, you'll date a girl for a few weeks and then let her go. Two, you're heading off to college at the end of this year. I doubt you'll be interested in an underclasswoman for the entire time," Ranma said.

"Hey, that's not the way it usually happens. If this is about Ukyo, she's the one who broke up with me," Souta protested in a slightly affronted tone, "And besides, I'm not so shallow as to dump Sayuri just because we'll be attending different schools. Anyway, I'll see you at lunch."

"Later," Ranma agreed as he headed into the building to catch up with his wife.

* * *

Hiroshi was busily reading the latest copy of his favorite manga as Sayuri slid into her seat at the desk next to his. At the sound of her bookbag slamming into the back of the chair as she hooked it over the chair, he looked up, concern evident in his brown eyes. "Are you doing okay, Sayuri-chan?" he asked quietly.

"No, not right now," Sayuri replied, sadly, "I can't believe Mom could pull that shit with me." Her lip trembled for a moment, until Hiroshi reached across and placed his hand over hers, and clasped it lightly. Her face firmed then, and she said, strongly, "But I will be, Hirosh-chan. I will be!"

Hiroshi smiled then and said, "That's my girl." His face fell slightly, while Sayuri resisted the urge to run her hand through his messy brown hair. He brightened and continued, "I know you'll get through this. But, I'm here if you need someone else to talk to. Though, I'm betting that since you're staying with Ranma and Akane, you've already gotten several offers of support."

Sayuri grinned and said, "That's a sucker bet if ever I heard one. Yeah, Kasumi, Akane and Ranma have all talked to me, but the one who has helped me the most was Nabiki." At his raised eyebrow, she giggled and said, "Yeah, surprised me, too."

"That's what friends are for, though, to be there when you need help," Hiroshi said, "And they are very good friends. I knew that before I decided to be stupid."

Sayuri gently squeezed his hand and said, softly, "I know why you tried to pull us away from them. It was the wrong thing to do, but your motive was good. That's in the past, though, and we can't change what happened. All we can do is put it behind us and move forward, okay?"

Hiroshi replied, "That's what we agreed to do yesterday, so yeah, we can move forward." He squeezed her hand and then released it and sat back in his chair.

Akane and Ranma walked in and sat down together. Akane glanced over at Hiroshi and Sayuri, and smiled happily. 'At least they're getting back together as friends,' she thought.

* * *

Ranma glanced around the classroom as the period drew to its close. 'Amazing what a difference those two deciding to be friends made after yesterday,' he thought, 'There's none of that chill that was filling the room.' The bell rang, signaling the beginning of the lunch break. He waited for a moment as the class moved as one out the door, and then gathered up his bento, as well as Akane's. The two of them headed to the door, and went outside to their tree where they were quickly joined by their gang. Souta and Sayuri sat down next to Shampoo. Nabiki patted the spot next to her, and Hiroshi sat down with a smile of thanks.

Ukyo pulled out her portable grill and started making various kinds of okonomiyaki for everyone, while Shampoo passed around a large bowl of shrimp ramen. Yuka groaned, and said, "You guys are going to make me fat with all of this good food."

Sayuri shot her a grin and said, "Maybe you ought to join me at the dojo. Looks like I've been drafted by the martial arts maniacs. I could use some help."

"I resemble that remark," Ranma said with a grin.

"Seriously, I am going to take you up on that offer, Ranma-chan. I need to regain some peace of mind after what's happened," Sayuri said.

"Oh no, another person drawn to the dark side," Daisuke said, "Run my beloved, I will protect you from their evil ways."

"That was so hokey," Yuka said as she kissed Daisuke on the cheek.

"Hey, I just don't want my fiancée to be able to beat me up," Daisuke said with a smile.

Yuka got an evil look in her eyes and asked, "Just how long would it take for you to teach me some of your moves, Akane?"

Akane gave her an innocent look and asked, "Exactly what kind of moves would you like me to teach you? After all, many of my moves I only do with Ranma."

"And what moves might those be, sister of mine?" Nabiki asked with a smirk. Ranma's cheeks turned bright red.

The pleasant interlude was interrupted as one of the upperclass girls walked over. "Hey, Amayi, when's the baby due?" she asked, snidely.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not pregnant, never been pregnant, not planning on getting pregnant," Yuka replied, heatedly.

"That's not the word on the street," the other girl said, as she leered at Yuka.

"Don't know who's spreading that crap, but we won't be having any children until at least nine months after we get married. Anybody who says otherwise has their head up their ass," Daisuke said.

"I find it amazing that some people can be so crude," Kodachi interjected, mildly, "That's just so like you commoners, no manners whatsoever. Coming over here and interrupting a friendly gathering with such ugly insinutations. I, for one, find it refreshing that these two are engaged, yet plan on marrying after graduation."

The girl goggled at Kodachi as she attempted to work through what she had just heard.

"I'm a little surprised you're listening to all of that gossip," Nabiki drawled, deciding to put her oar in, "You should know better than to believe anything that you don't find out from me. And I can assure you; these two aren't having a baby." She narrowed her eyes, and added, "I won't even charge you for the information."

The older girl gulped quietly and said, "I didn't see you there, Nabiki-san."

"Didn't think you had, or you wouldn't have come over here to insult my friend," Nabiki replied, a tad condescendingly, "You're not quite that stupid."

"Uh, why don't I just leave?" the girl suggested.

Nabiki smiled and said, "Good idea. I would suggest you pass on the information about Yuka's status, though."

"Yeah, of course, you didn't really need to ask," the girl said backing away, wide-eyed. Soon she was back with her crowd of friends, and by the anxious looks coming from them, they were all unhappy about the turn of events.

"That's was truly scary," Ranma said, with a grin.

"What was?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma replied, "The way you demolished that girl."

"Thank you for that, Nabiki-san," Yuka said.

"I meant what I said, Yuka. You and Daisuke are friends, and I won't let my friends get insulted. And I agree with Kodachi, I think it's sweet that you two are engaged," Nabiki said, with a grin.

"So, you gonna join us?" Sayuri asked.

"What?" Yuka replied.

Sayuri sighed, and said, "Me, Akane, and Ranma in training."

"You forgot me, didn't you, Sayuri?" Nabiki asked, rhetorically.

Ukyo dropped her spatula in shock. "Since when did you take martial arts seriously?" she asked.

"I've been working out a little bit with them, not a whole lot, but enough to know that it's better for me than the leg lifts, and things like that, that I was doing in my spare time," Nabiki replied, "I just want to learn a few things. The centering exercises that Ranma was talking about, for instance, would come in handy when I get into the business world. Being able to remain calm while everyone else around me loses their head would be very helpful. I can do a lot of that now, but I need to be able to do it instinctively."

"The Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Business! Now I've heard everything!" Souta exclaimed as he began to laugh.

Sayuri smiled briefly until she saw the true martial artists shaking their collective heads.

"He just doesn't get it does he, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked sadly.

"No, I don't think he does," Nabiki replied, surprising them all. She turned to Souta and said, "Martial Arts isn't just something we do, Souta, it's something we live. It's a way of looking at life. Ranma said it to Sayuri this morning, but he was right. Daddy taught it to all three of us, though Akane practices the physical forms more than Kasumi and I. It's a philosophy that permeates everything that we do, and a study that is never finished. Our school also doesn't mind borrowing from other schools, that's why it is called Anything Goes. Ranma and Akane are learning several different styles and bringing them into harmony with the existing techniques, keeping the ones that work, and pruning off the ones that don't fit."

"I don't think I could have said it any better," Ranma said proudly.

Akane nudged him with her elbow and said, "You couldn't have said that at all. Sis, that was beautifully put. And it does describe what our school is like." 'Or what it is now that Ranma has taken it over,' Akane thought, 'Since Daddy gave up teaching.'

"The only thing that I would have added, seriously, is that you have to have fun doing it. You can't just go through the motions, you need to enjoy doing them," Ranma added.

Nabiki shifted slightly and her bento started sliding off her lap. She reached to catch it at the same time Hiroshi did, and they touched hands as they prevented the box from spilling.

Hiroshi reddened as he realized that somehow he had ended up holding Nabiki's hand, especially when she leaned over and whispered, "Moving a little fast, aren't you?" He quickly dropped her hand in embarrassment, hoping that no one had seen that and misunderstood.

Souta glanced over at Sayuri and saw an odd look in her eyes, as she stared at Nabiki and Hiroshi.

* * *

That afternoon, after everyone had finished their homework, the gaggle of girls invaded the kitchen to see about scoring some cookies. As luck would have it, Kasumi had just pulled a cookie sheet out of the oven, and had placed it on the cooling rack. Ranma walked in at that moment, after making a strategic stop at the furoba to change genders and clothes. Now, a she, Ranma was dressed in jogging shorts and a sports bra.

"Don't eat too many of those cookies, Sayuri. The workout won't be too strenuous, but it's still better to exercise on an empty stomach," Ranma said, "Especially for beginners."

"Can I come?" Hinako asked from where she was sitting at the table, idly kicking her feet.

"Sure, but if you're gonna work out, you need to change out of your dress," Ranma replied, with a smile.

Nabiki and Sayuri traded looks and then Nabiki asked, "I guess we should have changed too." Akane had already changed into an outfit similar to Ranma's before she had joined them in the kitchen.

"Probably," Akane agreed. The three girls each grabbed a cookie and headed out the door of the kitchen to go back upstairs.

"We'll meet you in the dojo," Nabiki said as she vanished around the corner.

Kasumi smiled serenely and said, "That was nice of you to offer to train Sayuri and Hinako."

"She could use something to take her mind off the situation she is in," Ranma said simply, "And the exercises that I plan on showing her aren't very difficult to learn so she won't get frustrated."

"Why'd you change to a girl?" Akane asked.

"So they can see how everything moves," Ranma replied with an odd smirk. She grabbed some bottles of water and said, "Let's head to the dojo."

* * *

When Nabiki, Sayuri and Hinako walked into the dojo, dressed in shorts and sports bras, they found Ranma and Akane seated on the floor of the dojo, rapidly tossing several pair of gymnastic clubs at each other. The three of them stopped as one as the pace began to pick up, with Ranma slapping the floor with her free hand after she made the toss to the grinning Akane. Soon, Akane caught the rhythm as she too began to slap the ground as she threw. Finally, Ranma would catch a club and lay it on the floor until all six of the clubs they had been juggling were still.

"Nice job, Akane, your hand-eye coordination is great! Pretty soon we can add the next two clubs," Ranma enthused with a bright smile.

"You're not going to teach us that, are you?" Sayuri asked nervously.

Ranma giggled attractively and replied, "Not for several months, I would imagine, Sayuri. Go ahead, sit down for a few moments and let's talk a bit."

The three girls obeyed, with Sayuri and Hinako dropping down on their knees, while Nabiki sank gracefully into the lotus position.

Ranma grinned at her and then said, "I thought we'd pick up with some more of what we talked about at lunch as a way to ease into this first lesson." She nodded her head at Nabiki and continued, "A lot of what Na-chan said was very accurate, and it definitely described what this school is all about. But, one of the things that you said was a little bit wrong."

"What was that, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, bristling slightly at the suggestion that she was wrong about something.

"Nothing much, it was just that you said that you and Kasumi don't do the physical forms of the school," Akane replied.

"She's right. You may not, but have you ever stopped to watch Kasumi as she's working around the house, cooking, cleaning, whatever?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki's eyes narrowed in concentration and then she shook her head. "I still don't get it," she said in exasperation.

"Don't worry about it. I spotted it right away, but you grew up with it so you just got used to it. Until I mentioned it to Akane, she hadn't seen it either," Ranma replied.

"Next time she's cleaning or whatever, watch her. She's moving around, with no wasted motion, looking calm and serene, graceful as a swan swimming on the surface of a pond" Akane said.

A look of dawning comprehension appeared on Nabiki's face. "She's actually working with everything in tension, some sort of aerobic exercise," she finally said.

"Right," Ranma agreed, "So what does that have to do with what we'll do today?" She grinned at the blank expressions on everyone's face but Akane. With a smile she continued, "That's easy. What I've decided to show you is some things I've borrowed from Tai Chai." She flowed gracefully to her feet and said, "Okay, everybody up. We're gonna start with the meditation exercise that I showed you, Akane."

Ranma moved into the first position, and then slowly moved to the next, while Akane watched the other three girls. She set herself into the second position and then moved with Ranma into the third position. The other three girls moved, a little jerkily.

"Do it smoothly," Ranma said, "And empty your mind. The only thing that you should be thinking about is the motion from one form to the next, as you seek your center. Leave all of your emotions behind, only think of the kata." She moved to the next form, and waited until the four girls had joined her. She continued that until she had run through the entire set of forms for that exercise.

"Okay, that's the kata that I wanted to show you," Ranma said, "Now, we'll do it again, the same speed, only this time, Akane you'll lead while I watch." She stepped back behind the other four girls, while Akane went to the front.

Akane smoothly moved to the first position, and held it. Then she worked slowly through the cycle while Ranma watched the other three girls, correcting them quietly as necessary. Not to her surprise, Nabiki was performing almost as gracefully as Akane, with only a couple of slightly misplaced limbs. Hinako was a treasure to watch, as she quickly copied each movement, her body flowing from one position to the next. Sayuri needed more correction, but that was not unexpected by either of them.

"Okay," Ranma said, "Let's take a short break. Grab a water bottle and get a drink or two and then let's talk." The girls gathered around her as they sat back down on the floor, each of them taking a long pull on their water bottle.

"First of all, Hinako, you're doing great. I think you must have neglected to tell us something about your past," Ranma said with a smile, "Sis, you're doing pretty good. I think in another hour or so, you'll have this exercise down pat. Just remember to keep your mind clear and concentrate on flowing from one form to the next. And Sayuri, you're doing fine. Don't worry about the few mistakes that you're making, I can tell that it'll come to you."

""What are you feeling when you're doing the kata?" Sayuri asked.

Ranma rubbed her chin thoughtfully and replied, "I'm just trying to seek perfection in my movements, keeping everything under control, yet at the same time, allowing myself to be free."

"I try to push whatever is troubling me into the back of my mind and not concentrate on it, just the exercise. Then when I'm done, often, the problem has gone away or I've found a way to get past it," Akane added.

"That's why this kata and several like it are good for meditation," Ranma finished, "And that's why I've added them to our school."

"So enough resting on our butts, it's time to practice some more," Akane said, as she sprang to her feet.

The other four girls sprang up, and put themselves into position. "I'll lead this time, Akane, you watch and correct as need be," Ranma said. She glanced over at the other three girls and said, "We'll do it just a touch slower so you can concentrate on moving smoothly from one position to the next. So set up in the ready stance that we started in." She moved to that stance, and then said, "On three. One, two, three." As she said, "Three," she moved smoothly but noticeably slower into the second position. Saying, "Next," she continued through the cycle.

Akane saw a noticeable improvement in all three girls, as she only had to correct Nabiki twice and Sayuri four times.

"Ranma, my turn to lead, and then we can compare notes," Akane said.

Ranma glanced at her wife and simply nodded. The pair traded places again, and this time Ranma watched as the other three girls followed Akane's lead. She grinned openly as all of them performed the exercise flawlessly this time, with even Sayuri moving smoothly.

"Okay, ladies," Ranma said once they were done, "Get a couple of drinks, and then we'll do another run through."

"Actually, Ranma, why don't you run through that other kata, the one you taught me last week," Akane suggested.

"After they do that one last run through," Ranma agreed. She turned to the neophyte students and asked, "So what felt different, this time?"

Hinako replied, with an odd giggle, "I did what you suggested, I just emptied my mind and thought only of how I was supposed to move."

Nabiki added, "Same here, Ranma. It was definitely easier that way. I shoved all of my problems back into a corner of my mind and locked them there. I bet that if I do that more often, when I come out of the exercises I'll have a solution to one or more of the issues."

Sayuri stilled looked a bit unsure, but said, "I don't think I quite have the hang of the emptying my mind trick. But I can see where it will help me get through the next several days." She smiled sadly and added, "If nothing else, if I do this as much as you two, I'll be too tired to think about any of my issues."

"Neither of us expected you to get it the first day, Sayuri. That would be too much to hope for, but you're doing much better than I had figured. You'll pick up these meditation exercises, don't worry," Akane said.

"Okay, then," Sayuri said, springing to her feet, with a look of determination in her eyes, "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

"That's the spirit," Akane said as the rest of them joined her. Once more, they ran through the meditation kata, while Ranma watched each of the three students, though she kept sneaking a peak at Akane as she worked through the forms. 'Damn, she is so cute especially when she is teaching like this. She'll be a great teacher one of these days when we can finally open the dojo,' she thought.

Once they had finished, Ranma applauded. "All three of you did that last run-through perfectly," she said.

"Okay, Ranma, your turn," Akane said, as she stepped away from the center of the dojo, "Everyone else give her some room."

Ranma moved into the center and breathed deeply for several seconds, her chest swelling with each breathe. She closed her eyes and began to move slowly, languorously from one position to the next, each movement delicately placed, yet showing her total control of her body, her muscles rippling under her skin, each step in some sort of sensual dance.

Akane stepped next to her sister and whispered, "You're gonna hate me for this, put picture male Ranma doing this."

Nabiki's eyes widened and she bit her lip, as she realized exactly what HE would look like doing these movements, showing off his physique. She felt suddenly moist, while other parts of her body stiffened, and whispered back, "You're right. I'm gonna hate you for that picture, you lucky bitch. You knew exactly what that would do to me."

Sayuri had overheard enough of the conversation that her breathing speeded up, and she sat down suddenly. "You are an evil woman, do you know that Akane?" she said sotto voce, "You must be destroyed."

Akane giggled at her sister and her best friend. "Sorry, but I can't help bragging a bit," she said back at them while they stared enraptured at the girl moving around the dojo, "Pleasant dreams, you two."

"Oh, Na-chan has pleasant dreams already, should I tell you what she moans in her sleep?" Hinako said saucily.

Nabiki glared at the young girl, who looked innocently back at her. "I don't moan in my sleep," she snapped.

"Sure you do," Hinako said, "You keep moaning about piles of yen."

* * *

Ranma's eyes widened in astonishment as he glanced at the homework assignments that the teacher had just returned to him. Apparently the combination of the three of them working through the assignments had struck gold, at least for him. He couldn't wait until lunch when he would be able to compare his grades with Akane and Sayuri, but from the smiles on their faces, he could tell that they were equally satisfied with the results. 'Of course, I did go through this once before, so I suppose I must have learned a little bit, even though I slept through most of the classes this year then,' he thought, 'Miss Morisato is a better teacher than poor Hinako, so that's part of it, I bet. If only I'd paid more attention the last time. Oh well, that's water under the bridge. This time through, it'll be better.'

"I need the Saotomes and Miss Sato to stay after for a few moments. Could you three stop by my desk before going off to lunch?" Miss Morisato asked.

"Of course," the three students replied dutifully. As they did, the bell rang, signaling the start of the aforementioned lunch period. They waited until the room cleared out and approached the teacher's desk, with identical worried looks on their faces.

The attractive young teacher chuckled dryly at the apprehensive expressions of the three students. "Don't worry, the three of you aren't in any trouble. I just wanted to congratulate the three of you on having the best grades on this first set of assignments of everyone in the class. Mr. Saotome, in particular, I looked at your grades over the last year, and while passable, I was impressed by the improvement during the last part of the year," Miss Morisato said.

Ranma blushed and replied, "Well, I had a great deal of help from my then fiancée, and wanted to prove myself as worthy of her, I guess."

"Well then, I must say that you've been a good influence on him, Mrs. Saotome," Miss Morisato said.

"Thank you," Akane replied, as she squeezed her husband's hand.

"Miss Sato, I understand that you are also studying with the Saotomes," the teacher said delicately, "Your improvement, while not quite as dramatic as Mr. Saotome, was impressive on this assignment."

Sayuri blushed prettily and murmured, "Thank you."

"Please, whatever the three of you are doing, keep it up. I expect this level from each of you from now on," Miss Morisato said, "Now, on a slightly different matter, Mr. Saotome, Mrs. Saotome, I did notice a pattern of absences last year. Could you explain those?"

Ranma replied, easily, "Akane and I are martial artists, ma'am, and sometimes we get swept up in some of the craziness that seems to center around Nerima. I don't know if you paid any attention to some of the things that happen here, but we always seem to get involved."

"Try to keep that to a minimum if you could. I would hate for you to fall behind due to excessive absences from class," the teacher asked.

Akane said, wryly, "We'll try to schedule our adventures so that they don't interfere. And if we can't, we'll try to at least give you some notice."

"That's all I can ask. Now the two of you are free to join your friends for lunch, but I did have a couple of questions for Mr. Saotome," Miss Morisato said.

Akane looked a question at Ranma, who nodded. The two girls gathered their bentos and walked out the door, closing it behind them.

"One of the other things that I noticed in your records was that they were changed midyear to reflect a change in gender," the teacher began. She stopped for a moment and then added, "After talking to several of the teachers that were here last year, I found out that was not a mistake. Would you care to explain how that is possible?"

"I'm sure they explained about the curse?" Ranma replied, with his own question. At her nod, he continued, "That much is a true statement. I was born a boy, but through my Pop's foolishness, I picked up a curse. Because of it, I'm a, what was that word, oh yeah, an aquatransexual. In other words, when I get wet with cold water, I change to a girl. Hot water restores me."

"Fascinating," Miss Morisato said, "How do you cope?"

Ranma sighed and said, "Since there doesn't appear to be a way to get rid of it, I've accepted the fact that sometimes I'll be a girl. There's not much difference in who I am, regardless of my gender, so everyone has gotten used to that. When I'm female, I'm pretty much a tomboy, so my behavior isn't much different. Just don't be too surprised if a soprano voice answers occasionally when you call on me."

"Thank you for being candid with me, Mr. Saotome," the teacher said, "And I'll try not to overreact if it happens in class. Now, I'll let you get back to your friends, and your wife. I could tell she was worried about you."

"Thank you, sensei," Ranma said, with a slight bow. He left the class and headed outside to join the rest of his crowd. As he joined the group, he saw that once again, Hiroshi was sitting next to Nabiki, idly talking to her, while Sayuri was looking oddly at them. He sank down next to his wife, and gratefully opened the bento that she handed him.

"What did Miss Morisato want with you?" Akane asked.

"Nothing much. She just wanted to find out about the curse," Ranma replied, "She saw the change in the records and it interested her."

"I guess I can understand that," Akane said, with a shrug. She turned to Sayuri, and asked, "How are you feeling after those exercises yesterday?"

"I'm fine. I was a little stiff this morning, but walking to school worked most of the knots out. I thought I was in pretty decent shape, but I must have used some new muscles," Sayuri admitted, "I should be limber enough to work out when we get back to your place this afternoon."

"That was my fault. I should have had you do some stretching exercises before we started," Ranma said with a brief frown, "And then we should have rubbed you down afterwards.

"Be careful if you give her a massage, Ranma, her ribs are very ticklish," Hiroshi interjected.

Sayuri blushed and said, "You weren't supposed to tell."

"Like they wouldn't have figured it out," Hiroshi scoffed.

"He has a point, Sayuri," Nabiki said, "Ranma's pretty good at massage. I should have had him work on me. I'm a little sore, and I think I'm in better shape than you are."

"Damn, you mean you could have given me a massage?" Sayuri asked, a little too eagerly for Souta's taste.

Souta scowled slightly, but Ranma noticed. "I taught Akane. She's about as good as I am, so don't worry about your girlfriend," he said, with a grin, "But you know you can trust me not to do anything inappropriate."

Shampoo grinned and said, "Maybe Shampoo come over so Ranma can put his hands on Shampoo."

"I don't think that Ryoga would like that much," Ranma said, "Would you, buddy?"

Ryoga glanced at his wife and shrugged. "I trust both of you. Besides, Akane wouldn't let anything happen, she'd hurt you if you tried," he said.

Ranma chuckled and said, "True enough," as Akane swatted him.

"Hush you," she said, grinning as the rest of the group laughed.

* * *

Nabiki sighed happily as she sank up to her chin in the hot water of the furo, the steam rising to the ceiling. Hinako snuggled next to her as Sayuri joined them, hoping that the warmth of the water would get rid of the remaining aches from the exercise session that Ranma and Akane had led them through for the last hour.

"Ooooh, that feels good," Nabiki sighed.

"How did I let them talk me into this again?" Sayuri asked.

Hinako replied, "You have to admit, the meditation does help with clearing your mind, Sayuri-chan."

Sayuri looked at the young girl and smiled. "Sayuri-chan?" she asked, teasingly.

Hinako blushed and asked, "Is that okay? I know I didn't ask, but that's what seems right."

"Sure, I don't have a problem, Hi-chan," Sayuri replied. She looked around for a moment, and then said, "It was tough being an only child. My father always hated the fact that he didn't have a son, but Mom couldn't have any children after I was born. Complications during the delivery, from what Mom said one time when she'd had too much to drink. I'm glad I'm here with you guys; it's given me a chance to see what having a sibling would mean."

"I hope that's a good thing," Nabiki said with a grin.

"I was actually referring to the two of you," Sayuri replied, "You've got that big sister-little sister thing going."

Hinako pouted, and said, "I was hoping for the star-crossed lovers actually."

"Stop that, you'll ruin my reputation," Nabiki teased.

"Your secret is safe with me, Nabiki," Sayuri interjected. She hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Actually, what's going on with you and Hiroshi?"

Nabiki sighed heavily and said, "Didn't we already have this conversation? There's nothing going on between us. We're just friends, that's all. He just needs someone to talk to and well, I volunteered." She giggled, and said, "Though I have to admit, he is cute."

"Should I be jealous, Na-chan?" Hinako asked, as she leaned her head against Nabiki's shoulder.

Nabiki grinned as she kissed Hinako's forehead. "Never, my love," she said.

"You two are scary. You have that down pat," Sayuri said.

"Actually, we started that for a reason, and it's fun to play with people's minds," Nabiki admitted. She widened her eyes and said, huskily, "I have to admit, I find you very attractive." She reached out and carefully drew one finger down Sayuri's arm.

Sayuri smiled sexily and said, "You're pretty cute yourself." She slid over next to Nabiki and put her head on Nabiki' shoulder. Then she started giggling.

"Not bad for a first try," Nabiki said, "At least until you started to giggle."

Akane knocked on the door and said, "Hey, Ranma and I need to get cleaned up."

Nabiki got a wicked look in her eyes and said, "Just come on in. After all, we're mostly family. And the three of us have bathed together on the training trip. This isn't any different. And you know what they say, the family that bathes together, stays together."

"You just want to see Ranma naked and find out what you're missing," Akane shot back.

"That just isn't proper, Nabiki," Ranma chimed in.

"Since when did you channel Kasumi?" Nabiki asked.

"Ha-ha, sis. Are you going to get out of the furo or not?" Akane asked.

Nabiki looked at the other two girls, both of whom had an identical impish grin on their face. "Naw, doesn't look like it," she replied. To her surprise, the door began to open. With a shriek, Sayuri sank down into the water until her chin was touching the surface.

Akane walked in wearing only an enigmatic smile and a towel draped around her neck, the ends dangling down her chest. She picked up the rinse bucket and filled it with cold water and handed it through the door.

After a yelp from the changing room, Ranma backed into the bathing chamber, wearing only a towel wrapped around her neck. Akane guided her to the stool, and they tossed their towels on the remaining set of hooks.

"See, it's okay, we're all girls here now, and besides Ranma isn't looking," Akane said, smugly.

"That's no fair, sis," Nabiki pouted.

Sayuri giggled as she sat back against the side of the tub. "Missed your chance to see what he looks like, huh?" she asked, "I can tell you that you're really missing something too."

Nabiki turned to Sayuri and exclaimed, "You've seen him, nude!"

"Sure she has, Nabiki," Ranma replied, calmly, wincing slightly as Akane scrubbed her with the sponge just a little roughly, "And I got a good look at her, when we went after that stupid scroll of the old freak's. Not so hard, Akane, please." She whispered, "Besides, she doesn't hold a candle to you, and you're the only one I want to look at, anyway."

Akane grinned suddenly and said, "I know I'm being silly."

"A little possessive, that's all," Ranma replied, "Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Kinda makes me feel tingly inside knowing that you care that much." Akane started working shampoo into Ranma's long red hair, starting at the crown and working down.

"Akane, I can do that. You need to wash up too, or Kasumi will be holding dinner for us," Ranma said.

Akane walked over to the other stool and began rinsing herself off. "So, what do you think, Ranma, should we get Nabiki up on the fence tomorrow?" she asked.

"I don't know, Akane," Ranma said. She pretended to turn, just enough for the three girls in the tub to cover themselves as she asked, "What do you think, Nabiki? After all, it's your body that we're talking about."

Nabiki thought for a moment and replied, "I think I'd like to try. Just remind me to wear shorts under my dress. Wouldn't want to flash my panties at you."

"I know what they look like, I've helped Kasumi with the laundry," Ranma said, artlessly.

"It's supposed to be different when she's wearing them," Akane said.

Ranma shrugged and said, "It's not like I don't know that that looks like, either. That last swimsuit she wore the final day we were at the beach last summer was damn near a thong. Didn't leave much to the imagination."

"Like yours was any better," Nabiki groused, "I was still outclassed."

Ranma reached down and filled the rinse bucket with lukewarm water, which was hot enough to rinse out the soap, but not so hot that it would change her back. She rinsed off several times, and stood up from the stool. After drying herself off with her towel, she wrapped it around her hair, filled the rinse bucket with hot water, and walked into the changing room, closing the door after her.

The other three girls breathed a sigh of relief. Nabiki glared at her sister and said, "I can't believe the two of you did that."

"Like you said, we shared the hot springs last summer. As I recall, it was your idea," Akane said with a smirk. She rinsed herself off, and reached for her towel. "Don't stay in here too much longer," she said, as she dried off, "Dinner should be about ready."

* * *

"You sure about this, Nabiki?" Akane asked from where she was standing on the fence.

Nabiki rolled her eyes and replied, "For the four thousandth time, yes, I'm sure. Now how do I get up there?"

Ranma chuckled and said, "That's easy. Just relax."

Nabiki jumped as Ranma wrapped his arms around her waist, and jumped. Before she knew it, she was standing on the brick fence, still with Ranma holding her.

"Now, the trick is to forget about the ground, and only think about where you are placing your feet," Akane said, "Just watch me, and then follow." Akane started walking, her balance perfect.

"Okay, I'll be right behind you, so if you start to look out of balance, I'll catch you," Ranma said in her ear, his breath tickling the back of her neck, sending a thrill down her spine. He released her and said, "Just follow Akane."

Nabiki slowly slid one foot forward and then the next, moving slowly, with her eyes firmly planted on the top of the wall.

"Don't look at where you are placing your feet," Ranma said, "Just walk. You're thinking too much."

"That's what I do," Nabiki growled, "I think. Someone in this family has to."

"Very funny, little sister. Now move it, or we'll be late for school," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

Sayuri looked at the three people up on the fence, Akane and Ranma moved assuredly, while Nabiki was walking gingerly. "You couldn't get me up there for a million yen," Sayuri said.

"Don't give Nabiki any ideas!" Akane exclaimed from where she was a meter in front of her sister. She yelled back, "And don't use this as an excuse for Ranma to put his arms on you, Nabiki!"

"Would I do that?" Nabiki asked, pretending to be affronted, "Who do you think I am?"

"Someone who needs acting lessons," Ranma replied. Nabiki looked surprise when everyone else broke out laughing.

* * *

At the end of lunch on Thursday, Hiroshi asked, "Nabiki, do you have a moment?"

Nabiki shrugged and said, "Sure, Hiroshi. What is it?"

Hiroshi looked a little embarrassed and said, "Well, you know the carnival is supposed to be in town this weekend, right?" At her nod, he continued, "Well, it, uh, it happens that I have a couple of tickets, and well, I don't need them anymore. I had gotten them early because, never mind, I just don't need them. Not now." A brief look of pain flashed across his face, and then he said, "I thought, well, maybe you might like to take Hinako to it." He pulled out the two pasteboard tickets and tried to hand them to Nabiki.

An odd look appeared in Nabiki's eyes and she said, "That is so sweet of you." She cocked her head and looked at him, then smiled. "Tell you what, I already have a comp ticket for it, so why don't the three of us make a day of it. Kami knows, you look like you need some fun," Nabiki said.

"Looking for another date with me? Why, Nabiki, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were interested in me," Hiroshi said with a smile. He added, "I'd like that. I was looking forward to going, but well, after last week, I didn't have a reason."

Nabiki laced her arm in his and said, "Don't you dare feel sorry for yourself. You made a mistake; get over it and get on with your life." She grinned and said, "Besides, you'll have two of the hottest girls in town with you, so that should do wonders for your reputation."

"Hinako is a little young for me, but she is cute. She'll have to beat them off with a stick when she gets to high school," Hiroshi agreed. He chuckled and said, "And, you're right about my reputation. 'The Boy that melted the Ice Queen!' What a name!" He smiled to take the sting out of his words and asked, "Meet you at your place after school on Saturday?"

"That'll work. Besides, that way Sayuri can see your hotness picking us up," Nabiki said with an evil smirk, "And see what she gave up."

Hiroshi goggled at her and squeaked, "Hotness? Where the hell did that come from?"

Nabiki smiled and said, "You are a good looking young man, Hiroshi. Not my type, mind you, but still not bad."

"I don't want to do anything that will upset her, or get her mad at you," Hiroshi warned.

"We're both big girls, Hiroshi," Nabiki replied, "I won't hurt her feelings, if that's what you're worried about. Besides, it's not like she can take the moral high ground here. She broke up with you, and then was scooped up by Souta."

"Thanks then," Hiroshi said, his eyes looking a little happier than she had seen all week. He turned and walked into the building.

'Now I need to score another ticket,' Nabiki thought as she waved one of her people over.

"Yes, boss," the girl asked, hesitantly.

"I need a ticket to the carnival this weekend," Nabiki said, "Get it to me tomorrow."

* * *

Nabiki smiled once she opened the door. Hiroshi had obviously taken some pains with his appearance. He was dressed very nicely, in fact perhaps a bit overdressed for a carnival, but overall the effort that he had taken was impressive. She was glad that she had decided to dress up a bit herself, in a smart pantsuit that showed off her assets quite nicely.

Hiroshi smiled shyly as he handed her a flower. "If we're gonna do this, I thought we ought to do it right," he said looking down at the floor.

"Why thank you, kind sir," Nabiki said, "This is nice. Let me go put it in a vase and then the three of us can go." Hiroshi followed her in, but stayed in the hallway waiting for her to come back.

Sayuri entered the front hallway and stopped in surprise. "Hiroshi, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Hiroshi noticed that his shirt collar had suddenly gotten tighter. He swallowed hard.

"He's taking Nabiki and me to the carnival," Hinako replied from behind her, "Hi, thank you for taking me with you." Hinako walked over, and began to change her shoes.

"Not a problem, Hinako. I think you'll have a lot of fun," Hiroshi managed to say.

Sayuri stood there looking unhappy about something. "You're going on a date with Nabiki?" she finally asked.

"Well, yeah, I had these tickets, and it seemed a shame to waste them," Hiroshi said, "Nabiki should be here in a second, she just had to find a vase."

"A vase?" Sayuri asked.

Hiroshi shrugged and said, "I brought her a flower from my mother's garden."

"And it was lovely," Nabiki said. She glanced between the former couple and said, "Just let me change shoes and we can go." She quickly slipped into her outdoor shoes, and asked, "Shall we?"

"You three have a good time. Maybe Souta and I will see you there," Sayuri said.

"Oh, the two of you are coming?" Nabiki asked.

"Yes," Sayuri said, "In fact, I thought he would be here by now."

"Oh, well have fun then," Hiroshi said akwardly. He hesitantly offered the two girls his arm, and the three of them walked out the door, leaving Sayuri looking oddly forlorn.

Nabiki glanced back once, with a compassionate look on her face, just as the door shut. 'This is working fine,' she thought.

* * *

Several hours later, Hiroshi finally said, "We've got to get a locker or something. I can't carry any more."

Nabiki glanced over at the heavily laden Hiroshi and giggled. "Sorry, Hiroshi, I didn't realize we'd won that many things. I can at least carry that stuffed doll. And Hinako can carry a few things too." She reached over and plucked a large dog out of his hands. Unfortunately, that caused the entire bundle to collapse and fall to the street.

Hinako started giggling uncontrollably, as she watched Nabiki and Hiroshi attempt to pick up the dozen or so prizes that the three of them had won at the various arcades.

Hiroshi glared at Hinako and said, "You could help, you know, most of these belong to you, little one."

After a several minutes of scrambling around, the three of them had managed to collect all of the various prizes. "You win, Hiroshi, let's get a locker," Nabiki said, her face red from her exertions.

The three of them headed over toward the lockers and found one empty. They shoved all of the stuffed animals into the locker and paid the fee, and slammed it shut, pulling the key as they did. Hiroshi put the key into his pants pocket and asked, "Where to, my ladies?"

"I wanna do the rollercoaster," Hinako said.

"After everything you ate?" Hiroshi asked.

Hinako shrugged and said, "Sure." Hiroshi glanced over at Nabiki, who nodded, and the three of them headed over towards the line to the towering wooden rollercoaster. As they neared the entrance, Hinako stretched slightly as she was just barely tall enough to ride.

"You better not fall out," Nabiki hissed, as they climbed into the car. They ended up with Hiroshi at one end, and Nabiki in the middle.

Hiroshi pulled the bar down so that it snugged against their laps. "She'll be okay," he said glancing over at Nabiki.

After a few moments, the ride attendant came by and checked their safety bar. "Nice and snug," he said, "You three have a good ride." He continued on to the next car.

After a short delay, they felt the car jerk, as the train began to move slowly from the boarding station. Then, with a loud clatter, the train began to rise, as it was ratcheted up to the top of the first hill. Higher, and higher they climbed, until they reached the top. The train hung there for a moment, and then it was released. It began to move down the incline, faster and faster, as it plummeted down the track. It reached the first curve, tossing the two girls into Hiroshi. He grinned at Nabiki and placed his arm around her shoulders, while Hinako shrieked in excitement. The train continued to move, jerking them around the car as it began to climb once more, this time through the first of two loops.

Nabiki felt the blood rush to her head, and her body rise slightly from the seat as they turned upside down as the train continued through the loop. The young girl next to her was whooping with glee. Nabiki leaned a little harder into Hiroshi's shoulder, glad that he was holding her. The train finished going through the loop, and then before she could recover, it made its way rapidly through the next loop.

Finally, after a series of corkscrew turns, the train climbed up one last hill, allowing them to see for miles around. Then, the train made a slow curve back toward the station, until it plunged down the far side of the framework, picking up a horrendous head of steam so it could make one final loop on its approach to the end. As they entered the station, they could feel the rush of deceleration as the train slammed to a stop, causing them to lean forward before slamming back into the padded seat. Once the train came to a complete rest, the bar automatically rose, allowing them to get out of the car.

Hiroshi climbed out first, and then helped the two girls out of the car. Nabiki impulsively kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush.

"Stop that, little children here, don't want to make me sick," Hinako said, spoiling her stern words with a giggle. Hiroshi grabbed their hands and the three of them headed toward the ride's exit.

"Now what?" Hiroshi asked.

"We haven't ridden the Ferris wheel yet, and then there's the octopus ride," Hinako replied, excitedly.

"Oh, look, there's Sayuri and Souta!" Nabiki exclaimed, as she saw the couple rounding the corner in front of them, and walking toward them through the throng.

Hiroshi glanced up and saw them. A brief flash of pain appeared in his eyes as he saw Souta wrap his arm around his ex-girlfriend's waist, pulling her tightly to him, as they bumped hips. Then to his surprise, he felt Nabiki release his hand, and pull his arm around her, so she could snuggle against his shoulder. He looked down at her for a moment, surprised at another public display of affection, while Hinako giggled.

Sayuri's eyes darkened in displeasure as she saw Nabiki hanging on Hiroshi, a smile gracing his face. She deliberately turned her head away as they walked past, ignoring Hiroshi's awkward nod of recognition.

Souta felt Sayuri stiffen against him, almost at the same moment he recognized two of the three people approaching them. 'Nabiki and Hiroshi!' he thought, amazed at that couple, 'What do they have in common? And who is that little girl?' As Sayuri turned them down another path, he smiled apologetically at Hiroshi, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's go do the Ferris wheel!" Hinako exclaimed, seeing the entrance to that ride.

* * *

Hinako rushed into the house carrying her prizes, while Nabiki and Hiroshi walked slowly behind her. They entered the house, and dropped their burden down on the floor and turned to each other.

"Nabiki, I want to thank you for a very fun afternoon," Hiroshi said, hesitantly, his cheeks lightly tinted red.

Nabiki smiled shyly and said, "I had a good time too. I'm glad you came with us." She chuckled and added, "I don't think I could have kept up with Hi-chan without you being there with me. She's got so much energy."

Hiroshi smiled and said, "That she does. I don't remember being that active when I was her age." He hesistated and then bent down and lightly brushed her lips with his. "I'd like to do this again, sometime, though maybe just you and me," he said as he released her.

Nabiki lightly touched her lips with her fingers and replied, "I'd like that. But just as friends, okay?" She blushed and said, "I'm not ready for any kind of relationship."

"I understand, but," Hiroshi began only to have Nabiki put a finger against his lips.

"Hush, let's not rush this. If something happens, fine, but you need a friend more than you need a girlfriend," Nabiki said.

"Am I not allowed both?" Hiroshi protested. At her sad expression, he hung his head and said, "Sorry, I know that you care. And I know that you're afraid that it's just a rebound. See you at school on Monday."

"Goodnight, Hiroshi," Nabiki said as he walked out the door. She leaned against the wall, her face lightly flushed, and her heart racing.

"You're playing a dangerous game, little sister," Kasumi said from the shadows, "I'd hate to see anyone get hurt because of what you are doing."

Nabiki sighed heavily, and said, "The only one likely to get hurt is me when Sayuri and Hiroshi get back together. But I can handle it."

"I don't like the idea of you getting hurt, sis," Kasumi said tenderly, "You've been hiding behind that wall of yours for so long I'm not sure you're as strong as you think you are."

"What can I do? Those two belong together, and it was stupid of them to break up," Nabiki cried, shocking her sister.

Kasumi walked over and pulled her sister into a hug. "Just be careful, sis, that's all. You're not as unbreakable as you pretend," she said.

Nabiki nodded and said, "I'll be okay, sis. Now all I have to do is work on Sayuri some more." She yawned and said, "I'm wiped out. I think I'll head to bed. Night, sis." She slowly trudged down the hall toward the stairs.

Kasumi whispered, "I sure hope you know what you are doing, Nabiki. This could blow up in your face."

* * *

Nabiki pulled the latest copy of her financial magazine toward her and began to read it. She was immersed in an article on business trends, when she heard a light tap on her door. "Who is it?" she called.

"Ranma," the familiar voice said.

Nabiki checked to see what she was wearing and said, "Come on in, I'm decent."

Ranma opened the door and said, with a smirk, "Maybe dressed. Decent is open to discussion."

"Ha ha," Nabiki replied, "Now are you done being funny?"

"Yeah, I just remembered something you told me once several years from now," Ranma said.

"That almost made sense," Nabiki said, "So spill."

"You wished that you had bought some computer software company, Micro something or other, and then there was computer manufacturer somewhere in Texas, Glen or Meadow or something like that. Stupid gaigan names," Ranma replied, "Something about if only you had bought more shares in those companies."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes, and said, "Are you sure about that?"

"Pretty sure, if I remember correctly, you were pretty angry about it. That's why I remembered it; you actually went into the dojo and started breaking boards. It was the first time that I remember you going in there to work out," Ranma replied. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "You asked me if I could remember something that might help. For what it's worth, that's what I came up with. See ya at dinner."

Nabiki tapped her fingers together and said, "Thank you, Ranma. Now skat, I need to do some research." She turned to her computer and turned it on. Ranma watched for a moment and then left, closing the door behind him. 'Ranma, you are something else. Only you wouldn't know the name of one of the biggest software companies, and computer manufacturers. Glen, for kami's sake,' she thought in amusement. After a couple of minutes perusing the information her search engine pulled up, she said, "It'll have to be an odd lot purchase, I can't afford a full one hundred shares, not immediately. If I wait some though, I might could." She tapped her teeth with one finger, pondering what she should do. 'Buy now, and get a partial lot, or wait. The last closing price was good, in fact a six week low,' Nabiki thought. Her musings were interrupted by another knock on her door.

"Nabiki, can I talk to you?" Sayuri asked.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. 'What took her so long?' she thought. "Sure, Sayuri, come on in," Nabiki said.

Sayuri opened the door, and walked in, closing it behind her. Nabiki raised an eyebrow at that.

"What can I do for you?" Nabiki asked, pleasantly.

Sayuri wrung her hands together, and replied, "I thought you weren't interested in Hiroshi. That sure looked like a date to me this evening."

"Why should you care?" Nabiki asked, "You broke up with him, remember?"

"I-I just don't want to see him get hurt," Sayuri stammered, "He's still my friend."

Nabiki smirked, and said, "That's noble of you." She frowned and asked, "But I'm appalled that you think so little of me that you think I would hurt Hiroshi. I know you don't know me that well, but I'm not that kind of person."

"Your reputation says otherwise!" Sayuri exclaimed.

"What reputation? That of being cold, the Ice Queen, perhaps?" Nabiki asked, amused, "Don't you think that whatever is going on between Hiroshi and I is our business?"

"You're just using him," Sayuri said, angrily.

"How? He had tickets to the carnival, and asked if Hinako and I would like to go with him. We accepted and had a good time. I even paid for some of the stuff we did. How is that using him? Or are you just upset that he's talking to some other girl? Did you honestly think that you could dump him and he would just mope around?" Nabiki asked, coldly, "All I'm doing is being a friend to him, nothing more, nothing less."

Sayuri eyes glinted coldly and she said, "There's an angle that I just not seeing. There's no way you're just being his friend. What's in it for you?"

"Sayuri, there's no angle. I'm not playing him for a fool; I'm not using him. We're just having some good times together," Nabiki said with a sigh. She shook her head and continued, "You need to make up your mind about what you want. If I didn't know better, I'd say you still want Hiroshi. You're the one who broke up with him; you're the one that started dating Souta. If anyone is playing games with people's emotions, it's you, not me. Now, if you don't mind I have things to do."

Sayuri stared at her for a moment, so Nabiki returned a bland expression. "We're not done with this yet," Sayuri finally said.

"Yes, we are. There's nothing for us to discuss. You need to figure out what you want. As for Hiroshi and I, at the moment there is no us," Nabiki replied in exasperation, "Now, as I said, I have some business to take care of. If you're not gone in thirty seconds, I'll start charging for my time."

Sayuri sputtered incoherently for a moment, and then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"That went well," Nabiki said sarcastically, as she turned back to her computer.

* * *

Sayuri plopped down on the grass next to Yuka and Daisuke, Souta sitting down beside her. Yuka and Daisuke traded looks, and then glanced over to where Nabiki and Hiroshi were sitting, oblivious to the angry glare that Sayuri was sending their way. Yuka sighed, inaudibly and exchanged another look with Daisuke as if to ask, "Do you want to stay and watch this?"

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders and cut his eyes over to where Ranma and Akane were watching the situation with worried eyes.

Nabiki pretended to ignore what was going on around her and opened her bento. "Here, Hiroshi, Hinako made this for you as a thank you for taking her to the carnival," Nabiki said as she pulled out a wax-paper wrapped bundle.

"Tell her thank you for me, but I enjoyed the afternoon with both of you," Hiroshi said.

"And she also told me to give you this, too," Nabiki said, as she bent over and kissed his cheek.

Hiroshi blushed furiously, and bent down to examine his gift. "Cool, gyozas," he said, "I'll have to figure out a way to steam them."

"Hey, Ukyo, do you have a steamer with you?" Nabiki asked, raising her voice a little.

"Sure, sugar, I do, why?" Ukyo asked.

"Oh, Hiroshi has four gyozas that need to be heated up," Nabiki replied.

Ukyo pulled a double boiler out from somewhere and set it on her grill. "Hand 'em over, sugar, and I'll have them warmed up for you in a jiffy," the chef said, pleasantly.

Hiroshi handed the bundle to Ukyo who placed them in the steamer.

"Looks like you may have made a conquest," Nabiki teased, "I think she has a crush on you."

"Oh please, she's what, all of twelve," Hiroshi protested.

Sayuri asked, a bit brusquely, "Who has a crush on you?"

Hiroshi smiled weakly and replied, "Nabiki is just teasing me, that's all. She was saying that Hinako has a crush on me."

"Hinako!" Ranma exclaimed, then he paused for a moment, and grinned. "I think she's probably right. Don't you remember, this morning, Akane, every time Hiroshi's name was mentioned, Hinako blushed and hid her face."

"I don't re-" Akane began, only to catch the shake of her husband's head, and the eager gleam in his eyes. "Oh, yeah, I remember now. You're right! And then when she gave Nabiki that wrapped bundle that she had slaved all morning over. Yep, Hiroshi, I'm afraid you've made another conquest."

"Another conquest? Someone else besides Nabiki has a crush on him?" Kodachi asked, joining in on the game.

"I don't have a crush on him," Nabiki groused.

"Sure you do, sis. You're always leaning in to listen to him talk, and you keep touching him," Akane said, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Sayuri jumped up and exclaimed, "I don't think this is very funny! Stop teasing him!" She covered her face with her hands for a moment, and then ran off, leaving Souta and her bento behind.

"You'd better go after her, Souta, she looked upset for some reason," Ukyo said, as she handed the steamed gyozas to Hiroshi.

Souta leapt to his feet and raced after Sayuri, but he lost her in the crowd. He turned and walked despondently back to the group and said, "I lost her. She took off somewhere and I didn't see where she went."

"Why don't you come by the house and talk to her there?" Akane suggested.

"I'll just wait for her in your homeroom," Souta said, as he picked up his things and walked off.

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all the people who have read this story and provided comments. As always, comments and criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. Now that we have a method for replying to signed reviews, I will no longer be able to provide comments in the story itself, but I will attempt to reply to those of you who have questions. 


	53. The Sauce of Ten Years

Chapter 53 The Sauce of Ten Years

Ranma walked into the house and said, "I'm home." He pulled off his shoes and placed them in the cubby by the front door and wearily made his way toward the stairs and his bedroom. 'I hate clean-up duty,' he thought, 'Especially when it's just me and those ditzy girls from the glee club. It wouldn't have been so bad if Akane or one of the others had been there with me, but all those silly girls wanted to do was gossip about Souta, Sayuri, Hiroshi and Nabiki. What's with them, are we getting a love triangle, no, not triangle, what's that four-sided thingy called? Anyway, what happened to Sayuri? She disappeared after lunch.'

"Hello, Ranma," Kasumi called from the family room, just as he reached the foot of the stairs. "How was your day?"

"Not too bad, thanks for asking. Where is everybody?" Ranma asked.

"Akane is in the dojo with Sayuri," Kasumi replied. She hesitated for a minute and then asked, "What happened today? Daddy said Sayuri came home early and locked herself in the bedroom. It took Akane almost an hour to talk her out of there and to go to the dojo."

"I'm not sure," Ranma replied, slowly, "We were teasing Hiroshi about several girls having a crush on him and she ran off." He paused and thought about that, his face suddenly showing a dawning realization. "You know, if I didn't know any better, it's almost like she still has feelings for Hiroshi," he said.

Kasumi frowned almost imperceptibly and said, "She more than likely does. After all, she dated Hiroshi for most of a year. You don't turn those kinds of feelings off overnight."

"But she's dating Souta," Ranma said, half in protest.

"Did you ever have feelings for more than one person, and didn't know how to choose the one you wanted the most?" Kasumi asked.

"Who me?" Ranma asked, innocently. 'At least not this time around,' he thought, 'idiot that I was then.'

"Akane suggested that maybe the other girls shouldn't work out with them today," Kasumi added, interrupting his musings, "Something about not wanting to set her off again. I assume she meant Sayuri."

"That's fine, we can practice by the koi pond," Ranma agreed, "Besides, the fish and the water movement might help them relax. I'll go change, and let them know I'm here. Oh, and do we have the things for stir fry?"

Kasumi thought for a moment and said, "Mostly. I'll need to run to the market and get some scallions, and we're out of bean sprouts. Why?"

"Well, remember Sayuri saying she liked stir fry?" Ranma replied, "I thought we could make something special for her. And I'll help, since I know that's extra effort for you."

"That's very kind of you, doing something special for her," Kasumi said.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "She's family, she's worth it."

* * *

Ranma waited for Nabiki and Hinako to join her outside by the koi pond. While she waited, she sat in the lotus position, and rested her hands on her knees while she took several deep cleansing breaths, her eyes closed and her face in calm repose. 'I wish Pop had learned to do this, he might have been a better person for it,' she thought, as feelings of peace washed through her body.

"Ranma," Nabiki said, tentatively, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but are you ready?"

Ranma opened her eyes and smiled at Nabiki. "Sure, sis. Just doing a different form of meditation, is all. Now, before we start, the reason it's just the three of us, is that Sayuri is still upset from lunch today. I don't know why she is, but Akane asked that we not disturb them," Ranma said.

Nabiki frowned slightly and said, "If the little bit of teasing that you guys did about Hiroshi set her off like that, there's something else going on."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, so let's just get on with our meditation exercises," Hinako said, with an impatient sniff, "We need to get Nabiki all buff for her new boyfriend."

Nabiki glared at her friend for a moment, while Hinako giggled. "I thought you were the one with a crush on Hiroshi," Nabiki shot back, finally.

"That was pretty lame, especially for you," Ranma said with a giggle, "I know you can do better than that." That earned a glare from Nabiki also. "Okay, enough teasing, let's do our exercises, before Hinako and I go help Kasumi in the kitchen," Ranma said.

"You're gonna help tonight?" Hinako asked.

"Yep, I wanted some stir fry tonight, sort of giving Sayuri a little treat after the day she had," Ranma said quietly, "So are you two ready? We'll do the first kata." She stood up and waited for the other two girls to get in position. "Okay, follow me," she said.

* * *

Souta shifted uncomfortably next to his girlfriend, as once again he could feel something boiling off of her, some emotion he wasn't quite able to put his finger on. His discomfort wasn't eased by the events of the last several hours. Her lack of conversation when he had called her last night she had explained as one part exhaustion and two parts embarrassment for her behavior at lunch, so he had accepted that response with a bit too much alacrity. But her brief hug this morning, with only a minimal greeting had caused warning sirens to go off in his brain. While he didn't really consider himself a ladies man, in spite of his reputation, one that he strenuously encouraged, by the way, if only to maintain face with the rest of the randy upper classmen, he had been in enough relationships to recognize when things were about to fall apart. And now, with Sayuri once again glaring at the apparently oblivious new couple in their midst, it was plain as the nose on his face that he needed to have an interesting discussion with his supposed girlfriend as soon as possible.

Nabiki opened her bento, ignoring the stare from Sayuri, and once again pulled out a present for Hiroshi. "Here's a little something from your girlfriend, Hiroshi," she teased, handing him another wax-paper bundle.

Opening the gift, Hiroshi was surprised to find a small selection of sushi. "Cool it on the girlfriend thing," Hiroshi whispered, "I don't want to upset Sayuri like yesterday."

Nabiki smiled apologetically and nodded. "Be careful with the sushi," she warned, "I think she was a bit generous with the wasabi when she made the mackerel, and the shrimp. There's some pickled ginger in my box for clearing your palate after each piece."

Hiroshi used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of sushi and popped it in his mouth. His eyes bulged slightly as he felt the bite of the horseradish. After he had swallowed, he opened his mouth and fanned it for a second. "Whooo, you weren't kidding. I like spicy, that was just a tad strong," he said after drinking some water. He picked up a small piece of the ginger from Nabiki's box and chewed on that.

"Ukyo, you look in good spirits today," Yuka said, "Did you and Konatsu have FUN last night?"

Ukyo blushed furiously as Yuka pressed her advantage. "You are so busted girl," Yuka crowed, "Now spill. How was it?"

"It wasn't anything like that," Ukyo protested weakly, "We're still waiting until we get married. No, what I'm excited about is what day it is."

"Huh, that doesn't make any sense," Akane said, her face puzzled.

"Oh, it's just that my sauce is finally ready to be opened," Ukyo replied, not clearing anything up as far as anyone there was concerned. Though, Akane thought she saw an odd look on Ranma's face, a look that there was something that he was trying to remember, that was just out of his reach for the moment.

"What sauce? What are you talking about?" Daisuke asked.

"I made my father's legendary sauce ten years ago today. I get to open it up and see how it tastes this evening. I'm so excited, I just hope I made it right," Ukyo replied.

Ranma's face paled as something finally clicked. 'The sauce! What am I going to do about that?' he thought.

'He remembered something,' Nabiki and Akane both thought simultaneously. They traded looks as if to say, "This can't be good."

Souta stood up and extended his hand down to Sayuri. "We've got a few minutes until the bell, and I need to talk to you," he said.

Sayuri avoided his eyes but stretched out her hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She handed him her bento and the two of them walked off.

Souta led Sayuri behind the boy's gymnasium, and into the small wooded area next to the track, where he hoped for a little privacy.

"What's this all about?" Sayuri asked, her voice trembling.

Souta sighed heavily and replied, "I've been noticing things that concern me, Sayuri. And I decided that we needed to talk about them and clear the air."

Sayuri dropped her eyes to the ground and said, "Go ahead then. I'm all ears."

Souta ran his hands through his hair, procrastinating for a moment and then said, "I care a great deal for you, Sayuri. Whatever else you hear, don't forget that, please. But, I can't help but notice your reaction toward Hiroshi. You hate the idea that he might be finding someone else to date. It's almost like you were using me for a while until you could figure out a graceful way to start dating him again."

"No!" Sayuri exclaimed, "It's not like that at all. I would never do that. I care for you."

"It's okay if you are, Sayuri. I knew that was a risk when I asked you out so soon after you broke up with him," Souta said, sadly, "I have to admit the reason I asked you out in the first place was to make my mom happy. Our parents wanted us to date, and when she found out that you had broken it off with Hiroshi, she strongly suggested I ask you out."

"I know. I figured that out after I had that fight with my mother," Sayuri said, finally looking him in the eyes, "But at the time, I didn't care."

"But now you do, don't you?" Souta asked sadly.

Sayuri clasped her hands together and hung her head. "Yeah, I guess I do," she replied almost inaudibly. Silent tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Souta sagged back against one of the trees and said, "That's what I was afraid you'd say." He sighed once more and added, "This isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. You need to decide who you want to be with, since it's apparent to me that you are confused. Don't wait too long or you might lose us both."

"What do you mean?" Sayuri asked, afraid of the answer.

"I'm letting you go," Souta said, "I have to. It's a cliché, I know, but the reason it's a cliché is because there is a nugget of truth to it. The old saying, if you love someone, let them go, because if it is really love, they'll come back."

Sayuri sniffed back a tear and said, "I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know, and I hate being noble like this, but you know, I don't have a choice," Souta said sadly.

Sayuri cocked her head to one side and said, "Of course you have a choice. You could have stayed with me."

"Not really. I could tell that it hurt you greatly to see Hiroshi with Nabiki. That tells me that you have feelings still for him. Not surprising really, you dated him for so long. And remember, my sister's supposed to be a temple priestess. She'd kill me if I actually hurt a girl emotionally."

"Supposed to be a priestess? Isn't that one of those all or nothing things?" Sayuri asked interested in spite of the pain she was feeling. Though if she was being honest with herself, it didn't hurt like she thought it should have.

"I don't think she and her boyfriend are quite as chaste as Mom would like me to believe," Souta said with a tired grin, "And I'm almost positive I saw a couple of rings on the chain she wears around her neck."

"You are a good boyfriend," Sayuri began.

"Were," Souta interrupted, "Maybe we'll get back together again, maybe not." He sighed and said, "Dry your tears, and then you'd better get back to class." He bent down and gave her one last chaste kiss.

"What about you?" Sayuri asked, as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm a senior," Souta said, with a mock air of importance, "They won't care if I'm late. Now, you on the other hand will end up with bucket duty."

"Thank you, Souta," Sayuri said finally, "I did enjoy our time together." She touched his cheek with her hand, and then turned and walked off.

Souta gazed after her, and said, once she was out of earshot, "Man, it really sucks being this noble."

* * *

Sayuri raced into the classroom and sank gratefully into her seat, just before the tardy bell rang, slightly out of breath. The detour she had made to wash her face in the girl's restroom had taken longer than she had intended, but there was no way that she was going to show up in class without removing the evidence of her tears. Even so, her eyes were slightly red from her crying, so she kept her head bent down and looked through her bangs at the front of the room.

Yuka glanced up as her best friend ran into the room and slid into the desk next to Hiroshi. Unbeknownst to Sayuri, Yuka had watched from the window as the other girl had sped across the campus grounds, so she knew something was wrong with Sayuri. 'If Souta has hurt her, I'll make him wish he never been born,' she thought protectively, 'Or better yet, I'll let Akane handle him.'

Hiroshi could tell his former girlfriend was upset as she sat down in the desk next to him and pulled out her textbook. While he was a typical boy, he had dated her for nearly a year, and he had gotten reasonably adept at determining her emotional state. 'Though it sure took me a long time,' he thought to himself, the voice in his head remarkably like Sayuri's, a thought which caused a small smile to appear on his face. 'I wonder if I should talk to her, or would that make whatever it is worse. She did go off somewhere with Souta,' he thought. He glanced over at Yuka and saw what he expected was the same worried expression on her face that he imagined was on his own.

Yuka mouthed, "I'll talk to her." At Hiroshi's slow nod, she turned and awaited the teacher to begin her lecture.

Akane frowned thoughtfully as she watched Sayuri as she sat in her desk, hiding her face from the rest of the class. She had seen Souta trudge drearily into the school building from the direction of the gym, a look of resignation on his face. And from the way Sayuri was sitting, it was obvious that something had happened between the two of them, something probably bad. She caught the worried look that Hiroshi had sent Yuka's way, and the slow nod that he had given her. 'Good, Yuka is going to find out what's wrong,' she thought, 'Should I give her another shoulder to cry on? Now, what was going on with Ranma?' She turned to look worriedly at her husband as he stared vacantly out the window.

Miss Morisato cleared her throat and said, "Class, open your textbook to page 114. Today we will be reading some short excerpts from various books and comparing them." She was answered by the rustling of pages as the students opened their Literature book to the appropriate page. "Pay attention in particular to the ways the various characters are developed in each reading, and note the use of any literary device, such as irony, as we read. There will be an essay assignment based on the discussion, which will be due next week, so you'll have the weekend to work on it." She ignored the couple of groans she heard as she turned to the first passage.

* * *

"Well that was a wasted hour that I'll never get back," Daisuke said to his girlfriend as they put their things away. He picked up her bookbag, and stood up.

"I'm gonna talk to Sayuri for a few moments. Wait for me by the gate, okay?" Yuka asked.

"Sure, see what happened to her. She sure seemed to be unhappy," Daisuke said. He glanced around and saw that the teacher was busily talking to a couple of students about the essay she had assigned right after lunch. Bending down, he kissed Yuka, and then headed out the door.

"Hey, Sayuri, do you have a minute?" Yuka asked.

Sayuri shook herself out of her reverie, as she had not even realized that the bell had rung for the end of class. "Sure," she replied to her friend, "I need to talk to you anyway." She looked around and saw that the room was mostly empty, except for the unfortunates that had drawn cleanup duty. "Let's go up to the roof," she said, "I'd just as soon not have anyone listening in."

"That's fine with me, let's go," Yuka said. She linked arms with her friend, and the two of them headed out the door, with Sayuri slinging her bookbag over the other shoulder. "Where's Souta?" Yuka asked, "Doesn't he normally walk you toward the Tendo's?"

Sayuri sighed and said, as they climbed the stairs up to the roof, "I doubt he'll be doing that anymore. He basically gave me an ultimatum today at lunch."

Yuka waited while several lower classmen rushed down the stairs toward the ground floor and then said, "That doesn't sound particularly good." She led Sayuri up to the service stairs and opened the door. The two of them walkedout and the door closed behind them.

"No, it wasn't. I guess he's noticed my reaction to Hiroshi and Nabiki flirting," Sayuri said sadly, "And, well, he basically told me to decide who I wanted to be with, and broke up with me."

"That's a bit rough," Yuka said sympathetically.

Sayuri shrugged her shoulders and said, "Maybe, but he was right. I enjoyed being with Souta, he is fun to be with, witty, handsome, a good kisser. But he deserves someone who isn't yearning for someone else. My feelings for Hiroshi haven't changed, they haven't gone away. I still feel my heart race when he looks at me."

"Then why are you talking to me instead of to him?" Yuka asked, "He needs to know that you want him back, not me."

"Because I'm scared," Sayuri replied, "What if he's moved on already? He and Nabiki have been cozy this week. They went to the carnival together, and when I saw them, they were holding hands, or he had his arm around her waist."

"I doubt he's gotten over you that quickly," Yuka said spiritedly, "If anything, Nabiki is just being friendly."

"That's what I'm worried about, Nabiki being friendly. She's different for some reason. You should see her at the house, the way she behaves is so different. She's even getting more serious about martial arts," Sayuri said, getting agitated.

"Calm down," Yuka said quickly, "You're working yourself into a panic attack. Just go talk to him. Or talk to Nabiki. After all, you're living with her."

"I can't do that. What if she's decided she wants him? How can I compete with her? I mean, she's built better than I am, she's smarter," Sayuri began to rant.

"So, aren't you better off knowing what the situation is?" Yuka asked patiently.

Sayuri began to cry, as she had successfully worked herself into a tizzy. "How could I have been so stupid? To break up with the boy, no the man, I love over something so stupid. If only I had let him explain," she wailed.

Yuka pulled her into a hug, and began rubbing her back. "Sayuri, this is silly. You need to pull yourself together and find out what's going on. All of this worry is probably for naught. I can't imagine Hiroshi dating someone else so soon after the two of you broke up."

"Why not? I did!" Sayuri cried, "Stupid girl, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Yuka grimaced and said, "He was heartbroken according to Daisuke. In fact, I know he told Dai that he wanted to get back together with you last week."

"Really?" Sayuri asked, her face lighting up for a moment. Then her mood shattered as she cried, "But, but that was before he went out with Nabiki."

"Oh for crying out loud, girl!" Yuka exclaimed, "Get your ass in gear and go talk to them. I swear, you're being a drama queen about this whole thing."

Sayuri hiccupped a couple of times and then dried her tears. "I guess I am being an idiot," she said, "Thanks for letting me get you all wet."

"What are friends for?" Yuka asked, with a gentle smile, "Go on now and find out. Just make sure you stop at the restroom and freshen up. You really shouldn't cry, it makes you all blotchy."

Sayuri smiled wanly and the two girls headed back downstairs, with them indeed stopping in the first floor restroom so Sayuri could wash her face and remove the evidence of her crying. The two friends then headed out of the building to find Daisuke. As they neared the gate, Sayuri slowed down as she could see Hiroshi was standing there talking to Daisuke. She grabbed Yuka by the arm and hissed, "Don't tell them anything about Souta and I, please?"

"Why not?" Yuka asked, perplexed.

Sayuri replied, "I want to talk to Hiroshi alone, but I'm still too shaky to do it today. I want to wait until tomorrow."

Yuka stared at her for what seemed to be an extremely long time, but then she nodded her head in an abrupt manner. "Okay, I'll not say anything. But I don't like keeping things from Daisuke, so don't wait too long," she said, reluctantly.

"Thanks," Sayuri said, letting Yuka go, "Let's go join them."

The two girls walked up, Yuka flowing into Daisuke's arms. "Sorry it took us so long, Daisuke. You know us and girl talk. We just lost track of time," Yuka said.

"That's okay, Hiroshi and I were busy talking about things. I didn't even notice how long it had been," Daisuke said easily, "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah, it's been a long day," Yuka replied. She said, "We'll see you two guys tomorrow, okay? And don't forget what we talked about, Sayuri."

"Sure, you two have fun tonight," Hiroshi said with a grin.

"Yeah, bye, see you tomorrow," Sayuri said as she watched them walk off holding hands.

"You mind some company?" Hiroshi asked.

"Uh, yeah, I mean, no, er, sure I'd like some," Sayuri replied, all flustered.

"Then I'll walk you to Ranma's house. Oh, that reminds me, he said to tell you that he and Akane would be late tonight. Something about swinging by Ukyo and talking to her," Hiroshi said. He grinned and took her book bag out of her hand and swung it over his shoulder.

"But you live the opposite way," Sayuri protested.

Hiroshi shrugged, and said, "I'm not letting you walk there by yourself, and besides I need the exercise." He turned to head down the street. "Coming?" he asked, when she hadn't moved.

Sayuri smiled weakly and joined him.

"Are you feeling better? You looked sort of upset when you came back from lunch," Hiroshi asked.

Sayuri frowned quickly, and replied, "Not really, but I'll survive. Talking to Yuka helped a little."

"That's good. She's a really nice girl, a good friend. Daisuke is a lucky guy to be engaged to her," Hiroshi said.

"They make a good couple," Sayuri agreed. 'Like we did,' she thought, as her face paled. She fell silent and started nibbling on the end of her hair.

"Where's Souta? I thought he normally walked you home," Hiroshi asked after a few minutes of slightly awkward silence.

"Um, something came up and he couldn't stay," Sayuri lied. She stared down at the sidewalk.

Hiroshi frowned imperceptibly and said, "Well, that stuff happens. So, what do you think of our new teacher, Miss Morisato?"

Sayuri replied, "She seems nice enough. Appears to know the subjects that she teaches reasonably well, but she's a little too eager to have us write papers."

"Tell me about it. I really don't look forward to working on that one she dumped on us in Lit. You know how much I enjoy reading," Hiroshi said, with a wry grin.

"Yeah, not at all, as I remember. Honestly, Hiroshi, if I hadn't of nagged you all last year to do your writing assignments, you would have flunked that class," Sayuri retorted.

"Feel free to nag me this year," Hiroshi said, with a cheeky smile.

Sayuri giggled and said, "Fine, I'll do that."

"I miss that," Hiroshi said quietly.

"What?" Sayuri asked, surprised.

"Your giggle," Hiroshi replied, "I miss hearing you giggle. And it's such a cute giggle."

Sayuri smiled shyly and said, "Thank you. I never knew that before."

"You're welcome," Hiroshi said simply. He smiled and added, "This is nice, you know."

"Huh?" Sayuri asked.

"You, me, together. I like this, being with you," Hiroshi said.

Sayuri sighed and said, "I do too. Why were we so stupid?"

"Nobody ever said relationships were easy," Hiroshi replied.

"Yeah, isn't that the truth," Sayuri said. She hesitated and asked, "Did you have a good time with Nabiki at the carnival, you know on your date?"

Hiroshi blushed and replied, "It wasn't really a date, Sayuri. Just two friends going, and we had Hinako tagging along. But, yeah, it was fun. It was neat watching the two of them together. How was your date with Souta?"

"It was okay. He's easy to talk to, and we had some fun," Sayuri replied finally, her eyes misting.

"That's good. Hey, wait, why did that cause you to cry?" Hiroshi asked.

Sayuri stopped and turned to Hiroshi, her face miserable. Hiroshi dropped their bookbags to the ground and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, what's the matter? Did I say something wrong?" Hiroshi asked, as he felt her tremble in his arms, and felt his shirt dampen from her tears.

"Just hold me, please," Sayuri pleaded.

Hiroshi chuckled and said, "I believe I already am." 'And this feels so good,' he thought, 'Like she's back where she belongs.'

After several minutes, Sayuri sniffled and pulled away. Hiroshi handed her a handkerchief and let her dry her eyes. Once she was finished, he picked up the book bags and the two of them headed down the sidewalk.

"Now, do you want to tell me what that was all about? Did Souta do something to upset you?" Hiroshi asked, "You've been unhappy ever since he took you somewhere to talk during lunch."

"I'd rather not talk about it today," Sayuri replied, tiredly, "But, Souta didn't do anything wrong. Can we put this off til tomorrow?"

"Sure, but I'll hold you to that," Hiroshi replied.

Sayuri asked, "What about you and Nabiki? Do you like her?"

"Where'd that come from?" Hiroshi asked.

"Because the two of you have been flirting with each other the last several days," Sayuri replied in a weak voice.

"That's ridiculous," Hiroshi protested, "We haven't been flirting with each other. Just some harmless teasing." He paused and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! You're jealous!"

Sayuri blushed and stammered, "Maybe a little."

"I think I'm missing something here," Hiroshi began, only to have Sayuri place her little hand over his mouth.

"I'm just confused about things," Sayuri said. She fell silent for a few moments and then said, in surprise, "Oh! We're here already. Thanks for walking me home, Hiroshi." She reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips and ran through the gate.

Hiroshi stared after her thoughtfully and then touched one finger to his lips where she had kissed him. His face lightened up and he began to whistle as he headed back to his home.

* * *

Ukyo looked up from the grill as the bell over her front door chimed, her face fixed in a professional smile. "Hello, welcome to, Oh, hi, Ranchan, Akane, I didn't know that you were planning on coming by," she said, changing her greeting in mid speech as she saw the two girls walk in. She hid a smile at the fuming expression on Ranma's face, her wet red hair plastered to her head, and the big grin on Akane's. "Need some hot water, sugar?" she asked.

"Naw, it's okay. I'd just have to change back when we get home, anyway," Ranma said, after one final glare at Akane.

"Sorry, dear, but how do you attract water like that?" Akane asked, her eyes dancing.

"Just lucky I guess," Ranma replied.

"Yeah, just what are the odds that someone would miss the plants on her windowsill with her watering can, just as you were walking by," Akane said.

"Why would you have to change back?" Ukyo asked, confused.

"It's not important, I'll explain later," Ranma replied.

Ukyo asked, "Can I get you guys something?"

"No, we just wanted to stop by," Ranma replied, after a brief hesitation.

"Go on, tell her," Akane hissed.

Ranma looked at her wife, and sighed. She knew telling Akane what she had remembered was going to come back and bite her in the ass. Once Akane had heard the tale of the sauce, she had insisted that Ranma talk to Ukyo and tell her the truth. "Have you tried your sauce yet?" she asked.

"No, I was going to wait until the afternoon rush was over," Ukyo replied, "Why do you want to try it too?"

Ranma replied, "No, not really. That's not why we came by."

"Ranma!" Akane growled.

"This is hard," Ranma shot back. She sighed again, and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Okay, something is going on here and I want to know what it is," Ukyo said.

"Well, it's just that, I mean, well, you know," Ranma began, and then looked helplessly at Akane.

"Just tell her what you told me," Akane said to the unasked question.

"It's your sauce. It's not what you think it is," Ranma said, slowly. She hesitated and then asked, "Do you remember the day you made it? Ten years ago."

"Of course, I remember you were there, and kept bouncing around. That was very distracting and I had to tell you to settle down. I was in a big hurry because I had borrowed my father's secret recipe, and needed to get everything put together before he noticed it was gone. Then I sealed the jar up tightly, and now ten years later it's finally aged to perfection," Ukyo replied, her tone light.

"Yeah, I remember that too. I wanted a taste of the sauce real bad," Ranma said, her eyes shadowed.

"Oh, Ranma, you're afraid that you might have caused me to make a mistake. Don't worry, I know I mixed it right," Ukyo said. She glanced around the half-empty restaurant and realized that everyone was served. She said, "Oh good, it looks like things have slowed down." She pulled out a jar from under her counter and placed it next to the grill. She unsealed the jar, and said, "I sure hope it turned out well." She stuck a ladle in the sauce, and drew out a small amount. She put her finger into the ladle and then licked her finger. Her eyes opened wide as she cried, "This is horrible! I'm a failure." Beads of sweat came rolling off her head.

Ranma groaned and said, "No, that's not true. I have a confession to make. That night, I snuck back to your camp, and well, I wanted to sneak a taste. But, when I opened the jar, I spilled it all over the ground. I thought I remembered what you had put in it, but it may not be right. You didn't make that sauce, I did, and it's my fault that it tastes bad." 'I'm sure not going to get in the same mess that I did last time,' she thought.

"You don't have to lie about that to make me feel better, Ranchan, but it's sweet of you to try," Ukyo said, "No, this is my failure." She sat down and placed her head in her hands.

"Ucchan, I'm not trying to make you feel better. I did spill your sauce ten years ago," Ranma repeated, "Please believe me."

"She's telling you the truth, Ukyo. That's the same thing he told Nabiki and I before the two of us came over here," Akane added.

Ukyo looked up, her eyes shining, and cried, "You're such good friends. You even coordinated your story to make me feel good."

Ranma and Akane traded looks of amazement.

"As atonement for making such a horrible sauce, I'll just have to eat it all," Ukyo said, as she poured some batter on her grill.

"We may be your friends, Ukyo, but I wouldn't lie to you about this. On my honor as a martial artist, I spoiled your sauce," Ranma said, her eyes piercingly cold.

Ukyo froze. She looked at her and repeated, "On your honor as a martial artist?"

Ranma nodded grimly.

"That means you're serious," Ukyo said, her voice low. Suddenly, her eyes flashed angrily and she grabbed for her battle spatula.

"Now, Ucchan, don't do anything rash," Ranma said, backing up, her eyes gauging Ukyo's every move. She hissed at Akane, "Get back."

Akane scrambled to the door.

"Don't call me Ucchan, Saotome," Ukyo said furiously, "Only my friends can call me that!"

Ranma flinched as if slapped and tried, "Now, Ukyo, please, I am very sorry! I didn't mean to spill it and I did try to fix it."

By that time Ukyo was beside herself thinking about the ten years she had waited, anticipating the moment she could prove her abilities to her father and herself. And now that chance was gone, all because… "All this time you let me think that the sauce that would prove to my father that I was a worthy heir was aging as it should. You deceived me! You honorless bastard!"

"You can't mean that! Come on Uyko, I wasn't trying to deceive you, exactly. I just didn't want you to be upset over the sauce," Ranma cried, "I didn't even remember about it until you mentioned it at lunch!"

"You coward, you couldn't face me with the truth! Never again will I believe you! You are no friend of mine! Get out! You have no honor!" Ukyo screamed.

Ranma reddened and spat, "So you want to throw away my friendship over something that happened when we were six! Fine, then, Kuonji, we're through!" She turned to Akane and said, "Let's get out of here. I won't stay where I'm not wanted."

Akane looked at the expression on Ranma's face, the look of betrayal she saw there, and glared at Ukyo. "That was remarkably childish, Ukyo. You didn't just throw away one friendship, you lost several," she said, icily, "I'm disappointed in you. I suggest you find someone else to sit with at lunch." She turned and followed Ranma out of the restaurant, ignoring the shattered expression on Ukyo's face.

All the anger drained out of Ukyo as she dropped her spatula with a loud clatter. "What have I done?" she wailed to the stunned customers. That broke the stasis that they had been in and the customers left en masse, scared by the manic expression on her face.

Konatsu walked in from the back to see the now empty restaurant. "What happened, dear?" he asked, "Where'd everybody go?"

"I screwed up big time, Konatsu," Ukyo said as she collapsed to the floor, tears streaming from her face.

Konatsu rushed over and dropped to his knees, cradling her in his arms. "What did you do?" he asked, worry plainly evident in both his face and his voice.

"I'll tell you in a moment, but, first, go take the banner down. I'm not really in the mood to cook anymore," Ukyo said weakly.

Konatsu gazed at her for a moment and then his face firmed. "Okay, my love," he whispered, causing Ukyo to caress his cheek for a moment with one trembling hand. He pulled her to her feet and then walked outside and took down the sign signifying that the café was open and folded it carefully. He walked back in and placed it on the shelf and then locked the front door. "Come, Ukyo. Why don't you go soak in the tub and then tell me what happened," he said in a soothing voice.

Ukyo headed up the stairs, essentially on autopilot, her mind replaying the disaster that had just occurred, wondering how she could have been such a fool.

* * *

Kasumi glanced up quickly as she felt something disturb the delicate balance of the house spirit, not a massive roiling of the wa, but still it concerned her. She left the kitchen, and headed down the long hallway toward the main entrance, just as she heard the door open and close and Sayuri's voice call out, "I'm home." A brief smile flickered across the serene woman's face as she realized that her family had indeed grown by one more.

"Hi, Kasumi," Sayuri said as she came padding around the corner in her stocking feet, her face still a little red from her blushing with Hiroshi.

"Did you have a good day?" Kasumi asked.

Sayuri shrugged, and admitted, "I've had better."

"I've got a fresh pot of tea in the kitchen, and some chocolate chip cookies," Kasumi said, "Would you like to join me?"

Sayuri looked at Kasumi for a moment, and then smiled weakly at her. She had received more mothering in the Tendo home in the last week than she had gotten from her own mother in several months, and knew that even after she finally decided to move back in with her parents, that the Tendo/Saotome house was going to feel more like home than the place she had spent her entire life in. "Sure, Kasumi, I'd like that. I could use some advice," she said.

"Ah, boy trouble, I assume," Kasumi said.

Sayrui eyes widened in astonishment as she set her book bag down on the floor by the stairs. "How do you do that?" she asked.

Kasumi giggled, a joyous sound that lifted Sayuri's heart. "You looked confused about something," Kasumi replied, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she wanted to smile, "And at your age, that usually means boy trouble."

"My age, huh?" Sayuri replied, with a brief grin, "So what words of wisdom can you give me from your advanced age? You're what, all of three years older than I?"

Kasumi giggled again and said, "There's age and then there is experience."

"Oh, so you're going to tell me about your experiences?" Sayuri retorted, "I'm not sure Doc would appreciate that. He's not here to defend himself."

"Not that kind of experience," Kasumi said, primly, as the two girls walked into the kitchen, where Hinako was busily munching on a cookie.

"So what seems to be troubling you?" Kasumi asked, after the two of them had a plate of cookies and a cup of tea in front of them.

"I just have a few things to work through," Sayuri replied, after a moment, "It's just been a rough day, hell, a rough couple of weeks. The meditation exercises that Ranma and Akane are showing us have been helping, though."

Akane's puppy, D-chan, came waddling in from the family room, carrying her stuffed puppy, growling playfully, as she bit the toy, causing it to squeak.

"Hey, girl, there you are," Hinako squealed as she slid to the floor to play with her.

"Akane already thinks you have stolen her away," Kasumi teased, "The only lap she sits in is yours."

"That's just because I'm home sooner," Hinako said, "And Akane's always working out with Ranma. Besides, I think D-chan doesn't know what to think about him. Remember what you told me about the puppy's reaction the first time she smelled Ranma after he had changed genders. How confused she acted?"

"I would have paid good money to see that," Sayuri said with a smile, "What did she do?"

"She sniffed Ranma for a second and then yelped in surprise," Kasumi said with a giggle. She frowned thoughtfully, and added, "It didn't help that D-chan nipped her fingers when Ranma bent down to pet her. Ranma growled at her for that and scared her."

"So that's why she ends up curled up at the end of our bed at night," Hinako said, "I'd wondered about that."

Kasumi said, "Before you showed up, she was sleeping in our room." She looked up as once again she felt something. She grinned suddenly and said, "I feel a disturbance in the force."

Sayuri laughed suddenly and asked, "Since when did you start channeling Obi-Wan-Kenobi?"

"I've just always wanted to say that," Kasumi admitted as she sprang to her feet, scaring the puppy. She moved quickly down the hall, to find a distraught Ranma leaning against the wall, with Akane wrapped around the smaller girl.

"Tell the girls that Ranma and I will be tied up this evening in the dojo, and that they'll need to do their katas by themselves," Akane said, her eyes hard.

"What happened, Akane?" Kasumi asked, worriedly.

Akane sighed heavily and replied, "Ranma went to Ucchan's to talk to Ukyo about this sauce that she had been aging for ten years that was supposedly her father's secret recipe."

"Yeah, but what she didn't know is that I was an idiot, and spilled her sauce, and tried to remake it for her," Ranma said in a tired whisper. She looked up at Akane, her eyes staring vacantly.

"She took a taste, and apparently it was awful. She was so upset that she thought she was a failure at making okonomiyaki, but Ranma finally managed to convince her that it was Ranma's fault," Akane continued, "Then, Ukyo went crazy, and basically declared their friendship over. She accused Ranma of being dishonorable."

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, sadly, "That just doesn't sound like her. What on earth got into her?"

"I don't know, Sis, but it hurt Ranma a great deal. We're going to go into the dojo and work off some stress. Don't let anyone in while I have the door closed," Akane said, biting off each word.

"Oh dear, you're pretty angry about this too, aren't you?" Kasumi asked.

Akane closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep, centering breath. "Yeah, Sis. I'm so mad I could just scream," she replied, again biting off each word, "But I can't let it out yet."

Kasumi frowned and said, "Don't let your anger rule you, sis. You, either, Ranma. That way leads to darkness."

Ranma nodded jerkily and said, "I know, and I'm trying very hard to understand why Ukyo did that. It just hurts, like someone tearing open a wound. I'll get over it, eventually, but it will take a while to forget our friendship. Especially since soon she'll be my sister-in-law."

Akane paled and said, "Poor Konatsu. He must not know what to think. I just hope he supports her. She'll feel betrayed if he does anything else."

Kasumi asked, carefully, "Knowing Ukyo the way I do, or at least the woman I thought I knew, she'll eventually realize that she did something wrong. I want you to think carefully about this. What will you do if she apologizes and asks for your forgiveness?"

Akane frowned at her and said, "We'll talk about that once we've exhausted ourselves, Sis." She pulled Ranma down the hall, with the intent to go out the back and into the dojo.

"When do you want dinner?" Kasumi asked quickly.

Akane replied, "Don't wait it for us. This may take a while." The two girls disappeared out the back door, leaving a concerned Kasumi behind.

Kasumi nibbled her lip for a moment, showing that the events of the last few minutes had seriously concerned the normally imperturbable woman. "Ukyo, what have you done?" she asked, as she felt the emotional storm roiling the atmosphere of the home, "This is so not good." With a heartfelt sigh, she headed back to the kitchen to let the two in there know of the latest contretemps.

* * *

Nabiki walked into the kitchen, dressed in her workout clothes. "Are you guys ready to go practice?" she asked.

Hinako grinned and said, "Sure, dear, I'm ready."

Kasumi walked in slowly and said, "I think the three of you need to work out in the front yard."

"Why is that, sis?" Nabiki asked.

"Because Ranma and Akane are pissed off and need to work off whatever is bothering the two of them by themselves," Kasumi replied.

"What angered them?" Nabiki asked, "They were fine when I talked to them after school let out." Her eyes narrowed and then she asked, "What did Ukyo do to Ranma?"

"Basically blew up at Ranma for ruining her sauce, and ended their friendship because of it," Kasumi said, her voice throbbing with emotion, surprising the rest of them. She rubbed her temples, the almost palpable emotions running rampant in the house causing her to have a massive migraine headache. 'There are times like these when I wish I wasn't that sensitive to the spirit of the home,' she thought with a mental sigh. She strived mightily to regenerate her equilibrium, knowing that her emotions would affect the atmosphere around the house even more than Ranma's and Akane's.

"If Ukyo has hurt either of them, there won't be anything left of her when I'm done," Nabiki growled.

"Let it go for now, Na-chan," Hinako said, soothingly, as she watched in amazement as the vein on Nabiki's forehead began to throb.

Sayuri grasped Nabiki and said, quickly, "We'd be better off leaving them alone."

"Sis, let them handle it!" Kasumi exclaimed, reaching one hand out to touch her sister.

Nabiki whirled and said, "NO ONE hurts my family and gets away with it."

Kasumi groaned as she realized that her emotional storm was affecting her sister.

"Na-chan, let's go see if we can find our center," Sayuri said, letting all of her problems go by the wayside, as her new family's distress made them pale in comparison. "We all need to calm down, none of us will do them any good if we stay angry," she continued.

Nabiki stared at her for a moment and then nodded jerkily. She took a deep breath, and then said, her voice flat, "You're right. And besides, neither of them would appreciate me stepping in to take care of the situation."

Sayuri smiled briefly, and then pulled the taller girl outside, followed by Hinako and, to everyone's surprise, Kasumi.

Once the four girls were outside by the pond, Sayuri took charge, surprising them all. "Let's just try meditation first," she said, as she sank gracefully to the ground, folding her legs beneath her in the lotus position. She waited until the other three girls joined her and then closed her eyes, emptying her mind of all of her racing thoughts.

Kasumi began to say her mantra in a low, pleasant voice, and the other three girls followed along as the even timbre of the sound swept through them, allowing all of them to clear themselves of their emotions and enter a calm meditative state.

* * *

"What are we doing in here?" Ranma snarled, as Akane all but shoved her into the dojo.

"We're going to work out your anger," Akane hissed in reply.

"Yeah, doing what?" Ranma asked, trying not to let her anger and depression cause her to snap at her wife.

Akane smiled icily and said, "The same thing I used to do to work off my aggression. See that stack of concrete blocks. You're gonna break bricks, wood, whatever, until you're too physically exhausted to be angry. Then, I'm gonna drag you into the furo for a long hot bath, to make you mentally exhausted. Somewhere in there, I'll give you a long massage to make sure that we've worked out any kinks in your muscles. Then if you're a good little girl, we'll go to bed."

Ranma breathed deeply and then grabbed her wife and kissed her roughly. "Acchan, I don't know what I would do if you weren't around to kick my ass when I needed it," she said, "If I ever am so foolish as to start taking you for granted, remind me of days like these." She stripped off her shirt, exposing her muscle t-shirt, and stacked up several concrete blocks. Sinking to her knees, she closed her eyes and with a loud cry of, "Kiaaaaaah," swept her hand down in a knife-edge and shattered the blocks, sending a spray of dust across the dojo floor.

Akane watched the redhaired girl for several minutes while Ranma battered the building supplies into rubble. A tired smile flashed across her face as she saw the rhythm begin to have its affect on Ranma. She sent up a silent prayer to whatever diety that wanted to listen that things would work out okay. Then she closed her eyes and began to perform a complicated exercise, one that Ranma had taught her several months ago, which would require her complete concentration. The two of them lost themselves in their art, allowing their frustrations and anger to dissipate in the simplicity of what they were doing.

* * *

Soun sat down at the dinner table and noticed that there were a few people missing. "Where's Ranma and Akane?" he asked.

Kasumi replied calmly, "They are indisposed, Daddy."

Nabiki snickered and said, sotto voce, "I've never heard it called THAT before."

"Oh, are they ill?" Soun asked, not hearing Nabiki's comment.

"'No, they just had to work some things out. There were some tensions that needed resolving," Sayuri replied, with a twinkle in her eye.

"I thought they were having sex," Hinako said.

A hush fell over the room for several minutes, until Nabiki snorted in laughter. Sayuri was the next to follow, as she began to giggle.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, her eyes dancing. She traded glances with her husband that promised she would explain later.

"Well I did," Hinako said affronted, crossing her arms under her breasts and pouting prettily.

"That may be the end result of what is going on, but that's not really something we needed to discuss in public," Kasumi told her.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on with my daughter and her husband?" Soun asked, angrily. He swelled into Demonhead Soun and spat, "HE BETTER NOT HURT MY DAUGHTER!"

"Honestly Daddy, you look ridiculous when you do that, calm down," Akane said from the doorway, dressed in one of Ranma's shirts, and apparently not much else.

"What can I get you, sis?" Kasumi asked.

Akane smiled and said, "Something to eat. For some reason, Ranma has worked up one hell of an appetite. And I'm a bit hungry myself."

"Oh, how did that happen, sis?" Nabiki asked with a smirk.

"Is it really any of your business, Nabiki?" Akanequipped serenely, "Let's just say, that once I got Ranma calmed down from what happened at Ucchans, I was very glad we sprung for the soundproofing in our room. Not to mention, the extra reinforcement of the floor joists."

"Akane!" Kasumi exclaimed as she prepared a large tray.

Sayuri asked, saucily, "So is Ranma all better now?"

"Oh, there's still a few things to work out, but I think I have him pretty relaxed right at the moment," Akane replied, blushing slightly. She gratefully took the tray from Kasumi and escaped upstairs, but not before Nabiki managed to get in a parting shot as she said, "Don't make me an Auntie yet, sis. I'm not ready!"

"What was that all about?" Tofu asked.

Nabiki exchanged a glance with Kasumi, only to have Hinako pipe up. "I'm not sure of all of the details, Tofu-san, but, apparently, Ranma-chan ruined some secret sauce that Miss Kuonji had made ten years ago. That upset her so much that she ended their friendship. Ranma-chan came home upset by what he sees as her betrayal of their relationship. He feels that he is being punished for something that he did when he was six years old, and for being honest about it now. He could have just not told Kuonji the truth, and allowed her to believe that she was a horrible cook, but instead, took the blame on himself," the young girl said, "At least that's what I figured out from what I overheard them talking about in the dojo."

Nabiki looked at Hinako with the respect that she was due. "I'm impressed, Hi-chan, I didn't know that you had put all of that together," she said.

"You're not the only one in this house who can put facts together, and no one pays attention to a twelve year old girl," Hinako replied with a smirk.

Kasumi said, "Ranma was very upset when the two of them got back from Ucchan's. It took Akane a long time to get Ranma relaxed enough to talk. I am so proud of the way that she handled things."

* * *

The next morming, Ranma staggered into the family room and collapsed next to his wife.

Tofu asked, "You look pretty tired, Ranma. Did you not sleep well?"

"Actually, I was doing pretty good," Ranma said, wearily, "At least until I woke up around five. I heard some sort of loud noise then. I couldn't get to sleep after that."

Tofu started in surprise and then looked guiltilydown at the table.

"I thought I had you tired out so that you would sleep peacefully," Akane muttered.

"Me too," Ranma agreed, "But once I was awake, I kept thinking about Ukyo. I don't want to lose her as a friend, but more importantly, she's supposed to marry Konatsu. And I got to thinking about what might happen there."

"I'm sure things will be okay, Ranchan," Akane whispered as she squeezed his hand.

Sayuri shuffled in, her hair still damp from her bath.

"Looks like you weren't the only one with a rough night," Nabiki said, "You okay, Sayuri?"

"Just had several things on my mind, and a decision or two to make," Sayuri said, sleepily, "And it kept me awake for a while." She covered her mouth as she yawned widely. "Sorry," she muttered.

Nabiki said, gently, "Do you need to talk to someone? Kasumi said you were upset when you came home, but you seemed to be okay when you took charge yesterday."

Sayuri clasped her shoulder and said, "We needed to pull together for Ranma and Akane's sake. All of you were so upset; someone had to be able to think straight. I guess it ended up being me. I was happy to put my little problem behind me and help my family."

Ranma looked gratefully at her and said, "I'm glad you feel the same way about us as we do about you, but, Sayuri-chan, if there's something troubling you, it's not a little problem."

"I'll be all right. I just need to talk to someone and get things straightened out, that's all," Sayuri said, "I'm actually feeling pretty good about things."

Kasumi walked in with a tray full of food, followed by Hinako with an equally large tray.

Sayuri ate quickly, and then rose from the table. "I need to get to school early, I've got something I need to do before class. I'll see you guys there."

"I hope things work out for you also, Sayuri-chan," Akane said, "Since you're obviously heading to school to talk to someone."

"Me, too," Sayuri replied, gaily, as she skipped off down the hall toward the front door.

Ranma stood up and then helped Akane rise. The two of them headed upstairs to get their schoolbooks. "Hiroshi, you think?" Ranma asked.

"I think so," Akane replied, "I think she's made up her mind about what she wants. The tension every time she saw Nabiki with Hiroshi was driving me crazy."

"I just hope Nabiki doesn't get hurt," Ranma said.

Akane chuckled and asked, "How much are you willing to bet that she was doing things with Hiroshi on purpose to open up Sayuri's eyes?"

Ranma's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked, "You think she was trying to get them back together?"

Akane shrugged her shoulders, and replied, "Probably. She likes Hiroshi well enough, but only as a friend."

* * *

Sayuri opened the access door to the roof of the school, and then put her hands on her knees as she bent over panting for breath.

Hiroshi ran over and asked, "Are you okay, Sayuri?"

"Yeah," she gasped, "I just shouldn't have run up the four flights of stairs." She smiled ruefully and added, "Maybe I need to join the learn to love martial arts class that Ranma and Akane are teaching, instead of just the meditation portion that they are teaching me."

"Come on and sit down over here and catch your breath, and then you can tell me why it was so important for me to meet you here early," Hiroshi said as he guided her over to one of the hooded vents sticking up through the roof.

Sayuri looked askance at the dusty cover. "Wait a minute," Hiroshi said, as he laid out his windbreaker onto the surface."

Sayuri smiled as she sat down gingerly on the windbreaker. She took a deep breath, and said, "Thanks for coming so early. I know I probably scared you when I called first thing this morning, but I just had to talk to you before everyone else got here."

"Not a problem, though Mom was worried sick when you called," Hiroshi replied easily.

"You'll find out soon enough, I suspect, but Souta broke up with me at lunch, yesterday. That was why I was so upset all afternoon, and weepy afterwards," Sayuri said.

Hiroshi fought the effort to smile and just hugged her lightly. "I'm sorry about that, I know you like him," Hiroshi said, proud that his voice didn't reflect the fact that he wanted to dance around the roof in glee.

"Well, I do like him. But he was right. What was going on wasn't fair to either of us. He broke up with me because he knew that I still had feelings for you," Sayuri said, "And that until I resolved how I felt about you, I could never be his girlfriend, not wholeheartedly. I had a pretty restless night thinking about things, and well, I finally figured something out. I like Souta, he's funny, and bright. But, so are you. I was trying to use him to replace you. When I saw you with Nabiki, I realized that's what I was doing, and it just wasn't working."

"What are you trying to say, Sayuri?" Hiroshi asked, his eyes bright.

"That while I like Souta, I still love you," Sayuri said, shyly, her eyes downcast, "And that, if you still want me, I want us back together. I made a dumb mistake breaking up with you, and I'm not going to make a dumber mistake by trying to get over you by dating someone who's a reflection of you."

Hiroshi pulled her into a tighter hug and said, "I'd like that. I've missed being with you." He sighed then and added, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I do need to talk to Nabiki first."

Sayuri stiffened in his arms and hissed, "Why do you need to talk to her?"

"Because I owe her the courtesy of finding out about us from me, not from the rumor mill," Hiroshi replied, "Not that we were dating or anything, not really, but she has been there for me."

Sayuri dropped her head to her chin and said, in a tired voice, "I guess I can understand that. But, Hiroshi, one of the things that made me realize what was wrong was that I was getting jealous of the two of you."

Hiroshi chuckled deeply, and said, "There wasn't really anything to get jealous of. Now me, on the other hand, if I had seen you with Souta much more." He was stopped by the feel of Sayuri's lips against his. After what seemed like forever, he pulled back, and whispered, "Damn, I missed that."

"Oh, yeah," Sayuri said, looking happier than she had been in several days. She grinned impishly and said, "I think we have a lot of days to make up for." She pulled him back against her and kissed him again, messing up his hair by running her fingers through it.

Reluctantly Hiroshi broke the kiss, and sighed deeply. "You still need to talk to Souta and let him know what happened," he said.

Sayuri rolled in his arms and leaned against his chest. "Yeah, I'll talk to my old boyfriend, and you can talk to your old girlfriend," Sayuri said.

"Can't we stay up here for the rest of the day?" Hiroshi asked plaintively.

"I'd like that, but we can't stay here forever," Sayuri replied.

* * *

Sayuri waited until Souta came up the stairs to the school. She greeted him somberly and said, "We need to talk."

Souta nodded sadly and took her gingerly by the arm. "Might as well make it a tradition," he said as he led her around to the same spot as yesterday.

"I've been thinking about what you said to me yesterday," Sayuri said, not looking at him in the eyes.

"And decided on Hiroshi," Souta said with a rueful smile.

"And decided on Hiroshi," Sayuri agreed.

"I figured you would," Souta said, as he stared into the distance, "I had hopes, but I thought it would be too much to ask. But, I knew you weren't happy with the way things were, and your happiness is the most important thing to me."

"Damn," Sayuri said, sadly, as she remembered what Kasumi had told her what seemed an eternity ago. She sighed heavily, and reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so sorry, Souta. I wish you had never gotten caught up in this," she said, a tear running down her cheek.

"Don't cry, Sayuri," Souta said, "I'll be okay. It's not like I haven't heard this speech before."

"Take care of yourself," Sayuri said, "And don't give up hope. The one for you is out there."

"Go find Hiroshi. Tell him he's one lucky son of a bitch for me," Souta said.

Sayuri gazed at him for a moment and then left, choking back a sob.

Souta waited until she had turned the corner and then slammed his fist into a tree trunk, which resulted in a loud crack. "I thought I had found the one," he breathed. Then he winced as he stared at his wrist. "Shit that hurt, I think Ibroke it," he said, "I guess this means a visit to the nurse." He moved slowly back toward the school, not looking forward to the next several hours.

* * *

Hiroshi stood waiting at the gate to the schoolyard, waiting anxiously for Nabiki to arrive. Finally he saw her walking toward him, but to his amazement she was walking rapidly on the fence. Her face lit up with pleasure as she recognized him, and he moved to join her. She said something that he couldn't hear to Ranma and Akane,who both nodded. She jumped to the ground, staggering a bit, only to have him reach out and hold her steady.

"Thanks, Hiroshi. My dismount still leaves a little to be desired," Nabiki said, once she had caught her breath.

"We'll see you in class, Hiroshi," Akane said.

"You're getting better, Nabiki," Ranma added, as the two of them went through the gate and left the couple behind.

"You continue to amaze me, Nabiki," Hiroshi said, with a wide grin, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to turn into your sister."

"Oh, there would be worse things for me to do than to be like Kasumi. Sometimes I envy her," Nabiki said, with a grin.

"I was talking about Akane, and you know it," Hiroshi said.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Nabiki asked.

Hiroshi shook his head and replied, "You don't miss much, do you?"

"Well, let's see. Sayuri left to go to school early, much earlier than she needed to. And your standing here waiting for me," Nabiki replied.

"Then you probably already know what I wanted to talk to you about," Hiroshi said.

"Well, if it's what I think it is, I'm happy for the two of you," Nabiki said.

"Yeah, well, if you are thinking that Sayuri and I are back together, you're thinking right," Hiroshi said, watching Nabiki carefully, "And I wanted you to hear it from me. I know we weren't really a couple, but you've been fun to be with and I owed it to you."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me. I care for you a great deal Hiroshi, and all I ever wanted was for you to be happy," Nabiki said. She saw a worried expression begin to creep across Hiroshi's face and she giggled. "Don't worry, Hiroshi. I like you a lot, but I don't love you. I know the girl who does though; after all, she's been living at our house for a while now. And all I ever wanted was for you to be happy."

Hiroshi narrowed his eyes in thought as suddenly the yen dropped. His lips twitched, trying not to smile, as he accused, "You were setting us up, weren't you?"

"Maybe," Nabiki replied, "Does it really matter now?"

"No, I suppose not," Hiroshi replied.

Nabiki smiled warmly at him and said, "Of course, now I'll have to tell Hinako that you're not available anymore."

"She's a sweetie, but she's a bit too young for me," Hiroshi said, knowing full well she was teasing him.

Nabiki gave him an odd look and said, "Sometimes I think she's older than she appears. Just don't be a stranger. She'll miss you."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere. In fact, if Sayuri stays at your place, I'll probably be over there more often. It was just a little too awkward for me to hang around there before," Hiroshi replied.

"Well, then I guess this is the last time I should do this," Nabiki said. She reached up and kissed him. After a moment, she released him, and said, "To channel my sister. Oh my, she did teach you well." She pretended to fan herself as if she had overheated, and then threaded her arm through his and said, "Let's go find your girlfriend."

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and appreciated. For those of you who sent signed reviews, I tried to answer whatever questions/comments you might have had. Unfortunately, due to the new rules, I can't answer any of the Anonymous reviews. 


	54. Consequences

Chapter 54 Consequences

Akane watched as her husband slumped wearily in his chair, waiting for the bell to ring to signal the start of school. Neither of them had gotten as much rest as they would have liked, as they had been rudely awakened well before the alarm normally went off. First, by the sounds coming from the bedroom next to them, sounds that managed to sneak through the soundproofing in the wall that they had added, and then by the unceremonious way that D-chan had decided to announce her presence by first jumping into the middle of the bed, and then barking at what turned out to be absolutely nothing.

Ranma rested his head against the back of his chair, his eyes gazing absently at the desk that Ukyo should be occupying. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle seeing her today, not after what happened.

Akane smiled suddenly as she watched Hiroshi escort Sayuri into the classroom, her hand firmly grasped by his, a silly grin on both of their faces. She nudged Ranma, rousing him from his stupor and hissed, "Well, at least one thing worked out. They must be back together."

Ranma gazed at his friends, and a smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, they certainly look happier now. And it looks like they didn't waste any time. Look at her lips; don't they look a little puffy?" he said.

"Poor Souta, though. He just can't catch any breaks with the girls, can he?" Akane suddenly asked.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "No, doesn't look like it. He'll be okay though."

"What are you going to do about Ukyo?" Akane asked.

Ranma shook his head and replied, "I haven't a clue. For now, I'll just treat her like I would any of the other students in class that we aren't friends with. It won't be easy, but I'm not gonna be rude to her or anything. Frigid politeness, I guess, is the best thing to do."

Yuka walked in, with Daisuke carrying both of their bags, his face showing the strain. As he made it to her desk, he gratefully set her bag down on the floor, and straightened up with a wince as he rubbed the small of his back. "What are you carrying around in there?" he asked.

"Just my books," Yuka replied. She noticed Hiroshi dancing attendance on Sayuri, and squealed in excitement. "Are you two back together?" she asked, excitedly.

"Yes, I came to my senses last night," Sayuri replied, her cheeks lightly pink.

"Good, we're happy for both of you," Daisuke said, as he slapped Hiroshi on the shoulder.

Yuka rubbed a lock of her hair, nervously for a moment, and then said, "Sayuri, I was wondering. Would it be all right with you if Dai and I went over and talked to your mom after school? Maybe if we talked to her, she'd understand things better."

"I can't ask you to get involved in my problems," Sayuri began, only to stop as Yuka and Daisuke glared her into silence.

"We are your friends, and friends help out. YOUR problems are OUR problems," Daisuke said forcefully.

"What he said, that comes from us too," Ranma said, "I meant what I said the other day about you being family." He stopped for a moment and realized how that might sound. "Hey, that goes for the three of you as well," he added a bit awkwardly.

"Good save, Ranma," Akane said, as she grinned at him, "And for what it's worth, I agree with him about that. You four are just as much family to me as my sisters. So, Sayuri-chan, don't think that your problems are any less important to us."

"But, you two have so much to worry about right now," Sayuri protested, "What with the whole Ukyo thing and all."

"What Ukyo thing?" Daisuke asked.

"Not now, she just walked in," Akane hissed.

"And it looks like she doesn't have a care in the world," Sayuri said.

Ranma closed his eyes suddenly as his anger spiked. 'How could she toss away our friendship,' he thought angrily.

Akane reached across and laid her hand on his shoulder and said, "Calm down, Ranma, calm down."

Ranma took a deep breath and let it out. Schooling himself, he hoped his face was impassive as he turned to look at Ukyo.

Ukyo stopped suddenly in the doorway as Ranma turned to look at her. It was almost like walking into a brick wall, the sheer look of utter indifference in his eyes stopping her in her tracks. 'How dare he look at me like that? I'm the injured person here,' she thought angrily to herself, 'He's the one who hid the truth from me.' She sniffed and walked into the room, and sat down in her chair, ignoring the puzzled looks from the rest of the class, when she didn't greet her friends in her normal manner.

Ranma frowned briefly at Ukyo's back and then sighed. 'I guess she was serious,' he thought, 'This is going to be so awkward. Poor Konatsu, I wonder how he's holding up, being caught in the middle of this mess.' Suddenly, he gave a wry grin as he thought, 'At least this is better than what happened the first time. I don't even want to think about Akane's reaction if Ukyo had moved in with us. Though, her trying to share our bed would have been a lot more difficult.'

Akane glanced over at her husband and saw the wry grin on his face, and wondered what he was thinking about that was causing it.

Ranma saw the curious look that Akane was giving him and quickly scribbled a note and slid it over to the edge of his desk.

Akane scanned it quickly and saw that it read, 'I'll tell you later. It's about what happened before.' 'Well, that was amazingly cryptic,' she thought, vowing to find out what had happened with the sauce the first time.

Miss Morisato finished calling the roll, and then closed the class roster. "Good morning students," she said.

"Good morning, sensei," the students replied more or less in unison.

* * *

The lunch break barely came soon enough for Ranma and Akane. The chill coming from the girl in front of them had been less than enjoyable. The two of them quickly walked out the door with the rest of their friends, and ran into Nabiki chatting with Souta. 

"Is is okay if I still sit with you guys," Souta asked, shyly.

Sayuri smiled uncertainly as Ranma replied, "Sure, why not? That is if it's okay with you two."

Sayuri and Hiroshi traded looks and nodded. "We don't have a problem," Hiroshi replied.

With a relieved expression on his face, Souta fell in with the group, staying on the other side of Nabiki from Sayuri. The group sat down under their tree, and began opening up their bentos.

"Guys," Ranma said, soberly, "there's something that you need to know. Ukyo has decided to stop being my friend. The reason really doesn't matter, but it was important enough to her to make that decision. I won't tell you what to do, but don't turn on her just because of me."

"Ranma, what she did was inexcusable! Saying that you had no honor, when all you did was tell her that you had ruined her sauce back when you where six. When on earth were you supposed to tell her? You didn't even remember about the sauce until she mentioned it yesterday, and at your earliest opportunity you told her," Akane exclaimed, glaring at him, "None of it was your fault."

"Her reaction wasn't my fault, and I certainly didn't expect her to blow up like that, but the fact that I ruined her sauce ten years ago and wasn't man enough to tell her then is," Ranma replied.

"Shit, Ranma, you were six," Nabiki said, "Don't be so damn noble about it. Stop blaming yourself for something that pretty much isn't your fault. She's the one who screwed up and you know it."

"The sad thing is, if she came over and apologized right now, you'd forgive her," Akane added.

Souta said, "I know it's not really any of my business, but in my experience of your husband, that is one of his better traits. His ready forgiveness and refusal to hold a grudge are part of what makes him who he is."

"Ranma is a good man, and Shampoo is very proud to call him friend, and, well, Amazon sister," Shampoo added.

Ryoga grinned showing his fangs and said, "They're right, Ranma and you know it. Hell, you even managed to convince me that we should be friends."

"We always were, buddy, it just took a while for you to realize it," Ranma said, with a rusty laugh. He turned serious and said, "Just don't shut her out. She'll eventually come to her senses, I hope. If not for her sake, then for Konatsu. After all, she is marrying into my family unless she decides to break his heart too."

Sayuri reached out and grabbed his arm. "Ranma, I saw what she did to you when you got home last night. You were a wreck. No one does that to my family. Calling you dishonorable, bullshit, you are the most honorable person I know. As far as I'm concerned, she is dead to me, and I will have nothing to do with her until she apologizes to you and performs some penance," she said, fiercely.

"But," Ranma began.

"But nothing, what did you say in the classroom before it started. 'Your problems are my problems,' isn't that what you agreed with? Well, it works both ways, brother, it works both ways," Sayuri said, her eyes blazing.

"Just don't do something that you'll regret later, that's all I can ask, then," Ranma said reluctantly.

The bell rang again, so the group gathered up their belongings and headed toward the classroom. Each of them made a point of snubbing Ukyo as they walked by, each snub causing Ukyo to get paler.

* * *

"As you may remember from our last lesson, I have scheduled a major project for Political Science. You will have a partner in this project, and it will count for a large portion of your grade for this term," Miss Morisato said once the final bell had rung for the beginning of the afternoon session. She watched as everyone straightened up and began to pay attention. "Since there are an equal number of girls and boys in this class, you will be teaming up with one person of the opposite gender. In this bucket, I have slips of paper with all of the boys' names on them, and I will have the girls draw out their partner's name," she continued. She began walking through the class, holding the bucket up, starting with the first girl, which happened to be Shampoo. 

Shampoo reached into the bucket, and a sound of rustling paper could be heard. Soon, she pulled out a small slip of paper and read it. She chuckled and said, "Shampoo lucky. Get to do project with husband. Be too too much fun."

"That's not what was supposed to happen, but I guess that's the way it goes," the teacher said, "Just don't forget to do the project." She walked around to each of the next few girls, who all drew names, and read them out loud. Ranma didn't pay much attention since none of his friends' names, or his had been drawn yet. Then the teacher reached Ukyo.

Ukyo reached in, and pulled out a slip of paper. She glanced at the name and blanched. "Miss Morisato, I can't work with this person," she whispered.

The teacher looked at the name and then looked at Ukyo with a puzzled expression on her face. She said, "I thought the two of you were friends."

"**Were** is the operative word, sensei," Ukyo said.

"I'm sorry, but there are no second chances, Miss Kuonji. You will work with him, or fail for the term, your choice," Miss Morisato replied.

"If you drew my name, Kuonji, I can work with you. We don't have to be friendly toward each other," a voice interjected.

Ukyo glared back at Ranma and spat, "Yeah, Saotome, I drew your name." She looked at him for a moment, her eyes cold and said, "I guess I fail then." She gathered up her books, and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Miss Morisato asked.

"Home," Ukyo snapped.

The teacher said, "I didn't say you could leave."

"I don't think you understand," Ukyo said, "I don't plan on coming back here."

Akane said, "Ukyo, now you're just being foolish."

Ukyo spun on her heel and said, "Don't pretend you care, girl." She walked quickly to the door and opened it. After she walked through the door, she slammed it behind her, shattering the glass pane.

Ranma jumped up and asked, "Miss Morisato, can I talk to you, outside, please?"

The look of entreaty on the young man's face made all the difference. The teacher replied, "Certainly, Mr. Saotome." The two of them walked out of the room.

The rest of the class sat there, a buzz of conversation rising as they tried to figure out what had just happened.

* * *

Ranma slammed his fist against the wall, and cursed under his breath. 

"Mr. Saotome, what on earth was that all about?" Miss Morisato asked.

Ranma blushed and bowed. "I apologize for my words, sensei," he said, "You weren't meant to hear that."

"Just explain what just happened in there. I thought the two of you were friends," the teacher said.

"We have some issues that we need to work out, that just cropped up yesterday, and well, I ask that you overlook what just happened with Kuonji, please. I don't know how quickly this will straighten itself out, but it will," Ranma said, quickly.

"I can't overlook her behavior," Miss Morisato replied, "but if she returns to class soon, and makes up all her work, I'll not penalize her too severely. However, she is still your partner in the project. And if she doesn't help, your grade will suffer."

Ranma sighed, and said, "Oddly enough, there are more important things than grades to me. But, thank you for your concern. I'll muddle through somehow."

"What are you going to do about the situation?" his teacher asked, not unkindly.

"I don't have a clue," Ranma admitted, as he clenched his fists in frustration. He sighed heavily and said, "I'm a martial artist. If this was a foe I could fight, I know what to do. This has to do with emotions, and I'm not good at that kind of thing. I hurt her badly, and she said some things that wounded me. And right now, neither of us wants to talk to the other person and work things out."

"Don't let it drag out too long. She can't miss too many days of class without it impacting her education," Miss Morisato said, sternly.

Ranma shook his head and said, "You don't understand, not that I can blame you. You don't know all of the details. Her education isn't the thing that concerns me, it's the fact that she works with my mother at the café, and she's supposed to be marrying my brother in just a couple of weeks. That's what I need to keep from screwing up."

"You do have a tangled mess to clean up. I don't envy you in the slightest," his teacher said, frowning.

Ranma smiled wryly and said, "This isn't too bad. I've been in worse messes." He started to return to class, and then asked, "If it's okay with you, I can take her classwork to her. My brother can give them to her and then bring them here the next day."

"I'll allow that for a few days, but that's all I can do," Miss Morisato said after a few minutes. She listened for a moment to the noise coming from the classroom and sighed. "I'd better get back in there, before all hell breaks loose," she said.

* * *

Konatsu looked up in surprise as the door to the café opened and Ukyo rushed in, her eyes red from crying. Ignoring the handful of customers, the distraught woman brushed past the curtain covering the opening to the stairs, and disappeared from view. Konatsu looked at Nodoka, who nodded at the curtain, and ran up the stairs after his fiancée. 

Konatsu opened the door to their apartment to find Ukyo collapsed on the futon, sobbing. "What happened? I thought you intended to apologize to Ranma for what you said. Did he say something mean to you?" Konatsu asked.

"No, I didn't get that far. When I walked into the classroom this morning, he looked at me as if I were a total stranger, and then he turned all of my friends against me, and then I was partnered with him in a project, and then I just, I just," Ukyo replied.

Konatsu rushed to her and scooped her up in his arms, and let her cry on his shoulder, while he rubbed her back. "That sounds like you had a really shitty day," he finally said.

Ukyo pulled her head away from his shoulder and stared at him in disbelief. "You cursed!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

Konatsu grinned at her and said, "I do know how."

"But, I've never heard you before," Ukyo protested.

"Of course not, it wouldn't be ladylike," Konatsu retorted.

"I just don't know what to do!" Ukyo wailed.

Konatsu replied, "You need to get some rest, is one of the things you need to do. You barely slept last night, don't think that base is hiding the shadows under your eyes. Why don't you go take a long hot bath?" His eyes twinkled for a moment and said, "And if you want, I can come in and scrub your back."

"I thought we agreed to wait until we got married," Ukyo said, with a sad smile. Suddenly she frowned, "Oh no. The wedding! He's your brother, and he hates me. How can we go through with it?"

Konatsu hid the sudden pang in his heart. "You don't want to marry me?" he asked, plaintively.

Ukyo squeezed him hard and replied, "You know I do. Somehow, I fell in love with you, and can't wait to be your bride. It's just, he's the head of the Saotome clan, and he might not want me to be in it."

"Ranma-sama isn't that sort of person and you know that, my love," Konatsu said gently, "And I'm sure he doesn't hate you. He may not like you right now, but you did hit him where it hurts the most. Ranma-sama prides himself on his strong sense of honor, and you did accuse him of being dishonorable."

"Are you taking his side in this?" Ukyo asked suddenly, jumping away from him, her eyes showing her sense of betrayal.

"Kami NO!" Konatsu exclaimed, "Just trying to help you see how he feels, that's all."

Ukyo looked down at the floor and said, in a little girl voice, "I just don't know what to do, Ko-chan. I've screwed up so badly and I don't know how to fix things. What I said was wrong, and I knew it as soon as I said it, but I felt so betrayed."

"I know. What really needs to happen is the two of you need to sit down and talk about what happened," Konatsu said. 'Their damn pride is going to keep getting in the way,' he thought.

"He doesn't want to talk to me; you should have seen the way he looked when I walked into the classroom. I could feel the hate coming from him," Ukyo whined.

"What did he say when you were partnered with him?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo blushed and said, "That he could work with me."

"Then I don't think he hates you," Konatsu repeated. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Go take that bath, and I'll be back up in a bit to check on you, okay?"

Ukyo walked back over and kissed him gently. "Yes, dear," she replied, slightly sarcastically, "I do like the way you take care of me."

"Always," Konatsu said with a slight smile, "Now scoot." He mock glared at her until she gave him a half-salute and vanished behind the door to the bathroom. He walked back down the stairs to find Nodoka waiting expectantly for him.

"What's wrong with my daughter to be, son?" Nodoka asked.

Konatsu asked, "Will you let me handle the situation? You shouldn't get involved."

"That bad, huh?" Nodoka asked, arching her eyebrows in surprise. She frowned and replied, "I don't like her hurting like that. I want to find out who did it so I can have a discussion with them."

"That's the worst thing you could do, Mom," Konatsu said.

Nodoka stared at her adopted son and realized how serious he was. "Okay, I'll let you take care of it. Besides, I have a wedding to organize," she said.

"That'll be a big help to her. Now, what's wrong is she had a big fight with Ranma and isn't talking to him," Konatsu said, "And before you ask, neither one of them have very clean hands." He sighed again, and said, "I love her dearly, but Ukyo overreacted badly. Remember how bubbly she was the last day or so, about that secret sauce of her father's that she was about ready to taste?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Nodoka asked.

Konatsu pulled out a small sample from a bottle that Nodoka hadn't seen before. "Try it," he said simply.

Nodoka dipped a spoon into the cup that he had handed her and tasted it. Her mouth puckered in distaste and she said, "That's horrible. This is the sauce that she made? I thought she was a better cook than that. Maybe it just didn't age well; the cask wasn't sealed properly or something."

"No, the truth is Ranma was around when she made back when they were both about six. He wanted a taste, so while she wasn't around, he opened the cask, but spilled it. He tried to coverup by remaking the recipe, but he obviously failed. Ukyo wasn't very happy when he admitted what he had done yesterday, and she, well, she frankly went insane. She accused him of being dishonorable, and you can imagine how well that went over with him."

"Oh dear," Nodoka gasped.

"And that's why you need to stay out of it, Mom," Konatsu said.

Nodoka grimaced. She said, grimly, "I hope she hasn't thought through what she said at least."

Konatsu nodded sadly. "For all our sakes, I hope she hasn't either. Calling him dishonorable stains the entire Saotome clan," he said, "The clan she is about to marry into."

"Strictly speaking, because of her insult to my son, I should forbid the wedding," Nodoka said, sadly, knowing the pain that this would cause, "In fact; I should challenge her for the insult to me, since calling him dishonorable reflects poorly on me."

"I was afraid that you might react that way," Konatsu said quickly, "Can you at least let Ranma and me work this out with her? Pretend that nothing is wrong?"

Nodoka shook her head, and replied, "I'll let you two work it out, but I can't pretend nothing is wrong. I need to go home. If I see her, I'll say something I'll regret. But, mark my words, if she doesn't retract what she has said to my son, she will not be my daughter."

"I understand, Mom," Konatsu said, as he watched her strip off her apron, and then walk out the door of the restaurant. He glanced around, and saw that the last of the customers had left, so he went outside and took down the banner. He walked back into the café and locked the door behind him. Then he trudged wearily up the stairs to find his fiancée. He knocked on the door to the bathroom, and said, in a defeated voice, "We need to talk. There's a problem and it's a big one"

Ukyo called, "Come on in, I'm more or less decent."

Konatsu took a deep breath and opened the door. When he walked in, he saw Ukyo lying in the tub, covered with her bubble bath. He frowned slightly and said, "Yeah, mostly less."

"Oh stop that, in not quite two weeks you'll see all of me, and you've seen me topless before, anyway," Ukyo said, as she took another drink from the wineglass sitting on the side of the tub.

"How many glasses have you had?" Konatsu asked.

Ukyo replied, "This will be my second. So, what's so important?"

"Mom wanted to know why you were home so early, and obviously upset," Konatsu replied, "And I can't lie to her."

"So she knows that Saotome and I are no longer friends," Ukyo said, rolling in the tub to look at Konatsu.

"Yeah, that too. I had to tell her what you said to him," Konatsu admitted.

Ukyo sat up in the tub, the bubbles dripping off her breasts, and glared at him. "So she knows I called him dishonorable," she hissed.

Konatsu hung his head and said, "I'm sorry, Ukyo-sama. She's the closest thing I have to a mother." He hesitated, and then went for broke, and added, "I asked her to let Ranma and I work things out with you, but she's not happy with you." He tried to look anywhere but at the pink buds sticking out from the bubbles.

"How not happy is she?" Ukyo asked, her voice carefully flat.

Konatsu replied, "Unless you apologize to Ranma for calling him dishonorable, she won't accept you as her daughter-in-law. She feels that what you did was an insult to the entire clan."

Ukyo sank slowly into the tub and crossed her arms over her breasts. She turned to him, her eyes stricken, and asked, "And what do you think?"

"You are going to be my wife," Konatsu replied, firmly, "The, um, mother of my children, and my best friend."

Ukyo blushed prettily, which was very obvious through the bubbles, and asked, "But what about Nodoka?"

Konatsu sighed heavily, and rubbed his hands through his long hair. "I don't know. Well, that's not exactly true. I've already left one supposed family because of you; I can damn well do it again. It'd hurt to lose them as a family, and friends, but you're certainly worth it. So I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Ukyo surged out of the tub, and hugged him hard, soaking him in the process. "You don't know how good that makes me feel hearing you say that," she breathed.

Konatsu brushed the wet hair from her face and said, "I think you can tell exactly how good you're making me feel at the moment." At her blush, he added, "It's not every day that I'm holding a nude, wet girl in my arms, but I hope to repeat."

At that moment Konastu heard someone banging on the front door. "I'd better see who that is," he said, "It's just us here right now."

"Okay, go see who it is and then we need to finish this talk," Ukyo said.

"Don't get too dressed, I'd like to continue from where we left off," Konatsu said, as he stood up and walked out the door.

* * *

Ranma stood at the front door to the café, shocked to find it closed this early in the afternoon. After a few minutes from the time he had arrived, the door finally opened, and Konatsu stood there. Ranma grinned at his brother and asked, "Did I interupt something? You seem to be a bit, um, damp." 

Konatsu glanced down at his kimono and saw the massive wet spot on his chest and blushed. "None of your business, little brother," he snapped. After a moment, he grinned, and said, "Though I intend to get back to it. So what are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to drop off these assignments for Kuonji," Ranma said, holding out a satchel, "That way, she won't be too far behind when she comes back to school." He hesitated and asked, "What happened? Why is the café closed? And where's Mom?"

Konatsu sighed and backed away from the door. "You might as well come in," he said graciously.

"Thanks," Ranma said dryly, "I wasn't too excited by the look of the sky anyway. Looks like rain clouds."

After the two of them sat down at the grill, Konatsu replied, "Ukyo came rushing in from school, all distraught, and ran upstairs. I followed her and we talked for a moment, but when I came back down, your Mom wanted to know what happened. I told her what I knew, and she got upset. Especially about Ukyo calling you dishonorable. She as much as said that the marriage was off."

Ranma started cursing then, impressing Konatsu, who didn't hear him repeat for several minutes. Finally, Ranma wound down. He turned to Konatsu and said, "I'll talk to Mom, but there's no way the two of you aren't getting married. I'm not letting you get hurt because of my stupidity."

"That means a lot to me, Ranma, and I'm sure Ukyo will appreciate it," Konatsu said, warmly.

"You two are good together, that's the end of it. So what if my sister-in-law hates my guts. Just means my family is dysfunctional. Big deal. I'm a big boy, I can deal with it," Ranma said.

"Big words, sounds like someone has been paying attention to class," Konatsu teased. He sobered and said, "Ukyo was all prepared to apologize for what she said when she got to class this morning."

"Then why didn't she?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Not really sure. I guess because she thinks you hate her," Konatsu replied.

"I don't hate her, I don't even dislike her. I'm upset with what she said, but that's about it," Ranma said slowly, "Akane, Nabiki and Sayuri are madder about it than I am for some reason. I'm not sure that they would accept just an apology from her now."

"Akane I can understand, but Nabiki and Sayuri? Why would they care?" Konatsu asked, looking puzzled.

"Family," Ranma replied as if that explained everything and after a moment of reflection, Konatsu realized that it probably did.

"So if Ukyo apologized for what she said, you'd be fine?" Konatsu asked.

"Of course," Ranma replied, "It's just as much my fault as it is hers. I just didn't expect her to blow up the way she did, or I would have tried to handle it better. Not that I know how I could've, though. I just didn't want her to feel like she was a failure at the thing she does best. She didn't ruin that sauce, I did, and I told her as soon as I remembered that it was me. Though you know how much my honor means to me, and hearing her call me dishonorable hurt. But sure, an apology about saying that will do it for me."

"But Akane probably won't?" Konatsu asked.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "I doubt it. I was pretty upset about losing Ukyo's friendship, and Akane didn't like that. She blames Ukyo for how I nearly fell apart last night, and it's going to be very hard for her to forgive Ukyo."

"Let me talk to Ukyo, and we'll work things out," Konatsu said.

Ranma replied, "That's fine. Just don't take too long. Miss Morisato is being pretty understanding about school, but if it drags out too long things won't be as easy to fix. And there is a wedding in a couple of weeks that needs to happen."

"I'll come up with something. Don't be surprised if I show up at your home one morning. If I do, just follow my lead," Konatsu said.

Ranma nodded and then said, "You'd better get back to Ukyo, then. And get out of those wet clothes. It can't be good for you."

"Oh, I fully intend to be out of this as soon as you leave," Konatsu said.

"In THAT case, I'd better go," Ranma said, with a bit of a smirk. He walked to the door, and opened it, letting in the rain. "Oh well," she said, resignedly.

"See you later, little sis," Konatsu said, with a grin.

Ranma shook her fist at him, ruining the affect with her grin, and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Konatsu locked the door once more, and climbed the stairs to their apartment. When he opened the door, Ukyo was sitting on the futon, dressed in a short robe; one that made it pretty obvious that she was the only thing underneath it. 'Kami, give me strength,' he thought as he walked over to join her.

"Who was at the door?" Ukyo asked.

Konatsu dropped the satchel on the table and sank down into the futon. He replied, "Ranma, he came by to drop off your schoolwork, and to talk for a bit."

Ukyo crossed her arms over her chest, spoiling Konatsu's view, but also making it easier for him to concentrate. "So what did Saotome have to say?" she asked, icily, the venom in her voice causing him to wince.

Konatsu sighed, and said, "He wanted to know how you were doing."

"Why should he care? He hates me," Ukyo spat.

"No, actually he doesn't. He's unhappy that you called him dishonorable. If he hadn't told you the truth, then you might have a point. But he didn't want you to think that you were a failure at the thing that you were the best at, especially for something that wasn't your fault. But what he's mostly upset with is losing your friendship. It means a great deal to him," Konatsu said, hoping that his words would get through to her.

"Then why did he react the way he did, and why did he turn all my friends against me?" Ukyo asked, choking back a sob.

"We really didn't get into that, and he's not the one who's the most upset anyway. It sounds like you really hacked off Akane, Nabiki, and for some reason Sayuri. From the little he said, it must be those three that are turning everyone against you," Konatsu replied, "Ranma even said that he wants us to get married; that he doesn't care if you hate him, that our happiness is too important. He's even planning on talking to Mom about that."

"Oh," Ukyo breathed, for the first time feeling a little better about things. She turned and laid her head on his shoulder, so he wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her tight. She sighed, and asked, "How do we fix this mess then?"

Konatsu shrugged and replied, "He'll be fine with an apology, and having your friendship back. You know him better than I do, but he just flat doesn't hold a grudge, at least not very much of one. And I'm sure he'll tell you he's sorry for ruining your sauce and not telling you about it. But, you do need to cut him a little slack about it. He was only six at the time."

"I can do that," Ukyo said, her eyes downcast, "That'll take care of Ranma, but what about the women? Akane will probably forgive me if I show I'm sincere, but Nodoka might take a bit more convincing. And I don't even want to think about Nabiki. She not only holds grudges, but is a firm believer in the idea that vengeance is a dish best served cold."

"Let's cross one bridge at a time. If we can get Ranma and Akane back, then the rest will eventually work itself out," Konatsu replied.

Ukyo frowned slightly and then said, "I guess you're right. One problem at a time, I suppose." An impish smile flashed across her face and she turned and straddled him, sitting in his lap. "Speaking of problems," she said, her tone light, "I believe you said something about naked, wet girls?"

"I thought we were waiting," Konatsu replied, closing his eyes, as he relished the feel of the barely clad girl in his lap, and the thin layers of material that he was wearing.

Ukyo laughed wickedly, a sound that caused a shiver to run up Konatsu's spine. She lightly kissed his neck, and said, "I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of the teasing, and the flirting. I'm tired of us both going to bed hot and bothered and not doing anything about it. And I'm really getting tired of the cold showers." She deliberately ground herself against him, as she felt how happy he was having her where she was.

Konatsu pulled back to look deeply in her eyes. The fire blazing there almost scared him. He asked, "Are you sure this is what you want? We've waited this long, another couple of weeks won't kill us. At least I don't think you can die from frustration."

"Damn it, Ko-chan!" Ukyo exclaimed, "How much more obvious do I have to be? I'm sure. I've never been surer of something in my life. I want to forget about everything that went wrong this week, and I want to do it in your arms. And finally, you're mine, and I want the universe to know it."

Konatsu wrapped his arms around her and stood straight up, the strength in his arms surprising her. "You don't have to ask me again," he said, in a husky voice, as he walked through the bedroom door, carrying her, with her legs wrapped around his waist.

* * *

Nodoka stepped back in surprise as she saw who was shivering in the cold April rain outside her door. "Come in, Ranma, before you catch your death of cold!" she exclaimed, "Let's get you to the furoba so you can get out of those wet clothes." She nearly dragged her redhaired daughter down the hall to the recently renovated bath. 

"Mother, I can take care of myself," Ranma said in a half-amused, half-exasperated tone.

"Right, that's why you came here in the rain, without a coat, without an umbrella, and don't tell me that you aren't shivering," Nodoka said, rapidly, as she started unbuttoning her daughter's shirt, "Now, stop talking and get out of those wet things. Once you're in the furo, I'll find you something to wear while these things are in the dryer."

"MOM, I'm seventeen, nearly eighteen, and married. I'm pretty sure I can take my clothes off! I don't need your help," Ranma exclaimed, her cheeks marred by two little dots of pink, as she attempted to fend off her mother's fingers.

"Well, I certainly hope Akane helps you take your clothing off," Nodoka said in a huff.

"Only when I'm going too slow," Ranma mumbled, "Lose more buttons that way."

Nodoka unbuttoned the last button, and said, "But you're still my little boy, and"

Ranma finished taking her shirt off, and dropped it untidely on the floor, making it blatantly obvious that she wasn't a little boy. She stopped and stared at her mother, as she chuckled, and asked, "What?"

Nodoka didn't reply, as she suddenly gazed intently at her daughter.

Ranma started to undo her trousers, only to stop at her mother's gasp and then silence. She looked up as her trousers slid to the floor, and asked, taking in her mother's pale face, "What's wrong?"

Nodoka's eyes were filled with tears as she saw the fine tracery of scarring on Ranma's body, the fine white lines covering much of what was visible. "What happened to you?" she whispered, her face ashen, tears hanging from her eyes.

Ranma looked at herself for a moment, and shrugged. "Neko-ken training, mostly," she replied, "though a few of them were from zigging when I should have been zagging. It's the price I paid for being who I am, Mom. Akane has her share, too."

"Oh my child," Nodoka said, gathering Ranma up in her arms, "What did I do to you?"

"It's all water under the bridge, Mom, there's nothing we can do about it. Now, about that bath, and those dry clothes," Ranma said.

"If I'd known," Nodoka began.

"Not important now, so skat, let me have a pretense at modesty," Ranma said, with a half-smile.

"Yes, my darling daughter," Nodoka retorted.

Ranma rolled her eyes, and turned to preserve her modesty. She slipped off her boxers and walked into the bathing chamber proper, closing the door firmly behind her.

* * *

Ranma grumbled slightly as she sat down in the kitchen and watched her mother fix a quick meal. After seeing the robe his mother had available, a quick change of gender was necessary to avoid looking ridiculous. The barely hidden smile on her mother's face was all the clue that Ranma had needed to know that her mother was teasing her. 

"So, not that I'm complaining, mind you, but why have you come to visit?" Nodoka asked, as she quickly shredded the vegetables for the stir-fry she was preparing.

Ranma hesitated and then replied, "I came from Ucchan's, Mom. Where you're supposed to be working."

Nodoka turned and leaned against the counter, her eyes cool. "I couldn't stay there after I heard what she said to you. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her tone slightly chill.

"Because it was my problem, not any one else's," Ranma said simply, crossing her arms under her breasts, and gazing stoically at her mother.

"She insulted your honor!" Nodoka exclaimed.

Ranma smiled grimly and said, "I am the judge of my honor, no one else. And while she may have been a bit over the top, she wasn't completely wrong. I did do something dishonorable in spilling her sauce, and trying to hide the fact." She shrugged and added, "The fact that I was only six may be an excuse, but it doesn't hide the fact that I did something wrong. In all fairness, I did tell her as soon as I remembered it, but I can't fault her jumping to a conclusion like that."

"You are much more forgiving than I am," Nodoka said.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her and said, "Perhaps, only time will tell. But to be honest, that's not the reason, or at least not the only reason, I stopped by. I'm disappointed in you, Mother."

"Mother?" Nodoka asked, in some trepidation.

"Why did you tell Konatsu that you are reconsidering his marriage?" Ranma asked.

"You have to ask after the insult that the Kuonji girl gave you, gave our family!" Nodoka exclaimed, "I thought better of you."

"Careful, Mother," Ranma said, her tone getting colder, "Konatsu loves her dearly. And while I am annoyed at her for the moment, I still love her. They belong together, and I support them getting married."

Nodoka gasped, and asked, "How could you? That egregious insult to our honor!"

Ranma slapped her hands down on the table and half-rose. "Mother, if I decide to overlook it, that's my business. If she makes even an attempt at an apology, I'll accept it. She may not be totally blameless, but **I** am the one who caused the problem, and I WILL NOT see either of them hurt by that ancient mistake," she thundered, "Or do you not care that your son loves her?"

"Why should that matter? There are other women for him," Nodoka replied, carelessly.

"I see, so the adoption was in name only. You don't care for him, for his feelings. Then remember these points. One, he's older than I am, nearly twenty in fact, so soon he will be of age, and your control of him will be over. And two, remember he has already left one family to follow her, why do you think he would do anything less with you?" Ranma said. She stood up and said, "I'm sure my clothing is dry enough, Mother." She stormed out of the kitchen and headed for the laundry.

"Ranma, get back in here!" Nodoka called.

Ranma growled back, "No, we've finished talking. I'm leaving."

"Ranma, I'm sorry!" Nodoka exclaimed, racing after her daughter, "That's not what I meant. You know how important honor is to me." Her only answer was the sound of the front door slamming. Nodoka slumped against the wall.

* * *

Mrs. Sato walked briskly down the street, carrying a heavy basket from her trip to the local market. She was still roughly ten blocks from her home, and beginning to feel a bit of strain from the load, when she was approached by a young couple coming the other way down the sidewalk. As they neared, she recognized the girl as Yuka Amiya, her wayward daughter's best friend, and decided the young man must be her fiancé Daisuke. A momentary flash of anger appeared on her face at the sight of the couple that had led her daughter astray, but she quickly regained her composure. After all, it would be shameful if one of her neighbors saw her looking that way in public, and above all, she refused to lose face because of what her daughter had done. As far as the neighbors knew, Sayuri was just off visiting friends. 

"Hello, Mrs. Sato," Yuka said, as they stopped in front of her. She smoothed her skirt down with her empty hand in a nervous gesture.

"I don't think we've ever been formally introduced, Mrs. Sato, but I'm Daisuke Ito," Daisuke said as he bowed politely to her. He saw the heavy basket, and in one of the gallant gestures that Yuka loved about him, he reached out and captured the basket. "Let me carry that for you," he said, politely, "This is much too heavy for you to carry the rest of the way home."

"I really don't need the company," Mrs. Sato began, only to frown at her bad manners.

Yuka frowned quickly, and then said, "I'm sure that I'm not your most favorite person right now, but we needed to talk to you to set to rest whatever rumors you might have heard. Shall we head to your house? You don't have to invite us in."

Mrs. Sato nodded her head, reluctantly, and led them back the way the two of them had come, setting an extremely brisk pace.

"First of all, in case you were worried about Sayuri, she's in good health, and reasonably happy, except for missing you, of course," Yuka began.

"Then why isn't she at home then?" Mrs. Sato asked, "Instead of staying who-knows-where and getting her head stuffed full of nonsense."

"Because while she loves you and misses you, she's also very angry with you. She's trying to straighten out the mess her life is in right now, and frankly you and your husband are part of that mess," Daisuke said, his tone flat.

"And she is staying in a good home, with a set of friends that care for her. Surely you've heard of Kasumi Tendo, or more accurately now, Kasumi Ono? And I know you know her husband, Tofu Ono, since he has treated Sayuri several times. Anyway, almost everyone in Nerima knows about how kind Kasumi is," Yuka said, almost hastily, "Well, Sayuri is staying at the Tendo compound."

Mrs. Sato replied, as if the words had to be dragged from her mouth, "Everyone I know says that Mrs. Ono is a saint, and I have to admit that the few times I've met her, she struck me as remarkably kind and considerate. With an extremely large heart."

"That's Kasumi, all right," Yuka said. She paused for a moment and then contined, "Sayuri said that you think that I'm pregnant and that's the reason Dai asked me to marry him."

"That was what I was told by several of my friends," Mrs. Sato admitted.

Daisuke smiled grimly and said, "Well, if she is, it'll be the first virgin birth in a very long time. We haven't been intimate, and plan on waiting until our wedding night to change that."

"There are just too many things that we have to do before we're ready for that, any way," Yuka said, "None of my friends are pregnant, even the few that are married."

"I'm just scared that being around so many married couples might encourage my daughter to do something she will regret later," Mrs. Sato said, tiredly. 'Like I did,' she thought.

"Sayuri is a good girl, and Hiroshi won't press her, you know that," Yuka said, gently.

"Hiroshi? I thought she was dating Souta Higurashi," Mrs. Sato said, in surprise.

"They got back together today," Daisuke replied, "But, Souta is the one who let her go. He could tell that she wasn't happy."

"Sayuri did like Souta, but both of them were dating more because you and his mother encouraged it, more than anything else. She moped around any time she saw Hiroshi," Yuka said.

"The reason they broke up in the first place was because he was trying to get her to stop being friends with the Saotomes," Daisuke added, "And that made her angry. She didn't want him telling her who her friends should be."

"Just like I did," Mrs. Sato breathed. She looked up and realized that they were at her front door. "Please, come in, and tell me how she's doing?" she begged.

The young couple traded a smile and walked through the door.

* * *

That evening, Akane looked everywhere for her husband after dinner was over. He was nowhere to be found, or at least, until she noticed the window in their bedroom was open. With a smile of remembrance for all of the times that the two of them had spent talking on the roof, looking at the stars in the sky, she clambered out onto the first floor roof and turned. 

"Hi, I was wondering when you would find me," Ranma said quietly. He was sitting on a blanket on the roof above their bedroom.

"Mind some company?" Akane asked, her eyes dancing.

"Yours? Of course not," Ranma said, "You're always welcome."

Akane jumped up lightly to the roof, and sat down next to her husband, who wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Yen for your thoughts," she asked after several comfortable minutes passed, just relaxing in each other's company.

"Channeling Nabiki are we?" Ranma teased, enjoying the feel of the passionate girl by his side. He chuckled lightly as she elbowed him in the side, and added, "Just worrying a little about Ukyo, and Mom's reaction. This wasn't the way things went the first time, you know."

"So things aren't the same this time?" Akane asked.

Ranma snorted and replied, "Not even close, thank Kami for that. As bad as things are now between the two of us,it was a real fiasco before. I had hoped that telling her upfront that I ruined her sauce would make things better, but it obviously didn't work."

"You really didn't answer the question, Ranma," Akane said, a slightly dangerous glint in her eye.

"No, I suppose I didn't," Ranma said, "Well, several things are different. One of course is that we're married this time, and that changed a lot of the dynamics between all of us. Before, you were just one of the fiancées. Though in my own mind, you were the only one that counted. Not that I had managed to admit that to myself much less anyone else. But Ukyo and I were close. And aside from the occasional jealous outburst from you, you were friendly with her too. But now, well, I'm really better friends with the Four Musketeers, than I am with her."

Akane snorted in amusement and asked, "Four Musketeers? I can't believe you think of them that way. And since when did you read that book in the first place?"

"English assignment, third year in college," Ranma replied, absently, "And Yuka, Sayuri, Hiroshi and Daisuke are pretty good friends. I guess that makes us D'Artagnan."

"Very impressive, Ranma," Akane said, just before she broke out laughing.

"Okay, exactly what was so funny about that?" Ranma asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Just a mental picture of me in one of those outfits, that's all, rescuing the damsel in distress. You looked so cute in those ruffles," Akane replied.

"Ha, again I say ha," Ranma said. He grinned at her and added, "Though, I guess you did rescue me already, didn't you?"

"So what else happened?" Akane asked, still curious.

Ranma gazed into the darkened sky for a moment. "Wow, a shooting star!" he exclaimed. After a moment he said, "Well, like you've figured out, I didn't tell Ukyo the truth about her sauce. She thought she ruined it herself, and decided that she was no longer fit to be an okonomiyaki chef. Stupid thing to think, really, but there you go. She was so depressed, that she closed her café, and your father invited her to stay here. And that's when things went to hell in a handbasket. I couldn't tell her the truth, but I started acting real nice to her because I was feeling so guilty. She wanted to do things for me out of gratitude, I guess."

"What? What kind of things?" Akane said, loudly, only to subside at his panicked look.

"Nothing like THAT ever happened," Ranma said, quickly, "Just, she would pop up while I was in the furo, and offer to scrub my back. Then she decided that we should share the same bed. You really didn't like that, and I wasn't real thrilled about it either. Especially since I was always on the losing end of one of your mallets. And I wasn't even doing anything."

"I'd apologize, but that wasn't me," Akane said, trying to keep calm. 'Sleeping with my fiancé, bathing with my fiancé, just who the hell does she think she is,' she fumed to herself.

"I spent at least one night up on the roof avoiding her, and then when I finally broke down and told her the truth, she didn't believe me. She just thought it was a lie that you were forcing me to come up with. Then Nabiki had the bright idea that you and I would pretend to be married, and to have us sleep in the same bed," Ranma said.

"Um, I bet I wasn't too excited about that, was I?" Akane asked, dryly.

"Nope, not a bit. So now you see why I was so bound and determined to tell the truth this time. I figured if nothing else it would be less painful," Ranma replied, with a rueful smile.

"Yeah, as hard as this has been on both of us, that would have been worse. It wouldn't have played out the same though because we were already married," Akane said.

Ranma frowned and said, "Well, I left out a piece. Apparently I had made a promise that if the sauce was good, that I would take care of Ukyo for the rest of my life. If I hadn't told her the truth, and pretended it was good, she might have tried to force me to take her in because of that promise. Though, now that I think about it, I did pay for her café, so she owns half of the building it's in. That might've been enough to fulfill that promise."

"I wouldn't have been too happy about that, either," Akane said, with almost a feral growl in her voice.

"Didn't think you would have been. You've made it pretty clear that you're not intested in sharing, thank Kami for that," Ranma said, with a look of gratitude, "You don't know how happy I am about that."

"Really, Ranma? A lot of guys would love to be in that position," Akane asked.

"Akane, there's a reason why the Chinese pictograph for trouble is two women under the same roof," Ranma replied, "This household is a little different, because you and I are a couple. If we were a trio, I don't even want to think about how many problems that would cause. No, this is so much better the way things are between us."

They sat there for a while longer, just gazing at the sky, as the stars finished coming out, once the sun had completely sunk into the horizon. Ranma broke the silence finally, and said, "We may have a problem with Mom. She was pretty upset when she heard what Ukyo said, upset to the point of calling off the wedding."

Akane gasped, and asked, "What did you do?"

"Blew up at her and scorched her ass in leaving, basically," Ranma admitted, a bit sheepishly.

"Oh Ranma," Akane said, "You didn't?"

"Yeah, I did. She was raging about the insult to my honor, to the family honor. I know how important that is to her, Kami knows I do, carrying around that katana everywhere she goes, but if Konatsu really is my brother in something other than name only, she should have thought about how he feels. There are things that are more important. Love, for example," Ranma said, "And it just made me angry that she could so totally disregard his feelings for Ukyo. Hell, I still love Ukyo like a sister myself, and I'll be damned if I let this ruin their relationship."

"Even if it costs you a good relationship with your mother?" Akane asked.

Ranma grew quiet and said, in a tired voice, "She still shouldn't have done that. If she's not careful, she'll end up destroying any relationship with Konatsu, and what she said showed me that she doesn't care about his feelings, and perhaps mine. That only her sense of honor is what matters. If that's true, then eventually we would have had issues over something. At least this is worth it."

* * *

The family had just settled down for breakfast, Saturday morning. At that moment, they heard someone knocking at the door. 

"I'll get it," Hinako exclaimed as she set her tray down and raced out of the family room.

Hinako walked back into the family room and said, "Ranma, you have a visitor."

Ranma looked up from his breakfast, and asked, "Who is it?"

"Your brother, Konatsu," Hinako replied. She stepped out of the way to let the kuniochi past, dressed in his most formal kimono, his face an impassive mask.

"Ranma-sama, Akane-sama, I need to beg a favor of you," Konatsu said.

Ranma's face grew stern, and he asked, "What is it?"

Konatsu bowed and replied, "I humbly beseech that you come with me to meet with my fiancée."

"What does she want?" Akane snapped.

"It is a matter of honor, Akane-sama," Konatsu replied, his voice expressionless.

Ranma asked, "Where is she?"

"She is at the café," Konatsu replied, "She was unsure of her welcome, so she sent me. Please, she wishes to speak to you both. If not for her sake, then for your own, I beg that you come."

Ranma looked uncertainly at Akane. "What do you think?" he asked.

Kasumi replied, "Remember what I asked you the other day, Ranma? This may be an olive branch."

"Then we don't really have a choice," Akane said firmly, "We really can't let things stay the way they are."

Ranma finished the last bite of food on his plate and then nodded. "Let's do this, then," he said simply, rising smoothly to his feet and extending a hand to help Akane up.

They grabbed their bookbags and followed Konatsu out of the house. The three of them walked silently down the street until Ranma finally had to ask, "How is Ukyo?"

Konatsu frowned slightly and replied, "She is not well. But, please, ask me no more questions. She asked me not to say anything other than what I have said." When Akane wasn't looking, he winked at Ranma.

"Ranma," Akane hissed, "Do you see what he's wearing?"

"Yeah, Akane," Ranma said, sotto voce, "His best kimono. I really don't like the look of that." Sooner than they wanted, they reached the café.

Konatsu opened the door to the restaurant, and bowed them in to the brightly lit room. Once they entered, he followed and shut the door and locked it behind him. "She's upstairs waiting for you," he said, his voice somber.

Ranma turned to look at him, and saw Konatsu staring impassively back at him.

Akane grabbed her husband's hand and pulled him up the stairs to the apartment door. She pushed on it and it opened. The two of them reluctantly entered to find Ukyo waiting for them, sitting on the floor, in a white kimono, a red sash tied around her waist. A parchment was sitting on the floor next to an ink set, with elegant script in black ink on the beige paper. Her battle spatula was sitting next to one of her throwing spatulas, both of them gleaming evilly in the light streaming through the window.

"What's this all about, Ukyo?" Akane asked.

"This is between Saotome and me," Ukyo replied, in a tired voice. She gazed at him dispassionately and said, "Thank you for coming, Saotome-sama. I humbly beg that you act as my second so I may restore my honor." She picked up her battle spatula and tested its edge with a hair from her head.

Ranma sank to his knees, his face pale. "Why are you asking this of me?" he whispered, horrorstruck at the sight.

"In accusing you of being honorless, I defiled myself, I defiled my family. Your friends have made that clear. Your mother has forbidden my becoming part of the family, and therefore I am without honor. I am a pariah because of my action," Ukyo said, tonelessly, "And because of that, I must restore what is left of my family honor."

Ranma bowed his head and said, "Ukyo, you have done nothing that is dishonorable. You were distraught, angry, feeling betrayed. I don't blame you for what you said."

A momentary spark appeared in Ukyo's eyes and then she said, "I still went beyond the pale calling you honorless. How can I atone for that?"

"By being my friend once more. By not forcing me to break my brother's heart. By not doing this," Ranma said, his chest heaving with emotion, "I don't even require an apology from my oldest friend. As I said, you DID nothing wrong." He looked up, his eyes burning with a fierce light and said, "I know what dishonorable behavior looks like. I have seen enough of it in my life, but you did nothing more than lash out in anger. If that was all it took to be dishonorable, much of Japan would be a charnel house."

"If you cared for me you would do this," Ukyo said.

"Damn it, Ucchan," Ranma screamed, "It's because I care that I can't! You are too precious to me, to us, for things to go this way!"

Konatsu said from the doorway, "I've tried talking sense to her, my brother, but I couldn't get through to her."

"Ukyo, you can't do this!" Akane exclaimed, "Ranma, don't do this!"

Ranma thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to break through to Ukyo. Finally, he stiffened and spat, "Coward! You are just afraid to live because you made a mistake."

"Coward!" Ukyo growled, missing the slight smirk on Ranma's face.

"Yes, coward. You're too afraid to admit that you screwed up. It's easier to run away than to face your problem, that's what this is all about, isn't it?" Ranma sneered, "You're just afraid to live."

Ukyo reddened in anger, and stood up. "Those are fighting words, Ranma. You can't say that about me," she snarled.

"Then prove me wrong by living," Ranma said, rising to his feet.

"Jerk," Ukyo growled.

"So, you knew that before," Ranma smirked.

Ukyo glared at him for a moment, and then her shoulders slumped in defeat. A wry smile flickered across her face for a moment, and she said, "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Are you done being a drama queen?" Ranma asked.

Ukyo tossed her spatula down and walked to Ranma. She pulled him into a hug and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Ranchan. I don't know what got into me the other day. I didn't know what to do."

"It's okay, Ucchan," Ranma said fervently, "You weren't the only one to mess up."

"But I called you dishonorable!" Ukyo cried.

"Well, dumping out your sauce and trying to hide that fact wasn't the most honest thing that I've ever done," Ranma began

"Yeah, but you were only six," Ukyo protested, "And if I'd thought instead of reacted, I would have realized that you told me the truth as soon as you remembered."

"I still shouldn't have done it, though, so I'll beg you for your forgiveness," Ranma said.

"Only if you forgive me too," Ukyo said.

"Of course I will," Ranma replied, "Friends?"

"Yeah, friends," Ukyo replied, her eyes shining.

"That's better," Akane interjected, her eyes suspiciously moist.

Ukyo glared at her, and said, "I'm still not too happy with you."

Akane said, defensively, "I was protecting my man. You would have done the same in my place, now wouldn't you?"

Ukyo dropped her eyes and whispered, "Yeah, I would. But, you wouldn't have jumped to a conclusion like I did."

Ranma unsuccessfully attempted to suppress a snort of disbelief, causing Akane to glare at him. He mouthed, "Sorry."

"Akane, please, don't be mad at Ukyo any more, for my sake if nothing else," Konatsu pleaded. Akane nodded her head, and smiled uncertainly at Ukyo.

"We'll let everyone know that things are back to normal, or at least what passes for normal in Nerima," Ranma said.

Akane walked over and hugged them both. "Don't you ever do anything like this again, sister-to-be. I need you almost as much as these two idiots," she said, unshed tears in her eyes.

"I love you, too, Akane," Ukyo said, grabbing her arms.

Akane sighed and said, "I'm so sorry for the way I was behaving, Ukyo. I wasn't helping to get you two back together. I was so angry at what happened, I couldn't see past my own pain."

"Hey, I was the one who screwed up, sugar. Don't beat yourself up about it," Ukyo said, gently. She smiled and added, "You take care of this idiot, now, you hear?"

"Of course, that's my full time job. After all, he is a guy," Akane replied with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm still here you know," Ranma objected, amused in spite of himself. He hesitated and then said, "I still think I owe you something for ruining your sauce all those years ago and not having the courage to tell you then."

Ukyo thought for a moment and then said, "Tell you what, sugar, why don't I make you a special okonomiyaki. You know, one with my special sauce that I waited this long to use."

Ranma gulped and said, "That sounds reasonable."

"I'm sorry, Ukyo, dear, but I dumped it out. It was a shame I did, too, because it did a real good job of clearing the drains in the sink, and the sink itself has never looked cleaner," Konatsu interjected, with an apologetic look at his fiancée.

The sigh of relief from Ranma made everyone chuckle. Ukyo grinned evily, and said, "In that case, I guess I'll have to come up with something else. Hmmm, what could that be? Oh, of course. Konatsu has been working so hard the last few weeks; he could use a break before the wedding. Why don't you come spend a couple of hours each afternoon waiting tables for me?"

"I can do that," Ranma said, flashing a look at Akane, who nodded. "Besides, I wouldn't want him to tired that he couldn't enjoy the honeymoon," he added with a smirk.

Konatsu flashed a grateful look at Ranma and whispered, "Get the hell out of here, okay?"

Ranma smiled briefly and said, "You two have a lot to work out. I don't expect to see you in school today, Ucchan. If I do, I'm going to very disappointed in you, Konatsu."

"I think you can count on me to keep her distracted," Konatsu said, waggling his eyebrows in a lascivious manner. He walked over and took Ukyo into his arms.

"Hm, why do I think something's changed?" Akane asked, arching her eyebrow in an inquisitive manner.

"Out," Ukyo said, laughing, her cheeks rosy. She smiled at Ranma and said, "Be here right after school. I'll have your waitressing uniform waiting for you. You'll look s-so cute, sugar."

Ranma shook his head at her and walked out smiling.

* * *

Akane turned to her husband, once they had left the café behind and asked, "Okay, exactly how much of that was real, and how much was for my benefit?" 

Ranma hemmed and hawed for a few moments and then gave up. "The apologies were real," he admitted, "But the rest of it was more an act than anything else. You know I would have just settled for both of us saying we were sorry. But you were acting like you were out for blood."

"I'm just so protective of you, I guess," Akane said, "And you didn't see the way you looked when you came home. So downcast, so unhappy, it broke my heart to see you that way, and for her to have done it so callously over such a trivial matter, I wanted her to pay dearly."

"I was afraid of that. It was my problem, not yours," Ranma said, holding up his hand to still her instinctive protest, "But it showed your concern, and that was nice. It made me feel good inside that my family cared so much that you girls got angrier about the situation than I did. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that."

Akane shrugged and said, "You're welcome, but like you said, that's what family is for. I know you better than anyone else, so when you hurt, I hurt. It's as simple as that."

"Are you okay with how things worked out?" Ranma asked.

"Wouldn't have hugged her if I wasn't," Akane replied, "She's our friend again, and that's all that matters."

"She never wasn't our friend," Ranma said quickly, "She just needed to remember that."

"That's deep, especially for you," Akane teased.

"Hey, it's what passes for my philosophy." Ranma shot back, "You want deep thoughts, you've come to the wrong guy." He grinned at her as she laughed, glad to see that he was happy once more.

* * *

Author's Note: Once again, Gentle Readers, thank you for continuing to read this tale. As always, your comments are appreciated. I think I have responded to most of the signed reviews, and I will continue to strive to do so. For those of you following my other story, fear not, it has not been abandoned, it is merely that my muse is much more active with this story. Until next time, read and enjoy. 


	55. A Mother's Redemption

Chapter 55 A Mother's Redemption

Once the bell signaling the end of the school day finished ringing, Miss Morisato said, "Okay, that's it for today. Have a good weekend, and I'll see you on Monday. Don't forget to study for the pre-Calculus test, and continue working on your project for Political Science. Saotome, if you would, please stay for a few minutes. I need to talk to you."

Ranma nodded his head in acknowledgement of the teacher's request as he continued to pack up his books and the spiral notebook he was writing his notes in. He waited patiently with Akane, while he wondered privately to himself about what the young teacher wanted. The room quickly cleared of students, until it was only the two of them and the unlucky few who had drawn cleanup duty, Sayuri stopping long enough to let them know she would be waiting for them downstairs.

Ranma stood up and walked to the front of the room to join the teacher, Akane following him closely, almost like a shadow. He asked, "Why did you want me to stay, sensei?" his tone showing a courteous curiosity, with just a hint of concern.

"Don't worry, Saotome. You're not in any trouble," the young teacher said calmly, "It's just that this is the third day that Miss Kuonji has missed class, and I am growing a bit concerned. I was hoping that you might be able to shed some light on how she is doing. I know that she is doing her classwork, since it has been showing up mysteriously on my desk every morning when my back is turned, and that does give me some hope that she is intending to return. But if she doesn't hurry up and rejoin the class, I may have to take action myself."

"Ukyo is fine, Miss Morisato, at least the situation between the two of us is fixed," Ranma replied, "We made up this morning as a matter of fact. It's why Akane and I barely got to the room before the tardy bell rang. Ukyo just wasn't up to face everyone yet. As you might imagine, things got a bit emotional and she's still a little shaky. And since Saturday is a half-day, she decided to stay home. I would expect to see her here on Monday, though."

"Emotional doesn't begin to describe this morning, Ranchan," Akane interjected a bit forcefully, "I never want to see something like that again."

"Excellent! I am happy to hear that the two, well apparently, the three of you have resolved whatever your difficulties were. While not one of my top students like you, Mrs. Saotome, she is in the next tier along with you, Saotome, and I wouldn't want her to ruin her chances on continuing on into college, if that is her desire," Miss Morisato replied.

"I want to thank you again for your understanding about Ukyo," Ranma said.

Miss Morisato smiled warmly, transforming her into a very attractive woman, and said, "Not to worry, Saotome. I understand about teenagers. I was one myself not so terribly long ago and I can still remember all of the angst that they seem to go through on a regular basis. Unlike some of the older teachers, I'm a bit more willing to accommodate the occasional eruption of teenage emotions. So long as it doesn't prevent me from doing my job, that is."

"You still deserve our thanks, though," Akane said, "And admiration. While we only been in your class for a short time, I like your style of teaching. You manage to import a lot of knowledge, but so far at least, you've also kept the class interesting."

Ranma smiled and said, "I'll have to agree with Akane and not just because I'm married to her."

Ranma folded over in the middle as Akane elbowed him, and muttered "Baka!"

"Tomboy!" Ranma teased, as he straightened back up. "Seriously, this year isn't what I expected it to be like at all. Like she said, even though it's only been a couple of weeks, you're doing a good job," he continued.

Miss Morisato blushed prettily. "That's enough buttering up the teacher," she said with an attractive giggle, "You still have to do that project."

Eyes twinkling, Ranma said, "Darn, and here I was hoping."

"As amusing as this has been, we need to get out of here. I have a luncheon appointment that I can't miss, and these good students can't finish cleaning up while we're distracting them," the teacher said, "Have a good weekend, what's left of it, and tell Miss Kuonji, if you see her that is, that I expect to see her in class on Monday."

"Yes, Miss Morisato," the young couple said in unison. Akane continued with, "And you have a nice weekend also, Miss Morisato." The two of them bowed politely and left the classroom, heading downstairs to join Sayuri.

"I'm glad Sayuri waited for us, and I hope Nabiki stayed too. We really need to tell them about Ukyo," Akane said after a moment.

Ranma replied, "Yeah, I know. The three of you took what she did a lot harder than I did. Are you sure you're okay with what happened?"

Akane replied, "Yeah, I'm fine with it. You were right about what you said. She was still our friend; we just had to work through all of our stupidity." She reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his. "I just didn't like the way you were hurting. It's funny," she mused aloud, "But I could have handled her hurting me a lot easier. It was worse when she hurt you."

"Hey, I feel the same way. I don't mind it when bad things happen to me," Ranma said, with a shrug, "I'm sort of used to it by now, you know. But if someone were to hurt you, I'd want to track them down and make them pay. And I'm beginning to think that Nabiki and perhaps Sayuri are feeling the same way."

"It's that feeling of being part of a family," Akane said, simply. They reached the ground floor and saw Sayuri and Nabiki leaning against the wall waiting for them.

Nabiki said, "Okay, spill Saotome. We haven't seen you two since you were dragged off by Konatsu. What happened at the café?"

"Short answer is we're back to being friends again," Ranma replied simply.

"After what that bitch said to you, you went back to being her friend!" Sayuri exclaimed, "I can't believe you'd do that, either of you!"

"Hey, she apologized for what she said, and I apologized for dumping her sauce," Ranma said, defensively, "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Tell them the rest, Ranma, they'll not understand unless you do," Akane said quietly.

"Tell us what?" Nabiki asked, her nose twitching violently as she realized that Ranma was still hiding something.

Ranma replied, his voice cold, "She wanted me to be her second. That's why Konatsu came and got me this morning. To watch her commit seppuku."

Nabiki paled, while Sayuri put her hand over her mouth as she gasped.

"Why would she want to do that?" Sayuri asked, her eyes wide.

"Because Mom told Konatsu that she was calling off their wedding. Ukyo thought that caused her honor to be ruined since she could no longer fulfill the pledge she had made her father," Akane said, "Ranma refused to do what she asked, and started yelling at her, telling her she was a coward. That stung enough that she came out of her funk. She said she was sorry, and they made up."

"Even as angry at her as I was, I wouldn't want her to do that," Nabiki said slowly, "And I for sure wouldn't want you being her second, Ranma. You would never have forgiven yourself for doing that."

"Yeah, that's why I had to figure out a way to get through to her," Ranma said simply, "Now all I have to do is explain the facts of life to Mom."

Sayuri snickered at that phrase and asked, "What exactly did you mean by that?"

Ranma grinned at her for a moment, and replied, "Basically, Ukyo and Konatsu are going to get married, whether Mom likes it or not, at least as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure how, yet, just that it **will** happen. Mom may not be too happy with me when I'm done talking to her, but at the moment, I really don't give a damn."

"Don't say anything that you might regret later," Nabiki said soberly.

Ranma frowned for a moment and said, "Too late for that, I guess. Why do you think Mom hasn't been over to the house the last couple of days? She didn't like what I said. And while it hurts, she has no right to ruin their life together, and she has to learn that. I didn't like it when the old panda tried to run my life, and I'm not going to let her do it, either."

* * *

Ranma watched carefully as Akane, Nabiki and Sayuri performed the kata that she had taught them over the last several days, her critical eye finding very few flaws as she did so. As she had expected, Akane had picked this exercise up easily as it wasn't too different from one that Nodoka had taught them, minus the edged weapons of course. She felt a momentary pang at the thought of her mother. Shaking her head, she returned to her observations. Nabiki and Sayuri were both pleasant surprises, in that while still a little rough, their inate gracefulness was allowing them to move flowingly from one stance to the next. While a purist would argue that they were moving just a fraction of a millimeter too far, or a few degress off of perfection, Ranma was more interested in the result. Even the sheen of moisture on their faces, could not disguise the look of bliss as they moved, showing that they were once again able to put their issues behind them and concentrate only on their performance in the art.

Akane sighed to herself, worried for her husband. Ranma had been unhappy about the rift that seemed to have developed between him and his mother. He had tried to hide it from her, but while she wasn't the most observant person in the world, she did know him very well, and it was obvious that he was hurting. The fact that Nodoka had not been to the dojo since Ranma had stormed out of her house, missing the last two lessons in Kamiya Kasshin that she had scheduled, had only served to reinforce the pain that he was feeling. She silently vowed to herself that if her mother-in-law didn't hurry up and swallow her pride, that she would face one angry daughter-in-law.

Ranma kept her face impassive, hiding her pain, and only wished that her mind was free of her worry, like the other girls. After her angry departure from her mother's house a few days before, she had not seen or heard from Nodoka. The only bright spots in the week had been her rapprochement with Ukyo that morning, and Sayuri getting back together with Hiroshi. The redhaired girl turned at the sound of the door to the dojo opening, in spite of the caution note.

Nodoka walked in, her stance simultaneously being proud, yet uncertain. "Hello, Ranma," she said, her voice loud in the quiet that until then had only been interrupted by the slap of bare feet on the wooden floor of the dojo.

"Hello, Mother," Ranma replied, her voice carefully neutral, "What can I do for you?" She ignored the quiet gasp from her wife, as she stared at her mother, her gaze impassive.

"Can we talk?" Nodoka asked, wincing slightly at the sound of her child's voice.

"Of course, we can always talk," Ranma said agreeably, "It was about time for them to take a short break anyway." She raised her voice slightly and said, "Girls, take a break and cool down a little. Then, Akane, why don't you run them through the exercise I taught you yesterday." As she neared her mother, she noticed the faint hints of sleeplessness on her mother's face, slight shadows beneath her eyes, and red traces in the whites of her eyes.

"Yes, sensei," Akane replied, her tone only slightly sarcastic, then she stuck her tongue out at her husband.

Ranma rolled her eyes at her wife's antics and led her mother outside onto the steps and slid the door closed behind them. "Why are you here?" Ranma asked, once again her tone carefully neutral.

"Is it wrong for me to come see my son?" Nodoka asked in return, "Or daughter in this case?"

Ranma gave her a wintry smile, one that never reached her eyes, and replied, carefully, "It depends a great deal on why you came."

"I didn't come here to fight with you," Nodoka replied, testily, "I came to see if you had come to your senses."

"About what?" Ranma asked, coolly.

Nodoka replied, "The situation with your brother and the Kuonji girl, that's what. I tried to get him to leave her after I talked to you, and he pointblank refused."

"Good for him," Ranma said, her voice tight with anger, "You had no right to do that! Do you even know what you did? Do you even care?" She whirled away and paced down the walk toward the kitchen, trying to regain control of her temper.

"I was trying to do what was honorable. That horrid woman insulted you, insulted our family and Konatsu was betraying us by staying there," Nodoka snapped.

Ranma stomped back to her mother, her eyes flashing in anger. "That horrid woman wanted me to be her second this morning, Mother," she spat, "So excuse me if I have a different opinion of her! And YOU drove her to it!"

Nodoka collapsed onto the wooden porch, her hand over her mouth, shaking her head. "What happened?" Nodoka asked, her face completely pale.

"I refused, of course," Ranma said, stonily, "Because she was right. I did do something that was dishonorable. I ruined her sauce, and I hid that from her. In defense, I was only six, but that doesn't make what she said any less true. Sure, she overreacted when I told her what really had happened, there's no doubt of that, but we've patched things up. I've forgiven her for what she said, and she's forgiven me for essentially lying all those years ago."

"But, what do you mean, I drove her to it? How did I do that?" Nodoka asked, "Please, tell me." She grabbed Ranma's arm, hard enough that her fingernails left an impression.

Ranma sat down next to her mother and replied, "Your damnable sense of honor over everything else. Ukyo heard you talking to Konatsu, forbidding them to wed, and that was the final straw. She KNEW that she had blemished her honor by calling me dishonorable, because she heard you tell Konatsu that, and that she wasn't worthy to marry him. How do you think that made her feel? If you ever hope to have a healthy relationship with either of them again, or with me, you'd better figure out some way to swallow your pride."

"You would choose them over me?" Nodoka exclaimed in anguish.

Ranma stared at her impassively and said, "It isn't something that I would do lightly, but I won't have them torn apart because of something that really wasn't her fault. I won't have her hurt any more because of our family's actions. We have caused her life to be in shambles for the last ten years because your husband's actions. We owe her, all of us, a debt of honor, and my brother was willing to fulfill that debt. But more importantly, Konatsu loves her, and I believe she loves him. Why would you want to stand in the way of their happiness?"

Nodoka frowned and replied, "Their happiness means that much to you? Even after what she did?"

"MOTHER!" Ranma exclaimed, "SHE DID NOTHING!" She took a deep breath and replied, coldly, "You haven't heard a word I said, have you? Nothing matters to you save your honor. Family, love, happiness, what else must you sacrifice at that altar? I thought your husband was bad, but you aren't any better than he is, just as blinded by your sense of honor that sees everything in black and white, as he is by his gluttony. He tried to use my sense of honor to run my life, and so are you! I didn't like it when I finally saw how he was manipulating me, and I'm not going to let you do it. I don't consider your husband my father any more. Do you really want me to shut you off the same way?"

Nodoka stared at her horror-struck, realizing for the first time that Ranma was deadly serious. She broke down crying, clutching on to her daughter, as she trembled with emotion. "I'm so sorry," Nodoka wailed, "Please forgive me for what I said and did."

"You're asking the wrong person, Mother," Ranma said, her eyes still hard, "If they can forgive you, than I will."

Nodoka continued to sob, finally crying herself to sleep on Ranma's shoulder.

Akane walked out and saw the tableau. "How'd it go?" she asked, finally, in a low voice.

"Don't know. I read her the riot act, and she asked me to forgive her. The problem is, I'm not really the one she tried to wrong," Ranma said, her face sad. She sighed heavily, and added, "I don't like causing her pain, but I let too many things happen because I allowed myself to be manipulated. When I got the chance to make this right, I swore that I wouldn't let that happen again. I don't like being manipulated and I don't want to do it either." She frowned for a moment and finished, heavily, "We came perilously close to that for those few months I was pretending to be a girl. I don't regret what happened, in fact, I'm deliriously happy about the result, but we still essentially lied to your father and our friends. And that still makes me a little queasy."

Akane sat down next to her and put her head on Ranma's shoulder. In a sad voice, Akane said, "We were close to crossing the line, weren't we? The ends justify the means, that's what we did. I guess lying to Daddy was less than honorable."

"Yeah, not to mention what else I hid from you," Ranma said, sadly, "I never have let myself think about any of that, not like that. But this mess with Mom, and with Ukyo, has got me thinking about what it means to be honorable. I think I am, but I've done some things that aren't."

"All we can do is try, Ranma," Akane said, slowly, "And while you did hide who you really were, that doesn't make you dishonorable. You're a good person, but no one is perfect. We all make mistakes that sometimes tarnish our honor. But when that happens, we need to pick ourselves up and learn from that mistake."

"My son has married a very wise woman," Nodoka said from Ranma's other shoulder. She lifted her head.

"How long have you been awake?" Ranma asked.

"Long enough," Nodoka replied, tiredly, "My child, all I had for so long was my honor. Once your father took you away, and I stopped hearing from him, I started obsessing over what was honorable, and forgot that honor must be tempered with compassion. I was as bad as Ukyo, overreacting to something, that in retrospect, wasn't an issue. Konatsu urged me to stay out of it, and I should have listened to him. Now, I run the risk of losing the people I love because of my pride."

"Talk to her, Mom," Ranma said, warmly, "She'll probably listen if you admit that you were wrong."

"It's hard to admit that I made a mistake," Nodoka acknowledged. She stood up and said, "I have a sudden craving for okonomiyaki. Thank you for helping me find my way." She bent down and lightly kissed Ranma's cheek, and then Akane's. "Thank you both," she finished. She walked briskly away, her back ramrod straight, as she headed for the main gate.

"Hmm, looks like something got through," Akane said.

Ranma nodded her head and replied, "Apparently, something one of us said did." A movement from the house caught her eye and she chuckled.

"What's funny now?" Akane asked.

"An unintended consequence," Ranma said, still laughing.

Akane growled and said, in a dangerous tone, "Like what? It's not very polite to laugh like that and not let me in on the joke."

"Hinako," Ranma explained, "Remember, she was supposed to be our homeroom teacher this year."

"So?" Akane asked, not understanding why Ranma thought that was so funny.

Ranma said patiently, after looking around to see who was there, "Remember, I had her for a teacher the first time through. And don't forget, she has no attention span, and had a fixation on delinquents, or at least those she accused of being delinquents."

"She would have been horrible as a teacher," Akane gasped.

"Uh uh, so now, she's basically our little sister and we have Miss Morisato teaching us," Ranma said.

"I see what you mean. That is an interesting consequence. Miss Morisato is a good teacher, at least so far," Akane said, "And she's keeping things interesting."

"Yeah, and we're actually going to learn something this year," Ranma added, "Not like what would have happened with Hinako. It helps that, this time, I'm trying to be a good student and pay attention in class. And since I'm not getting the Saotome Sunrise Attack from Pop, I'm actually gotten the sleep I need at night, so I don't fall asleep like I did before."

"I guess that's another unintended consequence of what you did. Keeping him away for the first part of the school year had to have helped," Akane said, "And now that your mother has forced him away, you should be able to concentrate better this year."

Ranma smirked at her and said, "Well, sort of. There's a certain distraction that sits next to me in class that causes me to lose focus every once and a while."

"I'm a distraction in class?" Akane asked.

"Yep, a very attractive one I might add," Ranma replied.

Akane blushed prettily, and said, "Let's go find you some hot water, and see if I can distract you some more."

"We do need to take a bath," Ranma said with a grin, "After all, you've been working out pretty hard."

* * *

Hinako opened the front door to find a weary-looking, middle-aged woman, with hints of gray at the temples. The woman asked, in a tired voice, "Is Mrs. Ono in? I'm Yumi Sato, and I'd like to talk to her if she is."

"Yes she is," Hinako answered politely, "Please come in." She stepped aside and allowed Mrs. Sato to enter the entrance hall, where she removed her shoes and placed them in the small cubby. Hinako bowed politely and said, "Welcome to our home."

"Thank you, young lady, you're very well-mannered," Mrs. Sato said. She asked, kindly, "Are you Mrs. Ono's daughter?"

Hinako blushed prettily and said, "Oh no, She's much too young to be my daughter. I'm Hinako."

"Well then, Hinako, where is Mrs. Ono?" the woman asked.

"Come, she's in the kitchen working on dinner," Hinako said, "I'll show you the way." She turned and led the older woman toward the kitchen. As they neared, Hinako called out, "Kasumi-chan, you have company."

Mrs. Sato saw an attractive young woman walk out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist.

"Mrs. Sato, this is my sister, Kasumi Ono," Hinako said, "Kasum-chan, this is Yumi Sato."

Kasumi smiled and said, "Welcome to our home. Please excuse my appearance, I was in the middle of preparing dinner."

"Sorry to be so much trouble, but I was hoping to talk to you about my daughter," Mrs. Sato said.

"Hinako, aren't you supposed to be in the dojo with the girls?" Kasumi asked.

"I got bored, they're just doing that same set of katas that I learned yesterday," Hinako replied.

"Then, you need to go upstairs and work on your schoolwork," Kasumi suggested.

"You just don't want me to listen," Hinako groused. She pouted for a moment and then said, "Okay, Kasumi-chan, I'll go outside." She turned to Mrs. Sato, and said, "It was nice meeting you." The little girl turned and headed out the back door.

Kasumi smiled fondly at her back, and then said, "Sorry about that. Hinako means well, and has a heart of gold, but I thought that you might prefer some privacy."

"This won't take you away from cooking dinner, will it?" Mrs. Sato asked, suddenly nervous.

"I was just checking to see if Ranma had gotten everything ready for me," Kasumi replied. She led the way into the kitchen, where Mrs. Sato saw a display of chopped up vegetables, and what appeared to be chicken.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Sato?" Kasumi asked. She poured some oil into the wok sitting on her cooktop.

The older woman sat down at the table and replied, "I'm not really sure why I came by to be honest. This has been a very difficult time for me."

"I can understand that. I'm sure you miss having Sayuri at home with you," Kasumi said kindly.

"Yes, I do miss her," Yumi replied, "I don't have anyone to talk to at home now that she's living here. Well, except for my husband. " 'And I don't remember the last conversation we had that didn't revolve around feeding one of his appetites,' she thought sadly. "I don't spend as much time with my friends and neighbours as I used to either, not since they lied to me about the Amayi girl," she continued.

Kasumi frowned imperceptibly and said, "I'm sure Sayuri would welcome a phone call if you are lonely for her voice. And, unless you feel it would be too awkward because of the situation, I would welcome your company when I'm home."

"Oh, you don't spend all your time here?" Yumi asked.

Kasumi replied, "Oh no, I have class about half the day. I'm studying medicine so that I can work with my husband. Something I've always wanted to do, and with the encouragement of my sisters and my brother, I've been able to do that. It's caused some adjustments, and the rest of the family has had to pitch in since I can't do all of the housework anymore. Ranma especially has been a big help with the cooking. And my husband, of course, helps when he can, though he keeps such horrible hours at the clinic he runs. That's one of the reasons I wish to work with him, though mainly it's because I have a calling."

"I find that so odd, men helping around the house. Don't you find that unmanly?" Mrs. Sato asked, though a wistful thought of 'I wish my lazy husband would do some of the housework. Kami help me if dinner is late, or his clothes aren't freshly pressed.'

"True, it's not in our tradition, but, Ranma isn't very traditional, and I'm finding out that Tofu isn't either," Kasumi said, a smile gracing her face, "And I do find it refreshing. In many ways, I tend to be traditional, certainly moreso than either of my sisters, but even though I enjoyed doing housework, I did wish for something more."

"Then perhaps I have found why I came here, Mrs. Ono," Mrs. Sato said, "I am from a very traditional family, and I hate to admit it, I just don't understand my daughter. At least not any more. Perhaps you can help me bridge that gap, since you seem to have one foot in my world and another in hers."

"Please, Mrs. Ono is my mother-in-law. I'd rather just be called Kasumi, if that is acceptable to you, Mrs. Sato," Kasumi said.

Mrs. Sato smiled for the first time and said, "Then in that case, Kasumi, I am Yumi."

"Of course, I would be honored. Now, as to Sayuri, whatever I can do to help the two of you, I am most willing to do. As my brother has said most elegantly, especially for him, she is family," Kasumi said.

Yumi gasped and Kasumi added hurriedly, "Not by any official act mind you, we didn't try to adopt her into the clan, but she is as much my sister as the ones related to me by blood."

"She is my only child, I do only want what is best for her. It's just so hard for me to understand her any more," Yumi said.

"She's not much younger than my little sister Akane. Isn't she about to turn seventeen?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, in late May," Yumi replied.

"Then treat her as the near adult she is, I think you'll find her easier to understand. The one really strong trait that she has though is loyalty to her friends, something you should be proud of, even if it is the source of your current estrangement," Kasumi said.

"I am proud of her, especially because of her drive to do well. I'm just afraid that that won't serve her well as she tries to make her way in today's environment," Yumi said.

"She does remind me a little of my younger sister, Nabiki, though she's not quite as openly ambitious. I worry a bit about my sister also, since I know she wants to work in the business world, and that will be difficult for a woman," Kasumi said, agreeing with the older woman, "But, I have faith in her abilities, and you should do the same for Sayuri."

A short silence fell as Yumi digested all of what she had heard, and the two women drank some of the tea that Kasumi had poured. "Tell me about your brother-in-law, please," Yumi begged, "Much of what I have heard from my friends concerns me greatly."

"Ranma is difficult to describe. He loves my sister greatly, and is a man of great heart. A martial artist without peer, at least none that I know of, and I think he is justly proud of his skills. I can't think of a man that I would rather Akane be with," Kasumi replied, "And if I was ever in danger, I know that he would sacrifice everything to save me, and that holds true with any he considers family."

Mrs. Sato frowned slightly and asked, "How do you put up with him though? He changes into a girl, if what Sayuri told me last year is correct. And he pretended to be a girl and tried to fool everyone."

"That's not really something he can do anything about, though. It's not his fault he obtained that curse, but he has learned to deal with it, at least as best as anyone can. And I've never known him without it, so it's just part of who he is," Kasumi replied, "And the only reason he hid that he was really a male was because Akane asked him to for her own reasons. That wasn't something that he was ever very happy about, but he did it because he was already in love with her."

"That does paint a somewhat different story than what I understood. I wonder why I didn't realize that," Yumi said musingly.

"I don't know exactly what Ranma and Akane told them when they revealed their secret to their friends, but I'm sure they did explain the reasoning behind what happened," Kasumi answered.

Yumi sighed heavily and said, "It sounds like I have completely and totally managed to do everything wrong that I could possibly have done, and based those decisions on things that I was misled on." Her shoulders sagged as she sipped from her teacup, and finally said, "I need to talk to my daughter about all of this. Do you know where she is?"

Kasumi glanced at the wall clock and replied, "She should be in the dojo still, exercising with Ranma and the other girls."

"Exercising? Since when did she get interested in martial arts, Kasumi?" Yumi asked.

"It's more for meditation and clearing her mind of her troubles than actually learning our school, Yumi," Kasumi replied, "And it has helped all of them at least a little bit. The dojo is out back, if you'd like to follow me."

Yumi set her cup down on the table and rose. "I'd better get this out of the way before I lose my courage," she admitted, "I just want to heal the breach between the two of us, but I'm scared a bit."

Kasumi replied, "Just take things slowly and tell her what you need for her to hear. I'm sure she understands that you were just trying to look out for her best interests." She led Yuki out the door and down the path to the dojo. To her surprise, Ranma was sitting on the steps with Akane.

"Hello, Mrs. Sato," Akane said in greeting, rising politely. She pulled Ranma to her feet and added, "I don't believe you've actually met my husband. Mrs. Sato, this is Ranma Saotome, or at least his female form. Ranma, this is Sayuri's mother."

"Ah, pleased to meet you. Welcome to our home," Ranma said, bowing politely.

Yumi stammered, "Thank you, Mr. Saotome, er, Mrs., er."

"Don't worry about it," Ranma said with a shrug, "It's simpler to just call me Ranma, anyway, if that's okay with you, of course."

"I'm sorry," Yumi babbled, "I know Sayuri told me about this, and I remembered her talking a lot about her girlfriend, Ranma, but this is still hard to swallow."

"Eh, I get that a lot," Ranma said, with an attractive smile, "Like I said, don't worry about it. I'm the same person, in either appearance. Now that we're done anyway, I'll be changing back." She turned and motioned to the door. "Sayuri is inside still, cooling off from the exercises, if you'd like to see her," she added.

"That's why I came," Mrs. Sato admitted. She turned to enter, when Ranma said, "Good luck. She does miss you, you know." Mrs. Sato paused for a second, and swallowed deeply, then slid the door open.

Nabiki looked up from where she was resting on the floor, a towel wrapped around her shoulders and a water bottle in her hand. "Sayuri-chan, I believe we have a guest," she said quietly.

Sayuri turned and dropped her water. "Mom what are you doing here?" she asked in shock.

"I came to see my daughter," Mrs. Sato replied, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Excuse me, let me give you some privacy," Nabiki said, as she stood up and headed out the door, shutting it behind her.

"I miss you, Sayuri," Mrs. Sato began.

Sayuri said, "I miss you too, Mom, but I thought we agreed to give me some space."

"We did," her mother said sadly, "But I was hoping for a chance to talk, anyway. There's so much that I wanted to say."

Sayuri sighed heavily and said, "Go ahead then, but I want you to know I don't plan on returning to your house for a while. I don't mean to sound cruel, but this is been more of a home than I've had for the last few years."

Her mother's face fell and she gasped in dismay. "I didn't know that you felt that way, Sayuri dear, why didn't you say something?" she asked.

"I just didn't, I guess," Sayuri replied. 'I'm not about to start about your drinking and Father's indifference,' she thought to herself.

Her mother sighed and said, "Well, that's for another day. I needed to talk to you about why I was so upset when I heard the rumors. They brought up some of my worst fears and I overreacted."

"Just because my friends are married or are planning on it, doesn't mean that I'm rushing into anything. You should have had more faith in me and the way I was raised," Sayuri said, her voice rising slightly.

"I just didn't want you to make the same mistakes that I did," her mother whispered.

"Huh? What do you mean by that? I was born several years after you were married, unless somebody didn't tell me the truth," Sayuri said, her anger dissipated into nothingness by her confusion.

"No, you were born four years after your father and I married," Yumi said, "But, you weren't our first child. Your father and I were so in love when we were about your age, and well, things happened that shouldn't have and I got pregnant. We married hastily to preserve both our families' honor"

"But then, why am I an only child?" Sayuri asked, getting even more confused.

Tears began to stream down her mother's face as she sobbed, "I haven't thought of your brother without crying. He didn't survive being born, he was positioned wrong and the doctor didn't find out about it until it was too late, and then with all of the problems I had having you, well, I couldn't run the chance of becoming pregnant again after you were born. The doctor said it was just too risky."

"Oh," Sayuri gasped as she raced over to pull her mother into a hug, "I can't, I don't, oh damn, Mom, don't cry."

"It's always worse around this time of year. In fact, the day you left would have been your brother's birthday," her mother sobbed into Sayuri's shoulder.

'That's why her drinking is worse around the first of April,' Sayuri thought, 'And it probably explains Father's indifference. He lost the only chance at a son when Mom didn't have any more children after me.' "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Sayuri asked.

"Your father blamed me for his death, and I believed that it was my fault. And then, because I couldn't have any others after you, well, things got very tense between us. So it was easier to pretend that you were our only child. At first, you weren't old enough to be told the truth anyway, and once you were, we had gotten into the habit of denial, so it was easier to just keep you ignorant of that piece of the family history," Mrs. Sato replied, her eyes downcast.

Sayuri squeezed her mother a bit harder, and then stepped back. Tilting her mother's face up with her hand, she said, forcefully, "You can't blame yourself for any of that, Mom. You did the right thing not having any more after me, not if it would have put your health at risk. And I don't see how you could be blamed for my brother dying."

Mrs. Sato smiled tremulously, and said, "Thank you, Sayuri. I just wish I could believe that."

"If you can't believe it for yourself, believe it for me then, Mom," Sayuri said, "Don't do this to yourself, not anymore." She sighed and added, "But now I understand why you acted the way you did. But, Mom, I'm not you, I'm my own person. I have things I want to do, options that you didn't really have when you were my age. It's difficult for a woman to get ahead in business now, not impossible like it was back then. And waiting on children is something that I plan on doing."

"I hope you are right," her mother said sadly, "But I had some dreams of my own then that I wasn't able to pursue."

Sayuri grimaced and said, "I'll keep that in mind, Mom. But, I don't think you need to worry about that with me. You can trust Hiroshi and I not to do anything foolish."

"The Amaya girl told me that you two were back together," her mother said, "I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed, Souta's mother and I had such hopes for the two of you getting together."

"Souta is a nice guy, but I realized I was using him. He doesn't deserve that at all. My heart still belonged to Hiroshi. He was just trying to do the same thing that you did, protect me from danger, but wanting me to leave my friends was the wrong way to do that," Sayuri said, "He learned that lesson and hopefully, you have also. While I'm not an adult, not yet, I'm close enough that I'd like to be treated as one. I will make my own decisions, and yes, my own mistakes. That's part of growing up."

"I know dear, and I know that one day I'll have to let you go, but you will always be my little girl. I can't help that. One day, hopefully years from now, when you are a mother, you'll understand," Yumi said.

"Mom, in a way, I'll always be your little girl. But, it's time for me to start spreading my wings," Sayuri said, "And those are the only things that I will be spreading."

Her mother barked a laugh and said, "I'll hold you to that."

"It was good to see you, Mom," Sayuri said, hugging her once more.

"Sayuri, I love you. I hope you come home soon, and I'll promise to do better about making it a home for you too," Mrs. Sato said.

"It'll be a while Mom. While you may want me there, I don't think Father has even noticed I'm gone, except maybe that there's one less mouth to feed at the table," Sayuri said, her calm manner hiding her quick thought, 'Yeah, there's one less worthless female at the table.'

Mrs. Sato bowed her head in resignation for a moment, as Sayuri noticed for the first time the amount of gray at her temples, and the finely drawn lines around her eyes. "Just promise to keep in touch, so I know how you are," her mother finally said.

"If it helps any, my being here seems to be helping me at school. According to Miss Morisato, my grades are much better so far," Sayuri said, hoping to ease her pain just a little.

"Actually, it does help a bit," her mother said, with a wan smile. She pulled her daughter to her and hugged her, then said, "It's getting late, I'd better get home so I can fix dinner for your father. You know how he can be if it's late."

"Yes, I remember. You take care of yourself, and get some sleep," Sayuri said, returned the hug. The two of them separated and headed out of the dojo, Sayuri to find a well needed bath, and her mother to head on home. As her mother rounded the corner of the house, heading to the main gate, Sayuri frowned to herself. 'When did she start showing signs of age? I don't remember the gray, or the wrinkles. Is my leaving doing this to her? Or is it something else?' she thought, her face showing her concern.

* * *

Konatsu smiled at Ukyo, who was cuddled up next to him in the futon, wearing one of his shirts and nothing else. "Are we going to open up the restaurant any time soon?" he asked, as he ran his hand up her thigh.

Ukyo pretended to think about that for a while, and then replied, "I think we'll take the day off. I don't really feel like working today, and you've been wonderful about keeping things afloat while I was sulking the last few days. You need the time off. We'll open up as usual tomorrow. Remind me to call Ranma and let him know. He can help wait on tables and give you a bit more of a break."

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Konatsu asked, straight-faced, as he pulled her up into his lap.

"Again?" Ukyo asked, amused, "You're insatiable."

"I prefer to think that I'm being inspired by your beauty," Konatsu retorted.

"Well don't let me take away your inspiration," Ukyo said, breathlessly, as Konatsu's fingers wandered even farther. She kissed him almost bruisingly hard.

They were interrupted from their further explorations by the sound of someone knocking at the door to their apartment.

Konatsu frowned briefly in dismay, and sighed heavily, then tried to get his emotions under control. He gazed at his fiancée, with a puzzled look on his face. "I thought the doors were locked downstairs," he said, in shock.

"They are," Ukyo replied, "I locked them when I came back from the market with the things for lunch."

"Hm, I wonder who it is then," Konatsu said, puzzled. He sighed and said, "I guess you need to get up so I can go see who it is."

Ukyo giggled at his woe-be-gone expression and said, as she stood up, "We'll have plenty of time to do that later." She bent down and kissed him hard as they heard the sound of someone knocking once more. "I suppose I ought to at least throw a robe on and pretend to be presentable if we're about to have company," she added, as she disappeared into their bedroom.

Konatsu stood up and walked to the door and opened it. There he found Nodoka standing there, looking nervous.

"Hello son. Is Ukyo here? I'd like to talk to both of you?" Nodoka asked.

"Hello mother," Konatsu said, tonelessly, "Please come in, and take a seat. I'll get my fiancée and we can talk." He turned and headed to the bedroom, ignoring the woman who had adopted him, and not seeing the pain in her eyes as she followed him into the room, and sat down on the futon.

Soon, Konatsu walked out of the bedroom, followed by an expressionless Ukyo. The young couple stood together, with Konatsu wrapping his arms around Ukyo, and Ukyo leaning back against his chest.

"Hello, Mrs. Saotome," Ukyo said, her voice not matching the ice in her eyes, "What brings you here?"

"My two feet brought me here, but the why, that is a different story," Nodoka began.

"Please enlighten us. We are interested in why you decided to come by, especially after the response from your last visit," Konatsu said, a hint of velvet covered steel in his voice.

Nodoka bowed her head and stated, "This is not easy for me. Konatsu, my son.."

Konatsu interrupted and asked, "Why should things be easy for you? You want me to abandon the woman I love for what? For the sake of your honor, an honor that was untouched by anything that Ukyo did! Sure, accusing Ranma of being dishonorable was wrong of her, she knows that, and has admitted that to him."

Nodoka said sadly, "I know that now, my son. I have discovered that I am a very foolish woman."

"And why is that, Nodoka?" Ukyo asked, warming up ever so slightly as she saw how distraught the older woman was getting.

Nodoka smiled briefly, and replied, "I should have listened to Konatsu when he told me to stay out of it. Then I wouldn't be in the predicament that I am in." She sighed and said, "Ukyo, I was wrong. There, I've said it. And it was as hard as I thought it would be. I just hope that you'll still invite me to the wedding."

Ukyo and Konatsu traded looks of surprise. Ukyo asked, "What the hell brought that on?"

"I had an interesting conversation with Ranma this afternoon," Nodoka admitted, "And he, or rather she in this case, made it perfectly clear that while Ukyo may have overreacted a bit, she was certainly entitled to feeling angry at him for what he did. Ranma also told me what happened here this morning, and why he refused to be your second. A decision that I fully endorse, now that I'm able to see past my own anger."

"I wager he said a few other things as well, knowing Ranma-sama like I do," Konatsu said.

"Oh yes," Nodoka sighed, "Ranma made sure I understood exactly what was at stake here. Not just my relationship with the two of you, but also with him."

"But he loves you," Ukyo protested.

"He may love me, but I don't think he likes me very much at the moment," Nodoka said, "And he was right. I was being no better than his poor excuse for a father, and he called me on it. He also opened my eyes to how I was mistreating Konatsu." She looked up for the first time, surprising them with the tears in her eyes and said, "You are my child, no matter who your parents were. I should have been more worried about your happiness, and less about the supposed stain on my clan's honor. The fact that my initial reaction was to forbid your marriage showed my lack of judgement. It is not easy for me to admit my mistakes, my pride is too great, but I am so sorry for what I said to you."

"Pride is my worst failing, too, Nodoka," Ukyo said gently, a slight smile appearing on her face.

"You do remind me a lot of myself, dear," Nodoka said, "That's why I was so angry, I suppose. All I ask is that you forgive me for my foolishness, and perhaps then I can forgive myself."

Ukyo felt her eyes tear up as she hugged the older woman. "There's nothing to forgive, Mom. We both screwed up. I'd really like to pretend that the last week never happened," she said. She felt Konatsu wrap his arms around the two of them, and nearly melted as he kissed her.

"Mom, things are fine now. Everyone is back together as friends," Konatsu said. He paused for a moment and then added, "I don't really remember my mother, I was young when she returned to our ancestors, but you have treated me with kindness always. It hurt, I admit, that you were forcing me to chose between you and Ukyo, especially since you wouldn't have liked the answer."

Nodoka grimaced and said, "And I would have deserved what happened, Konatsu. Ranma warned me that you would feel that way, and I couldn't fault his reasoning." She wiped her eyes daintily with a handkerchief, and said, in an obvious bid to cheer things up, "We still have a wedding to plan. And there's only a couple of weeks to pull it off."

"The dress is taken care of," Ukyo said, "We started looking right after I asked Konatsu to marry me. And the tuxedos for the men are simply waiting to get picked up."

"Dress? Tuxedos?" Nodoka asked, puzzled.

Konatsu grinned at her and said, "We decided that we would rather have a Western-style wedding, with all of the ritual that goes with that. Though, I can't say that I'm going to be real happy not seeing her until the ceremony on the day of the wedding."

Nodoka frowned slightly and then said, "I guess I always assumed that it would be a Shinto wedding, but the important thing is for the two of you to be happy, so if that's what you want to do, I'll go along with whatever you want."

"The ceremony is partially for you, Mom. I saw how much Ranma and Akane eloping hurt your feelings, even though you tried to hide them. I think you probably did fool them, so I didn't mention it before. We would have been just as happy to go to the town hall and simply register down there," Konatsu said.

"But, we felt like you deserved to see a real wedding ceremony for one of your children," Ukyo added, "And I'll admit that I'm getting pretty excited about the whole idea myself."

The young couple was surprised to see tears in Nodoka's eyes once more. She sniffed and said, "Thank you, my children. That you are doing this means more to me than I can say. Especially as you are still willing to do it after the mess I made of things."

"Mom, let's do as Ukyo suggested and just pretend that the last week never happened. Either that, or we'll end up apologizing every few minutes for what happened and never get anything done," Konatsu said.

Nodoka smiled and said, "Okay, let's do exactly that, son. I'd rather forget my own stupidity anyway. So, what do we have to do to finish getting ready for the wedding?"

"Not a lot. We've made arrangements for the priest and a photographer and Kasumi, Shampoo and Cologne agreed to handle the reception, so the only real thing left is to get the dojo decorated the day before," Ukyo said.

"Then I'll handle that, with some help," Nodoka said.

"Oh, and flowers, we haven't arranged those yet," Konatsu reminded Ukyo.

Nodoka asked, "Do you know what you want?"

Ukyo nodded and said, "We just haven't talked to a florist yet."

"I'll call around tomorrow, while you're at school," Konatsu said.

"Why don't you let me handle that?" Nodoka suggested, "Since decorating the dojo will require flowers also, not just bouquets, and such."

Konatsu replied, after glancing at Ukyo, and receiving a nod, "That works for us, Mom."

"There, does that get everything taken care of?" Nodoka asked, "If not, we can talk some more over dinner. I find that I have a craving for one of my soon-to-be daughter's special okonomiyakis."

"Then we ought to take care of that," Ukyo said. She stood up and waited for Nodoka to rise. Then she hugged the older woman and said, "Welcome back, Nodoka."

* * *

Ukyo hesitated outside the gate to the school for several moments, taking a deep breath. Just as she was about to enter the grounds, still uncertain about her welcome after her foolish behavior the week before, she heard a familiar voice cry, "Hey, Ucchan!" Turning, she saw a smiling Ranma racing toward her, with Akane right behind him, as if tethered.

Smiling a bit in relief, Ukyo said, "Morning, Ranma," only to be swept up in a huge group hug, with both Ranma and Akane wrapping their arms around her.

Nabiki and Sayuri waited for a moment for the trio to unwind from each other. Nabiki bowed slightly to Ukyo and said, formally, "I'm sorry for my behavior toward you, Ukyo. I'm afraid I let my protective feelings toward my family overawe my usual good sense."

Sayuri added, "I'm also very sorry, Ukyo. I'm not sure where I got off behaving the way I did, either. I wasn't a very good friend to you last week. Ranma even asked us to stay out of the trouble between the two of you, since he didn't want you to feel like you were getting ganged up on."

"It's okay guys," Ukyo said, "As far as I'm concerned, last week never happened. I screwed up, Ranma screwed up, why should you be immune to making mistakes?"

"Yeah, there was a lot of that going on," Sayuri said sheepishly.

"Friends?" Nabiki asked.

"Yeah," Ukyo replied, smiling, "Now, what all did I miss while I was off sulking?"

Sayuri replied, "Not a whole lot, I guess."

Nabiki snickered and said, "Remind me to tell that to Hiroshi."

"Oh, well, aside from that," Sayuri said, "I'm back with Hiroshi. We're dating again."

"You two made up," Ukyo said with delight, "That's wonderful. I couldn't understand why the two of you were so silly to break up in the first place."

Sayuri gave her a look that made Ukyo feel extremely foolish for opening her mouth in the first place. "And you calling off your friendship with Ranma was exactly what now? Oh Miss Kettle?" Sayuri asked with a smirk.

"An equally silly young woman, that's what I was," Ukyo admitted calmly, "And I'm not ashamed to admit that, at least not now." She smiled evilly and added, "Besides, I get a cute waitress to help me for a little while out of the deal, so it's not a complete loss."

"I didn't hear that detail, but are you sure you want Akane to wait tables for you?" Nabiki asked.

"Not me, sister dear. Ranma volunteered," Akane said, her tone just a tad icy. She glanced at her watch and said, "We'd better hurry or we'll be late to class."

* * *

The young teacher smiled to herself as the gaggle of young people rushed into the classroom, moments before the late bell rang, seating themselves quickly as the echoes of the bell began to fade. Even better, the Kuonji girl had been with them, laughing with them. 'So Saotome was right, she did come back today,' Miss Morisato thought. She said, her voice even, "Welcome back, Miss Kuonji. If you would stay for a few moments at lunchtime, I need to speak with you."

"Of course, sensei," Ukyo said, her face paling slightly.

The teacher chuckled, and said, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just have a few things to go over with you about the lessons that you missed. You have turned in all of your assignments so you are even with the rest of the class, but I wanted to make sure you had the notes from the classes you missed. I'd hate for you to fall behind."

"Thank you, sensei," Ukyo said, with a slight frown on her face.

* * *

Ranma pulled Akane aside as they left the classroom for lunch. He said, "Guys, you six head out. We're gonna wait for Ukyo to finish her talk with the teacher and then we'll join you, okay?"

"Sure, Ranma," Daisuke said, "I guess things are back to normal now, with you and Ukyo?"

"Yeah, but do us all a favor, and just pretend that nothing happened last week, okay?" Akane responded.

"We can do that," Ryoga said, clutching Shampoo's hand, "We'll see ya outside." The three couples headed down the hall towards the stair, leaving Akane and Ranma leaning against the wall and each other.

Ranma watched the flow of students down the hall for several minutes and then said, "I wonder what's taking her so long. I'm a bit hungry."

"We don't really have to wait for Ukyo, you know," Akane said, with a note of amusement in her voice, "She is a big girl now."

"Maybe so, but it's sort of a show of support after all of the crap I put her through last week. You know, I sort of owe her," Ranma said quietly.

Akane slid her arm in his and clasped his hand, squeezing it. "Yeah, I get that. We both did, and I owe her too," she said.

Ukyo stepped up quietly from behind them and asked, "Owe who what?"

"We were just talking about you, Ukyo," Akane replied.

Ranma's stomach rumbled as if to ask his throat if it had been forgotten.

"That sounds like a cue to me," Akane said, with a laugh.

Ukyo smiled as Ranma and Akane grabbed one arm each and the three of them headed downstairs.

"So, what did sensei want to talk to you about?" Akane asked as they reached the ground floor.

Ukyo looked a bit bewildered and replied, "Well, at first it was just handing me a set of the notes that I should have gotten last week while I was out. Which I thought was really nice of her to do that; she didn't have to at all."

Ranma nodded in agreement and said, "She's a good teacher. You know, I'm glad we have her."

"Me too," Ukyo replied, "But then she added something that surprised me. She complimented me on the assignments that I'd turned in while I was out, saying that they were done quite well."

"I had been dropping your schoolwork off with Konatsu," Ranma said, "What's so surprising about doing well on them."

"That's what's odd! I didn't know about any schoolwork, and to be honest, I really wasn't in the mood to do anything like that. When I wasn't being a bit of a grouch, I was spending time with Konatsu," Ukyo said, still befuddled.

"Then Konatsu must have done them for you," Akane said, "Which isn't a good thing."

"But I don't know when he could of," Ukyo said, "When would he have had the time? We were too busy."

"What WERE you doing that kept you busy?" Ranma asked, wiggling his eyebrows, "That reminds me, the first day you were gone, when I brought the assignments by, Konatsu opened the door, and his clothes were pretty damp."

Ukyo blushed and replied, "I have no idea how that happened."

"Right," Akane drawled, her nose twitching, "Just how close have you two gotten this last week?"

"Ummm, none of your business," Ukyo said weakly, her face still red.

Akane grinned and elbowed Ukyo. "That's what I thought. We're going to have to find some place to talk, just you and me, and compare notes," she said.

"Compare notes about what?" Ranma asked, puzzled.

"It's just girl talk, Ranma, just girl talk," Akane said.

"Why do I get the feeling that when you say girl talk, that you plan on talking about Konatsu and me?" Ranma grumbled.

The two girls merely giggled as they left the building, dragging Ranma with them.

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, Gentle Readers, I trust that you enjoy this latest installment. As always, I appreciate your comments and constructive criticisms. They help make this a better tale. And also, Happy New Year. 


	56. Ukyo, Do You Take This Woman?

Chapter 56 Ukyo, Do You Take This Woman?

Nodoka looked up from the grill as the little bell over the front door tinkled. She smiled a greeting, as her soon-to-be daughter-in-law trudged into the café; her bookbag slung over one shoulder. She was elated that the brief rift that she had caused in the relationship with Ukyo had been papered over, and that the two of them were back to their normal friendly selves, but her smile quickly faded as she sensed something off in Ukyo's aura, a sadness or something that she was unable to explain. The older woman asked, "How was your day at school?"

Ukyo glanced at her with a wan smile and replied, "It was okay, I suppose. All of my friends were pretty understanding, especially after they saw how Ranma was treating me. You should be proud of him, he's quite a good man."

"I am proud of him," Nodoka said, with a sigh, "I just wish I could take credit for how he turned out. I let him go for so long."

Ukyo glanced around and asked, "Where's Konatsu? I need to borrow him for a few minutes."

"He's in the, never mind," Nodoka replied, stopping as the answer became moot.

Konatsu came gliding in from the back kitchen, his long hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, with a ribbon tied in a large bow, in full kunoichi mode. His eyes lit up at seeing his love standing in the main room, dressed in her school uniform, then his face fell as she glared at him and snapped, "Upstairs, now!"

Konatsu sighed heavily and put the tray he was carrying on the counter surrounding the grill. "Yes, Ukyo-sama," he said as he turned and walked upstairs to their apartment, hoping that he wasn't in too much trouble.

"What did he do?" Nodaka asked softly, her eyebrows raised in enquiry.

"That's between the two of us, Mom," Ukyo replied, slowly, "But he'll be down in a minute or two. I just need to tear a few stripes off him, first." She headed toward the stairs to join her fiancé, only to pause on the first step. "Ranma should show up soon. When he does, his uniform is in the storeroom in back. He can change there," Ukyo said.

Nodoka sighed as she watched Ukyo stomp up the stairs, wondering what Konatsu could have possibly done to anger his fiancée. She turned to the handful of customers in the café, and said in a pleasant tone, "Please continue with your meals, and if you need anything, raise your hand and I'll be right there." She noticed the tray filled with bowls of soup, and then asked, "Which table needed two miso and two onion soups?" A small hand went up from a booth in the back, and Nodoka carried the tray over to the table and handed around the four bowls. "Sorry about the delay," Nodoka said, and then returned to the grill.

Upstairs, the door to the apartment burst open as Hurricane Ukyo stormed in. There, to her surprise, she found Konatsu on his knees, bowing, his forehead touching the floor, in a posture of complete submission. Her anger drained from her immediately, as she flashed back to the day before, when she had been in a similar position. She knelt down in front of her lover and pulled him up, her face still set in a stone-like manner and asked in a harsh voice, "I have to know! How did my classwork get done?"

Konatsu looked down at the floor, and replied, "I did them, of course, Ukyo-sama, and then took them to school each morning."

Ukyo looked stunned. "But, how, when? I mean I was with you all last week," she stammered, "I was with you all the time during the day last week, and well, after we went to bed, I, well, you, when we were, um, you just fell asleep." She stopped, her cheeks flaming bright red.

"I don't need as much sleep as you do, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu began, only to stop as Ukyo glared at him.

"Stop that!" she demanded, "No more honorifics, damn it, we are too damn close for that."

"But," Konatsu began only to stop as Ukyo slapped him, not hard, but enough to get his attention.

Ukyo pulled Konatsu to her and and said, "Don't you dare put me on a pedestal, Konatsu, I don't deserve it. We're equals, and don't you dare forget it. I know your stepfamily treated you like dirt, but you're not!"

Konatsu chuckled for a moment and then said, "Yes Ukyo-sama," in a tone that made Ukyo glare at him. He smiled at her for a moment and then continued, "As I said, I don't need as much sleep as you do, mainly because of my childhood, so I'd get up in the middle of the night." He grinned and said, "Making you exhausted was a lot of fun, so I didn't come out too badly in the exchange. Anyway, after you were asleep, I'd do the schoolwork and then come back to bed and catch a few hours of sleep."

"But," Ukyo protested.

Konatsu grinned and said, "But nothing, Ukyo," dropping the honorific finally, "After all, what's the good of being a genius kunoichi if I can't do something simple like that."

"But, why did you do it?" Ukyo asked, "Don't you realize what kind of trouble I could be in if Miss Morisato finds out that I didn't do those assignments?"

"You weren't doing them, that's why I did!" Konatsu exclaimed, "And I didn't want you to fail! And how will she find out that I did them instead of you, anyway?"

Ukyo frowned at her lover and replied, "How about when the handwriting isn't mine and the quality of the work is different from the things that I hand in. In fact, how come she didn't catch the handwriting already? She's seen enough of my writing by now."

Konatsu actually looked insulted by that question. "Please, Ukyo," he said, "Don't forget who I am and what I can do! Again, what kind of genius kunoichi would I be if I couldn't mimic your writing? And don't forget who helped you with some of your homework last year. Trust me, she won't notice a thing."

Ukyo muttered, "I guess I just don't think it is honorable to pass that off as mine."

Konatsu frowned. He slid around into a sitting position and pulled her into his lap. "Now that is something I can't help you with," he said finally, "I wasn't really thinking about that. If I had known that you and Ranma were going to come to your senses as soon as you did, I might have just left things alone, but I was afraid that it would be weeks. I know how stubborn both of you can get, not to mention proud." He smoothed her hair back off her face and said, calmly, "If it bothers you so much, then just come clean with Miss Morisato and ask to redo the assignments yourself."

"I have been blowing this a bit out of proportion, haven't I?" Ukyo asked, a bit selfconsciously, "What would I do without you?" She leaned up to kiss him, only to be interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Hey you two," Ranma's soprano voice said, "Mom and I need some help down here. We're being overrun by customers."

"I guess I better get down there while you change," Konatsu said, "That sounded like a note of panic in Ranma's voice."

Ukyo sighed and stood up from Konatsu's lap. "You're probably right. That did sound like panic," she said as she walked over to the bedroom door, wiggling her skirt-covered rear slightly more than necessary. She glanced over her shoulder at Konatsu and giggled at the expression on his face as she disappeared behind the closed door.

Konatsu closed his eyes for a moment, sighing to himself, "That girl will be the death of me yet." An odd smirk flashed across his face as he stood up, and continued, "Not a bad way to go though."

* * *

Yuka waved from the booth where she was sitting, when she saw Sayuri open the door to the ice cream shop, carrying a large plastic sack.

"Hi," Sayuri said as she walked wearily to the booth and set her burden down, "I'm exhausted. I must have entered every dress shop in Nerima looking for this."

"Is that the dress you're going to wear to the wedding?" Yuka asked, her eyes lighting up in anticipation.

Sayuri nodded and said, "I'm gonna go get some ice cream. This was a good idea you had to meet here. I couldn't have walked another step, I don't believe."

"Then you stay here. I'll go get it for you. Two scoops of mint chocolate chip, right?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah, that's my favorite," Sayuri replied.

Yuka hopped down from her seat and walked over to the counter, while Sayuri leaned against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later, Sayuri woke with a start to see an amused Yuka standing next to her, holding a spoon in one hand and a small bowl of ice cream. "What's making you so sleepy?" Yuka asked, as she set the treat in front of her friend.

"Hiroshi and I were out pretty late last night," Sayuri admitted with a yawn, "And then all of the walking around I did this afternoon. But it was worth it. I was so lucky to find this one, and it didn't even need much alteration to fit. They were able to take care of it while I waited; at least once I explained when I needed the dress. I can't wait to wear it at Ukyo's wedding tomorrow."

"I can't wait to see it!" Yuka exclaimed breathlessly as she bounced in her seat.

"Well, come home with me and I'll model it for you," Sayuri suggested.

"That would be so cool," Yuka said. The two girls quickly finished their ice cream.

"Oohh, that was a mistake!" Sayuri said, "Brain freeze. I shouldn't have finished it that fast."

The two girls stood up, giggling. Sayuri picked up her bag and the two girls left the shop, not noticing the shadowy figure that had been paying close attention to their conversation.

* * *

Kasumi stood calmly in the midst of the chaos occurring in the Tendo home. Her sisters, those by blood and those by choice, were scurrying around, frantically finishing the last minute details required for the wedding. A serene smile on her face, she walked over to Nodoka, whose otherwise perfect contenance was marred by a slight frown. Kasumi hooked her arm around the older woman and gently led her out of the family room and firmly planted her in a chair at the kitchen table. "Auntie," the young woman said, gently, yet firmly, "It will all come together well. You need to relax, because I'm going to need your help with Ukyo. She's in my room, hyperventilating right now, but between the two of us we can get her through the next few hours."

Nodoka sagged in her seat, her face showing her years for just a moment, and then she pulled herself together. "The florist hasn't shown up with the flowers yet, and it's getting close to time," Nodoka said finally.

"I know. I sent Ranma out after the flowers. He called and said that they would be here in just a few minutes," Kasumi said, with a soothing tone in her voice.

"I just know something is going to go wrong," Nodoka said, her voice frantic.

"I'm glad Ranma and I eloped, so we didn't have to go through all this," Akane said dryly from the doorway, "Mom, things will be fine. Now you go up and take care of Ukyo, and I'll see about calming down Nabiki, Hinako and Sayuri."

"You, sis!" Kasumi exclaimed, as an eyebrow rose in disbelief.

"Calm is relative," Akane admitted, "I'm just excited for Ukyo and Konatsu. Nabiki will be all right, she just went outside to help with the musicians, who apparently just arrived. Sayuri can't find her shoes, and Hinako is looking for the slip for her flower girl dress."

"The black heels?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, those are the ones," Akane replied.

Kasumi closed her eyes for a moment and then they snapped open, as she said, "Try under Nabiki's bed for the shoes, and Hinako's slip is hanging up in the closet in my room."

"Okay, I'll take care of them, you get upstairs," Akane mock ordered, "And when Ranma shows up, I'll send him upstairs to change. Can't have a wedding without a best man, after all."

Nodoka stood up and hugged the two girls, thankful that they were being so helpful. "Let's go see if we can settle Ukyo's nerves," Nodoka said, arranging her face in a gentle smile that matched the one on Kasumi's face. The two women marched off out of the kitchen as if they were going to war. Akane stood there with a bemused smile on her face, and then remembered her responsibilities. With a smile echoing that on Kasumi's face, she walked out into the chaos to find Hinako and Sayuri, to find that the situation had changed.

Ranma stood by the doorway to the family room, with a pale-faced Konatsu in tow. "Come on, brother, this is what you want to do," Ranma said, in a patient voice, one that said that he had used that phrase before.

"Cold feet?" Akane asked, with a knowing grin.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Apparently. I didn't have that problem, but he's brighter than I am, so he's coming up with all sorts of silly thoughts."

"Well, get him into the furoba and cleaned up," Akane snapped, "While I see what I can do with these two flighty girls."

"If you see Mom, tell her the flowers are here, and the florist is arranging them in the dojo." Ranma said, "And Nabiki will get the bouquets from her and bring them here."

"What was the problem?" Akane asked.

"Traffic," Ranma replied, "There was a terrible tie-up downtown. I just grabbed the florist and the flowers and brought them here overland." He chuckled for a moment. "We may need to pay her a bit extra. She looked a bit wide-eyed when we got here," he added.

Akane shook her head and said, fondly, "Oh, Ranma, what am I going to do with you?"

Ranma grinned at her and said, "You take care of your problem children and I'll take care of mine."

"Yeah, your job is to make sure he gets there, and the wedding comes off," Akane said sternly, though it was ruined slightly by the twinkle in her eye.

"Yes dear," Ranma replied, in the tone of voice all married men seem to develop over time, as he dragged Konatsu to the furoba.

Nabiki rushed in, carrying the bridal bouquet, and several other flower arrangements. "The musicians are setting up. It's going to be neat. They have a small stage that they are hiding behind a set of very ornate screens. In fact, they had the screens up before I got out there. Anyway, the one I talked to said the screens will allow the guests to concentrate on the music and not them. I thought that was an interesting concept," she said, her normally reserved manner lost in her excitement. 'I know I'm so giddy, but this is the first wedding that I've been involved with,' she thought, trying to regain her cool.

"Take those up to Ukyo," Akane ordered. She grabbed Hinako as she dashed by and said, "The slip you are looking for is in Kasumi's closet. Knock on the door and she'll give it to you, but don't you dare go in there."

* * *

Kasumi glanced at the paper sign affixed to her door that read, 'Women's Dressing Room,' and opened it. She allowed Nodoka to go in and then silently followed her, shutting the door firmly behind her, the loud bang causing the young woman sitting on her bed to jump in surprise.

With a heavy sigh, Nodoka walked over and stood next to Ukyo, who was dressed only in her underwear, a distressed look on her face. "Tsk, tsk," she said in a brusque, yet oddly kind voice, "This will never do. Come dear, you really need to get dressed."

"Oh, I don't know about that, Nodoka. Konatsu probably doesn't care what she's wearing, and I know he won't mind seeing her like that," Kasumi retorted, with a gentle smile, "But seeing her like that does show me that she's missing a piece of apparel." She walked over to her dresser and picked up a small box that was sitting on top, and then carried it back over towards the bed. "Here you go, Ukyo, you need to wear these also," she added in a cheery voice, a smile pasted on her face.

Nodoka sat down on the bed next to Ukyo and as if a switch had suddenly been thrown, the young woman threw her arms around the older woman and began to cry. After exchanging a knowing smile with Kasumi, Nodoka pulled Ukyo closer, as Kasumi joined them on the bed and wrapped her arms around them both in a slightly awkward hug. "Now, now, child, what's all this about?" Nodoka asked kindly.

Ukyo sobbed for a few more minutes, her shoulders shaking, and then she said, not moving her head from where it rested on Nodoka's shoulder, "What am I doing? I'm only seventeen! I'm too damn young to get married!"

"Ukyo, dear, do you love him?" Kasumi asked.

The tears stopped as Ukyo replied in a shaky voice, muffled by Nodoka's shoulder, "Yeah, I do. I hoped I would come to love him when I proposed, but I wasn't sure that it would happen. And certainly not this soon. I expected to wed him just to satisfy duty and honor, but I do love him."

"And my son is madly in love with you," Nodoka observed, "So what's the problem? Is it just cold feet, or is there something else?"

"NO, I'm just scared silly," Ukyo replied, slowly pulling away from Nodoak, "It's such a big step is all. I'm afraid that it won't work out, that we'll have too many problems marrying this young."

"Ukyo, honey, you've lived with him for the longest time, ever since he came to Nerima and escaped those awful people, even before the two of you got engaged," Kasumi said, "I'm sure that if there were issues, or big incompatibilities, you would have stumbled across them already."

Nodoka chuckled for a moment and then added, "Kasumi is right. You should have found out about all of his bad habits by now."

Ukyo snapped, "He doesn't have any bad habits."

Kasumi's gentle laugh and Nodoka's grin caused Ukyo to begin to smile. Nodoka continued, "I'm a little envious to tell you the truth. I mean, it took me the longest time to train Genma not to leave the seat up, for example." 'And maybe if I'd know him better, things would have been different,' she thought, bitterly.

Ukyo giggled for a moment, and said, "Well, I've never had that problem with him." She looked puzzled for a moment and then asked, "Speaking of Genma, where is he? Shouldn't he be here for the wedding?"

"I don't know where he is, to tell you the truth. The last card I got from him, he wrote that he was planning to be here. Something about not wanting to miss it, and that he misses all of us greatly, remember. So I truly expected him to already be here," Nodoka replied, a bit of worry in her voice.

"You don't think something could have happened to him, do you?" Ukyo asked.

Nodoka looked at her uncertainly and replied, "We are talking about Genma, remember. He can take care of himself, I'm sure."

Kasumi sighed and said, "You just need to worry about getting dressed for your young man, right now, Ukyo. You don't need to worry about who's coming to see the wedding."

Ukyo stood up and briefly hugged the two women. "Okay, help me get into this thing," she said, pointing at the white wedding dress visible through the open closet door.

* * *

Ranma dragged Konatsu into the furoba, and then turned and hung the "In Use" sign on the hook outside the door. "Come on Konatsu," Ranma said, as he began to undress, "You need to get a bath, and then change."

"Ranma-sama, what am I doing?" Konatsu stammered.

"Marrying the girl you love, I would imagine," Ranma retorted, an easy grin on his face, one that disappeared as he saw how nervous his brother was.

"But am I doing the right thing?" Konatsu asked, his face still pale.

Ranma frowned slightly, as his mind raced, hoping to find the right words. "Tell me what you feel when you think of Ukyo?" Ranma finally asked.

Konatsu blushed, and muttered something, too low for Ranma to make out.

"You want to try that again?" Ranma asked.

"I don't know how to describe how I feel," Konatsu finally stuttered out, "I'm not worthy to be her husband."

"Do you love her?" Ranma asked, in exasperation.

"With all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my body," Konatsu said.

"A simple yes would have been enough," Ranma groused.

"Peasant. You don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?" Konatsu asked, grinning briefly.

"I'm not the one getting married today, you are. I save all that fluff for Akane," Ranma replied, once again with a smile on his face. He added, "So, if you love her the way you say you do, you don't want to disappoint her do you?"

"Well, no," Konatsu replied.

"Don't you think that if you aren't in the dojo when she comes walking down the aisle, she'll be pretty angry with you?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, I would imagine that Ukyo would not be happy if I wasn't there," Konatsu replied, "And Mom wouldn't be too thrilled with me either, I suppose."

"So if you want to make Ukyo happy, don't you think you should be there for her?" Ranma asked, as if that was the most reasonable thing in the world for Konatsu to do.

"I would die for her, to keep her happy," Konatsu said, fiercely, "Face any danger, brave any peril!"

Ranma resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said, "We really need to change the kinds of books you read. All those trashy romance novels you read." 'Not to mention that when you talk like that you sound like Kuno,' he thought, 'Ugh, now that's an image I didn't need. Him marrying Ukyo.'

"What?" Konatsu asked, non-plussed by the apparent non-sequiter.

"It's not important right now. What is important is getting you ready for the wedding. I'm the Best Man, and I'm not going to let anything interfere with this wedding, including a nervous groom," Ranma said. He finished unbuttoning his shirt, and he slipped it off, tossing it into the hamper by the door.

"What are you doing?" Konatsu asked.

"Taking a bath, what's it look like?" Ranma replied, "After bringing all of those flowers here, I'm just a bit sweaty, and Akane would kill me if I didn't bathe before getting into my tux."

"But you'll turn into a girl! And that isn't proper," Konatsu protested.

Ranma groaned out loud and glared at his brother. "In the first place, I'm still a guy even when I'm a girl," he began, only to stop at the odd look on Konatsu's face. "You know what I mean, dammit," he swore, getting his temper under control.

"Yeah, I guess I do, it just sounded funny the way you said it, is all," Konatsu said, apologetically.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, now I remember. Secondly, I was going to use warm water, so I wouldn't change but, even if I did turn into a girl, it's not like it means anything. It wouldn't show you anything you probably haven't already seen, not if my suspicions about you two are correct, anyway," Ranma said, as he leered at his brother.

"You don't expect me to answer that, do you?" Konatsu retorted.

Ranma shook his head and replied, "None of my business, anyway. And in the third place, Akane would have my head if I left you alone in here. And that's the most important reason right there. Now hurry up, you're wasting time."

Konatsu grinned at his brother and said, half in jest, "I can't believe that you're afraid of Akane. She's got you whipped, apparently."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Yeah, she pretty much has me wrapped around her little finger. Just like you and Ucchan. And I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Ranma leaned against the wall of the dojo, an amused expression on his face as he watched Konatsu pace nervously back and forth in the small screened area that was hiding them from the guests who were noisly filing into the prettily decorated room. He chuckled lightly and asked, "Didn't we already go through this once today?"

Konatsu glanced over at his adopted brother, a rueful smile in his face. "Yeah, we did, Ranma," he replied, sheepishly, "But I can't help being nervous. I just know something is going to go wrong."

Ranma grinned at him and asked, "Are you taking up fortune-telling now?"

"No," Konatsu said with a shudder, "Divination is a waste of time at best. It's more that so few good things have ever happened to me, that I'm just waiting for a disaster to occur.

"Don't worry about it. Nothing will go wrong," Ranma said with a great deal of confidence.

Obviously the Kami were listening, because at that moment, they heard the sound of someone screaming outside of the dojo, and then Akane's voice, calling for help.

Konatsu glared at Ranma, muttering under his breath, "Nothing will go wrong, huh?" as the two of them raced down the aisle toward the door, dodging the guests who were rising up from their seats in alarm. The two men stopped at the steps to see Hinako screaming, and struggling in the arms of one small masked figure dressed in black, Mr. Kuonji laying sprawled out on the ground, a large knot on his head, while Ukyo and Akane were battling four other masked figures, also dressed all in black, as best as they could in their long dresses.

"Looks like you're not very good at predicting the future," Konatsu snapped, as he shrugged out of the tuxedo jacket he was wearing, and tossed it to one side.

Ranma slid his jacket off, and dropped it on the ground. He gave a wry smile and said, "Apparently not. Shall we even the odds a bit?"

Konatsu grinned wickedly and replied, "Lead on. You help yours while I help mine!" The two men charged into the fray, with Konatsu going over to help his fiancée, while Ranma took on one of the figures battling his wife.

Akane glared at Ranma and said, "It's about time you got here! Do you know how hard it is to do any kicks in this dress? And don't you dare ruin that tuxedo, it's a rental!"

Kodachi, Mousse, Shampoo and Ryoga appeared on the steps behind them, while Kasumi, Tofu and Nodoka peered out over their shoulders, as they watched the two couples fight.. In a flash, Kodachi twirled around, shedding her dress, leaving her in her trademark black leotard. "Oh goodie!" she exclaimed, "this looks like fun. Shall we join in the entertainment?"

The other three traded grins. Ryoga hollered, "Konatsu, get Ukyo into the dojo! We'll take care of these idiots!"

Kodachi smirked, and added, "That's right! You don't want to be too tired to enjoy your wedding night!"

"Or too hurt to stand up and take your vows," Mousse added as he sent a chain out from his robes, driving two of the hooded figures away from Ukyo, while Ranma and Akane drove the other two back with twin ki blasts.

Hinako finally landed one good blow with her foot, causing her captor to drop her. The young girl scrambled back toward the protection of her friends, still raising a ruckus.

"Hinako, stop screaming and get inside," Akane ordered, "Ryoga, you and Shampoo get Ukyo's father out of here!"

The three scrambled to obey her orders, with Hinako scampering quickly into the presumed safety of the dojo, where she peeked out from behind Kasumi's skirt. Shampoo helped Ryoga sling the unconscious man over his shoulder and the two of them sped into the dojo, only to reappear to join the battle.

Up till now the five figures had fought in silence, but as Ukyo made a dash toward the door, hampered by the long trail of her once-white dress, one of the figures cried, "Ukyo-sama, you can not marry that wretch! I forbid it!"

Ukyo's face wrinkled up in disgust as she spat, "Tsubasa, how dare you try to ruin my wedding! I'll kill you!" She whirled to attack; making an abortive reach for her battle spatula, only to remember that she decided it was the wrong accessory for her dress.

Konatsu swore under his breath, just loud enough for Ranma to hear, and grabbed his fiancée and headed toward the dojo, while Kodachi, Mousse, Shampoo and Ryoga joined the battle.

"Konatsu, get her inside, and get married. We'll keep these morons occupied!" Mousse roared as he tied up one of the attackers with his chains, only to blink as the small figure vanished in a puff of smoke as a small log appeared in his chains. He groaned and shouted, "Watch out, we have a group of ninjas that we are fighting."

Kodachi cackled, raising the hackles on the back of Ranma's neck, as she whipped her ribbons toward her opponent. The masked figure tumbled backwards, with a grunt, as the steel reinforced ribbon ripped its flesh.

"Hey, keiki, think you can really fight the Big Kahuna?" the figure sniped as it jumped towards the wall of the compound. It pulled out an odd shaped object and juggled it for a moment.

Kodachi growled, "What rock did you crawl out from under, Daddy Dearest?" as she recognized the obnoxious tones of someone she had hoped never to hear from again.

"You wound me, daughter," Principal Kuno said, as he tossed a coconut at his daughter.

Kodachi sneered and batted it back toward her wayward parent. He dodged the projectile and it exploded somewhat harmlessly behind him, as it hit the compound wall and fell to the ground.

Ranma whipped around as he recognized Kodachi's opponent's voice and groaned. "Don't play with him, Kodachi. Just put him down," he yelled.

Kodachi pouted for a moment and said, half in jest, "You're spoiling all my fun, Ranma. But I would hate to miss all of the wedding."

"Ah, keiki, you wouldn't really hurt your father, would you?" Kuno sneered.

"With great pleasure, actually" Kodachi retorted, "It will help me work out my abandonment issues. At least that's what I'll be telling myself, Daddy Dearest." She once again whipped her ribbon at her father, and caught him on the other leg, gashing it severely, staggering the heavyset man.

Ranma joined up with Akane and said, "Let's do one more ki blast at the fat one."

Akane nodded and said, "Okay, on three. One, two, three!" She cried, "Genko Fenikusu!" and fired off a blast at the heaviest of the opponents.

At the same time, Ranma cried, "Möko Takabisha!" and fired off his blast. The two balls of ki hit the target at the same time, knocking him into the compound wall, where he slid down, unconscious. "Mousse, tie that one up!" Ranma cried, as he and Akane faced off against Mousse's former opponent.

Ryoga and Shampoo had successfully taken out their opponent, though Ryoga was still trying to figure out where Shampoo had hidden her bonborris. They raced over to join Kodachi, just as she provided the finishing blow, and planted her father into the ground. Ryoga grinned as he wrapped Kodachi's ribbon around the prone figure, and tossed him behind the screen where the musicians had been playing.

Mousse called, "Hey, Ryoga. I could use a hand here!" So Ryoga ran over and helped Mousse drag the figure he had just chained up and dumped him onto the pile of bodies, since Tsubasa had managed to knock himself out by tripping over his own feet, and Shampoo had thrown him onto Kodachi's father.

In the meantime, Ranma and Akane had flattened their last opponent, and Ranma reached down and unmasked the small figure to reveal that it was Kotet, Konatsu's stepmother. They tied her up and dumped her in the pile, and unmasked the others, revealing them to be the aforementioned Tsubasa, Kodachi's father, and Konatsu's stepsisters Koume and Koeda.

"We've got a wedding to attend, and then we can take care of this trash," Akane said, grabbing the arm of her husband and checking him out. "Not too much dirt," she said, with a sigh, then asked, frantically, "How do I look?"

"You always look good to me, especially with your face flushed like that," Ranma replied with a smirk. He grabbed his jacket and escorted Akane into the dojo, just in time to hear, "Who has the rings?" He patted his pocket and pulled the rings out and headed down the aisle to hand them to the priest.

* * *

The ceremony was over, and the guests were mingling at the reception outside on the lawn. Yuka walked over with Daisuke and said, "That was real nice, but I was surprised that they went with a Western wedding. I would have thought that they would have done a Shinto ceremony as traditional as your mother is."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's what the two of them wanted and after the difficulties that they had with Mom, she was more than happy to let them do whatever they wanted, so long as she had some sort of ceremony, she was going to be happy. And she wanted the whole nine yards."

"I just think that Ukyo wanted to get Konatsu in a tux," Akane said, grinning, "It made sure every one of the girls here knew what they were missing."

"Should I be jealous?" Ranma asked, in a teasing tone.

"Well, he is a pretty good martial artist, all buff from working out," Akane replied, mischief dancing in her eyes.

"You know, Ukyo looked real nice in her dress, I thought," Ranma said, deciding to play along, "Not boyish at all. You could really tell she was all woman in that outfit."

"Ooooh, now he's going to get it," Daisuke said, backing away slightly.

Akane surprised him by giggling and said, "She did look nice; they make a damn good looking couple."

Ranma nodded and said, "That they do. And I hope that they are as happy together as you and I are." He pulled her to him and lightly brushed her lips with his.

"Hey, only the bride and groom are supposed to do that," Nabiki teased as she walked up

"I'm just glad they didn't make the rest of the wedding party stand in the receiving line," Ranma said.

"Yeah, right," Nabiki smirked, "Like I'm going to believe that, Mister Best Man."

"Ranma just wanted to get to the food," Daisuke said with an easy grin.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy. Besides you didn't have to grow up with Pop like I did. I think I'm still catching up on the meals I missed when I was a kid," Ranma said.

"Getting back to what we were talking about, you cleaned up nicely, Ranma. You look really fine in that tux," Yuka said, ogling him obviously.

Akane grinned at her and said, "Hey, put your eyes back in. Both of you are taken."

Daisuke put his hands over Yuka's eyes and asked, with a wide grin, "Do you really want her mad at you?"

Sayuri and Hiroshi came over with a plate of canapés, and that seemed to start something as the rest of the lunch bunch gathered around them, as if they had been the seed in a crystal formation. Even Ukyo and Konatsu made their way from the reception line, as the last of the guests had finally given them their congratulations.

"Nice wedding, sis," Akane said, as she embraced her new sister-in-law, "In spite of the morons." She briefly glanced over to where the interlopers were peacefully sleeping, courtesy of the knockout powder that Kodachi had graciously provided. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and then she decided to continue ignoring them.

"Thanks, Acchan," Ukyo said with a grin, "especially for calling me your sister."

"Hey, that's my pet name," Ranma objected with a grin.

"She calls you Ranchan," Ukyo said, with a pout, "I started that a long time ago."

"Seriously, Ucchan, I'm so happy for you," Ranma said, as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. After releasing her, he clasped Konatsu's forearm, and said, "Congratulations, brother. You two did good."

"Thanks, Ranma-sama," Konatsu said, as they separated and Akane grabbed Konatsu for a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Nodoka called and said, "It's time for the bouquet, Ukyo dear."

"Yes, Mom," Ukyo replied, rolling her eyes slightly. "I love your mother dearly, but she's about to drive me crazy," she added, sotto voce.

"I know," Konatsu said with a brief grin, "Just remember we're mostly doing all of this for her. I would have been just as happy to go down to the town hall and just register."

Ukyo kissed him and then walked briskly over to where Nodoka was standing and retrieved her bouquet.

Nodoka called, "We need all the single girls to stand over here in a group. Ukyo is going to throw her bouquet to find out who is the next girl to get married."

"What's that all about?" Sayuri asked.

"Ukyo went with a Western wedding, so she's doing all of their traditions. The tossing of the bouquet to find out the next girl to wed, and same thing with her garter to find out the next boy," Ranma said, "Silly superstition, if you ask me. I don't believe it at all."

"Ranma, sometimes I don't think you have a romantic bone in your body," Akane said.

"Thank Kami, you married me anyway," Ranma retorted, pulling her into another brief hug.

Giggling, all of the single girls started gathering around. Ranma pushed Nabiki and said, "You, too. You're not married."

Nabiki glared at him, only to have all of her sisters give her a glare.

Akane said, "It's worth ten thousand yen if you catch it."

Kodachi added, "I'll match that and thirty thousand more, if you do it, Nabiki-san."

"Oh, all right," she groused, walking over to join Yuka, Sayuri and a dozen other girls that she didn't know, but recognized from Akane's class.

"What do you plan on doing with them?" Kodachi asked, looking pointedly at the jumble of bodies slightly hidden by a set of ornate screens.

Konatsu shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know," he admitted, with a frown, "It's not like they can actually cause us any problems. And three of them were my only family for a long time, so I'm sort of reluctant to bring in the authorities."

Kodachi chuckled, a slightly evil sound actually. "I can't wait to hear what Daddy Dearest has to say once he wakes up," she said, with an evil glint in her eye, "I truly wonder what could have caused him to be involved in something so stupid."

"And Tsubasa," Ranma snorted in disgust, "What was he thinking?"

Konatsu smiled briefly and said, "I really appreciate what you guys did. You could have gotten hurt, especially with those coconut bombs."

Akane grinned and said, reasonably, "What else is family supposed to do? Besides, we've seen those bombs used before. It wasn't exactly hard to knock them back at him."

Ukyo turned her back on the group, but not before smiling at her husband. With a mighty heave she tossed the bouquet of flowers over her head. All of the girls scrambled for it, but to Nabiki's surprise, the flowers landed in her hands.

"Oooh," Yuka squealed, "You must be getting married next, Nabiki!"

"I don't even have a boyfriend. Stupid gaijan tradition," Nabiki muttered as she was swarmed by the young women, all offering her their congratulations. 'Besides, I just did it for the money,' Nabiki thought.

Nodoka called out and said, "Okay, now for the garter. We need all of the single men to line up. Ukyo, dear, put your foot up on the chair there, and Konatsu, you get to reach up and pull off the garter."

After much goodnatured grumbling, a handful of young men gathered near to Ukyo and Konatsu, Soun being the only single man to beg off, saying something about his leg acting up.

Ukyo slipped one foot out of her shoe and placed a surprisingly delicate foot on the chair.

Konatsu knelt down and slid his hand up his wife's leg, to the sounds of encouragement from all of the younger guests, one or two of which were just a bit on the colorful side.

Ukyo glanced down, blushing and said, sotto voce, "Uh, dear, you went up a bit high, that's not my garter. But you can take that off later when we're alone"

Konatsu blushed bright red, as he brought his hand down from where it had managed to wander. Konatsu spent a few minutes fumbling around under Ukyo's dress, his face getting redder by the moment.

Ukyo began to giggle, saying, "Careful, I'm just a little ticklish there."

With a huge sigh of relief, the garter finally made its appearance from beneath the hem of Ukyo's dress, and Konatsu slid it off of Ukyo's foot.

"Okay, now that was entertaining," Konatsu said.

"Now keep your back to all of the men, and shoot the garter over your right shoulder," Nodoka commanded.

Konatsu grimaced in embarrassment. Holding the garter in his right hand over his shoulder, he used his left hand to stretch it as far as he could.

"On three," Nodoka said, "One, two, three."

The word had barely left her mouth before Konatsu had launched the garter. The men scrambled for a moment as the projectile neared them, only to have one man's hand dart out from the melee, and snatch the missile from the air.

"Looks like I caught it," Souta said, with an odd smile.

All of the disappointed men congratulated him, as Nodoka smiled happily. "It appears that you're supposed to be the next man to be married," she said brightly.

After escaping from the crowd, Souta walked over and handed the garter back to Ukyo. "Congratulations, both of you," he said, "And I mean that sincerely. You make a good looking couple."

"Thank you, Souta," Ukyo said, her face glowing with happiness, "I'm glad you made it."

"I wouldn't have missed this. I'm just glad that you invited me," Souta responded, "Even the pre-wedding fight was amusing."

"You saw some of that?" Konatsu asked.

"Yeah, I think most of the guests did," Souta said quietly.

"That's odd, no one really said anything about it in the reception line," Ukyo mused.

"That's because," Souta began only to be interrupted.

"Souta, you need to come over for photographs with Nabiki," Nodoka called out.

"Yes, Mrs. Saotome, I'll be right there," Souta replied, using his theatrical experience to make his voice heard through the crowd. He headed over to where Nabiki was standing with Nodoka.

The photographer positioned the young couple, with Nabiki still holding the bouquet, and placing Souta's arm around her, with her head on his shoulder. "You two smile pretty for the camera," the young female photographer ordered, "Exactly like that."

"Oooh, you two look so lovely together," Nodoka enthused.

"Sorry about this," Nabiki whispered.

Souta grinned and said, "It's okay. No boy really objects to having his arm around a pretty girl."

Nabiki blushed as the photographer took several shots of that pose, and then said, "That will be a good picture for the wedding album."

Ranma watched his mother's antics, his lips twitching as he fought the smile off successfully.

"What's got you so amused, Ranma?" Akane asked, under her breath.

Ranma pointed at Nabiki and Souta. "Mom's up to something, again," he whispered back.

"They do make an interesting couple," Akane said, "But they sure don't have much in common."

"I guess I ought to rescue her," Ranma said, just a tad reluctantly, "I like Souta, but he is just so wrong for her." He called, "Mom, do you have a minute? We need to talk to our uninvited guests."

"Of course, son," Nodoka said, as she headed toward her son, allowing Nabiki to escape from her less than subtle attempts at matchmaking. With a smile of apology, Nabiki detached herself from Souta, but not before he said something that caused her to blush slightly. Souta watched as Nabiki walked away, a smirk on his face.

Nodoka joined the young couples as they stared at the pile of bodies lying on the lawn. She gazed impassively at them and then asked in a business-like voice, "What was the reason for the assault on my son's wedding? How dare you interrupt the fulfillment of an honorable contract between these two, and between our clans? You're actions have brought grave dishonor to your names."

Tsubasa stared defiantly back at Nodoka, and spat, "I was trying to save my darling Ukyo from marrying a girl, that cross-dressing freak."

Ranma did a double take and asked, "Um, Tsubasa, please tell me I didn't hear YOU call someone a cross-dresser? What exactly are you wearing under that black robe? I definitely see a touch of lace at the neck."

Tsubasa glanced down and had the decency to blush. "Okay, I'm in a dress myself, but that doesn't change anything," he spat.

"Well, first of all, Konastu is NOT a girl. He is a man," Ukyo said, her eyes blazing, "I should know!" As she heard the words that came out of her mouth, her cheeks began to blaze as her friends traded knowing looks, and not a few snickers.

Hiroshi cursed under his breath and handed Akane several medium denomination yen notes. "I could have gone a long time without hearing that," he said, sotto voce. Akane just looked smug as she gave him an 'I told you so' look.

"For your egregious stain on our honor, young man, I demand satisfaction. You will meetme onthe field of honor and," Nodoka began.

"Mom," Ranma said, gently, "A couple of things. One, he fainted, and judging from the dark spot on his robe, he did something else too. And two, Tsubasa isn't a fighter. He may be a bit of a pest, but he's mostly harmless."

"He's right, Mom," Konatsu added, "It would be a waste of time to worry about him. Now that we're married, he'll probably disappear again, anyway."

"Oh, I don't know, I was thinking of introducing him to what's her name, the ice-skating girl," Ranma said.

"Speaking of an overdose of cute," Akane said, making a slight gagging sound, "Seeing Azusa and him together, in their uber-cute mode." She shuddered, and said, "I don't need that mental image at all, Ranma. You're going to pay for that tonight."

Ranma actually cringed, as his friends grinned at him.

At the same time, Kodachi was watching her father, avidly. Finally, with a groan, he awoke. "Finally," she swore, "Now I want to get to the bottom of this, Daddy Dearest. Why did you try to break up this wedding?"

Kuno laughed and said, "For vengeance against the Saotome keiki. He cost the Big Kahuna his job and turned my keikis against me."

"You've never even met me," Konatsu said, "So what did I ever do to you?"

"Not you, the Saotome keiki. The one who turns into a girl," Kuno said, dropping his fake accent.

"Moron," Akane said in derision, "This wedding wasn't between Ranma and Ukyo. It was between KONATSU Saotome and Ukyo. Ranma and I are already married, fool."

"That not what the pretty girl said," the ex-principal stammered.

"You're an idiot all right, for starters, Tsubasa isn't a girl. He's a guy that likes to dress up as one, is all," Nodoka said, as Ukyo's father finally made his appearance, a small ice pack held to the knot on his forehead.

"How are you feeling, Father?" Ukyo asked.

"Like I have a bad hangover," he replied, "And I haven't even had anything to drink."

"Sorry you got mixed up in the chaos that is Nerima," Akane apologized.

"Forget it girl, I'm an adult. And it's not like it's your fault anyway, other than the fact that my daughter ended up in this cursed place," the elderly man said. He glared at the five figures on the ground in front of him and snarled, "Have you sorted this lot out yet?"

"We're getting there, Hikaru. This one, he has an infatuation with Ukyo, and wanted to try to break up the wedding because of that. That one was under the impression that it was Ranma getting married, and he wanted revenge for something that he thought Ranma had done," Nodoka replied, "And these three are Konatsu's former step-family. We haven't had a chance to talk to them yet, since they are pretending to still be unconscious."

"Why are you here, Kotet?" Konatsu asked, venom dripping from his voice, "Wasn't it enough that you ruined my life for so long, treating me as a slave, after my father died? Why do you persist in tormenting me?"

Kotet sneered at him and replied, "Why should I allow you to wed, when my beautiful daughters still have no suitors? They deserve their happiness, not you. You, who abandoned your duties to your family to enter into an unnatural lifestyle? You were supposed to take care of our every whim, but instead, you are slaking your unnatural lusts with this scarlet woman!"

"Scarlet woman!" sputtered Ukyo, "How the hell am I a scarlet woman?"

"Enough ranting, old woman," Konatsu demanded, his voice even colder than before. In fact, it appeared that the ground around them was icing up. "You allowed me to leave your service! And even though you may have raised me as a girl, I can assure you that I am not a woman, so there is nothing unnatural about my feelings toward my wife."

"But then, you would know about unnatural lusts," Kodachi sneered, "Since it is obvious that you mated with something other than a human, based on your offspring here. I don't know what could have been the father, but it wasn't human."

"How dare you!" Koume exclaimed, "We are the height of loveliness, aren't we Mother?"

"What shall we do with this trash?" Mr. Kuonji asked.

"If only I still had Midorigami," Kodachi said, absently, "I do miss the poor dear. I must write than nice man and see how he is doing."

"I wouldn't feed them to him, they would give even him indigestion," Ranma retorted, "And you wouldn't want to do that. A sick alligator is not a pretty sight."

"True, you are as ever the fount of wisdom" Kodachi said, with a grin, to show that she wasn't really serious. She snapped her fingers and said, softly, "Sasuke."

A diminutive figure, dressed as a ninja, appeared. "Yes, Mistress Kodachi, how may I, Sasuke Sarugakure, be of assistance?" he said.

"Take this excuse for a father away. Make sure that he is found in an appropriate manner," Kodachi said imperiously.

"Of course Mistress," Sasuke said, rubbing his hands together in glee. He slung the heavyset man over his shoulder, staggering for a second under the weight, and then the two of them vanished.

"That takes care of him, but what do you want to do with Kurenai? And the rest?" Ranma asked.

"I don't really want to hurt them any," Konatsu said, "Even though they tried to ruin our special day."

"Maybe I can help, sonny boy," a mummified voice answered from behind him.

Ranma leapt up into the air and turned around. "Old woman, I really must be slipping if you could creep up on me," he snarled.

"Sonny boy, you're good, I'll admit that. But, I've got three thousand years of Amazon tradition backing me up," Cologne retorted. She turned to Shampoo and said, "Go home and get your Formula 411 shampoo."

"Yes, Elder," Shampoo said. She raced off.

"I admit that they need to have their hair washed, but what will that do to solve our problem?" Nodoka asked.

"It's a special shampoo, along with a shiatsu scalp massage that will erase certain memories," Cologne explained, "Shampoo, ironically enough, is an expert in the technique. Don't snicker, Sonny Boy, I know what my great granddaughter's name sounds like the way you foreigners mangle it, so I understand the pun I just made."

"Um, a form of brain-washing, I guess," Hikaru Kuonji said, "So that they'll forget what though?"

"Well, for the step-family, perhaps just to forget that Konatsu ever existed, I suppose," Cologne replied, slowly, "And for the girl, maybe just to forget about Ukyo. That should probably do the trick."

Nodoka looked around for a moment and then suggested, "It's really about time for you and Ukyo to head to the train station, son. Why don't you two go change?"

"Sure, Mom," Konatsu said. He walked over and hugged his mother to him, and lightly kissed her cheek.

Ukyo turned and suddenly she was in Nodoka's arms. "Take care of him, daughter," Nodoka said as she hugged her new daughter.

"With my life," Ukyo replied, "I meant what I said in there. And you know I take my oaths seriously." Konatsu led his wife into the house and up the stairs to Ranma and Akane's room, where their suitcase and change of clothing was.

"We need to take them somewhere we can have some privacy," Cologne said.

"Well, since they are getting their hair washed, the furoba is the logical place for it," Kodachi said.

"You wouldn't have any of your knockout powder would you?" Mousse asked.

Kodachi looked at her husband with a pair of come-hither eyes, and said, "Actually, Mousse dearest, I don't. But, if you check in your left sleeve, I believe you'll find some there. I had a great deal of fun putting it there, by the way."

Mousse darted his right hand down his left sleeve and pulled out a small pouch. "I don't recognize this. Is this is?" he asked.

"Yes, darling. Isn't he sweet, better than a purse, and I don't feel like a pack mule anymore," Kodachi said, lightly caressing his cheek with one hand, while taking the pouch in the other. She turned to her friends, and suggested, "You might want to move back a bit. This is just a little inexact, I'm afraid."

The crowd edged back from the four victims, as Kodachi threw some of the contents at them. Fortunately, the wind was in the correct direction, as the powder quickly settled on the four, putting them back into a deep slumber. "That should hold them for a few hours," Kodachi said, smugly, as she snugged the bag closed again, and handed it back to her husband, "You'll excuse me for a moment, I really should wash my hands." She headed into the kitchen to find the sink.

"I still wonder sometimes about that girl," Ranma muttered, "I like her, but she is still not in the same world as we are in."

"Yes, she would make a wonderful Amazon," Cologne said, ignoring what Ranma was saying.

Akane looked surprised for a moment and then asked, "I figured that she was considered an Amazon. After all, she did marry Mousse and he is an Amazon."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Doesn't really work that way. They are a matri, damn, what's the word. A culture run by women, anyway, so the woman's family is what counts. Kodachi married Mousse, and so he is not really considered an Amazon anymore. Assuming I remembered all that you taught me, Cologne."

Cologne grinned at the young man and said, "Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. I really didn't want to lose Mousse. He is a master of Hidden Weapons, after all, so that's not something the tribe really would want to slip out of their hands. We just haven't approached her. It just isn't quite time for that yet."

"I'm sure there is a three thousand year old Amazon tradition that made that decision," Ranma said in disgust. He frowned for a moment, and then said, "Well, let's drag these bodies into the furoba. I really want to get out of this blasted tux anyway."

"Ranma, you promised me a dance," Akane said, dangerously.

"Uh, dear, these were the musicians, remember. We have no music because they are lying here unconscious," Ranma replied, knowing however, that whatever he said wasn't going to make a difference.

Akane gave him a hard look, and Ranma sighed heavily. "You promised," she hissed.

"Help!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Bring my stereo out here, dummy," Nabiki said, with a friendly smile. She added, "Take out the trash, and I'll get the music taken care of, okay. By the time you drag these bodies into the furoba, I can have the system set up out here. And we get to keep their sound system."

"Only if they own it. I wouldn't be surprised if the group that I really hired isn't sitting in a ditch somewhere," Nodoka warned.

Ranma sighed and acquiesced, heading into the house to bring out Nabiki's equipment.

* * *

Ranma flung himself down on the floor next to his wife. Akane leaned up against him, as he wrapped his arms around her. "What ya watching?" Ranma asked.

"Just the news," Akane answered, "They ran me out of the kitchen because of all of the people in there, what with Kasumi, Hinako, your mom, Sayuri and Cologne, there just wasn't any room."

"What a day!" Ranma exclaimed, "The wedding, the fight at the wedding, and I'll deny it if you tell anyone, but I enjoyed the dancing. Of course, most of that was just an excuse to hold you."

"Oh Ranma," Akane said, in an exasperated, yet fond, tone of voice, "Don't ever change."

"I'll try not to," Ranma said with a smirk, "Now that I've reached perfection, that is."

Akane groaned and began to speak, only to have Ranma wave her to silence. "Listen," he said, as he turned the volume on the television up a little higher, as a picture of Daisho Kuno, being dragged from what appeared to be a love hotel.

The voice over stated, "Former Furinkan High School principal, Daisho Kuno, already in significant difficulties for abandoning his children for the last eleven years, was found this afternoon at this location, allegedly engaging in illicit acts. The police officer in charge refused to comment on the charges, however the night manager did confirm that large quantities of empty bottles were found in the room, as well as clothing that appeared to be for several underage girls. No one else, however, was found in the room, according to our sources. That's the last of our local news, next it's our Weather Girl with tomorrow's weather."

Ranma glanced over at Akane and began to laugh.

"Stop that, Ranma, I actually feel sorry for him. That Sasuke character has really done a number on his reputation, and totally dragged him through the mud," Akane said, a touch angrily.

Ranma had the decency to look abashed as he hung his head and allowed Akane to berate him. Finally, when Akane took a breath, he looked up and said, "Okay, I get the point. But, on the other hand, if he had left well enough alone, then Kodachi wouldn't have done what she did, either. You're right, Kuno's reputation is shot to hell now, but since he was already a ronin, there wasn't much lower that he could go. And as to the underage sex charges, that the announcer was implying, I'm sure that didn't happen, so that'll get tossed out, probably."

"Maybe, but it will still haunt him for the rest of the time he stays in the area," Akane retorted.

Ranma sighed heavily. He looked around quickly and lowered his voice. "I just can't feel too sorry for him after everything that he did to me before, and I guess that's coloring how I feel about him now," Ranma said, "Please try to understand."

"I do, I guess," Akane said.

"And that's the compassionate Akane that I grew to love," Ranma said, "Even willing to feel sorry for someone like Kuno. Don't YOU ever change, either."

Akane smirked back at him and echoed him from earlier, "I'll try not to. Now that I've reached perfection, that is."

"Ugh, did I sound that arrogant when I said that?" Ranma teased.

"As a matter of fact, you did," Akane affirmed.

Ranma made a sour face and said, "Remind me not to do that again, then. That was worse than the Blue Blunder ever sounded." He looked back up at his wife and added, "If my ego ever gets that big, please deflate my head for me, okay?"

Akane smiled and said, "It would be my pleasure to do that, dear. After all, what are wives for after all?"

Ranma waggled his eyebrows and replied, "Oh, I don't know. But I'm sure I can think of something."

Akane gasped, as her attention was returned to the screen. "MOM!" she cried.

"What is it, love?" Ranma asked, only to gasp as he saw what was on the television. Then he began to laugh.

Nodoka rushed into the family room, garbed in Kasumi's second-best apron, and asked, "What?"

Ranma pointed toward the television screen as the young couple collapsed into each other's arms.

Nodoka stared at the screen and as she realized what she was seeing, she began to laugh, a deep, vibrant, laugh, which shook her frame.

Kasumi rushed in after hearing the commotion and exclaimed, "Oh my! However did Mr. Saotome get in that situation?"

"I honestly don't know, Kasumi dear, but I guess I need to go to the zoo in Ehime and get your father out," Nodoka said, once she got her breath back.

"You're not jealous, are you Mom? After all, he is in their breeding program?" Ranma asked, with a grin on his face.

"Jealous? Of a female panda! If your father can't keep it in his pants," Nodoka began, only to have Ranma point at the obviously pant-less panda being displayed on the screen. She frowned at Ranma and said, "You know what I mean. Besides, did he ever cheat on me while you were gone?"

"Mom!" Ranma exclaimed, "Do you really know how embarrassing a question that is? The thought never occurred to me that you would ask that."

"It was ten years, and that can be a long time. And he isn't the same man that I married," Nodoka replied, just a touch sadly.

Ranma frowned slightly and thought back over the last several years. "Mom, as far as I know, he was faithful," he said, "Not that I would have know what was going on. But I never saw him with another woman, if that helps any."

"Ranma, I never had any doubts about that, actually. Besides, did I ever tell you about this interesting curse I learned shortly before he left?" Nodoka said with a smile.

"You, learning curses?" Ranma asked, with a shocked expression on his face.

"Just teasing, son. After all, curses don't really work, now do they?" Nodoka asked with a straight face.

Akane giggled as she poured her glass of water on her husband.

"Ha, Ha, I bet you think you're cute, don't you?" Ranma retorted, as she wrung the water out of her hair, "Yep, no such thing as curses."

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay in posting this chapter. Real Life decided to interfere in that my beta reader, affectionately known also as my wife, has been out of town the last two weeks on business trips, and we have been spending a great deal of the time that she is in town working out house plans, interviewing builders, and the like for a new home that we wish to build, among other things. Anyway, read and enjoy, hopefully, this latest chapter. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed. The next chapter is coming along well, so I hope it will be up sooner rather than later. For those following Different Path, once again the muse is being difficult. I hope to break through the issues I am having with it. 


	57. The Guest at the Cat Cafe

Chapter 57 The Guest at the Cat Café

A silent figure, dressed all in dark gray, stood in the shadows, his eyes watching carefully as the two zoo workers stood by the Panda exhibit. "That male panda sure isn't working out," one of the workers said.

"No, all he does is eat, and sleep," the second one said.

"I don't understand it. Mu-chan is in season, so I don't know why that male panda isn't doing anything about it," the first worker said.

The second one agreed. "It's like it's just not interested in females. No reaction at all. I wonder, is there such a thing as a gay panda?"

The two workers traded looks, and then began to laugh. Finally, the first one said, "We could try adding something to his bamboo."

"I wonder how big a dose it would take. There's a lot of fat on that panda," the second one replied, "We can ask the director in the morning; see what he says about the whole thing."

The two of them walked off, not noticing the figure hiding in the shadows, which was silently convulsing in laughter. The figure straightened up as the walkway lights began to turn off, as the zoo shut down for the night, and all of the workers, except for the few who were on nightshift, departed the grounds. The figure waited for another hour in the near darkness that was lit by only a few strategically placed lights, as he waited. He grew even more still as the night watchman made his rounds, the light from his flashlight bouncing around on the concrete walk. Finally, the watchman turned the corner, around the Snake House and disappeared from view. The figure waited for a few more seconds, until the sound of the footsteps echoing against the walls stopped. On cat-like feet, the figure walked hurriedly to an open-air exhibit. There he found a large panda sitting on the stony ground, gazing across the water-filled ditch that separated it from the outside world.

"Hey, Pop. Looks like you're in a bit of a predicament," the figure said, "Would you like some help?"

The panda stared at him for a moment and then a sign appeared. It read, 'Why would I want to leave here?' FLIP 'I get free room and board, and I don't have to do anything.'

"So you like eating bamboo shoots, do you?" Ranma asked.

The sign flashed, 'Not really, but this beats work'

"I'll tell Mom then," Ranma said with a shrug.

The panda appeared to grow pale, and the next sign asked, 'Your mother knows about this?'

"Why do you think I'm here?" Ranma asked, in a tone that said, 'why else would I be here?' "Of course, she's the one who sent me. But, if you'd rather talk to her, she'll be by in the morning. Though I don't think she'll be very happy. In fact, I distinctly heard her say something about it was a shame that pandas were on the endangered species list, because she could use a nice rug in front of the fireplace."

The panda sighed heavily, and raised one last sign. 'Okay, get me out of here,' it read. The panda staggered to its feet, and then waded across the water and climbed up the concrete embankment. It hesitated for a moment, and then crawled over the railing that was all that separated it from freedom. Quickly, Ranma spun the top off the thermos he was carrying and dumped the hot water over the figure, transforming the panda into his father.

"One of these days I'm going to figure out how you always end up dressed in your gi when you change back," Ranma groused to himself, as the two of them silently made their way to the outside fence. They ghosted by the man at the main gate, who was oblivious to his surroundings, enraptured apparently by the magazine that he was holding in his hands.

Once they were free of the park, Ranma turned to his father, and asked, "How on earth did you end up in there? And why did you decide to stay? You could have gotten out any time you wanted to."

"I was camping in the woods just outside of town, and was looking for some food. I got caught in a sudden downpour, while I was still some distance from my camp. Before I could get back, I was caught by the animal control people, and shot with a tranquilizer dart," Genma replied.

"That still doesn't answer why you hadn't left yet," Ranma said, in an accusing tone of voice.

"I was just about out of money," Genma said, "And I needed to eat. Bamboo doesn't taste all that good, but at least when I'm a panda, I can eat it. But you're right. I did need to leave. I didn't want to miss the wedding, after all."

Ranma shook his head and said, "Too late, Pop. Ukyo and Konatsu got married yesterday, and went on their honeymoon. Mom really wasn't too happy with you not being there, by the way."

"Then, I guess, discretion is the better part of valour. Tell Nodoka I miss her, but I'm still searching for who I am. I'm heading to Hokkaido, I think," Genma said.

"Coward," Ranma said, as he watched his father disappear, using the Umi-Ken-Sen. He chuckled for a moment and then said, "I knew he was going to cut and run. Of course, this means I can give Mom back the yen she gave me to give to him. So I guess it wasn't a total loss. She needs the money a lot more than the old man does." He glanced at his watch, and headed off toward the train station. 'If I hurry, I can make the last train to Nerima, and get back to Akane,' he thought with a salacious grin.

* * *

Ryoga glanced over at his wife, as they strolled down the street on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, holding each other's hand. He lightly squeezed her hand, a hand that he was holding because he wanted to, rather than as a means to prevent him from wandering off. While he was extremely grateful that the Amazon Council had managed to diminish the effect of his curse, he sometimes wished that they had managed to remove it completely. 'Oh well,' he thought, with more than a trace of self-deprecating humor, 'At least now I can usually get to where I want to go in a reasonable length of time, eventually anyway, even if my progress usually looks like a drunkard's walk.' A brief chuckle escaped his lips as he thought, 'Walking in a straight line is so overrated, anyway. I mean, what's with that concept anyhow? Sounds pretty boring to me. I get to see some of the most interesting things because of my meandering ways.'

Shampoo cocked one eyebrow in a silent inquisition of what exactly her husband found so amusing. When he merely shrugged his shoulders in response, she sighed and returned to the somewhat pensive mood that she had been in since they had been so unceremoniously rushed out of the café that afternoon after school. A brief smile flashed across her face as she recalled how Mousse had almost literally flown out the door in his rush to rejoin his wife at their house.

Ryoga broke the companionable silence by asking, "You've been awfully quiet since we left the café. What are you thinking so hard about, Shampoo?"

"Why Great Grandmother give afternoon off," Shampoo replied after a moment, "That not like her at all. She never do that before."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. You're right, that isn't how the old woman usually behaves," Ryoga agreed, "And unless I am completely clueless, she actually seemed to be nervous about something."

Shampoo frowned slightly, marring the normally smooth forehead, and nodded her head. "Shampoo notice that too," she added, "She say dangerous guests coming. That young girl like me shouldn't be exposed to them. Made Shampoo wonder what is going on."

Ryoga considered that for several seconds and then he sighed. After casting a glance up at the completely cloudless sky, he pulled his wife into a hug, lightly kissing the top of her head. "You know something; it's much too pretty a day to worry about something."

"What Airen want to do instead?" Shampoo asked, slyly.

"Well, I was thinking. We have a couple of choices is the way I see it. One, we can continue doing what we were doing, pondering the imponderable about why Cologne was acting so oddly, or two, we can go to the park and try to find that secluded pavilion on the lake that Mousse told you about, and, um, use the time off to, um, do something better." The timbre of his voice got huskier as he talked, sending an interesting sensation down Shampoo's spine, as she shivered delightfully in his arms.

Shampoo giggled and sad, "Well, when Ryoga put it that way, pavilion sound like too too good idea."

Ryoga chuckled and the two of them turned around to head the other way toward Shakujii Park.

Suddenly, a gruff voice stammered from above and beside them, "You're a w-woman?"

Ryoga and Shampoo whirled to see a heavily muscled man standing on the fence next to them, wearing a black tunic with what looked like tiger pelts acting as epaulets. His ears were slightly pointed and his black hair had some odd-colored highlights.

"What with you?" Shampoo asked.

The odd man jumped down and said, "For the first time in my life, I'm talking to a real live woman." Tears streamed down from his face. "O-okay, now to try to t-touch her," he stammered.

"Huh, what idiot boy say?" Shampoo asked, backing up slightly and bringing her bonborris out from wherever she managed to hide them, while Ryoga once again made a mental note to find out where she stored them, as he pulled his umbrella from over his shoulder.

* * *

Ranma raced down the street leading away from the high school after finishing his portion of the cleanup duty, elated that once again he had escaped from the gaggle of giggling girls that always seemed to draw duty with him. And once again, he made a mental note to ask, no beg, Miss Morisato to please agree to put him on a different rotation, preferably the one with his wife and friends. He cursed under his breath as he noticed what time it was as he passed by one of the stores in the area, that had a large digital clock prominently displayed in one of its windows, and picked up his pace a bit more. "It's later than I thought," he muttered, "I sure hope Akane doesn't get too mad at me." He remembered her parting words as she left the classroom with Sayuri, that she would meet him at home, but she would start the training session in the dojo with the other three girls while she waited, but warning him not to take too long in joining them. As he neared the cross street that led to the Tendo compound, he suddenly heard the sound of a girl screaming, and then Nabiki came barreling around the corner, and crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the sidewalk, with Nabiki ending up on top of him.

The two of them froze in that awkward position for what seemed to be an eternity, and then they scrambled to their feet, both of them red-faced in embarrassment. "Ranma, thank goodness you're here!" Nabiki exclaimed, "Akane needs your help! You've got to-" She blinked as Ranma literally vanished from her sight. She sighed and muttered to herself, "And thanks for the compliment."

Ranma turned the corner to see Akane facing off against a man wearing a cap made out of a wolf's pelt, with the ears still attached, and Sayuri crumpled to the ground, still screaming. 'Mint!' Ranma thought as he rushed to help his wife. With a low growl, he ran toward the battling couple, a dangerous glint in his eyes, and his fists clenched in anger. While she was fighting well, he could tell that Akane was clearly in trouble and would soon be overcome by the stronger and faster warrior, and indeed she seemed to be favoring one leg as she evaded Mint's blows. The low growl grew louder as he watched Mint catch that same leg again, and Akane buckled to the ground. Ranma roared, "Get the hell away from my wife and face me like a man!" His face twisted into a hideous mask, as he snarled in anger.

Mint looked up started to see the onrushing Ranma, and deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, decided to make off with his spoils of war. He dashed over to the still shrieking Sayuri, and with a mumbled, "Excuse Me!" he picked her up and slung her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. With a mighty leap, he jumped to the nearest rooftop, and took off.

With a growl of frustration, Ranma stopped next to his wife, and knelt down.

"Don't stop, Ranma, go after him and save Sayuri. I'll be okay in a minute," Akane gasped as she struggled to a sitting position.

"Don't be stupid," Ranma snapped, "I'm taking you to Doc and then I'll go after him." He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. "What were you thinking, Akane?" he asked, the worry in his voice both angering Akane as well as being an odd sort of comfort, "Didn't you see that he was too much for you?"

"I couldn't let him take Sayuri," Akane replied, a dangerous tone in her voice, one that Ranma had painfully come to know in the other past.

"I know that," Ranma spat, "But didn't you recognize the Musk warrior Mint from the description I gave you?"

"That was Mint?" Akane asked, as Ranma helped her to her feet, only for the leg to buckle again, Ranma grabbing her before she collapsed. "SHIT! I can't put any weight on it!" she exclaimed, clutching the offending leg.

"Yep, that was Mint," Ranma said, as he swept her up in his arms and cradled her. He headed toward the clinic and added, "Don't you remember what I said about him? Damn, if you didn't realize it was him, it wouldn't have crossed your mind. Never mind, dammit."

Akane suddenly blushed as she realized the technique that Ranma was obliquely talking about. Then his next words confirmed her thoughts.

"Not that I want any other guy to see 'em, but you still should have distracted him. After flashing him, he would have been stunned. At least long enough for you two to have gotten away or maybe for you to mallet him to Kyoto," Ranma continued.

"You are going after him, aren't you?" Akane asked in a little girl voice.

Ranma gave her a look, one she couldn't see, since she had buried her head in his chest. "Of course, Acchan," he growled, "He hurt you, and took Sayuri."

"It's mostly my pride that hurts," Akane said a bit shamefaced.

"From the little I saw, you were doing pretty good against him. Remember, he beat Mousse the first time those two faced off against each other," Ranma said, as he pushed the door of the clinic open. "Doc!" he called, as he entered the building, "It's Akane! She needs help."

Tofu came bustling out from his office, drying his hands, and frowned. "Put her in exam one," he ordered.

"As soon as you do that, find that pervert," Akane growled.

Ranma smiled at her words, though the smile never reached his eyes as he carried his wife into the exam room and carefully laid her out on the table. "Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes showing his concern.

"I'll be fine. Doc will fix me right up, and besides, I'm a martial artist. Now give me a kiss, and go," Akane ordered.

"Yes, dear," Ranma replied, as he bent down and kissed her. As he pulled back, his eyes hardened into blue diamonds as he disappeared out the door, neatly sidestepping Tofu as he approached the table.

* * *

Cologne looked around the main room of her restaurant, her normal mask of inscrutability strained by the tableau in front of her. It had been bad enough when her uninvited guest, Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty had made his appearance, though she had silently blessed her forethought in sending her great granddaughter and her friends out for the afternoon. The young man's arrogance was enough to try her formidable patience, and she just knew that it would have sent any of the young one's that normally spent time working here over the edge. It was hard for her to believe that Ranma had been right, when he had disclosed his secret those months ago, especially about both the Musk and Phoenix people, but some careful investigations by her people had indeed confirmed the existence of those two secretive clans, ones once thought long extinct, and merely a myth. She had been able to feign surprise when the arrogant snot had strolled in looking like he owned the place, though he had yet to remove his cloak, concealing his features, so that seemed to confirm the other part of Ranma's story. That Prince Herb had also fallen afoul of the Nyannichuan.

Then, the door opened and things went worse, as a strange man rushed in carrying Sayuri. "Now I can have tea with a woman," the newcomer exclaimed.

"Mint," Prince Herb said, in a soft, genderless voice, "As soon as Lime returns, prepare to go."

"Awww, we're leaving already?" Mint protested, "At least let us have some tea before we go."

"No, Mint, the quest must not be delayed," Prince Herb replied, "As soon as this foolish old woman tells me were the treasure is, we will depart."

Cologne replied, "All I know I have told you."

The door to the Nekohaten was flung open, crashing against the wall with a loud BANG, breaking the tense standoff between the people inside. They turned as one at the interruption to see a young man that Cologne recognized as Ranma framed in the doorway, the setting sun casting an eerie red glow around his figure. At least that was what everyone assumed it was, even the old woman, until she noticed his hair dancing around his head as if blown by an unseen wind. The only issue with that solution was the fact that there was no wind; in fact the air outside was completely still.

"Hello Sonny Boy," Cologne began, "This is a pleasant surprise. I was just going to call the Tendos and ask you to meet me here. I had a guest that I wanted to introduce you to."

Ranma stepped into the restaurant and Cologne shrank back slightly as she saw the coldness of his gaze as he swept the room obviously looking for something or someone. She hadn't totally believed him before about him defeating the demi-god Saffron, but now looking at him, and seeing the battle aura beating against her shields, she now realized that this indeed was someone who would give Saffron reason to fear. She gulped and in a voice that she was proud was even, asked, "What brings you here, Ranma?"

In a voice that sent shivers down her spine, and reminded her of her own mortality, Ranma replied, "Him," pointing at the corner of the room where Mint was still holding Sayuri.

A soft voice interrupted their conversation and asked, "Who are you and what do you want with my warrior?"

Ranma turned slightly to face the heavily cloaked figure. "Your warrior, eh?" he replied in a voice that sucked all of the warmth out of the room, "You should keep your dog on a shorter leash."

"I don't like your tone, little man," the figure said.

"Now, Prince Herb," Cologne began, hoping to calm things down.

"And I don't much care," Ranma interrupted, "He hurt my wife, and kidnapped my friend. That irritates me for some reason."

"Akane?" Cologne asked, shocked, but now understanding why Ranma was behaving the way he was, "Is she hurt badly? Where is she? Does she need my assistance?"

Ranma replied, not taking his eyes off of the person that he knew was the greater danger, "She's at Doc's clinic. From what I could tell; she'll be all right, though she may walk a little gingerly for a few days. Mostly it was her pride that was hurt." He continued to stare down Herb, who beginning to get angry.

"I touched another woman?" Mint asked in disbelief.

The door opened, and Ryoga and Shampoo walked in, visibly angry, and dragging a third figure behind them.

"Lime!" Mint exclaimed as he headed toward his companion, still carrying Sayuri.

"HOLD!" Herb snapped, "I don't have time for this foolishness. So much trouble over a mere woman. Mint, release her and help Lime."

"No! I found her and I want to keep her!" Mint exclaimed.

"Mint!" Herb thundered, "Obey me! Release her, now!" He stalked over and tore Sayuri from his grasp, and said, "Nonsense like this should be thrown away," tossing Sayuri towards the ground. Only Ranma's quick reaction saved her from hitting the floor as he grabbed her and set her quickly on her feet.

"Sayuri, are you okay?" Ranma asked. She nodded and he said, "This may get messy, go home." She took one look at his face and she scurried quickly out the door.

"Now, Prince Herb, please calm down. Ranma here can help you, I think. Ranma, this is Prince Herb," Cologne began.

"Old woman, I have no time for pleasantries," Herb said, "Get Lime and we shall depart, Mint."

"You need to train your warriors better," Ryoga growled, "Especially in how to handle women. This pervert tried to fondle Shampoo."

"Why is it your concern about how my men treat women?" Herb asked, in asperity.

Ranma barked a short laugh and replied, "I think you of all people would want your men to treat a woman with the courtesy they deserve. Right, Prince Herb, or should I say Princess?"

"Ranma, no!" Cologne gasped.

"What did you say?" Herb asked, visibly shaking under his cloak.

Ranma grinned wickedly and said, "I can see through you, Princess. That's a woman's body under that cloak. From your voice, and the way you walk, there's no way that that's a man under there."

Herb screeched, "How dare you, you commoner! I'll have your head for this!"

Ranma's eyes narrowed and his battle aura flared a bit more. "Go ahead and try! I normally don't like fighting girls, but for you, oh yeah, I'll make an exception," he growled as he backed toward the doorway.

"Running away, I see," Herb spat, as he moved toward Ranma, "Just as I thought, a coward!"

"Naw, just didn't want the old woman's building damaged," Ranma said with a sneer, as he stepped out into the street.

"Prince Herb, Sonny Boy! Don't do this!" Cologne exclaimed, as her carefully constructed plan fell apart.

Ranma replied, with a trace of regret in his voice, "I'm sorry, Cologne. I know this isn't what you wanted. But something about Herb just rubs me the wrong way."

"Do what you must then, Sonny Boy," Cologne said, as the rest of the group followed Herb out into the street.

Herb stalked into the middle of the street, her face still showing her anger.

"You see, Princess, we really don't like it when strangers wander into our town and molest our women. That's a sign of really poor manners, and tells me you haven't trained your boys correctly," Ranma said, in slightly mocking tones.

"I don't like you, and I definitely don't like your tone," Herb said, scathingly.

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries," Ranma quoted, surprising most of the people there who didn't understand the reference.

"What!" Herb exclaimed in shock, which was the politest reaction.

"Quoting 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' at a time like this?" Ryoga gasped.

Ranma smirked and continued, "Now go away before I taunt you a second time." He chuckled for a moment and said, quietly, "I always wanted to say that."

"He's crazy," Herb said, turning to Cologne, "What is with this guy?"

"Arewe going to fight or what?" Ranma asked, politely, "Because ifwe aren't, I'd really like to check on my wife and make sure she's fine."

"Arrrrgh!" Herb exclaimed. Losing her cool, Herb attacked Ranma, her fists moving rapidly, however, Ranma was able to evade all of her blows, his body bending out of the way each time.

'Good thing I remember what he could do from the last time,' Ranma thought as he dodged another strike, frustrating Herb completely. Finally, as Ranma escaped the last blow, he did a handstand, while swinging his legs, one of which caught Herb across her chest, tearing her cloak. As Ranma fell away, his foot pulled the cloak.

The group gasped as the cloak fell away from Herb's body, exposing a woman's breast.

"Ranma was right, you are a woman," Ryoga said, just before his nose started to bleed.

"Aiyee, he right," Shampoo gasped.

"Boobies!" Mint exclaimed, as his eyes glazed over.

"Master Herb!" Lime exclaimed.

"Well, you've finally managed to make me really angry," Herb exclaimed, her battle aura growing. She raised her hand, palm first, and a blast of ki flew from it, hitting Ranma enough to knock him into a puddle of water, instantly changing him to a girl.

"He turned into a she!" Lime exclaimed.

"Eh, interesting," Herb mused. Suddenly she snapped, "Lime get the Chiisuiton."

Ranma sat there dazed for a second and then Lime appeared with pail and a ladle.

"What are you planning?" Cologne asked, distracting them for a moment, just long enough for Ranma to shake the cobwebs from her head.

Ranma sat up andsaid, cheekily, "And now for something completely different", just before she vanished from their sight.

"Where'd she go?" Lime asked.

Ranma appeared behind Lime and deftly stole the pail from his hands, and then shoved him rudely to the ground. She then disappeared again, using the power of the Umi-Ken-Sen, to next appear on top of the café. "Now, Prince Herb, that really wasn't very nice of you, wanting to lock me in my female form using the Chiisuiton," she said.

"Boobies!" Mint exclaimed, once again, as he made a grab for the exposed breast on Herb's chest.

"Mint, get him!" Herb shrieked as she covered up her breast.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ranma said, sternly, "You do know that if you get hit with the water in this pail a second time, nothing on earth will unlock your curse and you'll be a girl for the rest of your life. And I can destroy the pail before anyone can get to me. I'm willing to let this incident go, if you are."

Herb glared at her for a moment. "Is that true, Elder Cologne? I hate to admit it, but you know more about our ancient treasure than I do."

Cologne started in surprise and then answered slowly, "I have heard that story about the Chiisuiton. I wasn't aware that you knew about it though, Sonny Boy."

"I do read on rare occasion," Ranma said with a dry chuckle, "So what's it to be, Prince Herb?"

Herb glanced down for a moment and then sighed. "You have me at a disadvantage, Ranma," she said finally, "What are you going to do about it?"

Ranma smiled and said, "Absolutely nothing. Now that we've got this out of our systems, I believe you had a journey you wished to take. I suggest you leave on that trek."

"I need the Chiisuiton to find what I need to return to my original form," Herb said, beginning to get angry again, "I will fight you for it if need be."

Ranma glanced down at the ladle in her hand and said, "That's not a real good idea. I can splash you with this water and then destroy the pail before you can get to me. But I have no wish to do that. On the other hand, I'm not quite stupid enough to give this to you while I'm still here."

"So how do you intend to end this standoff?" Herb growled.

Ranma suggested, smoothly, "Shampoo is very fast bike rider and can take the pail to whatever part of town is most convenient for you?"

Herb thought for a moment and said, "Very well. You have me outmaneuvered at the moment. If this, what was his name, Shampoo, could take the pail to the eastern edge of town, near the train tracks heading toward Horai Mountain that would work."

"Shampoo girl, silly," the affronted Amazon girl said, as she wheeled out her delivery bike.

"Come on up here, Shampoo," Ranma called.

The girl smirked for a moment, and then sprang to the roof of the café. Ranma emptied the pail carefully and handed the pail and ladle to her. She immediately peddled off, leaping from roof to roof on her bicycle.

"Give her a few moments and then you'll be free to go," Ranma said, "I hope you find what you are looking for. Being trapped as a girl can't be any fun for you." 'I would know,' she thought. After a moment, she added, "And if you decide to return to Nerima, I'd like to try to start off on a better footing with you."

Herb stared at her for a moment, trying to read the enigmatic person standing on the roof. Very few people had been able to go toe to toe with her in battle before, and yet this person had managed to counter all of her attacks. "Perhaps, Ranma, perhaps," she finally said. She turned to her retainers and said, "Come, let us depart this place. We have a long distance to go before I can receive my cure."

Lime traded a look with Mint and slung a heavy backpack onto his back. "Ready, my lord," he said.

The three of them headed down the street, toward the eastern edge of Nerima.

Ranma watched as the trio of Musk warriors disappeared and then hopped down to the street. "Old ghoul," she growled, in a voice that indicated that Ranma was NOT happy, "We need to talk." She glanced around and added, "**ALONE!**"

Cologne took one look at Ranma and realized that she was not happy. The girl's battle aura had still not settled down, and in fact was flaring to the level that it had been when Ranma had entered the café. 'Why me?' Cologne asked herself as she said, "Ryoga, wait for Shampoo, and then the two of you find something to do. I doubt we'll be opening at all."

Ryoga actually blushed and said, "I'm sure we can come up with something."

"Just don't make me a Great Great Grandmother, at least not yet," the old woman said with a sigh, as she led Ranma into the café. She headed toward the kitchen only to stop at Ranma's growl. "I was only going to get you some hot water so you could change back," she said.

"Not important right now," Ranma said, hissed, her eyes narrowed in anger, "Old woman, I thought we agreed to warn Herb about the cursed springs."

Cologne sighed heavily and sat down on the long counter dividing the restaurant in two. She suddenly looked much older than her years, a frightening sight in itself. "Yes, we did, Sonny Boy, yes we did," she replied, tiredly, "But I'm only one member on the Council, albeit one of the most influential, but still I wasn't there to argue the case. The council decided to allow events to happen the way they did."

"And would it have hurt you to tell me that?" Ranma snarled, not letting her off the hook.

"I just found out today, when I received their warning about Herb," Cologne replied, flatly.

Ranma looked at her and relaxed slightly as she realized that the old woman was as upset about the situation as she was. "But why?" Ranma finally asked, "How could they allow him to get cursed? Don't they realize what it will do to him? To his psyche?"

Cologne replied, "According to the message, they were afraid that if he didn't get cursed, and then have it locked, there would be no reason for him to come to Japan to search for the Kai-sui-fu, the teakettle of liberation. And if that happened, then the two of you would never meet, and that scared the Council. They firmly believe that the two of must meet. They were afraid that if you didn't, you wouldn't be strong enough to defeat Saffron. And that would be a disaster for our people. They just were reluctant to make any changes in the timeline because of that."

"I suppose I can understand that, I guess," the red-haired girl said slowly, "But it is still a nasty thing your people did, allowing him to get cursed."

"To be honest, I agree with you. But, the council is correct that you need Herb to help get you to the potential you need to get to face Saffron," Cologne argued. She watched as the girl in front of her slowly began to regain control of her emotions.

Ranma kneaded the back of her neck for a moment, trying to relieve some of the tension she was feeling. Finally she sighed and said, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it anyway."

"True, what's done is done," Cologne said.

"But I wanted to approach him as an ally not as an opponent," Ranma said, her shoulders sagging in dismay, "I'm not sure that will happen now." Her shoulders slumped even more as she added, "Of course, I'd forgotten just how arrogant he was. And I didn't expect Mint to hurt Akane, that didn't happen last time, so I kind of lost it."

Cologne chuckled rustily and said, "Even when you are a girl, you're still an alpha male, aren't you, Sonny Boy?"

Ranma grinned sheepishly and replied, "I guess so, old woman." She sighed and asked, "So what do we do now? It's not like I need to follow him and fight for the kettle, not this time."

"That is a problem. I almost wish you'd let him lock your curse, so you'd have a reason to follow him," Cologne said. She looked at Ranma and saw that the young girl was getting angry again. "Hold it, I said, almost. I know that you are afraid of being locked as a woman, so I understand why you did what you did," she said quickly.

Ranma relaxed. "It wouldn't have been the same anyway. The last time, I went with Ryoga and Mousse, and they helped with Mint and Lime. There wouldn't really be any reason for Ryoga to go, and since Mousse didn't see me get locked, he wouldn't have misunderstood what the pail does," she said.

"True. But I could have ordered them to go," Cologne replied.

"Still wouldn't have mattered," Ranma said smugly, buffing her nails on her shirt, "All I needed to do was go home. There would be no need for me to follow Herb and go to Horai Mountain."

Cologne looked surprised, and asked, "Why is that, Sonny Boy?"

"I have the kettle, of course," Ranma said, with a grin, "Akane and I went and retrieved it several months ago." She stopped for a moment, and her grin turned rueful. With a sigh, she admitted, "I intended to save him a long trip to the mountain, to try and get on his good side. But, well, you know what they say about good intentions."

Cologne paled as what Ranma said sank in. "Oh my," the old woman said, finally, "He's going on a wild goose chase, then isn't he? Why didn't you tell me you had the kettle? I could have handled things differently."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders. "Would you believe I forgot," she admitted, a bit sheepishly, "I just had other things on my mind, to be honest."

"Sonny Boy," Cologne said, shaking her head in disbelief, "Tell me these little things, please, before you go off and change things that happened. I'm getting too old for sudden shocks like this. It's a good thing that I asked Herb to return to let me know how things went."

"Do you think he will remember and return?" Ranma asked.

Cologne shrugged and said, "I thought he would, but that was before your little surprise. There's no telling what he will do when he finds out that the kettle is missing. My guess is that he'll come here looking for help to find it."

"That's okay, then," Ranma replied. Ranma frowned suddenly and asked, "Speaking of surprises, are there any waiting for me?"

"Not really, other than the letter did mention that Happosai is dead," Cologne said sadly.

Ranma sank down on one of the seats in the café, and asked, "How?"

"Apparently the council miscalculated. They had been limiting his exposure to females, and that must have caused him to get very weak. Then when he saw Taro transform in front of him, his heart couldn't handle it and he fell over dead," Cologne replied.

"I hated the pervert, but I never wanted him dead," Ranma said, a tear appearing in her eye. Then she gasped. "What about Taro? How did he take it? I guess he didn't get his name changed after all," Ranma asked.

"He was upset at first, but Lotion told him of another way he could get his name changed," Cologne said, with a cackle, "One that I expect will amuse you. He just needed to defeat one of the warriors and get a Kiss of Marriage."

Ranma's eyes grew wide and she began to giggle, finally sliding out of the seat and onto the floor. "They actually did it," she said, through her giggles.

Cologne continued, watching the red-haired girl with amusement, "He did win his battle against Perfume, and the two of them are now husband and wife. I know that was one of the suggestions in the letter we sent to the village, but still I was surprised that was the ultimate solution they came up with."

"So now he is Awesome Taro, just like he wanted," Ranma said.

"Yes, that is the name that Lotion gave him. He and Perfume should be showing up in Nerima sometime. Lotion wrote that she is sending them here to help us train," Cologne said.

"Fighting him in his Minotaur form isn't much fun," Ranma said, "But you're right, it'll toughen us all up to go up against him. Especially when he flies. We need to get used to an opponent that can do that. I want Akane to be able to defeat Kiima. There's no way I want her to go through what she did before."

"That's what we are working to prevent," Cologne said somberly.

"I almost lost her, Cologne," Ranma said, fiercely, "I won't risk her life, not this time. Whatever it takes, she will not have what happened to her before happen again."

"You'll have to work hard," Cologne said.

Ranma merely shrugged and said, "So, what else is new? But things are a bit different this time. You've trained me in a lot more techniques, for instance, and I have control over the Neko-Ken."

The door banged open and a pink-cheeked Shampoo came rushing in, followed by a laughing Ryoga.

"That water should be warm enough to change you back, Ranma," Cologne said, quickly changing the subject.

"Thanks, I'll take you up on that," Ranma replied. She headed into the kitchen and found the pot of hot water that Cologne had mentioned. Grimacing, she poured it over her head, transforming back into a male. "HOT!" he exclaimed, as the steam billowed off his clothing.

* * *

Ranma walked into the clinic to find Akane just finishing up with the doctor. Ranma was grumbling under her breath slightly, wondering when she would learn to dodge the woman watering the sidewalk. 'Every single time she's out there, she gets me with her hose,' she groused silently, 'it's like she's deliberately looking to get me wet.' A brief chuckle escaped her lips, as she realized how ridiculous that thought was.

Akane looked up from buttoning her blouse. She gasped as she saw Ranma leaning against the doorframe, the red bangs hanging down in her face still damp. "Ranma, I thought," she began, only to stop as she realized that Tofu was still in the room.

"Thought what, Akane?" Ranma asked, as she walked over to join her wife.

"Come on, let's get you home," Akane said quickly, as she grabbed Ranma by the hand and dragged her out of the clinic.

"What's wrong with you, Akane?" Ranma asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"We've got to get you home so we can unlock your curse," Akane explained, wondering how Ranma could be so calm about the disaster.

"It's not what you think, Akane," Ranma said, with a giggle, "While things didn't go very well, this is just because the old lady got me, again."

"You're okay?" Akane asked, "I thought they had got you with that pail thingy."

Ranma pulled her to her and hugged her. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine. We had a bit of a standoff, but everything sort of worked out in the end," Ranma said.

"So spill, what happened? Since you're here, is Sayuri fine?" Akane asked.

"Short answer is Sayuri is okay, and should be at home. Prince Herb was there at the café, and we had some words because of Mint and her behavior. After some posturing, they found out about my curse, and they pulled out the pail, but I used the Umi-Ken-Sen to steal it. Then I had Shampoo take it to the edge of Nerima, and the three from the Musk headed off to Mount Horai so she could get her curse unlocked," Ranma replied.

"Um, so why didn't you let her know that you had the kettle?" Akane asked, "I mean, wasn't that the whole reason we went after it in the first place. To try to get on the Prince's good side?"

"Herb pissed me off to be honest," Ranma replied, a bit sheepishly, "So I decided to let her go on a wild goose chase. They'll be back, probably in a week or so. Which should let Herb find out what being a girl is really like since I expect he changed a couple of weeks ago."

"But how do you think Herb will feel when they get there and the kettle is gone? Especially if she thinks that she is locked forever," Akane berated her.

Ranma stared at her with horror-struck eyes. "Damn, I didn't think of that," Ranma said, with a sigh, "I'm going to owe her a pretty big apology when she shows up, aren't I?"

"I'd say so," Akane said with a smile. They soon reached the Tendo compound and walked up the path to the front door. Ranma opened the door and the two of them walked in. As they took off their shoes, Akane called out, "We're home!"

Sayuri came racing around the corner. She squealed, "Ohthankgoodness! You'rebothallright."

"Slow down, Sayuri, I can't understand a word you're saying," Akane said, just before the frantic girl embraced her.

"I'm so sorry that you got hurt, it was all my fault. If I hadn't tripped over my own two feet we all could have gotten away from that horrid man," Sayuri said, noticeably slowing down her speech. She released Akane, and jumped Ranma, wrapping her arms around the startled girl. "And thank you for rescuing me, Ranma. I was so scared," she said, kissing her on the cheek, "You are my hero."

Ranma shook her head and said, "I'm no hero, Sayuri. Akane was for facing off against Mint. But, I didn't do anything really. They were going to let you go."

"You both are my heroes, don't worry," Sayuri said, releasing her.

"No, we're just your family," Akane replied.

"Do we have time to work out in the dojo, or is dinner just about ready?" Ranma asked.

"We only have a few minutes, Kasumi said just before I raced out here," Sayuri replied.

"In that case, I need a quick bath," Akane said.

"Yeah, me too," Ranma added.

"Go ahead, I'll let her know," Sayuri told them as the three of them headed toward the back of the house.

* * *

The very attractive young woman picked her way from the hotel proper and paused for a moment at the entrance to the outdoor baths. She stared at the two signs, one indicating the direction toward the Women's baths, and the second, pointing in the opposite direction for the Men's. With a sigh of vexation, the girl turned and made her way down the cobble-stoned path that led to the woman's bathing area. She slowly and reluctantly walked to a secluded section of the hot spring-fed pool. Glancing around, she was happy to see that she was the only occupant. With a heavy sigh, she began to remove her clothing, starting first with her cloak, and then the dragon hide armor vest she was wearing, leaving her in a simple black tunic, and leggings. After another moment of hesitation, she slipped out of the rest of her attire, placing all of it neatly in the wicker basket that she had brought for the purpose. Once she was nude, she stared at herself for a long moment, a grimace of distaste appearing on her beautiful elfin face. Settling down on one of the smooth boulders placed around the pool for the purpose, she quickly rinsed herself off, using the bucket, soap and sponge that she had dumped out of the basket. Once she was clean, she slid into the water to soak, checking that her long, pinkish tinged blonde hair was safely stowed in a ponytail, and out of the water.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rock wall separating the bathing areas from each other, two young men were having a heated discussion, while they sat on the rocks surrounding the men's pool.

"Why can't I go see Master Herb?" the younger of the two whined.

"Mint, you do know what his reaction would be if he caught you peeping at him?" the older, more muscular of the two asked in reply.

"But, what's the harm, Lime? You saw him this afternoon at that café. Something odd happened to him, he's not the same. It's like that boy he was fighting, the one that all of a sudden turned into a she," Mint argued, "And you want to see a woman's body just as much as I do, so stop with this holier than thou attitude." Mint carefully began to crawl around the pool until he reached a low outcropping allowing him to look into the woman's bath. He hid a smile as he heard Lime crawling behind him to the observation point.

Lime pushed him to the side to peer around the rock. He sighed a little, as he saw his master, or more accurately at the moment, his mistress. "Master Herb is so beautiful," he whispered to Mint.

Unfortunately for the feckless Mint and Lime, the young woman's hearing was extremely acute. "NO PEEKING, YOU MORONS!" she exclaimed as a bolt of ki left her hand, sending the two of them soaring high over the pool, to land somewhere on the other side of the hotel. "I hate this, I absolutely hate this," she muttered as she sank back down into the water trying to relax from the stress she had been under ever since she had fallen into that accursed spring two weeks ago.

The stillness of the evening was broken by the sound of a songbird singing on the grounds of the hotel, bringing a sense of peace to Herb's heart, bringing the first true smile to her face. She sank down into the hot water, the steam rising through the air, as she allowed herself to drift around the pool, letting her mind empty. Finally, after minutes, or hours, she never knew, the setting sun cast its last beams piercing through the mists, and roused her from her reverie. Feeling strangely cleansed by the long immersion in the steamy waters, she rose up like Venus from the depths, to dry herself, idly wondering where her perverse attendants had landed. Discretion being the better part of valor, she quickly dressed, just in case Mint and Lime were hovering around attempting to peep once more. Then she picked up her basket, after placing her bathing supplies inside, and headed back to the entrance to the bath.

"Feeling better, young lady?" the elderly woman manning the entrance asked, as she accepted the basket, and towel.

"Oddly enough, yes," Herb replied, "You were right. I needed that. Thank you for your suggestion."

"I'm just glad I could help, miss," the woman replied, "You looked pretty stressed out for such a lovely girl. Someone as pretty as you should never have a frown like the one you had been wearing."

"I've never considered myself to be a pretty girl," Herb said, with a crooked smile, "That will take some getting used to." She bowed politely and headed back toward the main body of the hotel. 'If the Elder was correct, even when I get unlocked, I will still have this body when I get wet," Herb thought, 'She may have more to tell me. I suppose that I need to return to her for whatever wisdom she may provide. And perhaps that Ranma person. He has this curse too, there may be some insight that he can give me.'

As Herb neared the side entrance to the Imozuru Hotel, Mint and Lime staggered up to join her. Mint had an odd look in his eyes, while Lime stopped a meter away from his fellow servant, as if to disassociate himself from what was about to occur. "Master Herb, those s-strange growths on y-your chest, c-can I touch them?" Mint stammered out.

Lime groaned, "I just got back here," as Herb's eyes flashed with anger.

Herb exploded in anger and a blast of ki came out of her hand, nailing Mint in the chest and sending him back the way he came.

"I told him, I told him," Lime muttered from the ground where he had dived to avoid his master's anger, "He just wouldn't listen, the fool."

"What did you try to tell him?" Herb growled.

"That you wouldn't like that question, Master Herb," Lime replied, fearfully.

"Oh get up from there, fool," Herb said, with a somewhat crooked smile, "He should have listened to you."

Lime stood back up, with his head bowed. He hesitated for a long moment, wondering if he was about to make the same mistake, as the question he needed to ask stayed unspoken for a moment. With a heavy sigh, he decided to grab the bull by the horns and asked, "Master Herb, if I may be so bold, how did this happen? That is, if you are willing to tell me. And what are we looking for in this horrid country?"

Herb sighed, rubbing her eyes gently with the palms of her hand. She replied, "As you know, my father the King had arranged a marriage for me."

"Yes, between you and the daughter of the head of the Silver Fox clan," Lime replied, "A very good match, indeed. One that would guarantee the continued prosperity of the Musk Dynasty, joining the next most powerful clan with yours."

"Exactly. Well, since women are unknown to us because of the way we were raised, I decided that I needed to learn more about them. So, in order to prepare for my courtship of the young woman, I journeyed to the Enchanted Springs of Jusenkyo, there to study in depth those odd creatures called 'women.' The guide there showed me to the Nyanniichuan Spring," Herb began.

"The spring of drowned girl! What does that do?" Lime asked, bewildered.

"Stop interrupting me and I'll tell you," Herb growled.

"Yes Master Herb," Lime groveled, dropping back down to the ground in a quick crouch.

"Once, long ago, our ancestors wanted the powers of wild animals. They threw those animals into the Nyanniichuan spring, transforming them into women, who they then married," Herb said, "Now, of course, we take wives from among the ranks of women highly skilled in the martial arts. But, not being familiar with them, I still wished to have some experience with how they behaved, and so I captured a monkey that was nearby and tossed it into the spring. And as our ancestors had described, the monkey became a beautiful young woman. Unfortunately, her breasts mesmerized me, obviously something I had never seen before, and for one fatal instant, I let my guard down. The girl kicked me into the spring, to the dismay of the guide, after which, I found that I had breasts myself. And foolishly, once again, I let my guard down and I was drenched with water from the Chiisuiton, which I had brought in order to freeze the monkey into its cursed form," Herb said, finishing her tale.

"My poor Master," Lime sobbed, "How horrible for you! To be locked into this form forever."

"Not forever. To unlock my curse, we must find the Kai-sui-fu, the teakettle of liberation. The legends all say that years ago, that treasure was stolen from our people, and it ended up in this benighted land, on top of a mountain called Horai. Once we reach the top, the pail of preservation will point us to its companion artifact," Herb replied, "And I can unlock my curse, and regain my true form. It is getting late, and I must rest. We leave early in the morning. Tell Mint to be prepared when he arrives."

"Of course, Master Herb. Sleep well, and restore your energy," Lime said, with a bow. He watched as his Mistress headed into the hotel, and then sat down to await his foolish companion to appraise him of the orders he had just received.

* * *

The small party reached the beginning of the long, wooden, suspension bridge, swaying precariously in the brisk winds swirling around the mountain on the far side of the deep chasm. Herb stopped for a moment as she read the small signpost with satisfaction. The sign read, 'To Mount Horai,' with a small arrow pointing across the rickety structure towards the mountain, which was barely visible through the thick fog. "That's it, Mount Horai," she said happily, "Our goal is in sight. Somewhere within this mountain is the Kai-sui-fu, the kettle of liberation, which will make me a man again."

"Be careful, Master Herb," Mint warned, "Remember what the old man said. That no one who ventured there has ever been seen again!"

"Our destiny awaits us forward, Mint. Are we not proud warriors of the Musk Dynasty? Am I not the descendant of dragons?" Herb asked, rhetorically.

Lime glanced askance at the sky and noticed the position of the sun. "Master, we must hurry if we wish to reach the top before dusk," he said quickly.

"Then, I suggest you keep up," Herb said, coldly, "Let's go!" She began to run across the bridge, ignoring how it swayed beneath her feet, until she was swallowed up by the tendrils of fog creeping over the bridge.

Mint and Lime traded looks. "Her father will kill us if we don't go and keep her safe," Lime said, adjusting the large backpack to settle it more carefully on his back. Mint slowly nodded and the pair scurried across the bridge, single-file, trying to catch up with their obsessed master.

Soon, or at least sooner than Lime had anticipated, the trio reached the end of the bridge, which was securely anchored to what at first glance appeared to be a dead end. The wind whistling around them, Lime looked to the right and left and saw no path. "Straight up, then?" he asked.

"Looks like it," Mint replied, breathing just a little heavily, which was a bit surprising considering his only burden was the family sword.

"What are you two fools waiting for?" Herb snapped as she leapt up the face of the mountain, bounding from one small outcropping to the next.

"Master Herb is amazing. Look at that, going up the mountain, without any effort," Lime gasped in admiration.

Mint snarled, "We can ogle her later. It's getting late and I for one don't plan on being stuck on this mountainside once it's dark."

Lime looked sheepish for a moment, and then the two of them carefully made their ascent, perhaps not quite as effortlessly as their master, as they followed once more in her footsteps.

With one last leap, Herb soared over the edge and landed in the small clearing on the top of the cliff. She glanced around the grass-covered area, and then across the clearing to the heavy underbrush crowding the clearing. Shortly, she was joined by her two companions, both of them looking a little worse for wear. As the three of them moved across the clearing and toward the dense growth, they heard rustling sounds and then saw the glow of many eyes peering out of the darkness, accompanied by odd grunting sounds from the weirdly moving shrubs.

Lime asked, "Didn't that old man who directed us here warn us about fierce monsters on this mountain?" The rustling sounds grew louder as they approached, and Lime shed his backpack and picked up a convenient log. Mint drew his massive blade from over his shoulder and the two of them traded looks, moving in front of their master. With loud cries, the pair sprang into action, attacking the underbrush and quickly clearing the area, revealing a veritable horde of chattering monkeys, all showing their teeth in a fiercesome grimace.

"Monkeys!" Mint exclaimed.

Herb laughed coldly and said, "So these are the terrible monsters! Well, I know what to do about them."

The monkeys screeched in anger at the invaders, daring them to enter their territory, only to see the trio glare menacingly at the horde, and flaring their battle auras. The monkeys cowered in fear, as they knew instinctively that they were facing fierce beasts, and they had no business attacking them.

Herb coldly raised her hand, sending a blast of ki at the retreating figures, sending many of them far away to hit hard against the trees. The survivors ran away in fear.

"Master Herb, they were already retreating," Lime protested, shocked at his master's action.

Mint asked, "Wasn't that a bit cruel, Master Herb?"

Herb snarled, her face twisted in a mask of hate, "Shut up! Just seeing a monkey makes me want to vomit!"

The trio then forced their way through the dense underbrush, disturbing the birds nesting in the many trees until they reached another clearing that was nestled against another rocky wall.

"Use the Chiisuiton," Herb ordered, "Find the Kai-sui-fu so I can end this!"

Mint took the Chiisuiton from Lime, and set it up, placing the large ladle onto the handle of the metal pail, balancing the ladle carefully, while Lime quickly began to set up an ornate tent on a small ledge in the wall for his Master.

Herb watched intently from where she was perched on a large boulder, hoping for a sign, while her minions fulfilled her orders. To her annoyance, the ladle stayed still.

"Not even a twitch, Master Herb," Mint said, unnecessarily, "There is no reaction in this place."

"So I see," Herb said, dryly, as she sighed heavily, beginning to realize that just reaching the top of the mountain was only the start of the process that would end in her removing the lock on her curse.

Lime called, "Master Herb, I have your bed ready if you would care to rest."

"Excellent!" Herb exclaimed as she climbed up to the tent. She pulled the flap open and then added, "You two continue the search for the kettle. I will rest here. I must save my power when I can. This body is so much weaker than what I am used to."

Mint moaned, "Woe, woe, Master Herb!"

Lime added, "Compelled to expend his power continuously ever since our landfall in this place. How it must drain him!"

Herb disappeared into the tent letting the flap close behind as she lay down onto the comfortable bedding that Lime had prepared. She sighed and then closed her eyes to rest and regain some of her energy.

Stealthily, Mint and Lime crept into the tent to check on their master.

"The face of a sleeping woman," Lime said tenderly.

"I wonder if her chest is also unconscious," Mint said, as he reached out with one trembling hand.

Herb opened her eyes and sat up suddenly. With a wave of her hand, she blasted them away. "Hurry up and get going, you good-for-nothings!" she exclaimed as they soared away, "Find that kettle!"

* * *

While Herb returned to her interrupted slumber, attempting to regain her powers, Mint and Lime were wandering aimlessly around the mountain, several kilometers from their Master, after recovering from the force she had used to send them there.

"How are we to find the kettle in this wilderness, Lime?" Mint asked, as he ducked under another low-hanging branch.

"Indeed it boggles the mind, Mint," Lime replied, "But we must for Master Herb's sake. I don't know how she will survive if we don't."

"We've come about two kilometers since the last time we checked. Do you think we should try again?" Mint asked, to the slight annoyance of the older warrior.

"I suppose we should," Lime responded and setting his actions to his words, he once again placed the ladle carefully on the handle of the pail, in a practiced motion. To their surprise, this time the ladle twitched slightly and pointed roughly towards the east.

"It moved!" Lime exclaimed, "We need to go in that direction and see if it gets stronger."

"No, actually we should go towards the north some more, so we can triangulate the kettle," Mint argued, "Find a landmark and I'll go a kilometer north."

"Does that give us a long enough baseline to get another line?" Lime asked.

"How should I know? I flunked orienting, remember?" Mint shot back.

Lime frowned in concentration. "I didn't pass, either," he admitted, "But I guess it's worth a try. Okay, let me get a sight line to see what I can see."

"Make sure it's a ways off, nothing close," Mint reminded.

Lime grimaced and replied, "I remember that much." He bent down and looked down the ladle, and about eight kilometers away, he spotted an odd shaped rock formation. "Okay, I have something," he said, "You take the Chiisuiton and find another line."

Mint picked up the pail and slid the ladle inside. "Stay here and when I get a fix, I'll yell. Then you can start walking until we run into each other," he said.

* * *

Mint and Lime converged on an odd rock formation, one that looked suspiciously like a teakettle, except the spout was missing. Mint clambered up the rock and looked inside. "There's nothing here now, Lime," he said, "But this altar once held something, and this is where the Chiisuiton kept pointing, so the kettle must have been here."

"Why don't you go tell Master Herb what we've discovered?" Lime suggested.

Mint replied, "I think since you are the elder, you should do that."

"No, as the eldest warrior, I should stay here and make sure things are okay," Lime said.

"I'll flip you for it," Mint said.

"No, I've seen your coin," Lime scoffed, "Just go ahead and find Master Herb. He needs to see this."

"Isn't he really a She?" Mint asked, in a puzzled tone.

"Never mind that now," Lime said, " You need to tell him, I mean her, I mean, argggggggh, Herb about this."

"No you should do it," Mint insisted.

"Why me?" Lime whined, "Herb likes you better."

"That's only because I'm his twentysecond cousin, twice removed, on his father's side, by his third concubine. Other than that, we aren't very close," Mint said, "Besides, if I go back, I'll try to touch his boobies again, and you know how well that works out."

"Well, one of us needs to get him," Lime said.

"I'm not telling Master Herb," Mint said.

"Telling me what?" a contralto voice asked.

Mint and Lime whipped around and saw Prince Herb standing there staring at them. "Well, I'm waiting. What do you have to tell me?" the woman asked.

"Er, well, um," Lime began.

"Extremely eloquent," Herb said.

Mint stammered, "This is where the Chiisuiton led us, Master Herb. To this location. B-but there's nothing here."

"All I can think is that it was once here and left a magical impression that the Chiisuiton picked up on. It had to be here recently too," Lime added.

Herb stared at the empty shrine, her face white. Suddenly tears began to flow from her eyes as she sank to her knees. "NOOOOOOOO!" she shrieked, at the top of her lungs, with an anguished, despairing tone in her voice, one that Lime hoped that he would never hear again. Herb looked once more at the shrine, as she wailed, "It's gone! It can't be gone; I don't want to be a girl for the rest of my life. I can't do this." She collapsed to the ground, but not before the other two saw the despair creeping into their Master's eyes.

"Master Herb fainted!" Lime exclaimed in disbelief.

"What do we do now?" Mint asked.

Lime ran his hand across his face and then replied, "I don't know for sure. A suicide watch for one thing, and then."

"Surely you don't think she would kill herself, do you?" Mint interrupted.

"You saw how **he** looked when **he** collapsed to the ground, and what **he** said," Lime replied, looking grim and making quite sure he emphasized the male pronouns, "I don't really know for sure. But I swore an oath to his father that I would keep him safe, and I full well intend to uphold that oath, against anyone that could cause him harm. Including Master Herb." His face brightened and he added, "We can go back to Nerima, to that Amazon Elder. She might be able to help; she seemed to know something about the kettle. You get the Chiisuiton, and I'll carry the Master back to his tent." He picked up the unconscious girl, and tenderly cradled her in his arms. "I'll stay with you forever, Master, no matter what," Lime repeated softly, as much to himself as to the person in his arms, "I promised your father to make sure nothing bad happened to you, and I will protect you from anyone offering you harm, including yourself." He looked up and snarled, "What are you waiting for?"

"Can I touch her?" Mint asked eagerly.

Lime froze him with a look and said, "Master Herb is still our master. Move! Or I will be forced to take action."

Mint picked up the pail and walked away sulkily. "He gets to hold the cute girl, why does he get to do that," he whispered.

* * *

Author's Note: Once again, Gentle Readers, thank you for your continuing support. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter in our saga. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are encouraged. I will try, crossing my fingers, to answer all of the signed reviews. For those of you still reviewing anonymously, the new site rules will not let me review within the story itself. Sorry. Until next time, Kayemsi 


	58. The Paper Dolls of Love

Chapter 58 Paper Dolls of Love!

Ranma smiled warmly as Akane bounced down the stairs dressed in her jogging shorts and t-shirt. "Don't take too long jogging this morning, Acchan," he warned, "Kasumi said breakfast should be ready in about half an hour."

"Well, if a certain someone hadn't delayed me getting out of bed this morning, I wouldn't be running behind. I'd be gone already," Akane retorted, with amusement dancing in her eyes.

Ranma snickered and said, "I really didn't hear you complaining. As a matter of fact, I distinctly remember hearing some entirely different sounds coming from you."

"RANMA!" Akane squealed in mock outrage. Her cheeks grew warm as she swatted him on the arm.

"Kami, you're cute wher you're mad, especially with the way your eyes light up," Ranma said, with a cheeky grin, rubbing his arm where she hit him, "You'd better get going or I'll figure out a way to 'delay' you some more."

Akane laughed and blew him a kiss as she headed to the front door. She stopped long enough to put on her running shoes, making sure that they were securely laced before she stepped outside. She then lightly jogged down the path to the front gate to make sure her muscles were loosened up before she put them through their paces. Once she reached the main gate, she turned right and began her morning routine, alternating running on the sidewalk and on the many fences paralleling the roadway.

A gaunt figure stood in the protection of a deep doorway, impatiently checking his watch for the nth time. 'Where is she?' he thought as he waited for the girl of his dreams to pass by on her normal rounds, 'She's late!' "Curse you, Saotome," he muttered, "Why did you have to come to Nerima and ruin things?" Finally, after what seemed forever, he spotted the woman he was waiting for as she ran past him on the opposite side of the street. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out in his brand new jogging suit, and began running after her. After a second, he called, "Hey, Akane!"

Akane slowed down as she heard her name long enough to look back over her shoulder, wondering who had called her name. After a long moment of confusion, she finally recognized the gaunt boy jogging several feet behind her struggling to keep up. "Oh hi, Gosunkugi, I didn't know you were a jogger. Oh well, can't stop to chat! I have to get home before breakfast. See you at school! Bye now!" She waved and then increased her pace until she left her secret admirer in the dust.

Gosunkugi attempted to keep up with the speeding girl, but while the spirit was willing, the flesh was entirely out of shape. His poor conditioning finally caused him to stop. Gasping, he bent over and held himself up by placing his hands just above his knees, trying to regain his breath, while his heart pumped extremely fast. After a few minutes, when he was sure his heart wasn't going to explode out of his chest, he sighed heavily and said, "Well, so much for that brilliant plan. How to Get Akane Tendo to Notice Me, plan number 53. Enough of this, I'm going home."

A voice from behind him said, "Hey, you there. I saw the whole thing. I feel for you son."

Gosunkugi looked back over his shoulder and saw someone who would make a used car salesman, or a politician, look honest. "Why do you care?" he asked, warily.

The man squatted down and opened a shabby display case filled with all sorts of odd things. "I make it my business to help the lovelorn," he said, "And you certainly fill that bill."

"A-are you selling something?" Gosunkugi asked.

"Well aren't you the sharpest knife in the drawer," the man replied. He pulled out something from his case and continued, "As a matter of fact I am trying to sell you something, a set of twelve magic paper dolls. You write a command on it, and slap it on someone's back."

Gosunkugi grabbed one of the dolls and examined it closely and interrupted, "Hm, I guess the wearer does exactly what you wrote, right?" He quickly scribbled, 'Give it to me free,' on the doll in his hand. He quickly tried to place it on the man's back, but he whirled out of the way.

The salesman had already written, 'Pay ten thousand yen,' on one of the dolls in his hand and the two of them danced around each other, attempting to place their doll on the other one's back.

Unbeknowst to both of them, a silent onlooker grinned evilly on top of one of the rooftops. He was able to ignore the bright morning sun due to the wrap-around sunglasses he was wearing, but the shadow he cast on the roof behind him was oddly surmounted by what appeared to be a palm tree. 'Heh-heh, keiki,' the man thought, 'time to ruin your life, Saotome. Best thing Kahuna ever do, give salesman those dolls. Not too mention command to sell them to Gosunkugi.'

* * *

The next day at school, Gosunkugi walked into gym class, where the boys where going to practice on the high bar. "Oh well, five thousand yen wasn't too bad, as long as it really works," he mumbled to himself. 

"Okay, Saotome, you're up next," the coach called.

As Ranma got into position, Gosunkugi rushed up and clapped him on the back. "Good luck, Saotome," he cried.

Ranma looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face as if he should remember something. Shrugging it off, he jumped up and caught the bar, beginning to whirl around it several times. As his classmates watched his skill, they began to applaud.

Gosunkugi knelt down in front of the sand pit, and watched as Ranma performed. "If he falls, then those dolls really work," he said, half in prayer.

Ranma performed his dismount, somersaulting twice before landing in the sand pit, and then stumbling forward to fall, somehow landing headfirst on Gosunkugi's head. "Sorry about that," Ranma said, as he slid off.

"Oh, that's quite all right," Gosunkugi said, as he collapsed to the ground.

Ranma jumped up and walked over to where Daisuke and Hiroshi were waiting for their turn.

Daisuke said, "I can't believe you fell like that. You're usually more graceful."

Ranma frowned suddenly and replied, "I know. That's not like me to flub up like that, at least not on something that simple." His eyes widened suddenly as something clicked. He reached behind him and felt his back, finding the paper doll. He ripped it off, thinking, "Damn, I forgot about this. But why would he go after Akane now that we're married?' He looked over and saw Gosunkugi weaving his way, just a tad uncertainly, toward where Akane was talking to some of the girls.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gosunkugi smiled happily, ignoring the massive lump on the side of his head that was causing him to see double, as he made his way over to where the girls were standing talking to that new girl who joined the class a week ago. 'Oh Akane,' he thought, "Until now, I've been happy to watch you from afar, but from now today, you will be my puppet.' He laughed evilly as he quickly wrote, 'Go out with me,' on the back of one of the dolls. 

"Hey, Akane, let Miyo tell you your fortune," Sayuri suggested, "She told me mine."

"No offense, Miyo, but I really don't believe in that kind of thing," Akane said, with a gentle smile, since she really liked the slightly spacy girl.

"None taken," the long, brown-haired girl said.

"But, Akane, all of her fortunes have come true," Yuka said.

"Doesn't matter to me, to be honest," Akane said, with a smile, "There's no need for me to find out about any dark haired strangers entering my life."

Miyo smiled back at her and said, "It'll only take a second. And I know you don't need to worry about romance."

"True, Ranma keeps her very warm at night," Sayuri said, with a grin.

"Sayuri!" Akane exclaimed as she blushed.

"Beware!" Miyo said suddenly, "Danger approaches! The cards never lie!"

"Huh?" Akane said, but then she sensed someone nearing her. She turned and saw that odd voodoo priest nearing her again. "Can I help you, Gosunkugi?" she asked.

'It has been so long since she spoke my name," Gosunkugi thought with a sigh.

"Well, I'm waiting!" Akane exclaimed beginning to get just a touch impatient.

Gosunkugi hid the doll behind his back and stammered, "I-I just came over to see if you, um, would, um, let me jog with you tomorrow."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you to ask, "Akane said, resisting the impulse to roll her eyes," But I really don't think that would work. I don't think you can keep up with me, since I heard how heavy you were breathing this morning."

"Oh, that's all right then, I guess, it was just a thought," Gosunkugi said, his shoulders sagging.

"Nice talking to you again," Akane said, turning her back on him to rejoin the conversation.

'Now, it's my chance,' Gosunkugi thought as he swiftly brought the doll around to place it on Akane's back, only to have it hit Miyo on her back as someone jostled his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry there, Gosunkugi, I just didn't see you standing there," Ranma said.

Miyo grabbed Gosunkugi by the arm, her eyes glazed over slightly and giggled. "Let's go, sexy," she said in a husky voice, dragging Gosunkugi away.

"But class isn't over yet," the unlucky boy said, as he went out of earshot.

"What was that all about? I didn't think Miyo even knew he existed," Yuka asked, perplexed.

"One of them must work fast," Sayuri said with a shrug.

"Akane, you got a minute?" Ranma asked.

"Sure," Akane replied, as she walked off with Ranma.

"That's so romantic," Yuka gushed, "They can't stay away from each other."

Sayuri giggled, "Isn't it though. I wish Hiroshi would take lessons from him."

Ranma and Akane stopped and leaned against the gym wall. "What was that all about? That thing with Miyo?" Akane asked.

Ranma looked around quickly and replied, "Did you see me stumble and fall when I came off the bar?"

"Not really, to be honest," Akane said, at the apparent non-sequiter.

Ranma pulled a paper doll out of his pocket and showed it to her. On the back the word 'Fall' was written on it. "Gosunkugi put that on my back just before I went up onto the bar," he said, "And I think he was trying to put one on your back before I jostled him."

"I was the one he wanted to go out on a date with?" Akane asked, shuddering, "Ugh, that's horrible. What kind of a pervert is he anyway?"

"I don't think he's a pervert of any kind," Ranma replied, after a moment, "He's too cowardly to be one. I feel sorry for that girl, even so. What's her name?"

"Oh Ranma, don't you ever pay attention in class," Akane said, fondly, "That was Miyo Yamada. She joined a little while ago after her parents moved here from Sapporo. She's a bit of a fortuneteller, or at least pretends to be."

"Just make sure you keep away from Gosunkugi, and never turn your back on him," Ranma said, "At least until we can get those dolls away from him. I'll see if I can talk to him tonight, maybe."

"Don't hurt him," Akane warned.

Ranma actually looked indignant at that warning. "Akane, if I even look at him cross-eyed, he'll wet his pants. No, seriously, I'm only going to talk to him and explain how bad an idea this was," he said.

"Just watch your temper, you know how you can get sometimes," Akane said, causing her husband to stare at her in disbelief.

"Trust me, dear. I won't even say Boo to him," Ranma said, confidently.

* * *

Gosunkugi staggered up the stairs to his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. 

"Looks like you had a rough night, Hikaru? It is Hikaru isn't it?" a voice said from the darkness.

"Who's there?" Gosunkugi asked in a quavering voice. The voice sounded threatening in the darkness of his room.

The voice said, "Turn the light on, stupid. It's just me."

"Me, who?" Gosunkugi asked, in that same voice, "I'm not scared of you, whatever demon is there. I am a voodoo priest, with great powers, you should fear me."

"Gosunkugi, you couldn't hurt a fly and you know it," the voice said, as the light came on blinding Gosunkugi. "There, that's better," the voice said once more, "Now sit up so we can have this conversation like civilized people."

Gosunkugi rolled over and sat up, finding someone sitting crosslegged in the corner.

"Whoa, Gosunkugi, where'd you get that shiner? Somebody really laid into you?" the voice asked, a hint of amusement in the tone.

Gosunkugi shaded his eyes and squinted, the dark circles under his eyes even more pronounced, especially the right eye that was extremely puffy around the socket, with a massive bruise around the eye, not to mention an angry handprint across his cheek. Finally, he was able to make out the person sitting across the room from him. "Oh, it's you, Saotome, what are you doing here?" Gosunkugi asked.

"Came to talk obviously, what did you think I was doing here?" Ranma asked, "What happened to you?"

"Miss Yamada happened, that's what. She dragged me off on that date, and after awhile started getting very affectionate," Gosunkugi replied.

"What do you mean 'affectionate,' Hikaru? You don't mind being called Hikaru, do you?" Ranma asked.

"Nothing like that. She had been going on and on about how she was waiting for her first kiss. Well, I didn't want to take something that special away from her, not when it was based on a," Gosunkugi said, only to stop suddenly and look at Ranma suspiciously.

"I know about the dolls," Ranma replied, "So you didn't want to ruin her first kiss by it being based on a lie, right?"

Gosunkugi slumped even more than normal and sighed. "No, it wouldn't have been right," he agreed, "So I put a doll on her back that read, 'Stop,' and she came out of my control. When she saw where she was, and what she had been about to do, well, you can see the results."

"Miyo has a pretty good left it looks like," Ranma replied.

"Why are you here then?" Gosunkugi asked.

"Simple, I know that the doll was originally intended for Akane. I want you to stop chasing after her. She and I are together, and you're just making yourself look foolish," Ranma replied, "Besides, I don't know what you were thinking. I thought you were a reasonably honorable person, and your actions with Miyo confirm that."

"I am an honorable person," Gosunkugi retorted, actually looking affronted.

"Then, why do you want to have a relationship with Akane based on a lie?" Ranma asked, "That's what it would be if you actually got her to go out with you on a date based on your doll. It would be no different than what you did tonight with Miyo."

"It's different, I'm in love with Akane. Besides, you lied to her," Gosunkugi said, quickly.

"I never lied to Akane about my curse, or anything else. She knew about it from the start, and it was her idea for me to pretend to be a girl. She knows everything about me," Ranma growled, "So, there's no chance for you, and you know that. Like I said, give it up."

"NO! I know she can fall for me, and all I have to do is use the doll to prove it," Gosunkugi said, with an air of confidence.

"She already loves me, and you know full well that is the case. I can't believe that you are trying to come between us," Ranma said, his aura beginning to flare.

"You can't scare me!" Gosunkugi exclaimed.

"BOO!" Ranma shouted, causing Gosunkugi to faint. Ranma sighed and stood up. He walked over to the bed and quickly frisked the unconscious boy, finding eight paper dolls in his pocket. 'At least I was wrong about him wetting his pants,' Ranma thought. He waited for a moment, and finally Gosunkugi woke up. "As I was saying, I thought you were honorable," he growled, "What is honorable about interfering in our marriage?"

"Marriage?" Gosunkugi squeaked. He looked sick, not that you could really tell much difference.

"Yeah, Akane and I are married and have been for a while, don't you pay attention in class," Ranma replied.

"Uh, apparently not. But, remember, I've been out sick some this term so I may not have been there the day the announcement got made," Gosunkugi said, "I didn't know, I swear it. If I had, I would never have come near her. I promise to leave you guys alone."

"Your word?" Ranma asked.

"My word as a voodoo priest," Gosunkugi said.

Ranma stared at him for a moment. Finally he frowned and said, in a threatening tone of voice, "I don't want to see you stalking Akane anymore. You do and you just won't like the consequences, understand?"

Gosunkugi cringed and nodded quickly.

"You'd better," Ranma finally said, and then suggested, "Get some ice on that. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gosunkugi blinked and Ranma vanished from his sight, leaving a slight breeze as his curtains flapped. "Hee Hee, I'll just use my remaining dolls to break them apart," he said, with an evil laugh. He emptied his pockets to find the dolls, only to find that they were missing. "NOOOOOO!" he exclaimed.

* * *

The sun's rays slowly crept across the room, until they finally reached the oversized bed in the middle of the room. The lovely young woman sleeping in the bed, pulled the covers up over her head to block the sun, but finally opened her eyes giving sleep up as a bad option. She sat up in the bed, startling the man sitting propped up in a chair in the corner. 

In a tired voice, the woman asked, "Where am I?"

Lime answered, "The Imozuru Hotel, Master Herb."

"So it was all a nightmare," Herb breathed.

Lime said gently, "No, Master Herb, we went to Mount Horai, and there was nothing there. You fainted, and I carried you here. Now that you are awake, we can make our way back to Nerima. I thought we could talk to that old woman, see if she knows anything else."

Herb looked at him in horror, and her eyes went bleak. "So I am a woman now," she said, her voice breaking.

"No Master Herb," Lime said, "You are still the same young man that I promised your father to protect."

Herb crawled out of the bed, and grabbed her top. With a violent jerk, she ripped it in two, popping buttons everywhere, and displaying her voluptuous body. "Does this look like a man to you, does it?" she growled.

"Physically? Of course not!" Lime said, turning his head, "Now stop the stupid display!"

"Why? Don't you want to know what a woman looks like? Here, have a free peek," Herb asked, "What else am I good for now?"

The room grew chill as Lime's closed his eyes for a moment. "I promised your father that I would protect you from all harm, Master Herb. That means from anyone, including you, including me. I'm not Mint, and your body doesn't distract me anymore. You are still Master Herb, Prince of the Musk, no matter what you look like."

"How can you say that?" Herb asked, sinking to her knees, "I am cursed to forever be a woman." She pulled the remnants of her shirt closed.

Lime stood up, slamming his chair against the wall. "Enough of the pity party, Master Herb. You are a warrior of the Musk Dynasty, and that is the end of it," Lime growled. He walked over to his master, his face a mask, and opened his mouth. Glancing at the sheets, he gasped, "Master Herb, are you hurt? There is blood on the sheets."

Herb looked down at the bedding and her eyes showed even more despair. "No, I am not hurt," she said, her voice breaking as she began to accept her fate, "I know what is happening. Is there an apothecary in the hotel? There are some things I need to get."

"What's wrong, Master Herb?" Lime asked.

Herb closed her eyes and said, in a dead voice, "Just more proof that I am what I appear to be."

Lime asked, with a puzzled expression on his face, "You're confusing me, Master Herb. What is going on? Where are you injured?"

"It's not an injury, Lime. It has to do with being a woman. Beyond that, you really don't need to know," Herb said. She frowned and asked, "Where's Mint?"

"He'd better be in his room," Lime said coldly, "That is if he knows what is good for him."

"Why? What has he been doing?" Herb asked, showing signs of interest for a moment.

Lime frowned, and replied, "He tried to sneak in here once too often, Master Herb. And I told housekeeping to stay out of his room."

* * *

As Ranma and Akane made their way across the slightly damp courtyard, with Ranma keeping an eagle eye out for any standing puddles, to head into the school building, they heard a pleasant alto voice calling their names. The couple turned as they reached the steps to see Miyo Yamada bearing down on them like a clipper ship with all sails set. 

"Hey you two, I needed to talk to you," the young fortuneteller said.

"Hi, Miyo," Akane said, greeting her young friend gaily. She smiled at Miyo, who had managed to gain several friends in the short time she had been in the class, winning them over with her usually cheery demeanor, in spite of her slightly odd beliefs in divination.

"Hi, Yamada-san," Ranma said, an odd expression on his face.

"Ranma, I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened with Hikaru," Miyo said, surprising him, "My cards had foretold that a gaunt stranger would enter my life yesterday."

"I'm still sorry you got mixed up in his obsession over Akane," Ranma said, his voice filled with regret, as a disgusted look flashed quickly across Akane's face at his words.

"Things happen for a reason," Miyo said, with a cheeky grin, "And I was actually enjoying myself."

Akane asked, amazed, "With Gosunkugi?"

Miyo blushed and replied, "When you get him talking, he's actually very interesting, in an odd sort of way. We had a good time together, up until the end anyway."

Akane giggled. "Do you like him?" she asked.

Miyo turned even redder than before, and replied, "Yeah, I think I do. He's just so bashful. And he was a perfect gentleman on our date."

"Then why'd you give him the shiner?" Ranma asked, now completely sure that he would never ever understand women.

"Because he didn't let me kiss him," the girl replied, looking bashfully down at the ground, "He removed the spell with some sort of paper doll, just as I tried."

Ranma scratched his head and suggested, "Um, maybe he did that so you wouldn't kiss him under the influence of the doll that he accidentally put on your back."

Akane smiled and said, "I'm sure that's what it was, Miyo. I doubt he would intentionally hurt your feelings. He's just not that kind of guy."

"There he is, just entering the gate," Ranma said, "Come on, Akane, let's let these two have a chance to talk." The two of them headed into the hallway and found their school shoes and put them on.

"That's an interesting development," Akane said.

"Hm," Ranma asked, since he hadn't been paying attention.

"Gosunkugi and Miyo," Akane explained patiently, or at least patiently for her.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ranma replied, "Since I don't know her, do you think she knows what she's doing?"

"I honestly don't know, to tell you the truth. While she's a friend, we've never talked about guys," Akane admitted.

"I guess it doesn't matter, but if she's chasing Gosunkugi, I guess he'll be too busy to chase after you," Ranma said.

* * *

The bell signalling the end of class and the start of Ranma's favorite period of the school day rang. "Class, the weather is too bad outside, so you'll either need to eat in here or in the cafeteria," Miss Morisato said. The crash of thunder punctuated her remark, removing all doubt from anyone who had been oblivious to the late April thunderstorm that was raging outside. 

Ranma quickly pulled his bento out from beneath his seat and opened it.

"Well, I guess that means we're staying here," Akane said with a giggle.

Ranma smiled and replied, "Sure, no point in walking downstairs if we can't go outside. Stupid downpour, I won't make it home without changing, even if the damn rain stops."

The two of them sat in contented silence, while Ranma made short work of the delicious lunch that Kasumi and Hinako had prepared.

Suddenly, a burst of giggling drew their attention to the front corner of the classroom, where Miyo was amusing everyone by reading their fortunes using her deck of Tarot cards. "I think that's all of you," she said, finally, after finishing up with Sayuri.

"You haven't done Ranma or Akane yet," Sayuri pointed out, still giggling at her blushing boyfriend, who was still trying to recover from hearing Miyo proclaim exactly how many children the two of them were going to have.

"Yeah, do them," Yuka urged, holding on to her fiancé.

Miyo looked over at the quiet pair and raised an eyebrow in enquiry. Akane shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Why not? It might be fun, and we're done eating anyway."

Ranma groaned in dismay but Akane turned to him and used a set of appealing puppy dog eyes and then her lip trembled. "Oh all right," he groused, "stop with that already, I didn't say I wouldn't do it."

Miyo walked over and sat down in the desk next to the young couple. "Shuffle the cards, Ranma," she said, handing him the deck.

Ranma complied, deftly shuffling the deck, saying in an aside, "Anything Goes Card Dealing, not that I could ever win anything." After a few shuffles, he looked at Miyo. At her nod, he cut the deck, and handed both halves to the young woman.

Miyo quickly dealt out a tableau, showing a skill not unlike that shown by professional dealers in Las Vegas. After examining the upturned cards, she said, "Hm, very interesting. You have had a very long and winding journey to reach your true love. Many dangers lie ahead, some known, some unknown. A foe that you wish to befriend approaches. Treat him or her, the cards are unclear, very carefully for he may betray your trust."

Ranma smiled uncertainly and said, "That's a bit of a different fortune from what you normally tell all of the girls. No large fortune landing in my lap, or many children in my future."

Miyo grinned and retorted, "Well, you're not really a girl, now are you? Besides, that was in there too, I just read the more interesting bits." She brightened like the sun as Gosunkugi snuck into the classroom. "Oh, Hikaru," she cooed, "Come let me tell you your fortune. I'm sure you'll appreciate it greatly, what with your interest in the other world."

The young man blushed, touching his cheek as he remembered the chaste kiss she had placed there that morning, in partial apology for the shiner still decorating his eye. The red in his cheeks contrasted sharply with his otherwise sallow complexion. He sat down quickly in his desk at the back of the room, only to watch with haunted eyes as the young woman stalked over to him like a lioness hunting her prey.

"That's so cute," Akane gushed quietly.

"Come on, Hikaru, I won't bite. At least not unless you want me to," Miyo pleaded, "It'll be fun, I promise."

"Oh, all right," Gosunkugi relented, surrendering to the inevitable, and truth be told, he did find her attractive, in an odd sort of way. Though a small voice in the back of his head said, 'She's better than you deserve, you moron. You're one to talk about being odd.' He took the deck of cards from her hand, and attempted to shuffle them, spraying the cards all around the area. Blushing, he quickly picked up all of the loose cards and tried again, earning a smile from Miyo.

Miyo took the cards from his trembling hand and dealt out a tableau. Scanning the cards, she gasped, and said, "The cards tell me that you may see the woman you must marry. Your soulmate as it were."

"How?" Gosunkugi asked.

"Follow these simple directions. From your home, with the rising of the sun, head southeast. Follow the first dog you see. Stop at the cigaretted stand. Look up at the sky and follow something round and red. Wait at the bridge, and there you will find the woman you must wed," Miyo said in a mystic voice.

"Truly, the cards say all that?" Hikaru asked, a touch of awe in his voice.

"The cards always tell the truth," Miyo replied. However, if Gosunkugi had lifted his face and looked into her eyes, he would have seen a touch of mischief in them.

Akane turned to Ranma and rolled her eyes. Then she said, "I almost forgot. Nabiki won't be joining us in the dojo again this afternoon. Apparently she has something she has to do today."

"That's the third afternoon she's blown us off since the wedding," Ranma said, "Do you have any idea what's going on with her? I know she's still interested in learning some of the art, because of the way she practices on the days she's with us, and I can't expect just anyone to be as focused on it as I am."

"As WE are, at least now that I've found a good teacher," Akane protested mildly.

Ranma grinned and asked, "Who's this 'good teacher?' Should I be jealous?"

Akane giggled and replied, "Baka, I was talking about you." After a moment of shared amusement, she added, "She's going out on a date, I guess."

"She is? With who?" Ranma asked, in surprise.

"Souta, though she says they're just hanging out," Akane replied, "Some sort of study date mostly, from what she says, making sure that they're both ready for the entrance exams. You know how much she wants to make sure she gets into a good business school."

"Uh huh, I sure do. I'm surprised she hasn't gone to one of the cram schools, as bad as she wants it," Ranma said, "But if she's studying with Souta, that is almost as good. He's almost as clever as she is."

* * *

Cologne glanced through the open door of the dojo and quickly held up her hand in an imperious gesture, halting her companion in her tracks. At the young woman's puzzled expression, Cologne pointed at the three occupants of the building, who currently had their backs to the door as the one in the middle performed a kata. The old woman hissed quietly, "I want to watch how he exercises by himself. I rarely have an opportunity to see him practice without him knowing about it." 

Her companion nodded her understanding. As she waited apathetically, she briefly wondered why the Amazon elder had brought her to this dojo, before sliding back into the morass of despair that she had been in for the last week after her hopes were shattered and her life destroyed forever.

A brief smile flickered unseen across Ranma's face. 'Oh ho, the Old Ghoul thinks she can surprise me,' he thought as he sensed her familiar aura behind him as well as someone new. That unfamiliar aura puzzled him a bit. A powerful aura, yet somehow he felt more than a hint of despair coloring what he sensed. 'Almost as bad as Ryoga when he was using the Shishi Houkou Dan,' he thought. Ignoring their presence for the moment, and giving no indication that he was aware of them, he flowed gracefully into the next form of the kata he was performing. His muscles rippled under the sleeveless shirt he was wearing, reminding the onlookers of nothing less than a sleek panther on the prowl. He also chose to ignore the somewhat heavy breathing coming from the young girl on his left, standing opposite of his wife, as well as Akane's frown.

Akane watched, with just a touch of envy, her husband move through the kata. She silently vowed that one day, a not too distant day, that she too would look that graceful. She also vowed to remind Sayuri that Ranma was taken, though she had to admit he did look good enough to eat, so the heavy breathing coming from her friend, while annoying, was understandable. After watching for another moment, she did as she had been instructed and tossed a balloon filled with cold water at her husband and watched as he transformed without missing a step at the sudden change in both height and mass distribution.

Several more minutes elapsed as Ranma continued her movements, until Sayuri repeated Akane's actions, only this time the water was hot. Ranma, once again, continued on through the exercise, ignoring his sudden transformation, until he came to a stop with a graceful, and showy, flourish.

"Close your mouth, Sayuri, you're catching flies," Ranma teased, as he saw her expression.

"I just wish my boyfriend looked that good when he worked out," Sayuri replied, blushing heavily.

"Yeah, right," Ranma said, pretending to believe that, "But, I have to remind you, it takes a long time to get this good." He added with a smirk, "Doesn't it though, Cologne?"

Cologne cackled with amusement, causing both Akane and Sayuri to jump in surprise as they had been so absorbed in watching Ranma that they had not noticed their audience. "Impressive, very impressive," she said, "Learning how to maintain your balance like that during your transformation. And even more impressive was you knowing I was here."

Ranma shrugged as he turned around to face them. "Hello, Cologne," he said, "Sensed your aura, since you weren't attempting to mask it. Speaking of which, Akane, remind me later to work with you on that. You, at least, should have known we had company. Constant vigilance, and all that." He frowned briefly as he recognized her companion, especially once he saw the defeated look in her eyes. 'Damn, Akane was right to scold me,' he thought, 'Herb looks broken.' "Akane, this girl is Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty," he said, mentally kicking himself at the wince on Herb's face at the word 'girl.' He continued, "You met his servant Mint. Prince Herb, this is my wife Akane and you may remember my friend Sayuri. Welcome to our home."

Herb smiled politely, though the smile never reached her eyes. Akane and Sayuri bowed in greeting. "Prince?" Herb said, a bitter tone in her otherwise pleasant contralto voice, "Do I still deserve that title? After all, I don't look much like a man right now."

Ranma sighed heavily at the amount of self-hatred he heard in her voice. "Prince Herb, you are not your physical appearance. You are still the same person inside and that's what counts. I am still a man, even when I look like a woman, and you are no different," he said firmly.

"Am I? You at least can change back. I am stuck in this form forever," Herb replied, the bitterness and pain in her voice tearing at Ranma, who winced, unnoticed.

"Akane, I think it's probably time," Ranma said, staring intently at his wife.

Akane nodded her understanding. "Come Sayuri, we need to go inside now," she said, grabbing the other girl's arm and dragging her toward the house.

Ranma sighed once more and then bowed deeply to the young woman, confusing Herb completely. Ranma began, in an extremely formal manner, "Prince Herb, I owe you a couple of apologies. We got off on the wrong foot the other day."

Cologne interrupted, and said, "Prince Herb, I brought you here to listen to what Sonny Boy has to say. Some of which may not please you. Because of that, I need you to promise me on your honor to not overreact to what I tell you. I'd rather not have anyone or anything hurt today."

"I'm not sure what this is all about," Prince Herb began. She looked over at Cologne and saw the old woman was worried about something. She sighed heavily, and replied, "What do I have to lose? Very well, I promise to listen to you, and not to do anything that would cause damage to the people of this place."

Cologne relaxed slightly and nodded to Ranma. "Go ahead, Sonny Boy."

Ranma said, "As I said, I owe you a couple of apologies for my actions. My behavior at the café was pretty unacceptable, and I am truly sorry for exposing your cursed form to everyone. That was not my secret to tell and I shouldn't have done that. My only excuse is that I was angry at Mint for what he did to Akane and Sayuri, so when I arrived I was already spoiling for a fight, and to be honest, I didn't really much care who I fought. But, Mint was the person I was angry at, not you, so I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you."

"But my arrogant attitude didn't help any, now did it?" Herb interrupted, surprising both of her listeners.

"Not really," Ranma admitted ruefully, "You did manage to rub me the wrong way pretty quickly." 'In spite of my intentions, no less,' he thought sadly.

"I suppose I can understand what happened that day, at least in part," Herb said, "And I was partially at fault for what occurred. Not that it matters, now, I suppose." Once again a note of self-hatred had crept back into her voice. She turned to Cologne and asked, "Is that why you brought me here? To hear his apology?"

"Partially, I suppose. I didn't really expect Sonny Boy to apologize, at least not this readily. He's almost as arrogant as you are," Cologne replied.

Herb and Ranma exchanged uncomfortable looks as the old woman continued, "Actually, I wanted you to talk to him. He can give you a perspective on your curse that I just can't. I can only talk to you about it from an academic standpoint, but he lives it."

"Please join me, Prince Herb and allow me to help you," Ranma said politely as he dropped easily into the lotus position on the platform surrounding the dojo, "This could take a while, depending on your questions."

Herb stared at him for a few seconds, conflicting emotions warring on her face, until with a heavy sigh of resignation, she climbed up the two steps and sat down opposite Ranma. "I suppose I should find out more about my lot," she said bitterly, "Knowledge can't hurt."

Ranma looked at her a bit confused for a moment and then shrugged it off. "The first thing, I suppose I should tell you, though I guess it's a bit obvious, is that I don't know anyway to get rid of the curse. Legend has it that somewhere in the valley there is a Spring of Drowned Boy, but no one knows where it is. It's not on the portion of the map that the Guide still has and the corner that isn't shown is apparently too dangerous to probe," Ranma said.

"Doesn't matter to me, not now any way," Herb muttered, sotto voce.

Ranma frowned, wondering what was taking Akane so long. He continued, ignoring Herb's comment for the moment, "Second, as I said before, even though the change is complete physically, you are still the same person inside. You may have a female body, but you still have a male mind. I don't start suddenly liking guys, for instance, when I become a girl. So don't expect to suddenly start acting different." He paused, uncertainly, and then stammered, "But, um, well, because it is a, um, complete change, physically, well, you, um."

Cologne interrupted smoothly, "I'll talk to Herb about that later, though I expect that she's already experienced part of what you were stammering over." She grinned at Ranma then, a truly frightening sight, and added, "Looks like it's just too embarrassing for you to give Herb the 'talk.' So, I'll do it for you." She cackled at the sudden look of relief and gratitude on Sonny Boy's face.

"I'm aware of what goes on, Cologne," Herb said, her face red, "I did indeed experience my first 'monthly' if that's what you were referring to." She added, despondently, her eyes dead, "And that is when I realized that I truly was a woman, and would never be a man again. I am locked in this form and there is no escaping that fact."

Ranma gasped, and said, "You didn't tell Herb, did you?"

"No, I chose not to, Sonny Boy," Cologne replied.

"Tell me what?" Herb asked.

Ranma replied, "That brings me to my second apology. Prince Herb, for what I must have put you through, especially when you discovered that the kettle was missing. Words can not really express how sorry I am. I have what you are looking for."

Herb grew still as anger and hope warred on her face, her battle aura beginning to show. "Do you really know what you put me through?" Herb spat, fire finally showing in her eyes, "The anguish, the pain? Were you just toying with me, with my manhood?" She stood up suddenly, ready to do battle.

"Remember your oath, Prince Herb," Cologne said sharply, "Or do you intend to be forsworn? What exactly is the worth of your promise? And do you really want to face both of us?"

"Gently, Cologne, I don't blame him for being angry. I know I would be. Prince Herb, believe me, I really intended to let you know that I had the kettle that day in the Nekohaten. But you angered me, especially when you wanted to lock me as a girl. I know it was petty of me, but I let you leave, thinking you were on your way to get unlocked. What I didn't think of, at least not until Akane forced me to, was how you would react when you got to Mount Horai and found the kettle gone. What that could do to you, the thoughts you may have felt," Ranma said, earnestly.

Herb sank back down to the wooden platform, anger still raging in her eyes, but something in the way the man was talking made sense, and she could feel the sorrow in his voice.

"Good decision," Cologne said, relaxing just a bit, "You made a good choice to sit and listen. You certainly wouldn't want to damage the dojo. Then you would have faced the wrath of Nabiki Tendo, something any sane person doesn't want to face."

"A fierce martial artist?" Herb asked, "One that scares even you."

Ranma chuckled, and replied, "No, she's worse. She is a business woman."

Cologne grinned evilly and said, "Truly, she would pick your bones clean, but I digress."

"Prince Herb, I know how I would feel if I was to be locked as a girl, and **I've** more or less accepted the fact that I'll always be a part-time girl," Ranma continued, "But, this is still new to you, and to think that you would never be a man again, I can only imagine how you must have felt. Anyway, that has weighed heavily on my mind ever since you left. I shouldn't have let my anger cloud my judgement and that is what I am truly sorry for, allowing you to leave, and the pain I must have caused you when you got to the mountain and there was nothing there for you."

Herb signed heavily and took a deep breath, calming her self down. She gave a tired chuckle, and said, "I wish I could fault your actions, Saotome. But, I probably deserved what happened to me," she said, finally, "After all, I was all prepared to lock you in your cursed form, and for all I knew, forever. I can't be angry at you for turning the tables around on me and at least you have told me that you have the kettle. You didn't have to do that."

Ranma shook his head almost violently. "No, it wouldn't really have been honorable, at least not the way I see it, to not tell you. And, somehow, even if you hadn't returned, I would have gotten the kettle to you," he said.

Herb sighed once more, and bowed her head. "You shame me, Saotome, because I am not sure that I would have done the same," she said, "And it's because of something that truly isn't your fault. The girl who cursed me looked similar to you, and when you changed at the café, I saw her, not you, that is why I reacted the way I did. We will probably never be friends, but I shouldn't treat you as an enemy."

"I can live with that, I suppose. It's not as if we'll be running into each other very often," Ranma said, with a grin. The grin faded and he added, "There's one more thing that you need to know about the curse. Basically, there's no way to avoid changing. If you try to stay male, the curse seems to go out of its way to find water. It's not quite as bad if you accept the curse as a part of you though. Since I spend part of each day as a girl, I don't seem to attract as much water as I used to."

"That confuses me, why would you deliberately change?" Herb asked.

"Simple really, I need to train as a girl just as hard as I train as a guy. I'll never know which form I'll be fighting in, so it doesn't make any sense to ignore that side of things. That's also why you saw me practice the way I did, changing back and forth. Everything feels different, center of balance, weight distribution, everything, so I want to be used to it. I'm stronger as a guy, but I'm faster as a girl, my reach isn't quite as far as a girl, things like that," Ranma replied, "You've been a girl long enough to realize that, I'm sure."

"I see," Herb said slowly, "That actually makes a great deal of sense. I suppose that's something I should consider adding to my training. Well, enough about that. I will get my curse unlocked and then I can return to my people." She frowned slightly and then said, "There is something that I am curious about, however." She stopped suddenly and her eyes lit up as she saw the woman called Akane walking toward them with a teakettle in her hand. "At last," she breathed.

"Sorry it took so long, I, um, spilled the water the first time," Akane said in a rush, her cheeks rosy in embarrassment. She lifted up the kettle, but stopped and said, "It'll be pretty hot, Prince Herb."

"Mrs. Saotome, I really don't care at the moment, to be honest. And since I'm descended from dragons, a little heat doesn't matter anyway. Just so long as it frees me, I can endure just about anything. And no offense, but I'm really tired of being a girl right now. It has been a long almost five weeks," Herb said.

Akane poured the contents of the kettle over the seated girl. A cloud of steam billowed up, obscuring their vision for a long moment. When the steam dissipated, a somewhat bishonen man sat there, a brilliant smile on his face.

The man, obviously Herb, exclaimed, "I'm me again!" He bowed politely to Akane and said, "Thank you for restoring me to my manhood."

Akane choked, while Ranma tried successfully to muffle some laughter, while Cologne cackled. The old woman said, "That probably wasn't the most appropriate way to say that."

Herb merely looked confused at their reactions. After a little while he said, "As I mentioned before, I am curious about how you knew about the Chiisuiton, and where the Kai-sui-fu was hidden. And why you knew I needed it in the first place."

'Let's see you dance your way out of that one,' Cologne thought with an evil grin.

Ranma smiled easily and answered smoothly, "It's really quite simple, Prince Herb. I sometimes can see visions of the future, or perhaps more accurately, a future, almost as if I was living it."

'Good one, Ranma. That's actually pretty close to the truth,' Akane thought with a giggle.

Cologne snorted in amusement. 'Nice story, Sonny Boy,' she thought.

"A seer!" Herb exclaimed, "That is indeed a rare talent."

Ranma smirked and said, "I guess I could be called that. Anyway, I had seen you in one of theose visions that told me you had received a curse, and then got it locked. Then I saw you looking for the kettle on Mount Horai. And well, I am always looking for new techniques for the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, so I thought that if I found the kettle for you, I might be able to persuade you to teach Akane and me a few things."

Herb looked thoughtfully at the two of them, and then replied, "Your intentions were good. And I can understand you wanting to learn new things. I can stay for a little while, a few days, perhaps, though I do need to return home soon. After all, I still need to get to know my future wife. She's in for a few surprises, I'm afraid."

"We'll need to find a better place to train though," Cologne said, "Someplace that there aren't any breakable things, like the dojo, or Greater Tokyo."

"I'm sure that I will have other things to ask you about this, Saotome," Herb said, "But for now, I'd better go find my men. It's still really not safe to leave Mint alone. Perhaps tomorrow, we can spar."

"I look forward to it, Prince Herb," Ranma said.

Herb stood up and reached for the kettle. "I believe this belongs to my people," he said gently.

"Of course, how silly of me," Akane said, releasing her grip. The two of them watched as Herb and Cologne headed around the side of the house toward the main gate. She waited until they disappeared and then she said, thoughtfully, "I'm not sure I trust him."

"I don't trust him either," Ranma agreed, "Everything taken care of?"

Akane smirked and replied, "Yes, just like we planned."

"Spilled the first kettleful," Ranma grinned, "Nice story."

* * *

Herb strutted into the Nekohaten, where the Amazon Elder Cologne had graciously provided him a room, and a place on the floor for Mint and Lime to sleep. To his annoyance, neither of his two minions was waiting for him. On the other hand, the young man who helped at the restaurant was there, waiting on some tables. 

"May I help you?" the young man asked, only to stop as Cologne hopped in.

"Prince Herb,"Cologne began, only to have Herb interrupt her.

"Where are my warriors?" Herb asked.

"Prince Herb?" the young man exclaimed, "I didn't recognize you. You seem to be taller, and more angular, or something."

"Just answer the question," Herb growled.

"Of course. They aren't here, obviously. They ran off shortly after you left with Elder Cologne. Mint said something about seeing a girl's, um, boobies, I believe was the word he used," the young man replied.

Herb frowned and was about to say something when his wayward men ran back into the restaurant. Mint stammered, "Master Herb!" He rapidly patted down his master's chest and wailed, "Nooooo! They're gone, gone. Where'd they go?"

Herb slammed his fist onto Mint's head. "You've served me since childhood! What stupid drivel are you spouting, now? I never had any of 'them' to begin with!"

Mint stared up from the floor and stammered, "Th-that's true, M-master. As a child, you never had those. B-but then, I've heard, and this is just a rumor, that when a girl begins to mature, well, some parts develop."

"Mint!" Lime exclaimed, though knowing that once he would have been asking the same questions, at least until he saw how distraught his master had been.

"Where did Master Herb's beautifully mature developments disappear to?" Mint asked.

"I'm telling you that I'm really a man!" Herb exclaimed as he knocked Mint out of the providentially opened door.

Cologne murmured, "Thank you, Great Granddaughter. That was timely," as Shampoo stared at the human missile that flew by her.

* * *

Gosunkugi chided himself for his gullibility as he waited at the beginning of the fog-shrouded bridge over the main canal. To his surprise, the directions he had been given, had all come to pass, from the odd dog that was scavenging some trash and run off when he approached, to the cigarette shop, where a red balloon floated by, and then leading him to this bridge. 'I wonder who this woman is supposed to be. Is it some one I know, or a complete stranger,' he mused, 'Or was Miyo just pulling the wool over my eyes.' Finally, he saw a shadowy figure begin to make its way through the dense mist. After a moment, he could tell that the oncoming figure was indeed female. "She's coming. Who will it be?" he asked himself once again, "But in any case, soon I'll know for sure." He could feel his heart pounding as the figure neared. "I must prepare myself," he exclaimed, as he began to check his hair, closing his eyes to center himself. Finally the oncoming footsteps stopped, and he thought, 'She's here.' He slowly opened his eyes and gasped. "You!" he exclaimed. 

"Yes, me," Miyo said calmly, "Are you waiting for someone?"

"You know I am, you're the one who sent me here with that prophecy you spoke yesterday," Hikaru replied, "But, why, why are you here?"

"For this," Miyo said, pulling a tennis racket out of her backpack, "I have to leave early to make sure I get a court." She smiled and said, "See ya!" and began to leave.

Gosunkugi began to chuckle. "You set me up, didn't you?" he asked after a moment.

"Are you really sure about that? Maybe the cards did tell me this," Miyo replied, saucily.

"To be honest, Yamada-san, I'm not sure what I think anymore," Gosunkugi replied.

"Then, perhaps, we need to sit down and talk," Miyo replied, her eyes just a bit dreamy.

* * *

Ranma led the small procession of friends through the gate of the abandoned factory. The group glanced around the dismal surroundings, the piles of rusting parts; the broken windows in the plant; the overgrown parking lot; all gave the place a look of eerie desolation. The cold wind blew through the area, stirring the debris around, adding to the forlorn appearance of the place, as well as causing ripples in the many puddles of rainwater scattered around. 

"Well, this certainly looks cheery enough," Ranma said, after taking in the scene, "Doesn't look like we can do too much to hurt what's here, now does it?"

"No, not really," Akane replied, "In fact, it looks like you've already fought someone here, looking at all of the damage."

Nabiki chuckled and said, "No, this plant was damaged in the last tsunami, and never got repaired because the owners went bankrupt. And it's been tied up in litigation so that's why it never got torn down. The place is just too badly damaged to repair."

"I suppose we should stand over by the gate to stay out of the way," Cologne suggested.

"True," Ranma said, thoughtfully, "I'd just as soon no one got hurt because of us cutting loose with some of our attacks. Even though this is supposed to be a friendly sparring match, there's no telling what might happen."

"Okay, we'll head back there while you go on ahead," Konatsu said.

Ranma waited as everyone except Akane headed back toward the presumed safety of the front gate.

"You be careful, Ranma," Akane said, seriously, "I have a real bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, I do too," Ranma said, "But you know me, I never back down from a challenge, and I never lose."

"That may be true, but he's the toughest opponent you've faced," Akane reminded him.

"True," Ranma agreed, but after making sure everyone was out of hearing, added, "Remember, I've faced him before, and I know most of his moves. And I'm a better fighter this time around in many respects."

"I'll still worry, though, okay?" Akane asked.

Ranma grinned suddenly and said, "Wouldn't have it any other way, Akane. It wouldn't be us otherwise."

Akane suddenly threw her arms around him and hugged him, then kissed him hard. "You damn well better come back to me," she said, fiercely, blinking back a few tears. She looked up as three figures appeared in the gaping hole that used to be the main delivery door to the plant. "They're here," she said.

Herb, Mint and Lime picked their way down the steps next to the delivery dock, and walked over to join Ranma and Akane.

"Afternoon," Ranma said, politely, "I hope you don't mind, some of my friends wanted to watch us practice."

Herb smiled coldly, and replied, "Sure, not a problem, Saotome. I'd love an audience."

"Go on and join the rest of them, Akane," Ranma said, calmly.

"Remember what I told you," Akane replied as she walked over to join the onlookers.

"So how do you want to do this?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, I think we can give them a pretty good show," Herb said, once again smiling, though the smile never reached his icy eyes.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Nothing fatal, though, I do have some grandchildren to spoil, say about thirty years or so from now. And I imagine you have plans for the future yourself."

"Sounds like a plan, but I won't hold back too much," Herb said.

"Wouldn't want you to," Ranma retorted, "Where's the fun in that?"

"True," Herb said, "I just hope I'm not too much for you. After all, now that I'm not in my female form, I can blast energy like a man!" Herb sent a blast of ki at Ranma knocking him backwards.

Ranma landed gracefully on one of the piles of debris. He rubbed his jaw and said, "Not bad, Dragon-breath, not bad at all." 'I've seen this before,' he thought. "Try mine on for size," he said. He drew in his reserves and cried, "Möko Takabisha!" sending the biggest blast of ki he had ever done at the dumbstruck warrior who had figured that the fight was over. The blast hit Herb, who crashed back into the wall of the factory, dumping a torrent of water on top of him.

"Change me back, quickly!" snapped Herb, as Mint jumped to obey, splashing the irate girl with a bucket of hot water. "Now you've made me angry!" Herb snarled, "You shall see the true Ryü Sei Hishö, Soaring Dragon Spirit!" as he sprang into the air, flying above Ranma. Suddenly several blows came Ranma's way, pummeling him into the ground into one of the puddles of water, transforming him instantly, and staggering her for a moment.

Herb growled, "Mint, now!"

The young warrior pulled out the Chiisuiton, and quickly splashed the stunned Ranma with the contents of the ladle.

"So who's laughing now, Saotome?" Herb sneered, "How does it feel to be locked as a girl?"

Ranma stood up and dusted herself off. She smirked at him, and said, sweetly, pulling her red hair back from her eyes, "Don't worry, you bastard, I'm still more than man enough to defeat you!" Her grin grew vicious as she exclaimed, "I saw through your Soaring Dragon Spirit! It's not much!"

"Is that so?" Herb sneered, "So you still have the strength to stand against me, worm. Fine, then let's hear what you have seen through!"

"While flying through the air, you bounce your ki blasts against the ground and slam them into your opponent. That's the secret of your Soaring Dragon Spirit!" Ranma expounded.

"And? Are you saying that now you're going to show me a counter attack?" Herb asked in derision.

"No, not just yet," Ranma sneered, "Instead, take this!" She pulled her shirt back exposing her breasts, causing Herb to recoil. "Ha, an opening!" she cried as she flew through the air, striking Herb several times with her fists as she passed by. 'Don't want to get too cocky, but since he's playing for keeps again, I need to get him angry,' she thought. Ranma laughed, and added, as she landed several feet behind the slightly staggered Herb, "Kind of naïve, aren't you?"

"How dare you? No one lays a hand on me!" Herb exclaimed, his fury beginning to rise. "Hitö Ryü-zan! Flying Sword of the Dragon!" he cried making a sweeping motion with his hand held as a blade.

Ranma dodged the blast of ki that came her way, and it careened over and sliced open the cab of an abandoned pickup truck parked against the wall. "Nice, ki that cuts like a knife," Ranma said, with a grin.

"Feh, I missed, I meant to cut off your head," Herb snarled.

"My turn," Ranma said, as she slashed forward with her hand held like a claw.

Herb jumped back as four narrow slashes appeared on his dragon-hide armor. His eyes narrowed in anger even more, and his battle aura flared. "Now to slice off that head of yours," he crowed as he began that same sweeping motion.

Once again, Ranma pulled open her top, exposing her breasts.

Herb's battle aura deflated immediately.

"Just as I thought, Herb! You're battle aura vanished," Ranma cried jumping back and getting into a ready position.

"Curse you!" Herb cried, "Throwing that chest of yours around at every chance. Have you no shame?"

"It's called Anything Goes for a reason, and it looks like breasts are your weakness," Ranma exclaimed, "Or at least a distraction, anyway!"

"Feh, they're not a weakness!" Herb exclaimed, "Instead the sight of them causes my blood to boil, I get so angry! The mere sight of those 'breasts' gives me the same wrath as the Dragon Counter Strike!"

"Hm, taking a bath or being with your wife is going to be a problem for you then," Ranma smirked as she slowly moved around Herb in a spiral.

"How dare you mock me, you insignificant worm? I am a descendant of dragons!" Herb all but shrieked, "And furthermore, you are the perfect double of that monkey woman!"

"Not what you said before, but that's okay. Not sure why it matters, I wasn't the one stupid enough to stare at a girl's breasts and get knocked into a pool," Ranma jeered, as she continued to move in her spiral.

"ARGH! Stop scurrying around! How can I kill you if you don't stop moving?" Herb shrieked, as all of his ki blasts missed the dodging girl.

"Kind of the point, Herb old buddy," Ranma said with a smirk, "And it sure looks like 'boobs' are your weakness. You're not hitting a thing because your anger is twisting your power blasts! In fact, I'll bet you like breasts, don't you?"

"Why you!" Herb sputtered.

"What a chump," Ranma muttered, "Letting me get him all mad. It's about time I cut loose with my secret weapon!" She finished her spiral, and exclaimed, "Hiryű Shōten Ha!" and slammed her fists to the ground, causing a whirlwind to form, where her cold ki hit Herb's hot anger based ki and sucked Herb into the air. 'That won't finish him off, though, I'll still have to play it through to the end,' she thought as she moved out of the way from where she knew Herb would land. Keeping one eye peeled toward the sky, she was rewarded by spying first a glint high in the air, which quickly resolved into a plummeting Herb. Ranma dodged the oncoming ki blast by dancing nimbly out of the way, though it started a massive crack in the asphalt. She dodged another, only to have Mint splash her once more with the Chiisuiton.

"Ha," Mint gloated, "Now you are locked forever in that form!"

Herb landed and said, "Dragon's Heaven Blast, eh, nicely done. While provoking your enemy to rage, you coax him into a spiraling movement, using the very heat of battle and the coldness of your own aura to produce a tornado. A secret attack of the Amazons." He chuckled and said, "Unfortunately for you, I am a master of the use of Ki and Lord of Dragons. There are few such attacks I do not know. I happened to notice that my own attacks, blasted in a regrettable fit of anger were leaving a spiral trail, so I immediately countered with a cold Ki just like yours."

"My Dragon's Heaven Blast did nothing, I see," Ranma sneered, looking pointedly at the tattered clothing that Herb was wearing.

"So Saotome, your ridiculous efforts seem to have made me careless. Thanks to the power of my Soaring Dragon Spirit, we seem to have damaged this place severely," Herb said, "I've defeated your ultimate move, you have no more cards to play."

"Oh yes I do, spawn of a lizard," Ranma retorted. 'Herb's blast was as I remembered, powerful enough to split the ground. All that power, still crackling through the sky. If I can get it swirling like before!' she thought, as she sprang into action.

'Spiral steps,' Herb thought, 'Another Dragon's Heaven Blast?' "Fool! As if I couldn't anticipate your strike. Your ultimate weapon is nothing against my Ryü Sei Hishö!"

"Yes!" Ranma exclaimed, "Hiryű Shōten Ha!" as she slammed her fists down, once again causing the whirlwind to form. 'Yes, a wave of cold Ki from Herb, just what I needed,' she thought as she soared into the air.

"Feh, too late," Herb scoffed as his foe vanished," The fool was taken by her own secret weapon."

"Oh, no," Akane gasped as her husband was sucked up into the air. Suddenly a glint appeared as Ranme began to fall back to the ground.

"Take this Herb!" Ranma cried, "Hiryű Kourin Dan! Dragon's Heaven Blast revised, Dragon's Descending Crashing Wave!" 'Now, while the air is saturated with the aftereffects of Herb's Ryü Sei Hishö, if I send a screw-punch of cold energy punching downward, the lingering heat from his attack will rush into the vortex.' "Hey, Herb, take your blasts back in full!" Ranma exclaimed as the superpowered blasts came roaring back at Herb, slamming him hard into the ground, and into a large puddle, transforming Herb instantly.

"Impossible," Herb groaned as she fell unconscious.

Mint exclaimed, "Master Herb!" as he rushed over to where Herb was lying unconscious on the ground. Before he could react, Ranma had grabbed the Chiisuiton from him, and used it on Herb, pouring the water on the woman twice.

"That is for your treachery. I never really did anything to you," Ranma growled, theatrically.

Lime ran over and said, "Master Saotome, I'm sorry for this. I tried to talk him out of it, but Mint egged him on." He grabbed Mint to keep him from attacking Ranma. "Do you really want to fight someone who defeated Master Herb, you fool!" he exclaimed.

"He was a real opponent, Lime, and I'm sorry it came to this, but locking me in my cursed form like this, he deserves to be punished," Ranma said, her eyes flashing in anger.

"I understand, Master Saotome," Lime replied, "And I am also sorry for what happened. We will leave this damnable place and return to our people, though how Master Herb will handle that, I am unsure."

Ranma pulled a slightly damp envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Lime. "Give this to him once the three of you are out of Japan," Ranma said, "Now get him out of here, while he's still in one piece."

"We have a boat in the harbor," Lime said,

The two warriors bowed once to Ranma, and picked up their master, leaving the Chiisuiton behind. They shuffled past the group of onlookers, who were rushing to greet Ranma.

"Sonny Boy, I don't know what to say," Cologne began, "But, why didn't you get the Kai-sui-fu back from Herb and see if it would still unlock your curse?"

Ranma chuckled and said, "Oh this, I don't mind. Besides, Mom always wanted a daughter." She grinned at the dumbstruck expression on the faces in front of her, and winked at her wife. "Are they out of sight, yet?" she asked.

Akane replied, "Yes, they're gone." She handed Ranma a thermos and watched intently as the red-haired girl poured the contents over her head. She relaxed as the transformation occurred, and both of them chuckled at the massive face-faults from everyone except Konatsu and his wife.

"But how?" Cologne gasped, "I saw you get hit with the water from the Chiisuiton, not once but twice. You should have been locked."

"Well, that probably would have been true, except for a couple of things. First, I lied when I told Herb that getting doused twice would make the curse lock forever. I just wanted him to back off and that was the first thing that came to mind," Ranma replied, his eyes dancing with glee.

"But that doesn't explain why regular hot water changed you back," the old woman protested.

Ranma shrugged, and replied, "That assumes that I got hit with water from the real pail. Right, Konastu?"

"Huh," was the general reaction from the rest of the group.

"Akane and I took a few precautions," Ranma explained, "One of which was to substitute a fake Chiisuiton for the real one. Of course, it helps to have a genius kunoichi as a friend to pull that off. I still want to know how you managed to distract Mint and Lime long enough to do that, though."

"You owe Ukyo for that," Konatsu said, as his wife blushed prettily.

"She didn't!" Ranma exclaimed.

"It was no big deal," Ukyo replied, "What's sacrificing a little bit of modesty for your safety?"

"I don't understand," Cologne complained, testily,"What did you people do?"

Akane sighed and said, "We didn't trust Prince Herb not to pull something like this. I pretty much thought that he would be so angry about what Ranma did that he would want some sort of revenge, so when the two of you showed up at the dojo yesterday, I called Konatsu and had him go to the Nekohaten and swap the Chiisuiton with a fake that we had created. And, the kettle that Herb has isn't the right one either; it's just a normal kettle."

Ranma smirked, "And just to rub it in to him, now Herb thinks his curse is locked permanently."

* * *

The young woman slowly opened her eyes as she felt the surface she was on begin to rock. The faint motion was making her head feel even worse, and to make things complete, the combination of what she was sure was a mild concussion and the rocking motion was causing her stomach to rebel. 

"How are you feeling, Master Herb?" a deep voice asked.

"L-lime," Herb stammered and then she frowned as her voice registered. She glanced down quickly to see that once again she was indeed female. "What happened? Where are we?"

"You lost the battle with Saotome, Master," Lime replied.

"I'm sorry, Master Herb, but she used the Chiisuiton on you," Mint said, sinking to a prone position in the tight quarters of the small ship.

"So where is the Kai-sui-fu?" Herb demanded, "Unlock my curse!"

"She used it twice on you, Master," Lime said sorrowfully, his eyes downcast.

Herb stared at him with horror-filled eyes, and then growled, "Then turn this ship around and return us to Nerima. I'll kill that bastard!"

"You couldn't beat him when you were male, Master, at full power," Lime said carefully, "If you went up against him as a female, I'm not sure you could win."

"And we can't turn back now, anyway, Master. The winds are sweeping us down the coast away from that place," Mint said, "We can't sail against the wind."

Herb sank back down against the deck and to her horror, began to cry. Lime looked Mint helplessly for a moment and then gathered her to him and allowed his master to cry against his shoulder.

* * *

Akane stuck her head out the bedroom window and found her husband silhouetted by the last of the setting sun. "Yen for your thoughts," she said, as she crawled out onto the roof to join him. 

"Just thinking about Herb," Ranma admitted.

Akane snuggled up next to him and asked, "What about?"

"Just how odd it was. I tried so hard to change things this time, getting the kettle back from Mount Horai, and everything. I wanted him to be friends with us, and possibly train us so we'd have a better chance against Saffron," he replied.

"So we're going against Saffron?" Akane asked, "Finally admitted that I was coming too."

"Well, yeah, I may be a bit slow, but I'm not really stupid. I can't protect you if I don't know where you are, and to tell you the truth, I kind of want you by my side anyway," Ranma replied.

"That's good to know. Anyway, back to Herb," Akane said.

Ranma sighed heavily and replied, "Well, like I said, I wanted things to be different this time. But, everything happened pretty much the same. It's like what happened had to happen for some strange reason. I mean, Herb and I fought; the only difference was it was here instead of on Mount Horai. Even the fight was a lot the same, and I beat him the same way. I didn't really want to fight him though. I had a reason to the first time around, to win the Kai-sui-fu and unlock my curse, but not this time. I just couldn't back down."

"Wouldn't really be honorable for you to have backed down, though, would it?" Akane asked.

"I suppose not," Ranma replied.

"And another difference is this time you knew you could beat him," Akane added, "So that made things easier on you, I suppose."

"In some ways, yeah. I certainly knew which buttons to push to make him angry, and lose focus," Ranma admitted.

"Do you think we've seen the last of him?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "Haven't a clue, to be honest. I hope so, though. I just hope Cologne isn't too upset with me for ruining her plan to get him to work with us."

* * *

The small ship had just rounded the tip of Kyushu Island, entering into the East China Sea, when Lime approached his master once more. "You need to eat, Master Herb," Lime said in a gruff voice. 

"Not hungry," Herb said, in a low voice.

"I guess we're far enough from Japan, or at least Saotome, so I can give you this," Lime said, pulling out a sealed envelope and handing it to his master, "Saotome gave me this and said to give it to you when you were away from Japan."

Herb took the letter, and stared at it for a moment. "You read it, Lime. I really don't care what it says. He has destroyed me," Herb replied, handing it back to him

Lime slit the envelope and pulled out a short note. He grunted in astonishment and said, "Odd, it is written in Chinese." He quickly scanned the letter and said, "You need to read this, Master, trust me," and handed it back to Herb.

Herb dropped disinterested eyes onto the letter and read, 'Prince Herb, if you are reading this letter, it means three things have happened. One, you decided to seek some sort of misplaced vengeance against me, for whatever reason you came up with, and decided to fight me for real, two, during that fight, you attempted to lock me in my female form, and three, you lost the battle. I am sure that you have been told by Mint and Lime that I splashed you with the Chiisuiton two times, and that you are now locked forever in your female form. Hopefully, you have suffered enough for your betrayal. But in any case, I can't in good conscience allow you to suffer too much longer. First, getting splashed with the Chiisuiton twice does not actually permanently lock a curse. And well, second, you don't have either the Chiisuiton or the Kai-sui-fu in your possession.' Herb stopped reading the letter. "Mint, bring me the Chiisuiton and the Kai-sui-fu, hot water, Lime," Herb growled.

Mint scrambled into the small cabin tucked neatly into the bow of the small vessel, and emerged a moment later with a battered teakettle, a metal pail and ladle. He handed them to his master who examined them carefully.

Herb began to laugh as she turned the kettle over to see inscribed on the bottom the words, 'Made in Formosa.'

Lime smiled and handed her the kettle that he was holding. "I thought you might want this," he said.

Herb poured the hot water over her head, and smiled in relief as she felt the transformation. "Hm, I possibly have misjudged Saotome," he said, "He could have truly cursed me forever, and if I didn't know that he had the real kettle I may never have tried to get my curse unlocked. He is quite a man after all."

At that moment, the boat tacked but a rouge wave crashed across the bulwark, splashing Herb, changing him back.

"But with boobies," Mint said happily.

"Stop thinking about boobies, you pervert," Herb growled.

* * *

Author's Note: For those of you who are interested, I have set up a forum for this story. The intent is to allow discussion, and also for me to post answers to questions posed in these reviews. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. I hope you all enjoy the latest installment. 


	59. A Merger of Fire and Ice

Chapter 59 A Merger of Fire and Ice

Miss Morisato stood up from her chair and started passing out the folders that had been stacked on the side of her desk. "Sorry it took me so long to get these projects graded. Many of you wrote extremely good papers describing your results, and it took me just a bit longer than I expected. Some of you, however, disappointed me in the quality of the report," she said as she handed out the graded reports to the female member of each team, and a slip of paper containing the grade to the male member. "Good work, Mr. Saotome," she said as she handed him his slip.

Ranma's eyes widened in shock as he saw the high grade on the piece of paper and turned to Ukyo. "We did it, Ucchan," he said, joyously.

Just as the teacher finished handing out the results, the bell rang for lunch. Today, the weather was bright and sunny, so most of the class headed downstairs to change shoes and then wander outside to eat. Sayuri waved as she headed toward the main gate.

"Where's she going?" Ranma asked Hiroshi.

"Oh, her mom called the school and asked if she could join her for lunch," Hiroshi replied.

"You'd know that if you'd been listening this morning. Remember, she told Kasumi not to pack a lunch for her today," Akane added, rolling her eyes at her husband.

"Oh yeah, now I remember," Ranma muttered as the group of friends sat down under their tree. After a few moments for everyone to break out their bentos, or in the case of Ukyo, her grill, Ranma mused, "I'm glad she's eating lunch with her mother. She doesn't need to push her away, just because she's living with us. Family is important."

"I agree with you. She talks to her mom on the phone at least four or five times a week, though, so it's not like she's trying to keep her out of her life," Nabiki said.

"I wonder what was so important to get her out of school though," Akane mused.

Hiroshi replied, "Sayuri didn't have a clue, just that she wanted to meet her at that little café down the street."

"Here you go, sugar," Ukyo said, handing Ranma and Akane two plates.

"Thanks, Ukyo," Akane said, "So how's the old married woman today?"

Ukyo grinned at her and said, "This old married woman is fine, how about you? You looked like you were moving a little slow this morning."

"I overdid it just a bit with the sparring this morning," Akane replied.

"I'm still sorry about that, by the way, sis," Nabiki said.

Akane shrugged and said, "Hey, stuff happens. That's what I get for not taking you seriously. Won't make that mistake again."

"Then you learned a good lesson, Akane. The best fighter in the world doesn't fear the second best; he fears the worst, since he can never tell what he's going to do. Not that I'm saying you're the worst, Nabiki. Cause you're not. You've gotten pretty good, for that matter Hinako and Sayuri looked good this morning too," Ranma said.

Nabiki chuckled and said, "That certainly bodes well if you two ever actually open the dojo back up to paying students. If you can teach the three of us, you can probably teach most anybody."

"I wouldn't sell yourself short like that, Sis. Daddy trained you as a child, too. It's just that you got interested in something else, instead," Akane said.

Ranma nodded his head in agreement. "She's right. You have potential, so don't put yourself down. Now if I could turn Hiroshi or Daisuke into a martial artist, then that would prove something." He grinned at his friends.

"Ha, I resemble that remark," Hiroshi retorted.

Daisuke merely sniffed and said, in the snootiest tone he could manage, "I have better things to do with my time than sweat in a dojo."

Kodachi looked at Ranma thoughtfully and then asked, "Could I perhaps benefit from some of your instruction? My darling Mse Tse has taught me some of his hidden weapons techniques, but I would be interested in learning from you also."

Ranma looked at Akane and then replied, "Sure, any one who wants to join us can. I can't teach you any of the real family secret techniques, but what I'm sharing with Hinako and Sayuri is fair game. And maybe Mousse could show me where he hides all that stuff.

"I wish I could take you up on that, Ranchan," Ukyo said, wistfully, "But I need to work in the restaurant."

"Not to mention, spending time with that gorgeous husband of yours," Yuka said, with a giggle.

"Hey, you're engaged, remember," Daisuke pouted.

"I know I'm engaged, but it doesn't mean I'm blind either," Yuka retorted.

"Shampoo married, but she not blind either. Spatula Girl very lucky to have husband like that," Shampoo said.

"So long as it's just looking and no touching," Ryoga growled.

"Ryoga jealous, that so cute," Shampoo said, glomping onto her husband.

"Don't look at me, for once, I'm keeping my feet out of my mouth," Ranma said to his wife.

"What's that mean?" Akane asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"That I trust you," Ranma replied simply, "And I don't own you."

Yuka sighed happily and said, "Are you taking notes, Daisuke?"

* * *

Sayuri entered the small café located near the high school and stood for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room that was in stark contrast to the brightness of the sun-washed street outside. Glancing around once she could see, she grimaced slightly as she spotted her mother waving discretely from one of the tables tucked into a small niche near the back of the eatery. Even though their brief estrangement had ended, Sayuri still felt a bit uncomfortable in her mother's presence. 'Why do I feel more at home at the dojo?' she wondered briefly as she walked over to join her mother. "Hello, Mother," she said politely in greeting.

"Thank you for joining me for lunch, dear," her mother replied, wincing at the honorific. She waited until Sayuri had seated herself in the chair opposite, and continued, "I took the liberty of ordering for you. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. It's fine with me. It'll make getting back to class on time just that much easier," Sayuri replied, "That was very thoughtful of you."

Yumi winced imperceptively. "I miss you, dear," she said sadly, looking at the young woman who had apparently grown up while she hadn't been watching, but also seeing a light in her daughter's eyes that had been missing for a long time.

Sayuri flashed a brief, sad smile. "I miss you too, Mom," she said, "But it's better this way."

Yumi sighed and said, "Yes, I know. You look happier than I've seen you in a long time. And I don't think it's just because you're back to dating Hiroshi."

Sayuri replied, "Well, he is a big part of it, of course. But some, maybe most, is simply being with my friends, people who actually care about me and my feelings." At the slight frown that appeared on her mother's face, she added, quickly, "I know you love me, Mom. I never doubted that, and it's not what I meant. It's just that, well, I never really felt wanted in that house, and I do at the Tendo's place. You know that to be true."

"Sadly, I do know. Your father does love you, though, you're wrong about that, it's just that he can't show it," Yumi replied, only to stop as the waitress brought over two orders of shrimp tempura. Once the waitress had left, she added, changing the subject, "You look healthier, somehow."

"The exercises that I'm learning at the dojo are doing that, I expect," Sayuri replied, shrugging, "And the meditation doesn't hurt either. So I'm not surprised that I look better both physically and mentally." She frowned for a moment and then asked, "As fun as this has been, there has to be a reason why you asked me to lunch besides to just chat. You could have just called if that was what you wanted."

"Isn't wanting to see my only child reason enough?" her mother asked. At the somewhat skeptical look on her daughter's face, she finally sighed. With an uncertain look on her face, Yumi said, "After our last face to face talk, I did some soul-searching." Gaining a bit more confidence as she spoke, she added, "And I came to at least one conclusion. I think I remember telling you that I gave up on a few dreams when I found out I was pregnant."

"Yeah, I think you did, but I don't remember you ever saying what those dreams were," Sayuri replied, then took another bite of her meal.

Yumi smiled and said, "No, I probably didn't. But, it's a moot point since I've decided that I wasn't too old to chase one of those dreams."

"Good for you, Mom!" Sayuri said enthusiastically, "And besides you aren't that old."

"That's nice of you to say," her mother replied.

"So what are you going to do?" Sayuri asked.

Her mother blushed prettily, erasing years from her appearance. "Well," she replied, "I've always wanted to be an artist. I used to be pretty good in school and I'd always hoped to go on and get a degree in art in college. But, well, once we were married, your father didn't think it would be practical, so I dropped the idea. I do still dabble a bit. The three watercolors in the family room are mine. And I did a handful of oils shortly after you entered primary and were spending more of the day at school so I had a bit of time. I actually sold them, and made a little money."

"I never knew," Sayuri gasped, her eyes filled with unshed tears. She reached across and squeezed her mother's hand gently. "You need to do that, to live and be something other than father's shadow. Do something for yourself for a change instead of sacrificing for him, or me," she said fiercely.

"It'll be hard," Yumi said, softly, "But I'm going to try to take a few classes the next couple of terms, at least until you go off to college. Money will be too tight once you start business school."

"Don't you dare give up your dream because of me, not this time! You don't need to worry about me anyway," Sayuri growled angrily. She took several deep breaths to calm down and then added, "You have sacrificed too many years not doing something you dreamed of. Besides, I've been talking to Nabiki and she's positive that I can swing a couple of scholarships, what with the grades that I have. She's offered to help me land them, too. That'll likely take care of the first year or so, and Nabiki has already promised that I'll be her roommate when I go."

"That's so nice of her!" Yumi exclaimed, "Why is she helping you?"

"I asked her that. She simply shrugged and replied that I was family as if that was enough of an answer," Sayuri replied, "And after I thought about it for a while, I realized that it was."

Yumi dabbed at her eyes and said sadly, "I'm so sorry, dear."

"It's okay, Mom. You didn't lose me, I just gained another family, one that accepts me for who I am," Sayuri replied, kindly. With a snort of laughter, she added, "One that seems to grow daily, by the way."

"Please come home, soon, though," Yumi begged.

Sayuri looked down at the table, not wanting to see the expression on her mother's face. "When I'm at the dojo, I feel like I am home, Mom, that's the problem," she said, sadly, "And I don't see that changing so long as Father treats me, or rather, treats us the same way as he always has. Benign neglect is the kindest thing to call what he feels toward me, and that isn't healthy, for any of us. You never meant to hurt me, I know that, but letting him walk all over you while I was growing up and you turning to your shows and drinking to escape your life, stunted me just a bit. Now that I know what a loving family is like, I can see how much I was damaged."

Yumi's face crumpled as her daughter spoke, as she realized finally what her family had become. Merely a collection of strangers, living in the same house, with minimal interaction. "I'm so sorry, we failed you," she sobbed through her tears, finally allowing them to flow. Suddenly, she felt her daughter's arms around her as Sayuri rushed around the table to hug her, and hide her breakdown from the other patrons of the café.

"Mom, please don't cry," Sayuri pleaded, "There's no way we can change what happened. All we can do now is learn from it and try to change the future for the better, and you sound like you're making an attempt to do that. I needed to find out who I was, and so do you. My moving out was my stab at that, and you taking up art is yours."

Yumi dried her eyes and asked, "When did you become so wise, Sayuri?"

Sayuri grinned sheepishly and said, "Those really aren't my words, Mom. I've had talks with both Kasumi and Nabiki, and that's what they told me, at least the part about myself, anyway. What they said made sense to me, and helped me get through what I was feeling. And maybe those words can help you. And I'm not abandoning you, or Father, for that matter. You will always be my mom, and I'll always be your little girl. Nothing will ever change that. I was always going to live on campus when I went to college, so moving out was going to happen. It just happened a little sooner, is all."

Her mother smiled weakly and said, "You know, that actually helps a little. I'm glad we had this little chat."

"So am I, Mom. And I want you to do me a favor," Sayuri replied, "I'd like you to paint me something to hang on my bedroom wall." She looked at her watch, and frowned. "Mom, I've got to head back to school, or I'll be late for class. And I really don't feel like bucket duty." She bent down and lightly kissed her mother's cheek.

* * *

Akane glanced over to where her sister was sitting next to Souta, listening to all of the young couples bantered. Akane's lips twitched as she tried not to smile at how the group dynamics kept changing now that Ukyo had finally married Konatsu, and Sayuri was back with Hiroshi. As the only unattached people in the lunch group, Souta and her sister had slowly drifted together. "Hey sis," Akane said, a teasing tone in her voice, that didn't go unnoticed by her sister, "Are you going to grace us with your presence this afternoon at the dojo or do you have another date with Souta?"

Nabiki frowned quickly and then exclaimed, "We're not dating, sis! We're just studying together, and you know that!"

"Of course, but what's the fun in that," Akane said, still teasing.

"Studying, right?" Ranma said, with a grin, "So why don't you study with someone in your homeroom?"

"Even though he's not in my homeroom, we have most of the same kind of courses, well, except for his drama class, and my business class. And with two different teachers, we each get a slightly different take on the material so our notes are different. When Souta suggested we get together and study for the entrance exams, I jumped at the chance," Nabiki replied, glaring at her brother-in-law.

"Sure, that good excuse," Shampoo said, with a smirk.

"Neither one of us wants to pay for cram school this summer, Akane," Souta interjected, smoothly, "I don't know about Nabiki, but I definitely have better things to do with my money, or my mother's money, for that matter." After a moment, he grinned cheekily and added, "Though I will admit, it is very pleasant to study with her. She is intelligent, albeit a bit sarcastic, and very easy on the eyes."

"Sarcastic, moi?" Nabiki asked, her cheeks ever so slightly red.

"Calling you a bit sarcastic is like saying there's a little bit of sand in the Gobi Desert," Ukyo said, with a smile.

"You wound me, Ukyo, my sister by marriage," Nabiki retorted.

Ukyo chuckled and said, "Actually, I know you, we all do, sister."

"And we care for you anyway," Akane said with a grin.

"Ha, ha," Nabiki said, though she was grinning as she mocked laughing. "Maybe the Ice Queen needs to come back," she said, letting her face grow cold.

"Oh no, anything but that," Hiroshi begged, "I like this Nabiki better."

"Actually, so do I," Souta replied, resting a hand on her shoulder, "The old Nabiki probably would have charged me for her help."

"You mean I forgot to tell you my rates," Nabiki retorted, with an evil grin on her face.

Souta gulped and replied, "I hope they are reasonable."

Nabiki's eyes softened for a moment and she replied, "I think you won't mind paying them."

"I guess it will depend on the currency you take," Souta responded with a smirk.

Akane grinned and said, "You'll have to stop flirting like that, if you want me to believe you two are 'just' studying."

Souta rolled his eyes and stood up. "I guess they caught on, my dear," he said, holding out his hand, "Shall we find a more private spot to converse?"

Nabiki looked at him for a moment, hiding a smile, and then allowed Souta to help her up from the ground. "Sure," she said, leaving his hand in hers, "I'm sure there's a little bit of 'studying' that we can do before lunch is over."

Akane's eyes grew wide as her sister walked off with Souta, and disappeared back into the school.

"Do you think they really are an item?" Yuka asked, in shock.

"Nah, couldn't be," Ranma said, a bit uncertainly.

Akane nodded her head and added, "Surely we would have noticed. We're not that clueless, are we?"

Ranma leaned over and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like, "P-chan." Akane blushed while Yuka wondered what the name of Akane's stuffed pig had to do with anything.

* * *

Souta glanced over the low parapet protecting the edge of the roof and then turned back to Nabiki to see an oddly pensive look on the attractive girl's face. "At the risk of seriously underpaying, a yen for your thoughts," he said.

"Nothing really, just thinking about what the guys were saying is all," Nabiki replied, refusing to meet his eyes.

"About us being a couple?" Souta asked, not really needing the response.

Nabiki nodded her head. "I was just wondering why we never tried, I guess," she said just barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Never really thought about it, I imagine," Souta replied after a moment of thought, "You would make a scary girlfriend in many respects."

"Me, scary, yeah, I suppose so," Nabiki answered.

Souta deliberately ran his eyes up and down the girl seated across from him, causing her to blush ever so slightly. "You are a very attractive girl, Nabiki; I wasn't lying when I said that downstairs. And I do like you." He frowned for a moment and said, "You know, it's actually very odd that I haven't come on to you."

"Yeah, why is that? I was actually beginning to feel a little insulted," Nabiki retorted, in a slightly happier tone of voice.

Souta tapped his teeth with his finger and said, "I honestly don't know. We've known each other for what, four or five years, isn't it?"

"Something like that, though I don't remember much about the first year or so," Nabiki replied, "I guess you didn't make much of an impression then."

"You did. Even then, you were starting that whole unapproachable thing. I think I locked your image in a place that said, 'Danger, don't touch,' and never opened the door, even though this year you started opening up," Souta said after a long moment of introspection.

"It would be dangerous if we did date," Nabiki said, "A merger of fire and ice. Not exactly a union of compatible personalities."

"True, we don't have a lot of things in common. Opposites may attract, but to stay together there has to be some common interests," Souta replied, frowning slightly.

Nabiki said, "We do have a few things. Both of us intelligent, with a sardonic sense of humor, reasonably attractive, some interest in martial arts. I sense the same drive to excel in you that I see in me. We are friends, at least I consider you one."

"Thanks, and yes, you are my friend," Souta replied, "And I would hope to be considered more than reasonably attractive, my dear Nabiki, after all, I do intend to pursue a career in theatre. I have to be handsome to get noticed."

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry too much about that," Nabiki replied, "You are handsome, Souta. Or were you fishing for a compliment."

"Maybe, but then you've never met my sister's boyfriend, InuYasha. He's a lot better looking than I am," Souta said, "And he's done so many things, I can't even begin to compete."

"Hm, there's several things in there that I'm sensing, including a strong impression of hero worship, and a touch of jealousy," Nabiki said, "But the one question I have, is 'InuYasha?' What kind of a name is that? Dog-demon?"

"Uh, well that's because he is one," Souta replied nervously.

Nabiki did something then that Souta had never seen before. Her jaw hit the ground, and her eyes bugged out. "A demon?" she gasped, "You've got to be kidding me. There's no such things has demons."

Souta said, with an amused expression on his face, "Oh, this coming from the girl whose brother-in-law turns into her sister-in-law. Just add cold water. Who turned into a succubus because of a stupid wish that an idiot made. And yeah, before you asked, Kuno couldn't keep his mouth shut. And I saw what happened when that Taro person came by, turned into a flying minotaur. Violated at least a half a dozen of the laws of physics that day. Granted, they aren't always accurate. If they were, bumblebees couldn't fly, but still, while I'm not into science as much as some, even I saw that his wing to body ratio was all wrong."

"But that's magic," Nabiki said, in protest.

Souta replied, "Yeah, and so is what happened to my sister and her boyfriend."

Nabiki blushed prettily and said, "I guess I did it again. Jumping to conclusions, and all."

"So, getting back on track, would you like to try dating?" Souta asked.

Nabiki shrugged and said, "I guess. I do like you, and all."

"Don't worry; I'm not looking for a lifetime commitment, not right now. Who knows, maybe we'll fancy each other after a bit," Souta replied, lightly.

"Damn," Nabiki muttered.

Souta raised an eyebrow and retorted, "That's not actually the sentiment I was expecting."

"Not that, just didn't want to give the girls the satisfaction," Nabiki said, "After all that teasing we were getting a little while ago."

Souta shrugged and asked, "Since when do you really care about what other people think?"

"Oh, I do care, I just don't normally let it show. Can we keep this between us, at least for a little while?" Nabiki replied after a moment of thought.

Souta grinned and answered, "Sure, if that's what you want. It'll keep the teasing down for a few days, anyway."

Nabiki moistened her lips, and then looked uncharacteristically nervous as if she was unsure of what she wanted.

"What's the matter, Nabiki?" Souta asked.

"It's just, well, I've never been a girlfriend before," Nabiki replied, "I've been taken out by people, but that was generally because I was using them for something. I'm not sure what to expect."

"While I've been just about every girl's boyfriend," Souta replied, "Don't worry, though. I'll let you set the pace."

"Oh, good," Nabiki said, a relieved tone in her voice.

Souta smiled at her and said, "You really are beautiful, Nabiki."

Nabiki blushed prettily and then her eyes widened as Souta moved closer. Just as he leaned in for a kiss, the bell sounded, letting the students know that lunch was over. Nabiki shot up as if scalded, and said, breathlessly, "I'll see you later, Souta. I can't be late for class."

"Tonight?" Souta asked.

Nabiki shook her head and replied, "I really need to work with Ranma, Akane and the rest. I don't want to slack off now that I'm back into the art."

"How about Saturday night, say around six, we go out on a date?" Souta suggested.

Nabiki smiled uncertainly and replied, "Sure, that'll work for me. Bye." She brushed his cheek with her hand, and then walked quickly to the door to stairway.

Souta watched her walk away, and then a pleased smile appeared on his face. "I'm not sure where we're going with this, but it'll be interesting," he said, as he followed her down the stairs.

* * *

Kasumi finished serving the evening meal to her family and watched with an anxious smile as they began to eat. The silence in the room was broken only by the clatter of chopsticks, and the occasional clank of a teacup against the wooden table. After waiting, with well-hidden impatience, the normally serene woman finally asked, "Well, how is it? What do you think? This was a new recipe and I wasn't completely sure how it would turn out."

"The food's wonderful as always, Kasumi," Ranma said, quickly swallowing his last morsel. Holding out his bowl, and with his most pitiful face, he asked, "More, please?"

Kasumi smiled fondly at him and refilled his bowl.

Soun was sitting at the table, a blissful look on his face. "Daughter, I am so proud. This is a meal fit for the Emperor."

Akane added, "I really like it, big sis. It may be a touch bland for me though; you know how much I like spicy food. Do you think you could show me how to make this?" She ignored the still instinctive flinch from her father, as he recoiled in shock at the suggestion that she might cook, but when Nabiki rolled her eyes, Akane snapped back, "I am getting better! I don't see you trying."

"Now, now, sisters, please, no bickering," Kasumi said soothingly. She turned to Akane and added, "I don't know why you couldn't learn. You've gotten so much better at following the directions and not getting impatient. While there are a lot of steps in this French dish, it's really pretty easy if you plan ahead carefully."

"Speaking of food, how was lunch with your mother, Sayuri?" Nabiki asked.

"Yeah, did you have a good time?" Ranma asked, "You sure looked pretty happy when you got back to class."

"It was nice," Sayuri replied, answering them both, "We talked a bit, said we missed each other, shed a few tears. That kind of thing, so yeah, it was good."

"You shouldn't leave your parents completely out of you life," Soun said, in a stern, yet kindly voice, "Family is the most important thing we have. And you never know when they will be taken from you."

Sayuri turned to the man she had come to see as a surrogate father and said, "I won't, I promise, Mr. Tendo." She smiled weakly and added, "It's kind of funny, actually. We seem to get along a lot better now that I've moved in here."

"And we love having you here," Akane replied, giving her a brief one-armed hug, "This is your home for as long as you want to stay."

Sayuri smiled at her gratefully and said, "Thanks, sis. That means a lot to me."

"It's not too surprising that the two of you are doing better," Tofu interjected in his calm voice, "You don't spend as much time with your mother, so when you do, both of you are on your best behavior, so things go smoother."

Hinako frowned prettily and said, "I'm not sure you're right about that, Doc. I think there's a little more to it than that. Sayuri, from what you've said before, I think your mother isn't satisfied with her life and she was taking her frustrations out on you. Not intentionally, I think, but still it was happening." She glared at the dumbstruck expressions on the faces of her family and grumbled, "I did get a college degree, remember, and some of my courses were in psychology." Her face cleared and she asked, girlishly, "Do you have any pocky? Oooooh, I love pocky!"

Sayuri giggled for a moment and then said, "Hinako may be right. My leaving their house seems to have caused Mom to do some deep thinking and I guess from what she said, she didn't like what she saw. Sort of a wakeup call."

"Oh, that sounds interesting. What did she tell you?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah, she surprised me today. Apparently, growing up, she wanted to be a painter, but put that aside when she married early. Now, though, she's decided to go back to school, and take some art classes, and begin to paint again," Sayuri replied.

"That's good news," Ranma said, "That'll give her something to feel proud about. And that will make your relationship better, I think."

Nabiki looked up, her eyes bright. She asked, "Is she any good?"

Sayuri shrugged and replied, "I guess so. I found out today that she did the watercolors that are in her family room. I liked what she did, but I'm not sure I'm the best judge. I just know what I like. She's also said she sold a few oil paintings when I was in primary school."

"I wonder if she would like an agent," Nabiki mused, "I think I'll give her a call. I know some people that know some people that could help her get started if she decides to sell anything."

"Whoa girl, slow down. Let Mom get back into things before you dump that on her," Sayuri exclaimed.

"But, it's important to get things started correctly," Nabiki protested.

Kasumi said, calmly, "It wouldn't hurt to make the offer but don't push."

Nabiki rolled her eyes, but stilled her protest when Hinako put her hand on her arm. "You know she's right, Na-chan," the young girl said.

Kasumi raised her eyebrow slightly at the odd look on her younger sister's face as she suddenly fell silent. Now that Kasumi could pay attention to her, she could sense a strange mix of trepidation and hope. After a moment of thought, Kasumi asked, "Nabiki, would you mind horribly helping me with the dishes? Hinako has school work to do."

"I do?" Hinako asked in surprise.

"Yes, you do," Kasumi said firmly.

Hinako frowned for a moment, and glanced back and forth between the two women. "Oh, that homework," she said slowly, "Now I remember."

Nabiki rolled her eyes again, and replied, "Of course I'll help you, Kasumi. After all, we're family."

As the meal came to a close, the various members of the clan headed off. Ranma, Akane, and Sayuri went to the young couple's bedroom to work on their homework, with Hinako tagging along to keep them company. Tofu glanced over at his wife and sighed as he suggested, "Soun, how about a game or two? I could use something to take my mind off of one of my patients."

Soun brightened up and stepped over to the shogi board and replied, "That's an excellent idea, son. Grab some of the saké from the liquour cabinet while you're at it."

Nabiki sighed heavily and rose from the floor, picking up the other half of the dishes as she followed Kasumi into the kitchen.

"Nabiki, is something troubling you?" Kasumi asked, once she shut the kitchen door behind them to give them some privacy.

"No, of course not," Nabiki said, in a neutral tone.

Kasumi frowned imperceptibly and said, "I don't believe you, sister. You can't really hide anything from me, and you know it. If you have a problem, maybe I can help."

"So that's why you wanted me to help you, so you could butt into my business," Nabiki said, coolly.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all. So please tell me what is troubling you," Kasumi persisted.

"When I walked in here I really didn't expect an inquisition," Nabiki retorted. Then her eyes widened as she remembered the line from that silly British television show that she had caught the night before to help with her English. 'What was it again? Oh, yeah, something like, 'Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition,' or words to that affect,' she thought. She began to giggle uncontrollably, surprising Kasumi.

Kasumi smiled uncertainly and backed away from the sink. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes worried.

Nabiki waved her hand helplessly for several moments and then gasped for breath. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, wheezing, "Just something I remembered from last night on television struck me as funny." She sat down in one of the small chairs in the kitchen and said, "I guess I should tell someone what's going on. You know that Souta and I have been studying together for the entrance exams. We get along pretty well together, and so, today, we sort of decided to go out Saturday on a date, you know to see if there's something there."

"Souta, the boy who was trying to date Akane, who did date Ukyo and Sayuri, that Souta?" Kasumi asked, partially in shock.

"That Souta, yes, like he said today, he's dated most of the girls in the upperclass, and a few in the one below. He's nice eye candy, so he's attracted a lot of them that way, but he is nice, and witty, and more important, not afraid of me," Nabiki replied.

Kasumi looked troubled for a moment and then her face smoothed out. "Just be careful, little sis, I don't want you to get hurt," she said finally, "I know how envious of all of us couples you have been, so I'd hate for you to rush into something just because you're looking for someone to cuddle."

"I won't get hurt. I'll admit that I wish I had what you have with Tofu, but if I just wanted something to cuddle, I'd get a small dog," Nabiki said, "There's not as much maintenance with a dog."

* * *

Nabiki walked past the open door to Ranma and Akane's bedroom and stopped. "Ranma, could I have a word with you?" she asked.

Ranma looked up from the floor where he was finishing his English paper and replied, "Sure, I was just about done with this." He placed the paper carefully in his notebook and leapt to his feet and joined Nabiki. "What's up?" he asked.

"Come with me to my room, I had a question or two to ask you," Nabiki replied, as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. She led him through the door and shut it behind them.

"Sit," Nabiki said, as she pulled her desk chair out and spun it around, and sat down in it.

Ranma looked around the room and frowned. Nabiki had the only chair, and he wasn't about to sit on her bed. He squatted down and leaned against the door. "So, what did you want to ask me about?" he said.

"Did I ever go out with Souta before, you know, the original time?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Why do you want to know that?" he asked finally, but then the yen dropped and he grinned. "He asked you out, didn't he?" he chortled, "Akane owes me some money, now."

"Blast, you weren't supposed to figure that out," Nabiki groused.

"I'm not really all that dumb, you know," Ranma said, with a wry grin, "My grades reflect that."

"Oh, all right," Nabiki groused, "Yes, Souta asked me out on a date. Just don't give us a hard time about it, okay?"

Ranma grinned at her and said, "No problem, little sis." He looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "To answer your original question, though. I remember you going out on a few dates with several different guys, but I think they were mostly business arrangements, like with Kuno, for instance. I don't think you had any romantic dates, at least none that I was aware of, but I was sort of oblivious to some of what was going on around you. I had enough chaos in my own life, to be honest."

"Well, damn, I was hoping you could tell me how things went," Nabiki grumbled.

Ranma rubbed his chin, and added, "Actually, now that I think about it, for somebody as popular as Souta is, and how much we see him around campus, I don't remember him from before. He wasn't around in the original timeline, at least I don't think so."

"What does that mean, then? Did you do something that changed where he went to school, or is someone else mucking around changing things?" Nabiki asked, her quick mind jumping to the crux of the matter.

"Beats the hell out of me. I can't imagine anything that I did that would have affected him attending Furinkan instead of wherever he went before, but anything is possible, I suppose. And I sure hope no one else is wandering around playing with things. I'm pretty happy with the way things are right now," Ranma said, "That's kind of why I haven't let you know much of what happened before, and why I'm not making any other changes in the what was it that they called it on that science fiction story, oh yeah, the space-time continuum. Just the few minor changes that I needed to make, and no more." 'I can't risk losing Akane, that's for damn sure,' he thought.

"But, seriously, what if someone else is making changes that affect us?" Nabiki asked.

"You can worry about that, I guess, but how would we know any thing was different. I mean, even my memories of what happened before are getting pretty worthless. Too many things are different now, so a lot of what happened before can't. Any of the problems that we had with Happosai, for instance, aren't going to happen," Ranma replied.

"Maybe something he would have done would have kept Souta from coming here," Nabiki mused, "Ooooh, my head hurts from thinking about this. Damn you, Saotome, how come you had to come back?"

"It wasn't exactly my idea, Nabiki. But I'm not going to complain too much. I like this version a hell of a lot better," Ranma replied.

"Then I wish I hadn't figured it out," Nabiki groused.

"Don't you love me any more?" Ranma asked with a grin, as he headed back out the door.

* * *

Kasumi washed the teacup she had just finished using and placed it on the drip-rack to dry. She rubbed her tired eyes and glanced at the large kitchen clock, which was showing that it was nearly midnight. Sighing, she looked down at the last homework assignment that she needed to work on for college on Monday, and decided to call it a night. 'At least tomorrow morning I can sleep in, since Ranma volunteered to fix breakfast,' she thought as she wearily gathered up her books from the worktable. She started to make her nightly round, checking all of the doors and windows to ensure that they were secured for the night. As she rounded the corner towards the front door, it opened and Nabiki walked in, a bemused expression on her face, and sniffing a gorgeous yellow rose.

The sound of someone giggling brought Nabiki out of her reverie. She looked up and saw her sister Kasumi standing there, an amused look on her face, loaded down with books.

"It appears to me that you had a good time, if that expression on your face is any guide," Kasumi said.

"Yeah," Nabiki breathed, as she slipped out of her shoes and placed them in their cubby. She turned and locked the door and added, "I really did have fun."

All of her exhaustion vanished and Kasumi said, excitedly, "Okay, give me all of the details. I want to know everything. What did you do? Where did you go? Did you let him kiss you?"

"Can it wait until tomorrow, sis? It's late," Nabiki asked, plaintively.

"I don't think so. You made me give you a blow by blow description of my first date with Tofu. Payback is a bitch, isn't it?" Kasumi replied, her eyes dancing with glee.

Nabiki's eyes widened in shock at her sister's choice of words, and then surrendered less than gracefully to the inevitable. She followed her sister back into the kitchen.

Kasumi dumped her books neatly on the small kitchen table and rummaged around briefly in one of the upper cabinets, pulling out a delicate crystal vase. She filled it partially full of water from the sink and then plucked the rose from her sister's hand amd placed it in the vase. "There, that should keep it pretty for a few days," she said, with an air of satisfaction, "Then, maybe you can press it and keep it for your scrapbook."

"I don't have a scrapbook," Nabiki replied, "And why would I want to keep this flower?"

"A memory of your first real date! You don't want to have a keepsake from that? Don't you have a romantic bone in your body?" Kasumi asked.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ranma asked from the doorway, dressed in his boxers and sleeveless t-shirt, "I heard voices all the way upstairs."

"Sorry we woke you. Nabiki came in and we got to talking girl talk. You know how that goes," Kasumi said, half apologetically.

Ranma smiled knowingly and said, "Make sure you get all the details, Kasumi. Oh, and Nabiki, your bed may be a little crowded tonight. Hi-chan was having trouble sleeping with out you, so Sayuri joined her. Just thought I'd warn you. Night all." He turned and headed back down the way he came.

"So tell me all about the date," Kasumi urged.

"We might as well wait. Akane will be down here in a moment," Nabiki said, in a resigned tone,"You know Ranma will tell her that I'm home."

* * *

Kasumi finished putting the last of the lunch dishes away, and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. She pulled her Biology textbook out of the stack of books and opened it to the current assignment. Sighing heavily, she reached for her pencil and paper and began working on identifying the various parts of a paramecium. "Why did I decide to go back to college?" she asked rhetorically.

"Because you want to work with me in the clinic," Tofu replied from behind her as he reached for her shoulders to massage them through the thin dress she was wearing.

"True," Kasumi replied, "I just wish I didn't feel like I was burning a candle at both ends. What with taking care of the house, school, and homework, there just aren't enough hours in the day. And I feel like I'm not giving you enough time because of all of that."

"You're not neglecting me, it's just tough juggling a school, family, marriage and a home," Tofu said, "But, why don't we plan on a day or two away from here, maybe next weekend. You could use a break, and so could I."

"I'd like that," Kasumi replied, as she moaned slightly as Tofu found a knot in her shoulder blade.

"You are so tensed up," Tofu said, his breath tickling her ear, "We definitely need to get away from here. I'm falling down in my duty as a husband to keep you relaxed."

Kasumi purred, "I wouldn't say that at all, Tofu."

An embarrassed cough came from the door as Soun said, "Daughter, we have some guests. Elder Cologne is here with some of her friends, and she was wondering where Ranma was."

"Ranma and Akane were going shopping briefly, and then returning to work on something in that empty lot down the block," Kasumi replied.

"Ah, that explains why it is so quiet this afternoon," Soun said, "They certainly can get noisy. A good noise though. The sound of the school being reborn, it brings tears to my eyes."

"The sun coming up in the morning brings tears to your eyes, Soun Tendo," Cologne said dryly from behind him, "The empty lot down the block, you say, Kasumi Ono?"

"Yes, Elder Cologne," Kasumi said, politely. She turned and asked, "Would you like to wait and have some tea?"

"Thank you child, but my guests and I need to meet with Ranma," Cologne replied.

"Blast, I was hoping to escape my homework," Kasumi said under her breath.

Tofu grinned and said, "No such luck, dear. I'm afraid you're stuck with it."

"I'll take my leave," Cologne said, "If you see Sonny Boy before I do, let him know that I am looking for him."

"Of course, Cologne," Soun said, to an empty spot, as Cologne had vanished, "How did she do that?"

"She's got three thousand years of Amazon traditions behind her, Daddy. I'm sure they've learned a few things in that time frame," Kasumi replied, with a gentle smile.

* * *

Ranma stared intently at his wife as she sat cross-legged on the ground, her eyes closed. "Concentrate, Acchan, sense the auras around you," he said softly.

After a moment, Akane screamed, "Aaaargh! I can't even sense you."

"Well, duh, I'm masking my aura," Ranma replied, avoiding the impulse to roll his eyes, "Didn't you pay attention when I was talking to you?"

Akane opened her eyes and looked at Ranma sheepishly. "I forgot," she replied in a low voice, two bright spots of pink appearing on her cheeks.

Ranma carefully hid a smile and ostenstentially sighed. He said, "Okay close your eyes and try again. You can do it, I'm sure."

"How are you so sure I can actually sense an aura? I mean, that's something Daddy never tried to teach me," Akane asked in a very small voice.

"Well Kasumi can, at least I think she can, otherwise some of the things she can do don't make any sense, and you're at least as capable as she is. It's like I've told you before. You think about things too much. Don't think, just do," Ranma replied, "Come on, relax and just feel the auras around you."

Akane sighed heavily. "I wish I had your confidence," she muttered.

"Listen, dear, if you don't think you can do it, you won't. But, if you believe you can, you will," Ranma said ardently,

Akane gazed at him for a moment, gaining strength from his visage, and finally closed her eyes. She breathed deeply several times, striving to enter a meditative state. After several minutes of listening to the slow pulse of her heartbeat, she began to sense a strange warmth near her, almost a blaze, and in the distance, a series of dull glows, perhaps ten or twenty meters away. "Are you still masking your aura?" she asked.

"No, actually I wasn't. I thought I'd try something a bit different. Figured if you could sense me this close, then maybe you could see what you were doing," came the soft reply, "Now I'll go into the Umi-Ken-Sen and mask." Abruptly the blazing warmth vanished, leaving just the dull glows behind.

"I can sense several dim somethings, like a very dim flashlight far away, a ways away from us," Akane said finally.

"Good, that's the first step," Ranma breathed, "Once you start sensing the auras around you, then you should be able to begin to recognize them. They are supposed to be as unique as fingerprints, at least according to the books that Doc leant me. I'll unmask, and let you sense mine again."

Akane breathed slowly once more and regained her trance. After a moment, she started to sense that blazing glow, one that was almost incandescent compared to all of the rest, in fact, it was so bright it was blocking all else around her. She felt a presence, a blend of protectiveness, love and a healthly dose of overweaning confidence. Somehow she knew that aura belonged to her husband. With a grin, she asked, "Well, that's no surprise. When I felt your aura, I sensed protectiveness, love, and cockiness. By the way, for your information, your protectiveness is just a tad annoying. I am a martial artist, you know."

Ranma hugged her and said, "I know. But I can't stop worrying about you, you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, and it's all right. What do you see when you look at me?" Akane asked.

"Passion mostly, that's what I sense, overlayed with a massive feeling of kindness," Ranma replied, "Now, other's feel different, and I don't know if what I see is what you'll see. That'll be interesting once you get better at this so we can compare notes. Anyway, when I sense Cologne, she feels ancient, with a leavening of wisdom, and a strong sense of justice. Something I wish I'd figured out the first time around."

"Oh, you couldn't sense auras before?" Akane asked.

"No, as it happens, at least not until just before I died. I just wished I had figured this out sooner. It might have helped me deal with the two of us the first time around. If nothing else, maybe I wouldn't have learned what shoe leather tasted like, or gotten as many frequent flier miles," Ranma replied.

"Huh?" Akane asked, puzzled.

"Saotome foot-in-mouth disease," Ranma replied, with a grin, "Which usually resulted in you getting mad at me, and sending me soaring into the sky."

"Oh, well, um, shit," Akane replied, "Sorry I asked."

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Don't worry Acchan. I generally deserved it."

* * *

Cologne peered over the tall stone fence surrounding the one empty lot near the Tendo dojo, to see Ranma and Akane sitting quietly on the ground in the exact center of the immaculate grass. "Keep me steady," she hissed at the young man holding her on his shoulder.

#For someone who is so small, you sure weigh a lot, nearly a tonne,# the young man groused, just before he got whacked with the old woman's cane.

A pleasant alto voice said, with a hint of amusement, "If you are trying to sneak up on us, old woman, you need to do a better job of hiding your aura."

Cologne's eyes widened as she recognized the voice. Hiding her surprise, she hopped over the wall and said, "I see you have been learning several things from your husband, Akane Saotome."

Ranma smirked and replied, "Yes, she's a very quick study. Do you really want to know everything that she has learned?"

"Probably not," Cologne admitted.

"That's wise of you. How have you been, Elder?" Ranma asked.

"Quite well, Sonny Boy, though I occasionally feel my years," Cologne replied.

"That happens sometimes when you are as old as Gilgamesh," Ranma said snarkily.

"Yes, he was a nice boy, at least that was what Grandmother said," Cologne retorted.

Akane rolled her eyes and then looked at the old woman suspiciously. "Not to be too ungrateful, Elder, but why exactly are you here? After all, the last time you tried to sneak up on Ranma, you brought Prince Herb with you, and we all know how well that worked out," she said, coldly.

"Very astute, Akane, but no surprise, considering how bright you are," Cologne replied, "I did have an ulterior motive in seeking Ranma out. One of my Amazon daughters has arrived in Nerima and she brought her husband, someone you might remember."

Ranma looked up in interest. "Who is here, old woman?" he asked, impatiently.

"Perfume is here," Cologne replied. #Par Fum, it is time,# she said, loudly in Chinese.

Ranma and Akane looked on impassively as a young woman leapt over the wall, followed by the young man Pantyhose Taro. However, this time he had lost his trademark, and was no longer wearing them as a sash.

#Hello, sister Par Fum,# Ranma said, #How have you been?#

"How dare you call me sister?" Perfume snarled.

Ranma chuckled and poured some water over his head. "Does this make you feel better?" she asked.

#Sho Mei, that is you? Damn, the elders told me about your curse, but, how did we let a hunk like you get away?# Par Fum asked.

"Japanese please, not all of us speak Chinese," Ranma replied, "Perfume, this is my wife Akane. Akane, this is one of my sisters, Perfume."

Akane and Perfume took each other's measure for a moment and Perfume said, "She is almost worthy of you, Sho Mei."

"Actually, I think it is probably the other way around," Ranma replied, giving her wife a one-armed hug.

"Hello, Femboy," Taro growled.

"Well, I see you are as bullheaded as ever," Ranma retorted. She grinned and added, "Congratulations on your new name, as well as your new bride. Though, Perfume, I really thought you had better taste."

"Oh, Taro tastes just fine," Perfume said, her eyes dancing.

Ranma groaned and said, "Too much information."

Cologne swatted the three of them with her cane and said, "Enough pleasantries. The four of you are here to work together. So deal with it."

"Saffron?" Ranma asked.

Cologne shook her head and replied, "Not yet. As far as the watchers can tell, nothing is happening on Phoenix Mountain. And based on everything we can gather, we have atleast a year to train all of you."

"How much have you told them?" Akane asked.

"Only the Council knows the whole story, and then they told Perfume about Ranma having a Jusenkyo curse, since they were sending her here," Cologne replied.

"We know about the people of the Phoenix now because of the warning Cologne sent us," Perfume added, "We still thought that they were a race lost in the mists of antiquity, just like the Musk Dynasty are."

"Oh, the Musk are real," Akane said, "We met three of them not long ago. I'm still not sure how that's going to turn out."

"We know the Phoenix exist. After spying on them, we realized that they were responsible for some of the losses we had over the years. I never did quite understand how my mother died, as good a warrior as she was, but when we realized that at least some of the Phoenix could fly, that explained how she ended up the way she did," Perfume said.

"I guess that's where you come in Taro," Ranma said, "Since you can fly."

Cologne replied, "That's part of why we involved him in this. But mostly, I want to make sure we have the best fighters available when and if we really have to go up against the Phoenix people. After scouring our histories, I didn't like what I read. Most of the wars between our peoples were disastrous for both sides. And I think that's why they withdrew into their mountain. We hurt them about as much as they hurt us, but their numbers were smaller to start with. They led us to believe that they had died out as a tribe, and became even more secretive."

"Why would they come out into the open then?" Akane asked.

Cologne frowned and said, "We really don't know. There's no way for us to get anyone inside to find out. We don't even want them to know we are watching them, for fear of starting something. All we know is that it has to do with their leader Saffron, and his upcoming transformation. And that is where Ranma comes in."

"Why him, or her in this case?" Taro sneered.

"Just lucky I guess," Ranma replied.

Cologne frowned ferociously and said, "It has to do with the fact that Ranma has a Jusenkyo curse. The Council has determined that for some reason, he meets the requirement of an ancient Amazon prophecy."

'Nice cover story,' Ranma thought, 'I wonder where they stole that from. At least I was born in the middle of the eighth month, and my father hasn't defied anything, much less three times.' "So now you know why I get to face him, though to be honest, if he leaves us alone, I'd be tickled pink to leave him alone. Live and let live, that kind of thing," she said, "I guess the question is, do you want in? We didn't exactly see eye to eye the last time you were in Nerima, so can you work with us?"

"I don't really have much of a choice, according to the Council," Taro replied, a bit ruefully.

Perfume grinned toothily and added, "And you really don't want to sleep on the floor, which is where you'll end up if you don't help."

Taro feigned a look of dismay and then chuckled. "Seriously, fem-boy, you actually did me a bit of a favor. You told me where the old pervert was, and helped me get there. It's not your fault he had a weak ticker and died. And to be honest, I'm not going to complain too loudly about how I managed to get my name changed," Taro replied, glancing over at his wife.

"You do like to live dangerously, don't you, Taro dear?" Perfume asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Sure, a little danger adds a bit of spice to life," Taro replied, "But, I was just teasing, at least mostly. Not to get too mushy, Perfume, but the weeks since we wed have been the best of my life."

"That was a bit sappy," Ranma smirked.

"I thought it was sweet," Akane objected.

* * *

Ranma entered the family room after cleaning up after an invigorating training session with the four girls to find his father-in-law cowering in the corner of the room, his eyes wide with fear.

"Ranma, how could you? Why did you let her leave the dojo? Do you know what she is doing?" Soun babbled as tears began to flow down his face, "I'm too young to die!"

"Um, would you believe I have no idea what you are talking about? Who is doing what and where? Or is this some sort of bad board game? If so, then I'm going to guess Miss Scarlett in the ball room with the rope," Ranma asked in exasperation, "get a hold of yourself, and tell me what you are going on about!"

"Kasumi called to say she was staying late tonight at college, and won't be home to make dinner, so, Akane," Soun began, "Oh the horror, the agony. Akane, kitchen, cooking! My poor stomach!"

Ranma hung his head down for a moment and took several deep breaths. "I can't believe you," he growled, "She's getting better. Most of what she makes is at least edible, and much of it is pretty good. But if it'll make you happy, I'll go to the kitchen and keep an eye on her." He stomped furiously out of the family room and down the short hall to the kitchen. As he opened the door, he heard Akane humming, and the sound of something simmering on the stove, and a delicious aroma greeted him. He watched silently from the doorway, an approving smile on his face as he watched Akane dip a small sample from the pot with a small spoon.

Akane stared at the concoction in her spoon, and sniffed it gingerly. Her heart was beating so fast, she felt like it was going to explode in her chest. "Well, it smells all right," she said, smiling just a bit. Finally, she summoned up her courage and took a sip from the spoon. She closed her eyes for a moment and a bead of sweat rolled down from her brow, but then she smiled happily. "I did it! I did it and it came out edible!" she cried in jubilation.

"Good, it smells pretty good to me, too," Ranma said, startling the apronned woman, causing her to squeak in surprise. He added, "Can I have a taste?"

"You're asking me for a taste of my curry?"Akane asked, her eyes hopeful.

"Hey, what did I promise you, so long ago? If you followed the instructions and tasted what you fixed, I'd at least try it," Ranma replied.

Akane quickly scooped up another spoonful and handed it to her husband. Crossing her fingers, toes, and eyes, she waited with baited breath as she watched him eat her curry.

Ranma's eyes bulged slightly, a torrent of sweat pouring from his face, and he fanned his mouth. Seeing his wife's face fall, he quickly said, "Don't get upset. I think it's good. It's just spicy. Remember, you're the one who likes the real hot stuff. Just needs some bread to help tone it down some and it'll be fine," 'Though, I'll be tasting curry for a week,' he thought.

"Could you bring the bowls to the table, and I'll bring in the curry?" Akane asked.

"Of course," Ranma replied. The two of them entered the family room carrying the meal to find it deserted. Akane set her tureen of curry on the table while Ranma passed out the bowls and spoons.

"Where is everyone?" Akane asked.

"Your father was just here a minute ago, the girls are probably all upstairs finishing their schoolwork, I imagine," Ranma replied, "You get the rest of the meal, and I'll see about rounding everyone up."

"You'd better come back!" Akane exclaimed.

"Trust me," Ranma retorted as he headed toward the stairs.

* * *

Author's Note: Once again, the obligatory author's note. As always, I hope you enjoy this latest installment of what is becoming an epic. This one is mostly a bit of fluff, just before we start the next action sequence. Comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. For those who provide signed reviews, I will attempt to reply to any questions that you include. Also, for those who would like to participate a bit closer in the development of this tale, I have created a forum specifically for this fiction. 


	60. Recovered Memories

Chapter 60 Recovered Memories

Ranma sat down at the dinner table, joining the women of the house, with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, Akane. I've looked everywhere in the house, and on the grounds, but I just couldn't find Soun. He simply vanished," he said, morosely, "Even after I told him that your meal was going to be fine."

Akane sighed and said, "That's okay. It's not your fault he ran off. But, in a way, I guess I can't blame him. After all, he had several years of being conditioned to believe my cooking was horrible, because, quite frankly, it was. Me cooking probably causes a Pavlovian response in him, that'll take years to get over." She dished out individual bowls of her curry and passed them around the table, as well as placing a large basket of freshly baked flat bread in the center for every one to share. While slightly scorched in places, for the most part the bread looked like it was supposed to and the scent of the fresh bread was awakening everyone's appetite.

Akane watched carefully as each of the other girls ate a spoonful of the chicken curry.

Nabiki smirked at her sister and said, "This is pretty good. Are you sure you made it?"

"Yes, I made it, big sister. Looks like now you're the only one in the house who can't cook," Akane retorted, with a tight grin.

"I just didn't want to inflict both of us on Kasumi. That would have been too much for her to live through, I imagine. And I did have my other interests to keep me busy," Nabiki shot back, snarkily.

"I like it, though it's maybe just a little bland," Sayuri added.

"Oh, I don't know, Ranma thought it was a touch hot," Akane said, a little doubtfully.

"Feh, he's just a boy, what does he know?" Hinako teased, "I like it."

"Yeah, but I've seen you eat wasabi all by itself," Ranma said, "I'm beginning to wonder if you haven't burnt out all of the taste buds in your mouth."

Hinako deliberately stuck her tongue out at Ranma.

"Well, that's so mature," he snorted.

"Leaving aside the subject of my questionable taste," Hinako said, "I think there's something we really need to discuss before Kasumi-chan gets home with Doc."

"About what?" Nabiki asked, her eyes checking the time to see how much longer she had until the news came on television. There was a press conference with the head of Microsoft, and she wanted to see it live.

"Have you noticed how worn out Kasumi is beginning to look?" Hinako asked.

Ranma frowned and replied, "Yeah, I have. I thought it was just me at first, but then I talked to Doc about her. Did you know that he's taking her away for the weekend? Supposedly it's for a vacation, but what it's really for is to just get her away from the house for a while. She needs to catch up on her sleep."

"I noticed it too," Sayuri said slowly, "I've been trying to do a bit more around here, but every time I asked if she needed any help, she almost looks affronted and says she has it under control."

Nabiki shook her head, and said, "I was afraid of that. She's identified herself as the keeper of the hearth for so long that she doesn't want to let that role go. I suppose because she's afraid that that's what defines her as a person."

"Well, we've got to convince her otherwise," Akane said, firmly, "She's not just the homemaker of this clan, she's also a wife, and a student, both of which are full time jobs in their own right. She needs help, our help, to balance the requirements of every thing that she's doing."

"I agree. After all, there are five of us that can share at least some of the load, and with the exception of Nabiki, we can pretty easily rearrange things so that we can help out more," Ranma said.

"Why isn't Nabiki supposed to help?" Sayuri asked.

"Well, with all of the additional studying that she's doing with Souta, I wasn't sure that she had the time," Ranma admitted.

"Studying! Is that what kids are calling it now-a-days?" Hinako asked, in an odd world-weary tone, "Bunch of delinquents, if you ask me."

Sayuri looked suspiciously at the young girl and then flicked her eyes over toward Nabiki. "What was that supposed to mean, Hi-chan?" she asked, her eyes darting back and forth between her two friends.

Nabiki blushed prettily and said, "Damn, I didn't really want this to get out. Ruin my reputation, this will. But, well, anyway, why is this so hard?" Frowning at herself, Nabiki stumbled to a stop and took a deep breath.

"What my beloved sister is trying so eloquently to say is that she and Souta went out on a date Friday night," Akane interjected helpfully.

"Oh, is that all? I thought Hinako was suggesting something else," Sayuri said with a knowing smirk, "I knew about it being a date. Gee, Nabiki, none of us are particularly stupid and your cover story was sooo lame. Late night study session, my ass!"

"Not if it was biology they were studying," Hinako said with a smirk, which looked really odd on such an innocent looking face.

"Hi-chan!" Akane exclaimed.

"I'm not that kind of girl!" Nabiki added.

"What? Alive and breathing? I think that's Souta's type," Hinako asked innocently.

Nabiki rolled her eyes at the young girl and asked, a look of worry in her eyes, "You're okay with this, aren't you, Sayuri?"

Sayuri shrugged and said, "Sure. It's not like we're together or anything. I broke up with him weeks ago and got back with Hiroshi. It'd be kind of hypocritical of me to complain about him moving on. And he is a nice guy, so I'm cool."

"I was just afraid it might be sort of awkward, me dating your ex and all," Nabiki said.

"He's a fun guy to be with, just don't get serious. Have a good time with him, and watch his hands," Sayuri said, with a snicker, "I swear sometimes I thought he was an octopus."

Nabiki blushed again. "Well, enough about whatever passes for my love life," she said, still looking a bit warily at Sayuri, "Getting back to housework, I should help out around the house, just like the rest of you. I can do the laundry, if nothing else, and help with some of the heavy cleaning on the weekend."

Ranma glanced around and saw that everyone seemed to be in agreement. "Okay, then, why don't Akane and I take over making breakfast, and our bentos for school," he said, "That way we'll be free in the afternoon for training. Cologne told us that she wants at least two hours a day with both of us."

"You can do that training after finishing in the dojo with us, then Hi-chan and I can cook dinner," Sayuri suggested, "That way, Kasumi can sleep late in the morning and spend the afternoon and evening working on her schoolwork and whatever cleaning she wants to keep doing."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Nabiki replied, "The fun will be in trying to convince Kasumi in letting us take on more of the housework from her."

"Oh, I figured we'd let you and Doc take care of that. I bet he could keep her distracted," Ranma replied with a grin.

Nabiki looked at her watch and hissed in annoyance. "Sorry to be rude, but I do want to watch that interview," she said as she moved toward the television and turned it on, quickly selecting the correct channel.

They caught the middle of the last segment, as they heard the newscaster say, "…and caught this mysterious being on camera at last." The screen changed to show a lush forest. "Here is that astonishing event," the voice over continued as the picture changed to a closeup showing the large head of some sort of creature peering over a low, shrub-covered hill, looking at the camera. The voice continued, "The strange beast of the Higo forest, on the banks of Ryugenzawa, is real."

Nabiki looked puzzled. She repeated, "Ryugenzawa? Higo Forest? Why does that sound familiar?"

"We're home!" Tofu called as he and his wife entered the family room, just in time to hear Nabiki finish talking.

Kasumi stopped in the doorway and said, "Higo Forest, you must be too young to remember, Nabiki. We went to a health spa there a long time ago."

Nabiki looked thoughtful for a moment and then her eyes widened as she remembered that ill-fated trip. She said, "That's right! That's the place where Akane wandered off and got lost deep in the forest."

"Yes, Daddy was beside himself with worry, Mommy wasn't feeling good, and he didn't know what to do. Fortunately, Akane showed up again before he went and did something rash," Kasumi said.

"I kind of remember that," Akane said, "It was dark and scary, full of big creatures. I vaguely recall a nice young boy that saved me from something."

Kasumi asked, "So what brought that up anyway? We haven't talked about it for years, since shortly after that was when Mommy really got ill."

"Something came up on the news, about monsters being spotted there," Ranma replied, "And that caught Nabiki's attention." He motioned toward the empty spots at the table and asked, "You two haven't eaten yet, have you? There's plenty of food."

Kasumi looked embarrassed for a moment, and said, "No, we haven't eaten. And I'm starved, I got so involved in the research I was doing at the library on campus that I forgot to find something for lunch."

"It smells really good," Tofu added as he helped Kasumi kneel at the table and then sat down next to her.

"Tofu's right. I hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells," Kasumi said, as Akane filled two bowls, "You know, I could get used to this, coming home to an already prepared meal."

"Funny you should mention that," Sayuri said, "I've been feeling like a bit of a freeloader. You've been so kind to let me stay here, but I'd feel a lot better about things if I could help out more. Hinako feels the same way, she tells me, so if it's okay with you, we'd like to start cooking at least some of the dinners, certainly on the nights that you have the late afternoon classes."

"Ranma and I want to help more, too, Sis. We were thinking that maybe we could fix breakfast, that way you could sleep in, or spend a little more time with Doc, or take a long soak in the furo, whatever you wanted to do," Akane said.

"That's so sweet of you, but it's realy not necessary. It's my responsibility to maintain the house," Kasumi replied sweetly, then she added, "This is very good, a touch spicy, maybe, but good. Who fixed it?"

"I did, Sis," Akane replied, a happy note in her voice.

"But stop trying to change the subject, Sis. It shouldn't be just your responsibility. We live here too, and I think we've been taking advantage of your good nature for a bit too long. Now don't get me wrong, we wouldn't dream of stopping you from doing something you enjoy, but we do want to remove some of the burden from you," Nabiki said.

"It's not a burden to take care of the people you care about," Kasumi said, with a slight frown.

Ranma smirked and used her own words against her as he said, "Exactly. We all care about you, and you're starting to run yourself a little ragged. We don't think it's a burden to take care of you, either. Please let us help you, Kasumi. We want to do this, we really do."

Kasumi looked at the determined faces in front of her, and smiled weakly. "I didn't want to admit this, but I could use the help. I just didn't want to seem like a failure and that's what I thought I was doing," she replied, "I accept your offer, but, I want to fix meals on the weekend. And that's my final offer."

"We accept," Nabiki said.

"Good, now that that's settled, this weekend you forget about this place and have a good time with your husband," Hinako said.

"That's pretty good advice," Tofu said, with a grin.

* * *

Ranma woke up suddenly as he felt Akane tossing and turning in the bed next to him. Suddenly, she shot up in the bed, panting furiously. Ranma sat up and pulled her into a tight hug. "What's wrong?" he asked, quietly. 

Akane opened her eyes, her face pale, and replied, "I was back at Ryugenzawa. I was running from that large beast and crying for my Mommy and my Daddy."

"But you know how it turned out, so why were you so scared?" Ranma asked.

Akane shuddered and said, "Nightmares don't have to make sense, Ranma, you know that! But this time, when Shinnosuke rescued me this time, the beast, whatever it was, managed to claw him more severely and I watched him die in my dream."

"That didn't happen, Akane. He beat off the beast, got caught in his own trap, and you carried him back to the house he shared with his family. Then he handed you the hornpipe that controls the monster in the lake, and you left the forest, remember?" Ranma said, soothingly.

"I know that!" Akane exclaimed in exasperation, "Believe me, I remember all of that. It still didn't matter in my nightmare. I have no idea why I dreamt that."

"Um, well, don't take this wrong, but, maybe, it was some indigestion," Ranma said, very hesitantly, "Sometimes when I have something too spicy to eat, my sleep is restless because my stomach is less than happy with me."

Akane sighed heavily, and stared unseeingly at the dimly lit wall. "I suppose it could be something as simple as that, but what if it's a premonition. I owe Shinnosuke my life, and I did promise to return. We need to go!" she said, her voice showing her stress.

"Let's get some sleep, and then gather up our friends to take with us," Ranma agreed, "It won't do him any good if you're exhausted when we arrive. And we need to find that hornpipe."

Akane sank back down in the bed and cuddled up against her husband. "How are we going to explain what we need to do?" she asked with a yawn.

"Maybe we'll just describe the dream you had," Ranma suggested as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Kasumi wrapped herself up in her flannel nightgown, against the chill of the morning, and then put her wet hair up in her towel. The long soak in the furo, combined with the tender ministrations of her husband when they woke back up, had gone a long way toward making her feel very well rested, not to mention the extra hour she had gotten since her alarm had been turned off. As she headed down the long hall towards the stairs to the second floor, the telephone rang. "Hello, Tendo Residence," she said into the instrument. 

Ranma heard the telephone ring as he was bringing in the rice cooker from the kitchen, just in time to hear Kasumi answer it. He paused to listen to the half of the conversation that he could hear as she continued, "Yes, this is the Tendo Dojo."

"Monster Control?" Kasumi asked, in surprise, "The monster of Ryugenzawa?" Finally, she replied, "Yes, yes, I understand. I'll pass the message on to my brother-in-law." She hung up the telephone, and turned to hunt for Ranma, only to stop in surprise to see him standing there.

"Pass on what message?" Ranma asked politely.

"That was Monster Control at Ryugenzawa," Kasumi said, her tone still puzzled, "Apparently they are at their wit's end trying to control the situation. They wanted someone from our dojo to come help them."

"This dojo? I wonder why that is?" Ranma asked, keeping a straight face.

"They really didn't say, and I didn't think to ask," Kasumi replied, "Maybe our fame has spread that far. But, Monster Control is the responsibility of any martial artist."

"I guess Akane and I will be leaving some time today, then," Ranma said, after a moment of thought, "She's upstairs in our room looking for something, so when you go upstairs to dress, let her know about the phone call. Breakfast is nearly ready, so let everyone know that too."

"Is it safe to take her with you?" Kasumi asked.

"Tell you what, why don't you tell her she can't come. I'm just her husband, but she's your sister. She might listen to you when you tell her that, she for sure won't listen to me, that is if I was dumb enough to try to stop her from coming," Ranma said, pretending to cower in fear.

"That's my brave martial artist," Kasumi retorted with a smile as she headed out the door.

* * *

As Kasumi walked by the open door to what was now the master bedroom, she heard a cry of triumph coming from the room. 

"YES!" Akane cried, "There it is!"

Kasumi stuck her head in the door to see her sister kneeling on the floor, a box sitting next to her, with contents scattered across the floor in front of her. An odd looking pendant was in her hand. "What's that?" Kasumi asked.

"A hornpipe," Akane replied, "Someone gave it to me a long time ago; said it was a charm. And I think it was related to that trip to Ryugenzawa."

"Oh, that reminds me, I just answered a phone call from Monster Control at Ryuzengawa, looking for a martial artist to help. Since Ranma is the Grand Master of the school, I told him about it," Kasumi said, "And oh my, where is my mind, I'm so scatterbrained this morning. It's time for breakfast."

"Thanks, I'll be right down," Akane said. She turned to the mess she had made and quickly filled up her box with her mementos. She picked up the two backpacks that she had prepared and headed out the room to join everyone for breakfast.

Soun stood nervously at the foot of the stairs waiting for Akane to make her way down for breakfast. As his daughter appeared, he stammered, "Good morning, Akane. I heard that you made dinner last night. Well, Dad here was out and didn't realize."

Akane interrupted him and said, icily, "Father, I know full well you were in the family room while I was cooking dinner, so don't you dare lie to me like that. I am extremely vexed with you for disappearing without trying my curry. But don't worry, you won't have to be afraid about me fixing any more meals for you, I'm leaving for a while and I don't know when I'll be back."

"Leaving, you're leaving?" Soun asked in disbelief, "Oh, Akane, why? It's not because of last night's curry incident?" Suddenly, demonhead Soun appeared as he roared, "RANMA!"

Ranma darted out from the family room, still wearing his frilly apron. "What?" he asked.

"MY BABY'S LEAVING AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Soun roared.

"Huh!" Ranma asked with a puzzled look on his face, "Of course she's leaving. I'm going with her."

Soun head deflated as he saw both rucksacks and suddenly looked foolish. "OH!" he said, with a sheepish look on his face. Then he wailed, "There goes the future of the school. My daughter and her husband are abandoning me!" When he looked up, he discovered that he was alone as Ranma and Akane had left to go eat.

* * *

Ranma leaned back against the wall of the dojo as the last of the group gathered. "Thanks for coming at such short notice. Akane and I could use your help," he began. 

"Doing what?" Ryoga asked.

Akane replied, "We've been asked to help the people of Ryugenzawa with some monsters."

"Monsters?" Kodachi asked, "You expect us to believe that there are monsters here in Japan. Next you'll be telling me that Godzilla is real, and he's destroyed Tokyo a dozen times. Of course, I seem to have missed that on the news."

"All of the monsters destroy Tokyo," Akane said, with a grin, "I think it's in their contracts, or something."

"Let's get back on topic, guys. We just know that's what they said on the phone, and we did see the news report last night showing something," Ranma said.

"There's a bit more. I've seen them, or at least large creatures when I was very little," Akane said softly.

"What do you mean, Akane?" Ukyo asked.

Akane looked into the distance and replied, "A long time ago, my family went to Ryuzengawa, to stay at the health spa. Now that I look back upon it, I think it was when Mommy first realized that she was ill, and was hoping that the spa would help." She shuddered briefly, but then relaxed as Ranma pulled her into a hug. "Anyway, I wandered off into Higo Forest. As I was roaming around, trying to figure out how to get back to civilization, I stumbled across something that began to chase me. A boy saved me, and got wounded for his trouble. I carried him back to his home, and he gave me a charm to help scare the monsters away. And if that boy is still alive, I owe him a debt of honor. So I know that the monsters are real, I just don't know what they are, though if rumor is correct, the main monster we need to fight is the Yamata no Orochi."

"The eight-headed god of legend! The one slain by the ancient hero Susanoo! How can that be?" Perfume exclaimed.

"Perhaps it is a reincarnation," Akane said, grimly, "or it may just be a large beast. You know how rumors can be. But in any case, the people of that village need my help." She glanced over at Ranma and added, "Our help."

"That's why I asked you all here to help," Ranma said, "If what Akane remembered is at all correct, and I'm pretty sure it is, then we can use all of help that we can get. I don't really want just the two of us to go up against something like that. Taro, you'll even find some sparring partners bigger than your minotaur form. Mousse, I'm a little worried about you, though. We'll be around the lake, and you know what'll happen if you get wet. Your cursed form wouldn't even make a snack for some of those monsters. Hell, most of us wouldn't make much of one, as far as that goes."

"Doesn't matter, I'm in. Monster control is the responsibility of a martial artist. You think I'd want to shirk my duty," Mousse said, glaring at Ranma.

"No, I didn't think you would, but I had to give you the option. I just don't want to see any of you get seriously hurt," Ranma replied, evenly, "And you are the most vulnerable. Just try not to get wet, I guess."

"So when are we going?" Ryoga asked.

"There is a mid-morning train to Ryugenzawa that I want to be on," Akane said, "Ranma and I will be on it. Those of you who wish to help, be there. Bring clothing and supplies for several days."

* * *

Akane and Ranma led their friends down the dusty street toward a ramshackle building with a sign on it reading, 'Ryugenzawa Volunteers Center.' 

"Where are we going, fem-boy?" Taro growled.

"Gee, maybe somewhere where we can get some information," Ranma replied, "And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

"Husband, unless you want to charge in like a bull in a china store, perhaps we should listen to Sho Mei," Perfume said.

"Actually, **I** thought we might let the locals know that we are here. Sort of a polite thing to do," Akane growled, "Not that you'd really know what that means, Pantyhose."

Taro froze and bit off the next words, "My name is Awesome!"

"I wouldn't know about that," Akane retorted, "Right now, as far as I'm concerned, your name is Jerk. Why my husband wanted you along, I haven't a clue. However he did, so I'll cut you some slack. But this is our show, not yours, so unless you have something constructive to say, shut the hell up!"

"Listen, little girl, I could," Taro began, only to have Perfume glare at him.

"Hush, husband, she has the right of it," Perfume said, "This is the responsibility of the dojo, and when you came with them, you agreed to follow their lead."

"Right, Taro. I'd like you to work with us," Ranma said, "If for no other reason than the fact that you can fly. But, there's more that you can bring to the table, if you can keep the chest thumping to a minimum. That doesn't impress any of us much."

Akane stopped in front of the volunteer's center and asked one of the men milling around aimlessly, "Who's in charge here?"

"Um, that would be me," a tall, heavyset old man, with sun-bleached hair, replied.

"We're from the Tendo dojo. Someone called to say that you needed some help," Ranma said.

The old man squinted at him, the creases around his eyes from the sun and weather giving him a jovial look. "Aye, that would have been me who called. You say you're from the Tendo dojo, eh? But the woman I spoke to said that she would send the Grandmaster of the school to help us," he asked, an odd note in his voice.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "She did. You're talking to him."

"Funny, I thought you'd be older," the old man said.

"I'll get there eventually," Ranma said, "Now tell us how we can help."

"Well, you see, the monster's been showing itself at the bottom o' the valley, on the edge o' the forest," the old man said, pointing toward the forest, "Right about thar."

"You heard the man," Taro said, "Let's go kick some monster butt." The group shouldered their backpacks and followed Taro down the dusty street toward the forest.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the intrepid band was still wandering around the valley, searching for clues amidst the tall grass, and scattered shrubs, before entering the forest proper, though their progress was a little slow since Shampoo had to keep Ryoga on a short leash to keep him from wandering off. 

Akane stopped suddenly and said, "I've been here before. This place, this is where I got lost and met that young boy."

A low rumble began to be felt as the ground started to shake. With a loud groan, the earth parted and a large beast emerged behind Akane.

"Akane! Watch out!" Ranma called.

A loud THUNK sounded and the beast grew a large bump on the side of its head and wobbled around for a moment, and then collapsed bonelessly to the ground. Then out of nowhere, a tall figure, with bandages adorning his body and carrying what appeared to be a large push broom jumped up onto the creature's head. "Go home!" the young man ordered.

"Who are you?" Ukyo asked.

The man ignored her and said, "From here onward the forest is filled with traps that I have set. So hurry and go home. This is no place for a picnic."

"But we've been asked by the locals to fight this monster," Kodachi argued.

The young man jumped down off of the beast, which Ranma had finally recognized as a gigantic platypus, and landed on the ground in front of them. "I won't say the same thing twice," he said, shifting his feet slightly, "Hurry and go…" The ground parted and he fell into an elaborate Rube Goldberg trap, which ultimately ended up in him getting buried under a large bucket of rocks.

"Could this man be the boy who saved you before?" Ukyo asked.

Akane shrugged and said, "Probably. The only thing different this time is he didn't get clawed in the back."

"Well, then, let's take the hero back to his house," Taro sneered.

"Fine, you carry him then, you or Ryoga," Kodachi said.

Taro shrugged and picked the man up and slung him over his back. "Let's go, then, he's not getting any lighter standing around," he growled.

"If I remember correctly, his house is this way," Akane said, "Watch out for the traps." She turned and headed off in the direction she remembered, as the rest of the party followed behind.

As they headed deeper into the dense forest, Ranma looked up and saw a gigantic flying squirrel soaring high amidst the trees. Quickly, he pointed that out to the rest of the group. Then as they neared a large stream, several huge fish leapt from the water, as an even larger fish was chasing them. With a loud splash, all of the fish landed into one of the pools, causing a large amount of water to rain down on Ranma.

"Figures," the redhaired girl said.

"Quack!" Mousse agreed.

"We can get some hot water at the house," Ranma said in reply.

"All these big, weird animals, what is this forest, anyway?" Ukyo asked.

Shampoo replied, "That why we are here. To find out."

"Are you sure you know where this house is, Akane-sama?" Konatsu asked, as he noticed Taro beginning to stagger under the weight of the load he was carrying.

"Yeah," Akane snorted, "I'm pretty sure I know the way. Of course, the signs with arrows on them aren't hurting any."

Konastu looked up and blushed in embarrassment as he saw the arrows that read, 'This Way to the Cabin.'

As they came around one final bend in the path, the forest opened up into a large clearing. There, nestled snugly in the midst of the clearing was a small house that had clearly seen better days.

"Found it, that young man's house," Akane said smugly.

Kodachi sniffed disdainfully and said, "My servants live in a better place than this."

"That's probably true, Dachi, but then you don't have monsters beating down your door, either," Ranma replied, reprovingly.

"You haven't seen my brother before he shaves in the morning then, have you?" Kodachi asked with a wicked laugh.

"That's a mental picture I don't really need," Akane said as they stopped at the house. She knocked on the door, waiting for a response. After several long seconds, she opened the door, and held it open for Taro. The rest of the crew crowded in after, as Taro set the boy down next to the fire pit that was in the center of the large room. On one side of the raised platform, an old man wheezed in his sleep.

"So now what, o fearless leader?" Taro asked with a sneer.

Ranma rolled her eyes and replied, "I imagine we'll wait for these two to wake up and find out what the hell is going on, that's what." She tossed several pieces of charcoal into the fire and watched as the smoke curled up through the hood over the firepit.

Ukyo pulled her grill out from somewhere and began to mix together the ingredients for some okonomiyaki, while Shampoo, Akane and surprisingly Kodachi began preparing ramen, curry and miso soup for dinner. The sizzle as the batter hit the hot grill, the aroma arising from various pots and the grill, as well as the warmth from the fire that drove away the unseasonable chill began to make everyone feel a bit better.

Perfume sat in one corner of the room with her whetstone and steel, working on the edge of her blade. She looked up as the person she persisted in calling Sho Mei sank down next to her.

Ranma said softly, "If we are to go up against the Orochi, it has a thing for women and strong drink. We can use that to our advantage, but I need you to keep an eye on Kodachi and Ukyo. They aren't nearly as good as they think they are."

"Why are you telling me that?" Perfume asked, equally as soft.

"Because you don't know them, and need to know their weaknesses. Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, and Konatsu can take care of themselves and so can Akane. And I want someone else that I can trust to keep an eye on them. And I imagine you have taken Taro's measure," Ranma replied.

"Most definitely! And he certainly measures up to his name," Perfume sighed, her eyes dreamy.

"That's not what I meant," Ranma groaned.

An angry quacking came from one corner of the room, as Mousse sat on the platform flapping his wings.

"Hush, dear, the water is almost warm enough for you to change," Kodachi said absently, "But I need to keep one eye on the soup."

"I can watch it; the curry just needs to simmer for a bit," Akane offered, "You go take care of your husband."

Kodachi flashed a smile at Akane and picked up the pot of warm water. She smiled coyly at Mousse and asked, "Coming, dear." As she headed toward the door, she picked up Mousse's robes. Mousse waddled out after her.

"Ugh," the young man groaned as he sat up. After a moment, he asked, "Who are you?"

"We are here to help with the monsters that are scaring the people of Ryugenzawa," Akane replied.

The young man frowned, and said, "I am grateful that you brought me back to my house, but you must leave now. This forest is no place for fragile girls like you."

"Not going to happen," Ranma replied emphatically, as the rest of the women glared at the young man, "And these girls aren't terribly fragile. They can pretty much take care of themselves."

"Tell us, why do you live alone with your grandfather so deep in this forest?" Ryoga asked.

"Grandfather doesn't have to much longer to live," the man replied, "And this is where I have always lived, as long as I can remember, anyway."

"What was that monster, anyway?" Ukyo asked.

The old man stirred as the aroma from all of the food caught his attention. "Shinnosuke, at least serve our guest some tea," he wheezed as he struggled to sit up in his pallet.

"Grandfather," the young man who was apparently named Shinnosuke said, a question in his voice.

The old man sighed and pointed toward a set of shelves on the wall opposite him. "The tea bin is on the shelf, second from the top. The tea cups are right next to it," he said, a note of long-suffering in his voice.

"Second from the top?" Shinnosuke asked.

The old man glanced around and suddenly realized that teenagers had overrun his home. "The sun will set soon. Stay here for the night, and then leave first thing in the morning. This place is not safe for picnikers," he said.

"But, we," Akane began only to be interrupted.

"Young Miss, the creatures of this forest cannot be defeated by ordinary measures," the old man said.

Taro growled, "That's okay. We're not ordinary people, either. There's nothing that I can't handle."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. However, it is not your burden to bear. I, from my youth, and Shinnosuke from his birth, have been battling these beasts," the old man said, proudly, "That is our destiny as guardians of the forest."

"Guardians? What you mean?" Shampoo asked.

"And if Shinnosuke has been here since his birth, then he must be the little kid that helped Akane all those years ago," Ryoga added.

"Which means that I owe him," Akane said.

"Shinnosuke, go get something for dinner. For some reason, I have a craving for duck," the old man said.

"Um, no need, Grandfather, we've already got most of a meal fixed," Ukyo said.

"Shinnosuke," Akane asked, as she pulled the hornpipe out from under her blouse, "Do you remember this? When we were children, you gave this to me."

Shinnosuke looked at the hornpipe and then said, indifferently, "I've never seen that before. You must be thinking of someone else."

Akane sighed heavily and asked the old man in a low voice, "Is his memory really this bad?"

"Yes, he'd forget his own name if he hadn't written it down a dozen times," the old man wheezed out, "Grandson, after dinner, you need to stoke the fire in the bath to heat up that water. I'm sure these ladies would like to freshen up after their long journey."

"A bath does sound like an excellent idea," Akane said, her face lighting up.

"Eating sounds like a better idea," Ryoga said eagerly as his stomach growled, reinforcing his comment.

"There's plenty of food here, even with Ranma's appetite," Ukyo said, as she began to dish up plates of seafood okonomiyaki, while Akane and Shampoo put together bowls for the remaining dishes.

"Here you go, Grandfather," Akane said, handing the old man his food, "Be careful with the curry, I tend to make it a little spicy."

"Smells good, though," the old man said. As one, the two men took a bite.

"This is delicious!" the old man exclaimed.

"I've never had anything like it!" Shinnosuke said.

"Thank you, I've tried real hard to learn. I'm still not that confident of my cooking skills," Akane said.

"More please," Shinnosuke said, handing her his bowl, "You're some kind of culinary genius!"

"Please, eat as much as you like," Akane said, filling his bowl.

"It's been far too long since I've eaten a truly good meal. Shinnosuke even forgets to put miso in the miso soup," the old man wheezed.

"Oh my," Akane replied, channeling Kasumi for a moment.

Shinnosuke finished his meal, and stood up. Then he stopped, a confused look on his face. "What was I going to do again?" he asked.

"Start the fire under the bath," his grandfather reminded him.

"Ah, where is that again?" Shinnosuke asked.

His grandfather sighed and said, "The furo is through that door, but the wood has to be fed in from outside."

Shinnosuke headed out the door, a determined look on his face.

The old man sighed as he looked around. "We really don't have enough room for all of you to stay in the hut," he said finally.

"We have tents," Ranma replied, "Do the creatures of the forest bother you here?"

"Not really. Every once and a while, one will wander into the clearing, but normally they stay clear," the old man replied.

"We'll just pitch our tents," Taro said, "We should be fine then."

* * *

As Ranma dried the last dish, Shinnosuke stuck his head in the door and said, "The bath is ready." 

"Well, fortunately, I drew the short straw, so I get to go first," Akane gloated. She turned to Ranma and said, "You can scrub my back. And guard the door so he doesn't walk in on me this time around."

Ranma stood up and said, "Yeah, and I'll go ahead and change back, too. Didn't see the point in getting wet twice. And I guess I didn't want to freak out Shinnosuke and his grandfather by changing in front of them"

"Oh, so that's why you didn't use the hot water that I made for you," Akane said, "I had wondered about that. But, won't they get confused when they see 'Ranma the boy' in the morning, anyway?"

"Well, the grandfather might. Shinnosuke won't remember any of us any way," Ranma replied with a smirk. The two girls entered the changing room, and disrobed. Gathering their towels, and bathing supplies, Ranma gentlemanly opened the door to the bathing chamber, and watched with appreciative eyes as her wife entered.

"Looking at my butt, again, hey Ranma?" Akane asked, a hint of laughter in her voice.

"You caught me," Ranma replied, with a smirk. She looked around the small chamber, seeing what looked like a large oil drum sitting on end, a three-legged stool sitting next to a drain set into the floor, and two large wooden buckets. "Looks like we won't be sharing a soak. That looks like a single person tub to me," she said, with a sigh.

"We can still scrub each other's back," Akane said.

Ranma smiled and said, "I'll let you soak in the tub first though. Remember, if things hold true to form, Shinnosuke will be wandering in here after a bit, and I'd rather he not see you naked."

* * *

Akane soaked in the tub, while Ranma patiently waited her turn. "Akane, that curry tonight was especially good," she said, more for the sake of filling up the silence than any other reason. 

"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" Akane replied, "I wonder why, I didn't do anything different this time. Just followed the directions and didn't add anything special."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Perhaps there is something magical about this forest."

Akane grinned back at him and said, "Well, we both know that there is. That's one of the reasons that we're here is because of the water of life that comes from the moss growing on the back of the Orochi's eighth head."

"That's probably it, Akane. You used the water from the well when you made your curry, didn't you?" Ranma said, snapping her fingers.

"Yes, I did. That's the only water around. Oh, of course, that's the water of life in there, isn't it? The properties of the moss must have soaked into all of the ground water around the forest," Akane said, "That's why all of the creatures are so huge, too, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Ranma replied, "That's as good of a guess as any."

The door slid open, revealing a nude Shinnosuke, who stopped, a befuddled look on his face as he spotted the nude figure of a red-haired girl, barely covered by a towel, loosely draped over her shoulder, while a dark-haired girl lazed in the barrel, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you were in here," Shinnosuke stammered out, as he whirled, his face flaming in embarrassment. He fled out the door, showing his bare back, with three parallel scars engraved into his back.

"Not that I had any real doubts, Ranma, but that scar on his back, it can't be a coincidence. I was right, Shinnosuke is that little boy!" Akane exclaimed.

* * *

Shinnosuke stood at the well, brushing his teeth. His mind flashed back to the scene he had walked in on the evening before. The vision of that nude girl kept appearing in his mind. "Incredible, I can't forget what happened last night," he said. 

"Yes, incredible. You, with a brain like a sieve, actually remember last night," his grandfather said, amazed. He placed his hand on the young man's shoulder and contined, "Shinnosuke, this might be LOVE."

"And who are you?" Shinnosuke asked.

The old man stared at him for a few minutes, his toothbrush forgotten in his mouth. Then he sighed and asked, a pained expression on his face, "How could you forget your own grandfather?"

"Oh yeah! That's it!" Shinnosuke exclaimed.

Ukyo stuck her head out the door and said, "Excuse me, but breakfast is ready."

Shinnosuke entered the house, followed by his grandfather to find the house once again filled with teenagers, including the attractive redhaired girl that he had walked in on.

* * *

"Once again, a delightful meal," the old man wheezed out, looking at the expanse of empty dishes, "I can't thank you young women enough for cooking such excellent dishes." 

Kodachi smiled briefly and said, "Thank you, sir. I don't get an opportunity to show my skill very often so I welcomed the chance."

"Young lady, I forgot to ask. What is your name?" Shinnosuke asked.

Akane replied, "Well, I'm Akane Sao-"

"No, I meant the redhaired girl," Shinnosuke said, cutting her off.

"Oh, my name is Ranma, Ranma Saotome," Ranma replied, "But, I'm afraid-"

"Why don't you just stay here with us?" the old man asked softly, "I think my grandson has feelings for you."

"Stop it Grandfather!" Shinnosuke exclaimed, "Please, don't take him seriously." However, the adoring expression on his face belied his words.

"Ranma, you could have avoided this if you'd changed," Akane said quietly.

Ranma gagged and replied, "I'm happily married, very happily as a matter of fact."

"I don't know, fem-boy, I think you two make a cute couple," Taro said.

Ranma glared at Taro and asked, "Are you trying to get me angry at you?"

"Naw, not really. I just like jerking you around," Taro replied.

Akane sniffed and said, "Well, that's certainly something that you'd be an expert at. Being a jerk seems to come naturally to you."

#Husband, please don't antagonize my sisters,# Par Fum said.

#Sisters?# Taro asked.

Par Fum replied, #Sho Mei is my sister by adoption into our tribe, and her marriage to Akane makes her my sister also. You were told all that before. Try to play nice, or you'll be sleeping by yourself.#

#I'll be good,# Taro said, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Shinnosuke, old man, there's something that you need to know," Ranma replied, as she picked up her soup and poured it over her head.

"Oh my, where'd the pretty redhead go?" Shinnosuke asked.

"There never was a redhaired girl, not really," Ranma replied, "What you saw was my cursed form. I'm actually very much a guy."

"As well as my husband," Akane said, proudly.

Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath them.

"An earthquake!" Ukyo asked.

"I'll go check it out," Shinnosuke said, as he started to dash toward the door.

"Wait!" Akane exclaimed, "You forgot these!" as she pointed at his broom and boots.

Shinnosuke stopped, put his boots on and grabbed his broom, and then took off on a dead run.

His grandfather sighed. "Is it possible that 'it' has finally awakened?" the old man said to himself.

Shinnosuke came back into the hut, his face ashen. "The forest is trembling in fear," he said, "All of the creatures are fleeing."

* * *

Shinnosuke stood by the old well, staring off into the darkened night sky as he heard the sounds of the animals of the forest fleeing in fright, from some unseen, unknown peril. "What could be causing this?" he mused to himself, "I've never seen this kind of behavior before. The handful of tents scattered around the small clearing confused him. "Do we have guests?" he wondered, then he tried to remember why he had left the hut. 

"Shinnosuke!" the old man called as he left the hut, "Is the tea ready, yet?"

"Shoot! Water, that's what I came for!" Shinnosuke said, slamming his hand into his fist. He dropped the bucket into the well, but instead of the splash that he was used to hearing, all he heard was a dull thud. He pulled the bucket back up, to find it as dry as dust. "Odd," he said, staring at the empty bucket. He turned and said over his shoulder, "The well's gone dry. Wait a second. I'll fetch some water from the stream." He turned and ran off down the path, not seeing the look of horror on the old man's face.

The old man staggered back and slammed back into the wall, clutching his heart. The commotion brought everyone out. Ukyo asked, "Sir, are you okay?" not liking the ashen look on the old man's face at all.

The old man stammered, "The w-well waters all dried up."

"Let's get him back inside," Ranma suggested, "His bed has to be more comfortable than the floor."

Ryoga and Konatsu picked up the old man and set him carefully on his pallet.

"What's wrong, then?" Shampoo asked.

"The scar, the one on Shinnosuke's back," the old man replied, "You saw it when he walked in on you two last night, didn't you?"

"Y-yes," Akane replied.

"Well, by all rights, his life should have ended the day he got that wound. The only reason he survived is because of the water in that well. Now, now that the well is dry, Shinnosuke will," the old man said.

"He will what?" Taro asked impatiently.

"He will die," the old man said softly.

"Shinnosuke will die? Old man, what do you mean by that? He looks healthy enough to me," Ryoga said.

"The reason my grandson has been able to live this long," the old man said, tiredly, "Is the Water of Life."

"The water of life? What is that?" Ukyo asked, as Ranma and Akane exchanged worried looks.

The old man sighed and said softly, as the young people leaned in closer to hear his words, "Once this place was just a humdrum little rare animal farm, and I was just an ordinary zoo manager. But, one fateful day, a little platypus escaped. It was quickly discovered, though, because somehow it had grown into a giant and was going on a rampage. In the confusion, the other wild animals escaped into the area, and one after the other, became giants and settled in the forest. The source of their gigantism lies in a spring that bubbles up within this forest. There is even a sign at the spring that read, 'Water of Life. Side effects, rare beasts grow extremely well.' And that is the story of the water of life."

"So, old man, so why did you decide to build a rare animal park near a forest with a spring like that? Sounds pretty dumb to me," Taro growled.

"Pish tosh, who cares about that. Ah, never mind, say no more," the old man replied.

"I wonder if he's related to your father, Ranma. Seems to almost as dumb," Ryoga said.

"Ever since then, Shinnosuke and I have been the wardens of this forest, guarding the village from the animals," the old man concluded, "But on that fateful day, I found him lying next to the hut, with a horrendous wound on his back."

"The wound from the time he saved me," Akane whispered.

"Even the doctors gave up, they said he couldn't be saved," the old man said, "In utter desperation, I gave him the water of life, and a miracle occurred. He awoke, and soon became the picture of health. However, if he stops drinking it, he suffers headaches, weakness and dizzy spells."

"Then that means that he can't survive without the water of life," Akane gasped.

"That is what I believe, but we mustn't tell him," the old man said.

* * *

Soun glanced around at the mostly empty family room and sighed. 

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Kasumi asked, as she handed Souta his bowl of rice.

"I'm just wondering how your sister is," Soun replied, his eyes watering.

Tofu said firmly, "I'm sure that she is fine. She is with Ranma, and he would die before letting her come to any harm."

"Where are they, any way? All I know is that the school got some sort of cryotic note and half of that homeroom disappeared," Souta asked, politely, still a bit nervous about meeting his girlfriend's very odd family for the very first time as her boyfriend. The look on her father's face when he was introduced had nearly given him a heart attack.

"We got a call from Monster Control in Ryugenzawa asking for help, so Ranma and Akane gathered up some of their friends and headed there," Kasumi replied sweetly.

"My baby is fighting monsters!" Soun wailed, "I should be there to protect her!"

Nodoka sighed and said, "She'll be fine. Ono is correct; my son would die to keep her from harm. He is so manly."

"How was your journey, Auntie?" Nabiki asked, glaring at her father.

"It wasn't as successful as I would have liked, Nabiki, I never did catch up with my husband. He always seemed to be one step ahead of me," Nodoka replied, her face composed.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I really do hope he manages to redeem himself in your eyes," Kasumi replied, "You deserve so much happiness after what you have gone through over the years."

"Thank you dear," Nodoka said, "But I do have my happiness. My son is back, and in love with your sister. And that is truly all that I really need. My happiness is certainly not dependent on my wayward husband. I merely wish that he returns after he has redeemed himself from his folly. But if he does not, I will satisfy myself by spoiling the grandchildren that I will eventually have, whether they are from my children or those that I consider as family, such as you and your sister."

Kasumi turned warm eyes on the older woman and replied, "I'll hold you to that, Auntie. While we aren't planning on any children in the near future, I will want someone to watch over them while my husband and I work at the clinic."

"You'll be waiting a long while for any children from me, Auntie," Nabiki said, "I really need to get my career started before I even think of a family."

"Speaking of which, exactly what are your intentions toward my daughter?" Soun asked Souta, just as the young man had taken a sip of tea, which promptly caused him to choke.

Nabiki glared at her father, while patting Souta hard on the back. "Daddy, I can't believe you asked him that!" she exclaimed.

After regaining his composure, Souta replied, "To be honest, sir, I haven't given it much of a thought. I care for your daughter, but we are just friends."

"Just friends don't spend as much time together as the two of you have," Soun said, a bit sternly.

"Daddy!" Nabiki exclaimed, a touch of color in her cheeks.

"We study together, since the entrance exams are coming up soon, and we really want to be prepared for them. As bright as she is, I don't doubt for a moment that Nabiki won't get the scores that she needs to get into any college that she wants," Souta replied, "I won't deny that she is a very attractive woman, but when we study, that is all that we do."

"That's enough of this kind of question, Daddy. You are embarrassing all of us," Nabiki said, her eyes flashing angrily.

Souta glanced down at his watch and said, "We need to leave pretty soon if we want to get to the play before the curtain goes up."

"What are you going to see?" Kasumi asked, "I don't remember you telling me."

"A play called, 'Mousetrap,' by the English writer, Agatha Christie," Souta replied, "It's a murder mystery."

"Sounds like fun," Tofu said.

Souta grinned and said, "I hope it is. My problem is since I want to act, I spend too much time watching the actors perform and forget to enjoy what I am watching." He stood up and extended his hand to Nabiki and gracefully pulled her to her feet. "It was a pleasure meeting you, formally, Mrs. Saotome, Dr. Ono, Mr. Tendo, Hinako. Kasumi, this meal was delicious, Sayuri, I'll see you at school tomorrow," he said, bowing slightly to each of them as he named them.

"Don't stay out too late, daughter. It is a school night," Tendo said.

Nabiki rolled her eyes, to her sister's silent amusement and the young couple headed out of the family room toward the front door, and their shoes.

"Soun, I know that it is none of my place, but that was a bit rude of you," Nodoka said, a gentle frown on her face.

"This is only their second date, Daddy," Kasumi chided gently, "It really wasn't fair to either of them to put them on the spot like that."

"But, isn't that what a father is supposed to do?" Soun asked, "And she is my last unmarried daughter. It wasn't the same with you and Akane, I knew Tofu for many years, and I had come to like Ranma, even though at the time, I thought he was a girl."

"If they start to get a bit more serious, then you can pry a bit into their plans," Tofu said.

"At the moment though, they aren't in love with each other. There's nothing going on between them that should concern you," Kasumi said with certainty in her voice, "I would know."

"As would I," Sayuri and Hinako echoed. Sayuri continued, "Souta is a pretty nice boy, Mr. Tendo, and Nabiki can take care of herself."

"Besides, Ranma already gave him the big brother talk," Hinako said, with a giggle, "You know the one about what would happen if Souta hurt Nabiki in any way. Besides, Na-chan has him on a very tight leash."

"And you need to be careful so that you don't drive her away," Nodoka said.

* * *

"Calm down, Nabiki," Souta urged as his date stormed down the path to the front gate, "It may have been embarrassing as hell, but what your father was doing was showing you how much he loves you." 

"How can you be so calm, Souta?" Nabiki asked, whirling around as she reached the street.

"Because, in a twisted way, it was a compliment to me. He wouldn't have asked what my intentions were toward you if he didn't think I was worthy of you," Souta replied, a wry smile on his face, "Otherwise, he would probably have made you aware that he thought I was beneath you."

At the speculative look on her face, he quickly added, "That was not a suggestion of anything."

"Ah, shoot Souta, build up my hopes and then you dash them immediately," Nabiki retorted.

"Seriously, while I enjoy being with you, it's entirely too soon to start making plans for a lifetime together, and we both know that," Souta said.

"Oh, I know that," Nabiki snapped, "Very few people start planning a lifetime together before they've had their second date." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry, I shouldn't take my anger out on you. At least the idiot didn't start crying, that would have been more than I can take," she added.

Souta stared off into the distance for a few moments and then said, "You know, I just realized something. We have a bit more in common than I realized. You lost your mother at a young age, the parent that really should have been the closest to you, and I lost my father, again, the person I should have looked to for guidance. I wonder how much that shaped our character. At least I had my grandfather around for a while, even though he was a bit on the odd side."

Nabiki looked at him thoughtfully and said, "That's very astute of you. For some reason, I hadn't thought of that. I know I had to grow up a lot faster than I wanted to, since Daddy collapsed after Mommy died. From what you've told me, your mother was a lot stronger. Maybe because she had her father to fall back on, even if he was a bit strange."

"I don't know what the future will hold, Nabiki. I do know that I always want to be your friend, whatever else happens. After all, you're going to get scores on the entrance exam good enough to get into whatever school you want to, even Todai. I won't be quite that lucky, I'm smart, but not really in your league," Souta said, as he took her arm and headed down the street toward the train station.

"Don't sell yourself short, Souta. You are smart. And while I hate to admit it, Ranma sometimes has the right idea," Nabiki said, after a moment, "You know that whole there is no try, just do, philosophy of his."

"You do know that he ripped that off from Star Wars, don't you?" Souta asked, with a grin.

"Actually, I did. I was just paraphrasing something he said once. About not thinking about things so much, and just doing them," Nabiki replied, "And he does have a point. A lot of what he has been teaching Akane, and to a lesser extent the rest of us, is things that really aren't physically possible according to many of the laws of science. So if Akane really stopped to think about what she was doing, she would never be able to roof-hop the way she does, for instance. Or those balls of ki that they toss around. Basically, having confidence in your ability is well over half the battle toward success."

"So what I think you are trying to tell me is that if I think I won't do well, I won't, but if I think I will, I will," Souta said, thoughtfully.

"Pretty much. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy kind of thing. If you don't think you'll do well at something, you may subconsciously sabotage yourself," Nabiki said. She looked up and said, "Ah, there's the station."

* * *

Author's Note: Once more Gentle Readers, another installation in this story. I hope it meets with your approval. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed. For signed reviews, I will attempt to reply back. Also, I have created a forum for this story for those who wish to ask other questions, or provide comments for all to see. 


	61. In the Shade of the Forest

Chapter 61 In the Shade of the Forest

Ranma looked around the hut for a moment and asked, "Where's Shinnosuke? Shouldn't he be back from the stream by now? As I remember, it wasn't that far from the clearing."

"Oh, he probably forgot what he was looking for. Once he remembers, he'll be back soon. I'm sure he's fine," the old man said, the calm words contrasting with the strained expression on his face.

"I think I'll go see if I can find him, then," Ranma said, "If he really needs the water of life, it's possible that the lack of it has caused him to collapse."

Taro sneered and said, "Just go look for your boyfriend, fem-boy."

Ranma growled, "Moron, Akane owes him a debt of honor for him saving her life when she was a little girl. I took on that same debt when I married her, because she's the best thing that ever happened to me. What kind of a person would I be, if I let him lay in the forest hurt, or worse? He didn't have to help Akane, remember, but he sacrificed his own safety to keep her safe. I forgot how blasted self-centered and selfish you are, Taro. But, if I saw you hurt, I'd help you too." He stormed out of the cabin and headed down the same trail that Shinnosuke had wandered off down, roughly thirty minutes before.

Akane stood up. Her body shaking in anger, she pulled a mallet out of somewhere and slammed Taro into the floor. With an angry hiss, she said, "You ever talk about Ranma like that again, you'll never have any interest in a woman again, ever!"

Taro gazed woozily at her from where his head rested in a large hole, and then passed out.

Perfume asked idly, "Are you sure there isn't any Amazon blood in you, Akane? You seem to know how to handle our men."

"Not that I know of," Akane replied, "I still don't see why you put up with him, Perfume. Surely you could have done better."

Perfume smirked, and said, "He does have his uses, and he is very good in bed."

Akane frowned slightly and replied, "That really was too much information, Perfume."

Shampoo smiled and grabbed Perfume. "Sister, come talk with Shampoo. Compare notes," she said, as she dragged the other girl out the door and toward her tent.

The old man shook his head for a moment at the tomfoolery, and then gritted his teeth, as he worried about his wayward grandson. A lone tear trickled down his grizzled face, and ended up in his densely matted beard. He said, with passion ringing in his voice, "Shinnosuke MUST not realize how close to death he is."

Ukyo gasped, and asked, "Isn't there any way of saving him?"

"If the water of life has vanished from all of the springs, as I suspect, then there is only one other way, but with such perils, I," the old man began.

Akane exclaimed, "Please tell me, tell us, Grandfather! I'll do anything! As Ranma said, we owe him a debt. Shinnosuke once saved my life. I owe it to him to try to save his."

"First we'll check out if the springs themselves have dried up," the old man said, and refused to say anything more about it, other to constantly repeat, "Remember, my grandson mustn't suspect anything."

* * *

Ranma grumbled to himself as he sped down the path, trying to recall memories that were years old of something that hadn't happened yet. As he ran, a light rain began to fall, causing him to transform. Stopping, the now wet, red-haired girl stared up at the sky and cried, "What did I ever do to deserve this! What kami did I, no I bet it was Pop! What kami did Pop piss off? I hope you think this is funny." As she began running, Ranma could swear she heard a light giggle coming from all around her. She froze for a moment, her battle aura flickering around her as she growled, "If I figure out which one of you is messing up my life, we will have words! Don't forget, I killed Saffron!" The laughter quickly died out, as she gave a feral grin. After a moment, she started off again, running just a bit faster. Soon, Ranma neared the stream where she could see Shinnosuke standing on the bank, with an obviously puzzled look on his face.

Shinnosuke crouched down on the strand, staring at the dark water flowing by, the rocks in the bed causing ripples. A wooden pail was lying on its side as the young man pondered why he was there, instead of safe in his bed. Finally, the pilot light ignited something in his brain, and he snapped his fingers. "That's right," he exclaimed, "I came here to get some water!" He picked up the pail, when he suddenly noticed an odd ripple in the water in front of him.

With a loud cry, a gigantic platypus came up out of the water, an evil glint in its eye, a nasty attitude on its face. The rather large bump on its head showed that this was the same platypus that Shinnosuke had met the day before, and it was looking for a rematch.

With a wicked grin, Shinnosuke jumped into the air, and slammed his broom hard into the beast's head, driving him hard into the water, causing another lump to form. "Now be quiet, and go to sleep!" the young man exclaimed.

The now even angrier beast glared at his opponent, and grumbled, waiting for the inevitable moment when its hated foe would falter.

Ranma smiled to herself as she watched Shinnosuke take care of the beast that had made the mistake to exit the stream. "Not bad, he's as good as I remembered," she thought, "Glad that my memory isn't that fallible." Then, she groaned as she watched the young man begin to wobble. "Damn, that wound is starting to affect him," she growled as she raced to the scene.

The gigantic beast watched as its tormentor began to collapse and an evil grin appeared on its face. Silently it turned and attacked the near comatose young man, only to be stymied by a furious redhaired girl.

Ranma slammed her feet into the gigantic platypus and sank the beast into the muck at the bottom of the riverbed. With a sad sigh, she picked Shinnosuke up and slung him over her shoulder. Grabbing the bucket with her free hand, she filled it with water from the stream and slowly made her way back to the house. "Shades of déjà vu," she muttered to herself. After a brisk walk, she neared the clearing, when she began to feel Shinnosuke stirring. Carefully setting him on the ground, she watched as his eyes snapped open.

Shinnosuke groaned and opened his eyes. At first, everything was a bit blurry, but then in the dim light he saw a red-haired angel hovering over him, her beautiful face showing her concern. "My angel," he breathed, just barely audible, causing the angel to change expression. "What happened to me?" he asked, "The last thing I remember was going to the stream to get some water for my grandfather."

"One of those gigantic beasts attacked you," a pleasant soprano voice replied, causing interesting shivers in his spine, and his clothing to suddenly feel tight, "You fended it off, but then collapsed. I stepped in and finished what you had started and then brought you here."

"What's your name?" Shinnosuke asked, as he struggled to his feet.

"Ranma, but I've told you that before," the girl replied backing off a few steps to give him space.

A puzzled expression flashed across Shinnosuke's face for a moment as if he was struggling to regain a bit of memory but then his face cleared. "I like that name!" he exclaimed as he raced to the hut and began to scribble 'Ranma' multiple times on the wooden walls of the building. Several minutes later, an exhausted yet exhilarated young man turned and beamed at the bewildered girl. "There, I've memorized your name, Ranma!" he exclaimed.

Ranma stared at him in panic as she realized what was happening. 'Damn, now he's fancying me,' she thought to herself, 'what do I do, what do I do?' She turned to run, when suddenly she heard the sound of giggling once more, but this time she recognized that one, the giggling was coming from one of the tents, and two, that it was two girls giggling, and three, one of the girls was Shampoo.

Shinnosuke began to sway, as his eyes began to close once more, as the adrenalin leaving his bloodstream allowed his wound to once more cause him to weaken.

Just as the young man began to fall, Ranma caught him, and half-carried and half-dragged him up the steps and into the cabin, which fell strangely silent as everyone stopped talking with an odd guilty look on their faces, which quickly turned into obviously faked smiles. Well, except for Taro, who for some reason had his head stuck in a hole in the floor, with a mallet shaped lump on his head.

"Hey, I found him like this," Ranma blurted out defensively.

"M-my boy!" the old man exclaimed.

Ukyo jumped up and took the bucket from Ranma's hand, while Mousse helped Ranma carry Shinnosuke to the raised platform and placed him on his futon.

"Be strong! Wake up!" the old man cried, falling to his knees next to his unconscious and possibly fading grandson.

"He collapsed outside, just like you feared, right?" Akane asked softly.

"Yeah, just as that giant platypus was about to attack him," Ranma replied, equally quiet, "We need to find that moss and heal him before he gets any worse. If things hold true to form, all of the springs will have dried up tomorrow."

Akane looked up, her eyes suspiciously damp, and breathed, "Thank you, Ranchan."

Ranma looked at her, a confused look on her face, and asked, "Huh? What for?"

"For coming with me to help, for what you said before you went to check on Shinnosuke, and just for being you," Akane replied, blushing slightly.

"Why is Taro unconscious, with his head stuck in the floor?" Ranma asked.

"Um, he wouldn't stop mouthing off about you, and well, I decided to do something about it," Akane replied, now blushing furiously.

Ranma grinned and pretended to swoon, as she exclaimed, "My hero!"

Akane rolled her eyes at her, and swatted her shoulder.

"Seriously, I sure he deserved it, and thanks," Ranma said, lightly kissing her cheek.

Kodachi put some water in the teakettle and set it on the cookfire to warm up. "Is your grandson going to be okay?" she asked.

"I hope so," the old man replied, "Now remember, no one tell him about this, and keep on smiling."

Ranma looked over at Akane, a question in her eyes.

"I'll explain later," Akane whispered back, as she heard Shinnosuke begin to moan.

"Is he coming to?" Ukyo asked, as she knelt down next to the young man.

"Remember, no tears," the old man said, as he glared around the room.

Konatsu answered for the group, "Right, just smiles."

Shinnosuke opened his eyes, and stared up at his grandfather, who exclaimed, "Shinnosuke!"

"Welcome back," Ukyo added.

"Waaaaaa," the old man cried, as tears began to flow down his heavily bearded cheeks, "My poor boy!"

"Grandfather, what's wrong?" Shinnosuke asked, perplexed.

Ukyo glared at the old man and hissed, "Remember, no tears!"

Ranma's puzzled expression disappeared as she realized that the old man must have reitereated his desire to keep the young man's condition a secret, though privately she thought that a bad idea. She checked the kettle and sighed as she found that it was warm enough. Quickly, she used a portion of the water to transform back, before Shinnosuke could spot her, and then quietly left the hut.

* * *

Later that evening, once the excitement was over, Akane joined her husband in their tent, where Ranma was staring morosely at the sliver of moon barely visible over the giant trees of the forest. "What's wrong, Ranma? You left very rapidly," Akane asked, as she wrapped one arm around him and placed her head on his shoulder.

Ranma sighed heavily. After several minutes of silence, by which time Akane was beginning to fear that he wasn't going to share his worry, he sighed once more. He bowed down and lightly kissed her forehead and said in a low voice, "The old man still hasn't told the truth about what we'll have to do to save Shinnosuke, and we can't say anything without making everyone suspicious of how we know. That dream we told them about was pretty much all we could do. But we need to put together some sort of a plan to face the dragon so we won't lose anyone in the fight. Nor do we have a lot of time to waste if today was any guide. Shinnosuke will be getting weaker every day that he doesn't have any of the water of life to drink,"

"We do have a few days supply thanks to the canteens that we filled up before the well dried up. That will help some, but not a whole lot," Akane said, with calmness in her voice that surprised even her, "And didn't we set out in the morning to find the source of the water?"

"Yes, if I remember correctly. I wasn't with you when you set out, I was off moping. But, we didn't get to the lake until the next day to face off against the Orochi. The old man tried to do it by himself, the first time, and failed miserably," Ranma replied, "So that's something else to try to change." He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Would it be too much to ask for you to dress like a guy when we fight the Orochi? It'd be a little safer."

"I can take care of myself, Ranma,"Akane replied, an affronted tone in her voice, as she shot him a frosty glare, "You should know, you've been the one training me."

"I still worry, though, I can't help it," Ranma said, running one hand through his hair, "What if I haven't taught you well enough? Or if I can'thelp you when you need help. I still have those nightmares of seeing you dieing at Jusendo, because I wasn't good enough to save you. The stillness of your body, it haunts me still."

"I though you said that those nightmares had stopped. Did you lie to me?"Akane said, almost angrily.

"For the most part they have," the young man replied, a bit defensively, "It's just sometimes, when I think that you are in danger, then they come back. Don't you see, if I don't think that I'm good enough to protect you…" His voice trailed off.

"Then how could I possibly be, is that it?"Akane asked, "So that's why you keep striving to be the best, and work with me so hard. But don't you see, I want, no, I need to be by your side, to be your partner."

Ranma smiled shakily and said, "And that's one of the things that I love about you. Your fiery spirit and kind heart."

"If I dress up as a boy, is that one less thing for you to worry about?" Akane asked, her voice trembling slightly. Ranma merely nodded. "And you'll be female, won't you?" she continued. Once again, she felt him nod in reply. "You know, I don't like to see you in danger, either. That's one of my nightmares, that one day, you'll go up against something and lose. I guess that's why I'm trying so hard to catch up to you, so I can guard your silly ass. I don't really trust any one else, to be honest. And maybe, if I get good enough," she said, only to stop.

"Why'd you quit there?" Ranma asked.

This time, it was Akane who stayed silent for a long time. Then, she turned and cuddled in his lap, and buried her face into his chest. "I'm scared of losing you," she said, just barely loud enough to hear as it was muffled by his chest, "I know that somewhere out there, you'll find a girl worthy of you and you'll leave me. I mean, I can just barely cook, my knitting is atrocious, and I have a hell of a temper that I still have a hard time controlling."

Ranma wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. He said, tenderly, "Stop that. I didn't realize you felt that insecure about us. You are everything that I ever wanted, and will ever need, in a wife, in a lover, in a partner, and one day, mother of our children. There can never be anyone that can steal me away from you, ever. Hell, I'm no prize, with more than my share of faults. Sometimes I wonder why you even put up with me, with all of the chaos that I've brought into your life."

Akane sniffed back a few tears.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry. You know Ranma and crying girls don't go together too well," he said, quickly.

"Hush," Akane replied, "As if my life wasn't crazy before you entered it? After all, this little adventure we're on right now is because of something that happened before you came. That should be enough to show you the lie in what you said. But, there was the moron brigade in the morning, that happened before you showed up, and you put an end to it. You didn't bring the Dojo Destroyer to Nerima, he came on his own. And if you hadn't entered my life, then all of the good things, like Kasumi marrying Doc, wouldn't have happened. You're stuck with me, Ranma Saotome, and don't you forget it."

Ranma shot back, "And you're stuck with me, Akane Saotome!" After a moment, he chuckled briefly, breaking the moment.

Akane asked, suspiciously, "What's so funny? Are you laughing at me?"

"NO!" Ranma exclaimed, and then added, "At us maybe a little, how insecure we both are about us, but actually, I just had an odd thought pop up, is all."

"W-e-l-l," Akane drawled, stretching out the word, "Would you care to share that thought with me?"

Ranma shrugged, and replied, "You know my biggest fear in coming here with you, was you leaving me for Shinnosuke. I think I told you that months ago. Even though I know how things went the last time, and that you returned to Nerima with me, I still think of him as my only true rival for your love, and I remember how depressed I was when I thought that you had picked him over me. I didn't know about the Life Debt, then, nor that you were afraid he was dieing, so when you told me that you were staying, I didn't understand why. And I didn't give you a chance to explain before I ran off."

"But that isn't happening this time! Everything is different, we're married, for one thing, and we love each other," Akane said, "But you still haven't told me what was funny."

"Well, it's safe to say that this time around you won't be breaking his heart when you leave with me. Because he didn't develop a crush on you," Ranma replied, an evasive note in his voice.

"Spill it Ranma, you're still not telling me something," Akane said, a threatening tone in her voice.

Her husband hemmed and hawed for a few moments, and then answered, dryly, "It looks like a certain red-haired girl has tickled his fancy this time."

Akane stared at him in disbelief and then began to laugh, a deep, rich laugh. Finally, she managed to sputter, "Not again." At the slightly sheepish look on his face, she began to laugh again.

"Thanks for your support and understanding," Ranma said, a bittersweet tone in his voice.

"Haven't we already done this several times already?" Akane asked.

"Fraid so," Ranma muttered, only to have Akane shut him up by the expedient of kissing him, kissing him hard, as a matter of fact.

Akane pulled back for a moment, her lips slightly swollen, and her eyes heavy. "You know, I liked what you said, about me being the mother of our children. I'm not in any big hurry to get pregnant, but I wouldn't mind practicing some," she said, in a husky voice, which sent shivers up and down his spine.

A wicked look appeared on Ranma's face, and he said, simply, "All right. I'm sure I'm up for that." He pressed her down against the cloth of their sleeping bag, as Akane giggled.

"Yes, I can certainly tell you are up for it," she said.

"Hush, you talk too much," Ranma growled as he started to nuzzle her neck. As the two of them begin to kiss passionately, and hands began to roam, things began to change in the forest as a creature began to stir in its hidden grotto.

* * *

The bright morning sun burned its way through the eerie mist rising up in tendrils from the forest, sending one ray through the partially opened tent flap and landing on the exposed shin of one of the two occupants of the tent. After a few minutes, the half-awake girl slid a delicate hand down and lightly brushed where the sun was hitting her leg, as if to chase away some sort of crawling insect. The movement of that arm began to rouse the second occupant of the tent, who was spooning the nude woman in his arms.

Ranma slowly opened his eyes as he felt his wife begin to slowly grind her bum against him. As the final vestiges of sleep left his system, he smirked, cockily, and murmured, "Good morning, beautiful. I hope you're awake." His low voice brought Akane fully awake, and roused her from a pleasant dream, starring herself and her husband discovering the varied uses of whipped cream.

Akane's eyes widened as she felt her husband pressed up against her and she said, huskily, "Thank you for the compliment. Is that present for me?"

Ranma groaned slightly as she pressed against him, as he replied, regretfully, "Yes it is, but I'm afraid that I'll have to give you a rain check. From the sounds of things, most everyone else is awake, and, well, we're not exactly dressed to receive company."

Akane pouted for a moment, and then sighed as she heard Kodachi's distinctive laugh nearing their tent. As she realized her lack of attire, and the fact that somehow they had fallen asleep on top of their sleeping bag, she shot up suddenly and quickly rummaged for a fresh set of clothing in her backpack.

Ranma sat up and also began to look for something to wear. He said softly, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Kodachi called from outside the tent, "Are you up?"

Akane snickered and replied, "Ranma's definitely up, but we aren't dressed yet. Give us a few minutes, okay?"

Kodachi began to giggle and said, "Sure, if that's all it takes. Just wanted you to know that breakfast was about ready."

"We'll be right out," Ranma said. "You are so going to pay for that," he whispered with a grin.

"Oooh, I'm scared," Akane said, as she buttoned up her blouse.

* * *

The morning was still young and the forest barely awake with the cry of the birds and the noises of the beasts as three teams of four people each scattered through the area, searching the forest for the multiple springs containing the water of life. At Akane's suggestion, she and Ranma had paired up with the old man and Shinnosuke, partly to keep Ranma away from Taro, but also to keep their eye on the still weak young man. The second team consisted of Mousse, Kodachi, Shampoo and Ryoga, giving a combination of brawn and ranged weaponry, whilst the third team ended up being Taro, Perfume, Konatsu and Ukyo, again providing some strength and weapons in the same team.

Just before they split up, Ranma reminded them of what they were doing. "If you find a spring, make sure you fill up all of your water bottles and canteens. When it starts getting dark, come back to the cabin and we'll eat dinner and compare notes," he said, "Watch out for the overgrown animals, and definitely watch your backs."

"Yes, Mommy," Taro had replied with a sneer as his team sauntered off into the east, while Ryoga had merely given him a two fingered salute to the forehead in acknowledgement as his group went west. Ranma watched as the two teams went out of sight, and then said, "Okay, Gramps, lead the way." Taking his wife's hand, he turned and followed the old man, with Shinnosuke bringing up the rear.

"If the well of the water of life has run dry, the other springs may have also dried up," the old man said, as he used his cane to pull himself along the path.

"Are there many springs?" Akane asked.

"There are several, connected by underground springs," the old man replied, "If we don't find a source of the water of life soon, Shinnosuke will."

"I'll what?" Shinnosuke asked.

Akane hissed, "Grandfather, hush."

The old man gasped.

"You're acting so strange. Are you hiding something?" Shinnosuke asked.

The old man's heart beat loudly. Ranma frowned as Akane glared at him, and then poured cold water over him.

Ranma sighed, and asked, "Shinnosuke, what's my name?"

Shinnosuke turned to the damp, red-haired girl, and replied, "Ranma, I could never forget you."

The old man asked, "So what were we talking about?"

"I, I forget," Shinnosuke stammered.

"Onward, then," Akane urged, avoiding the glare from her husband turned wife, knowing that Ranma was NOT happy with her. She grabbed her hand and hissed, "You know what is at stake here."

Ranma hissed back, "You know as well as I do that the springs will all be dry. I'm not saying we don't owe him a debt because of him saving you, but did you really have to do this?"

"I needed a distraction, and since he isn't interested in me," Akane hissed back.

"I understand why you did it, I just don't like being used," Ranma shot back, sotto voce.

Akane squeezed her hand and said, softly, "I know, and if I could have figured something else out, I would have."

"What are you two whispering about?" Shinnosuke asked, his eyes bouncing between the two girls. He frowned, and asked, "What is your name, anyway? And why are you two girls holding hands?"

"Just girly stuff," Ranma said, with a titter.

"I'm Akane," Akane replied, "I think I've told you that before."

"You're almost as pretty as Ranma," Shinnosuke said, causing both of the girls to blush.

After they trudged through the eerily deserted forest for nearly an hour, they reached the first spring. There, an empty hole in the ground mocked them, as the sign reading, 'Water of Life,' sat on the banks of the deep depression.

"Grandfather, this spring is all dried up," Shinnosuke said.

"Nothing left," the old man said with a sigh, as he sank down next to the empty pit.

* * *

Several hours of hard traveling later, they once again saw a familiar sight, a large, muddy, hole in the ground, and a sign declaring it to be another source of the wate of life. With a heavy sigh, Shinnosuke sighed, and said, "This one is all dried up, too, Grandfather, just like all of the rest."

"Nothing left, there can be no mistake," the old man said to himself, "**He** is blocking the source of all of the springs."

"He?" Shinnosuke asked, as the two girls traded knowing glances.

"We haven't a moment to spare! We must go to the water's source!" the old man exclaimed.

"Who is this 'he' you keep referring to?" Ranma asked, with a frown marring her attractive face, trying to get the old man to open up earlier than it happened the last time.

The old man stared hard at the young girl that confused him for some reason. 'There's something odd about this girl,' he thought as the blue eyes in the girl's face bored into him, with an adamant stare. "The Yamata No Orochi," the old man finally replied.

"The legendary eight-headed dragon!" Akane exclaimed, playing along.

"In that case, we need to go back to the cabin and get the others," Ranma suggested, "All of us are skilled martial artists. Between the twelve of us, we shouldn't have any difficulties in defeating even the Yamato No Orochi."

"No disrespect intended, but what can a little girl like you do against a dragon?" Shinnosuke asked.

"Kick his collective ass around," Ranma growled, annoyed by the little girl comment.

"Ranma is the best martial artist I've ever seen. If she says we can do it, consider it done. She doesn't lose," Akane said, her head held proudly.

"But we don't have that much time," the old man began, only to stop as he saw his grandson standing there.

"We have plenty of time, if we hurry," Akane disagreed, "What we don't have is a lot of time to waste argueing.'

"You are right, Miss, whatever your name is," Shinnosuke said, "We shouldn't argue. And I have to admit, I wouldn't mind a little more help." He grabbed the red-haired girl's hand and started off, "Come on, Ranma, stay with we. This area is loaded with traps, so be careful, but there is a shortcut to the cabin through those trees."

"Hmph!" the old man snorted, "Such smooth talk. Making up excuses to hold her hand. You're on the right track now, my boy!" He slapped his grandson on the back in congratulations.

"Grandfather, stop that!" Shinnosuke exclaimed, pushing the old man away, "This is no time for your stupid jokes!"

The old man fell backwards and landed into one of the traps, causing him to disappear from sight.

'That's odd, didn't the old man see Ranma change into a girl, or does he have as bad a short term memory as his grandson,' Akane mused as she followed Shinnosuke who was still pulling Ranma along down the trail.

* * *

Shinnosuke pushed through one more set of bushes, to find himself in a small clearing, next to a flowing stream, after roughly one more hour of travel. "It's midday," he said, "Why don't we take a short break? I could use a little rest and maybe something to eat." He dumped his heavy pack to the ground, and sank down on the loamy ground with a groan of relief.

Ranma tossed her canteen to Shinnosuke and said, "Have some water while Akane and I rustle up a quick meal." 'And some hot water for me,' she thought as she rapidly started a small fire in a conveniently placed circle of stones. Once a good bed of coals was available, she filled up a kettle of water from the stream and placed it the coals, while Akane filled up a small pot with water for ramen.

"Shampoo will think we're cheating, using packets of instant ramen," Akane said, with a smirk.

"I really didn't want to take the time to cook some meat to make the broth," Ranma said, with a shrug, "Not that we brought any with us anyway. All of that stuff is at the cabin in the icebox. This is a decent trail meal, well, the ramen, and the rice balls left over from breakfast that are in my bag."

Shinnosuke lay on his back staring up at the fleecy clouds drifting in the azure sky, thinking deep thoughts. 'What is Grandfather hiding from me? Why is that water so important to him that he dragged all of us out here on a wild goose chase? Isn't water, water? And what are these odd feelings I'm having for Ranma? She is so pretty.' He blushed as he remembered seeing her in the furoba, waiting her turn to soak.

Akane brought him out of his reverie as she called, "Lunchtime, Shinnosuke!"

"Ah! Your exquisite cuisine!" Shinnosuke exclaimed as he sat up to see the dark-haired girl that he could never remember her name handing a bowl to a strange boy sitting next to her, with no sign of the lovely Ranma. He stood up and walked over to the cute couple and bowed. "My name is Shinnosuke. Nice to meet you," he said, "But what happened to Ranma? She was just here a moment ago."

Ranma rolled his eyes and said, "We've met before, Shinnosuke. My name is Ranma Saotome and this is my wife, Akane."

Shinnosuke looked puzzled as he thought, 'He has the same name as the woman I love. I wonder if he knows her.'

The old man staggered up in time to say, "My grandson has a terrible memory, I'm afraid."

"We know. You've told us that before," Akane said, rolling her eyes. 'Yep, he's got the same problem,' she thought.

"Let's just eat. The sooner we do, the quicker we can rejoin all of the others and start planning on how to handle the dragon," Ranma said, as Akane handed a rice ball to Shinnosuke.

"I'd still like to know what happened to the other girl," Shinnosuke said, blushing furiously.

"Uh, about that," Ranma began, only to have Akane interrupt him.

"Can we talk for just a second?" Akane asked, grabbing her husband by the arm and taking him aside. "You can't tell him the truth about you," she hissed.

"Why not?" Ranma asked, confused, but not liking where this was heading.

Akane looked down at the ground, not wanting to look him in the eye for a moment. "I don't like doing this, to either of you, but Shinnosuke needs something to give him some hope, and thinking good thoughts about, well, the other you, may be what keeps him alive. We've got to stand by him until we get him cured," Akane said, softly.

Ranma shook his head violently and said, "I think this is a bad idea, Akane, one that is going to explode in our faces. I can't believe you're asking me to go along with this."

"I'm not very happy about it either," Akane admitted, "But, it'll only be for another day or so, and then it'll be over. And it's not like he'll remember anyway." She gave him her best pout, fluttering her eyelashes, and added, "Do it for me, please? It's part of that debt of honor."

"You are so going to owe me for this!" Ranma said, "Damn, you know I can't refuse you when you do that." The two of them walked back over to the other two and resumed eating.

"So what were we talking about?" Akane asked as they sat back down.

"This food is pretty good, not quite as good as what we had yesterday," Shinnosuke said, "I would like to eat this every day for the rest of my life."

"Well, it's instant ramen for starters, so it won't be as good as what Shampoo makes from scratch," Akane began.

Ranma added, "And they used water from your well last night, and that water of life, I think, helped make the food taste especially good. We noticed that ourselves, last night, and that was the best that we could come up with."

* * *

Sayuri sighed happily as she sank up to her chin in the furo. She grinned at Kasumi and said, "This was a brilliant idea of yours, Kasumi. A girl's night in, and all."

"I agree, Sis, but how did you get rid of Daddy?" Nabiki asked.

Kasumi gave an uncharacteristic smirk and replied, "Simple. I asked my husband to take Daddy to dinner. But, really, this was as much for Daddy as it was for us, to be honest. He was starting to get pretty maudlin again, since Mister Saotome left, and I wanted him to have a nice evening with some male company."

"You look a lot better, too, Ka-chan," Hinako said, "Not as stretched as you had been."

"Thank you, little sister," Kasumi said, with a beatific smile, "Now that I'm not doing all of the housework, I can get a bit more sleep, and that's helped a lot. I really hadn't realized how stressed out I had become."

"You really should have said something," Nodoka said, sternly, "And I'm very upset with myself that I hadn't realized that you were overwhelmed with everything, between school, and the house. You do know that you were driving yourself to a nervous breakdown, don't you?"

"Don't be upset, Auntie Nodoka, I'm very adept at hiding my true self," Kasumi replied, in her soft voice.

"But I still should have noticed something!" Nodoka exclaimed.

Nabiki said, "Don't be too hard on yourself Auntie, most of us missed the signs and we live here, you don't. And you do have Mr. Saotome to worry about, wondering where that old panda is."

"I'm just glad Akane thought to invite you to stay with us while they are off on their little adventure," Sayuri said.

"Oh, it's my pleasure to stay here. It gives me a chance to cook for more than just myself, and to have some company. I sometimes feel like I rattle around in my house now," Nodoka said. She said, sadly, "I always felt so lonely while Ranma was off on his training trip with my idiot husband."

"But now that he's back, he does visit with you as often as he can, and of course, you are always welcome here," Kasumi said kindly.

"You always know what to say, Kasumi dear, thank you. I hope that young man of yours knows how lucky he is," Nodoka said, warmly, "This place feels more like home sometimes than the house I have, and the guestroom that you put me in is very nice. I didn't realize that you had an extra room on the main floor."

Nabiki frowned slightly and said, "Daddy never wanted us to use that one for some reason, said he was saving it for someone, but never said who."

"Actually, from a few of the things that we found when we cleaned it up, it looked like he was saving it for Happosai," Hinako piped up.

"Happosai, Gemna and Soun's old master? My husband did not like talking about him much, but I thought he was dead," Nodoka asked in surprise.

"Actually, Daddy and Mr. Saotome only trapped him in a cave," Nabiki replied, "And several months ago, he broke out of that cave, but Ranma was there to meet him. Your son defeated him, and claimed the title of Grandmaster, and then turned him over to the Amazons, who have been searching for him for ages. I don't know what happened to him after that."

"Actually, according to Cologne, he died in their village," Hinako said.

"That doesn't explain why Daddy kept the guestroom for him, though," Kasumi said.

"Well, I may have an idea. Pardon me for saying this, but your father isn't a very strong man. I'm guessing that while he hoped this Happosai would never show up, he wanted to have some place for him to stay as a means of placating him," Sayuri said.

"Daddy was afraid of him, there's no doubt of that. I still remember when Ranma and Cologne first mentioned going after that perverted old man," Nabiki said, "So you may have a good point."

"How long have we been in the furo?" Sayuri asked.

Kasumi giggled, and replied, "Long enough, my fingers are beginning to prune up. And we do need to start on dinner."

"Um, what do you mean 'we,' Ka-chan? Remember, you aren't supposed to cook except for on the weekend," Hinako asked, her stern expression looking very out of place.

Kasumi shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Okay, you can cook, while I entertain Auntie."

* * *

Hinako picked up her last piece of salmon sushi with her chopsticks and swirled it around in her wasabi and soy sauce mixture. With a graceful gesture, she popped it in her mouth, and began to chew. Once she was done, she watched around the room with eager eyes as the remaining women, for so she considered herself, even if she was physically only twelve, finished their meals. "More saké?" she asked Nabiki, since she was sitting next to the warmed bottle.

"If there's some left," Nabiki replied, since she and Nodoka were the only two drinking. Sayuri had refused politely, since she had no intention of becoming anything like either of her parents, while Hinako didn't like the taste, and Kasumi was drinking a delicate white wine that she had discovered.

Hinako picked up the small ceramic bottle and poured a little of the heated liquid into Nabiki's cup. From the weight, there was only a little more in the bottle, so she poured the rest into Nodoka's cup and announced brightly, "It's empty now."

"That's fine, dear," Nodoka replied, "The one bottle was plenty for the two of us. We're not Soun or my husband, needing four or five bottles to drink, after all."

"Speaking of the baka, when do you plan on hunting for him again?" Nabiki asked.

"Sister, that is not very nice of you. Mr. Saotome was a guest in our house, you really shouldn't be that rude," Kasumi chided, a slight smile on her face as she added, "Really, now, insulting all of the bakas in the world like that. What were you thinking?"

Nabiki chuckled and said, "Okay, who are you and what did you do with the real Kasumi?"

Nodoka smiled briefly and said, "Oh, I probably won't for a while, unless I see something in the news that indicates that he is trying to avoid fixing his problems. The only reason I sent Ranma to get him out of the zoo was it would be hard for him to redeem his tarnished name sitting in a zoo. And, I did promise to wait for Ranma and Akane to get back from wherever they went off to."

"It must be dangerous, they took the rest of the martial artists that they knew with them," Sayuri added.

"It could just be a training mission," Hinako said.

"No, actually they went to Ryugenzawa to fight some monsters," Kasumi replied.

Hinako shivered and asked in a little girl voice, "Monsters? What kind of monsters?"

Nabiki moved out of her kneeling position on the wooden floor and sat down. Then she pulled the smaller girl into her lap, and held her tight. "Just some sort of giant creature," Nabiki said, "We saw it on the news broadcast, the night before they left. I thought we told everyone that."

"No, and Ranma didn't mention it to me at all. Just called up to tell me he was going out of town with Akane and that he wanted me to stay here and provide some help around the house," Nodoka said, "I think I will have to have some words with my son about keeping me informed."

"Auntie, I'm sure he just didn't want to worry you. And this is the kind of thing that a martial artist would do. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility, and your son believes that," Kasumi said.

"Ooooh, my son is so manly," Nodoka said.

Nabiki drawled, "R-r-right. Anyway, the monsters aren't here, Hi-chan." She bent down and lightly kissed the young girl's forehead as she hugged her. "Besides, Ranma will take care of them, you know that," she added.

Kasumi gracefully rose from her kneeling position, and walked into the long hall where the phone was kept. After a few moments of muffled conversation, Kasumi walked back into the room. "Sayuri, that was your mother," she said, "She's coming over to talk to you. Says it is very important."

"I wonder what that could be all about," Sayuri said, "When I talked to her two days ago, she was pretty happy about how things were. Her painting was going well, and she was enjoying her art classes."

"We'll know soon enough," Kasumi said, "She was calling from the train station, and said she'd be here in just a few minutes. That being said, let's cleanup. I hate having guests in a messy house."

Nabiki glanced over at Nodoka with a look of appeal.

"I think you have schoolwork to do, if I remember correctly, young lady," Nodoka said, with a frown, "So you need to march upstairs and finish it. I'll clean up the kitchen, though I wouldn't object to someone helping me with clearing the table."

"I'll help," Sayuri said, "It'll keep my mind off of whatever is troubling Mom." She rose from her knees, and picked up her share of the dishes and headed toward the kitchen, followed by the rest of the women bearing their load. Well, except for Kasumi, who stopped after a stern look from Nodoka.

Kasumi sighed, though in her heart of hearts, she knew that they were doing the right thing, keeping her from overworking herself. The gentle art of homemaking, however, had been for so long her way of performing her mother's katas that she was at a loss as to how she should practice. Finally, she turned and headed to her room, knowing that Nodoka would be less than pleased if she didn't finish her schoolwork. "And I have to admit, the wa of the home is so much more in balance, more serene, now that I have surrendered so much of my responsibilities to the other women of the house," Kasumi said to herself as she walked briskly up the stairs. An impish grin appeared on her face, one that would surprise her sisters, as she added, "And it does give me more quality time to spend with Tofu. I enjoy that, and it's obvious that he does too. And maybe we need to revisit one of our decisions. I'm sure Auntie would help out."

* * *

All too soon, at least as far as Sayuri was concerned, they heard a knock on the front door. Nodoka took off her apron, and hung it carefully over the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen, and walked down the hall and then to the front door. She opened the door and then her eyes widened imperceptibly as she saw an exhausted middle-aged woman standing there, struggling with two large suitcases. She asked, "Can I help you?"

"Hello, I am Yumi Sato. I called," the woman replied, swaying slightly.

Nodoka said, "Please, come in. Let me help you. Nabiki! Sayuri! Come quick." She assessed the situation, and frowned as she saw the skillfull application of makeup around one eye as well as the almost unnoticeable swelling around her mouth. She took one of the suitcases, staggering slightly under the weight and wrapped her other arm around the woman's waist and helped her into the house.

Nabiki and Sayuri skidded around the corner in their stocking feet, crashing to a halt as the saw the two women. Sayuri stopped suddenly, while Nabiki's face hardened. "Mrs. Sato, I'll take that," she said, as she took the other suitcase, "Sayuri, help your mother into the family room. Auntie, do you mind sharing the guest room?"

Nodoka replied, "Of course not. We'll drop these off there, and then find out what's happened." The four women walked down the short hall, and then turned. Once they passed the stairs, Nodoka slid open the door to the guest room, and they placed the two suitcases inside, and then escorted Sayuri's mother the rest of the way to the family room.

"Have you eaten?" Nabiki asked.

"I had something, I don't remember what, while I was waiting for the train," Yumi replied.

"Let's get her something," Nodoka said.

"I think there was some of the soup left. I'll have to warm it up in the microwave, though," Sayuri said.

"I'll do that," Nabiki said, "I may not be able to cook very well, but I can punch a few buttons." She left, while Nodoka and Sayuri helped Yumi to sit down.

"Mommy, what happened? Why are you here?" Sayuri asked, her face pale. She, too, had noticed the makeup.

Nodoka walked over to the ornate cabinet where Soun stored his liquor, and poured a large glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and handed it to Yumi. "This may take the edge off, just a little," she said, softly.

Yumi took the glass, and sipped it gingerly. "Thank you, miss," she said.

"Oh dear, where on earth are my manners. I am Nodoka Saotome," Nodoka said, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"MOM!" Sayuri exclaimed.

Yumi sighed heavily and said, "I guess I've left your father. I've had my suspicions for a while, but, well, one of our neighbors saw him leave a love hotel today with a very pretty girl. When he got home I asked him who she was, and well, got this for my pains."

"He HIT you!" Sayuri exclaimed.

"This is nothing, it'll be fine in a few days," her mother replied.

"That sounds like the voice of experience talking," Nodoka said, her eyes narrowing.

"Does it really matter anymore?" Yumi asked, as Nabiki walked in carrying a tray.

Sayuri gasped, and began to cry. "How did I not see this?" she whispered, "How long as he been doing this to you?"

"Long enough," her mother replied, as she looked with interest at the miso soup.

Nabiki's face grew even colder as she said, "I wish Ranma was here."

Nodoka looked every centimeter the descendant of the Samurai warrior her great-great grandfather had been, and said, in a voice that would freeze hydrogen, "No, I will take care of this."

"Mom, eat the soup, and then we'll talk. Maybe a good long soak in the furo would be good," Sayuri suggested.

Nabiki traded glances with Nodoka and then said, "I know some people that can help, Auntie. Get that bastard tossed out on his ass, at least."

"I just need a place to stay for a few days, then Father will take care of things, I'm sure. He never liked my husband. I guess I know why now," Yumi said.

"Ranma isn't here, and neither is Akane, but I think I can speak for both of them by saying you are welcome here as long as you need to be," Nabiki said.

Yumi stared at the three women and finally allowed the tears to flow. Almost immediately, she was engulfed in a hug as all three of them wrapped their arms around her.

* * *

Late that evening, after a gentle hush had fallen across the clearing, broken only by the occasional sound of Ryoga snoring, a figure appeared in the doorway to the cabin, gazing across the moonlit area and the sea of tents. After listening intently for several minutes, the old man said, quietly, "Good, all of them are sleeping soundly. The young ones must not be placed in harm's way. That girl means well, but this is my burden to bear." He shuffled back inside to where his grandson was peacefully sleeping on his futon in the middle of the large room, curled up in his blanket against the slight chill in the air. The old man knelt down, his joints groaning, and whispered, "Just you wait, Shinnosuke. Your grandfather will save you." He stood, and walked back over to his sleeping platform and rummaged around in the storage area beneath it, pulling out several items. "Ah, there it is," he said, "Now to prepare." Several minutes later, he walked out of the cabin, and then, moving quickly but quietly through the clearing to the beginning of the path that would lead him to his destination. Just as he reached the entrance, he stepped on an unseen tree branch, which shattered with a loud 'KRACK' that resonated through the still night air. Whirling quickly around, he looked back at the clearing to see if anyone had heard. Seeing no movement, he sighed in relief and then turned back to the path, only to recoil in surprise.

"Where do you think you're going?" a young man said, sternly, from where he was leaning against one of the trees. "And, by the way, you look hideous," he added.

Indeed, the old man truly did look like something out of a nightmare, wearing a long, brown wig, that flowed down his back, a flowery dress, covered by an apron, and what Ranma thought were something called, 'bloomers,' if he remembered correctly, standing in a 'pinky pose.'

"I was going for a walk," the old man replied, innocently.

"Really, a walk? Dressed like that? I didn't realize you wanted to be seen in public dressed like that. You must think me a fool to believe that," Ranma said, his voice dripping with disbelief, "No, you were trying to do something stupidly noble and brave and fight the dragon by yourself, and more than likely get eaten for your trouble."

"You don't understand. The Orochi likes women and wine," the old man babbled, "Dressed like this, I can lure him out from where he nests in his hiding place."

"I doubt a cross-dressing old man would do anything to fool it, more likely all you would do is anger it," Ranma replied, coolly, "Now, go back to bed, after you've gotten out of that ridiculous outfit, and we'll take care of the Orochi together in the morning."

"G-g-grandfather?" a voice stammered from behind him, "What's the meaning of this?"

The old man turned to see his grandson staring at him in shock. "I don't want to talk about it," he growled as he sashayed back to the cabin. He stopped at the door, but somehow managed to sense the adamant stare that Ranma was giving him. With a heavy sigh, he huffed back into the cabin and shut the door behind him.

Shinnosuke stared after the old man for a moment as he disappeared back inside the hut. "Sir, have you heard anything from Grandfather about the Water of Life?" he asked finally, "Because, for him to do something like this, dress up like a woman, this water must really matter. But, I don't understand why."

"He made me promise not to tell you, Shinnosuke," Ranma replied sadly, "And I can't go back on that promise."

"But, I'll tell you," Akane said softly, "Ranma, you were right. This affects him, he should know. Remember your grandfather said that there was a monster called the Yamata No Orochi?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with the water of life?" Shinnosuke asked, perplexed.

"Well, I think your grandfather believes that this beast among beasts is blocking the source of the water of life. And that also they are deeply interconnected," Akane explained, using her best professorial voice, "And the source of the water is the actual nest of the Orochi."

Ranma sighed heavily and added, "More importantly, on the body of the Orochi is a mysterious moss; the essence of that moss dissolves into the water, and pushes upward with the spring."

"So long as the dragon is asleep, the passages to the spring are clear and the water can enter, but when awakened, as he fears the beast is, then its many heads block those passageways," Akane concluded.

"That still doesn't explain why he is so interested in the water of life!" the young man exclaimed, tired of the careful explanation, and downright beating of the bush that was occurring.

Akane hesitated for a long time, and then took a deep breath. "If we can get some of that moss, then your life will be saved," she said, gently, "The wounds that you received when you saved me have only been held back by the water of life that your grandfather has been giving you. And now that the springs have dried up." She stopped suddenly, a tear in her eye, and bit her lip.

"So I'm going to die," Shinnosuke said, an odd calm on his face. He looked down at the ground for a moment, toeing one foot into the loamy, leaf-covered soil. After a moment, he looked up, and asked, "My life, how much of it is left?"

"Dunno, that's why your grandfather was planning on luring the Orochi out tonight," Ranma replied, "He was dressed that way because of the Orochi."

"So the Orochi likes ghouls?" Shinnosuke asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No, girls, actually, but you're right, the way he was dressed, ghoul is a much more accurate description," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

"We have several canteens filled with water from the well, so you won't feel any bad effects for many days," Akane said, attempting to get the conversation back on track.

"But you don't know for sure how long I have, do you?" Shinnosuke asked, almost rhetorically.

Akane traded glances with her husband, once again biting her lip indecisively, before sighing. "No, not really," she finally replied, "Sorry."

Shinnosuke leaned back against a tree, and stared off into the distance.

"Are you okay?" Ranma asked.

"Not really. This is sort of a lot to take in, right now, if you know what I mean. To hear that I might die soon is a shock, but I'd rather know about it," Shinnosuke replied, "Thank you for telling me about it." He sighed heavily and then added, "There's just so many things that I wanted to do before I joined my ancestors. I'm not ready for this."

"Don't worry, we haven't given up hope, so you shouldn't either. We'll get you that moss, and fix you right up," Akane said, confidently, her eyes shining with conviction.

"I know you think that, and I thank you for it, but," Shinnosuke said, stopping suddenly.

"But, what?" Ranma asked.

"I wish I could talk to Ranma," the young man said suddenly, "To gaze upon her once again before I die."

"But," Ranma said.

"He means your sister, Ranma, not you," Akane interjected.

Ranma closed his eyes and said, "I'm sure you'll see her, probably tomorrow. She's just wandered off somewhere, but she's closer than you think, I'm sure."

"It's late, and we have a lot to do tomorrow," Akane said, suddenly impatient, "We need to get some sleep, that is if we want to make sure we defeat that creature, or at least slow it down long enough to get the moss."

"I suppose you're right," Shinnosuke replied, "I just hope I can get some sleep with the way my mind is churning right now." However, he did follow the other two back toward the center of the clearing. As the young couple turned toward their tent, he called, "Good night," and entered the cabin.

"Did we do the right thing?" Akane asked, after a moment.

Ranma wrapped his arms around her and replied, "I don't know, I really don't."

Akane sighed and said, "You know that you'll have to be female tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah, and I'm not really looking forward to it," Ranma said, with a matching sigh, "This crush of his will be awkward to say the least." He led her to their tent and said, "Well, tonight you'll have your husband, at least."

* * *

Nabiki tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable in her bed. Her mind was still processing everything that had happened that evening. First, the pleasant banter, and even the mild teasing about her relationship with Souta, had been fun. Dinner had been very good, as always; Nodoka was an excellent cook, and Sayuri and Hinako were becoming very accomplished themselves. But, then, the situation with Mrs. Sato cropped up. As she lay there, a gentle hand caressing her hair interrupted her racing thoughts.

"Na-chan, you awake?" a soft voice asked.

Nabiki rolled over to face Hinako and replied, "Yes, Hinako. I am. Can't sleep, I'm afraid. Too many things running through my mind." Then she rolled back onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"I know. It was an eventful evening, what with Mrs. Sato showing up and everything," Hinako said. She put her head on the taller girl's shoulder and draped her arm loosely across Nabiki's waist.

"Yes, it was," Nabiki replied, "Poor Sayuri, it looks like her whole family is falling apart around her."

"Not completely. She has her mother with her," Hinako disagreed. She paused and added, "And she has us."

Nabiki pondered that, and replied, "True. She has become a part of this family, another little sister for me to worry about and take care of."

"Do you worry about me?" Hinako asked, her eyes shining.

Nabiki smiled, reassuringly and replied, "Of course I do, Hi-chan. You always worry about the ones you love."

Hinako's eyes filled with tears, as she sobbed against Nabiki, the hot tears soaking the taller girl's nightshirt.

"Hey, what brought that on?" Nabiki asked. She gently traced circles on Hinako's back, trying to soothe the young girl.

"No one has told me that they loved me in a long time," Hinako said, finally, as she angrily wiped away her tears.

"Everyone in this family cares for you, loves you for who you are," Nabiki replied.

"And I love you, Na-chan," Hinako said, softly. She reached up and gently pressed her lips against Nabiki's cheek and then settled back down into the bed.

"You didn't have to tell me, I knew from the way you acted," Nabiki said, simply.

Hinako snuggled against Nabiki, and smiled happily. "This is how a family really feels, isn't it?" she asked, yawning a little.

"Yes, though our family is a bit odder than most, I imagine," Nabiki said, returning the yawn.

* * *

Tofu walked into the bedroom he shared with his wife to find her sitting in her chair in front of her mirror, brushing her hair with long sweeping strokes, dressed in her favorite nightgown. "Mrs. Sato has a few bruises on her arms as well as the black eye, and I think she took some blows elsewhere, but even with Nodoka in the room with me, I didn't think it was a good idea to look," he said grimly, "Some of the bruises were several days old looking at the coloration."

"How can people be so cruel to the ones they supposedly love?" Kasumi asked, "I can't imagine it."

Tofu shrugged his shoulders, as he peeled off his dress shirt and placed it in the hamper. "I don't know anything about their relationship. Didn't want to pry. She did say she didn't want to notify anyone about it when I asked, though. For instance, it's possible that theirs was an arranged marriage, so they may never have been in love," he replied.

"Ranma and Akane got lucky then didn't they?" Kasumi asked, in wonder, "Because as proud as both of them are, they wouldn't have liked being forced into marriage."

"Oh I agree with you there," Tofu replied, rubbing his chin in thought, "It's definitely good that they fell in love with each other first, without all of the pressure your father would have put them under to wed if it had been the other way around." He finished undressing, leaving him clad only in his boxers and walked over to hug his wife. "Getting back on topic, I'd like you to take a look at Mrs. Sato tomorrow, if possible, to see if my suspicions are correct. I think she has been beaten before, but it lookes like it may just be a recent occurrence," he said.

"Sayuri never said anything about her father being physically abusive," Kasumi said, "And I think by now she would have opened up to one of us, if he had been. She certainly wasn't shy about describing the mental abuse he inflicted on her, and I guess on her mother too."

"I think something else just triggered it," Tofu said, "Troubles at work can make things come to a head."

"He wasn't happy about not having a son," Kasumi said, "So if he felt like he was a failure at work, too, then that might have caused him to react badly."

"It may have been merely the fact that Mrs. Sato found out he was cheating on her," Tofu mused, "That also might have been enough."

"Well, she's safe here," Kasumi said, folding her arms across her chest for emphasis.

"So you've taken in another stray, dear?" Tofu asked.

Kasumi merely smiled in answer.

"And I wouldn't have you any other way. Your heart is the biggest one around here," Tofu said.

* * *

Author's Note: Once more Gentle Readers, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter in this epic tale. As always, reviews and constructive criticism is encouraged and welcomed. And as a reminder, there is a forum for discussion of this story also, for those who would like more participation. 


	62. The King of Beasts Emerges

Chapter 62 The King of Beasts Emerges

Kasumi plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs and opened up the textbook she had carried down from her bookcase. "Good morning, sisters," she said.

"Morning, Kasumi," Sayuri said, cheerfully enough, though the dullness in her eyes showed that the young woman was troubled by the events of the evening before.

Hinako replied, "Good morning, big sis," as she walked over and placed a little kiss on Kasumi's cheek.

"You're awfully affectionate this morning, Hi-chan," Kasumi observed, as she began to read, keeping her ears open as Sayuri and Hinako worked in tandem to prepare breakfast.

"I had a nice talk with Nabiki last night," Hinako replied, with an angelic smile.

"Where's Mom and Auntie?" Sayuri asked as she tasted the miso soup and added a pinch of salt to the broth.

Kasumi replied, "Your mother was still asleep when I walked by, and Nodoka was just stirring. And it's too early for Nabiki to get up."

"You were supposed to be sleeping in, yourself," Sayuri said, "So why are you down here instead of keeping warm in your bed. In fact, why aren't you snuggling up against that hunk of a husband of yours?"

Kasumi blushed prettily and replied, "He had to leave already, there's a conference that he wanted to attend this morning downtown at one of the hospitals there, so he had to catch an early train. I did get a chance to, um, cuddle with him, though." She waited patiently for a moment alone with Sayuri. After a minute or so, she got the break she was looking for as Hinako took the rice cooker into the family room. "Sayuri, I know I shouldn't pry, but I have to ask. Did your father ever hit your mother while you were living with them?" she asked.

Sayuri glanced down at the ground, avoiding the other girl's eyes. Finally, she replied, "I don't think so. Ever since Mom came here, I've been trying to answer that very question. I wouldn't have left if he had, at least not without her." She gasped, and then asked, her voice trembling with emotion, "Do you think that it was my leaving that set him off? If I had stayed, maybe he wouldn't?"

Kasumi stood up quickly, knocking her chair to the floor in her haste, and hugged the younger woman. "NO, not for a moment do I think that! Whatever happened between your parents had nothing to do with you. I just wanted to get an idea of how long this had been going on," she said quickly, "That's all I meant by that question."

Hinako rushed in. "What happened?" the young girl asked, seeing the chair lying on its back on the floor, and the two women in a tight embrace.

Kasumi bit her lip in indecision, her face a worried mask, something that neither of the other two girls had ever remembered seeing before. Finally, she replied, "I said something I shouldn't have, or perhaps, better, I worded my question poorly and implied something that upset Sayuri. Seriously, I never intended for you to feel that you were to blame for anything, dear."

"I know that, Kasumi," Sayuri said, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, "But I still feel like that somehow this is all my fault. There had to be something that I didn't see, or something that I could have done."

Kasumi frowned quickly and led Sayuri to the table. Sitting down in the chair that Hinako had just placed on its feet, she pulled Sayuri into her lap, an unseen wince appearing quickly on her face. "Go ahead and cry, it'll make you feel better. Believe me; you are not responsible for any of this. Your father is the only one who bears any responsibility for his actions, no one else, not you, not your mother, not the butcher down the street, no one," Kasumi said softly, but emphatically.

"You always know the right thing to say," Sayuri said, as Hinako joined in the group hug.

"Yes, she does," Hinako agreed, "My big sister is the best."

Kasumi smiled and said, "Thanks, but I'm not perfect. I've made my share of mistakes."

"Enough of this mushy stuff," Hinako said, with a suspicious sniff, as she averted her eyes. She moved over to the stove and stirred the soup, and then tasted it. "I think this is pretty much ready," she said, "and the rice should be done also."

Nodoka and Yumi walked in, Nodoka carefully expressionless, though if one looked closely, you could see the anger burning in her eyes. She asked, pleasantly, "Do you girls need any help?"

"Just about finished, Auntie," Sayuri replied, "The bentos for lunch are sitting on the counter over there, and we just need to fix Nabiki's coffee, before the zombie stumblies in."

"Just adding the two scoops of sugar now," Hinako interjected as she stirred the coffee, "You might want to get out of the doorway, in five, four, three, two,"

Nabiki stumbled in, her eyes half-closed and her hand outstretched.

Hinako carefully placed the cup in the older girl's hand, and closed the fingers around it, as she finished the countdown.

"I see what you mean about a zombie," Yumi said, hiding a smile, "She doesn't wake up very easily, does she?"

Nabiki ignored the crowd as she swallowed half her cup of coffee in one gulp, or at least appeared to. Finally, she sighed and said, "Caffeine! The world's greatest invention!"

"Breakfast is ready, Nabiki. You'll have to get ready for school later," Kasumi said, leading her sister to the family room.

* * *

Kasumi set her chopsticks down, across her empty bowl of rice. "Auntie, I won't be back from school until around 2. I have a long lab this afternoon," Kasumi said, "Tofu may stop by for lunch before he goes to the clinic, but he said he would call to let you know. Daddy is already gone, as well; he had several planning sessions down at the Town Hall, something about some new construction, I think he said, so he'll be gone all day."

"That means it'll just be the two of us for most of the day," Nodoka said to Yumi, "Though, I do have a couple of errands that I need to do, and I thought I might pick up a few things for dinner while I was out."

"I used up the last of the rice vinegar making sushi yesterday," Hinako said, "And we're out of pickled ginger, too."

"We're nearly out of the red soy bean paste," Sayuri added, "I really had to scrape the bottom of the bottle to get enough to make the miso soup this morning."

"I'll pick that up too, then," Nodoka said.

"Do you mind some company?" Yumi asked.

"Of course not, I'd love some company. In fact it might be better if you came with me," Nodoka replied, smoothly, "You shouldn't be alone at a time like this."

"Thank you, very much," Yumi said, quietly, "I don't mean to be a burden."

Kasumi said, quickly, "You aren't a burden. We think of Sayuri as family, and that extends to you also." Yumi's face began to crumple, and a tear appeared in the corner of her eye.

"Is there anything that you need to have that you weren't able to bring?" Sayuri asked, changing the subject to allow her mother to recover her composure.

"I couldn't bring my art supplies," her mother replied, a touch plaintively.

"That's right, you paint," Kasumi exclaimed, "Sayuri told us about some of the things that you've done and I'd love to see some of your work."

"There's a small store a couple of blocks away that you might stop by," Nabiki suggested, "If you can find the time, anyway. The owner's a friend of mine, and he'll give you a bit of a break on prices. He's got a pretty decent selection of supplies, canvas, brushes, and the rest. At least that's what I've been told."

"And you could set up in your room, there's still plenty of space in there, or you could paint on the engawa, depending on what the weather is doing," Nodoka added.

"I'd like that. Painting seems to help, sometimes," Yumi said. She added under her breath, "Or at least it did."

"Kasumi, if you've got a moment, I need to do some mending, and I wanted to see if you had the correct color of thread," Nodoka said.

"Of course, Auntie, just let me put my dishes in the sink," Kasumi said, "And I'll meet you in my room. That's where all of my sewing supplies are. Besides, I left my briefcase upstairs, anyway." She stood smoothly up and headed to the kitchen, with her dishes.

* * *

Kasumi entered her room to find Nodoka already waiting for her, carrying a multi-hued blouse in her arms.

"What did you need to mend?" Kasumi asked, "Or was that just an excuse?"

"Just an excuse. I watched while Mrs. Sato got dressed. Tell Tofu that he was correct in his assumption. She has several bruises on her stomach, and side, and one on her back. She's still not talking about how she got hurt, either. Just claims she ran into a door, says that's how she got a black eye," Nodoka replied, her eyes flashing, no longer hiding her rage at all.

"Damn!" Kasumi exclaimed, shocking Nodoka, who had never heard Kasumi curse before, "I didn't want to hear that. So what are we going to do?"

"There's really not much we can do. She's refusing to go to the authorities, and is blaming herself for what happened," Nodoka replied, "The only good thing is that she is out of there, but he practically had to kick her out of the house to make that happen."

"I was afraid of that," Kasumi admitted, "That's almost classic battered wife syndrome. I was just re-reading that in one of my textbooks."

"Tell your husband, but there's really nothing that he can do about the bruising, unless she complains," Nodoka said, "I was going to stop by his clinic during my errands, but, well, I didn't think it would be a good idea to do that if Yumi is with me."

Kasumi frowned, and replied, "I agree, we need her to feel that we are on her side, and be careful how we approach things with her. Too much pressure from us and she may run off, maybe even back to that bastard." She colored a little and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this. I always try to see the good in people, but I can't stomach seeing her abused like that."

"I can understand. I've felt like screaming myself," Nodoka said, with a wry grin, "Cursing might be a better approach, it's easier on the throat."

"Perhaps, but neither one of them is particularly ladylike," Kasumi admitted ruefully. She squared her shoulders as if to accept another burden and said, "Take her to lunch somewhere, and just be her friend for now, Auntie. You're roughly the same age, so she may start to confide in you. But, if she does, be careful not to betray her trust."

"I'll do that and also make sure we stop at that store Nabiki mentioned. Yumi may get some relief if she starts painting. Yumi was right, sometimes that kind of thing is therapeutic," Nodoka said.

"If nothing else, it will give her something to do to keep her mind off her troubles," Kasumi said, "Maybe in a few days, she'll be ready to talk about what she wants to do and where to go from here."

Nodoka glanced at her watch and said, with a start, "It's later than I thought; you need to get going to make class. I'll keep an eye on Yumi, and get some of the housework done while everyone else is gone."

"That sounds good," Kasumi said, as she picked up her briefcase, "You might want to read the book I left downstairs, if you get some time, and Tofu was going to bring home a few brochures. There's a women's center attached to the hospital that does some counseling for battered women."

* * *

Ranma stood against the wall of the hut, a steaming cup of tea in his hands, as he gazed out across the clearing. A flock of birds rose from the depths of the forest, disturbed by the approach of some unseen creature, their cries of alarm disturbing the tranquility of the day. The sun had barely risen, so once again, tendrils of mist rose from the heavily leaf-carpeted ground beneath the trees, creating an odd cathedral effect as he glanced down the tree-covered path that they would be taking later that morning. He had a pensive look in his eyes as they strayed to his tent, where he knew that Akane was changing her clothing to something more suitable for the battle, and laying out the skirt and blouse combination that she had brought for him to wear as well. Breakfast had been an awkward affair, filled with inconsequential chatter over unimportant matters, as if no one wanted to broach the fact that the springs were all dried up, or what the next step would be. He had finally stood up and left, once he could take no more of what was happening, except to say as he left, "After breakfast, meet me outside. We have some things to talk about." Akane had fled to the refuge of their tent shortly thereafter.

"Ranma," Ukyo called, "Everyone is ready."

With a heavy sigh, Ranma pushed himself away from the wall and headed around the corner, to see all of his friends sitting patiently on the ground waiting. "I suppose you wonder why I've called this meeting," he said, with a tired smile, at the tired old opening. His friends gave him the polite smiles he expected, so he continued, "As all of you know, we didn't find any springs that still had any water of life. Last night, the old man told us of his suspicions of what had happened. The rumors of the Yamata No Orochi are not rumors, they are apparently true. The old man believes that the Orochi is waking up from a slumber, and his heads are now blocking the source of the water of life from reaching the springs."

"So what are we supposed to do about that?" Taro asked, with a derisive sneer on his face.

"Lure him out, basically," Ranma replied, keeping his tone completely flat, "On his back grows some moss. If we can get that moss, it is supposed to heal Shinnosuke's wound."

"Well, then, O wise and fearless leader, how do you propose we lure the beastie out from wherever he is hiding?" Taro asked, once more with that sneer on his face.

"Where you born an asshole, or did you have to practice any?" Ukyo asked, her eyes flashing.

"I expect it comes naturally to him," Mousse said, "He's too good at it otherwise."

"PEOPLE!" Ranma roared, regaining their attention, and scaring another flock of birds. Once they turned to him, he said, simply, "We really don't have time for this. Or more importantly, Shinnosuke doesn't have time for this. We can debate about why Taro is a prick later." He took a deep breath and then continued, "Luring the Orochi out is pretty easy. He has a weakness for wine and women. All we have to do is provide him with some of both and he will rise out of the water to get it."

A flat voice added from behind them, "The only drawback to that plan is that while he likes women and wine, he wants the women to eat." Everyone turned their heads to see a surprisingly boyish looking Akane, with her breasts obviously bound, in a pair of jeans and a men's shirt.

"Yeah, that is a bit of a drawback, sugar," Ukyo said, her eyes wide, "I'd really rather not be someone's midmorning snack."

"So that's your plan, use one of the girls as bait, and then snatch the moss," Ryoga said.

"Well, sort of. I hoped that all of you would help, actually," Ranma replied, "The monster is supposed to have eight heads, and if all of us fight him, that would give us twelve people. Any way, think about it for a little while, and then whoever wants to volunteer can meet me at my tent." He sighed once more and then walked over to his tent, and slipped inside.

"Where's he going?" Konatsu asked.

"To change," Akane said, flatly.

"With you dressed like a boy, I take it that you aren't going to be a lure," Mousse said, "Will four girls be enough to lure the monster out?"

"Five, actually. I said he was going to go change," Akane replied, from the tone of her voice it was obvious that she was not happy.

Konatsu stared thoughtfully at Ukyo and then whispered in her ear. His wife looked at him in surprise, and then stood up and dragged him away from the rest of the group. Soon, the sounds of a large argument could be heard coming from them, though most of the words weren't understandable. Finally, the two of them hugged and headed off to their tent, Ukyo still clearly unhappy with the situation.

Ranma crawled out of the tent, and smoothed her skirt down over her knees. The red-haired girl was wearing one of her school uniforms, complete with her black leather shoes, and as she neared them, they could make out the emblem of a rearing horse on her otherwise white socks. She had put her hair up in a loose ponytail, and once she joined them, they could see a hint of blush on her cheeks, and red lipstick enhanced her lips.

Shinnosuke chose that moment to leave the cabin, where he and his grandfather were making their preparations. His eyes lit up when he saw Ranma and he rushed over to her. "Ranma, I am so happy to see you this morning. I need to talk to you, to tell you something," the young man babbled.

"Not right now, Shinnosuke, okay. You can talk to me in a little bit, but I need to finish talking to my friends," Ranma said, firmly, yet in a kind voice.

Shinnosuke's face fell, and he turned to go back into the cabin.

"Shinnosuke, make sure your grandfather doesn't try to wear that dress again. It was bad enough seeing him like that in the dim light. He'd scare us all out of ten year's growth if we saw him in broad daylight," Ranma said.

Shinnosuke nodded to show that he had heard and he re-entered the cabin to fulfil the girl's orders.

Ranma stood, arms akimbo, and said, "Kodachi, I don't know if your paralysis powder will work on the Orochi, but if you use it, for Kami's sake, make sure we're all upwind of it."

"So what's going on, fem-boy?" Taro asked, "Decided to show your true colors, huh?"

A feral growl cane from Akane as a large mallet materialized in her hand. A strong arm caught her as Ranma whispered, "Let me handle this moron."

Ranma rubbed her hands together, gleefully, and a wild glint appeared in her eyes. Once again, Taro found himself on the business end of a large mallet as one mysteriously appeared in Ranma's hands, only to come crashing down on the young man's head. "Any more cracks about my gender, and I won't be quite so gentle," she snarled. She snapped, #Par Fum, keep your man in line. He is insulting our clan honor with his comments!#

#Yes, Xiao Mei, I apologize for this one's mistake, I shall do better next time,# the young Amazon warrior said.

#I am counting on you to get the moss off of the monster's back,# Xiao Mei ordered, #Transform that into the beast that he truly is, and fly with him while we keep the head occupied. Make sure you are securely fastened to Ah Sum, and use the large broom to gather the moss.#

"I'm not very happy with you, Ranchan," Ukyo said as she rejoined them. She stood there, dressed in her male okonomiyaki seller's uniform, her breasts tightly bound, and glared at both Ranma and her husband, who was now dressed as a girl, or at least a female ninja, though his chest was somehow augmented so he truly did look like a girl.

"Why is this my fault? The reason I'm a girl is because I'm faster in this body, and when fighting against the dragon, I thought speed would be more important," Ranma said.

"I'm not dressing up as a girl," Ryoga declared suddenly, as he began to back away from the group.

"Wouldn't dream of asking you to, you'd never be convincing. I can carry it off, because, well, I am one, and Konatsu can because, well, he can. The rest of you guys will just be who you are," Ranma said.

"And no way can Shampoo pretend to be male, no flatten breasts that much. Shampoo too too big," the Amazon girl said, thrusting her chest out proudly, and popping one of the buttons on her blouse, "Not like Akane and Ukyo."

Ranma put her arms around Akane and whispered, her breath tickling the taller girl's neck, "Just let it go. She's teasing you, is all. She doesn't mean anything by it." She paused and added, "And I think you're perfect just the way you are. I didn't want a cow, anyway. Just imagine, she'd smother me."

Akane giggled, and squirmed slightly in Ranma's arms. "I'll be good," she said, softly back, "Besides, I'm not jealous of her. About the only thing good about her chest is it protects her face if she falls forward. It'd never touch the ground."

"Pull the claws back in," Ranma teased. She raised her voice and said, "Perfume, there is a halter in our tent for you to use on Taro once he changes. Everyone, watch out for the beast's tongues. They can stretch surprisingly far."

Shinnosuke walked out, followed by his grandfather. "Why are we going after the water of life, Grandfather? I can't seem to remember," the addled boy asked.

"We're actually going to face the Orochi, grandson. There is some moss growing on his back that I need for something," the old man replied.

"So, are we finally ready? We're burning daylight here," Ryoga growled.

"I need to change first," Kodachi said, "Just give me a moment." She twirled around suddenly on her toes, with her dress flying off, leaving her dressed in her black leotard, and from the looks of things, possibly only her black leotard. "Now, I'm ready," she said, gaily as she suddenly skipped toward the center of the clearing.

Ryoga watched for a moment, until Shampoo swatted his head. "Ryoga only have eyes for Shampoo, or Ryoga be sleeping on floor," the Amazon girl hissed.

"Come on children," Ranma said as she began to lead them toward the path, "Granddad, you'll have to show us the way. I just know we need to go down this way."

The old man said, "First, I need someone to carry some casks of wine. They're stored in the back."

"I'll show you the way," Shinnosuke said, tearing his eyes away from the gorgeous redhead standing with the other girl, whose name he couldn't remember. He turned and headed around the side of the cabin, followed by Ryoga and Mousse.

"Akane," Ranma hissed, "We need to talk." She grabbed her wife's hand and pulled her away from the rest of the group. "I know you feel sorry for Shinnosuke, because of him getting injured with saving you so many years ago, but the way he looked at me is starting to scare me," Ranma said.

Akane bit her lower lip, and looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say.

"I feel sorry for him too, but I'm not gonna do what you did the last time I went through this, and accidentally encourage him into thinking I returned his affections," Ranma said, with a sigh, "That's not fair to him, nor is it fair to me.

"Did I really do that? Encourage his affections?" Akane asked, her voice trembling.

"Not intentionally," Ranma replied, "You felt guilty for him being hurt, and maybe dieing, so you couldn't bring yourself to tell him you weren't interested in him that way, at least not for the longest time."

"I'm sorry," Akane said in a very small voice, "I shouldn't have suggested that you play him like this."

"I haven't really. No flirting, or anything. I've just been nice to him, but that's not hard. He's a pretty nice kid, after all," Ranma said, "He's just read more into my kindness than what's really there."

Akane sighed heavily and said, "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"Not really," Ranma replied, "I know you wanted him to have a reason for live, so your intentions were good."

"But the road to hell is paved with good intentions," Akane added dully.

"Something like that," Ranma replied, "If he comes on to me, I'll just have to tell him some of the truth. I'll try to let him down easy, but I won't mislead him, either."

"I've put you in an awkward position, Ranma," Akane said, slowly, "Can you forgive me?"

"Nothing really to forgive, Akane. But, if you feel you need forgiveness, you have it," Ranma replied, kissing her lightly.

"Thanks," Akane said, as she wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, and giving her a brief hug. Stepping back, she grinned and said, "Let's get this parade going."

"More like herding cats, if you ask me," Ranma said, with a wry grin.

Akane chuckled appreciatively.

* * *

After several hours, the safari, as Ryoga laughingly called it, came to a halt. In front of them, was a dark, eerie-looking cave; a twisting passageway leading down into the darkness. Planted in front of the dank entrance was a small sign, reading, 'Danger – Water of Life Source.'

Unbeknownst to the intrepid adventurers, their presence had not gone unnoticed. Deep below them, in an underwater cavern, lay the Yamata No Orochi. And it was in a bad mood. Its animal intuition was sending up warning signs that something bad was about to happen, and its heads were whipping around, looking for the danger. It could sense that something hostile was approaching; something up to no good, and it was coming closer and closer.

The old man pointed to the cave and said, "There is our path. Down that passageway lies the nest of the Yamata No Orochi. We must beard the monster in his lair and lure it out to retrieve the moss."

Ranma shook her head, her pony-tail whipping violently behind her, as she said, "I really don't think we should all go down there old man. There really can't be enough room for us all to fight the monster if we do. We need to lure him up to the surface somehow."

"I agree with Ranma, that sounds like a bad idea, Grandfather," Shinnosuke said, his eyes shining as he gazed enraptured at the vision in front of him.

"I will go down alone," the old man said, as he began to rummage through his pack.

"Granddad, if you put that dress back on, you will scar us for life, and probably make the dragon very angry," Ranma warned, "So don't even think about it. Figure out a different way."

"There is a rumor that the lair is connected to the lake," the old man said slowly.

"Then in that case, let us make all haste to said lake," Kodachi said, "We can fix some lunch and be well rested before attempting our mission."

"That sounds like a good idea," Taro said, hefting the box of wine bottles back up onto his shoulder, "Lead on, old man. This wine isn't getting any lighter."

Ryoga looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face; the cases of wine slung under each arm not weighing him down at all. 'What's he talking about, this stuff isn't heavy. And he's only carrying the one box,' he thought.

* * *

As they neared the lake, the old man stopped them in a large clearing, the sun bearing down upon them almost directly from above, and said, "This is as good a place as any to fix a meal. There's a small stream that flows into the lake just to the right, and plenty of firewood."

Taro sighed heavily as he carefully set the heavy box down on the loamy ground, and collapsed next to it, while Ryoga set his load down and started breaking some dead branches into manageable chunks of wood for a fire. Without a word, Mousse and Konatsu joined him, and brought the wood over to a large circle of bare dirt, surrounded by large stones.

"Looks like someone has had a fire here before," Konatsu said, as he watched his wife set up her portable grill.

Mousse quickly had a small fire going, feeding it first with some of the smaller twigs, and gradually building it up to a few of the larger logs that would burn down quickly and provide a nice bed of coals to cook with.

Ranma was about to join the girls in preparing a meal, when Shinnosuke sidled up and asked, shyly, "Ranma, could I talk to you, please?"

Ranma traded looks with Akane and replied, "Of course. We need to get some water from the stream, so if you'll get one bucket, I'll get the other."

Shinnosuke picked up the two buckets and they headed off to the stream which turned out to be just a bit further away than the old man had indicated. Once they arrived at their destination, Shinnosuke set the buckets down, and grabbed Ranma's hand. His eyes shining with hope, he said, "Ranma, I want you to cook for me forever. I love you."

Ranma froze with a deer in the headlights look. "Shinnosuke, I," she began.

"Don't you like me?" the young man asked.

Ranma sighed heavily and replied, "Yes, I do like you. You're an easy person to like. But,"

"She likes me! She likes me!" Shinnosuke exclaimed, dancing around on the bank of the stream.

Ranma grabbed his hands to stop him and said, sadly, "But, I'm in love with another."

Shinnosuke's face fell, "You love someone else?" Ranma could swear that she almost heard the sound of his heart breaking in two.

Ranma nodded her head, silently cursing Akane for starting this mess in the first place.

"What does he have that I don't have?" Shinnosuke asked, frantic.

"At the risk of sounding cliché, me," Ranma replied, with a brief grin, "I'm actually married, very happily married, as a matter of fact." She pulled a chain out from her blouse threaded through a gold band.

"Married!" Shinnnosuke said, dropping to the ground in shock.

"Yes," Ranma replied.

"And your husband let you come to this dangerous place! What kind of man is he?" Shinnosuke asked, a little angrily.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Shinnosuke. I'm one of the best martial artists around," Ranma retorted, starting to get a bit annoyed.

Shinnosuke bowed deeply, and said, "I'm sorry for challenging your ability, Ranma. Please accept my humblest apology."

Ranma sighed, and said, "Sure, there's really no way for you to have known." She smiled down at the young man and said, in a gentle voice, "We can still be friends."

"AH! The kiss of death," Shinnosuke said, with a wince, "The 'just be friends speech.' Anything but that!" He stood up and filled up the buckets. "Well, this didn't work out like I intended. We'd better get back to the others." He handed one of the buckets to Ranma and trudged slowly away, hiding the sad expression on his face.

As Ranma walked down the path, she stopped. "The forest is quiet, too quiet. What's wrong here?" she asked. Then, looking down, she saw a tiny platypus crawl across the path in front of her. 'A platypus? That giant platypus I saw last night has become tiny. It must no longer be drinking any of the water of life! We have to hurry, or else Shinnosuke may die! We only have two more canteens from the well,' she thought.

* * *

Its sense of impending doom growing stronger, the Orochi left its nest to find the enemy it sensed drawing near.

The four girls, well three girls, and a very feminine looking Konatsu, stood on the lakeshore, gazing across the choppy water, looking for any sign that the multi-headed dragon was approaching. Each one of them was holding a bottle of saké. Konatsu said, "Now be tricked into thinking that we are women, and come out and eat us!"

"Uh, speak for yourself, last time I checked I was a woman," Kodachi said.

"And while I don't mind being bait, I don't intend to be a midday snack for some overgrown lizard," Ranma added.

As if the Orochi was waiting a cue, the seven heads popped up out of the water, its gimlet eyes staring at the sight in front of it, four of the most succulent looking women, standing on the shore, though it was confused by the male scent in the area. The male odor grew stronger as it neared the shore, each head creating a large vee in the water. It grew angrier and angrier as it smelled its hated foe.

"I think something is going wrong here," Akane said, from where she was hiding with the rest of the men, in the dense underbrush, "That creature doesn't look very happy!"

"No, it doesn't," Perfume agreed, "Old man, is there something that you aren't telling us?"

Kodachi laughed her Black Rose laugh, raising the hackles of everyone around her. "Plenty of wine and women here, your favorites," she called, her other hand behind her back, waiting for one of the heads to get close, as they writhed furiously, snaking back and forth, entwining themselves around each other.

Ranma watched, judging the distance, as she said, "We finish off two heads, each, girls!"

"Right!" Kodachi exclaimed as she tossed one of her bombs at the nearest head. The bomb exploded, scattering paralysis powder all over that head. The Orochi paused, startled by the explosion, and then sniffed. That head glared and shot its long tongue out at Kodachi, who while agile, was not quite agile enough to totally avoid it. While the tongue didn't wrap around her, its rough texture caught on the hapless girl's leotard, and ripped a large section of it from Kodachi's body, exposing, a portion of her chest, stopping just below the swell of her left breast. "Well, that was a bad idea!" she exclaimed as she backflipped away from the everquesting tongue. Of course, her exertions only caused the tear to get slightly worse.

"Don't do that again, Kodachi!" Ranma yelled. She watched as with a loud roar, Taro sprang into the sky, Perfume securely strapped to his back with the halter wrapped around Taro's neck, and tied around her.

"It's begun," Perfume said, as she soared into the sky on her husband's back, his wings beating furiously to gain altitude, "Now's our chance to get that moss!"

"Stay out of their range, Perfume!" Konatsu called as he darted in to distract the monster.

"Be careful, Konatsu!" Ranma cried.

The old man declaimed, "Don't you worry, young girl. That boy is just drawing the Orochi's attention. He never eats males."

A blast of flame came out of the monster's mouth, just missing the kunoichi.

"It may not want to eat me, but it sure looks like it wants to kill me," Konatsu called as he dodged out of the way.

"Moss? I don't see any moss," Perfume said, as she watched from her perch reasonably high above the fray, "And no matter how many times I count, I only see seven heads. Isn't there supposed to be eight?"

The old man raced up carrying a cask. "Drink your fill and become merry!" he cried.

"No! Don't!" Akane cried, but to no avail, as the old man tossed the cask into one of the gaping mouths.

"You fool!" Ranma cried, as the Orochi started lashing more, "The alcohol only makes the heads more violent!'

"The worst kind of drunk!" Shampoo said, as she dodged one of the heads.

Once again, one of the heads shot out its tongue. "Watch out, Dachi!" Ranma cried, to no avail, as while Kodachi was able to avoid being trapped, her leotard suffered. Enough of the material remained on her right leg to barely maintain her modesty, but it become patently obvious that her hair was naturally black.

Suddenly, several things happened almost simultaneously. One of the heads stiffened, and then collapsed, banging hard against the rocky shore.

Ranma cried, "Möko Takabisha!" and shot a ball of ki out of her hands, at the same time that Akane cried, "Genko Fenikusu!" shooting a ball of ki out of her hands. Both blasts hit the same head, stunning that head with the intensity of the energy, and it collapsed, landing hard on the shore.

A third head was attacked by Ukyo, as she threw several of her flour bag bombs at the head. Blinded by the flour, that head fell easy prey to several well-placed blows from Shampoo's bonborris, and collapsed between the other two heads, leaving a total of four still visible.

The rightmost head shot out its tongue one more time, and once again scored a partial hit on Kodachi. She was still able to twist away before the tongue wrapped around her, but escaping still left her leotard in tatters, as the cloth parted from her right shoulder leaving only a small strip between her breasts running down to her waist, exposing her entire chest.

The four remaining heads stopped what they were doing, and stared at Kodachi, who shrieked and attempted to cover herself with her hands. Then, it was if the dragon suddenly went, "Hubba Hubba!" and lunged forward after Kodachi. Out of nowhere, Mousse shot his weapons out from his robes, wrapping them around one of the heads. The head whipped back, pulling Mousse off of his feet and soaring through the air toward the beast.

"Don't hurt the Orochi!" the old man cried.

"HUH!" everyone exclaimed, as Mousse let go of his chains, and crashed against a large tree, knocking him out. "Tell the monster not to hurt us!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"Kodachi! Get Mousse out of here. Girls, back off, let the guys handle it!" Ryoga called.

"LIKE HELL!" Shampoo yelled back, clearly affronted. She started mumbling imprecations in Chinese under her breath, as Ryoga paled, knowing that he was in the doghouse now.

Kodachi ignored her partial nudity and scampered over to Mousse. With a mighty heave, she threw him over her shoulder and headed for safety.

The monster bugled its anger as it saw its naked prey leaving, and began to pull itself up out of the water.

"Ukyo, blind it with more of your bombs!" Ranma called. She opened her top, to show a little cleavage, and waved. "Hey, you dumb monster, look over here!" she called, trying to distract the Orochi from the fleeing Kodachi.

The monster turned to see Ranma, and decided she was closer, and started after her, only to be enveloped in a cloud of flour, blinding all four remaining heads.

Ranma reversed course, and Ranma, Ryoga and Shinnosuke battered the dragon, and along with another ki blast from Akane, they knocked out the remaining heads.

Taro and Perfume hovered in the air, and examined all of the monster that they could see. Perfume called, "There's no moss on any of these heads, but I only count seven. Aren't there supposed to be eight?"

"Yes, but," the old man began.

"That's right! We only fought seven of the heads," Shinnosuke interrupted.

The lake began to churn, and suddenly out of the water, another head erupted, one much larger than the seven they had faced. It bent over and glared at the people on the shore.

"A head on the tip of its tail!" Ryoga exclaimed in wonder.

"Wh-what?" Shinnosuke asked.

"The Orochi's seven heads….like its tail! All this time we've faced it backwards!" the old man said, excitedly, "That settles it! We'll need a new name or something!"

"Who cares what it is called!" Ryoga exclaimed.

"Watch out, Taro!" Ranma exclaimed as the flying minotaur got a little too close, "Come at it from behind!"

Perfume waved her understanding, and the duo disappeared behind the beast, out of his eyesight. As they hovered behind the gigantic head of the enraged beast, Perfume spotted a mossy growth on the back of its thick neck. "Down there!" she exclaimed, pointing her pushbroom at the growth. She felt Taro tense for a moment, and then they were diving rapidly, as he tucked his wings in. Just as she felt they were about to crash into the monster, he popped his wings back out and caught the air. Perfume dragged the bristles of the broom across the moss, and simultaneously, Taro pulled out of his dive and started climbing for altitude, his wings beating furiously, and the monster whipped its head around.

"Hey, you overgrown lizard, over here!" Ranma screamed, unbuttoning her top and exposing her chest.

The monster spun around again and saw the bare breasts of the girl in front of it, and surged forward. Suddenly, the girl vanished from its sight

'Hey, thank Kami for the Umi-Ken-Sen,' Ranma thought.

The monster sniffed the air, and its eyes widened. It shot its tongue toward where it smelled a female.

Ranma jumped back as the tongue narrowly missed. 'Damn, it can smell me,' she thought, backpedaling rapidly, but still drawing the beast away from her friends.

Taro flew back toward the shore and once they were near, Perfume dropped the broom into the waiting arms of Akane. Then the two of them flew off in the general direction of the cabin.

Shinnosuke ran over to get his broom, as he had felt naked without it. He pulled it away from Akane and started to attack the monster, swinging it around to strike the beast.

"The moss of life is scattering!" Akane gasped, "Shinnosuke! Don't fling that around!"

The old man exclaimed, "He's totally forgotten about the moss of life!"

Akane dashed over and tackled Shinnosuke, driving him to the ground, and knocking the broom out of his hand. "Ryoga, get over here and get this broom!" she ordered.

Ryoga turned, startled by the order, and then saw the struggling pair. He ran over and grabbed the broom, as Akane jumped up.

"Old man, get him healed, I have to save Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, as she started running over to where Ranma was distracting the gigantic head.

"Akane, stay back!" Ranma exclaimed, coming out of the Umi-Ken-Sen, since it wasn't doing any good anyway.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" Akane exclaimed, driving her hand into the ground and scattering razor sharp shards of rock at the monster.

The monster recoiled from the daggers of rock, and whipped its head around to see its tormentor.

Akane pulled her shirt off, exposing her chest bindings, and yelled, "Hey, over here, stupid!"

Meanwhile, the old man had stumbled over to his grandson, tearing his shirt off and exposing the scar on his back. "Quickly, use the moss on the scar," he ordered.

Ryoga scrubbed the boy's back with the broom, rubbing the moss across the scar.

Shinnosuke screamed in pain as the bristles scraped him, but in front of their amazed eyes, Ryoga and the old man watched as the scar faded away.

"The scar!" Ryoga exclaimed.

"It's gone!" the old man exclaimed, as he gathered the boy up in his arms. "You're saved!" he exclaimed, dancing around in joy.

"AKANE! He's cured, get out of there!" Ryoga roared over the sound of the dragon.

Akane glanced back quickly and then turned back to see Ranma yelling, "WATCH OUT!" Akane jumped back just as the monster's tongue came curling toward her. She screamed, "Genko Fenikusu!" and shot a bolt of ki at the tongue, burning it severely.

The monster roared with anger, and Akane could barely hear Ranma over the noise, "Use the hornpipe!"

Quickly, Akane pulled the hornpipe from her pocket and blew through it, putting the monster to sleep.

Ranma ran over to Akane, buttoning her blouse on the way, and picked the taller girl up and swung her around in a big hug. Then setting Akane back on her feet, she leaned in and kissed her.

"Ranma, get a room!" Ukyo called.

"Let's get out of here before that thing wakes up," Konatsu suggested.

"Good plan," Ryoga agreed.

Ranma and Akane sprang apart, red tinting their cheeks. Akane reached for Ranma's hand, and laced her fingers with Ranma's. Then she started running back toward the rest of the party. "The excitement's over," she said, "Shinnosuke is cured, and there's nothing left for us here."

"It's over," Shinnosuke stammered, as he stared at the two girls holding hands.

The group headed back down the path, away from the slumbering dragon, towards the cabin for a well-deserved break. About halfway to the clearing, they met a still topless Kodachi, who was sitting against a tree, with an unconscious Mousse. She had laid him down on the ground, and his head was in her lap, while she stared at him with worried eyes.

"How is he?" Ranma asked, as Akane took off her shirt.

"Still out cold," Kodachi replied, "But at least he has been groaning a bit, so I think he's okay."

"Looks like you might have a bit of a draft there," Akane said, handing her the shirt, "I'm more or less covered with these bindings, so I think you need this more than I do."

Kodachi looked down at herself, and blushed all over. She tore the shirt out of Akane's hands and shrugged it on.

"Hey, don't worry, sugar, you had more important things to be thinking about," Ukyo said, "Your man was hurt. A little nudity between friends is no big deal."

"I assume we won?" Kodachi asked, as Mousse began to stir.

"Yeah, we did," Ranma replied as she squatted down next to Mousse.

Mousse opened his eyes, and asked, "Did someone get the number of that truck?"

The old man stared at Akane with wondering eyes. Finally, he asked, "How did you do that? The only thing that could have knocked the Orochi out is a hornpipe, a secret treasure from ancient times, used to control the beast."

"Um, Grandfather," Akane began only to be interrupted.

"It was made from the horn of the Orochi's mortal enemy, the Horned Mongoose. The rarest of beasts, said to have gone extinct several hundred years ago. One day," the old man continued.

"But Granddad," Ranma said.

The old man turned rheumy eyes at her and glared. "Don't you know that it is rude to interrupt your elders? Have you no manners, child? Where was I? Oh, yes, one day, when Shinnosuke was very young, I gave him a hornpipe, and told him it was a protective amulet to keep him safe from the monsters. I told him not to lose it, and of course, he promptly did. I wish I knew where it was, it would have made things so much easier."

Akane took the hornpipe off from around her neck and said, "You mean something like this? Shinnosuke gave it to me years ago. And this is what I used to put that last head to sleep." She handed the amulet to the old man, who gasped.

"The hornpipe!" the old man exclaimed, dancing a jig.

* * *

Back at the lake, the seven heads of the Orochi slowly opened their eyes. Two of the heads yawned, showing large, dangerous looking teeth, then two more yawned, until finally the last three yawned. Turning around, the monster headed back down into the depths of the lake, searching for its nest, to settle back into a long slumber. Once again, the essence that seeped from its body began to percolate through the water, and once more restored all of the springs.

* * *

The next morning, the group awoke to a brilliant sunrise. The forest had returned to its former glory, and all of the exotic animals had returned to their gigantic state. After breakfast was over, the group crowded around the old man's pallet.

"Will you two be okay?" Akane asked, "Out in the woods by yourself?"

"Yes, we'll be fine," the old man wheezed. He sat up slowly, and said, "Thank all of you for what you've done. My grandson is cured, and the Orochi obviously has gone back to sleep. Now we can return to our normal lives."

"Grandfather and I guard this forest," Shinnosuke said, "That is our fate."

"We'll miss all of you, but don't worry about us. Please go on home," the old man said.

Ukyo asked, "You're sure you'll be all right?"

"Yes, we've lived this long by ourselves, we'll be fine," Shinnosuke replied.

Akane pulled out the small hornpipe and said, "This belongs to you." She looped it around Shinnosuke's neck.

"Let's go," Ryoga said, "It's a long walk to the train station and I can't wait to get back home."

"If you're ever in Nerima, look us up," Ranma said.

The group headed out the door, and started toward the path that would lead to the small town.

"I wonder what ever happened to Ranma? I never did tell her how I felt about her," Shinnosuke said.

"Completely forgot that he told her," the old man said, shaking his head. 'Though there was something about that girl,' he thought, 'something odd. I just can't quite remember.'

As they entered the path, Ranma smiled, and grabbed hold of Akane. "Don't wait, we'll catch up," he said to his friends, as he allowed them all to pass.

"What are we doing?" Akane asked, after everyone was twenty or thirty meters in front of them.

"Redoing one of my fondest memories," Ranma replied, "The memory of how you returned to Nerima with me." He gently kissed her, and then held out his hand. "I was such an idiot that last time, I couldn't even tell you how much it meant to me that you were coming home. Holding my hand. I wish I had told you then; things would have been so different," he said, with a sad smile.

"Well, I'm glad I'm coming home with you," Akane said, her eyes filled with warmth. She entwined her fingers with his, and the two of them walked off into the sunrise.

* * *

Kasumi walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray, with a teapot and cup, the steam rising from the hot liquid, and sat down on the engawa, dangling her legs over the edge. She smiled as she watched the sun begin to set over the massive wall, the silence broken occasionally by the sound of one of the koi in the pond jumping to catch an insect. Taking a sip of her tea, she opened her senses to the spirit of the house. 'Yes, I hate to admit it, but they were right. Now that I'm more relaxed, things have calmed down,' she thought, a bemused smile on her face, 'I guess I must have been too tired to realize that it was me that was causing the tenseness that I was sensing.' She poured a second cup of tea and set it aside. "Mommy, we miss you, but Akane and I got lucky and found two wonderful men. I know that you are watching over us, please keep us safe," Kasumi said softly after a moment of meditation. She slowly sipped her tea, content in her happiness.

A quiet voice interrupted her musing, as Mrs. Sato asked, "Would you mind some company, Mrs. Ono?"

Kasumi glanced up and replied, "Of course not, please join me, Mrs. Sato."

"It's Yumi, dear," the older woman allowed.

"Only if you call me Kasumi, Mrs. Ono is my mother-in-law, Kin," Kasumi said, with a smile.

"That doesn't look like green tea that you are drinking," Yumi observed.

Kasumi replied, "No, actually its Formosa Oolong. I occasionally want something a bit more robust in flavor. And, it reminds me of Mommy. This was a ritual of hers, to come outside, drinking her tea while she watched the sun set. She would come outside once we were done cleaning up the kitchen, and she and I would talk about things, drinking our tea and being at one with the house. So, now, I come out here, pour each of us a cup of tea and I talk to her, knowing that she is somewhere listening to me."

"I shouldn't have interrupted you then, I'm sorry," Yumi said, as she began to make her way back inside.

"I don't mind. Honestly, I could use the company," Kasumi said, "It's nice to have someone older around to talk to. I've missed that, with Mommy being gone."

"She sounds like she was a wonderful mother. I wish I had known her," Yumi said softly.

Kasumi poured a third cup of tea, and handed it to the older woman. "Yes, Mommy was wonderful. It was hard losing her when we did, and it changed our lives in many ways when she passed away. Things are better now, though," she added, "Ever since Ranma came, actually. He has been an amazing catalyst for change. For example, he got Tofu and I together, and encouraged me to go to college."

"That's right, you did say something yesterday about class, and I think I remember you saying something about it the last time I visited," Yumi said, sipping her tea. She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Something puzzles me. The impression I had gotten from Sayuri was that you did most of the cooking and cleaning, but both today and yesterday, you didn't help. Was I wrong in my thinking? I don't mean to pry; I just wanted to find out who I needed to talk to in order to help with some of the chores."

Kasumi laughed gaily and replied, "Up until last week, you would have been right. However, the family decided that I was doing too much and burning myself out. In fairness to them, they were right. I was doing too much, between going to school, doing my homework, being essentially a newlywed, and trying to take care of the house, I was only getting four or five hours of sleep each night. I've basically been told to stay out of the kitchen, and to do only some of the housework, that they would take care of the rest."

"Ah, that must mean they care a great deal about you then," Yumi said.

"That they do," Kasumi agreed, "But if you want to help, talk to Auntie Nodoka. She's more or less taken over for a while, until Ranma and Akane come back from Ryugenzawa and whatever adventure they stumbled into there."

"I'll do that, I want to feel useful, your family didn't have to take me in, but you did," Yumi began.

Kasumi grinned then, and said, "Yumi, whether you want to believe it or not, this is your family. Sayuri is just as much my sister as Akane or Nabiki, and so is Hinako. That makes you part of this crazy mixed up family too. While I haven't known you long, your daughter has talked to me about you, so I feel that I sort of know you, or at least her view of you. Anyway, where I was going with this, is you are a part of this family, and we WILL protect you from any harm."

Yumi flushed and said, "I really don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh, that black eye, the bruising? Let me guess, you ran into a doorknob," Kasumi shot back. She took a deep breath and prayed that she was doing the right thing, "My major is pre-med, and before that I was pretty good at nursing, anyway, so I can recognize a bruise a kilometer away. The way that you have been walking tells me that there is more bruising elsewhere, so someone battered you. No matter what else you hear, believe this. You don't **deserve** to be hit, to be a battered woman. Being hit by your husband is not your fault, it is his!"

"But," Yumi began.

"**BUT NOTHING**!" Kasumi exclaimed, almost angrily. She sighed then, and took several deep cleansing breaths. Then she said, "You don't have to be afraid here. Even without Ranma and Akane, this home is very well protected. Daddy may not be the martial artist he once was, but there are several women here who will make sure that nothing will happen here." 'I guess I really shouldn't mention what Nabiki is planning, much less Auntie,' Kasumi thought.

Yumi turned her face away for a moment, only to stiffen as Kasumi wrapped her arms around her. "You are safe here, Yumi, with people who honestly care for you. Sayuri is beside herself with worry because of what your husband did to you," Kasumi said, "But, you need to understand that your husband beating you is not your fault. You did nothing to deserve that. No woman does."

Kasumi felt the woman in her arms relax as her words began to sink in, then Yumi began to cry. Great wracking sobs tore themselves out of the woman, as the healing began. Finally, with a snort, Yumi pulled herself together and whispered, "How did you get to be so wise, at such a young age, Kasumi?"

"It's mostly just common sense," Kasumi replied, coloring a bit, "And I suppose, having to grow up a bit faster than I otherwise might have, with Mommy leaving. Are you okay now?"

Yumi pulled herself away and sat there, picking up the cup and taking a sip. "No, I'm not okay," she replied finally, "But I will be. I needed a shoulder to cry on, and I guess you got elected."

"Getting my blouse wet in such a good cause is never a problem. You aren't the first person that I've needed to comfort, and you won't be the last," Kasumi said.

"Who do you go to when you need someone?" Yumi asked, wondering how this woman could be so strong.

"Oh, I can talk to my sisters a bit, and Auntie is always available, though her views are sometimes a bit warped," Kasumi replied. She paused and then asked, "Is there anything that you need to get from your home, that you couldn't bring with you when you fled?"

"There are a few things," the older woman said, "Family heirlooms, pictures, things like that. A tea set that Sayuri gave me as a present."

"When Ranma and the rest get home, they can take you there so you can retrieve whatever else you want," Kasumi said.

Yumi stared out at the sunset and frowned for a moment. "Excuse me," she said, absently, as she rose to her feet, her hands twitching, "I need to capture that sunset."

Kasumi's lips twitched in amusement as Yumi practically ran back into the house to find her art supplies. "That was a bit random," she said softly, "I wonder what it is like to have a gift like that, one that takes over your life like that." She returned to sipping her tea, after refilling her cup from the nearly empty pot, and gazing at the bright orange and red streaks caused by the setting sun.

Once again, her quiet reverie was broken by a small, hesitant voice, asking, "Kasumi-chan, can I talk to you about something? I'm confused."

Kasumi smiled beatifically and replied, recognizing the voice, "Sure, Hinako, I always have time to talk to you."

Hinako stepped out onto the engawa and then knelt beside Kasumi, one hand playing with a lock of her hair in a nervous gesture. Kasumi wrapped her free arm around the smaller girl.

"What did you want to talk about, little sister?" Kasumi asked, using the affectionate name deliberately, since even though chronologically Hinako was older, emotionally and physically she was still only around twelve.

Hinako looked down at the grass, keeping her eyes downcast, though a faint tinge of red began to show on her cheeks. Finally, after a great deal of clearing of her throat, Hinako stammered, "How did you know, I mean, when, that you were in love? What does it feel like?"

"Do you mean romantic love?" Kasumi asked, "Like I have for my husband?"

Hinako silently nodded her head and waited in anticipation for the answer.

Kasumi's eyes grew misty as she replied, "That's a difficult question to answer, since there are many different ways that someone can know. I guess one answer, maybe the best one, is from an American writer, who wrote that you know that you are in love with someone when that person's happiness is more important to you than your own. I think that is a bit of a paraphrase, but I remember reading that in one of his books and it struck me as very true. But that doesn't mean that if you feel that way that it is romantic love. There is very little that I wouldn't do to make you happy for instance, or any of the rest of my family."

Hinako stared at her, with wide, unblinking eyes, and then asked, in an awe-filled voice, "Does that mean you love me?"

"Of course, how could I not?" Kasumi replied, her eyes glowing, "You are very easy to love, especially with your occasional odd way of looking at things, that help me see things that I may not. You usually have a sunny disposition, and are very affectionate. And I love the way you have broken Nabiki from her mold. I worried about her closing herself off from her emotions, or at least the way she was bottling them up inside her, but between you and Ranma, and now I guess, Souta, she's returning to the wonderful girl that I remember before Mommy died."

"She means a lot to me," Hinako said, tenderly, "And I'm glad I could help her. She told me that she loved me, and I love her back. She's the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, aside from getting rid of my curse. And I'm getting better, aren't I, about acting my physical age?"

"Yes, I think you are. In fact, you remind me of most of the twelve year old girls that I remember being around," Kasumi replied.

"That means a lot to me." Hinako said, her eyes shining.

"I think we've gotten a little off track from why you came out here," Kasumi said. She paused and asked, "Were you wondering about love from an academic standpoint, or is there someone you are interested in?"

Hinako blushed and hid her face with her hands. Kasumi gently pried them away, and said, "You don't have to answer, not if you don't want to."

"There's someone I really, really like," Hinako replied, finally, "I feel all warm and tingly inside, but I don't know what that means. Does that sound like love to you?"

"It could be. Do you like to be around him?" Kasumi asked.

Hinako blushed even redder and nodded her head. "Very much so," she said softly, "But the age difference."

"Oh, so he's older than you," Kasumi said.

"Depends on how you look at it, I guess," Hinako replied, "I mean, according to my birthdate, I'm nearly twenty-eight."

"True," Kasumi said, with a smile, "I take it you like younger men then?"

Hinako essayed a weak smile, and said, "Oh, I don't know. Younger men are so young, after all."

Kasumi started, remembering that she had said much the same thing, almost exactly a year ago. "Yes, they are," she said, with a smile, "But, if he's physically older than you, in ten years it really won't matter, now will it?"

"No, I suppose not," Hinako admitted slowly.

"So who is the lucky man?" Kasumi asked.

Hinako shook her head, and replied, "I'm not telling. I can't, not now."

Sayuri called, "Dinner is just about ready!"

* * *

Mr. Sato rose from the floor where he had been eating his microwaved dinner as he heard the sound of someone banging on his front door. "Damn it, I should never have chased Yumi away, I haven't eaten a decent meal the last two days, and now I can't even eat this crap in peace, without someone disturbing me," he mumbled, then took a sip of his beer. He flung the door open to see a man dressed in a uniform, with 'Nerima Water Department' emblazoned on the left breast. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Sorry to disturb you," the man said, "I am Mamoru Endo, with the Nerima Water Department. Here is my card." He bowed and handed Mr. Sato a business card, with his name and department written on it. "I am sorry to trouble you, especially this late in the evening when I am sure you would much rather be relaxing after a long day at work, but we, that is, my workers, have discovered a problem with the water supply coming to your house."

"A problem?" Mr. Sato asked, a bit confused.

"Yes, as I said, we were doing some routine maintenance on the supply line and, well, we've discovered a bit of a leak in the pipe between your house and the next house up the street. Fortunately for us, your house is the last house on the line, but in order to repair the pipe, we'll have to shut off the water to your house," Mr. Endo said gravely, "I know this will be a bit of an inconvenience for you and I apologize profusely for that."

"No water! For how long?" Mr. Sato asked.

The man actually looked embarrassed, and replied, "I'm afraid it will be several days, possibly a week or more, depending on how bad the leak is."

"A week!" Mr. Sato exclaimed, "What am I going to do without water for a whole week?"

"I understand, but if we don't get the water turned off immediately, the leak could undermine the street, and potentially your home," Mr. Endo said soothingly, "We will, of course, work as quickly and efficiently as we can. And while we can't offer you any compensation for your inconvenience at least during the time the water is off, since that is against our policy, my supervisor has allowed me to say that they will take measures to see that your water bill is reduced for a few months after the breech is repaired."

Mr. Sato glared at the man and then said, with a sigh, "Well, I can see it is no use to yell at you about the situation. You didn't cause it after all. Very well, do what you must; just be quick about it, please."

"Of course, and once again, my deepest apologies for the inconvenience. We will get our best crew on the job. They'll be here early in the morning," Mr. Endo replied, "Good day." The man bowed again and marched down the sidewalk with a regal bearing to a small truck with the Water Department logo stenciled on the side.

Mr. Sato shut the door and cursed under his breath.

Mr. Endo picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. When it was answered, he said, "This is Endo. Tell Tendo-san that it has started."

* * *

Author's Note: Once again, time for the dreaded Author's note. Thank you, Gentle Readers, for taking the time to read this latest offering. As always, comments and constructive criticism is encouraged and highly appreciated. For those of you with questions, I will attempt to answer them in my replies. Also, there is a forum created for this story for those who wish to participate. 


	63. Spring Comes to Kuno

Chapter 63 Spring Comes to Kuno

"We're home!" Akane exclaimed as the young couple entered the house, and took off their shoes.

"Welcome back!" came the reply from Kasumi, "We're in the family room. You're just in time for dinner."

Ranma's eyes lit up at that, and the two of them walked down the hall, stopping just long enough to drop off their bags at the foot of the stairs, and continued on into the now crowded family room. With the exception of his father, all of the family was crowded around the table, and a woman Ranma recognized as Sayuri's mother was sitting next to her.

"Ranma, this is Yumi Sato, Sayuri's mom," Kasumi confirmed, "Yumi, this is of course, my brother-in-law, Ranma, and you know Akane already."

"I've met her once before, Kasumi, though she may not remember. It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Sato," Ranma said, as he bowed gracefully.

Akane chimed in, "Welcome to our home once more."

The young couple knelt down in the only open spot around the table, which happened to be across from Yumi and Sayuri. Ranma frowned slightly as he got a closer look at Mrs. Sato and saw the unmistakable evidence of a bruise around her eye, and a slightly swollen lip. He opened his mouth to ask, only to see Kasumi shaking her head.

Kasumi asked, "How was the trip?"

"Actually, it went surprisingly well," Akane replied, "And it was fun to be out among the trees like that."

"We need to find time to get back to nature more often," Hinako said, "It helps us stay grounded."

Sayuri said, "Ranma, Akane, I hope you don't mind. Mom is staying here with us for a while, if that's all right with you two?"

"Of course it is, Sayuri. There's plenty of room," Akane replied, "And I know you've missed her. Her staying here will give both of you time to catch up on everything that's been going on."

"Yeah, the occasional phone call, or short visit, just doesn't do it," Ranma said, "Stay here as long as you like, Mrs. Sato."

"Please, call me Yumi," the older woman said, with a brief smile, though Akane thought she saw a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Ranma, could you help bring the rest of her things here, tomorrow after class?" Sayuri asked.

Ranma traded glances with Akane, and replied, "Sure, tomorrow's Saturday, so it's just a half-day anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you need more help, I can probably round up a couple of the guys."

"Just us should be enough," Nabiki said, quickly, "Keep it in the family as it were."

"O-okay," Ranma replied, slowly, wondering which of his suspicions were correct. He resolved to talk to Nabiki to find out what was going on.

* * *

Later that evening, as Ranma and Akane were preparing for bed, Nabiki knocked on the door and asked, "Are you two decent?" 

Akane laughed and replied, "Depends on who you ask, I suppose. But, we're dressed anyway. Come on in."

Nabiki opened the door to find Ranma sitting on the bed in his slacks, while Akane was in a top and a pair of shorts.

"I thought I'd better talk to you about what is going on," Nabiki began, "But before I start, Ranma I want you to promise me to let me handle things."

Ranma's face grew stern, and his eyes almost glowed. "I take it that my suspicions are correct about what happened to Yumi," he said, his tone icy.

"Afraid so, if you think her husband beat her, then you're correct," Nabiki replied, her face impassive, "But, I'm getting it taken care of."

"I don't approve of women getting hit, you know that, Nabiki," Ranma said, an angry hue appearing on his face as he glanced over at his wife, "Even when it is just us sparring, it hurts me every time I hit Akane, so to see someone who can't really defend herself, like Mrs. Sato, it makes me so angry."

"I know. You're really a knight in slightly tarnished armor, big brother," Nabiki said, with a smirk.

"So tell me what I need to know," Ranma said, with a sigh, folding his arms across his chest, drawing Nabiki's attention to his finely muscled body.

Nabiki sighed and said, "That just isn't fair, you know?"

"Stop lusting after my husband, sis, you know I won't share," Akane said, "He's mine and that's the end of it."

Nabiki pretended to pout for a moment. Finally, she said, "Yumi left her husband, or more accurately, was thrown out of her house by that bastard. She caught him coming out of a love motel, and accused him of cheating on her. He hit her, apparently several times, and when she left him, she came here. I told her she could stay here for as long as she likes."

"So when do I get to pound on him? Or better yet, set Cologne after him? The Amazons really don't like wife-beaters, not that it happens in their village very often. The punishment they hand out tends to discourage it," Ranma asked, his eyes glowing angrily.

"Ranma, what is it with you muscular types? Always thinking that violence is the answer," Nabiki sighed, "Besides, we don't want vengeance, we want justice."

Akane reached out and clasped her husband's shoulder and said, "Let her handle it, knowing Nabiki like I know her, she's got things taken care of."

"I've got a few things planned, and I wouldn't be surprised if both Kasumi and Auntie don't have a couple of things cooking, either," Nabiki said, "Please let us do this our way, non-violently. It won't do our dojo's reputation any good if you go and beat Sato up."

Ranma frowned unhappily for a moment and then sighed heavily. "I'll let you handle it, at least for now," he said, reluctantly, "While it would make me feel better about the situation if I used him for a practice dummy, you're right. It wouldn't really be the right thing to do, almost a perversion of the art. If I had seen it happening, it would be one thing, but to deliberately track him down after the fact, that isn't why I strive to be the best." He frowned and added, heavily, "If I don't see him punished severely for what he did, I reserve the right to at least set the Amazons on him."

"How's Sayuri taking all of this?" Akane asked, quietly.

"About what you'd expect, I guess. She's broken up about it, somehow feels like it's her fault, or at least she did until Kasumi talked to her," Nabiki replied, "Both she and her mother are pretty brittle right now, though Sayuri is hiding it better."

"Has Yumi told you what happened, yet?" Ranma asked, surprisingly, as he remembered some of the counseling he had received.

"No, she's in denial," Nabiki replied, "What Kasumi and Auntie are doing is just being a friend to her; let her set her own pace. Eventually she'll feel safe, and then perhaps, talk about what happened. Don't you push; just give her space."

Ranma nodded unhappily and said, "I sort of know how she's feeling, at least to a certain extent, so that's really all we can do until she's ready to talk, at least." He stared down at the floor for a moment, and then said, "I'll be down in the dojo. There are some sparring dummies that need to be beaten." He abruptly stood up and left the room, his footsteps uncharacteristically heavy as he made his way downstairs.

Nabiki sighed heavily and said, "That went a lot better than I expected. Knowing his strong sense of honor, I halfway expected him to fly off the handle and go find Sato and show him the meaning of pain. You're a lot calmer than I expected, also, Sis."

"Oh, I'm just hiding it better, that's all," Akane replied, "I had to keep cool, or he would have gone crazy. When we first started sparring together, he told me how hard it was to fight me, before he came back, anyway. That changed him a little, and made him realize that he had to train me to take care of myself, but he still winces when he knows he hurt me during our sparring. He thinks he's hiding it from me, but I can still tell."

"I don't care how you do it, whether you two spend all your energy sparring in the dojo, or having sex in the bedroom, but keep him too worn out to think about Sato. I'm deadly serious about what would happen to his reputation if he went after Sato now. And more importantly, what he would feel like after the rush was over, how hard it would affect him," Nabiki said, adamantly.

"I'll do my best," Akane said, and then she smirked, "Though the latter sounds more fun."

"Daddy is oblivious to what's going on, by the way. He didn't pick up on the fact that she was beaten," Nabiki said, "And I guess that's probably for the best. Daddy wouldn't handle it very well at all. I just don't know whether he would burst into tears, or get into his armor and go track down Mr. Sato."

Akane shuddered and said, with a groan, "Neither of those options would be pretty. Hopefully Yumi will heal soon so he won't figure it out."

* * *

The sun had just barely cleared the horizon, bringing the dawn to the start of a new day. An owl was hooting off in the distance, the only sound breaking the stillness of the area. Then the sound of a blaring alarm shattered the calm of one of the houses. Mr. Sato rolled over and swore angrily as he swatted the offending clock. He rolled out of bed, pulling his robe on over his pajamas and wearily headed toward the bath. Then his attention was grabbed by the sound of three men exchanging angry words from somewhere outside. He changed directions and stepped to a window to see three men, dressed in Water Department uniforms, apparently fighting. One of the men had a bowl shaped haircut, and a shovel-shaped mark on his forehead, and was holding a bald man in a headlock, painfully rubbing his knuckles into the man's head. The third, partially bald, with an odd bushy fringe, was jumping up and down on one foot while holding the other. 

"I told you to watch where you put that shovel, you moron," the dark-haired man with the bowl cut was saying, loudly. "You, pick up that shovel," he sneered to the partially bald man, "And finish digging this hole. We need to get down to that water line today."

The partially bald man picked up the shovel, slung it over his shoulder and turned to go back toward the hole that was partially visible. As he did so, it clanged off the first man's head, who promptly collapsed to the ground. Hearing the clang, the man with the shovel turned and whacked the third man, sending him to the ground as well.

"Best men, my ass," Mr. Sato growled, "At this rate, I won't have water for months." He turned away, shaking his head, and missed the fight that broke out between the three workers, as they traded head slaps.

* * *

An attractive woman, wearing an expensive if somewhat old-fashioned kimono, walked into the beauty salon. She had an almost aristocratic look about her. There was a large crowd of women waiting their turn, so one of the stylist said, respectfully, "Madame, it will be a while. Please sign your name and we will get to you as soon as we can." 

"Take your time, young lady," the woman said, with a gracious air, "I am in no great hurry." She signed her name on the register, and sat down near some of the other women. She listened for a few minutes as they gossiped about the latest news in their district. Finally, she heard what she had been waiting for, as one of the women mentioned not seeing her good friend Yumi Sato at the local grocers.

"Did I hear someone ask about my friend Yumi Sato?" the noble woman asked.

One of the women looked up and replied, "Yes, Madame, we are worried about our friend. We haven't seen her in a couple of days, and her daughter has been gone even longer."

The woman smiled and said, "Please, my name is Nodoka. Yumi is safe and well, as is Sayuri. They are living with my son and his wife."

"Nodoka-san, why are they not living in their home? I live next door to the Sato's and, well, there was a great deal of shouting several nights ago," a second woman asked.

"It is not my story to tell," Nodoka replied, with grave dignity, "However, my son and his wife are friends of Sayuri, and when she asked for a place to hide from her father, they, of course, allowed her to stay. Especially once they heard the reason she wished to leave her home."

The women's faces grew grim and one asked, "So Yumi left once she found out the reason her daughter left, then?"

"No, she discovered that her husband had a secret life that he was hiding from her, and spending time with another woman," Nodoka replied smoothly.

"He had a mistress? On his salary? How on earth could he afford that?" a third woman asked.

"True, he is just a lower level executive," Nodoka replied, "But, then some men's eyes are always bigger than their stomach."

"Is Yumi okay? I miss talking to her. Could I visit her?" a fourth woman asked.

"She will be. She is still a bit tender in places, but her pain is mostly gone. My son's brother-in-law is a very skillful doctor," Nodoka replied, "I am sure she would like some company. While she is enjoying the freedom to paint, I imagine she misses her friends."

"Where is it that she is staying?" the woman asked again.

"I'd rather her husband not know," Nodoka said.

The five women looked at each other and as one promised that the secret would be safe with them.

"Very well, she is staying as I said with my son and his wife at her ancestral home, the Tendo estate," Nodoka replied.

* * *

The sun was brightly shining as the extended Saotome-Tendo clan made their way down the immaculately kept street toward the Sato home. Nabiki had liberated a small two-wheeled cart from somewhere that Ranma was pulling, while Akane kept him company. "It was pretty nice of Miss Morisato to give us a week to make up for the schoolwork we missed," Akane said. 

"Well, the note we got from the ranger at the Monster Control building didn't hurt any, not to mention the television reports," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

"Hmm, that's odd," Yumi said as they neared her house to find a large hole in the empty lot next to it. As they got closer, they could hear an odd rumbling sound. Just as Ranma and Akane passed by the hole, a geyser erupted, splattering Ranma with cold water, triggering his transformation.

"That is still so hard to believe. If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I don't know that I ever would have," Yumi said, while Ranma stared up at the sky with a scowl on her pretty face.

"You know, I really don't mind turning into a girl, not anymore, but I'm really getting tired of attracting water like this," Ranma groused, as she attempted to wring some of the water out of her shirt.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Akane grumbled, "I got caught in the fallout this time. You're the only one that's supposed to get wet."

"Gee thanks, dear," Ranma said dryly.

"Why is this hole here, anyway?" Nabiki asked, from the other side of the street.

"Oh my! Looks like a water main broke, and someone was in the process of fixing it," Kasumi replied, from the porch of the Sato home, an odd look of satisfaction on her face, "And it is making a huge mess of the lot next door."

Sayuri shook her head and said, "Well, let's just get your belongings and get out of here before we all get wet."

From the deep hole, they suddenly heard the sound of three men squabbling. "I thought I told you to turn the water off, you moron," one voice exclaimed.

"I did turn it off," a second voice protested.

"You turned it off? I turned it off," a third voice shouted.

"This is all your fault," the first voice said.

The third voice said, "Nyuk, Nyuk, you missed me!" followed suddenly by a high pitched, nasal, yelp, and the sound of someone going, "Whoop! Whoop!"

Ranma shook her head in disgust and said, "Let's just get you packed, Yumi. The sooner we're done, the better. Sounds like a bunch of stooges around here if you ask me."

* * *

Shigeru Sato sat at his desk, grumbling to himself, as he opened up one of the many folders in his IN box. "Damn Water Company, first they show up at the crack of dawn, and then the hotel they put me up at is one of those new-fangled kind, where it's just a bed in a tube. And the common room was too damn noisy, not to mention crowded. Well, at least I was able to wash up. And with as few people here today, I'll have some peace and quiet, and maybe I can catch up to some of the work that I've let pile up," he said. "Just so long as no one disturbs me, anyway. I'll have to find a food stand, or something for dinner, before I stop by the house to check on things." He poured industriously over his files, slowly reducing the mountain of work and moving it on to the OUT box for his shared secretary to file on Monday. Suddenly his concentration was disturbed by a polite knock on his open door. He growled, "What is it?" before even looking up, then once he did, he immediately stood up from his chair and began to grovel, "Sir, what a pleasant surprise! What brings the president of the company down to my small office?" 

"Sato, good to see you at work," the tall, slender, middle-aged man said, in greeting, "It's good to see some people take their job seriously." He strode in, every centimeter a chief executive, followed by a very attractive young woman, with her long light brown hair in two pony tails, her dark brown eyes carefully blank. Her tight outfit showed off her figure quite well, though the round glasses perched on her nose detracted from the image ever so slightly.

Sato stared at the young woman, entranced by her beauty.

"This is my assistant," the president said, "Lovely isn't she?"

"Er, quite," Sato said, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss."

"The pleasure is all mine," the woman said, her bright smile blinding Sato to the fact that it never reached her eyes. In fact, her eyes narrowed in anger as she watched him undress her with his eyes.

His visitor sat down heavily in the guest chair, and Sato sank back down into his seat. The president said, "Ah, the days of my youth, when I was a lowly salaryman like you. Those were the days, when company loyalty meant everything. Come to think of it, I wasn't much older than you are now, when I was in an office much like this."

The young woman cleared her throat.

"Ah, of course, I'm sure you are wondering why I have descended from the rarefied air of the boardroom to venture down here," the president said, after glancing at the young woman who was frowning ever so slightly at him.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Sato admitted, "Though I am honored that you have come to visit me."

"Well, to be honest, I was hoping to find you here. We have a problem; one that I hope you can help solve," the president began.

"Of course, I will do my best to do whatever is needed for the company. I am a loyal member," Sato said. He hesitated and said, "But, where are my manners, sir? I was about to pour some tea. Would you care for some?"

"Sadly, I don't have the time. Once more the vagaries of business have forced me to forgoe some of the traditions of our people. The Americans have a saying, 'Time is Money,' and oddly enough, I have neither to waste," came the reply.

"To business then, what can I do for you?" Sato asked.

"We've just begun a routine audit of some of our accounts, including several administered by your department, and well, there are some odd activities occurring in a few of them," the woman replied, smoothly, "And we'd like you to look into them for me."

"Me? Why me? I'm one of the most junior men in the department," Sato said, in surprise.

"Well, once we discovered the irregularities, we did some cursory investigation. In your case, we found that you live modestly, well within your means, and other than the occasional night on the town drinking, your behavior is impeccable," the president replied.

The woman cleared her throat again.

"Ah, yes, well, except for the few instances when they found you coming out of a love hotel," the elder man added, slightly embarrassed.

Sato reddened slightly and replied, in a flat voice, "Well, men do have needs, as I'm sure you'll agree. And, unfortunately, my wife has seen fit not to grace my bed for several years. So what's a man to do? I'm sure you would do the same."

"Of course, I fully understand," the man replied, evenly. He turned to the woman, who handed him a file folder, her face carefully impassive. He then handed the folder to Sato and said, "This is what we have gathered so far. This investigation is secret; only my assistant and I are to be briefed on your findings." He abruptly stood up, and headed toward the door, saying, "I have the utmost confidence in you, young man."

"I will not fail you, Urashima-san," Sato said, giving the impression he had somehow saluted while sitting at his desk.

The pair closed the door and headed down the hallway. "So what do you think? Is he really our man?" Urashima asked.

"I don't know, grandfather. He didn't react like he was guilty, and there is nothing in his bank records to indicate that he is the culprit, but something about him," the woman said, "He just seems slimy, somehow. And I know that he is a pervert."

"Well, the person who gave us the information has never proven to be wrong before," Urashima said, "So we'll just play out this string and see what happens."

"Of course," the woman said. She followed her grandfather down the hallway for a moment, her anger barely under check.

"Something seems to be bothering you, granddaughter," Urashima said, heavily.

"That pervert was undressing me with his eyes, and you know how much I hate men that do that," the woman replied.

"Yes I do and I have to admit that I'm impressed that you didn't send him flying," Urashima said, with a dry chuckle.

The woman blushed prettily and replied, "I haven't done that since my husband accidently stepped on my wedding dress after the ceremony and it tore off when I moved away. I'm just glad he forgave me, almost as soon as the bruises disappeared." She frowned slightly and asked, "What was that nonsense about men and their needs? Tell me you don't agree with that caveman attitude?"

"Of course I don't, dear child," Urashima said, with a hearty laugh, "Besides, how do you think my wife would react if I took my needs somewhere else?"

The woman smiled coldly, and replied, "Once she found out, she'd make sure that you'd never have any way to satisfy those needs again. Preferably with a very dull blade."

Urashima winced and replied, "Well, while put crudely, and not really an image I wanted to have, it describes the situation pretty well." He grinned and said, "Not that I would ever stray. I love my wife almost as you love my grandson. Right, my dear?"

The girl blushed prettily and said, "If you say so, grandfather."

"I assume my grandson is taking good care of you?" Urashima asked.

She arched one eyebrow and asked, "Do you really want to get an answer to that question? Or would it fall into the too much information category?"

"I suppose not. Just so long as the two of you are happy, that's all that I care about," Urashima replied.

"What do we do next with Sato?" the woman asked, in an obvious bid to return to the topic at hand.

"Get in touch with the informant, and ask her for any more information that she might have that can shed some light on the subject, I suppose," Urashima replied, "And get someone to dig a little deeper into his finances. If he's keeping a mistress on the side, there's no way he can afford that."

"Not on the pittance you're paying him, that's for sure," his granddaughter-in-law retorted with a smirk.

* * *

Shigeru Sato stared at the wreck of the yard next door, shaking his head in disbelief, as the once neatly mown lot had turned into a swampy morass. The neighbor on the other side of the lot was standing in his yard, glaring at the mess. Sato turned to speak to him, but the woman turned a cold shoulder to him, and with a sniff of disdain walked into her house. 

Sato growled angrily, "This is going to take forever before they get this mess fixed. Oh, well, a few beers with dinner and I won't care. I wonder if what's her name, that girl I picked up last week, is still hanging around the bar." A hint of drool rolled down his double chin as he took his carryout into the house. As he made his way into the kitchen, something about the house seemed a bit odd, but he wasn't able to quite put his finger on it. Opening the icebox, he pulled out a bottle of Kirin Ichiban, and with a practiced twist of his fingers, popped the cap off. Taking a long pull on the bottle, he sighed with relief after he swallowed the beer. Ripping his tie off, he unbuttoned his dress shirt and tossed them both in the general direction of the laundry room, where they added themselves to the surprisingly large pile of soiled clothing that had accumulated in the short time his wife had been gone. Then he scratched his belly, and walked into the family room and turned on the television to catch the latest baseball game while he took several cartons of food out of the paper bag he had left there on his way in. Opening the cartons, he began to eat the teriyaki chicken, steamed rice, and pork buns that he had picked up, liberally interspersing each bite with his liquid dinner. After a while, he finally figured out what was bothering him about the house, all of the knickknacks, paintings, and family heirlooms that had adorned the walls, and made the house a home had vanished, as had his wife's family shrine that had taken pride of place in the family room. "That bitch," he growled, "She's been here and taken everything!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Tatewaki Kuno was making his way down the main street of Nerima after a pleasant day of shopping for a new hakama, and browsing through the bookstore for more books on Samurai lore. He heard a loud roar and the crowd in front of him separated as a gigantic hog burst through the shrieking crowd. The pig narrowed its small eyes even further and charged him. Kuno, being the fearless Samurai warrior that he was, held his ground and then as the pig neared, slammed his bokken down onto the rampaging animal, breaking his bokken, but knocking the pig to the ground, where it collapsed, stunned. 

A girl's voice cried, "Katsunishiki!"

Kuno turned to continue his trek only to hear a trembling voice say, "Excuse me." He turned to see an attractive girl, with light, brown hair, wearing a plaid skirt, and a ruffled blouse.

The girl stopped, and Kuno could almost swear he heard her heart pounding, as she blushed, and said, "Y-you are the winner." She shoved an envelope into his hands, and said, "Please read this!" She turned and ran off; crying over her shoulder as she hid her face, "See you again."

Kuno stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. Finally, shaking his head, he asked, "What's up with her? That was weird." He tore open the envelope and read, 'Do you believe in love at first sight? Please date with me, Akari Unryu.' "Of course, my manly charms won her over," Kuno said, smugly, "But few could resist me." He suddenly took off after the young woman, hoping that he could catch her.

* * *

Kuno walked into the schoolyard, Akari on his arm, with the massive pig following in guard position. Finding a convenient spot, he stopped, and asked, "Dearest Akari, was it love at first sight that caused you to throw yourself at me? Was the epitome of maleness that I am too much for you to resist?" 

Akari blushed, prettily, and replied, "In order for you to understand my answer, I must give you some background about my family. We are landowners, with an estate in the country some distance away, where for generations we have raised champion sumo wrestling pigs."

"Ah, a noble pursuit, training pigs in the ancient art," Kuno prated.

"This is Katsunishiki, fourteenth Yokozuna of pigdom," Akari continued.

Kuno bowed politely to the pig, and said in awe, "That is the highest rank in Sumo. You are a true champion and a worthy companion to this lady."

"Before he died, my father told me to find a strong man, one that was able to defeat Katsunishiki. Those were his dying words," Akari said, a tear in her eyes, "But, I never found even a single man who could hold his own against Katsunishiki." The tears flowed freely as she clasped her hands together.

Kuno's face fell as he asked, "So the only reason that you are in love with me is because I beat that pig. You would settle for any one who could defeat it."

"Th-that just isn't true," Akari stammered, blushing profusely. She bowed and pressed a book into Tatewaki's hands and and added, "Just read my diary."

Kuno opened up the diary to find his name written neatly multiple times across the last page.

"I loved you even **before** your gallant battle with Katsunishiki," Akari cried, her hands clasped prayerfully before her.

Kuno blushed, missing the fact that the diary entry was dated for that very day, and asked, "Truly, you want me? I know that I am the greatest warrior of all times, but still, what could a gentle flower such as yourself see in even someone so great as I?"

"Oh, Tatewaki, YOU are the first perfect man I have ever met," Akari said.

Kuno's eyes glowed, as he thought, 'Is this a dream? To hear such words from a girl's lips? Truly, I am blessed.' He bent down and gave her a tender kiss.

Akari sighed happily as they parted. "You're as strong as a pig," she said, her eyes gazing soulfully up at him, "As robust as a pig, as kind as a pig, as smart as a pig."

Kuno's face began to fall hearing him being compared to that most common of creatures. He turned away from the gorgeous girl, not hearing her as she continued to compare him most favorably to a pig. "I must go," he mumbled, "I shouldn't be late for class." He walked off, leaving Akari behind wondering what exactly she had done wrong.

"What happened? Did I not praise him enough?" Akari asked herself. 'So strong, so handsome,' she thought.

A girl's voice answered from behind her, saying, "You were praising him? Is it actually possible to love pigs as much as you do?"

Akari turned to see an attractive girl standing there, an amused expression on her face. She squealed, "Ooooh, I do! I love them so, so, so much that I don't know what to do! And now I love Tatewaki in just the same way! I don't understand why he suddenly dislikes me so much!"

"Then perhaps you need to tell him that," the girl replied, "Miss whatever your name is?"

"Oh, how rude of me. I am Akari Unryu," Akari said, bowing slightly.

"And I am Nabiki Tendo," Nabiki replied, bowing as well, "I have class with Kuno; I'll talk to him and let him know that you meant well. But, he is a proud man, perhaps too proud, and may not have taken your praise the way you meant."

Akari's eyes grew wide and she fell down to her knees. "You would do that for me, a stranger? Out of the goodness of your heart? You are much too kind, Tendo-san," she gushed.

Nabiki barked a laugh and said, "Out of the goodness of my heart? Well, why not? I ought to do that at least one time in my life." She reached down and pulled Akari back to her feet.

* * *

Nabiki walked into the classroom, with several minutes to spare, to see Kuno sitting at his desk, his head in his hands, as he bemoaned his fate. "How could the Kami be so cruel!" he wailed, "To send such a vision of loveliness my way, but to have her turn on me like that after professing her love. And yet, there is still the remembrance of the bright spring I felt in my heart as she proclaimed her adoration. Oh those cruel words she spoke. I know not what to do!" 

"Hey, Kuno-baby, I have some news for you," Nabiki said, as she sauntered over to him. She sat down on the desk next to him, and swung her feet back and forth as she waited.

Kuno lifted his head up and groaned. "What now, Nabiki Tendo? Are you here to mock me?" he asked, a touch acidly.

"Oh, you'll be happy to hear what I have to say, Kuno-baby," Nabiki stated.

Kuno sighed and pulled out his wallet. "How much?" he asked.

Nabiki's eyes glittered with greed for a moment, and then she sighed. "For you, this news is free. Far be it for me to stand in the path of true love. Akari is outside crying her heart out because she thinks you despise her now. That girl is crazy about you," she began.

Kuno openly scoffed and said, "Did you not hear her? She said I was just like a pig! A pig!"

"That's just it," Nabiki explained, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "She happens to adore pigs. And because she does, the highest praise she can give is comparing you favorably to them. Her greatest love is you. Just see her and **listen**. Ignore the words, but feel the emotion behind them and that will tell you what she truly believes."

"Where is she?" Kuno asked.

"Outside, hoping that you will come see her," Nabiki replied, "She loves you so much."

"How can I face her now? She must feel that I have rejected her love by my actions," Kuno said, "What can I do?"

"Tell you what, Kuno baby, leave things in my capable hands," Nabiki replied, "You just be at the mall today after school and take her out on a romantic date."

"You're telling me to date Akari Unryu?" Kuno asked, perplexed.

"Listen, Kuno baby, sure she loves pigs, but her greatest love is you," Nabiki said, hiding a shudder. 'Kami knows why,' she thought, 'But there's someone for everyone out there. And if she wants him, she's welcome to him.' "Just see her once more, and listen, that's all," she finished.

* * *

The circle of friends made their way down the stairs where Nabiki and Souta met them briefly. "I've got a little bit of business to take care," Nabiki said, "I'll catch up with all of you after a bit." She briefly kissed Souta, causing him to blush, and said, "You go with them too, Souta." 

"Okay, sis, we'll take good care of your boyfriend," Akane teased.

Leaving Nabiki behind, everyone else headed down the last set of stairs and found their spot under the large tree. Ukyo fired up her grill and began making her okonomiyaki for lunch, as well as heating the miso soup that Kodachi had brought, while everyone else sat down and opened their bentos.

"Is your mom getting all settled in, Sayuri?" Daisuke asked.

Sayuri smiled weakly and replied, "Yes, she seems to be fitting in nicely. Auntie is taking good care of her, and she's started to calm down. It's kind of cool having her living with all of us now."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Yuka asked.

Akane interposed smoothly, "She just missed being with Sayuri. The phone calls and visits weren't enough anymore, and she wanted to spend some time with her daughter. After all, next year all of you graduate, and so Sayuri won't be home as much."

"That's right, Yuka, remember, I told you that I was planning on going away to college," Sayuri added, shooting a look of gratitude at Nabiki. She lowered her voice, and added, "But, that's not the whole truth to be honest. I guess with me moving away, and just leaving her with my father, she started to realize that there wasn't anything they had in common."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hiroshi said, putting his arm around her and pulling her gently to his side.

"We'll manage," Sayuri said with a bittersweet smile, "And I'd rather it happen now when I can be with her and give her some comfort, than after I'd moved away to college."

* * *

Soun watched from his seat by the door to the engawa as the attractive woman who had moved into his home set up an easel overlooking the koi pond. He was still not sure why Mrs. Sato had moved in, as the children had been strangely reticent about why she was here. While he had gotten used to Nodoka staying for extended periods of time, and indeed welcomed her help with his daughters, it felt odd to have another adult female in the house. 

Yumi moved with practiced ease as the old reflexes and instincts returned. She placed a small canvas on her easel and then picked up her palette and several brushes. Staring at the pond, she ignored the rest of her surroundings as she submerged herself into her art. Placing brush to color, and then to canvas, she began to draw what she was seeing, creating an idealistic portrayal of the pond.

Soun gazed in amazement and appreciation as the scene began to appear on the canvas; the woman changing brushes when she changed colors, or needed a slightly different stroke. 'What an amazing talent she has!' Soun thought, taking a contemplative sip of his tea, 'As the saying goes, I may not know much about art, but I know what I like. And I like this. It is very pretty.'

Kasumi entered the family room and stopped suddenly. She watched her father staring intently at Yumi, and a faint smile appeared on her face only to vanish quickly as Soun turned his head.

Soun heard something and jerked up to see his daughter Kasumi standing at the doorway watching him watch Mrs. Sato. A mild blush appeared on his face, embarrassed to be caught.

"Daddy, would you like some more tea?" Kasumi asked, her voice carefully even.

Clearing his throat, he replied, "Yes, that would be nice."

Kasumi smiled briefly and retreated back the way she came.

A small puppy walked in from the yard, tripping over its long ears many times. It turned in its own length a few times as if to make sure that the spot it had selected was acceptable, and then laid down in an nice sunny spot on the engawa.

* * *

Nabiki followed her friends after their brief discussion, and looked for a way to fulfill her mission of mercy. Standing at the top of the long stairs leading from the main door of the building, she scanned the area and soon spotted the gigantic pig. With a shrug, she headed down the steps and made her way over to find Akari, who was sitting demurely on the ground, but as soon as she spotted Nabiki, she leapt to her feet, her excitement almost palpable. 

"Where's Tatewaki? Can I see him? Is he coming to see me?" Akari asked, her questions coming rapid-fire, and causing Nabiki to firm her resolve.

"He's on his way home, Akari. But, I am the bearer of good news," Nabiki replied, her words causing Akari's face to fall at first, only to brighten up as the rest of the sentence was heard.

"What? What kind of good news?" Akari asked, almost giddy with excitement.

Nabiki hid her smile, and replied, "I've set you two up on a date."

That simple sentence filled Akari with joy as she clasped her hands together in front of her face in an almost prayerful gesture. She exclaimed, "Oh! Tatewaki is asking me out on a date!"

"Yes, tonight, as a matter of fact," Nabiki replied, "He will meet you at the mall, so we have enough time to do a little shopping and make you even more beautiful."

"That's too soon," Akari exclaimed, "Katsunishiki, if you love me, I need you to slap me with your hooves."

The pig shook his head, 'no!' and backed away.

"Why would you want him to slap you?" Nabiki asked.

"Tatewaki hates pigs, so I must need to learn to hate them," Akari replied.

"He doesn't hate pigs," Nabiki retorted, "He just didn't understand what you were talking about. Now that he knows that you were comparing him to the creature you love the most, then he felt, well, flattered, may not be the best choice of words, but I don't have a better."

"He doesn't hate pigs!" Akari asked, almost dancing.

"No, he doesn't. But then, Katsunishiki isn't your ordinary pig. He is a magnificent specimen of swine," Nabiki replied. 'And the two of then have certain similarities, now that I think about it,' she thought, with a smirk.

"In that case, let's go shopping," Akari said, smiling, "I need to be worthy of the man I love so much, and wish to wed."

Nabiki rolled her eyes and said, "He really doesn't deserve someone like you, Akari. Are you truly sure about this?"

"Have you ever believed in love at first sight? When I saw him standing there, with no fear in his eyes as my beloved Katsunishiki charged headlong at him, his visage calm, then you would know that he is the man for me, and I could love no other," Akari replied, her eyes void of anything resembling intelligience.

* * *

Akari waited anxiously in the food court of the local mall, dressed beautifully in a flowered kimono, just the barest hint of makeup highlighting the bone structure of her face, a slight floral scent rising from the perfume she had dabbed delicately behind her ears, and in the base of her neck, clutching a carefully matched purse in her hand. "Soon, I shall see my love!" she exclaimed, barely keeping still in her excitement. 

Nabiki was standing on the second floor, overlooking the food court, and watched as Akari sat down at one of the small tables scattered around the area, near to a small reflecting pond built into the floor of the building, surrounded by many flowering plants, with a small fountain at one end that helped keep the room a bit cooler. She was taken slightly by surprise when Tatewaki Kuno eased up next to her and leaned over the railing.

"Lovely, isn't she?" Kuno breathed in awe, "To think I mistook what I felt for your sister as true love. Now that I truly know what that feeling seeing a girl, nay a woman in truth, so passionate in her affections towards me. Even one as magnificent as I may not deserve her love."

"Humbleness from you, Kuno-baby?" Nabiki asked in stunned amazement, "Next you'll be telling me that the moon is made of cheese."

"How droll," Kuno said in response, "No, Nabiki Tendo, I long ago realized to my chagrin that once I found the woman I could truly love, that I more than likely would be unworthy of her. All I can do is strive to not fall short of her. And to think that I almost turned away from her because of a simple misunderstanding."

"Well, it isn't gentlemanly to keep a lady waiting, so I expect you should join her before she begins to worry that you stood her up," Nabiki replied.

"If this goes well, I will owe you a debt of gratitude, Nabiki Tendo. I am sure I will regret saying this, but whatever I can do for you, you merely have to ask," Kuno said. He bowed deeply to the young woman, who looked at him with a speculative look in her eyes, and then turned and strode briskly to the stairs leading to the floor below, eschewing the nearby escalator as an object of the modern world suited only for the effete, beneath the notice of a true Samurai such as he.

Akari's heart pounded as she saw the man of her dreams, the love of her life, make his way across the crowded room to her. "Oh Kuno!" she sighed out as he neared, sure that the sound of her heart would drown out any noise around her.

Tatewaki stood there for a moment, taking in her beauty. Stunned into near insensibility, he sank down into the chair opposite from her.

Akari reached across and laid her hand on his, and asked, uncertainly, "Tatewaki, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong? Do I look hideous? Oh, I knew this kimono was a mistake, why did I let Nabiki talk me into wearing this?"

Kuno blinked as her words washed over her and stammered, "No, dearest Akari, you look exquisite, I was just overcome by your beauty." He actually blushed, reaching into his robes he pulled out a small narrow box. "Here, a gift for you," he said, handing her the box.

Akari opened the box, and her eyes widened when she saw the lovely jewel-encrusted bracelet inside. "This is too much," she whispered, "I can't accept this."

"I insist, it is a mere trinket showing the high regard I have for you. Please, my grandmother gave this to me shortly before she joined my ancestors and said to give it to the woman I fell in love with," Kuno said. He took the bracelet out of the box and placed it around her delicate wrist, and then set the clasp.

"Oh my!" Akari breathed, her eyes gleaming with emotion, "I'm so happy." She blushed prettily.

"You are truly beautiful, a vision of loveliness, Akari," Kuno repeated, as his heart began to beat in rhythm with hers.

"I love you, Tatewaki Kuno, everything about you!" Akari said, in a voice filled with wonder as she realized that indeed it was true, that her father had been right.

"Akari, do you truly mean that?" Kuno asked, almost as if he was afraid to hear the answer.

"Yes," she replied simply, and then she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, inviting a response.

Kuno nearly stumbled as he shot out of his chair. 'This! This is the moment that I have dreamt off,' he thought as with one long stride he was around the table. He bent down and accepted the obvious invitation and kissed Akari. He intended the kiss to be brief, but Akari reached up and kept his head in place. Finally, she released his head and the two of them parted.

"Wow!" they said in unison, awestruck by the sensation that they had both felt.

"That was fantastic," Akari said.

"I agree," Kuno replied, a bit dazed, but recovered. Then holding out his hand, he helped her to her feet. Offering her his arm, he asked, "Shall we go on our date now?"

Akari nodded happily as she accepted his arm.

"Sasuke!" Kuno barked out.

Suddenly a diminutative ninja appeared. "Yes Master Kuno?" he said in a voice not meant to be overheard.

"Is everything in readiness?" Kuno asked.

"Yes, Master Kuno. The rickshaw is parked outside waiting to take you and the young miss to the restaurant," the ninja replied, "The maitre'd is holding your table, and the wine is chilling next to it." He paused for a second as if there was something else, and then his face cleared. Whipping out a bouquet of yellow roses, he handed them to his master.

"These are for you, my beloved," Kuno said, handing the flowers to Akari, "But their beauty pales into insignificance when matched against yours."

Akari giggled then, a sound that endeared her to Kuno even more. "You say the sweetest things, Tatewaki," she said.

"Lead on, my good and faithful servant," Kuno said grandly.

"Of course, Master Kuno," Sasuke said, bowing deeply to both of them, and then he whirled and began to lead them outside the mall.

Nabiki chuckled unseen from the overlook, and turned to find her boyfriend, who was waiting for her at the movie theatre, shaking her head at the thought that she had actually played cupid. "And for Kuno, of all people," she said.

* * *

Akari dismounted from her faithful companion, and lightly patted him on the nose. "Oh, Katsunishiki," she sighed, hugging herself tightly, "Is it possible to be in this much love as I am right now? He is so wonderful, so kind, so strong!" 

The massive pig snorted and waddled over to the gate. He waited for his mistress to raise the locking bar, and he pushed it open and entered to join his brethren. Akari closed the gate behind him, and put the bar back in place. She skipped gaily from the large pen, knowing that she would see her love soon again. She stopped just before the door to the house and stared up at the starry sky and wondered, "Is he outside, looking up at the same stars I am? Just think, only yesterday, I was alone and unloved. Now I have found my true love. Nothing will ever separate us!" She pressed her fingers to her lips, remembering the feel of his lips against hers. Wishing that he was with her, she sighed happily and pushed the door open and entered, wanting to get to her bed where she could fall asleep and dream of her new life with her beloved Tatewaki.

* * *

Sato left the elevator and headed toward the door to the hotel, only to stop when he heard someone calling his name. Turning, he saw the manager of the hotel gesturing for him to come over to the front desk. Glancing at his watch, he growled, "This better not take long. I don't want to be late for work. Still need to track down that thief for the president." He pushed his way rudely through the crowd of people attempting to leave for work, several of them turning to look angrily at him for his lack of manners. He reached the desk and asked, "What do you want?" 

"Ah, Mr. Sato, just the man I needed to see," the manager replied, pleasantly, "We received a message for you from the water department. They said that the leak was fixed outside your house, and that you were free to return. I have taken the liberty of sending a bellman to retrieve your personal belongings from the locker you were assigned, and of course, the company has paid for all of your stay here."

"That is very kind of you," Sato replied, "Sorry for my tone." A bellgirl walked up, carrying a large suitcase that Sato recognized as his.

"I hope you enjoyed your stay here at our fine establishment this past week, and look forward to receiving more of your business," the manager said, bowing deeply in respect.

Sato returned the bow, and accepted his suitcase from the bellgirl. With another glance at his watch, he saw that he barely had enough time to get home to drop off his suitcase before he had to catch the train to take him into downtown Tokyo. Quickly, he strode off; missing the sneering look the bellgirl was giving him, and the look of quickly hidden disdain on the face of the manager.

'I wonder why they called the front desk instead of my room,' Sato thought as he walked out the door, 'Oh well, perhaps they tried while I was in the furo.'

The manager shook his head and turned to the bellgirl. "Thank you for bringing his luggage down," he said.

"Just part of the service, sir," the attractive, well-built, brown-haired girl replied.

* * *

After a brisk walk, Sato headed down his street, carrying his suitcase. As he neared his house, he saw that the workcrew had vanished from the lot next door. While the large hole was gone, the lot was still a muddy mess. The large pile of wet dirt had vanished, back into the hole it had been dug out of, but it had left its residue behind. 'It could have been worse, I suppose,' Sato mused as he headed up the walk to his home, 'If they had used heavy equipment, there would be tractor tracks all over, that would never go away.' He stopped at the door, where he found a note affixed to the door. Snatching the paper from the door, he opened it, and walked in, dropping his suitcase on the floor. Unfolding the note, he read, 'Final Notice – Nerima Power and Lighting Company. We have not received your payment for service for the last two months. Per our operating agreement, if payment is not made in our office by May 3, your power will be disconnected. To reconnect, a charge of 3000Y will be required to restore your power. Have a nice day.' Sato cursed under his breath and said, "I paid the damn bill. And the 3rd was two days ago. I guess I should have come by here more often, instead of just the once. But, that girl I picked up was too much fun. Oh well, I'll handle this at the office." He stormed out of his house, slamming the door closed behind him and hurried down to the train station to catch his train.

* * *

Sato slumped in his seat after finally making his way through the myriad menus of the voice mail system of the power company and reaching a real human. "My name is Shigeru Sato. I went by my house today to find out that my electricity had been shut off for non-payment," he spoke into the handset. After listening for a moment, he growled, "NO, I'm not attempting to make a payment. My account is payed in full. You have made an error of some sort." 

Again, several minutes passed as he waited for the person on the other end to pull up his account, and then to end up telling him that the computer showed him delinquent. "Listen, on April 14th, check number 4366 cleared my bank, paying the April bill. I don't care what your computer says, it is wrong. I have the cleared check showing that your company endorsed it and deposited it on April 13th," he said, his voice getting a little loud.

Again, he listened for a few minutes and snapped. "Listen, miss, I don't care what you're telling me. I know for a fact that you processed the payment. It's not my fault that your computer screwed up," he said, angrily.

Again, he was interrupted, only to retort back, "Don't give me that garbage about the computer can't be wrong. That's a load of manure. The computer program is only as good as the person who wrote the program, and he could make mistakes. Or someone could have misentered the account number, or any number of things could have happened." He waited for a moment and then smiled thinly, "Of course, I have a copy of the cancelled check. The account number is plainly written on it, 465-0841-99-4-14271."

He listened for a moment and said, "Of course I enclosed the portion of the bill that was supposed to come with the check. I always do that."

Again, he waited for a response. "Of course, I will be more than happy to get you a copy of the cancelled check, but I'm not stupid enough to fax it over to you. Anyone could get my bank account number if I did that," he growled.

He nodded his head as he listened to the girl at the other end of the line, and replied, "Yes, I'll bring it by at lunch. And who shall I ask for?" He waited, and then said, "No, I want to talk to the branch manager, I don't want to deal with any flunkies, only the top dog." He glanced at his watch and added, "Fine, I can be there in thirty minutes. It will take me that long to get back to Nerima. But this better get straightened out today."

Sato waited a moment and then hung up his phone. "Have a nice day, my suffering ass," he muttered as he stood up to put on his suit coat, "Stupid cow, I can't believe the kind of people they are hiring these days." He opened the door, turned and locked, and then walked into the small anteroom where his secretary sat at her desk, ostensibly filing the reports. "Maehara, I have to leave the office for a few hours," he said, "Some personal business that I need to take care of."

The blue-haired girl looked up from her filing and hesitantly said, "Of course, Sato-san." She waited until her boss had left, and picked up her phone and dialed a familiar number. "It's me. He's left the building, on personal business, looking like someone just kicked his puppy," she said into her headset, "No, that wouldn't be proper. You'll have to have someone else look in his personal files in the office. I'll be going on a break in thirty minutes, though, and the keys to his office are in my top left hand drawer." She hung up the phone and smirked. "I hope that bastard gets it. That pervert," she hissed, "I can't stand him looking at me; it makes me feel so unclean. I need to talk to senpai and see if he can help me." She shivered for a moment, and then returned to her filing.

* * *

Sato returned to his office after a satisfying meal that had taken the edge off of his anger at the treatment he had received at the power company. It had taken all of his strength of will to prevent him from erupting in anger at the low-level flunkies that had originally attempted to handle his issue. Finally, they had tired of listening to him, and had forwarded him to the office manager, who had graciously listened to his story, one that had gotten well-rehearsed that morning, and had promised to look into the matter. In any case, he had promised to get a crew out that morning to reconnect his electrical meter in the meantime. Upon his arrival at the office, however, his good mood evaporated as the president of the company was waiting for him, idly chatting up his secretary, while his assistant stood there with her arms folded across her impressive chest. 

"Ah, Sato, I trust things are well with you," Urashima said, jovially, "Maehara-chan told me that you had some personal business to take care of. I came down to see you, and she told me you were gone."

Sato replied, "Yes, there was a mix-up with the power company. I had to spend most of the morning to straighten that out. Of course, I will be staying late to make up for the time I was gone."

"Excellent, excellent. If you still need any help with them, please don't hesitate to ask. After all, you are a valued employee of this company, and I don't need you distracted by petty business," Urashima replied.

"I hope you did not have to wait long," Sato said, apologetically, "If I had known that you wished to see me, I would have cut my lunch time short."

"No matter, I had a pleasant time talking to Maehara-chan," Urashima replied smoothly.

"As did I," his assistant replied, "She reminds me a great deal of a friend of mine." She smiled every so briefly, as unseen by Sato, Maehara winked at her.

"Please, come in," Sato said, as he opened the door. He frowned for a second, as the knob turned without him unlocking the door first, but continued smoothly, allowing the older man and his young assistant to precede him into the office. Of course, this did allow him the pleasure of watching the play of the muscles under the young woman's skirt as she walked in front of him. He walked in, shut the door behind him, and waited respectfully for his visitors to seat themselves and then sat in his chair.

"Have you found anything out, yet, Sato?" the woman asked.

"I have examined all of the accounts in the department, and indeed believe that I have stumbled across something odd," Sato replied, "There are several payments buying office supplies that seem to be going to a fictitous company. I need to poke around a bit more, since the invoices appear to be processed according to procedure and several different people have signed off on the requisitions. The office supplies are actually being delivered, only we are paying for more than we are getting, so someone is skimming the difference. I doubt that many people are involved in this fraud; it has to be only one or two, in my opinion."

"That is excellent progress. All we could discover was the imbalance in the accounts, not how it was occurring," Urashima replied. He pushed himself out of his chair, and stood. "Keep up the investigation," he ordered, "I have another meeting."

Sato shot out of his chair, and bowed as his visitors left his office. He followed them out and waited until they had entered the elevator down the hall, the only one that stopped at the penthouse. "Maehara, did someone come into my office? I was positive that I locked the door. There are so many proprietary papers in my files that it would be improper for me to have left it unlocked," he asked.

"I did not see anyone go into or leave your office, Sato-san," the girl replied, "And I'm sure that you did indeed lock it. I'm almost positive that I saw you do so this morning. Was anything missing?"

"I haven't checked yet, however, I didn't see anything amiss on my desk. That's a good idea, I'll check now," Sato replied, re-entering his office. He began checking his files, thanking his foresight in not leaving anything about the investigation in the office, and instead kept it in his briefcase, which he had taken with him. After roughly thirty minutes, he didn't find anything misplaced, so he squared his shoulders and got back to the Sisyphisean task of emptying his IN tray.

* * *

Urashima waited until the elevator door had closed behind them and asked, "What do you make of that performance?" 

The young woman frowned prettily, and replied, "He's the one behind it, I'm positive. It's been only a few short days and he's already found out where the money went. That's just not possible. We scoured those invoices ourselves, remember, and didn't find that."

"So you think that was just a red herring, a false trail, to make us believe he is innocent," the old man said, with a sigh.

"I don't know what to think, but talking to my friend tells me that I was right that he is a pervert. He leers at her all the time, when he thinks she can't see him. She's unlonger quite the little innocent girl that I came to know at the girl's dorm while I tried to get into Toudai," the woman replied, "So she's aware of some of the tricks that men play now."

"That doesn't make him a thief, though," Urashima replied, playing devil's advocate.

"That's true, enough. But it does make him a suspect. And I still find it odd that we had issues with our accounts about a month before his daughter left his house, at least that we know of. Who knows how long someone has been skimming the accounts," she replied, "And that may not be the only scam that is being run. I think he set that up as a blind to hide the real scam."

"Do you really think he has the ability to give up a scam like that?" Urashima asked.

"Grandfather, I think he could very well do that. It depends a great deal on what the true method of getting the money out of here is. Giving up a small treasure for the big picture," his granddaughter replied.

"What about his files? Did you find anything?" he asked, finally.

"Yeah, records of his dealings with a lot of women, more than he could afford. That money had to come from somewhere," she replied.

"Well, we need to plug the leak somehow," the old man said sadly, "Make it happen."

"We don't have enough to prosecute," she said.

The old man said, "Give him some more rope, then we will."

The elevator stopped, and the door opened, showing a large, elaborately furnished, anteroom, with an attractive woman sitting behind a massive mahogany desk, and a tall, open-faced young man, with messy brown hair, his brown hair hidden behind a pair of square-framed glasses.

"Hello, grandfather," the young man said, bowing deeply to the older man.

"None of that, grandson, greet your wife properly," the old man replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"At your command," the young man replied, with an eager grin, as he rushed over to hug his wife. As he neared, he tripped over something on the carpet, and fell against the young woman, knocking them both to the floor and his hand came into contact with her breast.

The woman sighed heavily and said, "I missed you too, pervert."

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry for the brief delay in posting this chapter. I had it mostly finished on Friday, and then decided that I was rushing a few things. Also, any cameo appearances by characters outside of the Ramnaverse still are the property of their original creator. I promise, I am just borrowing them, and will put them back, more or less, intact when I am done playing with them. As always, comments and constructive criticism is encouraged. I hope all of you enjoyed this addition to my tale. 


	64. L! O! V! E!

Chapter 64 L! O! V! E!

Shigeru Sato trudged wearily down the street to his home, exhausted after a long day at work, and dealing with the mental midgets working at the power company. The only good thing about the whole situation requiring him to make up time was that it allowed him to quietly investigate the pilfering of the accounts once everyone else had left for the day, as well as do one or two other things. He nodded politely to his next door neighbor from across the street as she walked her dog toward him. To his surprise, she turned her nose up at him in disdain, and her dog lunged forward, yanking its leash out of her loose grip. The dog began savaging his pant leg, shredding the material, just before it raised its hind leg.

"D-chan! Stop that!" the woman exclaimed, rushing forward and yanking the dog back, but not before it had finished its business. She stammered, "I'm terribly sorry. He's usually so much better behaved. I really don't know what set him off like that."

Too tired to even care, Sato just waved it off. "These things happen," he said, wearily, as he slowly walked up the path to his house. As he neared his front door, he began to cringe as he halfway expected to see another notice of doom attached to it. To his relief, the door was unblemished by any such note, so he gathered up his mail from the box at the door, opened the door, and walked into the dark house. Carelessly, not turning on the entry light, he took a stride down the narrow hall, and promptly tripped over the suitcase that he had deposited there this morning on his way to work. Cursing himself under his breath, he climbed painfully to his feet and carried the suitcase, his briefcase and the mail into his bedroom, the one his wife had not shared in the last ten years of their marriage. Tossing the mail onto his dresser, and dumping his suitcase and briefcase on the bed, he sat down wearily on the edge of the bed, only to slide off and land with a loud thump on the hard wood floor. He sighed, and staring at the ceiling as if to see through it, he groaned, "Everything has gone wrong. First, my daughter runs away, not that that was much of a loss. She's of no use to me, at least to keep the family name alive. If she marries, unless the boy has little honor, or is a ronin, she'll take his name." He groaned and pulled himself back up, and continued his rant, "Then my wife leaves, so I have to cook and clean for myself. Then the water department comes and messes up my life. And then the power company! Then that dog, damn it! What Kami did I make angry?"

The empty house mocked him with its silence.

Sighing, he grabbed his bathrobe, and headed for the furoba, silently blessing the fact that four years ago he had installed a small western style shower in one corner of the bathing chamber.

Thirty minutes later, after a refreshing shower, and after doctoring the small scratches that he had found on his leg, he entered his bedroom, dressed in his robe. He walked over to the bed, opened his suitcase, and began to unpack. After emptying most of the contents, he found a small manila envelope tucked away in one of his undershirts, one that he did not recall ever seeing before. Curious, he picked up the envelope and peered inside. With a strangled shout, he dropped the envelope onto the bed, causing a large sheaf of yen to slide out. "There must be fifty, sixty thousand in that pile," he gasped. A crafty smile appeared on his face as he picked up the money and lightly slapped it against the palm of the other hand, while he stood there lost in thought. With a dry chuckle, he said, "I don't know how this got in there, but somehow the man at the water company, whatever his name was, must have arranged this as compensation for the trouble they caused." His piggish eyes narrowed and he added, "Either that, or its hush money to keep me quiet about the mess they made and not make any complaints to his bosses." He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearly time for the baseball game, so he entered the family room and turned on the television, only to see, instead of the game that he expected, a staticky screen. He checked a few other stations, and only the over the air stations were present, though a bit weak. "Damn, my cable must be out," he swore angrily, and stomped over to his phone. He looked up the number for the cable company and dialed it, and after spending ten minutes wading through the telephone menu, he finally managed to reach a real human. "Hello, this is Shigeru Sato, and I seem to be having a problem with my cable," he said.

The voice on the other end said, "It took me a moment, but after looking up your address, there haven't been any reports from your neighborhood of problems, Sato-san. And your account is current, so that's not it. Let me check something here. Give me a minute while I ping the line."

Sato waited and after a few minutes the voice came back and said, "There seems to be an interruption in the cable somewhere. I'm getting a reflection that I shouldn't be. Has there been any excavation in the area lately?"

Sato swore and replied, "Yes, the water company was out here repairing a leak."

"That's probably it. The best I can do is have a crew out tomorrow to track it down," the girl on the other end said.

Sato sighed, and said, "I expected that. It is rather late as it is. Do I need to be home? And if so, what time?"

"If it's a break in the line outside the house, they can repair it without disturbing you or going inside your house," the girl replied, "If they can't find it outside, they can arrange a time for them to meet you."

"That's better than me hanging around the house waiting for them to show up," Sato said, and gave her his office number in case she needed to get in contact with him. After promising that she would expedite the repair crew, she apologized once more and ended the call. Sato set the instrument back down on the cradle. "I'm too tired to go out and catch the game at the bar," he said. He dialed another number and said, "Is this the Nekohaten, I'd like a delivery."

Sato walked into the family room, and after getting a bottle of wine, he sat down and poured a glass. "There seems to be at least two different thieves taking money at work, but I'll be damned if I can figure out who it is," Sato mused out loud, "And they seem to be getting away with it. Hmmm, I wonder."

* * *

Akari sighed an extremely happy sigh, as she sat on the blanket that her boyfriend had stretched out on the lush grass for their picnic spot, said boyfriend's head in her lap, as she idly ran her fingers through his hair.

"What's wrong, my feisty love?" Tatewaki asked, his eyes still closed as he enjoyed her gentle caress.

Akari giggled and replied, "Nothing is wrong. Actually, that was a happy sigh. Everything is perfect. You and I are here, in this beautiful meadow, overlooking the lake far below, under a lovely azure sky. We just finished a wonderful meal, served by that funny ninja servant of yours. By the way, whatever you're paying him, it isn't enough. He was very attentive. And, I'm sitting here with you without a care in the world."

"True, today has been perfect," Kuno said, "But, my feisty love, you deserve only the best."

"All that flattery, I'm afraid that it may go to my head," Akari said, shyly. "She paused for a moment, and then rushed headlong, and said, "Tell me about yourself. I know so little about the man who won my heart with his valour."

Kuno preened for a moment, while he thought about his answer. Then he replied, "You already know that I'm an upperclassman at Furinkan and the captain of the kendo club. A rising star in the world of kendo, as a matter of fact. You met my partially twisted sister, and her husband. A nice man, if a bit odd; he's been very good for Dachi."

Akari pouted and complained, "That doesn't tell me anything new, though."

Tatewaki opened his eyes and chuckled. "I suppose not. Well, let's see. My entrance exam scores should be good enough to get me accepted at Toudai, so I will be attending college next spring, majoring in business, with a minor in Japanese History and Culture. After that, I can take my rightful position as head of the family enterprises, well, at least once my beloved uncle decides to retire to his well-earned rest. I enjoy reading about the life and times of the samurai warriors, and sometimes feel that I was born too late."

"So that's why the kendo, trying to reclaim the glory of the samurai era, at least in part," Akari interjected.

"Well, yes, plus I used to wear a hakama and a gi, instead of my school uniform. I've gotten over that habit, mostly, anyway, except when I practice kendo. It still feels more real, I'm afraid," Kuno replied, a bit sheepishly.

"A little fantasy is harmless, Tatewaki," Akari said kindly, "Everyone has one, I'm sure. And unless you obsess about it, there's no real damage."

Kuno turned his head away, and sighed, "I'm afraid I was that delusional for a while. But, with a little help from some friends, I got over it. That's one of the reasons I started wearing my uniform."

Akari giggled and said, "Perhaps one day, I'll tell you my fantasy."

"Do I really want to know what it is?" Kuno asked, a faint tinge of red on his cheeks.

"Well, I've always had a bit of a thing for Samurai warriors," Akari admitted, as Kuno's face broke out into a huge grin.

"It seems we might be well suited after all," he said, softly.

Akari bent down and brushed his lips with hers, and the two of them stopped talking.

* * *

Soun sat on the edge of the engawa, watching his daughter hang up the laundry on the clothesline, while he sat contemplating his next move for the game-by-mail he was playing with the sensei of a dojo in Sapporo. The end of the game was near, he could tell, but the next move might mean the difference between winning and losing. Finally, with a resolute look on his face, he used his ink and brush, and wrote down his move in several bold strokes. Then he set the card aside for the ink to dry before sealing it in the envelope waiting for it. He sighed heavily as his thoughts drifted back to the games he once played with Saotome. While he enjoyed the traditional style of playing with his friend from Sapporo, he missed the more spirited game with Saotome. Of course, the fun in that game was in the cheating, not in the actual game play. That way he could keep his skills up. 'Pity Saotome isn't around, though, I suppose if he was here, he couldn't concentrate with Nodoka-san around,' he thought with a dry chuckle, "I do miss him though, I wonder where he got off to?' A quiet voice broke his concentration.

"Tendo-san," Yumi asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Soun looked up to see Yumi, dressed plainly as always, but now in a dress that had obviously been altered by Kasumi since it fit much better, holding a tray with a teapot and two cups. "Please, if I am to call you Yumi, you must call me Soun, and yes, I would love some tea," he replied, smiling at the attractive woman. A flicker of something appeared in his eyes though as he finally got a clear look at her, and saw the faint smudge of a bruise under one eye through a thin layer of makeup that was failing to cover up everything. Controlling his facial movement, he bowed slightly from his seated position and said, "Please, join me. I could use the company."

"Thank you, I would enjoy it also," Yumi said, as she knelt gracefully to the wooden platform and placed the tray between them.

"Ah, Jasmine tea, I can smell the fragrance from the flowers," Soun said, as he accepted a cup from Yumi. He waited politely for her to fill her cup, and then took a small sip. "Ah, this is very good, just the right strength to not overpower the flavor of the jasmine. So, how are you settling in?" he added.

"Thank you, Tendo," Yumi began, only to stop as Soun wagged his finger at her, with a faint smile. She blushed and said, "My apologies, S-Soun. But, I do thank you. And, yes, I have settled in quite nicely. You and the rest of your family have made me feel very welcome."

"Excellent," Soun said, "I must admit it has been a pleasure having you here. And, I have to tell you that your daughter is a treasure. She has been a good friend to my daughters, and to be honest, I almost feel that she and Hinako are my daughters also."

Yumi bowed her head and stared at the finely polished wood, examining the grain, and then sighed. "I wish I could say that I had anything to do with that. I haven't been the best mother to her over the years," she said finally.

"Yumi," Soun said firmly, "I doubt that is really true. I can see a great deal of you in her. Now, me, on the other hand, I have been less than a perfect father to my girls. My grief over losing my wife, their mother, caused me to pull away and not be there when they needed me. Neither of us may have been the best parent to our children, but it's not like they give us a set of instructions on how to raise them. You love your daughter, and I love mine, and that, in the end, is the best we can do."

Yumi lifted her head and said, thoughtfully, "Perhaps you are right, S-Soun, but I still feel that perhaps I have failed her."

"Talk to her, and I think you may have a different answer than you are expecting. A poor mother could not have raised as caring a child as Sayuri," Soun said.

"And I expect that you may be mistaken in how poorly you raised your daughters," Yumi replied, "They are kind, loving girls, and your son-in-laws are lucky in the women they married."

"That is something I tell myself everyday, Yumi," Tofu said, with a grin from where he was standing in the family room. He chuckled for a moment, and then said, "I apologize for intruding in your discussion, but I couldn't help overhearing it as I entered. Truly, neither of you have done poorly by your children. Soun, you raised three wonderful girls, and Sayuri is a treasure that I am proud to know."

"Thank you, son," Soun replied, "But, some of that is probably in spite of me. I know that now."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," a different voice chimed in as an amused Kasumi came into the house carrying her empty clothes basket, "But, what's done is done, Daddy, and we can't change the past. All we can do is fix the future." She smiled at her husband and said, "You're home a bit early."

Tofu grinned, and replied, "True, but I was able to finish everything that I needed to at the office, and there weren't any patients in the waiting room, so I decided to call it a day and take my wife out for dinner."

"That sounds nice," Kasumi replied. She frowned prettily and said, "Daddy, that means you and Yumi will be by yourself tonight. Ranma and Akane were going on a triple date with Sayuri and Yuka, and Nabiki and Souta were going to eat with his mother. And Hinako is eating over at one of her friends from school."

"We'll manage," Soun said, "I can cook a little bit, though I may need a campfire to do it."

"And it's not like I don't know how to cook," Yumi said, with a smile, "As your father said, we'll be fine."

* * *

Hinako walked into the entry and took off her shoes. "I'm home!" she called.

"We're in the family room," Yumi called back.

Hinako dropped her backpack by the stairs, making a mental note to remember to take it upstairs to finish her last homework assignment, and entered the family room, where she found Soun sitting on the engawa, smoking a cigarette and reading his newspaper, and Yumi was once again back at her easel, working on a painting. The two adults turned and smiled at her.

"How was dinner?" Yumi asked.

"Pretty good, not as good as Kasumi or Auntie, but good," Hinako replied.

Soun asked, "Did you thank them for inviting you to dinner?"

"Yes, sir, I did, and then we worked on our schoolwork for tomorrow. And our science project," Hinako replied. She looked around and asked, "Where's everyone else? I don't remember the last time I saw our home this empty."

Soun chuckled and said, "They all abandoned us. They all went out on dates, even though it is a school night."

"So you two ended up having a quiet night for a change," Hinako said, with a bit of a smirk.

"Well, we kept busy. Yumi cooked dinner, and then we both cleaned up. We talked for a while, and it turns out that she's a pretty mean shogi player. Then after she got tired of beating me, she saw something in the sunset that she wanted to capture," Soun said, "All in all, a nice, peaceful night. I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time."

"I'm going to get something to drink, and then go upstairs and finish my schoolwork," Hinako announced, "That way the two of you can continue talking about all of us children."

"Such impudence!" Soun exclaimed in mock annoyance, belied by the smile on his face.

"Off with you, then," Yumi said, with a giggle. The two adults watched fondly as Hinako raced out of the room, and the thunder of footsteps was heard as she ran to the kitchen, and then returned to climb the stairs to the room she shared with Nabiki.

"Spirited girl, isn't she?" Yumi asked.

"Yes, that she is. I like her spirit and her energy. It's also amazing how much she's changed since moving in with us," Soun replied.

"She's an orphan, I take it," Yumi said, half in query.

Soun shrugged his shoulders and replied, "No, not really. Her parents just didn't know how to handle her. She had a few medical problems, I guess, and the Anything Goes School owed her a debt of honor, so we invited her to join us."

"A debt of honor? How odd! A child that young," Yumi said.

Soun sighed heavily, and said, "Not really. And there is more to Hinako that meets the eye, I'm afraid, however that is her story to tell, not mine. But, the debt came about because of her running into the former grandmaster of the school, and what he did to her." He paused at the odd expression on the woman's face and thought back about what he had just said. A blush appeared on his face and he added, quickly, "Nothing like that. It was a particular chi absorption technique that he taught her, with mostly good intentions, I think, but it had some side effects that he wasn't aware of. We were able to undo the damage, but we, that is, Ranma and I, felt like we owed it to her to give her a place to live for a while."

"That is quite noble of you, Soun," Yumi said, her eyes downcast for a moment, and a faint tinge of red appeared on her cheeks.

For some odd reason, Soun blushed even more. 'I need to talk to Kasumi about my suspicions,' he thought, 'Though it really isn't my place. But, she is living under my family's roof, so in a way, she is under my protection. So I guess it is my place. And it certainly would not be honorable to ignore her being attacked.'

* * *

Soun bided his tume, waiting for the perfect opportunity to talk to his daughters without either Yumi or Sayuri being present. Meanwhile, he continued to watch Yumi as she helped around the house, and the little things he saw only strengthened his suspicions and a cold rage ignited as he realized that someone had hurt her. His attention towards her did not go unnoticed by his daughters, but none of them called him on. Finally, his patience was rewarded Saturday afternoon as Sayuri dragged a mildly protesting mother off to Tokyo for some serious shopping. An expedition that Soun suspected had been instigated by Kasumi, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Kasumi looked up from the kitchen table where she was working on her biology project when her father joined her, a rare look of sternness on his face. "Good afternoon, Daddy," Kasumi said pleasantly, "I'll start dinner soon. I just need to finish this paper."

Soun leaned back against the wall, and asked, "I have some questions. Would you be so kind as to gather up your sisters and then join me?"

"Of course, Daddy," Kasumi replied, "Nabiki is in her room, I believe, and Akane is with Ranma in the dojo."

"If you would get Akane, I'll ask Nabiki to join us," Soun said, turning to leave the kitchen. The door opened and Nabiki walked in. "That's convenient," Soun muttered, "Nabiki, I'm calling a family meeting, so please, stay here."

Nabiki looked nonplussed for a moment, and then her face smoothed out, while Kasumi slipped of the back door to track down Akane. Soon, she returned, followed closely by Akane, both of them with a look of curiosity on their faces. Ranma drifted in behind them, and securely closed the door.

"Why is Yumi Sato staying here?" Soun asked abruptly, a slight chill in his voice.

Nabiki replied easily, "Because we thought she should spend more time with her daughter. Hopefully, so that they could repair the remaining strains in their relationship in a neutral setting."

Ranma frowned slightly as he felt Soun tense up even more. "I don't think that's going to satisfy your father, Nabiki," he said.

"Ranma's right. I'm not quite as blind as you seem to think I am," Soun said, with a rusty laugh.

"You've certainly been paying attention to Yumi the last several days," Nabiki smirked.

All amusement left his voice as Soun asked, "Why did she leave her home?"

Kasumi sighed, and answered, "She didn't exactly leave. She was thrown out of the house by her husband."

"And is that where her bruises and black eye came from?" her father asked, the cold rage beginning to be obvious as his voice flattened out.

Akane nodded her head, a bleak look on her face. "She doesn't want to involve the police, Daddy," she said, sadly, "She has filed for divorce, however, in spite of the shame involved."

"Did you know about this, son?" Soun asked, his eyes boring a hole in Ranma.

"Yes," Ranma replied, simply, no emotion at all in his voice.

"What have you done about it? We are supposed to protect the weak. That is the primary duty of a martial artist, or have you forgotten?" Soun asked, with a coolness in his voice that did not go unnoticed.

"Me, nothing. Nabiki convinced me to let her handle things," Ranma replied, not backing down, but hurt a little by the disdain in his father-in-law's voice.

"And we are doing that, Daddy," Nabiki interjected, "Auntie has made sure that all of Sato's neighbors know exactly what happened, so his reputation in that area is going downhill fast, especially when they found out about the woman he was seeing on the side. And I've set up a bit of a sting for him at the place where he works."

Kasumi pressed her fingers together, in a nervous, embarrassed, gesture. "Oh my, I asked some of my friends to make his life uncomfortable now that Yumi is here. He's had several different problems with his utilities," she said, flushing.

Nabiki added, "She won't press charges, however, because of the shame it will bring upon her and her daughter, but at least she will be getting away from that bastard. She knows now that she can't stay married to him. I suspect she's telling Sayuri about that this afternoon."

"For what it's worth, I'm not totally happy with the situation and how they are handling it," Ranma said, "But Nabiki and Akane convinced me that beating him to a pulp, might make me feel better, it would be the wrong thing to do."

"Tell me about this, what did you call it, sting that you have going," Soun requested.

"It's a little more complicated than something I normally would do, especially since it relies on the fact that you really can't cheat an honest man. However, my research into Sato indicates that he is actually a greedy man who is dissatisfied with his life. The company he works for is owned by someone that I have occasionally provided information to, mostly references for students that have graduated and are looking for employment. I steered him away from a few bad apples, and he tends to trust me, and use me as a sounding board when he has a problem, and not too long ago he did just that. Apparently his auditors discovered something odd in a few of the petty cash accounts; the numbers were just not adding up properly, so they began to suspect something was wrong. I basically suggested that he have Sato look into the matter, since it was happening in his department, and he was high enough to be able to investigate but low enough that in theory he couldn't be involved," Nabiki replied.

"Okay, that does sound complicated, but how does that do anything other than set him up to be the hero when he finds the thieves?" Ranma asked, plainly befuddled.

"That's the beauty of the scheme. If I read Sato correctly, he'll do one of two things, either try to shake down the culprit that is doing the stealing, or piggyback on the thefts to steal money on his own that can then be blamed on the original thief. I told Urashima that Sato probably was the thief, and this way he could be caught red-handed," Nabiki replied.

"And in either case, he'll more than likely get caught, since they'll be watching him covertly, while he thinks no one is paying attention to him," Akane said with a shark-like grin, "That is so evil, Nabiki."

"I really doubt that the company will prosecute Sato if they catch him, since Urashima doesn't like bad publicity, and having an employee arrested for theft would besmirch his name, but they will fire him," Nabiki replied with a matching grin, "And the public humiliation of being fired will be enough vengeance for Yumi, especially if she has divorced him by then."

"Then, the real reason that you wanted her to stay here was to provide both Yumi and Sayuri some protection if Sato decides to come after her," Soun said, an evil glint in his eyes.

"Yes, Daddy, I was worried that he might track her down and attempt to hurt her, particularly once he gets served with the papers in the next couple of days," Kasumi said, "And she'll be safe here with all of the martial artists who live here."

"And if he does attempt to hurt her, well, then, a martial artist has to protect the weak, right?" Ranma asked, rhetorically.

Soun, Akane and Ranma traded looks, and began to chuckle, while Nabiki smiled evilly. Kasumi giggled, something that was still extremely rare, but happening more frequently.

* * *

Akane looked at the clock on the wall, and counted down mentally as the long class finally was about to reach its end. The intercom snapped, crackled and popped, and then the voice of the new principal came online, as he said, "Don't forget to cheer on the school girls volleyball team as they take on the girls from Seisyun High. The match begins in thirty minutes in the girl's gym. Come show your support as we battle against this undefeated team."

Ranma's head shot up as he heard the announcement, and his eyes grew fierce. A low growl came from his throat, just loud enough for Akane to hear. An avatavistic shiver ran up her spine. 'Not this time, I'm not going to demean myself. The whole cheerleading thing was so stupid. I can't believe I let my idiotic pride get me into that mess,' he thought, "How to nip this foolishness in the bud?'

"Ranma, don't forget, I'm on the team," Akane said, quietly.

Ranma turned toward his wife and said, "Just watch out for the batons, Akane."

Akane gave him a puzzled look but nodded her head to show that she had heard.

The bell rang, and the two of them gathered their books and placed them in their bags. Ranma took both of them and the young couple headed toward the gym. Once they reached the girl's locker room, Ranma lightly kissed Akane and said, "Good luck. I'll see you after the match." He watched as Akane disappeared behind the door, and then leaned against the wall for a few moments, lost in thought. Finally, an evil grin appeared on his face, startling Hiroshi and Daisuke who were passing by on their way to the match.

"Hey Ranma, are you going to watch the match?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yeah, sure, but with Akane playing, it's kind of a sure thing," Ranma replied easily.

"Admit it, you just want to check her out in her gym shorts," Daisuke said, with a smirk.

Ranma chuckled, and said, "I can see her legs or anything else pretty much any time I want to. You two just keep your eyes to yourself, or your girlfriends might have something to say."

"I'm engaged, not dead," Daisuke replied, with a grin.

"True, but if you ogle the other girls too much, Yuka may change that," Ranma said. After a moment, he said, "Hey, can you guys take our bags with you? Save me a seat, but I've got something I need to do before the match."

Daisuke said, "No problem. Just don't miss it, you wouldn't want to make the little woman mad at you."

Ranma handed over the two bags, and smirked, "Don't worry. I won't make her unhappy." He watched as his two friends headed toward the gym to join their girlfriends, and then darted off to the nearest bathroom.

* * *

Akane walked out onto the gym floor followed by the rest of her team to find the opponents setting up on the other side of the net. The stands were about three quarter filled. On the visitor's side, on a balcony overlooking the floor, a handful of girls, wearing cheerleader's outfits in the visitor's colors, were attempting to raise a cheer from the students from Seisyun High. She glanced over at where Sayuri and Yuka were sitting with their boyfriends, only to find an empty space where her husband was supposed to be. She scanned the crowd, and found a flash of red hair on the visitor's side. 'What is that baka up to?' she thought.

The head cheerleader twirled her baton, while the rest of the girls shook their pompoms, and yelled, "Go! Seisyun High! Go!"

"Look, cheerleaders!" Hiroshi exclaimed.

"Wow! She's cute!" Daisuke added.

Yuka glared at her fiancé and said, "Don't stare at them!"

Ranma situated herself to have a clear view of the cheerleader twirling her baton, while she munched on a bag of nuts. As the two teams began to play, the ball volleying back and forth between the twelve players on the field, the cheerleaders started chanting again. "Six players to go, six players to go!" Her eyes narrowed, she watched as the baton left the cheerleader's hand, aiming straight for one of the Furikan team. Ranma flung the nut in her hand quickly and changed the trajectory just enough so that the baton slammed into one of the Seisyun girls, just as she was about to set up the ball, so that the volleyball landed harmlessly on the ground, as the hapless victim slumped to the wooden floor.

The head cheerleader stared, stunned as she realized that she had knocked out one of her own players.

"HEY! Watch what you're doing, Mariko!" one of the players called.

A second added, "I thought you were on our side!"

Mariko blushed heavily.

"I've seen that cheerleader before," Yuka said.

"Yeah, now I remember," Sayuri added, "That's the Seisyun High Goddess of Victory! There's no match that their team didn't win with her cheering!"

"Captain of the Seisyun High Martial Arts Cheerleading Team, Mariko Konjo!" Yuka finished.

Mariko heard them over the crowd, and hid her face with her hands, as she gave a nervous titter, "Am I like super famous, or what?"

One of the girls tossed Mariko a pair of silver batons, and she began to twirl them, one in each hand.

Ranma vaulted up over the railing and landed on the balcony and said, "You may want to reconsider, Mariko. Why don't you try letting your team win on their own merits?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Mariko replied.

"What do you think you are doing, then?" Ranma asked as she dug another nut out of her bag.

"C-H-E-E-R! Cheering!" Mariko replied, beaming happily, "Like I'm a cheerleader?"

Ranma chuckled and said, "If you think your little tricks are going to win this match, you're wrong!"

"Oh, you think so?" Mariko replied, her eyes narrowing, as the referee announced that Furinkan had won another point. She flung her baton at one of the girls on the Furinkan team, only to see that it was deflected once more to land relatively harmlessly on the gym floor.

"You really ought to stop that," Ranma said cheerfully, "You could hurt some one losing your baton that way. Maybe you should stick to pompoms."

"Y-O-U! You did this," Mariko chanted.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "Perhaps, perhaps not." She smirked as she heard the announcer say that Furinkan had won the first game of the set.

* * *

Akane was sitting on the ground, beneath her tree, crying her eyes out. "It's so humiliating," she wailed. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her uniform, but as soon as the referee had announced the final score, she had charged out of the gym, and made a beeline to the tree, her team streaming out behind her.

One of them said, "Akane, please don't cry anymore."

"B-but," Akane blubbered.

Yuka nudged Ranma and asked, "Hey, Ranma, why don't you go over and comfort Akane?"

Sayuri added, "You know, hug her gently, press your cheek against hers, and tell her to cry in your arms, that's all."

Ranma stared at them, still amazed that the Furinkan team had managed to lose, but took one look at her distraught wife and sighed. "Yeah, I need to do that. You don't think it'll look, well, you know, odd," she asked.

"Don't be an idiot! No one will think it's strange," Daisuke said, "Now get over there. Everyone knows that you're really a guy, in spite of that body." Of course, he had to punctuate that statement by obviously ogling Ranma's assets, which earned him a swat from his fiancée Yuka.

Ranma walked hesitantly over to Akane and sat down next to her. She pulled the bigger girl into her lap, and held her, and cooed, "It's okay, Akane. You did your best, and that's all that matters in the end. There'll be other games, you'll do fine."

Akane collapsed, resting her head on her husband's shoulder and continued to cry for a moment, as Ranma traced calming circles on her back. Finally, she stopped, and said, "But we should have won! We were the better team, especially once you stopped that bitch."

"Sometimes things happen," Ranma replied, soothingly, "It'll be okay, no one blames you for losing."

"That's not true, I blame myself," Akane said, sadly.

"Did you do your best?" Ranma asked.

Akane nodded.

"Then you have nothing to be ashamed of," Ranma said, sternly, "I'm proud of the way you played, and you should be too. Your team just had a couple of unlucky bounces. You'll get them next time, I'm sure."

* * *

The Seisyun cheerleaders walked out of the gym, dressed in their school uniforms. Mariko drifted off, carrying her duffle bag. "I wonder what's bothering her," one girl said, "We won the match today."

A second girl replied, "She's always blue after a match."

A third asked, "Oh, why?"

"S-I-G-H," Mariko chanted, "I can't help but feel this way!" She sighed then, and said, wistfully, "Youth! Cheers! Victory! That is my F-A-T-E! But there's something missing in my life. The one more important thing!"

"Huh!" the other girls all exclaimed.

Mariko jumped into the air, and exclaimed, waving her pompoms, "That's L-O-V-E! Oh, Y-E-S." She settled to the ground and said, "Mariko so wants to fall in love," tears streaming down her cheeks.

Out of nowhere, a tall, handsome, young man slammed into Mariko, knocking her rudely to the ground, where she smashed the back of her head into the ground. The man staggered, keeping his balance, and politely held out his hand to pull her up. "I'm sorry, that was totally inexcusable of me," the man said, looking her over carefully. There, on the back of her head, he saw a large bump forming. "Oh dear, a bump!" the man exclaimed, while Mariko's heart thumped loudly, her eyes dazed. He placed a bandage on the bump. "There you go," he said, kindly, "Now, I must take my leave."

"Um," Mariko began, "Will you tell me your name?"

"The captain of the Furinkan High Kendo Club, Tatewaki Kuno," Kuno replied, as he strode briskly away, heading for his rendevous with Akari at an intimate little French restaurant that he had made reservations at.

Mariko stared after the heroic figure as he walked off into the sunset, which was very weird since it was but early evening and dusk was still some hours away, as the mood music swelled to a crescendo, which was likewise strange since there was no radios playing nearby. 'Mariko's never been treated so kindly by a man before,' she thought, with a heavy sigh. "This must be L-O-V-E!" she exclaimed, happily.

Her squad exclaimed, "OH-MY-GAAWWDD!" as they waved their pompoms in panic.

* * *

Early the next morning, Ranma and Akane were out jogging the streets of Nerima, before returning to the dojo to get ready for school that day. Suddenly, a crash of lighting, and a rumble of thunder occurred, and a sudden squall hit, instantly soaking both of them, and changing Ranma.

"I hate these sudden downpours," Ranma groused, as she pushed her hair out of her face, "It's not changing that's the problem, I just hate the feel of wet clothing."

Akane grinned and said, "I'd expect you to be used to it by now. It's not like you don't get splashed all the time."

Ranma scowled furiously at her wife, who broke out laughing. Finally, she grinned sheepishly and said, "Okay, you've made your point. Still doesn't mean I have to like being wet." She pulled her shirt out of her pants, and wrung the tails out.

"We might as well go on home. I hate to run when it's wet like this," Akane said.

"Works for me," Ranma agreed. The pair turned to head back home, when Tatewaki Kuno came trotting down the street, closely followed by his Kendo team.

"Morning, Saotomes," Kuno said, grandly in greeting.

"Morning, Kuno," Ranma replied, a bit brusquely.

"Good morning to you, upperclassman," Akane said, a bit more politely.

Kuno stopped, lightly jogging in place, and openly ogled Ranma, whose breasts were straining the light shirt she was wearing. "Tsk, such a pity a body like that is wasted on you," he said finally.

"Not like I asked for it," Ranma said, somewhat defensively.

"And I wouldn't say that it is wasted," Akane purred suggestively, causing Kuno's jaw to crash to the ground, and his eyes to glaze over in shock.

Ranma glanced over at her wife, and mouthed, "Bad girl. You'll break him." She turned to Kuno and asked, "What brings you here, Kuno?"

Kuno stood there, unresponsive, with that same stunned look on his face, until Ranma repeated her question a bit louder, bringing him back to his senses. "As you may know, the Furinkan High Kendo Club has a match next week with Seisyun," he replied, "So we need to reach the pinnacle of fitness and endurance."

"That's a good idea, Kuno," Akane said, amazed at his common sense.

"And, I'm glad that I ran into the two of you, as I am in need of some advice," Kuno said, "I heard about the cheerleading squad from Seisyun, and thought that it would be nice to have some of our own cheering us on. Do you know any of the girls that would be willing to come to our match and cheer for us?"

Ranma's sensed danger approaching, and dodged, just as three batons flashed by, imbedding themselves somehow in Kuno's forehead. She whirled and demanded, "Who's there?"

Standing there was the Seisyun cheerleading squad, with Mariko in the lead. "The only one who will be cheering for Kuno is Mariko! Me!" she exclaimed, waving her pompoms.

The guys of the Kendo club openly drooled over the girls opposite them, as they said, "Wow! Cheerleaders!"

The cheerleaders giggled among themselves and sighed, "The Kendo club. Aren't they dreamy?"

"Who are you to Kuno?" Mariko demanded.

A shrill voice butted in, and said, "My question exactly! Who are you? And why are you hitting on my boyfriend?"

Everyone turned to see a pretty girl, sitting atop a gigantic pig. "How did it get here without me hearing it?" Ranma asked herself, "That's one big pig."

"Who are you?" Mariko asked.

"Akari Unryu," Akari answered, an ugly scowl on her face, "Tatewaki is mine! We are destined to be together!"

Mariko hissed, "You and me! E-N-E-M-Y!"

"So be it," Akari said, her voice sounding like the voice of doom. An odd shiver ran through the crowd hearing this.

Kuno gazed disapprovingly at the young cheerleader and asked, "Who are you again? Do I know you?"

"Oh, Tatewaki, don't you remember me, Mariko Konjo, the head cheerleader of the Seisyun Martial Arts cheerleading squad," Mariko said.

"Cheerleader, huh, is that what you call yourself, you cow," Akari said, scathingly.

Ranma and Akane traded grins, and promptly jumped to the top of the wall, and ran off, leaving the sound of the two girls squabbling behind them. Finally, Ranma stopped, and broke out laughing.

Akane giggled and said, "I agree, that was hilarious."

Ranma gasped out, "It's about time somebody else got caught in one of those triangles. But, poor Akari. She doesn't deserve to be mixed up with Kuno."

"Who is she, anyway?" Akane asked.

"It's an odd story. She's a very nice girl, and I know that you liked her. In fact she's probably the most normal of the people that we ran into. Well, except for one thing. You saw that pig she was riding, I guess?" Ranma began.

Akane said, dryly, "It was a little hard to miss."

Ranma smiled wryly and continued, "For generations, her family has raised champion sumo wrestling pigs. The one she was riding on is named Katsunishiki, the fourteenth Yokozuna of pigdom. Before her father died, he told her to find a strong man, one strong enough to defeat Katsunishiki. The first time, she ran into Ryoga, and he defeated the pig. They finally got together, but I guess this time, Kuno beat Katsunishiki. So, she's swearing her undying love to the first jerk that defeated her pig."

"I'm not sure who to feel sorry for the most," Akane said, "Akari, or the pig."

* * *

Yuka was bouncing with excitement as they left the classroom to head outside for lunch. "Did you hear?" she asked, dragging Daisuke behind her as she sped to their spot.

"Hear what?" Akane asked, "And be careful. I think you nearly pulled Daisuke's arm out of its socket."

Yuka glanced over at her fiancé and saw the pained expression on his face. "I guess I don't know my own strength," she muttered as everyone sat down, except for Ukyo, who fired up her grill.

Ranma asked patiently, "What were you going on about, Yuka?"

"Somehow Kodachi's brother seems to have a couple of girls chasing him, and they are going to prove how much they love him," Yuka said

Ranma glanced over at Kodachi, who was wearing a bemused expression on her face. He began to grin crazily.

"I don't know all the details, but what Yuka said is the truth. These two girls, Mariko Konjo and Akari Unryu came out of nowhere and professed their love for my foolish brother," Kodachi said, "I met Akari, and she's nice enough."

"What was his reaction to that? Is he delusional enough to think that he can have them both?" Nabiki asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

Ranma smirked and said, "Oh, I'm pretty sure I can believe that. How 'bout you Akane?"

"Well, considering he was chasing the female you and me at the same time, sure. It's not too hard to believe at all," Akane said, "I had hoped his counseling sessions would have helped him overcome that, though."

"Well, I'm absolutely sure that Ranma wasn't encouraging him," Kodachi said, slyly, "and you probably weren't, but that didn't stop him from being convinced that you two wanted him."

"And now that he actually has two women that are crazy about him," Ukyo began.

"If you ask me, they are just plain crazy," Sayuri said.

"Actually, I think he really cares about Akari, they've been dating for a few days," Kodachi said, "And she's been in our home. She's a very sweet girl." She chuckled and said, "Probably much nicer than he deserves, to be honest."

Finally, Ranma broke out laughing, causing everyone but Akane to look at him strangely. "It's not me, this time!" he managed to gasp out.

Akane smirked and said, "Yep, someone else got caught up in the stream of chaos that flows around Nerima. It's about time it was someone else. I'd like a nice, peaceful week or two before things fall apart again."

"Be careful what you wish for, sis," Nabiki said, "You wouldn't know how to handle a peaceful week."

"Ha, ha, love you too, sis," Akane growled.

* * *

Tatewaki stopped at the top of the stairs exiting the building, and gazed across the courtyard at the crowd of students milling around, looking for places to eat lunch. He watched as the Saotomes and their friends took their seats and then panned away, hunting for the young woman of his dreams. Finally, he spotted her steed, the sturdy and faithful Katsunishiki and knew that Akari would not be far from that spot. Arrogantly, he strode down the stairs, his movements decisive and assured, and as if by magic, the crowd parted, leaving his path clear. 'Ha, they acknowledge my nobility and show me the respect due to someone of my standing,' he thought proudly, unaware that in reality, it had been simple Brownian motion, caused by the random vagaries of chance, that opened up the way. Soon, he arrived at his destination, and watched as the attractive young woman practiced with her batons, twirling them expertly.

Katsunishiki shifted his position, his tiny eyes narrowed in anger at the man who approached. He pawed the ground as if to charge the impudent midget nearing him, only to catch his mistress's attention.

"Katsunishiki, heel! He is my beloved, and you will obey him," Akari ordered, her face lighting up at the approach of the man she loved. Her exertions had caused a slight sheen of perspiration to appear on her forehead, and her cheeks to become rosy.

"Oh, Akari! All this practice just for me!" Kuno exclaimed, tears of happiness running down his face. He had his arms outspread to hug the ecstatic girl, who gladly joined him in an embrace.

"Get away from my love, you harlot!" an enraged voice screamed.

Akari sprang away from Kuno, just in time, as two batons hit the man in the face.

"Whoa, what accuracy!" an unnamed student said in awe.

"Don't fall, Kuno!" Akari said, as she grabbed his arms, as he was teetering backward from the force of the blow. She turned to glare at the girl who had dared hit her beloved Kuno.

Tatewaki felt his forehead, and then turned to his assailant. "Miss Konjo, why dost thou attack me?"

"Oh, Tatewaki, my love, I wasn't attacking you, I meant to hurt that vile woman," Mariko replied, two spots of red burning on her cheek, "I humbly apologize for striking you."

"Mariko, I'm not your love. I admit that you are attractive, but," Kuno began, only to be ignored by the two girls.

Mariko glared at Akari. She spat, "You lose!"

"What?" Akari exclaimed.

"To cheer is to love, L-O-V-E!" Mariko chanted, waving her pompoms, "You have to smile lovingly at the person to cheer him on!"

"Are you saying there is no love in my cheering? How would you know? You weren't here to watch me practice," Akari retorted, angrily.

Mariko cried, "Duh! If I were Kuno's girlfriend, I'd do anything that he wanted me to."

The gathered crowd gasped.

Akari sneered, and said, "So, I am his girlfriend, and I would do anything too."

The crowd gasped again.

Kuno hung his head for a moment, and said, "You don't have to prove your love to me, Akari."

"Kuno, no, please, you must pick me, alone," Mariko begged. She turned her lovesick eyes toward Kuno and gazed adoringly at him. "Oh Kuno," she sighed, "Do with me what you will."

The crowd gasped once more.

Kuno stammered, "Y-y-you'll really let me do anything?"

Mariko nodded her head, as she heard Kuno's heart begin to pound feverishly.

"Then close your eyes, and lift up your face," Kuno said gently.

Mariko complied, trusting him implicitly, and puckering her full, ruby red lips.

The boys standing around the trio gulped, and several of them adjusted their suddenly tight collars.

Kuno bent down and pulling a marker out of nowhere drew designs on the beautiful girls face.

Mariko blushed and said, "Oh you silly boy!"

"It's all in good jest," Kuno explained, handing her his handkerchief to remove the markings.

One of the boys gasped, "She really will let him do anything!"

"SHE REALLY IS IN LOVE WITH KUNO!" the boys exclaimed.

"I admire your conviction," Kuno began, his eyes glowing with admiration. He paused for a moment, as if to study her, and to collect his thoughts.

Mariko smiled prettily as she heard him say those words, and blushed slightly, feeling the warmth of his gaze, kindling a fire deep inside her.

"And I am flattered that such a lovely woman is in love with me," Kuno added, causing Mariko to blush even more, dropping her eyes to the ground, and Akari's beautiful face to darken with a menacing scowl.

Mariko attempted to hug the man she loved, that loved her, only for him to step back.

"However," Kuno concluded sadly, "My heart belongs to another. And whilst once, perhaps, I may have been delusional enough to think that I could love two women equally at the same time." His eyes scanned the crowd until he found Ranma and Akane in the midst of their friends, and smirked, as he finished, "Well, I'd like to think I'm a little wiser now."

Ranma and Akane returned the smirk, and Ranma shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Maybe."

Kuno sighed, and ended, "I'm sorry that I cannot return your affections, Mariko Konjo, but I have found true happiness at last with the spirited woman who has won my heart."

Mariko fell to her knees and pleaded, her arms outstretched, "No, Tatewaki, please do not trample my heart this way. You cannot mean that."

Kuno shook his head sadly and pulled her to her feet, staggering her with his strength. Before he could react, she flung herself at him and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Akari smouldered, her eyes nearly shooting daggers at the kissing couple. Then, to her surprise, Kuno broke free. Taking several long strides, he was upon her before she realized and repeated the same kiss that he had just shared with Mariko.

Now, it was Mariko's turn to shoot daggers at Akari. Fortunately for all concerned, she was not a master of the Hidden Weapons School, so her daggers were merely figurative. She rushed over, prepared to pull the harlot away from her lover, only to be captured by Kuno's strong right arm.

"You should not have done that, Mariki Konjo. My kisses are not something I give away lightly," Kuno chided gently, "And they belong only to the woman I love."

Mariko turned hate-filled eyes at her rival and hissed, "This isn't over. Not by a long shot. I will defeat you and claim the man I love as my prize." She turned proudly to Kuno, and pulled herself away from him, and said, "I won't give you up without a fight, and Mariko Konjo never loses."

Kuno sighed heavily and shook his head. "Please, don't do this, Mariko Konjo. I know it will be hard for you to find someone who can measure up to me, but there is someone out there for you. You are an attractive woman, and any man would be lucky to be with you, but I am not that man."

Akari bristled at her boyfriend, and Akane and Ranma groaned at the faux pas that Kuno had just committed.

"I will see you at the match," Mariko spat, as she stormed away, radiating her anger and embarrassment.

"Tatewaki, we need to talk," Akari said in a sickly sweet voice that caused all who heard it to back away.

"I didn't want her to kiss me, and I didn't kiss her back, I promise," Kuno began, impressing several in the crowd, who hadn't thought that he was that smart.

"That's not the reason I'm angry with you," Akari growled, as she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the crowd, "You think she is attractive."

"Akari, I'm in love, not blind. But that is no reason for you to be jealous. She is an attractive woman, but not as pretty as you are," Kuno said, obliviously, "After the days that we have spent together; I know that you are as attractive on the inside as you are on the outside."

"That was impressive, especially coming from Kuno," Akane said.

"Probably stole it from some fortune cookie," Ranma scoffed.

They watched as all of the anger drained from Akari's face, and she blushed, clapping her hands to her face to hide. "I'm sorry, Tacchi, I don't deserve you," she whispered.

"Nay, gentle Akari, it was fate that caused us to meet, but it is love that will keep us together," Kuno said, softly.

"I'm not sure what is worse, Kuno mangling Shakespearean sonnets, or American pop songs," Sayuri whispered to Yuka.

"They are equally bad," Yuka replied, causing both girls to giggle.

* * *

Sato once again trudged down the street to his house, noticing that again there was a large hole in the lot next door, and a cable company truck parked beside his house. As he neared the hole, a man in a hard hat stood up, shading his eyes against the setting sun. "Evening," Sato said, politely, "Did you find the problem with my cable?"

"I assume you must be Sato," the repairman replied. He dusted off his hands and bowed politely, then replied, "Sato-san, I have found the break in the line. It looks almost like it was cut by something."

"There was a leak in the water line and the water company sent out a pretty inept crew to work on it. I suppose they could have cut it," Sato said.

The man shrugged and said, "I should have this fixed in twenty minutes or so. I had to disconnect the line at the house, so I could hook up my break detector. Amazing thing really, it measures the strength of the reflection to find out where the break is."

"I really appreciate you coming out here and working on this, especially this late. It is nearly dark," Sato said.

"No problem, it's all part of the service after all, and since it's on our side of the line, you don't even have to pay for the call," the man said.

"Is this the last call for you tonight?" Sato asked.

The man replied, "No, actually I have one more."

"Well, then, best I let you get back to work," Sato said, as he bowed. He walked up to his door and retrieved his mail, and then unlocked the door. Entering the house, he slipped out of his shoes and headed into the family room, idly sorting the mail. "Bill, bill, junk, bank statement, junk, bill, hmm, what's this? Looks important," he said, as he fingered an impressive envelope. He slit it open and pulled out a legal document. Scanning it briefly, he cursed as he saw that it was a copy of a petition for divorce. "That bitch," he swore, "I'll show her who's in charge." He threw the document to the floor and ground it under his foot as the tossed the remaining mail onto the table to be handled later.

* * *

Yumi came back from the market, her arms laden with groceries for the evening meal. As she opened the gate, a figure appeared from the shadows.

"Hello, wife," Sato sneered, "Did you really think I was just going to let you go this easily?"

Yumi set her baskets down and straightened up, squaring her shoulders. With a bitter laugh, she replied, coldly, "You're the one who drove me out of my own house! And besides, why would you care? Our marriage has been a sham for years now. With me out of the way, you can openly be with those tramps you prefer."

"Because you belong to me, that's why!" Sato roared, causing Yumi to back away from him. Sato lunged forward and, with one meaty paw, grabbed her arm and yanked her cruelly towards him.

"What's going on here?" a steely voice asked.

Sato turned to see a somewhat slender, middle-aged man, with long, black hair, standing in the gate, his eyes blazing with anger. "None of your business!" Sato snarled, "Now, get out of here before someone gets hurt!"

Yumi breathed a sigh of relief as Soun appeared. "Soun, thank goodness," she whispered.

"Someone will get hurt, that I can promise you," Soun said, in a voice that could freeze hydrogen. "Let her go, NOW!" he barked, stressing the last word. Sato flinched; dropping Yumi's arm and she rapidly scurried away, getting behind Soun.

Soun spared a brief glance at Yumi and said, gently, "Go inside, I'll take care of this."

"Be careful, he's tough," Yumi said, as she darted down the path to the house.

Sato tried to follow, only to have Soun move smoothly in front of him, blocking his way.

"You've no business here. I suggest you leave," Soun spat, his eyes still glowing with anger.

"That's my wife!" Sato protested, "And that makes her my property. Now get out of my way, little man, or I'll be forced to hurt you!"

"No, you'll just try," Soun said, "I don't really like men who beat up women. They really annoy me. And, I was really hoping you would be stupid enough to come here and try something. I really was."

Sato growled, "I tried to be reasonable, but you asked for this. Be prepared for a world of pain." He threw a haymaker punch with all his might, one that if it landed would have caused serious damage, only to see his opponent sway out of the way.

A look of glee appeared on Soun's face as he said, "Thank you. Now it's my turn!" In a flurry of movement, Soun showed that while he may not be Ranma's, or even Aksne's, equal as a martial artist, he was still no slouch. With a smile of satisfaction, he finished, leaving a bruised and battered man unconscious at his feet.

"Not bad for an old man," Ranma said from the top of the wall, a smirk on his face.

"What are you doing up there?" Soun asked the grinning young man.

"Nothing really. Yumi told me what was happening and thought you might want a little help. It was easier to just come out here," Ranma replied, jumping down and landing lightly on the sidewalk, "I was pretty sure she was worried about nothing, and was wrong about you needing any help. And I'm happy to see that I was correct, though I do have a few comments about your performance. That third blow was just a little over-extended, maybe a millimeter, and if Sato had caught it, you might have been in trouble. And then, that leg sweep, what were you thinking?"

"Yes, sensei," Soun said, dryly, "I have no idea." The two of them chuckled for a few moments.

"Anyway, I guess we're done here," Ranma said, after they had sobered up a bit, "Well, except for taking out the trash, maybe."

"What should we do with him?" Soun asked.

"Take him to the clinic, I suppose, and have Doc patch him up," Ranma replied, "Or I can simply take him to his house and dump him there."

"That will probably work. Just take him home and maybe the pounding I gave him will make him get the message," Soun said.

Ranma shrugged and said, "I doubt that, but it's your call." He picked Sato up and slung him over his shoulder. Then, with a prodigous show of strength, he jumped to the top of the wall.

Soun watched as Ranma started roof-hopping, until the young man was out of sight. He picked up the two baskets of groceries that Yumi had dropped and walked to the house, where his oldest daughter met him. She took the groceries from his arms, as he asked, "How is she?"

"Pretty shaken up," Kasumi replied, "She's in her room, crying."

"Should I talk to her?" Soun asked.

Kasumi looked uncertain, but replied, "That might help. But I just don't know, Daddy. Where's her husband?"

"Ranma is taking him home," Soun replied, "and probably planning on explaining why it would be a bad idea to come back here." The two of them walked into the house, with Soun peeling off at the door to the downstairs guest room. He knocked politely, and asked, "May I come in?"

The door flew open and Yumi threw her arms around him, surprising them both, tears streaming from her eyes.

Soun froze for a moment, and then patted her on the back, awkwardly, not used to having a woman in his arms any more.

Yumi pulled away, her face red at her inappropriate behavior, and bowed. "Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?" she asked, frantically.

"You know, I'm beginning to get annoyed," Soun said, a touch of humor in his voice, "Everyone seems to forget that I'm a martial artist and can take care of myself. Don't worry, he never touched me, and I left him pretty battered."

"He's still out there!" Yumi exclaimed.

"No, Ranma is taking him home," Soun explained, "And I doubt that you need to worry about Sato. But, just to be on the safe side, when you need to leave the house, let me know and I'll go with you."

"That is much too kind," Yumi said, "I'm so sorry for putting you and your family in danger. I think it would be best for me to leave."

"I disagree, this is the safest place for you to be," Soun said, and then with a wry smile, "Besides, who would play shogi with me if you left?"

That statement pulled a snort of laughter from Yumi. She blushed and said, "I'm sorry for hugging you like that. I could tell I made you uncomfortable."

"It caught me a bit by surprise, but I don't think I'm sorry you did it," Soun said, "I, actually, rather enjoyed it. Now, I think you need a little something to take your mind off of what happened, so why don't we go help Kasumi in the kitchen."

"Oh my, it's my night to cook," Yumi exclaimed as she rushed down the hall to the kitchen, unaware of the appraising look she was getting from Soun.

* * *

Ranma felt his burden begin to stir, so he looked for a convenient place to stop. Spying a vacant lot, strewn with several large concrete blocks that were evidently part of a construction site, he stopped and dumped Sato to the ground.

Sato groaned, and opened his eyes, his vision a bit blurred for a moment, and then a young man swam into view as they cleared. "Who are you?" he asked.

"The name's Ranma Saotome," Ranma said, "The grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, and the son-in-law of Soun Tendo, the man who just kicked your sorry ass."

"He got in a lucky punch," Sato snarled, "I'll take care of him the next time I see him."

"I don't think the message is getting through to you," Ranma said, "You aren't to go near Yumi, or any of the rest of my family."

"What can you do to me? You're nothing but a punk kid, with an attitude," Sato growled, struggling to sit up.

"No actually I'm your worst nightmare," Ranma replied. He walked over to one of the concrete blocks, and yelled, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" As he did, he stabbed the block with his finger, causing it to explode into tiny pieces of shrapnel, which littered the ground for yards.

Sato gaped at the display in front of him.

Ranma smiled, a deadly smile, and said, "Now imagine if I did that to your ribcage, or maybe your skull. What do you think would happen to you?"

Sato looked at him, horrified, and replied, "It would kill me!"

"Well, it certainly wouldn't make your day, that's for sure," Ranma said, "Now, why don't you get out of my sight. You sicken me. You're nothing but a bullying coward, picking on someone weaker than you. I don't like men who hurt women, so if I see you again, you won't like what happens, I can promise you that."

Sato got unsteadily to his feet, and stood there for a moment, his face white with fear. Ranma stared back impassively, his body relaxed, waiting for Sato to react. The older man began to back away, and exclaimed, "Don't hurt me! I'm leaving!" He staggered away, muttering imprecations under his breath, as Ranma looked on impassively. Once the large man got out of sight, Ranma's mouth quirked into a grin and then he broke out laughing as he made his way back home.

* * *

Author's Note: Another installment in my saga. I hope that it was a fun read for all of you who took the time. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. If the review is signed, and there is a question in it, I will endeavor to reply. 


	65. Win One for the Lover

Chapter 65 Win One for the Lover

A lone figure trudged wearily down the strand, following a set of panda footprints that occasionally vanished where the waves rolling in long swells had washed the evidence of the prey's passage away. The strand narrowed to a rocky stretch bordered on one side by the crashing seas, and on the other by a tall cliff. As the figure gingerly made its way past the slick rocks, it stopped as a stately manor came into view, perched atop a large walled platform that protected it from the rage of the water. 'That's an odd looking building to find in Japan,' the figure thought, 'It looks like something you might see in Europe, not here.' The footprints continued to a small set of steps carved laboriously into the wall, which led to the top of the platform. The sun slowly settled toward the horizon, forcing the tracker to hurry up the steps, and the flagstone capped patio overlooking the water far below. A large panda was lying on a comfortable looking lounge chair, a tall drink with a paper umbrella sticking out of it was on a small table next to the chair, beads of moisture rolling off the glass.

"There you are!" the figure exclaimed, "What are you doing lying around here, when you were supposed to be redeeming yourself?"

The panda took off the unneeded sunglasses and cringed.

"STOP!" a young boy's voice called through the open door, "Don't hurt my poor Kumahachi!"

The figure turned to see a young boy, sitting up in a large bed, leaning against a pillow. "Kuma – who?" she asked.

"Come Kumahachi, attaboy," the boy called.

The panda rolled out of the lounge chair and padded quietly into the house.

"It's not my husband?" the figure gasped.

"Want some dinner?" the boy asked, holding up a tray filled with a rice bowl, a plate of fish, and some soup.

The panda took the tray, and poured some soy sauce next to the fish, and then snapped a set of bamboo chopsticks apart.

"Yes, that is my wayward husband, after all," Nodoka said, a hint of fire in her voice.

The panda whipped out a sign that read, 'I can explain everything!'

"This better be good," Nodoka said, her eyes blazing, as her hand itched to reach for the handle of the sword hidden in the bundle she was carrying.

"Hello, does that panda belong to you?" a woman's voice asked. Nodoka turned to see an attractive foreign woman, wearing a long, formal dress, standing in the doorway.

"Mommy!" the young boy exclaimed, exploding out of his bed, and running over to the woman. Nodoka hid her amusement as she saw that his pajamas were decorated with little panda faces.

"Oh, Yotaro," the woman said.

Nodoka smiled and said, "Yes, I'm afraid that it is. I've been looking for him for several days now."

'I wasn't lost,' the panda's sign read, 'I was here all along.'

"You have it very well trained. How did you get it to use those signs? And it seems to understand what I say," the woman asked.

"Yes, it's amazing how sometimes it appears almost human," Nodoka said, with a grin, "And then it goes and does something to show that it really is nothing but a dumb animal."

'Hey, I resent that remark,' the next sign read.

The woman giggled and said, "Hello, my name is Elinor. Would you care to join us for dinner?"

"Where are my manners?" Nodoka wondered as she bowed politely. "I am Nodoka Saotome, and yes, I would be honored to join you." She followed Elinor into a formal dining room, where the table was groaning with food, with the panda salivating at the feast laid out in front of here.

"Please, sit next to me. My husband rarely gets back from the city during the week, and I find that I miss adult conversation," Elinor said.

"How long have you lived here, since it is obvious that neither you nor your son is Japanese?" Nodoka asked, politely.

"My husband Henry is in the English diplomatic corps, so we have been here since Yotaro was an infant. After a few years though, I was so homesick for my province of Aquitaine, that he had this house built," Elinor replied.

"It is a lovely home. You should be very proud of it," Nodoka said, as they began to eat.

"Thank you," Elinor replied, "I like it, though I sometimes think I rattle around in here, it's so large."

Yotaro piped up and asked, "Mommy, can I take my plate back to bed? I'm still feeling a little weak."

Elinor looked fondly at her son and said, "Of course, dear. Do you need any help or can you manage?"

"I can do it, I'm a big boy now," Yotaro said, as he climbed carefully down from his chair, and then delicately walked back into his room, where presumably he got back into his bed.

Elinor waited for a moment for her son to get out of earshot, and then said, "As you see, my son has been very weak since birth, and detested going outside to play."

The panda began to eat the food spread out in front of it, not noticing the icy glare from Nodoka.

"I've tried everything to make him more outdoorsy, but," Elinor began.

Nodoka interrupted gently, and asked, "Does this eventually have something to do with the panda?"

Elinor smiled sadly and replied, "Yes, several months ago, I was urging Yotaro to go outside, when he told me that he would never go outside unless I got him a panda. Well, since I knew that that was impossible, I felt nothing but despair at that pronouncement, and didn't know what to do. But, then, about two weeks ago, I was walking on the beach, as I am wont to do, when I spotted a panda standing by the water's edge, bracketed by the setting sun. I rushed over, no fear in my heart, and embraced the bear, thanking God for its appearance, knowing now that my son would be saved."

'You mean, Genma actually is doing something good?' Nodoka wondered to herself, 'Maybe he is getting better finally!'

"But all he did at first was sleep and eat and lounge with Yotaro inside the house," Elinor continued.

'Then again, maybe not,' Nodoka thought as she turned and glared at the panda, who shrank back in fear.

'I didn't know at first,' the panda's sign read in self-defense.

"The third evening it was here, I knelt down by my bed to do my evening prayers, asking God for help with getting Yotaro outside," Elinor added, "And something or someone must have heard me, because the next day, the panda managed to coax Yotaro to the patio."

'Maybe he does have a heart of gold,' Nodoka thought. She smiled and said, "I will have to take it home eventually. There are things waiting."

"Don't take him!" Yotaro cried, rushing back into the dining room.

Elinor looked at her son, a sad expression on her face as she said, "Now, honey, the panda belongs to this nice lady."

"NO! NO! Kumahachi's mine!" Yotaro screamed, grabbing the panda around one pudgy leg.

"Poor Yotaro," Elinor said, as she rose, and pulled her son into a hug, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, dear, but Mr. Panda can't stay here forever. There are things that it needs to do," Nodoka said, soothingly.

"But, I have some good news for you," Elinor said, "That nice lady said that perhaps Kumahachi could visit."

"I did?" Nodoka said, quietly, "Don't remember saying that."

"But, after all of the sashimi, caviar and lobster I got for your panda after it got Yotaro outside," Elinor said, apparently managing to overhear the remarks.

"My, my, my! We did have a nice couple of weeks, didn't we?" Nodoka asked the panda.

Suddenly, the panda was on his back, juggling a large beach ball, and holding a sign that read, 'I'm just a cute panda!'

"Cute panda, huh," Nodoka said.

"Please, I'll go outside everyday, if only you'll let him stay," Yotaro promised.

'Give me to him, give me to him!' the panda's sign read.

Nodoka smiled and said sweetly, "Very well, Elinor, I'll leave Mr. Panda here for another week, but only if you promise to serve it the appropriate diet. You see, pandas can't really eat just anything, and only get what they need from bamboo shoots."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Elinor gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, "Of course, I promise to do that."

"Excellent," Nodoka said, "Well, then, I'll be back in a couple of weeks to take Mr. Panda off your hands."

'Don't leave me here!' the panda's sign read, not that anyone actually took the time to read it or even spared a glance at the suddenly ashen-faced panda.

"It's late, why don't you stay the night and get a start in the morning," Elinor suggested, "Besides, we haven't finished dinner, yet." She rang a small bell, discretely near her chair.

A man dressed very formally opened a door discretely hidden behind a screen, and asked, "Yes, Miss Elinor?"

"Jeeves, please, I need you to obtain some bamboo shoots for our furry guest, and don't let it eat anything else, tell the rest of the staff that also," Elinor ordered.

"Very good," the butler said, with a brief sketch of a bow.

"Also, find us a good bottle of wine," Elinor added, "Something not too heavy."

"I have just the thing, madame," Jeeves replied, and left the room.

* * *

Shigeru looked up as he heard a hesitant cough from the door to his office. His secretary was standing there, her head bowed. "Yes, Maehara, what can I do for you?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.

"It's just that it's quitting time, sir, and I wanted to let you know that I was leaving," the shy girl replied.

Sato glanced at the clock on his desk in some surprise and said, "So it is. This day went by much quicker than I realized."

"Yes, sir, that happens when there is a lot of work to do," his secretary replied. She hesitated and then asked, "Will you be staying late again tonight, sir?"

Sato looked at the stack of folders in his Inbox and gauged the size of it. "Yes, I expect to be here at least another hour, maybe a little longer," he replied, "These should be ready for you on Monday."

"The work certainly has piled up since Yoshida-san retired," his secretary commented. She looked hesitant, and then blurted out, "Is there anything I need to do before I go?"

Sato looked up in surprise, and replied, "No, you go home and have a good time this weekend."

"Thank you, sir. I will," the girl replied, her face lighting up.

"Big plans, I assume," Shigeru asked.

"Sort of. I have an anniversary dinner to prepare for senpai and his wife," the girl said, blushing madly for some reason.

"That's extremely kind of you. Now, be off. You don't want to miss your train," Sato replied, not unkindly.

"Yes, sir. You have a good weekend too, if that isn't being too forward," she said, bowing politely. She turned and walked away, unaware that she was being watched closely.

"She sure is a pretty thing, but that's got to be an act she's putting on. No one can be that innocent. Shame she's entirely too young for me, and besides, it's never a good idea to fish that close to the company pool," Sato muttered, as he finally tore his eyes away from the way her rear was moving under her tight skirt. He sighed and pulled the next folder down off the pile, and began reviewing the numbers on the paper it contained, idly listening to the sounds of the office as people began to leave, the ping of the elevators as they opened on this floor finally dieing down as the last people fled for the weekend. Sato rubbed his weary eyes and stood up, stretching, as several vertebrae screamed in protest. He walked out of his office to find the rest of the floor dark. Leaning against the wall, he thought, 'These thefts have been going on for almost a year, and no one picked up on them until now. So, if I add a little larceny, no one will notice." He returned to the office, but entered the one that used to belong to Yoshida. "Funny guy, but his memory was shot," Sato muttered as he fired up the computer on the desk, and turned over the blotter to find the password for Yoshida's account written in red ink on the underside of the pad. "Hmm, odd password. Iscariot, I wonder what that meant," he said, as he logged in under Yoshida's account. Then he quickly entered a few invoices for a dummy company that he had created, with a front for the address. Then, he sat there for a long moment, his finger hovering over the 'Enter' key, until with a load groan; he crossed the Rubicon and pressed the key, submitting the invoices for reimbursement. "After all, if he paid me what I was worth, this wouldn't be necessary," he rationalized as he shut everything else down, and returned to his office to finish the remaining paperwork.

* * *

Nabiki smiled as she read the e-mail from one of the experts she had working on the Sato situation and used all of her considerable willpower not to squeal like a fangirl. 'Excellent, it looks like that rat bastard took the bait,' she thought, 'didn't move a lot of money, just twenty thousand and change, but it's a start.' She quickly typed up a reply and sent it back, a simple message that basically telling her agent to continue observing but not to make any overt moves. "Let's give him a little bit more line before we reel him in. He's a tricky one, and I don't want any mistakes on this. Perhaps another month?" she said to herself, unaware of her audience standing at the door, "Or would it be better to wait even a bit longer? See just how greedy that arse can be? I need to think about that for a bit. Don't need to rush any decisions on that. I need to sleep on that." She scanned through the rest of her e-mails, giggling uncharacteristically as she finished the one from Souta and shut everything down and then locked the computer, just as Hinako bounced in.

"Na-chan, will you play with me? I'm bored to tears," the young girl announced with a pretty pout.

Nabiki chuckled and asked the boisterous girl, "Didn't we work off all of your energy this afternoon in the dojo? Do I need to ask sensei Ranma to work you harder?"

"What can I say?" Hinako replied, "I'm a kid, with a fast recovery time. Anyway, can we do something? I finished all of my homework, and there's nothing good on TV."

"How about we read a story together?" Nabiki suggested.

Hinako mulled that over for a minute and then nodded her head enthusiastically.

Nabiki rose from her chair and looked over a set of well-thumbed books, until she found one that she thought Hinako would enjoy. She walked over to the bed, and sat down on. She placed her pillow between her and the wall and leaned back, and then waited for Hinako to climb on and lean back against her. Nabiki began to read, "Lessa woke, cold. Cold with more…"

* * *

Kasumi walked past the open door to her sister's room, and paused as she heard the light murmur of Nabiki's voice as she read. 'Hmm, Dragonflight,' she thought, 'I haven't read that in years.' She stuck her head in the door and smiled warmly at the sight in front of her. Nabiki was sitting on the bed, with Hinako sleeping in her lap.

Nabiki looked up, a smile on her face, and placed her finger over her lip. Then she continued reading the story.

Kasumi returned the smile and gently closed the door, leaving the two of them alone. 'I'm glad Hi-chan came to live with us,' she thought, 'Her coming has brought Nabiki back. That's the smile that she used to have, the one from before Mommy died. It's good to see it return.'

* * *

Kodachi watched from the shadows as her brother's paramour practiced her cheerleading routines, chanting out her love until she collapsed bonelessly to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes.

"I can't do this!" Akari exclaimed, "That cow is prettier than I am, she has a perkier personality, and a better figure to boot! I can't beat her and I'll lose Tachi!"

"Listen to yourself!" Kodachi retorted, startling Akari, who squeaked in surprise. Kodachi stormed over and towered over Akari, and asked, gently, "Do you love my idiot of a brother or not?"

Akari turned her tear-filled face toward Kodachi, and whispered, "Yes, I do, with all my heart. And it hurts to know that he'll leave me for that girl."

"I'm not sure he's good enough for you, Akari," Kodachi said as she knelt down and gathered the other girl into a hug, "I've only known you for a few days, but already I can tell that you are a warm, compassionate girl, maybe a bit deluded if you're truly in love with my brother. I know that if things work out between the two of you, I will be honored to have you in our family. Don't put yourself down. You may not be the world's greatest cheerleader, but other than that, you're much better than Mariko."

"Do you really mean that, Kodachi?" Akari asked, a smile threatening to break out on her face.

"Yes, Akari, I do. Now dry off those foolish tears. You don't have to prove anything to either me or my brother about how you feel about him," Kodachi said warmly.

* * *

Kodachi stormed into her brother's bedroom, her face set in an angry snarl.

"What's the matter, my not-so-twisted sister? Have I offended you in some manner?" her brother asked, from where he was sitting on the floor.

"That was the most uncomfortable dinner that I have ever sat through, brother dearest," she snapped back, "How could you be so unfeeling toward Akari?"

"What? I'm afraid that I really don't know what you are talking about," Kuno replied, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"The way you were talking about that kendo match tomorrow, and how much you were looking forward to seeing Mariko cheering for you. Just how insensitive can you be!" Kodachi exploded, "Akari is afraid that she is going to lose you to that brainless big-boobed bimbo, and to hear you even mention her name is only reinforcing those fears."

Kuno hung his head in shame and asked, "Is that why she suddenly excused herself from the table and ran to the guest room?"

Kodachi merely turned an icy stare on him, and he swore he could feel the temperature in the room drop ten degrees.

"Then I guess I need to talk to her," Kuno said, hoping to get a clue from his sister.

"That might be a good start. I swear to you, if you hurt that girl's feelings again, I'll break out my old potions lab equipment again!" Kodachi growled, "That girl is crazy in love with you, and I sure thought that you returned her feelings."

"I do love her, it's just that, well, I've never had two girls fighting over me, and it felt nice. I don't really care which one cheers for me tomorrow. I'm going to the match with Akari, and I'll come home with her," Kuno promised.

"I'm not the one who needs to hear that," Kodachi said, a tad impatiently, "The one who does is probably crying her eyes out right now. You go in there and fix this, right now!"

Kuno rose gracefully from his lotus position and headed out the door. He paused for a moment, and surprised his sister by a brief hug and a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, little sister. I'm still pretty clueless about all this men-women thing," he admitted sadly, "I'm going to need some help to keep from screwing things up." He strode quickly out the door, leaving his bemused sister lightly touching the place where he kissed her.

* * *

The day of the match between Furinkan and Seisyun High Schools and arrived and Kuno led his warriors into the courtyard in front of his school, his chest pushed proudly forward, as he strutted, an arrogant and empty look on his face. A look that was devoid of any sign of intelligience, with a pretty girl dressed as a cheerleader hanging on to his arm. He turned and began an oration, saying, "My noble club, kendo is the pinnacle of sports. We represent the best that our school stands for, and we will show both our classmates and our opponents that. We will honor our ancestors by the way we perform today. I am honored to be your captain, and thank you for the faith that you have put in me. Today, we are fighting for glory, for honor." He paused, and looked tenderly down at the girl by his side and said, softly, "But most of all, for love." He raised his eyes once more to the troop and continued, more forcefully, "You enter these hallowed halls once more, not as students, but as warriors fighting for dignity and respect. You have earned your position on this team by your hard work, your dedication, and your efforts. I am proud to say that I have never seen a better, more illustrious, kendo club. So says, me, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of this Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

A round of polite applause was heard from the students who had gathered around, as well as a few less polite snickers from a small group of students, one of which had red hair, and the other was so black it was almost blue.

"Come, my valiant army, let us go forth and meet our destiny!" Kuno finished, turning with a swirl of robes, and he marched forth toward the gymnasium, where the match was to be held. Across the front of the school, the large banner screamed out, 'Furinkan High vs. Seisyun High, Kendo Club Tournament, with martial arts cheerleading!'

The crowd rushed in behind the Kendo club, with one boy exclaiming, "Did you hear? There's a battle going on between the cheerleaders."

"Yes!" exclaimed another, "And they are both going to be cheering for Kuno!"

"Lucky dog, to have two women fighting over him!" exclaimed a third.

* * *

The two teams began their warm-ups on either end of the gym floor while the crowds poured in. Mariko stood near her team, idly twirling her baton, and exclaimed, "Today, I shall truly win Kuno's heart once and for all!"

The captain of the Seisyun club marched over and asked, "Mariko Konjo, is it true what they are saying?"

"Oh, it's you, what's his name, the captain of the Seisyun Kendo club," Mariko said absently.

"Are you cheering for Kuno – from Furinkan High?" the captain asked, his expression hidden behind his mask.

A second player cried, tears seeping out from under the mask, and asked, "B-but what's going to become of us?"

"Don't worry! Mariko will cheer for you too!" Mariko said, a beaming smile on her face. She picked up a large tray of food and said, "Here this is for you!"

The team took the food and quickly gobbled it down. "MMMM, this is delicious!" one fighter said.

A second added, "Oh, Mariko, thank you. Thank you!"

Then suddenly, the team fell, one last scream, "Gaaaak. Paralysis powder!"

Kuno came rushing over and asked, "What happened here?"

"Now do you believe in my L-O-V-E?" Mariko asked, quickly grasping his hands with hers.

"Kuno, are you sure you want to win like this?" his second asked.

"Dirty tricks, I see," Akari said.

"Duh!" Mariko scoffed, "LOVE means getting MUDDY, not being some FUDDY-DUDDY!" She began twirling her batons, and exclaimed, "Now, that I've taken care of the Seisyun Kendo club, that leaves only one thing left to do! Taking care of you!" She flung her batons at Akari, only to watch in disbelief as Kuno jumped in front of Akari and with several swishes of his bokken, diverted the batons back towards Mariko.

Mariko gasped, "My love, why have you betrayed me like this!"

Kuno asked, his voice dripping with scorn, "Do I understand correctly that you drugged your team to show your love for me?"

"Yes, my darling Kuno," Mariko replied, stung slightly by his tone.

Kuno sighed heavily and turned to his second. "Arrange a new day with the umpires for a rematch with Seisyun. If one can not be found, forfeit this match," he ordered.

"What?" Mariko screeched, "You would deny my love like this!"

Kuno eyes grew cold, and he replied, "By your own actions, you have shown you know nothing about me. This action is reminiscent of the way my twisted sister used to win her matches, a practice that was always repugnant to me.I have led my warriors to victory before, for our school's honor, for our honor, and for the glory of being the best. My fights have always been fair, my opponents worthy to cross blades with me, and they did me the honor of doing their best. You have denied me my chance at showing my prowess, denied me the glory and the honor of showing why I am the undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" He turned, and held out his hand to Akari. "Shall we go, my love?" he asked.

"O Tachi," Akari breathed as she held his hand. The two of them turned to leave, but not before she pulled her eye down at Mariko.

"I can't believe it!" Mariko sobbed, "You chose that pig farmer over me?"

"She knows the value I place on honor, on courage, on valour," Kuno said.

"And I'm not a pig farmer! I raise warriors, they just happen to be pigs," Akari retorted, "At least I'm not a fishmonger's daughter, like you are!"

"Well, Mariko won't let this stop her," Mariko crooned into a conveniently placed microphone, as the crowd quieted, "even if it must be an UNREQUITED love, I will treasure it forever. Oh Kuno, Thank you for all those wonderful memories."

"Would you call any of this wonderful?" one of the crowd asked.

"Well, if she says so," a second replied.

"Goodbye, Kuno," Mariko sobbed, as she ran off.

Kuno looked after her uncertainly, but then felt Akari squeeze his hand. He shrugged and the two of them left the building.

Mariko turned as they disappeared out the door. "Wait, that's the one attack that never fails! Pretending to run away so he'll stop you! The Boomerang of Love!" she gasped, "How could this be?"

* * *

Yumi glided into the family room, her movements graceful, as she finally recovered from the bruising, to find Soun Tendo once again wrestling with his long-distance shogi opponent. She bit her lip to keep from giggling as the expressions on his faced changed rapidly as he considered his position. Finally, he pushed a piece forward, and examining the results he nodded in satisfaction. Reaching down to his left, he picked up his inkstick and paper, and quickly scribed the move in the space that he had left blank for it, and sealed it up in the small envelope that was waiting for it. "S-soun," she stammered, still unused to using his first name, "I have a favor I must ask of you."

Soun glanced up, with a smile on his face. "Certainly,Yumi, you have only to ask," he replied.

"Um, well, I really need to do some shopping, and," she began.

"Of course, I will be honored to escort you," Soun interrupted, "I want to drop this off at the post office anyway, and going with you will give me an excuse to get away from the house."

Yumi smiled prettily and said, "I just need to get my purse, and I'll be ready to go."

"I'll leave a note for Kasumi so she won't wonder where we are when she gets in from college," Soun said, as he stood up quickly. He headed into the kitchen and quickly left a note on the refrigerator, where he knew his daughter would see it.

* * *

Soun took his role of bodyguard seriously as he and Yumi made the rounds of the bustling Nerima shopping district, his eyes constantly in motion as he scanned the crowd for signs of a possible threat. This lasted for roughly a half hour until Yumi tired of the monosyllabic answers she was getting to the questions she asked him, a sure sign to a wife of her years that the man she was with was tuning her out. With a sigh of exasperation, she grabbed Soun's arm, and being much more forward than she ever expected to be, looped her arm in his.

Soun turned startled eyes at the woman that had somehow inexplicately encroached on his personal space, eyes that asked a question.

"I'm just tired of being ignored, Soun," Yumi said, patiently, "I expect this kind of behavior from Shigeru, after all, he's only been doing it since Sayuri was born, but I hoped that you were different, and I thought this might get your attention back on me."

"Well, I was trying to watch for any dangers," Soun began.

"The only danger I see is that I will expire from boredom, a fate I surely will see if you don't talk to me," Yumi retorted, a small smile taking the sting out of the words.

"Then I will be a most attentive escort," Soun replied, "Since it would be a shame for you to be bored by my company."

Yumi giggled in a girlish manner, causing Soun to grin. "Oooh, there's a store I need to go into," she said, pointing at the window of a woman's boutique.

Soun blanched at the display in front of him, especially at some of the more risqué items of lingerie, but being the brave martial artist that he was, he followed her in, hoping against hope that he wouldn't have any flashbacks to his horrible time with the perverted Happosai and his fetish for women's undergarments. To his relief, he wasn't the only male in the store, as he shared a slightly embarrassed look with the other unlucky souls who had been dragged into this place, while Yumi made a beeline to the brassiere section.

Thirty-seven uncomfortable minutes later, Soun sighed with relief as he made his escape, carrying a small shopping bag, with a handful of items that he had usually associated with Happosai.

"That was fun!" Yumi exclaimed, as she once again claimed his arm.

"Actually, I would rather have had a root canal," Soun said. He waited for her to respond and then finished, "Without anesthetic."

Yumi rolled her eyes at him, and said, "I know. It must go against that masculine image you have to portray to shop for lingerie."

"Actually, I have had to do that. I did raise three daughters after Kimiko joined our ancestors. Fortunately, once Kasumi was old enough, she took care of the other two," Soun replied, with a smile, "So the memories had mostly faded away." He chuckled then and added, "Actually, what was the most embarrassing about being in the store was memories of my old grandmaster. He was a pervert first class, and had a thing about stealing bras, and panties. Preferably used."

"Oh gross, what kind of man could he be?" Yumi asked, with a shudder.

"It actually was a method for him to recharge his energy as it turns out. It worked better if he actually, um, 'hugged' a girl, but her undergarments would work in a pinch," Soun replied, his face turning a bit pink, "But he's gone now, fortunately. Ranma defeated him for the title, and banished him to live with the Amazons of Joketsuzoku. We recently got word that he died there. I've still got a hangover from the celebration Genma and I had when we heard."

"Chinese Amazons? Surely you've got to be kidding me," Yumi said.

"What exactly has Sayuri told you about her friends at school, I wonder?" Soun said, with a chuckle, "Come, it's nearly noon, and I could use a bit of lunch. I know just the place, and it's right around the corner."

Sure enough, they turned the corner to find a small café called the Nekohaten occupying one of the buildings. Soun pushed open the door, and then followed Yumi inside, where Yumi saw the oldest, smallest, and most wrinkled woman she had ever seen.

"Soun Tendo," the woman said, "what brings you here?"

"It's lunchtime, and Yumi here didn't believe me about Chinese Amazons," Soun said, "Elder Cologne, this is Yumi Sato. Yumi, this is Elder Cologne of the Joketsuzoku, a matriarch of that tribe."

"Find yourself a booth somewhere, Tendo, and I'll be right with you," Cologne said. "You sly dog, you," she said under her breath as she watched him escort the younger woman to a booth, "Finally decided to start living again, I see."

As Soun and Yumi sat down, a middle-aged, balding man walked over. "Hello, Tendo-san," he said in greeting, "We missed you at the council meeting the other day."

"Good afternoon, Goya-san," Soun replied, "Yes, I had something come up and was unable to make the meeting."

Goya leered and said, "I'm sure something came up indeed. Did this lovely woman have something to do with that?"

"In a way I suppose," Soun replied.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me to her?" Goya asked.

"Of course, Goya, this is a friend of mine, Yumi Sato. Yumi, this is Goya, one of the other members of the Nerima Ward council."

"Pleased to meet you," Yumi said, her eyes looking at the table, "Soun was kind enough to take me shopping."

"So I see," Goya replied, raising an almost non-existent eyebrow at the name on the bag, "Well, I must be off. I have a meeting at the bank in a few minutes." He bowed slightly to Soun and then to Yumi. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Sato." He turned and walked away, thinking, 'Well, well, looks like Tendo is finally coming out of his shell. And with an attractive woman like that, to boot. Ah, well, he deserves someone like that in his life. Wait until I tell the guys at the council about this.' He began to chuckle as he left the building.

Soun cursed briefly, under his breath.

"What's wrong, Soun?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, nothing really, it's just that I've never liked Goya, he's a bit of a sleeze, always flirting with another man's woman," Soun replied.

"Oh, since when did I become your woman?" Yumi asked, her tone slightly cool.

"Of course you're not my woman, but he didn't know that. Knowing him, I'm sure he thinks that you and I are, well, to be blunt, sleeping together, and I'm sure that rumour will get spread around the district now," Soun replied, "That's what I was annoyed about. You don't need that added complication in your life, not right now. You know your husband probably already thinks that, and once he hears that idiot, it'll just confirm his suspicions."

Yumi giggled, and said, "Well, then, perhaps we should give them something to talk about."

Soun sputtered and then his jaw hit the table.

"I am, of course, just teasing," Yumi said, her eyes twinkling.

"Of course," Soun said, weakly.

Cologne choose that moment to hop on over to the table and ask, "What can I get you two?"

"An order of shrimp ramen for me, and some tea," Yumi replied.

"That sounds good, I'll have that, and a couple of pork buns," Soun added.

"Okay, I'll have that out in just a few minutes," Cologne replied. She glanced around the restaurant and added, "Looks like you beat the noon rush, but it'll pick up pretty quickly, so I probably won't be able to talk much. Why don't you two come back by later this afternoon?"

"We can do that. I imagine Yumi has plenty of more shopping that she wants to do," Soun replied.

"Yes, I have a lot more of my husband's money to spend," Yumi said, a wicked grin on her face.

Cologne hopped back to the counter and hollered back, "Hey, Mister Part-time, I've got a ouple of orders of shrimp ramen."

Mousse said something from the back kitchen that went unheard, and then a bit louder said, "Of course, I'll bring it right out." And then a couple of other words went unheard as he mumbled something else.

Cologne cackled loudly.

Soun said, "She's very old, not sure exactly how old, but don't let her age fool you. She's another good martial artist, better than I am, as a matter of fact. And as I mentioned, she help runs her village. I don't know all of the details, but from what I remember Ranma telling me, they are a matriarchal society where the women mostly run the place except for a handful of men who got added because of some accomplishment. Shampoo is her great granddaughter. I think you met her."

"Yes, Sayuri introduced me to her. Talks a bit funny with an accent, dresses a bit provocatively too," Yumi replied, "Bit of a bimbo, if you ask me."

"That describes her pretty well, though some of it is because she doesn't speak our language as well as she wants to. Her husband has been teaching her, and she's made a lot of progress in the year she's been here," Soun replied, "And I think that bimbo act of her's is just a bit overdone. Cologne is too shrewd to really allow Shampoo to have nothing but fluff in her head."

"She is a little too aggressively an airhead, I have to agree," Yumi said, with a smile, "But why would she put on that kind of an act?"

"Who knows? Probably some misguided idea that she'll be underestimated as a fighter if she puts on that kind of an act," Soun said with a shrug.

Mousse brought their order and set it down on the table. "I couldn't help overhearing our conversation, Tendo-san. Shampoo has always been that way, very bubbly, I guess you would say, but she does have a brain when she wants to use it," he said, "Enjoy your meal."

"I don't pay you to talk, part-time!" Cologne yelled.

"You barely pay me at all," Mousse retorted, but under his breath, causing Yumi and Soun to trade smiles.

After eating their meal, and enjoying a pleasant conversation, Soun placed a few bills on the table. "We'll return somewhere around 4, Elder Cologne," he said, as he escorted Yumi out the door.

* * *

Promptly at 4:00, the chime over the door to the Nekohaten rang as the door opened. Cologne looked up in greeting, a smile on her face, as Soun escorted Yumi Sato back into the restaurant. Her eyes widened in carefully hid surprise as she took in the change in the woman. While she had been nicely dressed at lunch for a matronly Japanese woman, now she was wearing something flattering, that while still conservatively cut, showed up her bosom and hips to advantage. Furthermore, it was obvious that one of the stops for the afternoon had been at a beauty salon. While Yumi had been not unattractive before, now it was plain that someone had taken great pains to fix her hair, add the faintest hint of makeup, and turned her into a beautiful swan, and from the slightly panicked expression on Soun Tendo's face, it was evident that he had noticed and full-well approved the change, especially since it appeared for some reason that his pants were a bit uncomfortable, though that might have had something to do with the large number of packages that he was carrying in his arms.

"Promptness, that's something I like to see," Cologne said as she hopped over on her cane to lead them to an empty booth at one end of the café. "Mr. Part-Time, bring us some tea, and then put up the closed sign," she ordered.

Mousse saluted rudely but complied, bringing a pot of tea and three cups.

"Sato-san, this is a bit of a change from this morning," Mousse said, as he placed the tray on the table.

Yumi looked down at herself and shrugged. "For the longest time I had no reason to make myself look particularly attractive," she replied, "All my hopefully soon-to-be ex-husband needed was dinner and beer on the table when he got home, and an uninterrupted time to watch the television. He certainly was not interested in how I looked, so I stopped caring."

Cologne glanced between Soun and Yumi, and said, "Soon-to-be ex-husband? I assume from that there is a story to tell."

"Let's just say that I finally came to my senses and realized that he wasn't the man I married," Yumi replied. She excused herself for a moment and went towards the restroom.

"Don't ask anything else about that, Cologne, please," Soun pleaded, "She refuses to really talk about what happened, at least to me, but it was obvious to me that he had beat her before she managed to escape."

"That is not something my people would accept," Cologne said, her eyes narrowing in anger.

"Do you honestly think that my daughters, Ranma or Nodoka would accept it either?" Soun asked, just a bit testily.

"True, though I'm surprised that if sonny boy knows about it that Sato-san is not a widow," Cologne retorted.

"Nabiki told him rather forcefully to let them handle it so as not to sully the name of the dojo, and Ranma is going along with that for now. Well, except for the fact that the bastard made the mistake of showing up at our house and attacking Yumi. Ranma and I had a great deal of satisfaction in making sure that he realized that Yumi was under our protection," Soun said, "And that brings us to the real reason that I wanted her to hear about your people. I hope that finding out that there are women like you might help her feel better about things and not think that it's her fault that all this happened."

"I can do that," Cologne said, with a grin, "Though she may get too willful for you to handle."

Soun said, with a great deal of dignity, "She is a friend, nothing more, so there is no handling for me to worry about."

"Fine, I was just teasing you anyway," Cologne said, grumpily. 'Yeah, right, Tendo. Do you really expect me to believe that?' she thought.

"She is suffering from very low self-esteem, so I have to believe that she suffered years of emotional abuse from that sorry excuse for a man that she married," Soun added, "So I suggested she pamper herself today, hopefully to compensate for that at least a little bit, and I've been very complimentary to her as we shopped."

"I'm surprised you realized that was something that she needed," Colonge said, in surprise, "I have to admit. You didn't strike me as that perceptive."

Soun shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I'm not necessarily that perceptive. However, I do have three daughters, one of whom is very perceptive. Kasumi rarely gets angry, but she is angry at Sato, and she suggested that I read a few of her school books, and Tofu had picked up a few pamphlets dealing with abused and battered women. I can read and learn, and have done so. Plus, Kasumi and I have talked at length about Yumi and she gave me a few suggestions. And a warning, as well."

"A warning?" Cologne asked.

"To be careful with Yumi, since she is bound to be emotionally fragile," Soun replied.

"That is very wise of her, but I do have eyes, Soun Tendo. You have some emotional attachment to the woman," Cologne said, softly.

"That perhaps is true, but it would not be honorable for me to act upon any feelings that I might have. It is a poor marriage that she has, and soon perhaps will be over, but nevertheless she is another man's wife," Soun said with a quiet dignity.

"But after the marriage is over, there is nothing stopping you from determining if you have feelings for her," Cologne said, "Unless, you believe that she is damaged goods, now."

"Once her marriage is over, then perhaps we can explore our relationship, but according to our traditions, a divorced woman must wait at least a year before entering into another marriage," Soun said, "And while I am not completely traditional in my outlook, I would give her that at least." He came to a stop as he saw Yumi enter the main room.

Yumi walked over to join them, a brilliant smile on her face, as she slid into the booth next to Soun, and 'accidentlally' rested a hand against his thigh.

"Yumi, Soun tells me that you didn't believe him about there being such a thing as a tribe of Chinese Amazons," Cologne began.

"Well, that is something that is hard for me to believe," Yumi began, "But, that doesn't mean it isn't true. Are you related to the ancient Greek legend of a tribe of female warriors?"

Cologne smiled and replied, "Our history does go back at least that far, and yes, we were founded by a group of Amazons who fled the area." The three of them sat back, as Cologne began to regale them about some of their history, manner of government, and other topics, that showed Yumi that women could be the equal of men.

* * *

The next several weeks passed pleasantly enough. Mariko Konjo showed up a few times after her defeat, as if to sniff around in case Kuno had come to his senses, but to her dismay, he basically ignored her existence, much to Akari's delight. Akari also revealed a previously hidden sadistic side, as once she was aware of Mariko's presence, she would proceed to kiss Kuno until he would nearly pass out, not that Kuno seemed to care, he was enjoying things too much. Mariko finally vanished, back to the dim recesses of history, presumably to lick her wounds, and to make a move on some other poor guy. Akari had also managed to drag Kuno off to visit her farm, introducing him to her grandfather, who still ran the farm, who, to her pleasure, approved of the match between her and her beloved. He did, however, manage to embarrass both of them by asking not to be made a greatgrandfather any time in the near future; as he thought he was too young for that.

Nabiki continued to monitor the Shigeru Sato situation, and to her pleasure, found that he had indeed succumbed to the dark side and had managed to siphon off several hundred thousand yen through his dummy corporation, and was indeed nearly ready to hand over all of her information to Urashima.

Soun and Yumi had continued to enjoy each other's company, with Soun escorting the blossoming woman on her shopping expeditions, as well as the occasional night out on the town. Sayuri barely recognized her mother, as the poor woman had definitely burst out of her cocoon, changing from the dull caterpillar that her husband had forced her to become into a vibrant and colorful butterfly. The conciliation proceedings before the Family Court had been the only discordant note during their time together, and Soun had made it a special point to be with Yumi after those sessions to help her recover her equilibrium. Those proceedings had failed, since Sato had refused to participate, sitting mutely in the room. The Family Affairs judge had promised to expedite the situation as best he could and come up with his determination. Sato's threats as he left the room, had concerned Yumi, though she had not mentioned it to anyone.

* * *

Sayuri waited until her mother had gone into the kitchen to help Hinako and Akane fix dinner to approach Soun Tendo. He was sitting in the family room, looking more relaxed than he had ever been, and in fact, was so cheerful that Nabiki had been overheard muttering about Chinese herbs and their impact, the change had been so dramatic.

"Tendo-san," Sayuri said, timidly.

"Ah, Sayuri," Soun said, folding up his newspaper and placing it beside him on the wooden floor, "What can I do for you?"

"It's not really any of my business, well, maybe it is, since it's my mother," Sayuri replied, stammering over her words, "But, well, I just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for Mom. I barely can recognize her, she's changed so much, and well, I think we have you to thank for that."

Soun reddened slightly, and replied, "I haven't really done anything for Yumi, and it's certainly no hardship to escort her. She is a charming woman, and only needed to believe in herself to come out of the shell she had been forced into."

"That may be the worst thing my father, no, Shigeru, ever did to her," Sayuri growled, startling Soun with the intensity of her anger, "His casual neglect of me really wasn't too bad, I can eventually forgive him for that. After all, I'm merely a female, and not worthy to carry on his family name. But, what I now recognize as abuse, an abuse I was too blind to notice, of my Mom, that I find is something I will never forgive. It forced Mom to become something she was not, and being here with you has allowed her to break out and return to who she once was. I owe you a debt of honor, one I probably can never repay. But I want to thank you for what you have done for her, for me." She had quietly began to cry through out this little speech, and to her surprise, Soun pulled her into his lap, and held her.

"Hush, my daughter," Soun began, startling her. He chuckled, his eyes suspiciously damp, and continued, "You may not have been my daughter by birth, Sayuri, but you are part of my family now, for better or for worse. My girls think of you as their sister, so how could I think of you any other way?"

"You really think of me this way?" Sayuri asked, between sobs.

"Of course I do," Soun said, pulling her into an even tighter embrace, "You are a very special girl, nay, woman, and I am proud, and honored, to know you. I hope that you will allow me to act as the father figure that you need."

"Thank you," Sayuri stammered, as she lightly kissed his cheek, "I would like that, Tendo-san."

"Now, dry your tears before you set me off," Soun said, a hint of roughness in his voice, "And you wouldn't want to be near me when that happens."

Yumi stood quietly in the doorway, an angelic smile on her face, and then left unobserved, a happy tear rolling down her cheek

* * *

Soun and Yumi made their way home from another excursion, though this time they had gone a bit further afield, and had ridden the train to the neighboring ward to do some shopping there, catch a movie, and to eat dinner. Yumi was once again radiant, and had enjoyed the entire afternoon, but had fallen asleep on the train on the way home, and her head was resting on Soun's shoulder, who truth be told, was not objecting to it in the slightest.

The train stopped at the Nerima station, and Soun nudged Yumi to waken her. She blushed slightly as she realized that she had cuddled up next to Soun, but quickly recovered as the two of them gathered up their packages and made their way off the train and then out of the station for the long walk home.

"I had a good time tonight, Soun," Yumi said, "You have been very kind, going with me on all of these outings."

"It was my pleasure," Soun replied, gallantly, "Besides, who could say no to such an attractive woman as you. Believe me, it is no hardship to be with you and I enjoyed myself very much."

Yumi blushed prettily and turned her head away shyly. She reached out with one hand and gently laced her fingers with his. "You are a good man, Soun Tendo, and I am honored to know you," she said gently.

'Thank you, but I have my faults," Soun said, a faint tinge of pink highlighting his cheeks.

There's no telling how much longer the bantering and flirtacious behavior might have continued, but as they passed a darkened alleyway, three men stepped out of the shadows in front of them and blocked their way.

"Just hand over the pretty lady and no one will get hurt," one of the men demanded.

"That's not really going to happen," Soun said, as he pushed Yumi behind him, "You don't want to do this, believe me."

"Oh but we do," a second man replied, as he pulled out a short blade.

Soun smiled grimly and said, "If you go now, I won't have to hurt you, but she stays with me."

Yumi screamed loudly, and the third man swore, and made a grab for her, only to hear a loud crack as Soun broke his arm.

"You bastard!" the man exclaimed, as he cradled his arm, and said, "What are you two imbeciles waiting for? Get him!"

The two men charged Soun, and a flurry of blows were exchanged. When the dust cleared, all three men were lying unconscious in the street, various body parts bent in angles that nature never intended them to be in, and Soun was clutching his side, and leaning against the building.

Slowly, Soun slid down, leaving a red stain on the brick, "Damn, getting slow in my old age. That punk wouldn't have got," he said, as he collapsed to the ground.

Yumi screamed once more, and then ran to him. She tore his shirt away from him to uncover a deep cut in his side. "Help me, please!" she called as she put pressure on the wound, something she vaguely remembered from one of her high school courses, years ago.

A whistle blew, as a couple of policemen ran up. "What happened here, Miss?" one of them asked, as the second took in the scene at a glance and pulled out a radio.

"These men," Yumi began, only to break down and began to sob.

The first officer knelt down and exchanged glances with her partner, who nodded. "Miss, help is on the way. Your husband will be fine, but you need to tell us what happened," she asked, gently, as her partner began to handcuff the three ruffians, who still showed no signs of rousing.

"W-we were just minding our business, walking home from the station, when these three jumped us. They, they told Soun to let them have me, but he, he protected me from them, and now, he's hurt!" Yumi managed to get out between sobs.

In short order, an ambulance arrived, and the paramedics jumped out to see to the patient, while a couple of more officers arrived to take the prisoners back to the local jail for questioning.

"Miss, we need to get him stabilized. Your quick thinking kept the blood loss to a minimum, and your husband will be fine, once we get him to the hospital," one of the paramedics said, as they lifted him up onto a stretcher and then into the ambulance.

"Miss, is there someone we need to call?" the female officer asked.

"Yes, his daughters. This is Soun Tendo, so can someone get in touch with Kasumi Ono, or whoever answers, and let them know where we are," Yumi said, beginning to regain a little composure.

"I'll do that," the woman's partner said, "You go with Tendo-san and his wife. And Mrs. Tendo, don't worry about these packages. I'll take them to your home and tell your family what happened."

Yumi was still in enough shock that she didn't correct them once again, and simply climbed into the back of the ambulance with that officer.

"What's your name, Mrs. Tendo?" the officer asked, in a kind voice.

"Yumi," she stammered out.

* * *

The extended Tendo family came rushing into the waiting room at the local hospital to find Yumi sitting hunched over in one of the couches, her head on her arms, crying copiously.

Kasumi rushed over and knelt on the floor next to her. "Yumi," she said gently, "It's okay. Daddy is tough, he'll beat this."

"MOM!" Sayuri exclaimed as she rushed over to join them.

Yumi lifted a tear-streaked face and collapsed into Kasumi's arms, as she continued to sob.

Kasumi began to rub her back gently, cooing gently to her, while Nabiki sat down next to her on the couch.

Hinako stood uncertainly by the door, until Tofu pulled her over to the tableau.

"This is my fault!" Yumi wailed.

"No it's not," Tofu said, sternly, as he walked up, "You two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all, Yumi-san. Don't you dare blame yourself for this! Soun did what he had to do to protect you."

"My husband's correct," Kasumi said, "Our family is a family of martial artists. Daddy would never have forgiven himself if he had allowed you to be taken away and something had happened to you. This is what he trained so hard to do for all his life, protect the weak, and defenseless."

A policewoman walked up with a cup of tea. "Here you go, Mrs. Tendo, here's the tea that you asked for. And I see that your family is here,"the woman said, not noticing the slight start of surprise on several people's faces.

Kasumi took control and said, "Thank you, officer. That was very kind of you to take care of our mother like this."

Nabiki looked at her sharply only to back down at the uncharacteristic glare she got from her sister. She accepted the cup of tea from the officer and said, "Here Mom, you drink this, while we try to find out what happened."

Yumi looked at them guiltily only to see a sharp shake of the head from Kasumi, and a scowl from Nabiki. She took the cup from Nabiki with a shaky hand, so Nabiki held the cup with her and allowed her take a sip.

"Can you tell us any thing, Officer?" Tofu asked, politely.

"The doctor's are working on Tendo-san. He has a deep cut in his left side, but from what I've been told, it managed to miss any thing important. His blood loss was kept to a minimum by the quick action of Mrs. Tendo and so I think the prognosis is good."

"What about the three hoodlums that attacked them?" Tofu asked.

"They were treated for their injuries and are at the station being interrogated," the officer replied.

The door to the waiting room opened and Ranma and Akane entered. The sleeve on Akane's blouse was torn, and Ranma had a bruise below one eye. He also had a thunderous expression on his face, one that promised infinite agony to someone.

Kasumi gasped and asked, "What happened, Ranma?"

"It looks like tonight was attack the Tendo-Saotome clan night," Ranma growled, "We just got attacked by six men on our way here from the restaurant we were eating at."

"Are you hurt?" the officer asked.

Ranma recognized her and asked, "Are you Kagome's friend? Eri Takugami?"

"Yes, I am," Eri replied.

"We're fine. The guys who jumped us are a bit worse for wear," Akane replied, "We dragged them to the police station before coming here."

"Do you think the two attacks are connected, somehow?" Eri asked, going into full policewoman mode, her eyes intent.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "That's what the investigator that we talked to thinks. And it's possible. The three that attacked Soun and Yumi-san had a picture of both of them in their possession, so that means it wasn't a random attack."

"And the six that came after us had a photo of Ranma and I," Akane added.

"And both of the groups had a large amount of cash in their pockets, with the photos," Ranma finished.

"So, do you have any enemies?" Eri asked, only to be surprised by the entire group laughing.

Once Ranma had collected himself, he replied, "Yes, there are a few people who don't like me, but they would all come at me themselves. It wouldn't be honorable to hire someone else. No, this is someone who holds a grudge against us for some other reason."

"Shigeru!" Yumi exclaimed.

Nabiki's eyes narrowed in thought and then she nodded. "It would fit. Daddy humiliated him a few weeks ago, and it would probably take that long just to find enough people to be willing to attack a martial artist. And, Yumi did say that they were after her specifically."

"And, well, I sort of scared him after Soun finished with him," Ranma admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in his trademark nervous gesture.

"So, he would probably want to go after you because of that," Tofu said.

"More likely, because Ranma would go after him if he managed to capture Yumi," Akane growled.

"Who is Shigeru? And what does he have to do with anything?" Eri asked, confused.

"He is my husband, Shigeru Sato," Yumi admitted, "I am in the process of divorcing him for several reasons."

"I thought Tendo-san was your husband," Eri said, even more confused.

"No, I was so upset I just didn't correct you and then, well, it was easier just to go along once I had calmed down some," Yumi replied, "My daughter Sayuri is a friend of Ranma and Akane, and Soun has been kind enough to let us stay at their home while things get settled."

"I see," Eri said, frowning slightly.

"Before you go down that path, there is nothing going on between Soun and I. We are merely friends," Yumi said, in a strange blend of embarrassment and pride.

"Is it possible that your husband thinks that there is a romantic relationship between the two of you?" Eri asked.

Yumi blushed prettily and replied, "There have been a few rumours to that effect. We have been going out shopping, and the occasional dinner together. So, yes, some people have assumed that something is happening. And Nerima is small enough that certainly that kind of story would get back to him."

"I'm going to call in to the station and have someone pull him in for questioning," Eri said, pulling out her radio and moving to one corner of the room.

Ranma's face hardened and he pulled Tofu aside. "You didn't see anyone following you to the hospital, did you?" he asked.

Tofu thought back, and replied, "No, but one of the officers was with us as we walked over here, so that would have scared any one off. Do you think we are in danger also?"

"I don't know, Doc, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. But, between the three of us, I think we'll be fine. Akane can take care of herself, and Nabiki and Sayuri have got enough skill to run away. I'm worried about Kasumi, but I also know that if anyone so much as mars a hair on her head, you'd turn them into a human pretzel. We just need to stick together on the way home, and things will be fine," Ranma replied.

Eri rejoined them and said, "They already had gotten Sato's name from a couple of the attackers. Apparently, he did hire those goons to attack Tendo-san because of the belief that he had stolen his wife. By the way, they have a long rap sheet as dumb muscle, so they'll be back in jail for a while."

"So what will happen to Sato?" Nabiki asked, as both Sayuri and Yumi paled.

"I'm sure that he'll be charged with conspiracy to commit assault, at the very least. We'll continue to investigate him, especially since that was a lot of money that he paid the attackers," Eri replied, "And we'll turn over every rock that we can."

Nabiki's grin grew sharklike as she realized that Sato was going down for a long fall, what with the embezzlement that he had been doing likely to be discovered. And if the money that he used to pay the attackers came from the money he stole, there wouldn't be any way to sweep that under the rug. She said, "Officer, I am curious about something. Shigeru Sato is a relatively low level salaryman. How could he afford to pay any money to nine men to attack us?"

Eri looked at her in respect and replied, "That's an interesting question. We need to look into his finances quickly it seems."

One of the interns who had been working on Soun entered the waiting room, and stopped, stunned by the sheer number of people in the room, all of which had turned expectant faces toward him. He cleared his throat and then said, "Mrs. Tendo, there was no damage to any internal organs, and we did get the bleeding stopped, though it required a large number of stitches. He is still groggy from the anesthetic, but we have him in recovery right now and he is asking for you."

"But, I'm not," Yumi began, only to stop as Kasumi put her finger across her mouth.

"Go ahead, none of us mind," Kasumi said, with a gentle smile, "I'm sure that Daddy just wants to make sure that you are fine. Just go along with that nice young man."

Yumi looked at the rest of the girls, her daughter especially, and saw nothing but acceptance on their faces. She hesitated for a second, and then rose gracefully from the couch and followed the intern back.

"Are you okay, Sayuri?" Akane asked her friend, who had somehow become her sister in all but name.

"How can you even look at me, Akane?" Sayuri asked, plaintively, "It sounds like Sato was responsible for the attack on your father, and you're asking me if I'm okay."

"You aren't to blame for what happened," Akane said, as she reached for the other girl's hands, "We chose to help you when you needed help, and I don't regret doing that for a moment. You were my friend, and you chose that friendship over your parents when you left them. Now, you're closer than just a friend, and I know my sisters consider you one of us."

"Your father said much the same thing a few days ago," Sayuri said, as she finally broke down in tears.

"Well, you are my sister just as much as Nabiki and Kasumi," Akane said, as she too succumbed.

Ranma walked over and pulled the two girls into a hug, wrapping one arm around each of them. "Hey, what's wrong you two?" he asked, "Or are these happy tears? I can never tell."

"Some of both, dear," Akane said, "Sayuri is feeling guilty about what happened, and I was comforting my sister."

"Well, if you want my thoughts on the matter, Sayuri, you don't need to feel guilty at all. You didn't cause Sato to hurt your mother, you didn't cause her to run away, you didn't cause him to hire people to attack us. That is all his fault, and only his fault, no one elses," Ranma said, fiercely, "So don't you even go there."

Sayuri sobbed and said, "Well, I guess if Akane tells me that and you tell me that, it has to be true."

"And as to the other, about you being essentially a Tendo, well, I think of you that way, too. Ever since a certain pair of girls accepted a half-male, half-female, person without question, and forgave the deception that I played," Ranma began only to get elbowed by Akane.

"It was my idea, remember, Baka," Akane said, half in jest.

"Okay, we played, I thought of you as more than just a friend. Akane already had my heart, but I knew that you were special to me too. It just took me a bit longer, since I never had any siblings, but I finally realized that you were family, as much as Nabiki and Kasumi."

* * *

Author's Note: Well, there you go. An early Memorial Day present for you. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed. For those of you traveling this weekend in the US, take care on the highways, and enjoy the holiday weekend. 


	66. Cursed Cave of Broken Lovers

Chapter 66 Cursed Cave of Broken Lovers

Soun woke to find himself in a hospital bed, his hand extremely sore for some strange reason. As he glanced over to his right hand, he found that Yumi was sitting in a chair next to the bed, her head resting next to him and his hand securely held by hers. A bemused smile appeared on his face as he reached out with his free hand and gently brushed her hair back from her face. The touch of his fingers against her face caused her to rouse, and she lifted her head and gazed at him a little sleepily. "Are you okay, Yumi?" he asked, "I was worried about you."

"Oh, Soun," Yumi breathed, "You're the one in the hospital, and your first thought is about me." She paused and then wailed, "I was so scared! There was so much blood, and I thought." She broke down crying, soaking the bedsheet.

"Hey, I didn't get hurt that badly," Soun retorted, a little indignant, a faint smile still on his face. He caressed her cheek and added, "But I thank you for worrying about me. It's good to know that someone cares."

She frowned and said, "But your family cares!"

"That's not exactly what I meant," Soun said, slowly. He sighed and explained, "After I lost Kimiko, I sort of died myself. I wasn't the best father in the world since I was so buried deep inside myself. I shut my daughters out and left them to fend for themselves, and became an overly emotional wreck of a person. The only thing that kept me going for a while was training Akane, but we soon reached the point where for her to get better, I would have to stop pulling my blows, and, well, the thought of hurting her, just made me withdraw even further. My daughters won't admit it, and will never show it, but I am sure that each of them feels like I abandoned them in their greatest hour of need. While they still love me, I'm not entirely sure that they like me very much."

Yumi shot straight up in her chair and said, forcefully, "But they still care, and you aren't that same person anymore anyway. The person I've come to." She paused, her cheeks reddening slightly, and then finally continued, "know isn't that person. You wouldn't have saved me twice in the last few weeks if you didn't care about things now. You wouldn't have allowed me to stay in your home if you didn't care."

Soun wondered what word she was originally going to use, but replied, "I agree. I'm not the same person that I was. I've managed to break out from the prison that I had placed myself in after Ranma came and I saw what a true martial artist really was. I have seen him stand up for what is right, face the man I could never defeat face to face, and see how much I lost by seeing the love that he and my daughter share. And to think, he still really hasn't grown into his potential."

"I think you've missed something, Soun. It's not that he hasn't grown into his potential, it's that they haven't. The two of them share something that is more than the sum of their parts. Ranma would do anything to protect her, and she will do the same," Yumi said, surprising him with her insight. She sighed, and explained, "I may not know much about martial arts, but I do know about spirit, about passion. They have that in abundance. And that is something you still can have."

"I'm too old, I'm afraid," Soun whispered.

Yumi's eyes were shining and she asked, in a ringing tone, "Are you too old? Or too afraid?"

The door opened, and the duty nurse stuck her head in. "Oh, you're awake, Tendo-san. Good, I'm sure that your wife is happy to see that," she said.

"I'll explain later," Yumi whispered quickly, before Soun had a chance to correct the assumption that the nurse had made. In a louder voice, she added, "Yes, I am very happy that he is awake. Especially now I can yell at him for being so careless as to get hurt." She squeezed his hand, and smiled to show that she was kidding, at least in part.

The nurse chuckled and said, "You have a very devoted woman there. She wouldn't leave your side except for a few minutes. The rest of your family is in the waiting room. I can let a couple come in at a time, if you're ready to see them."

"Give us a few more minutes, please. My 'wife' and I need a few more minutes," Soun said, a bemused look on his face.

"Of course, Tendo-san. First, though, I have to practice my bedside manner. How are we feeling?" the nurse asked.

"Well, I'm feeling fine," Soun said, and completing the old joke, he added, "I'm not sure how you are, though."

"I see your sense of humour is intact. Pity that," the nurse shot back, with a grin. She rebuilt her business face and asked, "No tenderness or pain?"

Soun chuckled, and then winced. "Well, I was going to say only in my right hand. But, there was a bit of a twinge when I laughed."

Yumi blushed as she realized that she had been crushing Soun's hand in hers.

"Don't worry, Yumi," Soun said, softly, "I'm a martial artist. I can handle a lot more pain than that."

The nurse made a sour face and said, "I really hate that type of patient. Tendo-san, I can't tell if you are getting better if you hide your pain. Pain is nature's way of telling the body to take things easier for a while, so listen to it for a change. Otherwise, you'll be here a lot longer."

Soun frowned for a moment and then replied, "I can see the sense to that, Miss, it's just I was trained to ignore pain. I'll try to be honest with you. That's all I can do."

"That'll have to be good enough, I suppose," the nurse said, with a deep sigh. She made a few more notes on the clipboard she had been holding, and then hooked it back over the end of the bed. "I'll give you a few minutes, but, don't do anything that would pull on your stitches. We don't want them to come out, and the sooner they heal the sooner you can be more active," she said, with a wink. She grinned at the blush on the faces of the couple, and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Wife? When did we get married? I seem to have missed that," Soun asked, with a grin.

"The police assumed that I was your wife when they arrived at the scene of the attack, and well, I just didn't correct them. Then the hospital staff believed that too. I didn't tell them the truth so I could stay here with you. You saved my life, and got hurt doing that, and I couldn't," Yumi replied, almost stumbling over her explanation as she tried to say it so quickly. She looked down at the floor and mumbled, "If it bothers you, I'll tell them the truth and go."

Soun squeezed her hand and replied, "I don't want you to go, Yumi. And while this isn't the time, or the place to talk about certain things…" He paused for a moment, and then continued in a slightly different tone of voice, "I'm sure that you have noticed that my daughters think of Sayuri as their sister?"

Yumi nodded and replied, "Yes, I have. That's something that I've truly enjoyed seeing, and she feels that same way about your girls. To be honest, my one regret in life is that she didn't have any siblings, and now she has gained several."

"Well, what you may not know is that, um, I have come to think of her as my daughter," Soun said softly.

Yumi brought her free hand to her mouth as she gasped. Then she asked, barely daring to breathe, "And what do you think of me?"

"It would not be proper for me to tell you, not now," Soun replied, sadly, "I need to wait until things are finalized in your marriage. Some things are dishonourable, and I cannot express how I feel until there is no dishonour in saying it."

Yumi's eyes glowed as she parsed the meaning out of the words that he would not say, and bowed her head in thanks. "That part of my life will be behind me soon, and I will be ready for a new start. But, I hope it happens quickly, for I would not have you say anything that you would feel dishonoured either of us," she said, a radiant smile on her face. She reached out with her other hand, and gently caressed the curve of his jaw.

"I'm glad you understand," Soun replied. 'Yes, very glad,' he thought.

Yumi cleared her throat and said, her voice trembling a bit, "There's something else you need to know. It wasn't a random attack on us. They were targeting us specifically."

"Oh, how'd you find out about that?" Soun asked.

"The police asked them some questions, and the ones that attacked Ranma and Akane," Yumi began, only to be interrupted by the sight of Demon-head Soun.

"Oh stop that!" she said, deflating Soun and continued, "Akane is fine, and so is Ranma. And, by the way, he's muttering something about you needing additional training. Something about you being too slow."

Soun blanched and then nodded slowly. "He's right, I was too slow. In my prime, I wouldn't have even gotten touched," he said.

"Anyway, during the questioning, they found out that Shigeru had paid them to come after us," Yumi finally finished, her eyes nervously darting about waiting for his reaction.

Soun squeezed her hand once more and snarled, "That was very foolish of him, then. Is Ranma going to show him the error of his ways?"

"Um, I don't know. I've been in here with you ever since we found out," Yumi admitted, "I suppose when your daughters join us, we'll find out then."

"How long have I been here?" Soun asked.

Yumi thought for a moment and then replied, "We spent the night. They had to put you under pretty heavily while they put in the internal stitches because you kept moving around, then, once you woke from that, you were exhausted still. I left just long enough to change into the clothing that Kasumi thoughtfully brought for me, and then rejoined you in here."

The door opened and a female officer walked in, a small notebook in her hand. "Tendo-san, please forgive my intrusion, but I need to take your statement for my report," the officer said.

"Of course, officer," Soun replied, easily, "But do I know you?"

"You may remember me from the scene," she replied, "First, however, let me introduce myself. I am officer First Class Eri Takugami, assigned to the fifth precinct."

"She's also a friend to Souta's sister, and knows that I am not really your wife," Yumi whispered quickly.

"There's not much to tell, Takugami-san," Soun replied, "I was walking home from a restaurant with Yumi when we were assaulted by three hoodlums. They demanded that I give her to them, but of course that would not be honourable. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, but then one of them pulled a knife, and they attacked me. I have some skill at martial arts, as it turns out, and was able to defeat them all, unfortunately, while my spirit is extremely willing, my flesh must have been weak, and the one with the knife managed to cut me a bit. After that, I don't remember anything."

"Do you know Shigeru Sato?" Eri asked.

"I have met him once," Soun admitted, "He attempted to take Yumi from the gate of my estate, and I persuaded him not to do that again."

"This question may be a bit distasteful, but I must ask it. I apologize in advance if it offends you," Eri said. She paused, but relaxed at the polite nod from Soun. "What is your relationship with Mrs. Sato?" she asked.

"She is someone who lives at my ancestral home, with the permission of the owners. I consider her a friend," Soun replied, his tone even.

"Just a friend, Tendo-san? There is nothing else between you?" Eri asked, her face impassive.

"She is another man's wife," Soun said stiffly, "It would be dishonourable for me to come between them."

"Then why is Mrs. Sato living with you?" the officer asked.

The room seemed to cool suddenly. Soun sighed heavily and replied, "Sayuri, her daughter, is a very good friend of my daughter Akane and her husband Ranma. She had some sort of disagreement with her parents some time ago, and asked to stay with us for a while until the issues were resolved. A few weeks ago, Yumi left her husband, and Sayuri asked if she could stay with us. I have come to think of Sayuri as a daughter, and since we had the room, it was an easy request to agree to."

"It's been over a month, Soun," Yumi corrected.

"Has it truly been that long?" Soun asked, amazed, "I hadn't realized it had been that long."

"The prisoner admits paying those men to attack you, but he states that it was because you had besmirched his honour by taking his wife away from him," Eri said, "And there are rumours to that effect floating around. Is there any truth to them?" She winced slightly at the look of cold anger in Soun's eyes, and said, softly, "I am just doing my job, Tendo-san."

Yumi squeezed his hand gently, not caring that the young officer was in the room. Soun smiled wryly and replied, "Sato lost his wife through his own actions, Takugami, and that is the truth. While Yumi and I have been seen around town, it was because we were concerned that her husband would attempt to harm her, so I escorted her. We mostly went shopping, but occasionally it would be late when we headed back, so we would stop at a restaurant for a meal. I suppose to the casual observer, we did probably look like we were a couple on a date, but in actuality, it was more bodyguard and client. And as to the rumours, well, even though Nerima is a large town, I am on the council, so things tend to spread quickly about us. We had the misfortune to run into Goya one day, hopefully someone you have not had the misfortune to meet, and he probably believed that I would be doing what he wished he could do. He's the second most perverted person I have ever met, and would be very willing to believe that I was dishonouring Yumi and her marriage."

"The rumours will only get worse now that she spent the night in your hospital room," Eri pointed out gently.

"Once the Family Affairs court finalizes its determination and issues the decree, it won't matter," Yumi retorted, "And I am sure they will take into consideration the other things that you have found out about his affairs." She held up their joined hands and said, "This is nothing compared to the many women that bastard I ,married has enjoyed over the years, and unfortunately for him, the Family Affairs court has the documentation of each and every one of them. The fool kept records in his office, and somehow they ended up in my hands."

"So, the rumours and the attacks will just come across as the flailing of a man going down to disaster, and will have no impact on the trial judge, at least that is my opinion," Soun added.

"What do you know about Cologne of the Joketsuzoku?" Eri asked.

Soun blinked and replied, "She is a friendly acquaintance, I guess is the best way to describe her. She is in partnership with my middle daughter, and her great granddaughter is friends with Akane, Ranma and Sayuri. She has great skill in martial arts, and is arguably the best or perhaps second best artist in Nerima. Why do you ask?"

"Because apparently the attack on your daughter and son-in-law has caused her to intervene," Eri replied, evenly, "She is making a diplomatic complaint, saying that the Saotomes are protected by international law and several treaties."

"Ranma is an honourary member of her tribe, and as Matriarch, I suppose she has some sort of ambassadorial rank. Akane, being Ranma's spouse, would also be considered a member of her tribe," Soun said after a long pause while he thought hard about the little he knew about her tribe. He shrugged his shoulders, and added, "The Joketsuzoku have many strange laws and traditions that they follow, so it is possible that Sato may have transgressed one or more of them. It would be one thing if he had in honour demanded to face either myself or Ranma in combat, but to hire someone else is a sign that he has no honour. That may be where she is coming from, but you should ask her. She'll probably tell you."

"There is considerable pressure coming from the higher-ups to get this resolved quickly before the Chinese embassy actually has to get involved," Eri said, "And, the only reason that I haven't been replaced by a higher ranking officer is because I do have a remote connection to your family through the Higurashi family."

"Are there any more questions for me?" Soun asked, "I'm sure I have a lot of worried children waiting to get to see me, otherwise."

Eri looked at her clipboard and shook her head. "Nothing comes to mind at the moment. You have explained your connection to Yumi-san here, and recounted what you remember of the attack, both to my satisfaction," she replied, "Once I get back to the office, I may have one or two more points to clear up."

"I will, of course, help you in anyway that I can. I am sure that you can find me at my home," Soun replied.

Eri bowed politely and then the professional mien disappeared. "I hope things do work out for the two of you," she said, as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

The door to the room opened, and Kasumi walked in, followed by her husband. She smiled happily as she saw Yumi and her father holding hands, but then composed herself quickly to avoid embarrassing them. "They'll only let a few of us at a time in here, Daddy," she said, "Something about not overwhelming you."

"Dammit, I just got stabbed," Soun muttered angrily, "I'm not that fragile."

"Soun, if Yumi hadn't got the bleeding under control, you might very well have died," Tofu replied, his tone extremely serious, "Granted you were lucky in that it managed to miss any organs, but still it was a deep cut and just missed entering the intestine."

Yumi teared up again, as Soun asked, "Could someone raise the bed just a bit so I'm not flat on my back."

"Sure, I can do that," Tofu replied as he walked over and used the control to slant the head of the bed some, "That's probably as high as it should go, but at least now you won't get a crick in your neck talking to us."

"Okay, that is better," Soun said, "Now, tell me what the hell is going on with Shigeru Sato."

"He is under arrest for solicitation of assault, attempted kidnapping, and resisting arrest. He is also under investigation for embezzlement from the company he works for, since that apparently is where the money he used to pay the morons who attacked you came from," his son-in-law answered.

"And before you ask, Ranma and Akane have agreed to let the law handle him. The young officer that helped Yumi here at the hospital is an old friend of Souta's sister, and basically promised them that Sato wouldn't be getting off," Kasumi added.

"We just had an interesting interview with her," Yumi said, "And it sounds like she is definitely on our side."

"The nine attackers are all dangerous men with a list of crimes several kilometers long. The police are very happy to have them in custody, since they will be not getting off this time," Tofu said, "So from that standpoint the police are firmly behind you. And from what Cologne said when she stopped by a little while ago, the Amazons are putting pressure on the courts for them to take custody of Sato."

Soun looked up alarmed at that and said, "We need to have her put a stop to that immediately. That will only cause problems with any of our judges, as stiff-necked and prideful as they are. They'll consider that an assault on their honour as judges."

Tofu frowned and replied, just a bit frostily, "I'm not a fool, Dad. I told her that and she seemed to understand."

"Wasn't intending to imply that for a moment, Son," Soun said, a bit apologetically, "Just concerned is all. I wasn't sure you were aware of the subtle nuances around the town hall, that's all."

"I talked to the surgeon who worked on you last night, and he said that there shouldn't be any reason why you can't get discharged sometime this afternoon. They want to keep you for a little while to make sure that you don't develop a fever, but they believe that you'll be fine if you take it easy for a few weeks while everything heals up," Tofu said, "Which probably makes you breathe a bit easier. Ranma was planning on getting you into the dojo and working you pretty hard because of you not avoiding the blade."

"In fact, you may have a challenger for mastery of the Tendo School," Kasumi added.

"Akane deserves to have the title, if I can't avoid a no-account punk like that," Soun agreed with just a touch of disgust.

Kasumi smiled and asked, sweetly, "Who ever said it was Akane? It could be me for all you know."

Soun looked at his eldest daughter in surprise, and sputtered, "But you haven't practiced the art since your mother died!"

"So, how much practicing have you done since then?" Kasumi asked a slight edge to her voice.

Tofu chuckled and said, "She's got a point, Soun."

Soun grimaced and replied, "I'm afraid she probably does. I pretty much gave up my art when I stopped training Akane. No wonder I'm so rusty."

Ranma stuck his head in the door and interjected, "And that means once you are healed, we'll be going on a training trip to get you back into shape."

"But, for now, we thought we'd see about all of us heading to the beach after school lets out for the summer," Akane added from behind him.

"That's mainly because Ranma wants to see Akane in that new bikini she bought last week," Sayuri interjected, nudging her friend in the side with her elbow.

"Well of course I do," Ranma shot back, "I know how good she'll look in it."

"And I'd better be the only girl you look at," Akane retorted, with a saucy grin.

* * *

Sato looked up from the meager lunch that the duty officer had slid into his holding cell, to see a wrinkled old woman sitting atop a gnarled wooden cane, staring at him impassively. "Who are you? And how did you get in here?" he asked.

"My name is not particularly important," the old woman replied, "You would mispronounce it anyway. And how I got in here, well, there are ways." She hopped a bit closer, a cold look on her face. "Actually, the more important question you should be asking is why am I here?" she added, more than a hint of menace in her voice.

Sato edged away from the old woman, no hint of swagger in him, as there was something about her that screamed, "Danger, Danger!" He attempted to crawl up the wall, and shouted, "Help!"

"There is no help for you here, not today, Shigeru Sato," the old woman said, calmly.

Sato sputtered, "You can't harm me. The police won't let you."

"Won't let me? They can't stop something they cannot see," the old woman said, "We are wasting time, vermin."

"You don't scare me," Sato blustered.

The old woman rolled her eyes and said, "I can see that. Of course the wet spot on the front of your pants tells me otherwise."

Sato put his hands in front of him to hide his shame and snarled, "Then tell me why you are here! And then get out."

The old woman smiled coldly and said, "Fine, then. You have performed several transgressions against my people, and because of that, I am your judge, jury and executioner."

"What do you mean? I don't even know what you are talking about," Sato blubbered.

"You harmed a woman that is now under my tribe's protection. You paid for assassins to attack the Saotomes and their family, who are members of my tribe. You have proven that you have no honour because of your actions, hiding in the shadows, while others did your bidding," the old woman said, "Your people may think that they will punish you, but beware, no matter what their rulings, you must suffer the judgement of the Joketsuzoku." An eerie wind came from nowhere, stirring up the dust in his cell.

Sato blinked and when he could see again, his cell was empty. Then, the duty sergeant walked up and unlocked the door of the holding cell. "Your bail has been paid, Sato, so you are free to go for now. I suppose I don't have to warn you not to leave the area, except to go to work," the man said, coldly.

"Just get me out of here, and how did that old woman get into my cell?" Sato asked

"What old woman? There hasn't been anyone entering this block since we brought you lunch," the officer replied as he escorted Sato to where he could sign out.

* * *

Sato sat dispirited in the family room of his house, idly spinning one of the empty bottles of beer, wondering what else was going to go wrong for him that day. It had been bad enough being dragged from his home by the police at the crack of dawn, providing a great deal of amusement for the neighbors that were awake at that time, but to be turned away at the door of his office building by the security guard and refused entry, told that he had been fired, all of that occuring in front of all of his coworkers, had been the absolute topper of a day. "Well, what else could go wrong!" he screamed, "No job! No wife! No family!" He sat there, a morose drunk, until his pondering was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on his front door. He stood up and stumbled to the door, and flung it open, barking, "What the hell do you want?"

There, standing on his doorstep was his secretary, Maehara, carrying a large box. Standing behind her was a tall well-built young woman, with long, jet black hair, dressed in a hakama and gi, with the hilt of a sword jutting over one shoulder. "I b-brought your things from the office, Sato," Maehara stammered, looking at the other woman for strength.

Wordlessly, Sato pushed the door open further, and stepped out of the way. His secretary walked in and promptly tripped over the doorsill, her arms windmilling in panic, as she dropped the box, which landed with the tinkle of broken glass. Sato instinctively reached out and steadied the young woman, unaware of where his hands landed.

"Pervert! Betrayer of women!" the swordswoman hissed, as with a steely rasp, she whipped out her blade, "Let go of her!"

Sato glanced at his secretary who was shrinking back from where his hands were pressed against her breasts.

"I'm very sorry, Maehara, I didn't mean to touch you there," Sato said. He backed away as the sword came whizzing between them.

"Motoko! Stop!" the young girl cried.

"Shinobu, are you okay?" Motoko asked, her eyes steely, not taking her gaze off of Sato, and reminding him of a raptor readying for the kill.

"It's okay, Motoko," Shinobu replied, "It was an accident. He wouldn't do something like that on purpose."

"But what about the looks he gave you?" Motoka asked, "That's the reason I insisted that I come with you, to make sure this pervert wouldn't do anything to you. And I was right. He molested you in front of my very eyes. Now get back while I chastise him for his transgressions against women."

"That won't be necessary, Motoko," Shinobu said calmly, "I have delivered his belongings, we can just leave." She shoved the box that she had dropped with her foot, and backed away, grasping at Motoko's arm and dragging her with her.

"No! Let me at him! I'll teach him to respect women!" Motoko exclaimed, trying to pull herself away from Shinobu.

"Motoko, stop! Remember how many times in the past you thought senpai was doing something perverted and you punished him for it, and then later found out that he had done nothing wrong! This is just the same! And what would he say to you if he found out you were behaving this way!" Shinobu exclaimed.

Motoko grimaced at the reminder of her past behavior, but still struggled half-heartedly with the smaller girl, surprised at the show of strength in someone she had always overlooked before.

Shinobu pulled her away far enough for Sato to slam the door in their faces, and drag the box to the family room, where he collapsed back onto the floor, though not before he heard the sound of something slicing through the wood of the door. After a long moment, nothing else happened, though he heard the sound of someone being dragged away, protesting loudly.

Sato opened the box, and pulled out the first thing he saw, a photograph of his family in an ornate frame. As he cradled in his hands, his finger slipped and he gashed himself on the broken glass in the frame, several drops of blood immediately appearing and dripping on the figure of his wife and daughter, which was also on the other side of a rip in the picture from his image. With a heavy sigh, he picked up another bottle, and twisted the cap off, and took a large drink of another Sapporo light beer.

* * *

Hinako opened the door to find a policewoman standing outside. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"I'm officer Eri Takugami, and I need to speak to Tendo-san, it's a matter of some urgency," the officer replied, equally politely.

"Please come in, Takugami-san," Hinako said, stepping back to allow the young officer to enter the house and take off her shoes. "Welcome to our home," the young girl added as Kasumi had taught her.

"Thank you, it is a lovely place," Eri replied absently as she categorized everything that she saw.

"We just finished our meal, so Daddy is still in the family room finishing his tea and his paper," Hinako said, "While everyone else is still getting ready for school." She led the officer down a long hall, and then through a set of sliding doors into the family room, whose outside doors were opened to the engawa, letting in a pleasant breeze and showing an idyllic scene of garden and fish pond.

"Ah, officer Takugami, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company so early?" Soun asked, as he set down his paper.

"Sato has disappeared," Eri said, flatly.

"Hmm, that strikes me as odd," Soun said, after a moment of thought, "Did he run, or are you asking if we had something to do with his disappearance?"

"Well, for the record, did you?" Eri shot back.

"No, not as far as I know. Once my family brought me back home yesterday afternoon, to my knowledge no one left the compound," Soun replied, "Except for Hinako here, and Kasumi, who made a brief trip to the market for the things they needed for dinner."

"Oh, your name is Hinako?" Eri asked.

Hinako lisped, "Yes, Eri-chan, that is my name. And if you'll forgive me, I need to finish getting my things together for school." Without waiting for an answer, she dashed headlong out of the room, her stocking feet silent on the wooden floor.

"A bit spirited, Hinako is," Soun said, with a chuckle.

"Another one of your daughters?" Eri asked.

"Did you not meet her at the hospital? She was there, but she may have been shy," Soun replied, "But, yes, we have essentially adopted her also. I owed her a debt of honour, and when she needed a place to live, we asked her to stay with us. And over time, she has become part of the family."

"You seem to be collecting a houseful of women, Tendo-san," Eri said with a chuckle.

"Yes, it does appear that way, doesn't it? At least I have Tofu and Ranma to help balance out the numbers a bit," Soun replied wryly.

"Does Hinako have any family? What is her family name, anyway?" Eri asked.

Soun relied, "Yes, her parents are still alive, though they don't live on this island. I think she said they were on Hokkaido. And her family name is Ninomiya."

"Ninomiya!" Eri exclaimed in shock, as she shook her head in bewilderment, and continued, "The records that I just saw yesterday about Hinako Ninomiya state that she is in her twenties. That girl can't be more than about twelve."

"True, but Hi-chan had an odd condition, caused by a flawed technique used by the then grandmaster of my school. This condition allowed her to be either a young girl as you saw just now, or her adult form. When we cured the technique, she decided to remain in her young form to allow herself to grow up," Soun explained.

"Oh my," Eri sighed, as she finished writing that explanation down. She shook her head and said, "That will clear up something that had puzzled us. The police in the neighboring ward had asked us to keep an eye out for her, since she had left her apartment and disappeared."

"Oh, I thought she had informed them that she had moved here," Soun said, clearly puzzled.

"I'm not sure what the issue was," Eri replied, "Just that they had sent out word, as I said. I'll have my captain let them know that she is safe. Anyway, I have done what I came here to do and that was to warn you that Sato disappeared from his home last night. It is very strange, though. He doesn't seem to have taken anything with him, and it's very odd. When we investigated all we found was a pile of clothing lying on the floor. There are some signs that his disappearance may not have been voluntary, since there were two score marks in the outside door, and some blood stains on the floor, but no obvious signs of a forced entry or of a struggle."

"I can't think of any thing that would help you, Eri-san," Soun replied, "As I said, no one to my knowledge left the house other than what I mentioned. You are, of course, free to ask them yourself. They should be down shortly, since it is nearly time for them to leave from school."

Yumi walked into the family room carrying several bento lunches and set them down by the door. "Hello, officer Takugami, what are you doing here so early?" she asked politely, as she rubbed her hands down her apron.

"Good morning, Yumi-san, I was just informing Tendo-san that Sato had disappeared from his home," the officer replied.

"Why was he not in jail where he belonged?" Yumi spat, her eyes flaring angrily.

"He had made arrangements for bond to be paid," Eri replied with a shrug, "A bond that he has forfeited by his disappearance. We have his picture posted, so it shouldn't take long for someone to spot him. In the meantime, I would suggest that you take care and avoid going out in public as much as possible."

"Do you think it is possible that he might come after us, again?" Soun asked.

"I have to consider all possibilities, and that is certainly a good one," the young woman replied.

"I doubt that he would try anything again," Yumi said, a bit uncertainly, "He's more of a bully than anything else, and a show of strength is usually enough to scare one of them off. Though I have to admit to being surprised that he had someone attack us, that's really not like the man I have spent so much of my life with."

"That's probably true," Soun said, "And to be honest, I think if he was coming after us again, he'd been here by now under cover of darkness. I imagine that he is running for the hills, trying to escape his fate."

"Still, we'll have someone around during the day, until your family returns from school. Not to disparage your skills, but you shouldn't try to defend yourself, not until that stab wound is healed."

Soun sighed and grumped, "I've had worse, and continued fighting."

"Yes, but you were younger and more foolish then," Yumi reminded him gently.

Soun grinned wryly and said, "That was unkind of you to remind me."

* * *

The next few days went by, with the inhabitants of the Tendo home tensely waiting for some news about Shigeru Sato. Ranma and Akane escorted the rest of the students to school and back, except for Nabiki who continued to spend as much time as she could studying with Souta even though the entrance exams weren't until late winter. Her husband, who rearranged his office schedule at the request of the young police officer, escorted Kasumi to college. The only bright spot during that period was Soun healed quickly, spending time with Yumi, who waited on him hand and foot, allowing the two of them to bond even deeper.

Yumi opened the envelope delivered to her in person by Eri Takugami, who had taken a liking to the older woman, and had taken her under her wing. Yumi quickly scanned the fancy parchment, and lost her composure, squealing uncontrollably, and then began to cry. Fortunately, for all concerned, the Family Affairs judge had made his ruling, dissolving the marriage of Yumi to the missing Shigeru. The judge had taken both the fugitive's additional legal difficulties, and his fugitive status, to rule wholeheartedly in favor of Yumi, leaving most of the property to her. The only issue was the bank accounts, which the police had frozen pending the results of their investigation, though they had quickly discovered the account for the dummy corporation that Sato had set up, since to their surprise, all of the key transactions had been recorded by a malfunction of the main server at the Urashima Corporation.

Soun leapt to his feet and gathered her into his arms, while Eri picked up the paper and read it, smiling happily.

"Congratulations, Yumi-san," Eri said, softly, "You are free of that bastard."

"We need to celebrate, Yumi," Soun said, as he rubbed her back in comfort, "Why don't you get dressed up and you and I go out to dinner at that little French restaurant you mentioned a month ago?"

"Um, I'd rather you didn't do that, not yet at least," Eri said, a bit sadly, "Mind you, that's my professional opinion at work there, personally, I'd go for it. But until we know what happened with Sato, I'm a bit leary of you going off by yourself. At least not until you are completely healed."

Soun groused, "I am healed, damn it. And I'm tired of being stuck in the house."

"Now, Soun, Eri just means well," Yumi said, trying not to laugh at his expression, "She didn't mean to insult you in any fashion."

A cell phone buzzed loudly, and Eri said, "Excuse me, let me get this call." She answered the phone, saying, "Takugami here." She listened for a moment and replied, "Yes, as a matter of fact I'm there now. I'll tell them." She closed the phone and clipped it back onto her belt and then said, "Well, we may have found Sato's trail. His name came up on a flight that left the day he disappeared, and one of the flight attendants on the flight thinks he recognizes the photograph. I guess there's no reason for you not to go out and celebrate, after all."

"Good, as much as I love my home, it was starting to feel like a cage. And a gilded cage is still a cage," Soun said, "I'll go change into something a bit more formal than my gi, and then we can go out."

"You've got plenty of time, Tendo-san," Eri said dryly, as Yumi vanished out of the room, shedding her apron on the way, "I expect you may be a little rusty about dating, but Yumi-san will want to look her best, and that will take her a while to find the perfect dress."

"It's not a date," Soun protested weakly.

"Let's see, you asked her to go out to eat with you, to a real nice restaurant. Hmm, looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, walks like a duck. I'm betting it's a duck," Eri teased, "Sounds like a date to me. And on that note, I think I'll leave." She sketched a brief bow toward Soun and left through the open door to retrieve her shoes.

"Kasumi!" Soun called, and waited for his daughter to show up. When she did, he said, "Um, Yumi and I won't be here for dinner. I hope that is not a problem."

"No, Daddy, I haven't actually started much, just making the stock for the udon noodles I was going to fix for tonight. Hinako and Sayuri haven't come in from the dojo yet," Kasumi replied. She gave her best mother stare and said, "Now, I don't want you to keep her out too late, so you'd better be back by ten."

"Since when do I have a curfew?" Soun asked, unsure whether he was being teased or not.

"Just getting practice for when I have teenage children. Now have fun on your date with Yumi" Kasumi admitted as she giggled at her father.

"You're enjoying this entirely too much, daughter," Soun grumbled as he stood up and headed to his room at the back of the house to change.

"I'm just glad to see you finally happy," Kasumi said too softly for him to hear.

* * *

Soun stood nervously at the front door as he waited for Yumi to make her appearance. They had danced around their feelings for each other, while waiting for the divorce to be finalized, and now, without that burden hanging over his head, he was unsure of how to handle himself. 'Pull yourself together man,' he thought, 'You can do this.' Then his eyes bulged out as she came around the corner from her room, wearing a dress that showed her assets to their best advantage, a hint of red in her cheeks.

Yumi walked around the corner, unsure of herself, trying not to clutch the light shawl that was on her shoulders and draw it around her to hide the bit of cleavage that her dress was showing. She stopped suddenly as she saw Soun standing there, dressed in a very nice suit. She glanced modestly to the floor, only to be surprised as Soun took her arm.

"You look gorgeous," Soun said, his heart in his eyes, those eyes saying what he still could not say verbally.

"You cleaned up nicely yourself," Yumi said, blushing even more, as she hoped that he didn't hear her heart beating loudly.

"Shall we?" Soun asked, "I called for a rickshaw. I thought that might be a nice touch."

"That was very kind of you," Yumi said, glancing down at the shoes she was holding in her hands, "These heels are supposed to be highly fashionable, but I would really hate to walk very far in them."

Soun chuckled and said, "The things you women do for fashion."

Yumi shrugged her shoulders and said, "I sometimes think the fashion designers must hate us."

Chuckling still, Soun guided her out the door, waiting until she placed her shoes on before escorting her to the waiting rickshaw and the grinning driver. Soun helped her up, and then climbed in next to her, smiling to himself, as she leaned against his shoulder. The burly driver grabbed the two bars and began running down the street. After a relatively short run, the driver pulled up alongside a brightly lit restaurant, the bold sign reading, 'Milano's' in English. Soun clambered down from the seat, and then helped Yumi down. Then he tossed the driver the fare, who then grabbed the handles of his rickshaw and moved on down the street. Soun smiled at Yumi and the two of them walked up to the restaurant and entered.

* * *

Yumi sighed contentedly as she swayed in Soun's arms as they danced to the small band playing, her head resting against his shoulder. She closed her eyes as she relied on Soun leading her around the dance floor, reveling in the feel of his strong hands lightly touching the small of her back. Finally, the band finished their set. She murmured, "Take me home, Soun."

"Are you sure, Yumi?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice..

Yumi opened her eyes and gazed intently at Soun, and replied, "Our home, silly, not the house where Sato lived. I never want to enter that place again."

"I like the way that sounds," Soun said softly, as he led her off the dance floor and waved at the waitress.

After paying the bill, Yumi and Soun left the restaurant, where they once again found a rickshaw. Soun handed her up to the seat and then joined her, where she promptly leaned her head against his shoulder. A silent tear drifted down his cheek as he slowly began to heal from several years of pain. The two of them sat in a companionable silence as the rickshaw moved smoothly down the streets until it stopped in front of the estate. They climbed out, Soun once again tossing the fare to the driver, and they headed toward the main gate of the compound, the two of them holding hands, with Yumi leaning against him. As he was about to open the gate, she stopped him, and said, "Let's not go in quite yet. I don't want the evening to end."

"Then it doesn't have to," Soun replied, "But what would you like to do instead?"

"Maybe talk some more, I guess," Yumi replied, a bit hesitantly.

Soun turned to look down at her, and then stiffened as she wrapped her arms around him. "About what?" he stammered.

"Us, I guess," Yumi replied, blushing, "I'm not married any longer, and well, there's something happening, isn't there?"

Soun replied, "I'm terribly rusty about all this, Yumi, but yes, I feel something for you that I haven't felt in a very long time."

"And I haven't been this happy in years, either Soun," Yumi said, her eyes shining in the moonlight.

"I don't want us to, um, rush into anything," Soun said, his collar feeling oddly tight for some reason.

"Oh, I understand that, and appreciate it more than you could know, "Yumi said," But we're old enough not to let our hormones control us

Soun blushed for some reason and said, "I'm not sure about that. It's been a very long time for me."

"As it has for me, also," Yumi said, "Shigeru and I had separate bedrooms for a reason."

Soun bent down and kissed her, startling her just a bit, but then she relaxed. Her arms went up automatically and she ran her hands through his long hair. Finally, the two of them broke apart.

"Does this mean that we're together, now?" Yumi asked, shyly.

"I certainly hope so," Soun replied, only to have her pull him back into a kiss. This time, they deepened the kiss, almost bruising in intensity. Suddenly a gasp from behind them caused them to stop.

"MOM, Mr. Tendo!" Sayuri exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

Yumi turned in Soun's arms, and replied, "What did it look like I was doing?" She saw Hiroshi standing shyly behind her daughter, and grinned. "Tell you what, why don't you go find someplace else to kiss your boyfriend, and let me get back to kissing mine?" she asked, archly.

Sayuri's mouth gaped open, and then she stammered, "Boyfriend? Boyfriend? Boyfriend?"

"Oh dear, I think I broke her. Don't worry dear, it'll be a while before that title changes," Yumi said, giggling.

Hiroshi walked over and bowed deeply. "I think it's wonderful that you two are together," he said, as he stood back up. He grinned at his girlfriend, and added, "And I'm sure once she gets over her shock, she'll say the same thing." He reached for Sayuri's arm, and said, "And now, I think I'll take your advice. After all, I always obey my elders." He dragged Sayuri off and around the corner, where presumably he managed to bring Sayuri back from her surprise.

"Hmmm, now where were we?" Soun asked.

* * *

Soun slid open the door to his bedroom, and turned on the lights in the darkened room. He led Yumi over to the far wall, where the shrine to his beloved Kimiko rested, and the two of them knelt on the small rug in front of the low altar. A small-framed picture of his wife rested on the altar, next to a fresh bouquet of flowers, with an incense pot, with a curl of smoke still rising from it, near that.

"Koi," Soun said softly, "This is Yumi, the woman I have been telling you about. I wanted you to meet her, and hopefully give us your blessing."

"Mrs. Tendo," Yumi began, "I'm not trying to take your place or anything, I just want Soun to be happy, and I think I can do that. You have three wonderful daughters, but I guess you know that already. I wish I had met you, from everything that I have been told, you are a wonderful person." She rested her hand on Soun's arm, and bowed her head, saying a silent prayer to whoever was listening.

"I don't know where we are heading, but Yumi reminds me so much of you in so many ways," Soun said, "You would approve of her, I know that in my heart. I still miss you, and always will, but I think it's time for me to heal."

A small bell-like sound rang in the room, and perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Soun swore that the smile in the photograph grew bigger. He swore he heard something say, "It's time and past time, my husband. We will meet again, that I promise."

With a sigh, Soun rose, and helped Yumi to her feet. For the first time since he had created the shrine, he closed the doors of the cabinet. The two of them embraced and then Yumi kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I need to get to bed, I need my beauty sleep," Yumi said.

Soun chuckled and said, "You are beautiful enough, but it is late. I'll see you in the morning, Yumi."

"Flatterer," Yumi said, as she reluctantly left his bedroom and made her way back to the room she was staying in, not seeing the wistful look in his eyes as she left.

* * *

Akane walked into the family room, carrying a tray of food, to find her father busily kissing Yumi. She carefully put the tray down, and then said, "Well, this is different," carefully keeping her face from breaking out in a big grin.

Yumi sprang away from Soun, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment at being caught.

Soun frowned at his daughter, who was now giggling uncontrollably.

Ranma came in carrying a collection of bentos, and stopped. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Well, Daddy was busy kissing Yumi," Akane replied, her eyes dancing.

Ranma grinned and said, "Soun, that's really not appropriate. We eat in here."

"What's not appropriate?" Sayuri asked, as she brought in another tray of food.

"Your mother was kissing my father," Akane replied.

"Tell me about it. I caught them last night. I think I'm scarred for life because of it," Sayuri said, "People their age shouldn't do that in public."

"Since when?" Soun asked, finally recovering his composure. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Yumi and I are exploring a relationship. I hope that you will be happy for us, but we want to see where this goes."

"Actually, Soun," Ranma replied, "I think it's great."

"Yeah, I do too, Daddy, but please no more public displays of affection, okay? I'm not used to thinking about you doing that," Akane whined.

"It wasn't public until you walked in on us," Soun groused. He smirked and asked, "Would you prefer that we were in my bedroom?"

"DADDY!" Akane exckaimed in shock.

Yumi asked, "Are you okay with this Sayuri?"

Sayuri shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I'm not sure, Mom. I mean, it's just."

Yumi ran over and pulled her daughter into a hug, and whispered, "I know this seems sudden to you. That I'm just dumping your father for another man, but it's not like that."

"I know Mom, I've seen how you look at him when you think no one else is watching. And I never want you anywhere near that bastard I have for a father, so I don't have a problem there. It's just, well hard to wrap my mind around the concept that you could love someone else so quickly," Sayuri said, miserably.

"We don't know that it's love, at least not yet. There's something there, but we will take it slowly, because we want to make sure that whatever we're feeling is real, not our hormones," Yumi said.

"Mom, if he helps make you happy, then I'm good with that. Kami knows you deserve some after the unmitigated hell that Sato made you live through," Sayuri said. Then she grinned and added, "But not before breakfast, okay? I don't want those kind of images when I'm at school."

"We'll try not to shock little children and puppy dogs," Yumi said, with a gentle smile, "But, there is some chemistry between us, and I want to explore how far it will take us."

"Mom, truly I am happy for both of you," Sayuri said. 'And maybe if things work out, Akane will be my sister in truth,' she thought.

* * *

Hinako raced around the side yard chasing D-chan, who had snagged one of the bras out of the basket of clean laundry that she had been hanging up. The dog would tease her but dropping the bra from its mouth, and smiling at her with that oh-so-innocent grin, and bark, but as soon as Hinako got close, the dog would dash back in and snatch up the garment and race off again. Of course, Hinako would have had better luck if she hadn't been giggling as she ran. Kasumi was collapsed against the wall of the house, laughing gaily at the sight, especially since it wasn't her bra. Hinako continued chasing the dog, as it ran around toward the front gate. She screeched to a halt as Souta opened the gate and walked into the compound, and managed to catch the dog, blushing as he realized what the dog had in its mouth.

Hinako ran up and snatched the bra out of the dog's mouth, and said, "Thank you, Souta-san, I've been chasing that wretched animal forever."

"Hello, yourself, Hi-chan," Souta said, setting the dog back on the ground, "You look prettier than ever with your cheeks flushed like that. And what did I tell you to call me?"

Hinako blushed, hoping the flush in her cheeks from running would hide her embarrassment. "Sorry, Souta, I forgot," she lisped. She dug her toe into the ground and hid her face behind her long hair.

Nabiki came sauntering up, and asked, "Are you ready to go, Souta?"

Souta grinned and pulled her to him, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Sure," he replied, "We've got a little ways to go, so the sooner we leave the sooner we'll get there."

"Where are you going?" Hinako asked, her hair hiding her eyes.

"It was the oddest thing. Nabiki and I wanted to do something different, and yesterday, somebody put a brochure about a new tunnel of love that opened up in my locker at school. I thought that might be a neat thing to do, even though it's a little ways out of town toward the mountains," Souta replied.

"Well, you two have a good time," Hinako said, as she turned and walked away, an oddly twisted smile on her face.

"I'm sure we will, it'll be late when we get back, I imagine, so tell Kasumi not to wait up," Nabiki said, as she linked her arm with her boyfriend and the two of them headed out the gate toward the train station.

* * *

The family was enjoying their dinner, with the exception of Nabiki, who was still out on her date with Souta, when suddenly, hours earlier than they had expected, the front door slammed open, and they heard the sound of someone running up the stairs and then the distant echo of a bedroom door slamming shut. Akane and Kasumi exchanged looks, and Kasumi sighed. "I'll go," she said.

Akane nodded her head and said, "That's probably for the best. You're a lot better with handling crying girls."

Soun growled, "Did someone hurt my daughter? I'll" He stopped when Yumi placed her hand on his arm and shook her head.

"Let them handle it," Yumi said softly. Soun stared at her for a moment and then jerked his head in a reluctant nod.

Kasumi stood up from where she was kneeling at that table, and walked quickly but serenely upstairs to her younger sister's room, where the unmistakeable sound of someone crying was plainly audible through the door. She knocked on and asked, "Nabiki, can I come in?" She heard a muffled sound that she decided was a yes, and opened the door and walked in. She found her sister sprawled out face down on her bed, crying copiously into her pillow, a sight she had never thought that she would have seen. Kasumi sat on the bed and began to rub her sister's back in a gentle, soothing, circular motion. "What's wrong, sis?" she asked.

Nabiki rolled over, her eyes reddened from her crying, and her face blotchy. "It was horrible! The date, the tunnel, everything went wrong!" she wailed, "And, and, Souta and I," Nabiki sniffed back her tears, and continued, "We broke up!"

Kasumi's eyes filled with compassion, and a few unshed tears of her own, and said, soothingly, "I'm so sorry. I thought you two were so good together. What went wrong?"

Nabiki sat up in the bed, and replied, the occasional tear still dripping from her chin, "The tunnel of love we went to, it was a tunnel of broken couples. We just thought the sign was a joke. And the attendant at the booth, he just said it was so scary that girls would be all over their boyfriends. Souta chuckled at that, said I was too rational and made of sterner stuff."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Kasumi said, "What happened in the tunnel?"

"Well, when we went in, aside from the bad mood music playing in the background, it wasn't very scary, so we kept on going. But then, someone grabbed my ankle. When I looked down, it was a man, riddled with arrows, who was telling me that I could do better than Souta. I screamed and leaped into Souta's arms, confusing him, since he apparently saw nothing. I looked down, and there was nothing there. But, being in Souta's arms, that wasn't bad."

"This is confusing," Kasumi said, "Why would that cause you to break up?"

"That wasn't it. We went on a little farther, both of us holding hands, until another ghost appeared, and that one said his wife ran out on him. Well, that scared me, and I grabbed hold of Souta, but once again, he didn't see anything," Nabiki replied, "And then, then he accused me of making it up, just so I could hold onto him, the jerk."

"So is that when you two broke up?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki shook her head, and replied, "No, when he saw my reaction, he apologized profusely. He may be a jerk, but he still is a nice guy."

"Okay," Kasumi said, drawing the syllables out, "Now I'm reallyconfused. So far I haven't heard any reason for the two of you to split up."

Nabiki sighed heavily, and replied, "Well, I guess it was the bath house that did it."

"A bath house in a tunnel of love? That doesn't make any sense," Kasumi said, completely bewildered.

"That's what I thought, too. But, it filled up the entire tunnel, so we had to enter," Nabiki replied, "But, it was really nice. Full of marble statues, and lovely paintings. Almost what I imagine a Roman bath would look like based on some of the things they showed us in Ancient History this year. I barely could pull myself out of the pool, it was so heavenly. The warm water was just so relaxing. But, I finally did, and went out the exit to meet Souta, who was absolutely livid that I had taken so long. He snapped at me, and I blew up, and we stood there shouting at each other. I finally told him we were through and ran off, without a thought about him."

Kasumi pulled her sister to her, and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I thought you two had a chance," she whispered.

"No, not really," Nabiki said, sighing heavily, "I liked him well enough, and the kissing we did was nice, but there just wasn't a spark like I hoped there would be. He was right about one of the things he yelled at me, I was just using him. Not the way he meant, but to help me study. I saw what you and Tofu have, and what Ranma and Akane have, and even what Yumi and Daddy seem to be developing, and I wanted it too."

"I know you did. And I'm sure eventually some guy will come and sweep you off your feet, if that's what you decide you want," Kasumi replied.

Ranma knocked on the door and said, "Nabiki, Souta is on the phone. He was worried about you."

"Just tell him I made it home," Nabiki said, despondently, "I really don't want to talk to him. Not now. Maybe I can face him on Monday."

"Sure, little sis, I'll tell him," Ranma replied, as they heard his footsteps head back down the hallway. 'Poor Souta. I guess that's another relationship that bit the dust,' he thought as he walked away.

* * *

Kasumi walked back into the kitchen as the dishes were being put away. Hinako and Sayuri were drying, while Ranma and Akane finished the last of the cleanup. Akane asked, "What happened to Nabiki?"

Kasumi didn't answer for a moment and Akane began to glow angrily. She spat, "Did Souta do something to Nabiki?"

"No, you know Souta better than that," Kasumi replied, "They just broke up, that's all."

"That's so sad," Sayuri said, "They made such a cute couple."

"I agree," Hinako said, with a look of triumph flashing in her eyes for just a second.

Kasumi looked at the young girl, a slight frown on her face, until she decided she had imagined what she thought she saw. "She's a bit sad about the whole thing," she said, "So be gentle with her tonight. But, she never really thought that the two of them could last."

"School will be so awkward on Monday," Akane said, "Unless Souta decides not to sit with us anymore."

"I think they'll get over it," Ranma said, though his tone of voice indicated he wasn't as confident as he was pretending, "And it's not as if he hasn't broken up.." He stopped as Akane glared at him.

"Hey, it's okay Akane," Sayuri said, with a giggle, "It's not like he wasn't saying anything that I wasn't thinking. In fact, I feel sorry for Souta, he's lost out with at least three of the girls in our group."

"Well, fortunately the summer break will be here soon, though it will be a long five weeks until then," Ranma said.

* * *

Ranma pushed open the door to the Nekohaten, cracking a smile as he heard the bell over the door ring, and waited for Akane to enter before following her in. He glanced around, and saw no one standing at the counter, so he called out, "Cologne, Mousse, Shampoo, Ryoga, anyone here?" A minute or so later, the old crone came through the curtain separating the dining area from the kitchen, and hopped over to the counter.

"Afternoon, Sonny Boy, Akane," Cologne said in greeting, "How are you two today?"

"We're fine," Akane replied, "We just wanted to take some ramen home for dinner."

"What flavors?" Cologne asked, as Ranma let his attention wander around the room, until he spotted a new addition to the restaurant. Sitting on one of the window ledges, a small cage was holding a large, mangy cat, which was dozing lightly in the sun streaming through the window. As he watched, the cat opened its eyes just enough to see what was going on, its ears twitched in irritation, then it lifted a paw and licked a small cut.

"Shrimp, spicy vegetable and chicken," Akane replied, "With extra pickled vegetables."

"That won't take too long," Cologne said as she wrote down the order and then hopped back into the kitchen. She returned almost immediately, and asked, "How's your father doing? Is he still stuck at home?"

Akane grinned for a moment and replied, "Oh, he's fine. He spent a lot of time grumbling about being trapped at home, but Yumi kept him company while he healed. He finally got out yesterday."

"Boy did he!" Ranma added a bit amused, "He took Yumi out on a date to celebrate her divorce." He was interrupted by the cat arching its back and hissing angrily, and then it began to yowl.

"When did you get a cat?" Akane asked, surprised, "And such an ugly, mean tempered one at that!"

"This **is** the Cat Café," Cologne replied, cackling, "So when I found this tomcat, I decided to bring it here, sort of like a mascot."

"If it's going to act this bad tempered, maybe you ought to think about getting it fixed," Ranma suggested, "That might settle its temper."

"I may do that if it doesn't learn to behave itself," Cologne admitted, her face calm, as the cat suddenly sank back down, an eerie sense of intelligence in its eyes that were gazing at them in horror.

Mousse came out from the back, carrying several take-out containers, and placed them on the counter. "Here's the order," he said, a bit unnessarily.

"I'll take those," Ranma said.

"Just so you don't eat it all before we get home," Akane said, as she handed Cologne a handful of bills and coins.

"Hey, I'm not Pops," Ranma retorted.

"Thank Kami for that," Akane shot back, "Him I never want to kiss."

"Amen," Cologne added, as the three of them laughed.

----------------------

Author's Notes: Once again Gentle Readers, my latest installment in this story. I hope it meets with your approval. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed. And yes, for those who are interested, I am using some of the chapter titles from Viz's second edition of the manga for my titles, though this one took a long time for the chapter contents and title to make sense. For those leaving signed reviews, if there is a question, I will attempt to reply. Also, there is a forum for this story for those that are interested.


	67. The Horror of Party Beach

Chapter 67 The Horror of Party Beach

Author's Note: In this chapter, I wanted to try a different formatting technique. There is a flashback, which is written in italics.

After she finished her chores for the afternoon, Hinako wandered over to the koi pond and sat down on one of the large decorative boulders surrounding it. After a moment, she began idly swinging her legs as she stared down at the water with unseeing eyes as she thought back upon her actions and the results that had occurred because of them. With a heavy pang of remorse, she began to cry as she realized how badly she had hurt Nabiki due to her selfish desires, especially as she remembered the previous night, and the sudden realization she had had that morning.

_Hinako stood with one hand on the doorknob of the room she shared with Nabiki and carefully schooled her face into an expression of sorrow. She opened the door to the darkened room to find Nabiki already in bed, clutching her pillow to her chest and crying silently into said pillow. Hinako closed her eyes for a moment, as her heart went out to the woman she had come to care so much for and began to doubt the correctness of her actions._

_Nabiki heard the door to her room open and she rolled over, her face blotchy from the tears she had wept to find Hinako standing uncertainly in the doorway, illuminated from the back by the light from the hallway. "Oh, it's you," Nabiki said, rolling back over as Hinako made her way gingerly to the dresser and changed into her pajamas without turning on any lights, relying only on the light coming in from the door. Once she had changed, Hinako went back to the door, and closed it, and then joined Nabiki in the bed._

"_I'm truly sorry," Hinako said, tenderly, "More sorry that you can imagine." She hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"_

_Nabiki stiffened and replied, "Not really, but thanks for asking. It means a lot to me."_

"_I know you liked him," Hinako said slowly, "But, things will be fine. You'll see."_

"_Please, I really don't want to talk about it. I've already been through this with Kasumi, and right now, all I want to do is go to sleep and forget this day ever happened," Nabiki said._

"_Okay, just know that I'm here for you when you're ready," Hinako said tenderly, feeling a bit like a hypocrite since she was the cause of the problem. She carefully snuggled up to the older girl, draping one arm around Nabiki's waist._

"_When did you become such an adult?" Nabiki asked, as she closed her eye, feeling strangely comforted._

_Hinako leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek, and said, "Get some sleep, big sister, you'll feel better in the morning, I promise." She closed her eyes and soon was asleep, only to be roused twice in the night by the sound of Nabiki crying. The second time that happened, Hinako sighed heavily and pulled her into an embrace, resting the older girl's head on her shoulder and squeezing tightly. That seemed to settle Nabiki down, and she managed to sleep the remainder of the night, and on into the morning, as Kasumi allowed the two of them to sleep in an extra hour._

_The next morning, the sounds of the household stirring finally penetrated the closed door of the bedroom, and Nabiki slowly began to rouse to an odd sensation. As she lay there with her eyes closed, she realized that she was snuggled up to Hinako, which made her feel comforted. Then her eyes shot open wide as she realized that sometime during the night, her hand had come to be cupping Hinako's small breast. Her hand shot away as if it had been burned, as she realized Hinako was awake, her eyes dancing with mirth._

"_Shouldn't you kiss me first before you grope me like that?" the young girl asked lightly._

_Nabiki blushed and stammered, "I didn't mean to do that. I'm so sorry, Hi-chan."_

_Hinako frowned slightly and sat up in the bed. She turned to her and said, "Nabiki, I woke up a few minutes before you did. There wasn't anything sexual in what you were doing; not really, your hand was just there. I'm sorry I teased you and made you feel uncomfortable. You had a lousy day yesterday, and needed someone to hold you after everything that happened. I'm just glad that I was able to help, at least a little bit." 'Especially since I'm the reason it all happened,' she thought guiltily._

_Nabiki slid out of bed, still red, and walked over to her dresser where she pulled out a change of clothing. "I'm going to go soak in the furo for a little while," she announced, "And then get something to eat."_

"_That sounds like a good idea," Hinako said, as she left the bed, "I'll come with you." Nabiki looked a bit unsure, and Hinako turned to her, putting both hands on her waist and scowled at her. "Stop that. I know that you aren't interested in girls. What happened was an accident and you and I both know that," she said, a bit heatedly, "One relationship that ends in a lousy breakup isn't going to change who you are, you know that!" She took a deep breath and then added, a bit more gently, "Besides, you spent a month helping me get rid of that awful ki absorption technique, and had to touch me there and it didn't do anything to you then. In a way, I owe you a life debt for what you…." Hinako broke off, and covered her mouth with her hand as she repeated, brokenly, "I owe you a life debt!" She ran out of the room, her eyes filled with sudden tears, as she thought, 'What have I done!'_

"I'm such an awful person," Hinako whispered as her thoughts snapped back to the present, "I read that brochure. I knew that it guaranteed that any couple who went through that cursed tunnel would break up. But that wasn't enough; I had to clean up the brochure so no one would know that, and then put it in Souta's locker. Nabiki and Souta were so happy when they left yesterday, and I ruined that." She slid down to the ground and put her face in her hands as she shuddered, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. She angrily dashed her tears away with one hand and said, "Stop it. There's no use crying over spilt milk. What's done is done, and the reasons for doing it haven't changed. And I can't let either of them figure out it was me. Pull yourself together; you're acting like a little girl." A loud crash from inside the house caught her attention and she sprang to her feet and ran to the engawa, where she kicked off her shoes, and then on through the family room to the hallway. There she found Kasumi and Sayuri. "What was that loud noise?" she asked, breathlessly.

"I dropped the bed," Sayuri replied.

"What bed?" Hinako asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh, I decided that since Daddy and Yumi are dating that it would observe propriety better if Sayuri was staying in the guest room with Yumi," Kasumi replied, "So we went over to their house and brought back Sayuri 's bed from there."

Nabiki walked in from the kitchen, eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream, and said, "And I thought that perhaps you might want to move back into your old room."

"Why would I want to do that?" Hinako asked, arching her eyebrow, "In fact, it would be bad-mannered of me to do that, after all, you comforted me for all those months, it's only right that I get you through your nightmares." She blushed and added, "Besides, I'm gotten accustomed to sharing a bed. I don't know if I could sleep by myself anymore."

Nabiki nodded and said, "If you don't mind, then that's fine with me. It was just a thought." She smiled tiredly and added, "And if I were being honest, I wasn't looking forward to being by myself. It was just, well…"

"I understand," Hinako replied, soothingly, "But, remember what I told you, okay." 'I need to be there for her, because I'm the one who set this up,' she thought sadly.

The door to the house opened up and they heard Akane call out, "We're home, and we brought the Chinese takeaway."

"Oh my, is it that late already?" Kasumi asked in dismay, "I got so busy redoing the room, I forgot all about cooking."

Ranma walked around the corner, carrying four large cartons, two in each hand, while Akane was right behind him with two more. "Don't worry, I think we have plenty," he said, "Except for rice and I know you had that cooking."

"Ranma," Nabiki said, tiredly, "Your mother called. She said she was on her way back to Nerima after chasing your father off from where he was staying."

"What had the old fool gotten himself into this time?" Ranma asked as he made his way into the family room to set the cartons down on the table.

"She didn't say," Nabiki replied, "She did ask if you could keep next Sunday free."

"I thought we were going to the beach this weekend? Won't that get in the way?" Akane asked.

Nabiki looked embarrassed for a moment and then replied, "I, um, sort of got the dates mixed up. The two cabins weren't available until next weekend, so I had to change."

"That's better any way. If I remember correctly, isn't next weekend supposed to be a three-day weekend? Didn't the calendar show some sort of day off for a Pineapple festival or something?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, you'd think the new principal would get rid of all of those dumb holidays that Kuno added this year," Akane replied, with a grin.

"Well, as much as I like school," Ranma said, with a smirk, "I'm just as happy for the day and a half off." He pretended to ignore Akane rolling her eyes at him and asked, "What did Mom want to do Sunday? Did she tell you?"

"Something about needing to clean around her house," Nabiki replied.

Ranma groaned loudly, until Nabiki added, "She also said something about cooking some of your favorites as a bribe."

"In that case, I guess I can help," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

"You'll do anything for her cooking, won't you, Ranma?" Akane asked, with a grin.

Ranma pretended to think for a moment and replied, "Well, most anything. Come on, this food isn't getting any hotter."

Everyone crowded around the table, with the noticeable exception of Soun and Yumi. Akane said, "Let me guess, your mom and my dad are out 'celebrating' again."

"Something like that," Sayuri replied, "At least that's what they keep calling it. Even though we caught them kissing, they still want to pretend that they are just friends." The two girls exchanged knowing grins.

Kasumi watched as Nabiki slowly ate her food, barely tasting it as it went down, her face still drawn and troubled. It pained her to see her sister so troubled, and she asked, "Nabiki, are you going to be okay at school tomorrow?"

Nabiki smiled weakly and replied, "I honestly don't know, Kasumi. I need to talk to Souta, and try to work things out, at least as far as our friendship goes."

"It doesn't have to just be that, sis," Akane said, as she reached out a hand and placed it on her sister's shoulder, "Whatever happened in that tunnel, the two of you could work it out."

Nabiki sighed, a wistful sound, and replied, "I don't know if we can. We yelled a lot of mean and hateful things at each other."

"But don't you think it's worth a try?" Sayuri asked, "You two seem to care a lot about each other."

"We do, in fact I still do. It's just that we knew when we started dating that we didn't have a lot in common and sort of agreed to ignore our differences. That's some of what fell apart yesterday," Nabiki replied. She paused for a moment and a wry smile appeared on her face as she added, "But it was fun while it lasted. I'm going to miss our study incentives."

"Oh, and what might that have been?" Sayuri asked with a knowing grin.

Nabiki smirked, and replied, "Just something that we did when we were answering questions. That's all."

Ranma chuckled and said, "I know my grades improved when Akane and I studied together once we got engaged and I could let everyone know I was really a guy."

Akane elbowed him in the side and said, "Well, it wouldn't have done much for my reputation if they'd seen me kiss you as a girl when you got an answer right, now would it?"

Ranma mumbled something just loud enough for Akane to hear, and she turned bright red.

"Ooooh, you're gonna pay for that one," Akane mock-growled.

Ranma's eyes twinkled as he said, "Don't make promises that you can't keep."

* * *

Nabiki walked through the gate and into the school courtyard. Then she paled as she saw Souta sitting on the steps going up to the front door, obviously waiting for her. Even though she had deliberately left early so that she could talk to him, now that the actuality was going to occur, her steps slowed as her resolve left her. As she slowly neared him, Souta stood up, and she could tell that he was not handling their breakup any better than she was, with his normally immaculate hair disheveled, and reddened eyes with dark bags beneath them, that rather matched hers as she stopped to think about it.

"Hey," Souta said, as his hands twitched until he crammed them angrily in his pockets, and began to rock back and forth, "I guess we need to talk."

Nabiki didn't trust her voice at that moment so she merely nodded and pointed to the roof. She continued up the stairs, knowing without looking back that he was following her as they made the long climb up to the roof, where she walked over to one of the big air-conditioning ducts and leaned against it. The silence built for a while as neither one of them wanted to start.

Finally, Souta sighed and angrily ran his hands through his hair. "Nabiki, I don't know what happened on Saturday, or even why it happened. That fight wasn't us, and I don't want to lose you because of it, not because of one stupid fight," he said passionately.

Nabiki hung her head and whispered, "But we said so many mean things to each other. How do we get past that?"

"I don't know," Souta admitted, "But, I did find several things out. That cave that we went to, I found an ad for it in a magazine for haunted sites. You really were seeing something, but I didn't. I'm sorry I doubted you."

Nabiki wiped away a tear and said, "That helps a little bit. Not enough but some."

"No, don't you see? The ad that I found in my locker was a modified version of that ad, and I checked with the guys that have the lockers next to me, and none of them had the flyer shoved in there. Someone set us up, they wanted us to go to that tunnel and break up," Souta said.

Nabiki's head flew up and her eyes narrowed. "You're right, Souta, you're absolutely right," she growled, "But why?"

"Probably someone wanted to go out with you, I'd guess," Souta replied.

"Or you," Nabiki said, quirking a smile.

"So are we going to let this mysterious person win, or are we going to stay together?" Souta asked. He grinned at her as he already knew the answer.

Nabiki's smile faded briefly and she looked away. Swallowing deeply, she turned away.

Souta's grin disappeared and he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't honestly tell me you're going to let whoever did this to us win, are you?" he asked. To his great surprise, Nabiki actually looked uncertain, something that he had never seen before. She was occasionally wrong about things, but she was never uncertain.

Nabiki still refused to look him in the face; instead she stared out over the low parapet surrounding the roof, and said, softly, "I don't know. I enjoy being with you, and I do care for you, but are you really the one for me? Or me for you? I'm not sure. What happened Saturday really made me question everything. The only thing I am sure of is that I don't want to lose your friendship, no matter what I, or rather, we decide about where we go from here."

Souta frowned and replied, "I don't know if you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with or not, Na-chan. I was hoping we would spend the rest of the school year finding out, though."

"But what if I'm keeping you from finding that perfect woman?" Nabiki asked, meekly.

"What if I've already found her?" Souta retorted.

"But," Nabiki began, only to have Souta place his hand over her mouth.

Souta frowned and asked, "This isn't like you. You are usually so sure of yourself. What happened?"

Nabiki turned to him, tears running down her cheeks, and said, "I let you get to me. I've always kept people at arms length before, but then we started dating, and I grew soft. And when we, no if I going to be honest, when I broke up with you, it hurt. It hurt like hell, and I can't handle that! What if we get back together and sometime later, we break up! I don't know if I can handle that."

Souta wrapped his arms around her and said, "Nabiki, you are the strongest person I know. Maybe we break up, maybe we don't. I don't pretend to know the future, but what I do know is I am a better person when I am with you. I'd rather be with you as your boyfriend, but I'll settle for being your friend that is a boy."

"Everyone else says to give you another chance, that the reason for our breakup was stupid at best," Nabiki said.

"You've got my vote for that as well, if you need to hear from another ward," Souta said jokingly.

Nabiki chuckled and then, suddenly, as if given new strength, she turned in his arms and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "You're right," she crowed, "If we break up, it'll because we want to, not because some arsehole decided to get in the way."

"That's my girl, the Nabiki I know!" Souta exclaimed in relief, only to see Nabiki narrow her eyes at him.

"I'm not property," she snapped, as she pushed him away from her.

Souta waved his arms frantically as he said, stumbling over the words, "That's not what I meant, not at all. Really, I didn't!"

Nabiki relaxed and said, "I know, I was just winding you up a bit." She bit her lip, as if in thought, and then reached up and hesitantly kissed him on the lips.

* * *

Ranma was busily emptying the contents of his bento into his mouth, his eyes intent on that task and that task alone, though without the single-minded determination that had once been required when he was fending off the encroachments of Pop, when suddenly his side was jarred by Akane planting her elbow firmly into it. He turned to send an angry look her way, when he spotted Nabiki heading toward them. However, to his surprise, she wasn't alone, she was walking with Souta, and to his total and complete astonishment, she was holding Souta's hand, which was rather a severe turnaround from her comments from the morning or the evening before.

"Well, isn't that interesting," Akane said, quietly.

Ranma chuckled and said, equally softly, "Yes, it certainly is. It's quite a turnaround from this morning. I wonder what got them back together?"

Sayuri chin dropped as she saw the once off-again couple apparently back on-again, and then with a blush realized that she of all people had no room for comment as she gazed fondly over at her boyfriend, who at the moment was chatting with Daisuke about the baseball game the night before.

Ukyo called, "Hey you two, where've you been? You two have been missing long enough that Ranma has eaten half his lunch."

Nabiki grinned and retorted, "Well, that should only be about five minutes."

Ranma laughed, and said, "That's not true, it'd take me only a couple of minutes if I was really trying. Remember, I was taught the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Eating from the master himself, Panda Pops."

Akane began to giggle uncontrollably, while Ukyo snorted, "Panda Pops! I love it!"

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at Nabiki and looked pointedly at her hand as it was firmly clasped by Souta.

Nabiki colored slightly but looked him serenely in the eye and said, "I'll explain later. Things changed."

"Explain what?" Kodachi asked, confused at the interplay between Ranma, Akane and Nabiki, since only the extended Tendo clan had known about the brief estrangement between Souta and Nabiki.

"Just some family stuff," Nabiki replied smoothly, yet in a tone that strongly suggested they change the subject.

Ever happy to oblige, since he had also caught some of the undercurrents in the conversation, Hiroshi asked, "What is everybody doing next weekend since it is a school holiday?"

Akane replied, "We've got a couple of cabins at the beach, so that's where we're going to be. Some surf, some sand and some training, I think is what Ranma has planned."

Kodachi perked up and asked, "Which beach? Our family owns a house on the beach at Kamakura. Tachi, Akari, Mse Tsu and I will be there next weekend."

Nabiki grinned and replied, "That's where we are going also."

"How big are the cabins? Are they the same ones from last year?" Ranma asked.

"Pretty much," Nabiki replied, "One of them is the same, and the other is the bigger one next door." She smirked and said, "I thought we'd put the adults and the old married couples in one cabin." She laughed as both Ranma and Akane shot a rude gesture at her, and added, "That'd leave the other cabin for us three girls, and anyone else we'd like to invite."

Ranma grinned at her while Akane drew herself up and in her best Kasumi imitation, said, "Nabiki, that wouldn't be proper. If you have any boys in that cabin with you, I'll insist on you being properly chaperoned. Oh the scandal, you and a boy!" That was as far as she could get before breaking down in laughter at the mock scowl on Nabiki's face.

"Like you have room to talk," Nabiki teased, "Miss I was sharing a room with my boyfriend. Or do you think I really forgot about last year?"

Ranma looked on clueless until Nabiki smirked, and then he replied with some amount of dignity, "We didn't do anything that we couldn't do in public, at least until we got married."

Akane whispered in his ear and he blushed as Nabiki raised one elegant eyebrow in an expression of total disbelief.

* * *

The evening meal had progressed to the point that there was only a little bit of rice remaining, which Hinako had quickly grabbed, tossing off a comment about her being a growing little girl. Sayuri grinned at Nabiki and asked, "Okay, would you like to explain exactly what happened at school today? I thought you and Souta were over and then…."

Hinako glanced back and forth between the two girls and exclaimed, "What was that!"

Nabiki replied, "When I got to school this morning, Souta was waiting for me. We talked for a while and one of the things he told me got my attention."

"And what might that have been?" Kasumi asked.

"It seems that Souta and I were set up by someone," Nabiki replied.

"Oh, what do you mean?" Akane asked, as Hinako stiffened imperceptably.

Nabiki replied, "Apparently someone placed the brochure in Souta's locker with the idea that we would go to that Tunnel of Love. What we didn't know was that the tunnel was the Cursed Tunnel of Broken Love, which was supposed to guarantee that any couple that went through it would break up by the end."

"So that's why you broke up with him?" Sayuri asked.

"Well, yes. But, after he told me we had been set up like that, neither of us wanted to give whoever the bastard was the satisfaction," Nabiki said, "So, we're back together, at least for a while."

Hinako said, beaming a false smile, "That's great, Nabiki! I'm so happy for you!" as her heart broke.

"Thanks, Hi-chan, that means a lot to me," Nabiki said, as she pulled the younger girl into a brief hug.

Hinako yawned and said, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'll head to bed. Goodnight everyone." She stood up and carried her dishes to the sink and then scurried upstairs, and threw herself on her bed and allowed the tears to flow once more. 'Why, why didn't it work!' she screamed to herself in her head, 'they can't stay together. He isn't meant for her!'

* * *

Nabiki tiptoed into her bedroom, and stopped in surprise as she saw a fully clothed Hinako sprawled out on the bed, her face wet with tears. Rushing over, she sat down next to her and asked, "What's the matter, little sis?"

Hinako turned her head away from Nabiki, and sniffled, "N-n-nothing."

"Right, you're just crying because you feel like it," Nabiki retorted dryly, "Come on you can tell me what's wrong?"

"No, I can't," Hinako wailed.

"Sure you can," Nabiki said, soothingly, "It can't be that bad."

Hinako hid her face in the covers and said, "There's this person I really really like, but they're with someone else. And they shouldn't be together, they aren't right for each other."

"Oh, teenage angst, first crushes," Nabiki said, "Listen, things will work out for you, I'm sure. Maybe not with this guy, but you're a wonderful girl, so I'm sure there'll be someone out there for you."

Hinako renewed crying, so Nabiki gently lifted the younger girl up and held her in her arms, holding her tightly. "It hurts so much!" Hinako wailed through her sobs.

"You know what always makes me feel better when I'm sad like this?" Nabiki asked, a bit rhetorically, "Eating ice cream. And I happen to know that there is a tub of chocolate calling our names right now."

Wiping her face, Hinako managed a tremulous smile and said, "Okay, that sounds good to me."

Nabiki stood up and held out her hand. Hinako grabbed it and allowed Nabiki to pull her out of bed, and the two girls headed out the door still holding hands.

* * *

Nodoka turned to the young couple walking up the neat sidewalk to her home and said, "Ranma, Akane, I can't thank you two enough for coming with me today. I really dreaded starting my spring cleaning, especially because I feel like I've been neglecting my duties for the last few months."

"Mom, you moved into our home to help us out, first when Akane and I had to leave for most of a week, and then when Yumi needed a friendly shoulder to cry on. Then all of the chasing around after Pop," Ranma said, "You really didn't need to ask. We would have volunteered to help. And I can't believe the house will be too bad anyway. I know for a fact that you and Yumi have been spending a little time each week, getting your mail and chatting with your neighbors. I'm willing to bet that you cleaned up some each time you dropped by." He chuckled and said, "And besides, eating your cooking is worth a little sweat."

"Ranma's right, Mom," Akane agreed, "Besides, you should have seen the look of relief on Kasumi's face when Nabiki said you'd asked us to help out over here. I love her dearly, but sometimes it's pretty scary how much Kasumi wants to clean the house by herself. She's getting better, mind you, after we insisted on helping, but she still tries to do too much, even with her class load."

The trio stopped at the front door of the neatly painted house as Nodoka fumbled around in her kimono until finally brandishing a heavy, intricate brass key in triumph. Placing the key into the lock, she turned the key and then opened the door into a small anteroom, with a small box for shoes. Glancing around before entering, she said, "The engawa needs cleaning, probably from all of the rain showers that we've been having, and the windows appear to need washing. Why don't you two work on that, while I go straighten up in the kitchen and family room? Then sometime this morning, I'll need to run down to the market to pick up some fresh vegetables and some meat for meals today."

Ranma grinned at the thought of having one of his mother's meals, and said, "We can handle that, Mom."

"Yeah, that's about all that Kasumi would ever let me do growing up," Akane added in agreement, "I just wish it wasn't quite so hard on my back."

"Ranma, be a dear and open up all the screens so we can air out the house while you're at it," Nodoka said, almost as an afterthought.

"Sure, Mom," Ranma replied with an engaging grin, "With this nice breeze, I would have done that anyway." He followed her in and began moving around the house, unlocking and opening all of the moveable panels that led to the engawa, which wrapped around three sides of the house, while Akane gathered up the various cleaning supplies that they would need. As he finished he waved to his mother who was bustling around the family room, and then joined Akane on the engawa.

* * *

A few short hours later, Ranma and Akane had moved to the back of the house to work on the windows and the engawa overlooking the small, but lovingly tended garden that Nodoka had obviously poured her attentions on during the long years that she had spent alone waiting for word of her son. Nodoka had stuck her head out the door about a half hour ago to announce that she was heading off to the market and would be back in an hour or so.

As the sun moved towards its zenith, it had warmed up considerably from the mild morning, so Ranma had peeled off his red shirt and set it aside. Beads of sweat glistened on his exposed shoulders and the top of his chest as he sped down the wooden porch on his hands and knees, removing the small accumulation of dust and debris with the damp cloth he held stretched out in his hands.

Akane stopped washing the windows for a moment, and watched her husband work. As she did so, she couldn't take her eyes off the rippling muscles visible through the thin sleeveless t-shirt he was wearing or the tight rear racing away from her as he finished his penultimate pass down the engawa. A faint pinkish tint appeared on her cheeks and a gleam of something entered her eyes, until an impish look chased it away.

Ranma turned and slid back towards Akane; oblivious to his surroundings until suddenly he felt the spray of cold water triggering his transformation.

Akane watched in fascination as the familiar change took place, one she really could never get enough of, as Ranma shrank into his female form, her chest stretching the thin material of her t-shirt.

Ranma pushed her damp, red hair out of her eyes and looked over at Akane who was trying and failing to look innocent as she attempted to hide a water pistol behind her back. Ranma's mouth twitched as she hid a smile. Screeching in mock anger, she flowed quickly to her feet as Akane backed away. "Why'd you go and do that for?" she exclaimed.

"Do what?" Akane asked, a hint of a smile in her eyes, "Oh, you mean the water. You just looked so hot." 'In more than one sense of the word,' she thought with a giggle.

Ranma smirked as she lunged for the bucket of water that Akane had been using and splashed her. Soon, the situation degenerated into a water fight between the two laughing girls as they moved off the engawa and onto the neatly manicured lawn.

Finally, once they were both totally soaked, the two girls fell to the ground, still laughing hysterically. Ranma said, "That was a lot of fun. I can't remember the last time I did something like this just for fun, something that didn't have something to do with martial arts." She blushed heavily and added, "Well, except for making love with you. That's definitely the best experience I've ever had." She pulled her lank hair out of her face, and put it into a loose ponytail.

"We ought to do some just for fun things more often," Akane said, pulling her wet shirt away from her body, "I love your laugh when you're having a good time, and the way your face lights up."

Ranma glanced around the backyard and noticed for the first time that it was completely private, with no neighboring houses having windows that looked over the wall surrounding the property. Not liking the feel of the soaking wet t-shirt, which as it was pretty much translucent wasn't hiding much of anything anyway, she pulled it off and set it on the clothesline that her mother had left stretched across a portion of the yard.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, "Where's your modesty?"

"Look, no one can see into the yard, and you know what I look like anyway, so what's the big deal? You know how long it would take that shirt to dry if I left it on, and it would be cold and clammy until it did," Ranma replied, a little defensively, as she skinned out of her slacks and hung them over the line.

Akane glanced around, and sighed heavily. "I suppose you're right," she said, as she slowly began to unbutton her blouse, since she had to admit it felt clammy against her skin. She slipped her blouse off, and hung it next to Ranma's shirt. She said, "I'll go in the house and find some towels so we can dry off."

"That's a good idea, or maybe we can lie out in the sun for a little while," Ranma suggested, with a leer. She watched as Akane colored slightly, and then disappeared into the house. To her surprise, Akane came out a moment or two later, carrying two large beach towels, and calmly took off her bra and shorts, hanging them on the line next to her blouse.

Akane took a look at the shocked expression on Ranma's face, and giggled. "I decided you were right, no one can see back here, and there's nothing here that you haven't seen already," she said, placing the towels onto the grass, and smoothing one of them out. She lay down quickly on her stomach, closing her eyes against the sun, waiting for Ranma to join her, once she got over her astonishment. After a few moments, she felt Ranma lay down next to her.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Looks like I've started to rub off on you."

Akane didn't need to have her eyes open to see the other girl ogling her figure ostentatiously. "We are married, after all," she merely said, raising herself up on one hand to kiss the red-haired girl.

After a few minutes, Ranma began to moan slightly, and then she pulled herself away from her wife. "As much as I'm enjoying this, I'm not sure it's a good idea," she said, reluctantly.

"Why not?" Akane asked, disappointment and longing in her voice, and a large amount of lust in her eyes.

"I'm sure Mom suspects that we sometimes kiss, and, er, do other things, when I'm like this, but, I'd just as soon she not find out the truth by her walking in on us, or hearing you call out my name the way you do sometimes," Ranma admitted, "She says she's accepted the fact that I turn into a girl, but I'm not sure that she really has."

"And you'd rather not find out the hard way that she hasn't," Akane finished for her, "In that case, why don't you go change back, and we can finish what we started."

"Um, because I like the way the sun feels on my breasts," Ranma admitted, "And I guess, I still don't want her to walk in on us while we're um, well, you know."

Akane pouted and said, "You'd better make up for this tonight."

"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about it. I'm as frustrated as you are right now," Ranma replied.

* * *

Nodoka peered through the curtains of her kitchen window at the two girls sunbathing in her backyard, or more accurately, kissing rather passionately in her backyard. 'Oh my son is so manly,' she thought, 'even when he is female, he's making Akane's toes curl when he kisses her.' She allowed herself to dream for a moment, thinking of all of the grandchildren her manly son would give her, as she continued to watch the two girls make out. Finally, she saw them part, both of them panting heavily, as Ranma looked back at the house with a worried expression on her pretty face. The two girls had a brief conversation, and then the two of them lay back down on their towels, their hands entwined. Fanning herself, Nodoka said, "Genma needs to hurry up and finish redeeming himself. I've denied myself entirely too long." She returned to her cooking, adding a pinch of seasoning, or a gentle stir of a spoon, almost as if she were performing magic

* * *

Hinako watched silently, her eyes hidden behind her dark sunglasses, as Nabiki and Souta splashed around in the surf, laughing gaily as if they had no cares in the world. She sighed heavily, feeling strangely alone, even though her 'family' or at least the group of people that had become that surrounded her.

"What's wrong, Hi-chan?" a gentle voice asked, disturbing her from her dark thoughts.

Hinako looked over at Kasumi and replied, "Nothing, big sister. Nothing's wrong."

Kasumi smiled sadly and said, with a touch of uncharacteristic sternness, "Hi-chan, you are a terrible liar. This is a gorgeous day, we are with our family and friends, and yet, you have been walking around as if there were a dark cloud hanging over your head. And even now, when you could be having a good time, you're sitting here moping."

Hinako shrugged her shoulders, only to see what seemed to be anger appear in the normally even-tempered young woman's eyes.

"Don't try to hide what's wrong. It sometimes helps to talk about things, and you know I won't betray any confidences," Kasumi said finally, her tone flat as if she had forced all emotion out of it.

"Okay, you're right. I have a problem, and I don't know how to solve it," Hinako replied. She turned to watch Nabiki once more.

"Is it boy trouble? I overheard you talking to Nabiki the other night," Kasumi asked quietly.

"Then you heard what I told her, that there was someone I really liked but they were with someone else," Hinako replied, "And it hurts to see them together."

"I think there's a bit more to it than that," Kasumi said wisely.

"You do?" Hinako asked, a guilty look flashing across her face.

Kasumi nodded her head and explained, "I've seen the looks you give watching Nabiki and Souta together. She's been your best friend for some time now, but now there's someone else in her life, and you resent Souta for taking her away from you. Don't you?"

Hinako slumped her shoulders as she sighed once more. This time though it was a sigh of relief that the kindly young woman hadn't guessed entirely correctly. "That's part of why I'm unhappy, I suppose," Hinako replied slowly, "I really hadn't thought about it like that."

"So between your confusion over your relationship with Nabiki, and this boy you have a crush on, no wonder you've been unhappy," Kasumi said, happy now that she had solved the mystery.

"I suppose that's it," Hinako replied.

"So, this boy you have a crush on, is he your age?" Kasumi asked, "Someone you met at school?"

"What exactly is my age?" Hinako said, "Physically, I'm twelve, nearly thirteen, but I've been alive for twice that. And now that I'm not switching back and forth, I've been able to start acting my physical age."

Kasumi looked at her thoughtfully and said, "That's true, you have managed to 'grow up' since Nabiki removed your curse."

"I hope so, at any rate," Hinako said, "It bothered me more than I could admit at the time that I was always acting so childish. I have that to thank Nabiki for too. She's helped me in so many ways."

"Ah, that explains what happened the other night as well. I wondered why you seemed to be so unhappy when Nabiki said that she was back together with Souta. That was a fake smile if ever I saw one," Kasumi said, "You were feeling guilty about wanting her for yourself, because you want her to be happy."

"And Souta helps her be happy," Hinako sighed, "So yes, I have a lot of conflicting emotions about the whole thing. I was happy when they broke up, but to see her so upset made me feel bad about feeling happy."

"I'm sure Nabiki will always have room for you in her life. She owes you a lot too, you know. It wasn't just a one-way thing. You both help each other, more than you probably realize," Kasumi said, "And I'm sure things will work out for you and this boy you like. Or you'll realize it was just a crush, and find someone who is truly for you. Besides, at twelve, almost thirteen, you're a bit young to look for the one you are going to spend the rest of your life with."

"Oh, is that right, Kasumi? Exactly when did you fall for Doc? Wasn't it around thirteen, if Nabiki was right? She did say that was when you suddenly developed this interest in medicine, going over and borrowing his books, and things like that," Hinako asked.

Kasumi blushed and then laughed. "Yes, I suppose that's when I fell for him," she admitted ruefully, "Though it was a couple of years before I admitted it to myself."

"Well then, why shouldn't I be just as lucky?" Hinako asked, "Of course, I'm not sure I can find someone as wonderful as Doc."

"Someone singing my praises?" a male voice asked as Tofu sat down next to his wife.

"Only a little," Kasumi replied, "Just a little bit of girl talk, something you wouldn't be interested in I'm sure."

"That's probably true," Tofu replied with a theatrical shudder, "I'd be scarred for life." He pointed over at where Ranma and Akane were working with Soun to grind off some of the rust that the middle-aged man had allowed to form on his skills. The activity of the three had drawn quite a large crowd of onlookers, who were applauding as they finished each kata, especially the males who were blatantly ogling the two girls, much to Ranma's dismay. "How much longer is that going to go on?" he asked, looking at his panting, red-faced, father-in-law.

"Not much I suppose," Kasumi replied, with a grin, as she saw Yumi bear down upon the trio with an angry look on her face.

"Yeah, looks like Yumi has had enough," Hinako said, "Bit overprotective of her, um, boyfriend, isn't she?"

They shared a look of amusement as Yumi began to berate Soun for not stopping sooner, and Ranma and Akane for not noticing his condition.

"Enough, Yumi," Soun finally said, "I'm not going to break. But it would be a good time for a rest, Ranma. I haven't been practicing like your father has so I'm going to have to take things much slower than you would like to teach me." He took Yumi by the hand and led her to join the trio on the beach towels, relaxing under a large umbrella.

"Ranma, Akane, would you get everyone? I'm about ready to serve lunch," Yumi called over her shoulder.

Ranma's eyes lit up, and the two girls raced off to corral all of the group.

**

* * *

The young couple wandered aimlessly along the beach, walking hand-in-hand, not talking, but just enjoying each other's company in the heat of the afternoon sun. They eventually left the strand of sandy beach and climbed up the small rise that marked the end of the beach as a rocky promontory jutted out into the sea. Finally, at the very tip, they stopped and sat down on a large boulder, looking down at the waves crashing against the rocks below. Ranma slid his arm around her waist as Akane rested her head on his shoulders. The raucous cry of a soaring seagull in the distance was the only other sound they could hear.**

After a long silence, Akane sighed happily and said, "This is nice."

"Yes it is," her husband agreed, "I like spending time doing couple things, just the two of us, though today was fun as well."

Akane giggled as she asked, "Do you remember Daddy's face when he saw Yumi in her one-piece?"

Ranma chuckled and replied, "That was barely a one-piece, Akane, but yeah, I thought his eyes were about to pop out when she took off that wrap and sit down on the beach towel."

"She certainly looks a lot better than when she moved in," Akane added, "I talked to Sayuri a bit about it, and she said that her mom had let herself go just a bit over the last few years. I guess being attracted to Daddy gave her a reason to get back in shape."

Ranma glanced over at her and asked, "Are you okay with all of this? It's got to be a little odd seeing Soun dating."

Akane caught her lip in her teeth as she stared off into the distance, where she could barely make out the smudge of a small island. After a moment she replied, "Daddy hasn't been this happy since Mommy died. That's the most important thing about what's happening. So, yeah, I'm good with it. I am glad that they seem to be taking things very slowly. It'd be just too embarrassing to see them carry on like randy teenagers."

"That's certainly true. But, with the training we're giving Soun, he'll be too tired and sore to do anything," Ranma said, with a smirk.

"Have to get him back into shape, don't we?" Akane asked, with a corresponding grin. They traded looks and began to laugh.

Suddenly they heard the sound of heavy hoofs, and they turned to look behind them. They saw Katsunishiki nearing them, with Akari perched on his back, a worried expression on her face. When she saw them, she called, "Have either of you seen my beloved Tachi? He was supposed to meet me after lunch."

"No, actually we haven't seen him," Akane replied.

At that news, Akari looked even more worried, and said, "I wonder where my sweetums could be. He said something about doing some training but he promised to be back by now. I've looked up and down the beach, but I've seen hide nor hair of him, and neither has anyone else I've talked to."

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Ranma said, gently, "He probably just lost track of time. I've done that myself several times when I got wrapped up in my training. You get so single-focused, you just don't pay attention to anything else."

"I'm sure that's it," Akane added, "But, we'll –" Her attention was caught by something in the water, being carried toward them by the billowing waves. "What's that?" she asked as she pointed at the object.

"I don't know," Ranma replied, "wait, it looks like a body." They watched as the object came near to the foot of the outcropping that they were on, to prove that he was indeed correct. The object was a body, dressed in flowing robes, but oddly, a watermelon was where the head should be. Ranma's eyes narrowed as he recalled another memory of a time that wouldn't occur, at least not if he could help it.

"Those are Tacchi's robes!" Akari exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear.

Ranma looked at Akane grimly and said, "I think I can reach him if you hold on to my legs and lower me down. Can the two of you do that?"

Akari reached around behind her and tossed Ranma a rope. "Use this. I can tie it to Katsunishiki's reins and then we can pull you up that way," she said quickly.

Ranma tied the rope around his waist, and nodded to the girls as he climbed down the rocky face to the small spit below that Kuno had managed to get wedged onto by the pounding surf. He reached Kuno and grabbed hold of the unconscious youth, just as a wall of water slammed into them.

Akari and Akane gasped as the water hit, and to Akari's amazement, when the water drained away, a buxom red-haired girl was holding onto her beloved Tacchi. "Who is that?" Akari gasped, "And what happened to Ranma?"

"We don't have time for that, Akari," Akane said, quickly, "We need to get them up before another rogue wave hits and washes one of them out to sea."

The girl looked up, and said, "I've got him, pull us up." Grabbing the rope, the girl threw Kuno over her shoulder, and braced her feet against the wall. Akari looked at Akane mouth agape, until she was gently pushed toward her pig. As she walked the giant pig backwards, the girl began the slow climb back to the top, allowing the pig to take most of the strain. Once she reached the top, she set Kuno on the ground, which broke the watermelon as it hit the ground. She bent down for a second to catch her breath, and then asked, "Can you take him back to the house, Akari? I'll put him on Katsunishiki's back, and then we'll meet you there after I get changed."

Akari backed away from the strange girl, one hand covering her mouth, as she asked, "Who are you? How do you know who I am?"

The girl sighed wearily. After rubbing her temples for a moment, she replied, "Long story Akari, but I'm Ranma. We need to get the Blue Blunder home first, and then if you want, I can give you the abridged version, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she slung Kuno back over her shoulder and then lifted him up to the giant Sumo-wrestling pig's back, tying him securely to the pig with the rope.

"He's still out cold, Akari, so you'd better get him to bed," Akane added. She turned to the pig and said, "Go ahead, Katsunishiki, you know where to go."

The pig looked at her for a moment, and then began to rumble off, in the direction of the houses that perched precariously across the street from the beach. Akari glanced back and forth between Ranma and Akane, and then hurried after her pig and his precious burden.

Ranma sat down heavily and shuddered.

"What's wrong, Ranma?" Akane asked anxiously.

"I'm not going to Watermelon Island with him, not this time, no, never," Ranma said under her breath.

"What?" Akane asked, terribly confused.

"I remember this," Ranma said, "Though it isn't quite the same. We weren't here, we were somewhere else down the coast when the moron floated ashore, without any memory of who he was or anything. He chased me back to Watermelon Island, and while we were there I hoped I could help him retrace his steps, but that wasn't really what he was interested in. He wanted me." She stopped suddenly, as her eyes opened wide and stared at Akane in amazement. Finally, she said, "Damn, I should have realized it sooner. You followed us on a jet ski, a girl who couldn't swim to save her life. To bring me hot water so I could change back. What an idiot I was not to have seen that for what it really meant!"

"What do you mean, Ranma?" Akane asked, "What should that have told you?"

"How much you really cared about me, but I was too dense to figure it out," Ranma replied, shaking her head in dismay, "I never put the pieces together, and I should have."

"Hey, it doesn't matter now," Akane said gently, "And we both promised to forget about the what-ifs, and the should have dones. That timeline is gone, and we're together, and that's the important thing." She pulled Ranma to her, and gently kissed her forehead. "Come on, if we're going to meet Akari back at the summer home, we need to hurry and get going," she added.

* * *

Mousse opened the door and ushered Ranma and Akane in. "He still hasn't regained consciousness yet," he said in a quiet voice, "Akari is beside herself with worry."

"Have you called a doctor? I tried to find Doc, but he was out somewhere with Kasumi," Akane asked, "Though I did leave a note asking him to stop by."

"Nobody answered the phone at the few places that I tried," Mousse replied as he led them into a large bedroom, where they found Kuno lying on a futon, with Akari placing a damp cloth on her boyfriend's forehead.

Akari looked up at their entrance and asked, "Ranma, what happened to you?"

"It's a long story, Akari, but to make it short, my idiot of a father brought us to a training ground, but because he didn't read any Chinese, he didn't realize that it was full of cursed springs. I fell into one of them, and well, when I get splashed with cold water, I change into a girl," Ranma replied, "But that's really enough about me? How's Kuno?"

"I don't know," Akari replied, "He hasn't come to yet." She wiped away another tear and asked, plaintively, "I wonder what kind of training he was doing?"

"Stupid training, that's what," Ranma replied.

"Hush, Ranma, that isn't helping," Kodachi said as she walked in carrying a tray.

"I know you are worried about him, Ranma," Akane said softly, "You don't have to hide it."

"Yeah, right," Ranma replied, rolling his eyes. Then he heard a moan, and looked back at Kuno. The young man's eyes had snapped open. "Look, he's awake!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Are you all right, Tacchi?" Akari asked.

Kuno sprang to his feet and stared at the five people in the room. Then he grabbed Akane's hands, and exclaimed, as he swept her off her feet, "A new chance at life and love!"

"I don't think so," Ranma growled as he pulled Akane from Kuno's arms, "Leave my wife alone. There's your girlfriend. You know, that one that's about to"

Akari swung her hand and slapped Tatewaki across the cheek. "HOW DARE YOU!" she roared, "YOU CASANOVA YOU!"

"Who are you?" Kuno asked, then his face paled and he asked, "Who am I?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Kodachi asked.

Akane glanced over at Ranma who frowned at her. "It must be amnesia," she said, firmly.

Akari sank to her knees and whispered, "You don't remember me?"

Kuno's face lighted up and he stammered, "Y-you are…."

"Yes? You remember?" Akari asked, clasping her hands together.

"It's all coming back to me," Kuno said, "The love letter you gave me."

"Yes, when you defeated Katsunishiki," Akari said.

"Valentine's day," Kuno said.

"What? We hadn't met then," Akari said.

"Our first date!" Kuno exclaimed. He sighed, and added, "Our first kiss!"

"Do you know what he is babbling about?" Akane asked.

"Not really," Akari admitted, "This seems very strange to me."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Seems like the old Kuno to me," Ranma replied.

Akari asked, "How did this happen? How can we cure him and bring back my beloved to me?" She clasped her hands together and looked endearingly cute.

"Alas, that I have forgotten such a wondrous person!" Kuno declaimed, "Now I sorely regret my loss of memory."

"I'm sure something must have happened when he was training, and from the fact that he had a watermelon on his head, he must have been over on Watermelon Island. That's the only place that they grow around here," Ranma replied.

"So you think he must have hit his head or something," Akane said.

"That's probably what the idiot did," Ranma replied.

"Hey, I am standing right here," Kuno said, with an affronted look on his face.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, as the still amnesiac Tatewaki sat on the beach, his eyes riveted to the bounteous sea of beauty stretched out in front of him, as a parade of barely clad females passed in front of his eyes, or lay sprawled out on towels basking in the golden rays of the warm sun.

Nabiki walked up, in a bikini that had caused blood flow problems in most of the guys watching, as well as a few of the girls, and knelt down in front of Kuno. "So, Ranma and Akane tell me that you have amnesia," she said.

"Do I know you Miss?" Kuno asked politely.

"You mean you don't remember Li'l Nabiki at all, Kuno?" she asked, a fake tear rolling down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Miss, I don't," Kuno replied, politely.

"Not even the five thousand yen I loaned you?" she asked, her soulful eyes looking deeply at him.

"You did?" Kuno asked, reaching for his wallet and pulling out a few bills and handing them to her. He stood up and walked away, lost in thought.

"NABIKI!" Kasumi exclaimed, "Trying to trick five thousand yen out of an amnesia victim!"

"You're right. I'm ashamed of myself. I should have said ten thousand," Nabiki said, looking a bit downcast.

"That's not what I meant and you know it, young lady!" Kasumi said acidly, causing her sister to look at her in some surprise.

Kuno continued down the beach, staring at his wooden practice sword as if it held the answer to life, the universe and everything. "If only there was something, anything, to trigger a memory," he growled angrily. He took a few more steps until suddenly he heard the sound of something flying toward him from behind. He jumped forward and turned, just as a large watermelon landed in the soft sand in front of him. "What?" he asked.

Akari stood by a cart filled with watermelons, with her giant pig harnessed to the cart. "You passed out wearing a watermelon on your head," she said, "Does this bring back any memories?"

Kuno screamed and clutched his head in agony. "Stay away from me!" he said backing away.

Akari took one startled look at her boyfriend, and said, "Katsunishiki, follow him!" The pig obediently rumbled forward, as Kuno continued to back away in panic, only to have the cart catch on something, tipping it forward and flinging the watermelons high into the sky, their parabolic arc aimed directly at the gibbering swordman.

Kuno cried once more in fear, and then suddenly began spinning, his blade slashing out. An eerie whirlwind formed around him, as the power from his swings moved out, forcing Akari to her knees, until finally it died down. When everything was calm again, Akari raised her eyes to see a crowd had gathered.

Soun said, "Look, these watermelons are all perfectly sliced. This is amazing!"

"I've never seen Kuno so powerful," Akane said.

Kuno fell to his knees, clutching his head. "How, how am I able to do these things?" he cried, "Someone, please tell me? Who am I? What am I?"

"He probably lost his memory training in a new technique," Soun said.

"That's what I think too," Tofu said, after swallowing a bite of watermelon.

Akari rushed to her boyfriend, and cradled him in her arms. "Can't you help him, Tofu-san?" she asked, her face anguished.

"I'm afraid I can't," Tofu replied, "But I am sure that he will recover."

"Come on, Tacchi sweety, I'll take you home, and you can take a nice nap. I'll make you all of your favorite foods, and maybe, when you wake up your memory will have returned," Akari said soothingly, helping him to his feet.

A horde of girls came rumbling up, awed at the martial arts prowess that they had just witnessed. "That was so cool!" several of them squealed.

"Twas nothing," Kuno said, striking a pose. "Name, Tatewaki Kuno; age, eighteen; Tall, handsome, and a master of the sword. What else do I need to know?" he declared.

"Modest, too," Ranma muttered.

"So you have amnesia?" one of the fangirls asked giddily.

"Oh, how romantic," a second gushed.

"I search for the love that I lost on this beach," Kuno declared to the crowd.

"I'm standing right here, sweetie," Akari said through gritted teeth, a smile fixed on her face as she began to drag him away, surprising everyone with her own strength.

Ranma stared at the ground intently, trying to remember all of the details of what was becoming an increasingly cloudy previous episode. Suddenly he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "That's it!"

"What's it?" Akane asked.

"How to cure him," Ranma replied, "I finally." He stopped, and said, "I'll tell you later. In private."

"Oooh, pillowtalk," Akane smirked, "I like that."

* * *

Late that night, as Ranma and Akane lay recovering in bed from a rather strenuous yet pleasurable session, a light sheet stretched across their nude bodies, Akane asked, "What did you remember about Kuno and his amnesia?"

"What?" Ranma mumbled sleepily.

"Wake up," Akane said, as she nudged him hard enough for him to fall off the bed, where he landed with a loud thump on the wooden floor, disturbing the bedside table enough that the glass of water on it fell over.

Soon, Ranma raised her head above the edge of the bed, and asked, of no one in particular, "Why me?" as Akane giggled at her.

"Okay, how did I end up down here?" Ranma asked, as she stood up and slid back under the covers with her wife.

"I wanted to talk to you, and you were too sleepy, so, um, I pushed you out," Akane admitted, her cheeks a bit red.

Ranma glared at her for a moment. "Well, I guess I'm awake now," she said, irritably, "So what was it?"

"I wanted to know what you remembered about Kuno and his amnesia. You promised to tell me tonight," Akane said.

"Well, I got just a bit distracted," Ranma said, her voice a little husky as Akane slowly curled up against her, "Somebody was just a little bit excited tonight."

"Complaining are you?" Akane purred.

"Hardly," Ranma replied, "Just making a passing comment. Anyway, what I remembered is how he got the amnesia in the first place. He had gone to the island to improve his watermelon-slicing skills to impress his beloved pig-tailed girl. In fact, the training gave him an almost instinctive ability to hit the watermelon with his bokken and slice it perfectly, but one of them ended up on his head, and he automatically hit himself in the head, knocking what few brains he has loose."

"So all we have to do is hit him on the head again?" Akane asked, excitedly.

"It won't be that easy. You saw how fast he was moving today, so it would be difficult for anyone to hit him. I tried that before, and it didn't work then, so I doubt it would work this time, either. No, what we need to do is get him back to Watermelon Island, and recreate what happened to him," Ranma replied.

"How do we do that?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "I guess we just take him out there. Tell him that maybe if he sees where it happened, it might jog something. I just hope he doesn't start hitting on me this time around." She yawned delicately, and asked, "Now can I go to sleep? You wore me out tonight."

"Flatterer," Akane said, blushing, "But sure." She snaked her arms around Ranma, as she spooned up next to her. "Night, Ranma," she whispered, as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Ranma stopped at the gate to the Kuno summerhouse, a chill running up and down her spine. Akane had looked at her funny when Ranma had stayed female instead of changing back after they woke up. Ranma had said simply, "If we go to the island, there's no way I can avoid getting wet. I thought it was pretty pointless to pretend otherwise." Shaking off the sudden premonition of doom, she pulled herself together and walked up to where Akane was already waiting at the door, where Kuno was looking at her strangely.

"You want me to go with you to Watermelon Island?" Kuno asked, "Why?"

"I explained already," Akane replied, "We think that maybe it will help you regain your memory. We did some talking to the locals, and they told us about that island. How it is a training ground for swordsmen, a horrible place, that is inhabited by nothing but watermelons. And the legend has it that the training is so rigorous, so terrifying, that many of those who attempt it come back with amnesia."

"So there's no doubt about it, sweetie. You went there to train, and on that accursed place, in exchange for your memories, you gained mastery of a deadly technique," Akari said, sadly

"And who is this wondrous beauty? I cannot believe that I would forget one so lovely. I'm sure I'd remember if you go out with me," Kuno said, as he spotted Ranma.

"Put a sock in it, Kuno, you're not my type," Ranma growled. She took a deep breath and added, "Besides, you already have a girlfriend."

"Just show him already," Akane suggested.

"Sure, like that ever worked before," Ranma grumbled.

Akari handed her a teakettle, filled with warm water, and Ranma poured it over her head.

Kuno watched in surprise as the busty red-haired girl changed into a strapping young man. "What dark magic is this, you foul sorcerer!" he exclaimed, drawing his bokken and standing between Ranma and Akari. "Begone, fiend, before I smite thee," he added, placing his bokken in a guard position.

"Why does that never work?" Ranma asked, plaintively, before allowing Akane to pour cold water over his head, changing him back.

"This reeks, this veritably reeks!" Kuno exclaimed, "Get back, get away from here!"

"Akari, take him to the island, maybe that will help," Akane suggested.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you perversion of nature," Kuno said, swinging his bokken from side to side, causing Ranma to step back.

"Not asking you to, if it's gonna freak you out," Ranma said. She stepped back, drawing Akane with her. "See, this is us leaving now," she added, continuing to move backward.

The sword-swinging kendoist moved forward, forcing Ranma farther away from Akari. Suddenly he dashed forward, only to have the young couple spring apart, and avoid the blow. A hoofed foot came out of nowhere, and hit Kuno hard on the head, as somehow Katsunishiki had crept quietly up behind the delusional fool, as all of Kuno's attention had been on Ranma. Kuno stopped, stunned, and then fell over. After a few minutes, his eyes popped open, and he said, "Oooh, my aching head. What hit me?"

"You okay, Kuno?" Akane asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, Saotome-sama, but how did I get here?" Kuno replied, "The last thing I remember is practicing my moves for slicing watermelon over on the island."

"Oh, Tacchi, you're back," Akari said, as she raced over and hugged and kissed her boyfriend.

"Well,that wasa bit anticlimactic," Akane said, as the two girls left Kuno and Akari.

"I'm just glad it's over," Ranma said, "This turned out a lot better than the last time I had to go through it, that's for sure. Stranded, alone on that island, with him, no way to change back to a guy. It was scary, I'll tell you that, and I was so glad when those watermelons came down the waterfall after you opened the gate. He was dancing and dodging them by reflex, and that finally showed me the way to stop him. I'm guessing that one of them must have landed on his head before, and just like Pavlov's dog, he had a conditioned reflex and ended up hitting his own head and knocking himself out."

* * *

Author's Note: Once again, gentle readers, the latest chapter for your hopeful amusement and pleasure. As always, your reviews and constructive criticism is encouraged, and I am particularly interested in any thoughts about the flashback this time around. 


	68. The Truth of the Secret Scrolls

Chapter 68 The Truth of the Secret Scrolls

The sounds of a splash of water, and a resigned curse in a soprano voice, drew Akane's attention from the window that she had been gazing into. She turned to see Ranma looking back ruefully at her. "Again?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, four times in four blocks," Ranma replied, pulling her wet hair out of her face.

"How come you're being more of a water magnet than usual?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Beats me. I guess somebody up there wants Mom to take her daughter out shopping, not her son." She quirked a wry smile, and added, "Not that I need any more dresses."

"How come you didn't see that water coming?" Akane asked.

Ranma chuckled and said, sheepishly, "I was, um, imagining you in that dress you were looking at so intently. You looked good in it, too, by the way."

Akane blushed. "I wish I could afford it, but it's way out of our price range," she said wistfully.

Ranma took Akane's hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "Maybe Kasumi can make one like it for you," she suggested.

"If she can find the time," Akane replied, taking one last wishful look at the dress, and then sighed, "Ah well, enough of that." Smiling she added, "We'd better go. Mom is probably waiting for us at the department store."

Ranma took a mental note of the dress, wincing internally at the price tag. 'Man, I didn't know yen came in numbers that big,' she thought, as the two girls strolled down the street, Akane occasionally stopping as something in a window would catch her eye for a second, while Ranma looked on in amusement.

"What?" Akane asked finally, rolling her eyes at the look of mirth on Ranma's face, "Don't you know that looking is half the fun." She giggled, and added, "You may look like a girl right now, but you still don't quite know how to act like one. Have fun."

"Actually, I'm enjoying myself quite nicely, thank you," Ranma retorted, "I really like the way your face lights up when you see something cute, and then you wrinkle up your forehead when you're thinking whether to get it or not."

Akane laughed gaily and squeezed Ranma's hand affectionately. Whatever remark that she was going to make was lost to history, as suddenly the street was filled with the sound of people screaming and the roaring of some animal.

The young couple whirled to see a large bear rampaging down the street, as everyone ran away, screaming "A bear! A bear's escaped! Run for your lives!"

Ranma stopped, as a puzzled look crossed her face and then she snapped her fingers. "Kumon, it's his turn," she said, a wicked smile crossing her face.

"Kumon?" Akane asked, as the bear got closer, "Um, shouldn't we be doing something?"

"Why, because there is a rampaging bear coming near to us, or something?" Ranma asked, with a cheeky grin.

Akane eyed the bear as it closed to within five meters. "Something like that," she admitted as she shuffled her feet nervously.

A smirk appeared on Ranma's face as she said, "Sure, why not." Just as she started to move toward the bear, a male voice cried out, "FREEZE!" and a young man, who looked a little bit like the male Ranma appeared, dressed in a black, sleeveless t-shirt, camouflage pants, combat boots, with a heavy backpack on his back and a webbed belt around his waist, loaded with all sorts of interesting objects.

In a flash, the man hit the bear, knocking it out cold, and dropping it in its tracks.

"What the hell move was that?" Akane gasped.

The young man turned to Ranma and Akane and asked, "You two okay?"

Ranma decided to play the part and stammered, "Wh-why yes, thank you, kind sir," and batted her eyes playfully at the young man.

"What's your name?" Akane asked, hiding a grin, as she enjoyed watching Ranma in full flirt mode, just like when she went for that extra scoop of ice cream.

"Just passing by. No need for a name," the young man said

"Hey, wait, I want to talk to you!" Ranma exclaimed, "Um, that attack you used, what was it?"

The young man panned his eyes up and down Ranma's body, resting on her breasts for several seconds, a smirk appearing on his face. Finally he replied, "Oh, that. Saotome School of Anything Goes, Thousand Mountain Path."

"Saotome School, huh?" Akane asked, in surprise, "How do you know the Saotome's?"

A middle-aged woman ran up and said, "Young man, you dropped this," as she handed him a scroll. Even from where she was standing, Akane could see the names 'Ranma Saotome' and 'Stupid Pops' written on the outside.

"My secret scroll," the young man said in shock. He bowed to the woman and said, "Thank you, I would hate to lose this." Then he turned to Ranma and Akane and said, "Later," as he headed off down the street away from the bear.

"Wait, what's your name?" Akane yelled, just before he turned the corner

The man turned and said, "Ranma Saotome," as he disappeared down the street.

"Okay, spill it? Why is he pretending to be you? Who is he really? Why did he have a scroll with your name on it?" Akane hissed.

"If that is what I think it is, it's a scroll of hidden techniques that Pop gave Kumon's father, but the story isn't interesting enough that I want to tell it twice, so let's wait until we find Mom," Ranma replied, "She needs to hear it, too."

"Okay, that's fair enough, I can certainly wait until then," Akane said, as she grabbed Ranma's hand and led her off toward the department store where they were to meet Nodoka, only to see her standing on the sidewalk looking curiously at the large bear blocking the street. As they neared her, three men dressed in white jumpsuits with the words 'Animal Control' written on the back showed up.

"Hello, Ranma, Akane," Nodoka said, "That looked like it might have been exciting. Your work, I assume, stopping the thing?"

"Actually, no," Ranma replied, "Though the guy who did it was using a move that is from the Saotome school. I recognized that at least. And no, it wasn't Pop."

Nodoka frowned and asked, "Someone has stolen from our school and you didn't do anything about it? Do you have no honour?"

Ranma rolled her eyes and replied, "Mom, I'm not sure that anything was stolen from us."

"Genma taught only you the Saotome techniques," Nodoka spat, "No one else."

"Like I tried to tell you, I don't think that's really true," Ranma said, "Let's go home and I'll tell you what I know."

"Very well, but it better be a good story," Nodoka said, huffily.

* * *

Ranma leaned back in the couch, with Akane wrapped around her, as she watched her mother glare at her. "I've waited long enough, son," Nodoka said, ignoring the said son's current gender, "You refused to say anything until we got home. We're home now, and I want to know why you didn't defend your father's school. Why aren't you out there looking for that man right now?" 

"I wanted to make sure we were where we couldn't be overheard," Ranma replied, with a shrug, "And if what I expect is true, I won't have to go looking for him, he'll be coming here."

"Just tell the story, dear," Akane said, with a growl.

"Okay, fine. I think that was really a guy named Ryü Kumon, the heir to the Kumon dojo. The Kumon family was very old, but also very poor, and its dojo was falling apart. Then one day, Pop wandered by, and for some reason took pity on them, and gave Ryü's father a scroll full of techniques, the techniques of the Yama-Sen-Ken, the Thousand Mountain Path. Ryü's father thought that if he mastered those techniques, then their dojo could be restored. He started training, learning the various techniques, but he made one mistake. He trained inside his dojo, and one of them caused the dojo to collapse on top of him, giving him a mortal wound," Ranma replied, "And I guess, Ryü is looking for something, some means of vengeance against Pop."

"How do you know all of that?" Nodoka asked, her face paling.

"Pop wrote some of it in his journal, and I remember one night when he was drunk he babbled out how Kumon's death was partly his fault," Ranma replied.

"But why is he pretending to be you?" Akane asked.

"He's pretending to be you! When were you planning on telling me that?" Nodoka asked, her eyes flashing.

Ranma glared at Akane and snarled, a bit angrily, "I was getting to it, damn it. Why are my two favorite women so blasted impatient?" She took a few breaths to calm down, and finished in a much politer tone, "As to why he's pretending to be me, I'm guessing he's also after the other half of the Saotome secret techniques, the Umi-Sen-Ken, or Thousand Seas Path."

"But what is the Umi-Sen-Ken?" Nodoka asked, "I've never heard of it."

"Well, Pop was pretty confusing about that too. He wrote that it is a sinister skill that ought to have been destroyed, but then he also wrote that he sent the scroll to you," Ranma replied, with a shrug, "But, whether it is here or not, I'm guessing that Kumon figures that if he pretends to be me, you'll let him into the house, since he doesn't know that I'm here."

"So he thinks that he's going to pull the wool over my eyes, does he?" Nodoka growled, "What kind of a fool does he think I am?"

"Not a fool, but a lonely woman desperately hoping to find her son," Ranma said, "And that's what I want you to do. We need to get that scroll away from him, and bury it forever. The Yama-Sen-Ken is really a tool for a robber to force his way into a house from the front door, but it has great destructive power."

"But why let him get away with pretending to be you? And who will you be?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "If what I read and remember is correct, Pop is partly responsible for the death of Kumon's father, and the total obliteration of the Kumon dojo from the face of the earth. Pop wrote that it is a fighting style that is so violent that it should have been sealed away, so why he gave it to Kumon's father, I just don't know. But since he did, there is a blood debt that needs to be satisfied. Furthermore, as Grandmaster of the Anything Goes school, he is ultimately my student, whether he knows it or not, because he is practicing a part of the Saotome branch. I can't allow him to keep the secret scroll; it would be a disaster if it fell into unscrupulous hands, so I need to teach him something else." She smirked and added, "And to who I'll be, well, I've always been a little partial to the name Ranko, so I'll be his twin sister, Mom's daughter. I'll just have to avoid hot water, or borrow some of Mousse's waterproof soap."

"Where does that leave me?" Akane asked, "After all, I'm your wife."

Nodoka grinned evilly and said, "You could be my daughter's lover." The two girls turned to stare at her in amazement and she added, "After all, aren't you already?" Their chins dropped.

"Mom, you don't mind?" Ranma asked, when she could finally get her brain to function.

"Ranma, no Ranko, better get used to it, I decided that the normal rules can't apply to you," Nodoka said, "Akane doesn't care which gender you are when she's being affectionate, obviously, so why should I?"

Since the aforementioned Akane was still sitting on the couch with arms around Ranma, she merely sighed and snuggled in more.

"Of course, I expect my daughter to live here," Nodoka said, "If 'Ranma' is coming here, I want someone to protect me."

Ranma rolled her eyes, and said, "Sure, we can go back home and pack some things, and then come back and stay for few days. I guess I should bring all of my dresses, and whatnot, at least."

"Mine too, I'm not letting you stay here by yourself," Akane said, "Besides, I can't sleep without you by my side anymore."

Neither of them saw the wistful look on Nodoka's face.

* * *

Hinako walked into the family room and knelt down at the table, as she caught the tail end of the conversation that Ranma and Akane were having with Tendo-san. 

"I understand, the old Buddhist temple on the hill overlooking the park, that's where you'll issue the challenge, and you'll let me knowwhat dayto come thatmorning by phone," Soun was saying, "What I don't understand is the pretense."

"Just trust me, Daddy," Akane replied, "This is for the best. Ranma has her reasons for why we are doing this."

Nabiki walked in with Souta on her arm, and did a double-take as she saw Ranma dressed up very prettily in a light sundress, with just a touch of makeup on, and her hair flowing down her back. "Very pretty there, Ranma, who's the lucky guy?" she asked, with a grin.

No one saw the faint look of pain that flashed across Hinako's face as she saw the way Nabiki was clinging to Souta.

"Ha, ha," Ranma retorted, a bit sardonically, "You are entirely too funny, sister dear. Actually, Akane and I are heading out to stay with Mom for a few days. Give her a little company. I've sort of been neglecting her just a little bit."

"What was that about a challenge?" Kasumi asked from where she was beginning to serve the meal.

"Oh, there's a new guy in town, that we ran into today, that might be interesting," Akane replied easily, "Seems he knows a couple of moves from the Saotome school, so we're going to keep an eye out for him to figure out where he learned them from." She glanced at her watch, and said, "Mom is waiting dinner for us Ranma, we'd better scoot."

"You two aren't staying?" Tofu asked, surprised.

"Promised Mom we'd eat with her," Ranma replied, a bit sheepishly, "And knowing her, she's probably just about got it done. See you guys in a couple of days, and stay out of trouble." The two girls headed out the door of the family room, stopping just long enough to pick up a pair of large suitcases.

Nabiki knelt down across the table from Hinako, with Souta sitting down next to her. Quickly, everyone else found their places, with Soun sitting very close to Yumi, Tofu next to Kasumi, and Sayuri rolling her eyes at the three couples as she sat down next to Hinako.

Sayuri leaned over to Hinako and whispered, "I guess we're here to chaperone in case things get out of hand."

Hinako giggled and said, softly, "Maybe we should get a couple of buckets of water, just in case."

"Hey, what are you two girls plotting?" Nabiki asked.

Sayuri grinned and said, "Nothing much. Just world domination, that's all."

Nabiki asked, "Stealing my job, huh?"

Hinako smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Sure, why not?" she asked, in return.

"Eat up everyone!" Kasumi exclaimed, cheerfully.

Hinako frowned slightly as she saw Nabiki's left hand slip under the table, and Souta jump slightly. She sighed, and asked, "Kasumi, after dinner, could you help me?"

"Of course, what do you need help with?" Kasumi said, kindly.

"I thought that maybe I would move into the spare bedroom, that is now that Sayuri is sharing the downstairs with her mommy," Hinako replied.

"Oh, you don't want to stay with me anymore?" Nabiki asked, just a little hurt.

"Uh, I just thought it might be better," Hinako replied, as she remembered the night before.

_Hinako opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. 'Damn, it's only three in the morning. What's' Then she heard Nabiki moaning next to her, as the older girl writhed in the bed. 'Oh that's what woke me up,' she realized._

"_Ooooh, yes, that feels sooo good, Souta-baby," Nabiki moaned, her eyes closed, as she continued dreaming._

'_Oh great, now I get to listen to her dream about making out with Souta,' Hinako thought, dashing an errant tear from her eyes, 'I can't do this, not any longer.' Suddenly, Nabiki rolled over and spooned her, gently caressing her stomach. 'Oh great, now I get to play,' Hinako thought, rolling her eyes, as she attempted to pull away, only to have Nabiki's arms tighten around her._

_Nabiki giggled in her sleep, and said, "Stop that, you know what I told you. We can't do **that. **Not until I have a ring on my finger, at least. I' m not that kind of girl."_

'_Oh, just what I want to hear,' Hinako thought, as she attempted to pry Nabiki's hands from her, especially as they were beginning to slide further south. 'Not going there, though that might be a bit of a surprise if you were looking for something else,' Hinako thought, as she finally pulled herself away from Nabiki and with a huge push, shoved her bedmate over to the other edge of the bed, away from her._

"Definitely better. Besides, I'm a big girl now, and need my space," Hinako finished, her cheeks slightly red.

"Well, if that's what you want?" Nabiki said, uncertainly, not sure she wanted to be alone.

Hinako nodded her head, and said, "Yeah, it's for the best, I think." 'Yeah, I don't need to hear any more of her dreams, much less be a participant in them,' she thought.

"I'll be more than happy to help you move your things, dear," Kasumi said, not missing the look on the younger girl's face as she glanced over at Nabiki and Souta, who were beginning to sit entirely too close for propriety, not to mention there was a slight flush on the young man's face.

Tofu asked, innocently, "Is there something wrong, Souta? Did you get too much wasabi? Your face seems to be a bit red, and there are beads of sweat on you forehead."

"I'm fine, Tofu-san. Just a little warm is all," Souta replied, through an oddly tight throat.

* * *

The young man stood in his room in the cheap youth hostel, which was all that he could afford, and thumbed through a dog-eared phone book, looking for the name Saotome. "That girl recognized the Saotome name, they must be from around here," he said, "And so did that cute red-head. Man, what a body! And a face to die for as well, what a combination. Okay, enough of that, that's not why I'm here.Dad, I'll get my vengeance or my name isn't Ryü Kumon. We were so poor, our dojo was literally leaning. I still remember that awful day."

_The little boy was playing on the steps of a decrepit building, that looked like a brisk wind would blow it over, when suddenly his father came running up. "Ryü!" he called, "I've obtained a great scroll! It was bequeathed to me by a kindly traveling martial artist who's wandering around the country training a little boy just like you." He held up the rolled parchment, which had 'Ranma Saotome' written on it in an elegant hand, and 'Stupid Pops' added by what appeared to be a child. "If we master this Thousand Mountain Path, our dojo may be reborn!"_

"_Really, Daddy?" the young child asked._

_The boy's father unrolled the scroll and began to read. After a few minutes, he said, "I see. A technique that equates the human body with a **house**. Well, let the training begin." He read some more and then cried, "Fierce Tiger Gate-Open Blast!" and swung both hands against the door of the dojo, bursting it in with a loud crash. Then, he cried, "Deadly Snake-pit Probing Palm!" and thrust the palm of his hand against the wall, breaking it in to. Then without a pause, he cried, "Crushing Embrace of the Killer Grip!" and squeezed the main support beam of the dojo, breaking it in twain._

_The boy cried out as the roof caved in, and the dojo that had been barely standing, collapsed. His father crawled out of the rubble, wheezing mightily, and said, in an almost inaudible voice, "Ryü, find the secret scroll of Umi-Sen-Ken. Do you understand?"_

_Ryü cried, "Daddy, Daddy!' as the man collapsed._

_The man continued, "Umi-Sen-Ken, Yama-Sen-Ken, once you've mastered them both, the rebirth of our dojo will no longer be a dream. Do you understand?"_

"_Daddy, Daddy!" Ryü cried, as his father died in front of him._

'Dad, we're almost there! In order to find the Umi-Sen-Ken, I've traveled alone since I was a child. I grew up not knowing the warmth of another's pity, or the hot tears that touch one's heart, much less the face of my mother. Not since I was born,' he thought as he continued to scan the list of names until he stopped. "Ah, there it is, a Nodoka Saotome, right here in Nerima," he said with a smile of satisfaction. 'Well, tomorrow, lady, you get to meet your son,' he thought.

* * *

The young man stood at the gate for a long moment, looking at the long walk to the front door. 'Are you sure you want to do this?' he thought, 'You know you're going to hurt her when she finds out the truth. But she is a Saotome, so does it matter? Of course it does. I'm still a martial artist. But you want that scroll too, so you can redeem your father.' With a resolute look in his eyes, the young man walked briskly down the neatly swept path to the door, and knocked on it. 

Nodoka glanced out the window and saw a young man standing at her front door, dressed in a black, sleeveless t-shirt, camouflage pants, combat boots, wearing a sheath on his leg, and a webbed belt with a canteen and several things she didn't recognize clipped to it. "Is that him?" she hissed.

Ranma snuck a peek and said, "Yes, that's the guy. How good is your acting?"

Nodoka glanced at her and replied, "Better than yours Ranko, trust me."

"With my life, Mom, with my life," Ranma said, bringing tears to the older woman's eyes.

"Let's not get too mushy," Akane said, "That fake is waiting for you."

Nodoka took a deep breath and then said, "Showtime!" She walked briskly to the door and opened it. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I was looking for the Saotome household, the home of Genma Saotome," the young man replied.

"That would be this house," Nodoka said.

"At last," the young man said, "I have been hunting for it for years."

"Th-then could it be?" Nodoka stammered, her eyes widening, "Please, your name?"

"Ranma Saotome," the young man replied.

"Ranma!" Nodoka exclaimed as she embraced the startled man, "Oh, you **have **grown up so manly."

"Eh?" the fake Ranma asked in surprise.

Nodoka looked up at the young man who was at least a head taller, tears streaming down her eyes. "We were parted when you were so small. You don't remember, but I am your mother," she said.

Ranma nudged Akane from where they were hiding and said, "Man, she is good."

"My," the boy began, before exclaiming, "MOTHER!" and crushing her against his chest.

Nodoka exclaimed, "RANMA!" as she brought her arms around the boy. Then she stood back, and called, "Ranko! Akane! Come quick!"

"That's our cue," Akane said, as she grabbed her lover's hand and the two girls raced from the kitchen and to the front door.

"Mom, you called?" Ranma asked.

"Your brother, he's here," Nodoka said, simply.

"Ranma!" Ranma exclaimed, bringing her free hand over to cover her mouth.

"You, you're the boy that stopped that bear yesterday," Akane added, "That's why you know that technique!"

"Sister?" the boy asked, "I have a sister?" He looked shocked at the news.

"Yes, this is my daughter Ranko, and her 'friend' Akane," Nodoka said.

"Mother!" Ranma drawled, stretching the word out, "She is much more than just my friend." She punctuated that by sliding her arm around Akane's waist and pulling her close.

'What a waste, both of them, actually, the other one is pretty cute too,' the boy thought as he smiled. "You mean I almost found my family yesterday? Now I wish I hadn't run off so fast," he said.

"We missed you, my brother," Ranma said, "It's so good to have you home."

"Come, let's go inside, and you can tell us all about your journey," Nodoka suggested. She led the way into the family room, while Ranma left for a brief moment, only to return with four teacups on a tray.

The boy took his large backpack off, and leaned it against the wall, as the four of them knelt on the cushions around the low table. Nodoka said, "The poor house we used to live in long ago has been demolished. You don't remember, do you?"

"I was just a baby," the fake replied.

"True, it has been eleven years since I last saw you and your father," Nodoka said, "That reminds me, what of your father? Where is he?"

The boy's face fell as he replied, "Um, well, dad kinda died."

"What!" Nodoka exclaimed.

"Oh, Ranko, I'm so sorry," Akane said. She pulled Ranma into an embrace, as the smaller girl shuddered with pretend tears, as she hid her face from Ryü.

Nodoka asked, "Care for some rice crackers?"

"Sure," the boy said uncertainly. 'Boy, she doesn't seem to be too heartbroken,' he thought.

Nodoka rose gracefully and headed into the kitchen.

"H-how did he die?" Ranma stammered.

The boy hung his head and replied, "There was a new set of techniques that he was trying out, and they caused the building that he was in to collapse. It was horrible to see it happen." He looked up, his face anguished.

"And you saw it?" Ranma asked, as she pulled the boy into an embrace, "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that." She hid a smile as she felt the boy react to her braless condition.

The boy looked at her, a faint tinge to his cheeks, and said, "Mother, on second thought, I'm kinda tired. Where can I bed down?"

"In your room, of course, silly," Ranma replied, "Come, I'll show you."

* * *

The door slid closed, and Ryü glanced around at the small, but neat room. The only contents were his backpack, which he had tossed against the wall farthest from the window, and a rolled up futon. He sighed in relief. "Ha," he said, "Luck is on my side. I'd given up hope that any member of the Saotome clan would announce themselves to me. And now that I've infiltrated their house, I'll find the secret scroll with the missing mate to the Yama-Sen-Ken. I remember those dying words of my father. Find the secret scroll of the Umi-Sen-Ken. Once you've mastered them both, the rebirth of our dojo will be assured." 

The boy listened for a moment as he heard footsteps, and one of the girls giggled outside his door as they walked by. "With all of them in the house, it will be hard to search for the scroll. There's no telling where it is kept," he said. He glanced out the window and sighed, "Aw well, it's late. And I'd better get some rest." He unrolled the futon pad, took off his pants, and his shirt, and stretched out on the futon, and almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

A quiet hush fell across the modest home, as the various inhabitants slowly drifted off to sleep, the only sounds the occasional cry of a nocturnal bird as it winged its way through the moonlit sky and a somewhat off-key whistle coming from inside the house. The door to one of the bedrooms slid quietly open, and an unseen presence ghosted into the room, to find the source of the whistle to be a young man, snoring lightly, with a small stream of drool rolling down his jaw, soaking the thin pillow beneath his head. The door closed once more, but the young man stirred, as an eddy of something lifted him briefly toward wakefulness, until the disturbance disappeared. After a few seconds the door opened once more, and then closed, leaving the room undisturbed. Roughly a half an hour later, the sequence was repeated, as once more the door slid open, and that same unseen presence was felt until the door quietly slid shut. 

The young man opened his eyes and shot upright. Glancing around, he looked at the room, but finding his backpack in the same position he left it, he relaxed and lay back down. 'Must have been a dream,' he thought.

* * *

The next morning dawned over a much-changed environment. A freakish cold front had moved into the area, and a dark, stormy cloud hung motionless over the Saotome home, but only over the Saotome home, as oddly, the rest of Nerima was sunny and warm. The home filled with an ominous presence, as with a heavy sense of foreboding, the young guest in the house woke from a series of strange dreams. As he tossed the blanket off, the sudden chill in the room raised hackles on the back of his neck. Shaking it off, Ryü walked over to his heavy backpack, and sleepily pulled out a change of clothing, which looked suspiciously like the same thing he worn the day before. Yawning, he stretched, and then scratched his chin, feeling the stubble from his heavy beard. He slid his door open with a bang, and with his eyes half-closed made his way to the bathing chamber that he had been shown the evening before. He slid the door open and entered the changing room, and set his clean clothes on one of the shelves, and quickly took his camouflage boxers off. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around his waist, and opened the inner door to the bathing chamber, only to freeze in shock. There, stepping into the furo was Ranko, to join Akane who was already neck deep in the water. 

Akane's eyes opened wide and she screamed, "Pervert!" She sank down further into the tub, to make sure nothing was visible.

Ranko completed her step into the tub, and quickly sank down into the water, where she turned and glared at the hapless young man. "Brother, while I was glad to see you yesterday, I'm seeing much more of you than I want right now. We aren't that close yet!" she snapped.

Ryü blushed slightly and then decided to take the bull by the horns. "Well ladies, see something you like?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.

Ranko snickered and said, "Not hardly. You just aren't my type, even if you weren't my brother."

"I agree, bit small for my tastes, that is if I liked boys," Akane added.

"But then, you don't **like** boys, do you dear?" Ranko said.

Ryü reddened completely, and then bowed slightly. "I apologize for the intrusion," he said, and backed out and shut the door, followed by peals of laughter coming from the bathing chamber. He quickly scrambled back into his clothing and left the changing room, this time seeing the sign that read, 'Occupied.'

* * *

Nodoka looked up as a very red-faced young man walked into the family room. "Good morning, Ranma," she said cheerily, "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. I didn't know what you liked, so I made a little of everything." 

"I'm not picky, I'll eat just about anything. All those years on the road, you get used to all sorts of food," the boy replied, glancing around carefully for anywhere that there might be scrolls. However, there wasn't anything of interest in the small but tidy room. No cabinets, no desks, only a table, surrounded by a dozen cushions, a standing lamp next to a comfortable looking chair, and over the fireplace, sitting on a stand on the mantle, a sword in a plain sheath.

The quiet of the morning was soon broken, however, as Akane came roaring into the family room, obviously not taking any time to dry off, as her clothing was sticking to her in a very interesting manner. The red-haired girl followed close behind, dressed only in a towel, barely covering all of the interesting bits, attempting to restrain the other girl.

"PERVERT!" Akane screeched as she neared the boy, who blanched as suddenly a large mallet appeared in her hands. He scrambled back from his kneeling position, ill prepared to respond as the head of the mallet neared him.

"No, Akane! No holes in Mom's floor!" Ranma screamed as she grabbed the mallet on its way down, thus saving the young man from having to respond in some manner.

"BUT HE SAW ME!" Akane screamed.

"No, I didn't!" the boy cried, "I saw nothing, I swear!"

"Well, I don't think my arse is nothing," Ranma retorted, "In fact, I'm rather proud of it."

"You should be," Ryü said, and then he slapped his hand across his face, as he blushed even more.

"What is this all about?" Nodoka asked from the kitchen as she stirred a pot.

"Oh, Ranma walked in on us this morning in the furo," Ranma replied lightly, a faint smile on her face as she remembered similar instances in a different life.

"I was half-asleep and I missed the sign," Ryü said, "I'm really sorry about that, truly I am." He kept one eye on Akane waiting to see if the volcano would explode once more. Fortunately, he missed the smirk on Ranma's face, as she disappeared back down the hall, gripping her towel tightly around her.

Nodoka began carrying in a veritable feast, both traditional Japanese breakfast foods as well as a small selection of other cultural dishes. "As I was saying, I really didn't know what you like, so I made a little bit of everything," she said as she set the heavy tray on the table.

Ranma walked in, now dressed in one of her Chinese shirts, and black pants, gingerly carrying a tray with four cups and a small, ornate teapot. "You're in luck, Mom is a great cook," she said, setting her tray down, while her mother preened at the praise.

Akane said, wistfully, "I just wish I could cook as well as either she or my sister Kasumi does. Or even as good as you, Ranko."

"You're getting much better though, dear," Nodoka said kindly, "And remember, I've been cooking for a very long time, so I've had plenty of practice. I wasn't very good when I first started."

"So, Ranma, tell us of your travels, the little bit that Pop wrote just didn't say very much. Did you go everywhere, and learn a lot?" the red-haired girl asked as she poured the tea.

Ryü paused from eating his soup and replied, "It's not all that interesting. We traveled around, visiting various dojos, and learning their techniques. Once Father died, I pretty much continued to do that while I searched for where Mom lived."

"That sounds like fun, actually, having the chance to learn from many different schools," Akane said.

"Yeah, it was. I've incorporated a lot of them into my fighting style. It is called Anything Goes for a reason," the boy replied, "And I've received my mastery in many of those schools."

"Then you are close to fulfilling Genma's fervent wish, Ranma," Nodoka said proudly, "He wanted to train his son to be the best martial artist of his generation."

The boy shifted uncomfortably on his pillow and said, "You're right, Ranko. This is the best food that I've ever tasted. To think I've missed this all those years."

Nodoka smiled and said, "Well, you're here now, that's really all that matters. I just wish your father could be here to tell you how proud he would be of you, and that all of our sacrifices were worth it."

'They sure are a nice bunch of folks,' Ryü thought, 'I really wish I was her son. I'm not sure how much longer I can pretend, knowing that I'll break her heart when she finds out the truth.'

"What are you to going to do today?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma grinned and said, "Well, the weather report said it's supposed to be a nice day, so I thought maybe we could have a picnic, once the sun burns off that odd chill that seems to be around. That old shrine by the park has a gorgeous view of the lake, at least once you get up to the top of the hill."

"I don't know, Ranko, carrying all of that food up there," Akane said, hesitantly.

"Ah, come on, Akane, it'll be fun, the four of us can sit up there, and talk about what's been going on since we last saw each other. Ranma can find out more about us, and we can find out the truth about him," Ranma said, with an oddly twistedsmile.

"That's a good idea, daughter," Nodoka said, "Doesn't it, son?"

"Well, I did want to rest for a while, it was a long, hard trip to get here," Ryü said. 'With them all out of the house, I can search for that scroll.'

Ranma batted her eyes at him and said, "Ah, big brother, don't be a spoil sport. It'll be great fun. Maybe you could show us a few of the things that you have learned, and Akane and I aren't too bad, either. We can show you a few of our tricks." She thought, 'Yeah, I know what you are thinking, Ryü. Like hell you'll get a chance to look for it. Besides, it isn't here. I already found it and put it somewhere safe. Not to mention, you don't have the other scroll anymore. So there.' She mentally stuck her tongue out at him.

"Please, son, it would mean so much to me to do that. I have missed you for so long, and know so little about your life, that I can hardly believe that you are the same little boy that left my arms so many years ago," Nodoka begged.

Ryü stared at the three women who were all giving him their best pouts, and he sighed. "Actually, what could be better? Spending a few hours with three beautiful women. I'll be the envy of all of the guys I see," he replied finally with a grin.

"Flatterer," Nodoka said, "You certainly get that from your father. You should have heard the way he could sweet talk a girl. Oh, I remember the first time we met, he.."

"MOM! Too much information," Ranma interrupted, in a very whiny voice, "Ewww, I really don't want to hear it!"

"Just because some guy hasn't swept you off your feet," Nodoka teased.

"I don't need some **guy**, I know someone who has done more than that," Ranma said, in a husky voice, her eyes smoldering as she looked at Akane. A faint grin passed across her face as for some reason Ryü's trousers no longer seemed to fit.

"Ranko, Akane would you like to help me fix the lunch?" Nodoka asked.

"Of course, Mom," the two girls replied in odd unison.

"But, first, Ranma, my son," Nodoka said, formally, as she walked over to the mantle and pulled down the Saotome honour blade and then knelt, laying it by her side.

'What is this? What's with the sword?' Ryü thought, 'Does she somehow know that I am an imposter? No matter, the Umi-Sen-Ken will soon be mine anyway.'

'What's going on here, Mom?' Ranma thought.

"My son, as a warrior, you must have some higher goal," Nodoka began.

"Uh, yeah," Ryü said.

Nodoka continued, "The things that you have done and are planning on doing, are they in order to obtain that goal?"

"What!" Ryü exclaimed.

Nodoka smiled at his surprise and said, "I am a warrior's wife, but there is more to that path then just fighting. Walk the path that you believe is true, but only as long as you feel pride in it."

Ryü stared at her for a moment, and then bowed. "I think I understand what you are saying, I shall try," he said, softly.

* * *

After the long climb up the narrow stone steps to the well-kept Buddhist temple, the four lay out on the grassy sward that topped the high hill, near a massive statue of the Buddha, a small sign reading. 'Please don't hurt the Buddha,' which overlooked the park and lake below. They idly watched the birds and clouds; as they listened to Ryü tell of his travels, mostly factual, except for his pretending to be Ranma throughout his journey. Nodoka related her tale of loneliness, of how she had missed her son and husband and was so glad that he had returned after all these years, words that the real Ranma took to heart, as she knew that they were actually meant for her. Finally, however, she had enough. 

"Mom, as pleasant as this has been, I think it is time to drop the charade," Ranma said, softly, yet firmly.

"Are you sure dear?" Nodoka asked.

"It has gone on long enough," Akane replied, "I agree with her."

Ryü glanced around at the three of them, a puzzled expression on his face.

Nodoka sighed and said, "I suppose you're right. Though I have enjoyed myself. It's not often I get to do this." Her beautiful face grew cold and stern. "Now young man, why don't you tell us who you really are?" she asked, an artic wind being warm in comparison to the tone of her voice.

Ryü blustered, and replied, "I'm your son, Ranma. Don't you believe me?"

Nodoka replied, her voice even colder than before, "I might have, if I didn't know where my son was right now, and that my husband is indeed still alive, and hopefully still atoning for his past mistakes. Are you so lost to honour that you would prey on a lonely woman's hopes and dreams?"

Ryü's eyes grew sad and he replied, "No, I actually regret what I was doing. Though I had no choice." He paused for a moment, and then with a heavy sigh, continued, "My real name is Ryü Kumon, the man that was to be the heir of the Kumon dojo. That's all you need to know about me."

Ranma smiled grimly and said, "I think not. Why are you here pretending to be Ranma? What evil motive do you have?"

"Evil?" Ryü replied, "Not really. I am just looking for something that should belong to me, to honour the final wishes of my father, who set me searching for the secret scroll of Umi-Sen-Ken, to rebuild my father's dojo, and reclaim our family honour."

"So, you would play with my heart, just for some dumb scroll," Nodoka said, her voice even colder, "Is that the path of a true warrior or merely a thief?"

"I'm no thief, lady," Ryü spat.

"Oh, pretending to be my son, so you could perhaps search my home for something that probably isn't there, so you could take it, perhaps even stealing away in the dark of night to hide your shame," Nodoka said, disbelief and sarcasm dripping from her voice, "That's NOT being a thief? It certainly isn't the actions of a man of honour."

"My father died because of the scroll he received from your husband! His dying words were to find the companion to that scroll, to learn them both, and to rebuild his dojo. I will not betray his wishes," Ryü growled.

"Then you are doomed to failure," Ranma said softly, "The scroll containing the secrets of the Umi-Sen-Kenis not in my mother's house. Mom is a very frugal woman, as the wife of a traveling martial artist often must be, and reused the parchment for envelopes, not realizing what it was. It has long since been destroyed."

"Then there is nothing for me here," Ryü said, rising to his feet. He bowed politely to Nodoka and said, "I am truly sorry for any pain I may have caused you. You are a very nice woman, and I apologize for my deception." He turned to leave.

"I'm afraid I can't really let you walk away, Ryü," Ranma said, "You are practicing some of the techniques of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, without the sanction of the grandmaster of that school. Arts that should by all rights have been sealed away, never to see the light of day again. You should know that, it destroyed your dojo, and killed your father."

"And what are you going to do to stop me, girly?" Ryü sneered.

Ranma stood up, with a grin and replied, "According to the little that Pop has told me, if Yama-Sen-Ken, with its broad moves and brute force, embodies 'strength,' then the Umi-Sen-Ken is subtlety, smaller, quieter moves, and demanding a skill much more advanced." She turned and picked up a pot of hot water. 'I sure hope that the waterproof soap I used yesterday wore off this morning, I've bathed twice since I used it, so…' she thought as she poured it on her head, triggering the change, and causing Ryü's eyes to widen. 'Good, it did,' he thought, 'It would have been awkward to force him to fight me as a girl.'

"What black magic is this? Who are you?" Ryü asked, his voice suddenly shaky.

"I am Ranma Saotome, and I will battle you with the skills of the Umi-Sen-Ken, think of me as a living scroll. If I lose, the technique is yours, but if you lose, you will bury the Yama-Sen-Ken," Ranma replied.

"I accept your challenge," Ryü said.

"Not quite done yet. Also, if you lose, you will become the pupil of the Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, and learn those secrets that he deems you fit to learn," Ranma continued.

"Why would he want to do that?" Ryü asked.

"You are using the techniques of that school without his sanction," Akane snapped, "Or were you too unfamiliar with the rules of martial arts to know that?"

"I accept your additional condition, Ranma Saotome," Ryü shot back, "When do we fight, and where?"

"The second is easy. We'll battle here. And the first is nearly as simple. We are awaiting our judge, and by the panting that I hear, I believe he is nearly at the top of the stairs," Ranma said, evenly. Sure enough, Soun Tendo crested the hill, dressed in one of his better gis, with, surprisingly, Yumi and Nabiki following close behind.

"Ah, Mr. Tendo, perfect timing," Ranma called. He waited until the new trio joined them, and then said, "Ryu Kumon, this is Soun Tendo, Master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, his daughter Nabiki Tendo, and his…"

"Girlfriend, Yumi Sato," Yumi said, as she saw Ranma get flustered on how to describe her.

"Soun, this is the young man I told you about, Ryü Kumon," Ranma continued.

"So you're the one who was trying to steal more of the Saotome secret scrolls," Soun said, "That's not very honourable."

"We've kind of gone through that, sir," Ryü replied, "But I had my reasons."

"And I more or less accept them," Ranma said, "So let us drop that. Not that I mind, but why are you two here?"

"Daddy said he was going to judge a battle between you and another martial artist. I wanted to see how good he was in case he came back. You never know when someone might want to bet on someone actually beating you," Nabiki said, as she eyed the stranger in front of her. 'Not bad, not as well muscled as Ranma, looks a little bit like him, a bit of a rough edge to him, but still pretty handsome,' Nabiki thought, as she unconsciously preened, knowing that she had dressed to kill, with her tight top, and short shorts.

"Shall we get the ritual posturing out of the way?" Soun suggested.

Ranma smirked and said, "Today will be Thousand Mountain's last."

"I've come for the Thousand Seas," Ryü responded.

From nowhere, Soun pulled out a microphone and said, "Now we begin the battle between the Umi-Sen-Ken and Yama-Sen-Ken of the Saotome School." He swung his hand and pointed at Ryü and said, "But first, Ryü Kumon, if you lose, Yama-Ken-Sen is sealed forever. Do you have any objections?"

Ryu sneered, and replied, "No. Because I won't lose."

"I have one, too," Ranma said, quietly.

Soun looked over at Ranma and asked, "What is it?"

"As we agreed, if you lose, you will become a student of the Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, where he will judge your fitness for the other techniques of that school," Ranma replied.

"Fine with me," Ryü said.

Soun turned and pointed to Ranma and said, "If you lose, you will show Ryü the secrets of the Umi-Sen-Ken. Do you have any objections?"

"No. Because I won't lose," Ranma replied, in deliberate mockery of Ryü.

"The conditions have been met," Soun said, then stepped back, motioning the women to get away from the arena as he did so. He waited until they were clear, and then yelled, "Then, FIGHT!" The theme song from the movie "Mortal Kombat" began to play in the background.

The echo of the word "FIGHT" had barely faded, before Ryü yelled, "Möko Kaimon Ha!" and sprang at Ranma, with one leg out in front of him and swung his arms out in a wide sweeping gesture with his hands held out like blades.

Ranma dodged, thinking, 'Well, he's nothing but consistent. The Fierce Tiger Gate-Open Blast attack, just like last time.' Ryü slammed into the pine tree that had been behind Ranma, who had vanished from sight. The pine tree split open, and crashed to the ground, showering the onlookers with shattered branches and broken pine needles, causing them all to seek shelter.

Soun gasped, "The Yama-Sen-Ken, the Fists of Strength!"

"That massive pine split like a pair of chopsticks!" Akane exclaimed, her eyes agape. She clasped her hands together as if in prayer, and thought, 'Even if he did dodge that one, can Ranma's Umi-Sen-Ken really protect him from such brute force. I guess he beat him before, but what if it's different this time. Have we changed too many things?'

Ranma appeared before the massive statue of a sitting Buddha, crouching like a leopard prepared to spring and kill its prey. "Playing it cool, huh? You missed that first strike on purpose, didn't you?" he taunted.

"What?" Nodoka gasped.

"Heh, if I took you out immediately, I wouldn't get to see the Thousand Seas in action," Ryü sneered.

"Is that so? Well then," Ranma said, tossing something at him, "I'll just give this back then."

Ryü looked at what was in his hands. "What! This is my belt, how?" he gasped.

"Wh-what!" Soun exclaimed, "Amazing!"

Nabiki cried, "When did Ranma get that? How did he do that?"

"The subtlety of the Umi-Sen-Ken. You can't stop what you can't see," Ranma said, getting into an odd stance and masking his ki.

"That stance!" Soun exclaimed, amazed and bewildered at the same time.

"Ranma's ki just vanished!" Akane exclaimed. 'That's how he snuck up on Ukyo when she wanted to fight him,' she thought, 'I've got to get him to teach me that.'

'That's how he snuck up on me at Auntie's house the night he proposed to Akane," Nabiki thought, 'What else has he been hiding from us?'

"IS THIS A JOKE!" Ryü exclaimed, scoffing at the odd stance. He sprang at Ranma, and in a flurry, the sound of several blows was heard. When the dust settled, Ryü was flat on the ground, lying on his stomach.

"Saotome School – Umi-Sen-Ken, Haku Dato Shin Shö, the Strike of the Spitting White Snake! Could you see it?" Ranma asked.

Ryü groaned from his prone position, and then struggled to his feet. "That's it!" he exclaimed.

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

"To learn these blows one at a time with my body would be too much," Ryü said. He paused, wobbling on his feet. "So,Kinshi Kinbakushö!" he cried, shooting a set of golden ropes at Ranma, who wasn't there anymore, since he had expected that attack. However, his opponent, being overconfident and oblivious to the fact that his attack had indeed failed to get Ranma, continued his verbal assault, "Why don't I just beat you to a pulp and make you confess?"

"Why don't you not count your chickens before they hatch?" Ranma taunted from the foot of the Buddha, where he was standing untouched by the prior attack.

Ryü leapt at him again, crying, "Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi!" with his fingers set like a spear straight for Ranma's chest as if to cut out his heart, only to have Ranma collapse to the ground in front of him.

'Ha! Fanged Fingers of Steel, Welcome-Gate!' Ranma thought, as he fell to the ground, his outstretched arms slicing Ryü's legs apart, and his legs grabbing his opponent by the shoulders and driving Ryü to the ground once more. "Try Shichü Rakuchi Sei! Stance of Collapsing Brace," he cried, and then followed through with another cry of "Strike of the Spitting White Snake!" as he applied a rapid series of finger strikes to Ryü's back, the blows flowing through the hapless boy's body and out his chest.

"Oh!" Soun exclaimed, "I'm seeing it! What's behind both the Thousand Mountain and the Thousand Seas Path!"

"What!" Akane exclaimed.

"It's a HOUSE! Both fighting styles equate the physical body with a house!" Soun exclaimed.

"A HOUSE!" Nabiki exclaimed, confused.

"Of course," Akane gasped, as she saw what her father had seen. 'Or is that really it?' she thought.

"You open an opponent's front door, that's the basic principle behind these attacks!" Soun explained, "Thus, Ryü's Fierce Tiger Gate-Open Blast is like breaking head first through the front gate, while Ranma's erasing one's presence in order to attack from an opponent's blind spot is like slipping through the back door and destroying the enemy from within!"

Ryü pulled himself back to his knees, groaning in pain.

"You getting it now? Umi-Sen-Ken?" Ranma taunted.

"I get it, I get its fatal weakness at least!" Ryü's sneered as he wobbled to his feet.

"I see, then why don't you teach me then, this supposed weakness?" Ranma asked, as he thought to himself, 'Keep our cool. No matter what stupid insult he comes up with. He wants me to get mad at him and lose my control over my ki.'

Ryü's sneered once more and said, "I know your dirty little secret. You really want to be a girl. That's why you were pretending to be one. A pretty good act too, you had me fooled. How many other guys have you fooled like that? Gotten any action? I bet you want someone to stick it to you, like a real man can. Or do you and your little girlfriend like to get it on? I bet you do?"

Ranma smirked and replied, "Wife actually, not girlfriend. And why does what we do in the privacy of our bedroom matter to anyone else? And as for you being a real man? Don't make me laugh! I see a real man every time I look into the mirror, whether I'm male or female, more of a man than you'll ever be!" He let his spirit show for just a moment, and charged the now furious Ryü, letting his ki flicker as if he was enraged.

Ryü smirked and closed in for the kill, only to have his blow miss at the last minute as Ranma vanished and masked his ki. As Ryü recovered from his overextension, he clenched his fists. "Enough, playtime is over!" he cried, "Kijin Raishü Dan!" as he pulled his hands apart so fast that he formed a vacuum, which caused blades of ki-charged air to fly at Ranma.

'Demon-God Multiple Strike!' Ranma thought, 'Damn, I need to take this one, or they might start getting suspicious. And it's going to hurt!'

"Ranma, you idiot! Run!" Akane cried, her heart breaking as she saw her husband standing flatfooted, from where she was hiding behind a tree.

The blast hit Ranma, driving him backwards as the rest of the force destroyed the statue of the Buddha that was behind him.

"Wh-what!" Soun gasped.

"He sliced through that statue with his fists!" Nabiki exclaimed.

Nodoka gasped, and covered her eyes, afraid to look. "Oh, my son! Please be safe," she gasped, while Yumi paled seeing the destruction.

"Feh!" Ryü sneered, as Ranma lay groaning at the foot of the platform that the statue had sat on, "Now, if you value your life, tell me the secrets of the Umu-Sen-Ken!"

Ranma pulled himself up, and then dusted himself off. With a grin, he said, "You, you're using your skills for the wrong reasons." 'Thanks, old ghoul for teaching me the Breaking Point,' he thought as his family looked on in mingled relief and disbelief.

"What?" Ryü exclaimed in shock. 'This guy isn't human, there isn't a scratch on him,' he thought.

"You're just using them to destroy tings, not to create anything. Listen to me, and listen good, Umi-Sen-Ken and Yama-Sen-Ken, they're tools for living," Ranma explained patiently, as if to a small child.

"Living?" Ryü asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"No matter if you don't understand now. You will soon. Now you'll learn the secrets with your own body. Take another shot with your Demon-God Multiple Strike Attack. Come on, take your best shot!" Ranma taunted.

"Ha, I'll gladly oblige!" Ryü growled, angrily.

Ranma cried, "Goshin Dai Ryü Sei Fu!" and pulled out a large cloth wrapping his body in it.

"Mega Cloth of Falling Stars!" Akane exclaimed, "What's that for?"

"A giant Furoshiki?" Soun asked, "What?"

"This is your response to my Demon-God Multiple Strike?" Ryü roared as he charged up his attack. He leapt up into the air and roared, "IT'S OVER!" as he performed the movements for his attack. Just as the blast of ki-driven knives of air neared its target, Ranma vanished, causing the blast to hit the ground with a loud CRACK, and breaking the hard surface into large chunks of rock and dirt.

"Ranma!" Akane gasped, "He's gone!"

Ryü looked around, bewildered, as his opponent vanished from view. He spotted something by another one of the well-groomed pine trees, and tried another Demon-God Multiple Strike, crying "Got ya!" as his attack sliced the tree into handy circular chunks of wood.

"Oh no you don't!" Ranma exclaimed from behind him as he sprang past his opponent, ripping off Ryü's clothes in passing, leaving the hapless young man dressed only in his camouflage patterned boxers.

"What!" Soun exclaimed.

"Ack!" Akane cried, hiding her eyes as her cheeks flushed bright red.

"Hm, definitely not bad," Nabiki purred as she ran her eyes up and down the exposed physique, "A tasty morsel indeed. I knew Ranma was a hunk. Maybe there's something to this Martial Arts stuff after all. Wonder if I could interest Souta in working out like this."

"I don't get it! What's Ranma trying to accomplish?" Soun asked, "Ryü's Demon-God Multiple Strike uses in essence the act of flinging open shutters to force apart the air itself. The resulting vacuum creates sharp blades of air that slice through opponents! How can stealing Ryü's clothes counteract such a deadly attack!" Just as he finished speaking, he realized he was feeling a draft as suddenly he was missing his clothing too.

"Don't you dare, Ranma!" Akane shouted, wrapping her arms around her body just to play safe.

Yumi fanned herself as she saw for the first time her boyfriend's splendid body, while Nabiki cried, "Ack! I'm scarred for life!" as she hid her face.

Nodoka thought, 'Not bad for a man of your age. It's a shame Genma didn't take care of himself as well as you did. When he gets back, that man is going on such a diet!'

"Oh!" Akane said suddenly, "It's not just the clothing. Look, the rubble from the statue, that's gone too!"

Ryü heard something zipping around the battlefield and asked, "What is that idiot doing? He's up to his old tricks. Well, I know how to take care of that!" He began spinning around as he cried, "Kijin Dai Ran Bu! Violent Dance of the Demon-God Horde!" sending the blades of air all around the area, striking anything in their path, as the audience cowered in the available shelter.

"He's striking at random!" Nabiki exclaimed, "He's gone crazy!"

"Curse him!" Ryü roared in anger as he stopped, "Sneaking around like a rat! Come out and fight!"

An eerie voice cried, "I thought I told you already, you can't fight what you can't see!"

Ryü looked up to find Ranma perched precariously on top of the temple, a large cloth-wrapped bundle beside him. "Now, your Yama-Sen-Ken is through! Time to seal your Thousand Mountain Path away forever!" Ranma cried.

"What!" Ryü exclaimed.

"Here I come!" Ranma cried, grabbing the bundle and leaping toward Ryü.

"Oh! The Mega Furoshiki! What's that for?" Akane asked.

'Does the fool think he'll squash me!' Ryü thought, 'I think not!' "Sai Dai Kyü Kijin Raishü Dan! Ultimate Demon-God Multiple Strike!" as he made a massive attack, sending an enormous wave of vacuum driven blades at the descending figure.

'Yes!' Ranma exulted, 'Just like before!' "Saotome School's Thousand Seas Ultimate Attack! Yasha Tan Kai Hö!" he cried, as he used his giant sack of cloth to trap the vacuum, pulling the loosened dirt and rocks, as well as sucking his opponent up from the ground, and dumping the contents of the sack. The entire mass fell, burying the battered Ryü in the large mound of rubble. Ranma landed lightly on top of the pile and smirked, "That'll teach you!"

"He won!" Soun cried. 'How did Saotome come up with such fiercesome techniques? I'm impressed with you, old friend, but why did you never share them? Could they not have helped us defeat the old master, or did you create them after he was buried?' he thought.

Akane exclaimed, "Ranma, you did it!" as she rushed over to join him on top of the pile, pulling him into a deep embrace, just before she began to cry on his shoulder.

Ranma patted her back awkwardly, and said, "I'm fine, Acchan," trying to soothe her.

Soun rushed over with a shovel from the gardener's shed, and began digging down into the mass. After several minutes of furious digging, he finally uncovered a dirty, weary, badly bruised young man. "As promised, we will seal away your Thousand Mountain Path. Agreed?" Soun asked sternly.

Ryü grumbled and then said, "I concede. Ranma did defeat me in honourable combat, and I am a man of my word. That is about the only thing that I have left; my name, my word and my honour. I can't lose that."

Soun said, as he relaxed, "Good man."

"I agree," Ranma said, "Ryü you fought well, and while what I told you before is true, the Umi-Sen-Ken and the Yama-Sen-Ken would never have done what you wanted."

"What do you mean?" Ryü asked as he clambered out of the hole, helped by Soun's strong right arm gripping his wrist.

"I mean that even though they are both terrifying schools of attack, they are tools for living, not for fighting. You need to hear the truth as Pop's journal explained them to me. Hear the truth behind these scrolls, and understand their true meaning," Ranma replied.

"At last!" Soun exclaimed, as everyone else looked on in interest.

"At first glance it is true, as Mr. Tendo surmised, these two techniques are combat strategies equating the human body to parts of a house," Ranma began.

"What do you mean, at first glance? What did I miss?" Soun asked, irked.

Ranma tossed a piece of parchment to Ryü and said, "This is the last remnant of the secret scroll of the Umi-Sen-Ken, a scroll that Pop sent to my mother. Read it and perhaps you may understand."

Ryü glanced down at the folded paper in his hand, and opened it. Scanning it quickly, he spotted the words, 'robbers' and 'sneak' written in a bold hand, with those words circled in another color ink to pull them to the surface. "Sneak? Robber?" he asked.

"Yes, you see, Thousand Mountain Path is a tool for a robber to force his way into a house from the front door, while Thousand Seas Path is a tool for a burglar to sneak in and steal without detection," Ranma explained.

"Robber and a burglar?" Ryü asked, a horrid feeling growing in his chest.

"These are tools for living?" Soun asked, stunned to think that his old friend could stoop that low.

"Well, a living of sorts. Not a particularly honourable living, but a living," Ranma replied.

"Don't lie to me! How does a burglar use that last attack?" Ryü asked, a hint of anguish in his voice as the truth began to sink in.

"Don't you see?" Nabiki drawled, in a voice heavy-laden with sarcasm, "It's simple. I'm so ashamed that I have to explain it to you. But, Ranma stole the vacuum you created."

"I guess Saotome gave your father the Yama-Sen-Ken hoping that if he could understand the truth behind the techniques, he could have stolen a fortune, and thus saved his dojo," Soun finished.

"The Umi-Sen-Ken and the Yama-Sen-Ken are best left as forgotten techniques," Ranma said, gently, "Let them die with our joining with our ancestors. Or do you disagree?"

"NO! What I've struggled with all this time, keeping my word, my bond, my honour intact, only to find that my honour has been tarnished by the use of these moves," Ryü replied, "You are right. It is best that they are left to rot."

"Are you ready to fulfill the last part of your bargain?" Soun asked, "To be taught by the Grandmaster of our school?"

"Yes, when do I meet him, or is it you, Tendo-san?" Ryü asked.

Ranma dusted himself off once more and replied, "You just fought him. And didn't do too badly, I might add."

"You!" Ryü exclaimed, as his jaw dropped in amazement, and a sweat drop appeared on his head. 'He's the grandmaster of the school, at his age. Man, what he could teach me,' he thought.

"Me," Ranma agreed.

Ryü bowed, and replied formally, "Teach me, Sensei, and I will learn. But, I have no place to stay, not much money for lodging."

Nodoka walked up and said, kindly, "Ryü, even though you entered my home through false pretenses, you are welcome to stay. I could use the company, as my sons can't always visit when they would like."

"Thank you, lady, I accept your offer," Ryü said, bowing deeply to her, "You truly have a kind and generous heart. Accept my thanks, and my apologies for my deception. I truly regret that I preyed upon your good nature." Suddenly his face grew still as he turned to Ranma. "You knew the truth all along, and so did your mother and wife," he said, "So why did you allow me to think I was fooling you?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "Whether you knew it or not, because you were practicing a portion of the Saotome School, you were my student. I needed to evaluate your worthiness to continue, and the only way I could tell would for you to fight me as best as you could, not knowing who I really was. And the other reason was a bit more pragmatic. If the Yama-Sen-Ken was what I thought it was, I didn't want to fight you at Mom's." He looked around and said, "Looks like a good call, we would have wrecked her house, I expect, looking at what we did here."

Ryü took a look around the battlefield and chuckled. "Yes, I suppose we did make a bit of a mess," he replied.

"Yeah, and I have no idea how you're going to fix that statue," Soun said, a bit sternly.

Ranma grinned at the ashen expression on the young man's face and said, "Anyway, consider this your entrance exam into the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. By the way, you passed."

Ryü cocked his head sideways, and thought about that for a moment. He began to chuckle, and said, "This could be interesting." He bowed once more to his new teacher.

"I'm not that formal," Ranma said, amused.

"Good, it's all settled then," Soun interrupted, "Now, can someone please find my gi? I'm catching a cold." He proved it by punctuating that statement with a sneeze, not a period.

"Oh. Soun, I'll keep you warm," Yumi cried as she ran over and hugged him, "We can share my body heat."

"Wait a minute, no public display of affection between the parental figures," Akane teased.

"I'm pretty cold, too," Ryü said, with a suggestive look at Nabiki.

"Forget it musclehead, I have a boyfriend," Nabiki growled.

Ryü shrugged and said, "Can't blame a guy for trying. You are good looking."

Nabiki grinned and replied, "Yes, I suppose I am. And I don't actually mind you looking. You're not too shabby yourself."

* * *

Author's Notes: One more chapter in the bank, I trust everyone will enjoy it. Anyway, my version of the Kumon story. For those that are familiar with the manga, the fight scene in this story is indeed a mildly abbreviated version of that one, with a few twists. And yes, I know that Mortal Kombat came out just a bit too late to really fit. As always, comments and constructive criticism is appreciated, and help keep me motivated with this story. 


	69. Mark of the Cherry Blossom

Chapter 69 Mark of the Cherry Blossom

Ryü watched in fascination as Nodoka moved around the small, but tidy kitchen, effortlessly turning the simplest ingredients into what was looking to be a feast fit for an emperor. "Mrs. Saotome," he began, only to be interrupted.

"Please, call me Auntie," Nodoka said, with a gentle smile.

"Very well, Auntie," Ryü said, a somewhat startled look on his face. He shook his head for a moment as if to clear out some cobwebs, and continued, asking, "You live here all alone?"

"Yes, this house has been my lonely home since shortly after my husband took Ranma on his trip," Nodoka replied, a faint look of anguish briefly flashing on her face.

"Why doesn't Ranma live here?" the boy asked.

"He has his own home, he and Akane," Nodoka replied, "The ancestral home of the Tendo's now belong to them. And my adopted son is living with his wife at their restaurant."

"Oh, well, then I shall do my poor best to keep you company," he said, an odd sense of warmth filling his chest.

Nodoka chuckled and said, "Well, thank you kind sir."

Ryü grinned and asked, "Would it be impertinent for me to ask about your husband? Why is he not here?"

"Impertinent, not really. It is an honest question. Genma is off on a mission that I set him, a mission of honour," Nodoka replied, "To hopefully redeem himself in both his eyes and mine. You weren't the only person wronged by my husband in his long journey, and I have tasked him to correct those wrongs."

"I see," Ryü said, thoughtfully. He frowned slightly and asked, "What happened to your son? Or is that something I shouldn't ask about?"

"My husband's foolishness is what happened," Nodoka replied, a sharp note to her voice.

"Ah, that didn't really answer my question," Ryü said carefully, as he watched the woman in front of him.

Nodoka turned around and looked at the young man. Finally she sighed and said, "True enough. Essentially, my husband took Ranma to a place called Jusenkyo, a place of cursed springs. Due to his foolish pride, Genma didn't realize the danger he had placed them in. He fell into one of the springs, that of the drowned panda, so now when he gets wet with cold water, he changes into a panda. Similarly, my son fell into the spring of drowned girl."

"That sounds like a very good place to stay away from," Ryü said, with a slight shudder.

"Yes, and if only my husband had been able to read the guidebook he had, he probably would have stayed away from it," Nodoka said, "Fortunately, my son seems to be able to handle changing genders. In fact, he says it could have been worse, at least he stays human. One of his friends turns into a duck, and another boy he knows turns into some sort of winged minotaur."

"Yes, I can see how that would be worse," the young man said thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked, "I am still confused a little bit about why he did what he did though. Why did he allow me to pretend to be him?"

"My son is still a bit of an enigma to me. He only returned last year from his training trip, and to be honest, I didn't handle finding out about his other form terribly well. It took me a while to accept that I had suddenly gained a daughter. However, one of the things that I have realized about him, or her, is that Ranma has a very strong sense of honour. He doesn't always follow that path, but he does try. And in your case, he felt that our family owed you a debt because of what happened to your father," Nodoka said, "And therefore, once he realized who you were, I guess he wanted to take your measure, to see if you were worthy of being a student of his school. That's another thing that matters to him. His art is his life, or at least it was, and the honour of the school is of foremost importance to him."

"So my wandering around Japan pretending to be him, and practicing the Yama-Sen-Ken was an issue with him," Ryü guessed.

"Well of course. As grandmaster of the school, he is ultimately responsible for any student who practices Anything Goes. As he said, he was testing you. Even though you were trying to trick us, he believes, as do I, that you ultimately are a man of honour," Nodoka replied, "I think you passed several tests that day."

"I think I did as well, Auntie," he replied, "I think I did as well."

* * *

Ranma shook his head in amazement as he glanced around the dojo. Somehow, without him noticing before this epiphany, the small, intimate workout sessions that he and Akane had started nearly a year ago had effectively turned into an actual class with real students. Looking around, he saw Akane and Soun working with the girls. Hinako, Nabiki and Sayuri had been joined by Kodachi and to his surprise, Yumi, while he was working with Mousse and Ryü. He chuckled, causing Mousse to look over at him, an obvious question in his eyes. "Suddenly realized that I'd turned into a martial arts instructor," he answered softly with a sheepish grin on his face. 

"Ranma, my friend, I hate to say this, but you are amazingly dense," Mousse said, with a grin, as he finished up his final kata, one that he and Ranma had developed especially to help him handle all of the weight of the hidden weapons he normally carried.

Ranma grinned back at him, shrugging his shoulders, as if he couldn't really disagree. He turned to watch Ryü come to a somewhat staggering halt as he finished. "Good job, everyone," Ranma said in a soft voice that somehow still carried throughout the dojo, "Take a break, get your breathing back under control if you need it, and drink plenty of water."

The girls huddled in one corner of the dojo, as they relaxed, grabbing water bottled from a shelf, while Ryü approached Ranma and Mousse, taking his shirt off on the way, to allow the faint sheen of perspiration to dry. "Whew," he said, "I thought I was in shape." He hid a smile as he didn't miss the speculative, almost hungry, look that Nabiki was giving him.

Sayuri giggled and nudged Nabiki. "Not too bad, is he?" she teased, as she watched her friend, "And I think he likes you."

"Hush, Sayuri," Nabiki replied, absently, "I'm with Souta, remember? Ryü doesn't do a thing for me."

"Then why are you having such a hard time keeping your eyes off of him?" Hinako asked, giggling as she did so, "Though I have to admit, I think he has a cute ass. Too old for me though, what a shame."

"I'm not looking at him," Nabiki retorted defensively, "It's just that I don't appreciate him dancing around half-naked like that in front of me, that's all! How rude can he be? I wonder what he'd think if I was dressed like that?"

"Oh, I expect he'd like it quite a lot," Akane joined in, her tone light, "From the way he looked at you the day of the fight, I'd say he finds you attractive."

Nabiki stared at her sister with an icy glare, and then called, "Hey, Kumon, put your shirt back on; the glare off of your chest is blinding me!"

"Ha, you just can't handle something this good," Ryü retorted, deliberately rippling his chest muscles.

Nabiki growled, "In your dreams, maybe, but not in the real world."

Ranma looked at the two of them, frowning slightly. He glanced at Akane, who smiled at him, and mouthed that she would explain later.

Ryü grinned cheekily and said, "Ah, come on, I know you think I'm cute."

Nabiki said snarkily, "You're just full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Enough of that, you two," Ranma said, "This is a dojo, not a nightclub."

"And besides, those are the lamest pickup lines I have ever heard. Even my brother wasn't that bad," Kodachi said.

"Other than the fact that he said them in bad prose, you mean," Akane added.

Nabiki glared at her sister, while Ryü ducked his head for a moment, before he replied, with a great deal of hauteur, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Tofu stuck his head in the door and said, "Kasumi wanted me to tell you that dinner is nearly ready. There's about thirty minutes or so, so there's just enough time for some of you to wash up."

"You heard the Doc," Ranma said, "I guess our time is up."

"Come on girls, let's get to the furoba," Hinako squealed as she raced out of the dojo, quickly followed by the remaining women.

* * *

Yumi glanced around the dinner table at the oddly eclectic group that was turning into her family, at least in her private dreams. Soun, ever the gentleman, was still shy with her, though on the few occasions that they had managed to sneak away from the children, she had managed to break through some of his reserve. Kasumi, ever kind, a woman that she was proud to know, and fast becoming a good friend. The brash, yet engaging Ranma, and his feisty wife, Akane, the quiet, yet strong Tofu, the enigmatic Nabiki and Hinako, whose relationship she still hadn't quite figured out, and her own daughter Sayuri, who had somehow become a near equal. And then, Nodoka, the proud woman that she had felt a near instant kinship with as they traded horror stories about their respective husbands. 'Thank you Kami, for bringing me here," she thought, feeling oddly warmed as she felt the love in the room. Even the sniping between Nabiki and the boy Ryü was heartwarming. 

"Listen, you dumb martial artist jock, you aren't Kami's gift to women," Nabiki spat, annoyed that somehow the aforementioned dumb jock had managed to maneuver to the spot next to her at the table.

Ryü chuckled and said, "You wound me, Nabiki-chan. Here I was being all nice and everything. I didn't even make any snide remarks about you dumping Souta and getting with a real man."

"Haven't we had this conversation already?" Akane asked, as she rolled her eyes.

"Why would I want to trade down to bean curd when I'm currently dating Kobe beef?" Nabiki asked, ignoring her sister.

"Kobe steak! We can't afford that!" Soun said.

"That was a metaphor," Akane explained.

"Would you two stop that," Ranma groused, "You're sounding like an old married couple or something."

"Stay out of it, Ranma," Nabiki said.

"Yeah, what she said, Saotome," Ryü added.

"Actually, I don't think I will," Ranma said, an oddly angry look in his eyes, "I'd like a peaceful, quiet dinner, and your bickering is turning off even my appetite." He closed his eyes for a brief moment and then snapped, "Tomorrow, you two are partners when we practice. You will work together, and take care of each other's injuries."

"You can't do that!" Ryü growled.

"Am I your sensei or what?" Ranma shot back. He gazed at the other youth, his eyes cold, and his face impassaive.

"But?" Nabiki exclaimed.

"You wanted this as well, student," Ranma said, softly, transferring his gaze to his sister-in-law.

"Very well, sensei," Nabiki said, in a tone that said Ranma would pay for it later.

"Of course, sensei," Ryü said, biting off each word.

Ranma glared at the two of them and said, "Good. Then let's finish this meal, since Kasumi and Mom outdid themselves tonight."

Akane gazed thoughtfully at her husband, wondering at the assertive tone in his voice.

"Well said, grandmaster," Soun said. 'Yes, the future of the dojo is assured, he has taken up the gauntlet,' he thought.

Ranma looked back at him impassively. Then he nodded, and replied, softly, "I still have much to learn, Soun, but I did realize today that I, or rather, we, have a school once more."

'Ah, and if he is to truly be the sensei, he must act as one,' Nodoka thought, beaming proudly at her son.

* * *

Ranma shivered slightly as the cold water cascaded down her body as she rinsed off the last of the soap from her hair. 

"What was that all about at dinner?" Akane asked, from her stool, where she was also just finishing up.

Ranma turned and said, "We can talk in the furo." She stood up from her stool and slipped into the hot water, sighing in contentment as the heat transformed him back, as well as started to ease a little of the stiffness in his shoulder from where Akane had gotten him pretty good during their sparring match. He grinned as his wife stood next to the tub, letting him get a good look at her, a knowing grin on her face.

Akane smirked at the look of lust burning in Ranma's eyes as she slid into the tub, and sank down into the water next to him.

Ranma pulled her to him, and kissed her very hard, and then set her back against the wall of the tub. "We'll finish that later," he said huskily, sending a shiver down her spine.

"I'll hold you to that," Akane said, her eyes dancing.

"Anyway, like I said at dinner, we suddenly seem to have started teaching in the dojo, a real class, not just us working out anymore. You've got the girls well in hand, and they all seem to be improving. And with your father teaching the Tendo half of the school, we have three teachers. But, it can all fall apart if Nabiki and Ryü don't stop their bickering with each other," Ranma said.

"It's not bickering. I think they are flirting with each other," Akane said, "I think sis has a bit of a thing for Ryü but also has one for Souta. And she doesn't want to act on whatever she may be feeling for Ryü until she sorts out how she feels about Souta."

"And it's obvious to all of us that Ryü is attracted to Nabiki," Ranma said, with a grin, "Though, I can't say that his technique is too good."

"He is just a bit full of himself, isn't he?" Akane asked with a laugh.

"Well, full of something, anyway," Ranma replied, with a grin. He sobered then and said, "Seriously, all I want is for the two of them to stop the bickering and just get along so it doesn't interfere with us teaching them the things we want. Ryü barely wants to listen to me as it is, so I don't need the aggravation."

"So that's why you smacked them both down at dinner," Akane said, with a frown.

"Well, yeah, it's the respect thing, I guess. We are sensei, and while I don't want all the bowing and scraping, we are the ones in charge. And, it's good practice for when we get out of college and open up the dojo for real, assuming we haven't started sooner," Ranma said.

* * *

Nabiki turned in her bed, and gazed lovingly at the photograph sitting in a silver frame on her bedside table. A picture of her with Souta, their arms wrapped around each other as they sat on the beach, her head resting on his shoulder, with silly grins on their faces. "I miss you, Souta. I hope you are having a good time helping your grandfather clean the temple," she said, "I wish we could have spent some time together though." She sighed heavily, wishing that he was there with her. "Goodnight, Souta," she whispered as she reached one finger out and touched the glass protecting the print. With a smile, she then reached for the light switch and turned off the lamp beside the picture, plunging her room into darkness.

* * *

Ranma watched quietly for a while from where he was leaning against the wall of the dojo as Nabiki and Ryü practiced the kata that he had shown them a bare fifteen minutes before, a kata that Nabiki had actually mastered months ago, as it was a foundation exercise for the Tendo School, one that her mother and father had originally taught her as a child. As he watched, his face expressionless, and hiding his irritation, Nabiki stumbled to a stop as she missed a step, an angry glint in her eyes as she turned to snarl some nasty retort at Ryü because of something he must have said. 

Mousse glanced over at his inattentive instructor, only to see that Ranma was watching Nabiki and Ryü. He approached Ranma, breaking him out of his brown study.

"Akane!" Ranma called, "Come work with Mousse."

Akane glanced over from where she was showing Hinako a move, a startled look on her face, which quickly vanished. She nodded to her husband, leaving Hinako, Sayuri and Yumi to the tender mercies of her father, and walked over to join Mousse.

Ranma stormed over to stand in front of the battling pair, stopping their rants with an icy glare. In a completely flat, emotionless voice, he asked, "Tendo, Kumon, just what do you think you two are doing? Tendo, you could do this in your sleep, and yet you're staggering around as if you had never seen it before. Kumon, are you here to learn martial arts, or just to aggravate me?"

"Here to learn, of course, sensei," Kumon replied.

"I don't have to do this," Nabiki said, sulkily.

"That's true enough, you don't," Ranma replied, flatly, "You can leave any time you want. On the other hand, are you willing to throw away your family heritage? Or better yet, are you going to let some guy run you off? Is that how you plan on becoming a business tycoon?"

Nabiki glanced at him, a startled expression on her face. She reluctantly nodded her head.

"Fine, then, here's what is going to happen. The two of you are going to be getting very close, and learning a lesson in cooperation," Ranma said, with a smirk, "Stand next to each other, facing me." He waited until they obeyed, and then quickly, tied their inner legs together with two ropes. "Okay, ten laps around the compound," he ordered.

Nabiki and Ryü stared at him in amazement.

"And, oh by the way, you both have to finish," Ranma said. He watched with satisfaction as the two of them hobbled out of the dojo and headed toward the wall of the compound. He followed, stopping on the broad steps and watched as the two of them tried to run, only for one or the other to fall. After a few minutes, he saw them put their arms around each other's waist, and get into a rhythm that allowed them to make some progress.

Akane walked up and snaked her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "So, what's this all about? Are you trying to set them up?" she asked, quietly.

"No, actually I'm teaching them about getting along with each other. Your sister is going to have to learn to deal with people she really doesn't like if she is serious about having any kind of career in business. And Ryü needs to learn how to keep his arrogant mouth shut if he ever wants to have a chance to date her or any other girl, for that matter," Ranma said.

"Well, partner, we have a class to teach," Akane suggested, as Nabiki and Ryü came back into view from around the house, finishing their first lap.

Ranma waved at them, and then followed Akane back into the dojo.

* * *

Nabiki tossed and turned in her bed, struggling to find a comfortable spot, as for some reason she couldn't sleep. Finally, she sat up straight in her bed, and stared at the photograph on her bedside table, or at least where the photograph would be if she could see it in the darkness of the room. Not that it really mattered, for she could see it in her mind's eye, a picture of her and Souta. 'What's going on with you, woman?' she thought, 'And you're supposed to be so smart. Okay, I admit, I sort of fancy the jerk. He's cute, not as cute as Souta, he's funny, but not like Souta, he's got a body almost as good as Ranma's.' Nabiki sighed, and said, "Not like Souta. Damn, what am I going to do? Well, you could stop arguing with yourself in the middle of the night, and get some sleep." She sighed as she remembered the feel of Ryü's body, the warmth against her hip, as they jogged around the compound, their arms around each other's waist, the faint musky scent rising from his body. With one trembling hand, she reached out, and set the picture face down on the table.

* * *

Kasumi watched as her sister came stumbling into the kitchen, her bathrobe somewhat askew, and her eyes still half-closed, her arms flailing around. Kasumi frowned and grabbed Nabiki's arms, allowing Sayuri to place a cup in her trembling hands. 

Nabiki promptly raised the cup and drained a good third of the contents, ignoring the scorch of the hot liquid as it ran down her throat. Slowly she opened her bloodshot eyes, eyes with heavy, dark bags beneath them.

Sayuri said, "I'm going to be blunt. Nabiki, you look like shit. What happened?"

"Had a hard time sleeping," Nabiki muttered sleepily, "Too many things on my mind." She took another large gulp of coffee, and finally forced her eyes completely open.

"You do look moderately awful, sis," Kasumi said, "Maybe you should stay home and try to get some rest."

"Wouldn't help," her sister replied, "Can't sleep."

"Sayuri, why don't you take her to the furoba and the two of you take a nice relaxing bath," Yumi suggested.

"Have to wait until Ranma and Akane are done," Kasumi said, two little dots of pink appearing on her cheeks.

"Ranma, yeah, need to talk to Ranma," Nabiki muttered as she turned and left the kitchen.

"Oh my," Yumi said, "That wouldn't be proper," earning an odd look from Kasumi, as Sayuri scampered off after the older girl, as suddenly they heard Akane screeching from the furo, "Nabiki, what are you doing in here?"

"Oh dear, I guess they weren't done," Kasumi said, as she broke down giggling.

"What does it matter? It's just us girls," they heard Nabiki say.

Then, Ranma's baritone asked, "Do I look like a girl to you?" Then a resigned soprano voice added, "Very funny."

Then they heard Akane exclaim, "Not you too, Sayuri!" as the door opened and closed once more.

* * *

Nabiki entered the outer chamber to the furoba, and slipped her bathrobe off her shoulders, letting it pool around her on the floor, leaving her nude. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it loosely around her body, and slid open the door to the bathing chamber itself. There she saw Akane just stepping into the furo, with Ranma standing, his back to her. 'My, my, what a wonderful arse,' she thought, as her eyes roamed up and down the sleekly toned, muscular boy in front of her. 

"Nabiki, what are you doing in here?" Akane shrieked, causing Ranma to quickly sit back down on his stool, covering his lap with the towel in his hand, but not quite before Nabiki caught a glimpse of something she had never seen before.

"What does it matter? It's just us girls," Nabiki replied, with a cheeky grin, as she reached down and picked up a bucket filled with water, filing the memory of what she saw away. 'Akane, I envy you,' she thought, 'he definitely lives up to his name.'

"Do I look like a girl to you?" Ranma asked, just as Nabiki threw the contents of the bucket over him. Ranma sighed heavily as she said, disgustedly, "Very funny." 'Why did I even open my mouth,' she thought, as she turned slightly on her stool to look over her shoulder at the giggling Nabiki. Then she saw the door slide open again, and a fully clothed Sayuri stood there, her hand over her mouth as she attempted to hide a smile.

"To answer your question, sister dear, I wanted to take a nice hot soak, and talk to my wonderful brother-in-law," Nabiki replied. She tugged at the loose knot holding her towel together.

Ranma stared wide-eyed in panic as Nabiki dropped her towel. As soon as the towel began to move, the red-haired girl closed her eyes and turned her head away. She heard someone sit down on the stool next to her.

"NABIKI! What do you think you are doing?" Akane asked, angrily.

"I'm getting ready for a soak in the furo," Nabiki replied, evenly, "What does it look like?"

Sayuri closed the door to the changing room, a faint blush on her face. She muttered under her breath, "I can't believe I'm doing this," as she began to take off her clothing, folding it neatly as she did so. Then with a sigh, she picked up Nabiki's bathrobe and hung it on a hook. Grabbing a towel, she opened the door to see Ranma still frozen on her stool, Nabiki scrubbing her legs with the sponge, and Akane glaring at her sister from where she was sitting in the furo. Gathering her courage up with both hands, Sayuri strode in, and placed her towel on a hook, and took a sponge and began washing Nabiki's back.

"Thanks, Sayuri, that feels nice," Nabiki said, as Akane transferred her glare to the other girl.

Ranma stammered, "What? Sayuri is in here too, now!"

"Why does it matter, Ranma? We shared that hot springs on that training trip, remember," Nabiki teased.

"And we saw each other when you tried to retrieve that scroll," Sayuri chimed in, "So you've seen what I've got." She blushed as she thought, 'And yes, I saw what you have. Akane, you are one lucky woman.'

"It's a little different being in the bathing chamber with the two of you," Ranma replied, her cheeks heating up.

"Relax, little sister, I just wanted to talk to you," Nabiki said.

"About what?" Ranma asked.

"Why don't we wait until everyone has some clothing on?" Akane snarled as she started to climb out of the tub.

"Akane, please, don't be mad," Nabiki said, softly, "Don't be so quick to lose your temper."

"But, Ranma shouldn't see you naked," Akane protested, weakly, as she sat slowly back down.

"Why should that matter? He knows what girls look like, and with the swimsuits I wear, I don't hide much," Nabiki replied, "Besides, you walked in on us once before, remember?"

"Let her talk," Ranma said roughly, "She's just getting her vengeance for what I made her do yesterday. And you shouldn't be so insecure. You know how I feel for you."

"Very perceptive of you, little brother," Nabiki said, with a grin, "But wrong, actually."

"Then tell me why you are in here, unless you're trying to stir up trouble between Akane and I," Ranma growled.

"I wouldn't do that, to either of you, I care about you both too much to do that. Besides, Akane would hurt me if I tried," Nabiki said, quickly, "I actually just wanted to say I would try to do better about sniping at Kumon, and that I hope I don't have to work out with him. He just rubs me the wrong way."

Ranma sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Finally, she replied, "Na-chan, I'm not pairing you with Kumon to be mean. I thought you had a tougher skin than that. You know what the workforce is like, at least as far as being a woman working in the business world is like. If you can't handle someone like Kumon, how on earth are you going to handle the real jerks in the office, who won't see past your breasts? Ryü is a bit of a jerk, but he's mostly harmless." She sighed and turned around on her stool and opened her eyes. "Na-chan, seriously, there will be a lot of men who are cruder at their passes than Kumon ever will be, and you know that," she said, "So why is he getting under your skin so badly?"

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed.

"Acchan," Ranma said tiredly, "You of all people should know better. Yes, Nabiki has a nice body, and the workout she has been on has made it even nicer, but at the end of the day, I will always be with you. I made a promise on my honour, and you of all people should know what that means."

"I know, but," Akane said.

"And you feel insecure, even now," Sayuri said, "You shouldn't. You must not see it, but you are the only woman for Ranma. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. You could put him in a room full of nude women and he wouldn't react."

Ranma blushed and said, "I wouldn't go that far. I am a guy inside here after all, and we do react pretty quickly to visual stimuli."

"Ooooh, big words," Nabiki teased gently.

"Ha, ha," Ranma retorted, "But, Akane, you're the only woman that I want to see that way, and the only one who will ever share my bed. So don't be so insecure about your looks. I know I don't say it in words much, but you are beautiful, don't ever doubt that about yourself."

Akane blushed prettily, as Nabiki and Sayuri sighed. "Sis, you really don't know how lucky you are," Sayuri said, "I wish Hiroshi was here so he could take notes."

"Um, I'd just as soon he not be here," Ranma said, "It's one thing for you to see Akane like this."

"I'm with Ranma on that," Akane said, with a grin, "He's the only guy who gets to see me like this."

"Ranma," Nabiki began, a little uncertainly, "I also want to back off on some of the training. I'm not planning on being a martial artist of any kind, and really just wanted to learn a few things to help keep me in shape. I hope you don't look down on me because of that."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "That's not really a problem with me. I figure you and the other girls are doing this because you want to, not because you're trying to become martial artists. That's the path I see Akane and me taking, but you've always had a different set of goals. And that's okay. You have to go where your heart leads you."

"Thanks, I was feeling a little guilty if I slacked off a little," Nabiki admitted.

"Since I'm not going to get in the furo while you two are in here, I guess I'm done," Ranma announced as she stood up. With a shrug, she began drying herself off with her towel, as she walked out of the bathing chamber, closing the door behind her.

"I'm still annoyed with you for bursting in on us like that," Akane said, "Why couldn't you wait until we were dressed to talk to him?"

"I was half-asleep and it seemed like a good idea at the time to what was passing for my brain," Nabiki replied, a bit sheepishly, "To be honest, I really didn't wake up until I saw him standing there. That definitely got my attention." She grinned and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to share?"

Akane rolled her eyes at her sister and retorted, "Didn't we already have that talk once before?"

"Just teasing," Nabiki said, her grin widening.

"He looks that good, huh?" Sayuri said.

Nabiki replied, "Hell, yeah, he does. You've seen him without a shirt on, right? Imagine how the rest of him looks then." The two girls grinned at each other.

Akane frowned slightly and then said, brightly, "I don't have to imagine. I know exactly what he looks like, and feels like. And that's all I'm going to say about it." She climbed out of the furo, and grabbed a towel. "Don't take too long, we do have school still," she added, as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Souta had barely managed to enter the courtyard before Nabiki had grabbed his hand and pulled him up the several flights of stairs to the roof of the school. As soon as they had obtained some privacy, she threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately. After a few minutes, they broke apart. He grinned and asked, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what brought that on?" 

"I missed you," Nabiki replied, "I really missed you."

"I missed you, too," Souta said, "I meant to call but by the time I got done sweeping all of the steps and the path last night, it was time for dinner, and then Gramps wanted me to help hang some wards and paper lanterns around the shrine. After that, it was too late to use the phone."

"That's okay," Nabiki said, as she rested her head on his shoulder, "I went to bed pretty early. I was exhausted from the training Ranma was putting me through. He's agreed to let me back off a bit, since I'm not trying to be a martial artist."

"Oh, that's good then," Souta said, "To be honest I'm surprised that you lasted as long as you did, what with all of the studying we've been doing, and the extra class work the teachers have been handing out. Piling training on top of that had to be a heavy load."

"It has been wearing me down just a little," Nabiki admitted. She paused for a moment, and then her eyes brightened. "You know, I want to do something completely un-Nabiki like right now," she said, "Let's blow off school today, and just hang out somewhere and have some fun. I could really use that right now."

Souta chuckled, and replied, "That is so unlike you, but, yeah, I could do that. It's not like we aren't going to ace the classes anyway. So where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere would be fine, maybe go to the park, or something," Nabiki replied, "I just want to spend some time with you, after the weekend that I had."

* * *

Nabiki blissfully floated through the front gate, her lips puffy, and her eyes dreamy. As she neared the front door, it opened and her sister Akane stepped out, only to stop suddenly in shock. 

"Where were you today?" Akane asked, "We didn't see you at lunch, and then one of your classmates said you weren't in class."

"Playing hooky," Nabiki replied, a huge grin on her face.

"Nabiki Tendo, one of the most studious students at Furinkan, skipped class!" Akane exclaimed.

Nabiki giggled, and replied, "Yep, I did. Souta and I spent the day together. It was wonderful."

Akane grinned at her sister and said, "I bet it was, looking at how puffy your lips are. So how many hours did you spend kissing? And is that all you did?"

"A lady never tells," Nabiki replied, primly.

Kasumi opened the door and then said, "Oh good, you're here Nabiki. Could I impose on you to go to the store and get some snacks? We seem to be out already."

"Sure, no problem. I can go right now, if you'll take my school stuff inside," Nabiki replied, handing her case and bento box to her sister. Kasumi handed her some money, which Nabiki dropped inside her small purse. "I'll be back as soon as I can," she said, as she turned and skipped down the path and out the gate.

Kasumi blinked in astonishment. "What got into her?" she asked.

"She spent the day with Souta instead of going to class," Akane replied, with a grin, "So she's in a real good mood right now." The two girls shared a smile as they reentered the house, neither of them seeing the two pairs of eyes glowering from either side of the house where they had been eavesdropping on the conversation.

* * *

Nabiki stopped in confusion as she saw the sign posted on the door of the sweet shop. 'Closed Today,' the sign read. 

"Well, damn, I really like their cherry blossom mochi," she said, "Now what am I going to do?"

A quavering voice answered from behind her, "Young lady, you're in luck."

Nabiki turned and saw an old man with a long white beard, carrying a large, cloth-wrapped box on his back, with a cloth flag reading, 'SWEETS' hanging above his shoulder.

"I have some cherry blossom mochi just right for a lovely young lady like yourself," the peddler continued. He pointed at her and added, "And I can see that you seem to be troubled by matters of the heart!"

"Not really," Nabiki lied, as she started to walk away.

"W-wait!" the man exclaimed, "Please, I have the answer to your problem."

Nabiki sighed and said, "I would like the mochi. I guess I can be polite and pretend to listen."

"The mochi I have is special. It shows you your fortune," the old man said.

"Mochi fortune telling?" Nabiki scoffed.

"It is true, honest!" the old man said, "Just have the man in question eat some cherry blossom mochi made by you, and if he should be the one destined for you, magically marks that look like cherry blossoms will appear on his forehead. Remember though, you have to make it yourself, with no help, or the magic will not work!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes, but handed him some of the money that Kasumi had given her, and received a box of ingredients.

* * *

Nabiki read the directions on the box carefully several times. Finally, she nodded and said, "This looks simple enough. First, I need to cook the sweet rice." She found the rice cooker and filled it with about half a liter of water. Then she added several drops of red food coloring to the water. Finally, she washed roughly the same amount of rice very well, and then added it to the rice cooker. She turned the rice cooker on to a low heat and waited for the rice to boil, and all of the water to cook out or be absorbed by the rice. Then, following the instructions, she covered the rice cooker for about five minutes. Once that time had elapsed she add some sugar to the rice and stirred it in. Then she poured the rice into a bowl and pounded on it for a while with a pestle. Finally, she formed the rice into several balls, placing red bean paste in the middle of the ball. As a crowning touch, she wrapped each ball in a sakura leaf, and placed them on a nice platter. She carried the platter into the family room, and then returned to the kitchen to retrieve the teapot and cups, and then went back into the family room, where magically it seemed, the extended family had already sensed that food had arrived, and they were anxiously sitting around the table. 

"I guess it's a little anticlimactic to say that the tea is ready?" Nabiki asked a bit sarcastically.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "At least Pop isn't here. If he had been, there wouldn't be anything but crumbs left."

"Well dig in," Nabiki said, "I made them myself. Just leave one for Souta so I can take it to him tomorrow."

Soun shuddered and exclaimed, "You made them? I thought Kasumi or Yumi made them."

"Daddy, I can cook a little, maybe not as well as Kasumi, but I was never as bad as Akane," Nabiki said.

"Cherry Blossom Mochi," Kasumi said, "I'm impressed. They can be hard to make."

"I've watched you make them a few times," Nabiki said, "And the instructions didn't look that hard." She looked slyly over at Akane, and added, a bit snarkily, "And I was able to follow them as well."

Akane flushed and growled, "So I tried too hard before. I got better."

Soun still looked uncertainly at the tray in front of him. "They don't look bad," he said, "And they smell pretty good." He made no move to pick up one of the mochis, though.

"Honestly, Daddy," Nabiki huffed, as she took one of the mochis and ate it. "Actually, it's not too bad," she added.

"Um, Nabiki, why is there a big, black X on your face?" Kasumi asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

'It worked, of course, there's no way I would be destinied to be with myself, so of course an X would appear,' Nabiki thought. "I don't know," she replied.

"Then I don't think anyone should eat these," Kasumi said, sternly, "There's something wrong with them."

"Fine, then," Nabiki spat, as she picked up the tray and took it back into the kitchen. She cleaned up the small mess she had made, placing the bowl in the sink for someone else to wash.

Ranma walked in after her, startling Nabiki. "Is that fortune-telling mochi?" he asked quietly, "The one that is supposed to show you your true love?"

Nabiki stared at him for a moment and then replied, "Yes, it is. How did you know about it?"

"Had something similar happen before," Ranma replied, "I don't know for sure if it really works or not, since there were odd things that happened." He picked up one of the rice balls and quickly devoured it.

"Well, at least it isn't you," Nabiki said, dryly, holding up a hand mirror to show Ranma the large black X that was on his face.

"Good, that would have made things a bit awkward," Ranma replied in the same tone. He walked over to the sink and scrubbed his forehead with a washcloth, and then repeated the gesture for Nabiki.

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained," Nabiki said, "I guess I'll take one to Souta at school tomorrow and see what happens."

"Good luck, sis," Ranma said, giving Nabiki a brief hug.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me," Nabiki said, as she wrapped one of the rice balls in a napkin and placed it in her bento for the morrow. Then she covered the box with another napkin and set them on the window sill.

* * *

Nabiki smiled happily as she waited by the gate to the school. Down the street and heading toward her was her boyfriend, a huge smile on his face, so big that she could see it a block away. She grinned then for a moment as he started running toward her, and she thought, 'What the hell? So what if it's a cliché? Thank you, Bronte sisters,' as she started running toward him. 

The young couple met halfway, and clutched each other. Finishing the cliché, Souta twirled her around in his arms, before kissing her soundly. Then he grinned at his girlfriend and asked, "Did you miss me?"

"Not really, it's only been a few hours," Nabiki replied with a smirk. She opened her bento, and handed him the wrapped sakura mochi. "Here, I made this for you," she said, a bit shyly.

"You can cook!" Souta exclaimed, "Then we really should get married!"

Nabiki blushed and said, "Not really. I can make a few things, but I'm not my sister Kasumi."

Souta took the napkin off the plate to reveal a cherry blossom rice cake. "Is this supposed to mean something?" he asked, as he picked up the rice cake and ate it in several large bites.

Nabiki frowned briefly. 'Nothing happened? No cherry blossoms, no X marks the spot, nothing!' she thought, as Souta looked at her a bit strangely.

"This is pretty good!" Souta exclaimed.

"Thanks," Nabiki said, as she thought in dismay, 'Does this mean he's not the one? Or is there something wrong with the mochi? Or was it all a lie?' She allowed Souta to take her by the arm, and lead her back to the school.

* * *

Souta glanced over at his girlfriend as she sat in class, her attention plainly not on what the teacher was saying. He had caught her staring at him, her bottom lip caught in her teeth, a habit that he had noticed she had developed whenever she was troubled about something. Glancing up at the clock, he sighed quietly, as it showed that the class was mercifully about to come to an end, and that it would be time for lunch. 'I'll take her up to the roof and find out what is troubling her,' he thought, and then he saw with dismay that the teacher had also noticed the Nabiki was kilometers away in some sort of brown study. 

"Miss Tendo," the teacher snapped, "Please stay after the bell."

Nabiki eyes grew cold as she stared impassively at the teacher, and then nodded her acquiescence, just as the bell rang.

Souta stood up, an uncertain look in his eyes, as Nabiki turned to him and said, "Wait for me in the hall. This won't take too long."

Souta nodded and followed the rest of the class out of the room, ensuring that he was the last one out, and closed the door behind him, while Nabiki walked to the front of the room.

"I'm sorry, sensei," Nabiki said, her voice cool, "I just had something on my mind. It won't happen again, I can assure you."

"Very well, Miss Tendo. You are one of my best students, so I will allow your inattentiveness to go unpunished this once," the teacher said. She frowned for a moment and then asked, "Would it be too presumptuous of me to ask what is troubling you?"

"Just normal teenage angst, sensei, that's all. I should have it worked out soon," Nabiki replied.

"Ah, boy trouble," the teacher said, "I'm surprised. You don't seem to be the type to let your emotions get the better of you. Very well, I won't keep you away from Mr. Higurashi. You may go."

"Thank you, sensei," Nabiki said, with a medium bow. She opened the door and walked out, to find Souta leaning against the opposite wall, his arms folded over his chest.

"You okay?" he asked, as she flowed into him, bringing his arms around her waist, as she rested her head against his chest.

"No, but I will be," Nabiki replied, her words muffled, "Just something on my mind."

"Would it help to talk about it?" Souta asked.

Nabiki pushed herself away and looked up at him, her face oddly vulnerable. "I don't know, maybe, no," she whispered, meekly.

"That was definitive," Souta said, with a grin.

"Shut it, you," Nabiki retorted, "Let's go find a place to sit and talk."

"The roof fine with you, or do you want to sit in the shade of one of the trees?" Souta asked, as he took her hand, and entwined his fingers with hers.

"Somewhere in the courtyard would be good," Nabiki said.

"Then, my lady, shall we be off?" Souta declaimed, in a deliberately over-the-top manner.

"Please don't start acting like Kuno!" Nabiki replied, giggling, as the couple headed down the hall towards the staircase.

"What do you mean? I don't think I could misquote Shakespeare if I tried, and I certainly don't prance around like he does," Souta said, pretending to be offended, and then laughing at the sound of his girlfriend's even more delightful giggle.

* * *

Nabiki knelt gracefully to the ground, and opened her bento, while Souta sank down in a lotus position and opened his. The two of them had found a shady spot secluded slightly from the rest of the students who were scattered around the courtyard. While it had been occupied by a young couple, they had vanished at a slight frown on Nabiki's face. 

"It's amazing to see the effect you have on some people," Souta said conversationally.

"The advantages of being the Ice Queen, I suppose," Nabiki replied with a shrug, "Most of the students don't really know me beyond the reputation I have."

"Their loss," Souta replied, seeing a smile appear on her face. "There, that's the girl that I care for," he said, "I knew she was in there somewhere."

Nabiki chuckled for a few moments and then grew serious. "I'm not sure how to say this, Souta," she began.

"Try starting at the beginning and ending when you're done," Souta suggested.

Taking a deep breath, which cause blood flow problems for Souta, Nabiki said, "I'm confused about my feelings, and it scares me. I feel out of control for some reason, and I don't like being like that."

"Now you're worrying me," Souta said, a frown appearing on his face.

"That was supposed to be a fortune-telling mochi that you ate," Nabiki said, "One that would tell me if you were destined to be with me. If you were, little cherry blossoms were supposed to appear on your face, and if you weren't, an X was supposed to show up. After you ate it, nothing happened."

"You actually believe that garbage?" Souta asked.

Nabiki said, a bit defensively, "I don't know what to believe anymore. I've seen so many odd things since Ranma moved in that are otherwise out of the ordinary."

"True, having him change into a girl would tend to make you believe that otherwise weird things could be true," Souta said thoughtfully.

"Oh, Ranma turning into a girl is the mildest thing that I have seen, or at least heard about," Nabiki said, "And the mochi did seem to work yesterday when Ranma ate it."

"So he's not your true love I suppose," Souta teased.

"No, thank all the gods," Nabiki said, with a laugh, "For starters, he's just too high maintenance for me, not to mention the whole Akane would kill me thing."

"I don't know what to tell you," Souta said, "but for what it's worth, Miyo couldn't tell my fortune either."

"Oh, so there may be something about you that doesn't let magic work," Nabiki said, "I wonder if that's because you come from a family of priests."

"Possibly," Souta replied.

"Then I guess I was worrying about nothing," Nabiki said.

Souta replied, "Perhaps. I still may not be the one, though."

Nabiki said, "Well, you'll do until he shows up, but you've set the bar pretty high."

* * *

The young man entered the Tendo compound, and headed around the house toward the dojo. As he did so, he passed by the kitchen and saw through the open window a plate of mochi. "Neat, snacks," he said, as he reached in and snatched one of the rice balls. "Cherry blossom mochi," he added, as he took a bite. His eyes widened with delight, and he quickly polished off the remnants. Dusting the crumbs off of his hands, he turned and headed up the path to the dojo, where everyone else was already busily working out. 

Ranma took a swig of water and then spat it out when Kumon sauntered into the dojo. On the boy's forehead were several little pink marks that looked suspiciously like cherry blossoms. 'HIM!' he thought.

Nabiki finished her stretches and turned as the light from the door was blocked by someone walking in. She frowned slightly when she realized that it was Kumon arriving for his lesson. Then her eyes widened as she saw the marks on his forehead.

"Hey Ryü, did you eat some of the rice balls?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, I had one," the other boy replied, a bit defensively, "Why, wasn't I supposed to? Was someone saving them for something?"

"NOOOOOOO!" Nabiki screamed as she ran out of the dojo, providing a fine example of Doppler shift as the sound got farther away.

"What got in to her?" Akane asked.

Ranma chuckled and said, "I think she may have found out something that she didn't want to find out. Maybe you should go calm her down before she hurts something."

Akane stared at her husband for a long moment, and then her eyes narrowed. 'He knows something that he's not telling,' she thought.

"Not my secret to tell," Ranma replied, surprising her with his insight into what she was thinking. She nodded and headed off after her sister, following the continuing scream.

"Did I do something to upset her?" Kumon asked, "Was she saving them for something?"

"They do mean something to her," Ranma said, "She made them for a special reason."

"Maybe I should go apologize to her," Ryü said, half-heartedly.

"NO, I think you may be the last person she wants to see right now," Ranma replied quickly.

* * *

Akane followed the sound of her sister's scream into the house and up the stairs. She heard a door open and close, and suddenly the sound was muffled. Quickly, she opened the door to her sister's room, and ran to where Nabiki was laying in her bed, crying. Her heart broke at the sound, and she pulled her sister up and into an intense hug, waiting for Nabiki to cry herself out. 

Nabiki pulled back a little and sobbed, "I sort of need my ribs in one piece, little sis."

Akane loosened her arms and asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"No, I don't think so," Nabiki replied, angrily dashing the tears from her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it? Why did Kumon eating one of the mochis cause this kind of a reaction?" Akane asked softly.

"Sure, I guess I can. Besides, it's not like Ranma won't tell you anyway," Nabiki said.

A little frisson of jealousy flared in Akane's heart, and she asked, "Why does he know?"

Nabiki sighed and said, "Because this happened already once for him, only the people involved have changed. I've been feeling a little insecure about my relationship with Souta. We sort of started dating without a lot of expectations that we would stay together forever, and then the thing with the cave shook me up a lot. I want so much to have what you have with Ranma, or what Kasumi has with Tofu. Hell, I'd even settle for something like what Daisuke and Yuka have. But I'm scared that Souta, as nice as he is, isn't what I want."

"Okay, I can understand all of that," Akane said, "But Ranma and I didn't just happen, we have to work on our relationship all the time to make it grow. It takes time, patience and understanding, and I had a hard time with the last two. You know how my temper can be, and without some of the centering exercises that Ranma taught me."

"Yeah, I can remember. Anyway, Kumon is making me a bit flustered, and I don't like that at all. Souta makes me feel safe, and I want that. But, I've been having these weird dreams since Kumon showed up. So, two days ago, when Kasumi asked me to find some snacks, I really wanted sakura mochi, but the sweet shop was closed. I ran into an old peddler, who had this magic sakura mochi mix that would show me who I was destined to be with. I gave one to Souta, and he ate it, but nothing happened. And then today, Kumon came in with those cherry blossom marks on his face. That means that he's the one," Nabiki said, "But I don't like him. He's rude, he's arrogant, he's a cultureless barbarian!"

"And he turns you on, too," Akane said.

"He does not turn me on," Nabiki spat.

Akane grinned and said, "I think you're protesting too much."

"I don't like him like that. It would be like you fancying Kuno," Nabiki said, heatedly.

"Sis, you have to admit he's nice looking. Not as good as Ranma, of course," Akane said, her eyes just a bit dreamy.

"Okay, maybe a little," Nabiki replied, "But Souta is more handsome."

"Yeah, but he's not got the body that either Ranma or Kumon have," Akane said.

"Doesn't matter about that. Kumon is a complete ass, he doesn't even have the charm that Kuno has," Nabiki spat venomously.

"Kuno has charm?" Akane asked in shock.

"Well, he does have one thing that is attractive to me," Nabiki confessed.

Akane grinned and asked, "Okay, give! What is that?"

"His bank account, of course," Nabiki replied.

"Okay, now that makes you sound pretty shallow, and I know you aren't," Akane said, "It almost makes you sound like the reason you don't want Kumon is because he is poor."

"I told you why already. He's full of himself, even more so than Kuno was on his worst day. I am not getting with that jerk and that's final," Nabiki said, as she turned her gaze up into the ceiling, "YOU HEAR ME, I'M NOT GOING WITH THAT JERK!"

"I don't think they quite heard you in the next ward," Akane said, "Now, are you ready to come back to training?"

"No, I think I will sit up here and sulk for a while," Nabiki replied, but then she smiled and said, "On second thought, go get changed. I'm in the mood for some ice cream; some chocolate fudge ripple is calling my name."

Akane grinned and said, "Okay, I'm up for that. Ranma will be annoyed that he doesn't get any though."

"Gee, that's too bad," Nabiki said, grinning back at her.

Akane got up from the bed and left the room.

* * *

Ranma tossed his pen down onto the desk with a sigh of relief. "Done!" he exclaimed. 

Akane glanced over as she finished her essay on the glories of a chalkboard eraser and chuckled. "Me, too," she said, and snuck a peek at the clock. "Is that really the time?" she asked.

"Fraid so," Ranma replied. He glanced down at the floor and asked, "What are we going to do about Sleeping Beauty here?"

Akane followed his gaze to see Sayuri sprawled out on the floor, a light snoring sound coming from where she was resting her head on her book. "I guess we really can't leave her there all night," she replied.

"I'll probably wake her up if I tried to carry her downstairs to her room," Ranma pointed out.

Akane sighed and said, "It would be a shame to wake her." She bit her lip indecisively and then added, "We'll just pretend it's a sleepover. Sorry about this." She took her glass of ice water and poured it over her husband.

"Why'd you go and do that for?" Ranma asked, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Because, it's one thing for three girls to share the same bed, but I'll be damned if I let you share a bed with her as a guy," Akane said, her voice low, but still heated, as her cheeks flushed red.

Ranma sighed, and said, "Not that I would do anything anyway, you know that."

"I was thinking more along the lines of how Sayuri would react if she was in bed with you," Akane said.

"Us, you mean," Ranma replied, as she peeled off her wet shirt. She stood from her chair, and then knelt down, sliding her arms slowly under Sayuri, and then slowly stood back up and motioned toward the bed.

Akane walked over to the bed, and pulled down the covers, allowing Ranma to place Sayuri onto the bed.

"She'll probably sleep better if you take some of her clothing off," Ranma said, as she headed toward her dresser.

Akane frowned slightly but realized that Ranma was right. "Don't you look," she said.

"Dear, I know what she looks like, but I won't look," Ranma said with a sigh.

Akane quickly took Sayuri's shorts off. Then she looked closer and realized that there was only Sayuri under her t-shirt.

"Is it safe yet?" Ranma asked, a note of amusement in her voice, as she pulled on a t-shirt to sleep in.

"Sure," Akane replied, as she walked over to change her clothing.

"Is Nabiki okay, now?" Ranma asked, quietly.

"I'm not sure," Akane replied, "She was pretty shaken up." She finished unbuttoning her blouse, and tossed it in the general direction of the hamper.

"Will it cause any problems tomorrow?" Ranma asked.

Akane shrugged, watching with amusement as Ranma followed the movement of her unclad breasts. "I honestly don't know," she replied, a grin on her face, as she added, "Like what you see?" She slid her shorts down, and sauntered over toward her wife.

"Acchan, you know I do," Ranma moaned, "But there's not much we can do about it, not with Sayuri asleep in our bed."

"True, but I do enjoy teasing you," Akane said, huskily, as she reached over and pulled Ranma into a kiss.

Reluctantly, Ranma pulled away, and said, "We really shouldn't start something we can't finish. And I still need to talk about our big sister a bit more."

Akane pouted prettily, and said, "She doesn't want to think about being with Kumon. She doesn't much care for him, so she's in a state of shock that the mochi showed that he is supposed to be the man she falls for."

"So what's she going to do about it?" Ranma asked.

Akane frowned and said, "Probably pretend that she didn't see what was on Kumon's forehead. And I bet she wants us to not let anyone know what it is supposed to mean."

"That works for me," Ranma said, "I've never been a real big fan of that kind of magic anyway. I had enough close shaves with that kind of thing before." She headed over to the bed, and then blushed. "Maybe you should be in the middle, with me on the other side," she suggested.

Akane giggled and said, "That sounds like a good idea. That way when your hands start wandering, I'll be the lucky victim." She pulled a t-shirt on over her head, walked over, and edged onto the bed, lying on her side facing where Ranma would be.

Ranma quickly turned off the lights, and crawled in bed next to her wife.

* * *

Sayura slowly roused from a peaceful night's sleep, feeling just a bit disoriented, as there seemed to be something odd about her bed. Her pillow was oddly warm, for one thing. As she slowly opened her eyes, she realized that her head was resting on her best friend's chest. A look of panic appeared on her face, as she thought, 'What am I doing in their bed!' She heard a girl giggling and turned to see a wide-eyed Akane staring at her, with Ranma hiding her mouth behind her hand and giggling at her. 

Akane grinned and said, "When you fell asleep doing your homework we didn't have the heart to wake you up. So Ranma put you in our bed."

"The expression on your face was priceless," Ranma said, as she sat further up in the bed.

Sayuri sat up, and fell out of bed, landing with a loud THUMP.

"Are you okay?" Akane asked.

"Yes, just embarrassed," Sayuri replied, ruefully, as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Embarrassed about falling out of bed, or being in bed with us?" Akane teased.

Sayuri smirked wickedly and replied, "No, I don't think I would ever be embarrassed by sharing a bed with you and Ranma. Though, I would have liked it better if I had been awake for part of the time, and he was male."

"Tsk, tsk, Sayuri, you know I don't share," Akane said, knowing that she was being teased.

"Not even with your bestest friend in the whole wide world?" Sayuri asked with a pout.

"Nope, not even with Yuka," Akane retorted, with a wicked grin on her face.

Sayuri clutched her chest as if in pain. "Would you like to twist the knife a bit more, or just pull it out quickly?" she asked. Then she spoiled the effect by giggling, which set both Ranma and Akane off chortling as well. Wiping the tears of laughter from her face, she headed toward the door, saying, "I'd better get out of here before Nabiki wakes up. She'll think we're having one of those, what do they call it, oh yeah, ménage a trois, or something like that." She opened the door, and vanished down the hall.

* * *

Yumi looked askance as her daughter entered the family room and knelt next to her at the table. "Where were you last night?" she hissed. 

Sayuri blushed heavily and replied, quietly, "I fell asleep in Ranma and Akane's room and they had me spend the night in their bed. It was just like a sleepover, just us girls." She grinned at her mother and said, "Besides, you were awfully cozy with Tendo-san last night. I'm surprised you even noticed that I wasn't in the room with you."

"Daughter!" Yumi said, heatedly, as two spots of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"Mom, don't even go there. I know you want him, and to be honest, I think you are silly for waiting," Sayuri said, glad that for the moment they were the only ones in the room.

"It wouldn't be proper," Yumi said, blushing heavily.

"Oh for pity's sake, it's not like you are a blushing virgin. Kami knows I'm proof of that. No one will condemn you if you decide to, um, trip him and beat him to the floor," Sayuri said, her blush matching her mother's.

Yumi swallowed heavily and said, "It has been hard."

Sayuri giggled and said, "I'm sure it has been. I've seen the way he looks at you, and then adjusts his clothing."

Yumi swatted her daughter and said, with a laugh, "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Or should I ask about your sex life, young lady?"

"Hiroshi respects my limits. I full well intend to be a virgin on my wedding night, and he is fine with that," Sayuri said primly, "Or at least he says he is, which amounts to almost the same thing."

"Then I raised you better than I realized," Yumi said. The room started filling up with people, as Ranma, Akane and Kasumi brought in breakfast, while the rest of the family joined them around the table.

* * *

Ranma elbowed his wife and when she turned to look at him, he pointed his chin at Nabiki. The poor girl had obviously had a rough night, at least judging from the bags under her eyes. 

Akane rolled her eyes and nodded, knowing that her husband wanted her to talk once more with her sister. Unfortunately for their plans, Soun had noticed his daughter's condition.

"Nabiki, you look like you haven't slept for a week," Soun said.

"Just a lousy night for some reason," Nabiki replied.

Hinako leaned against her and asked, "Can I help?"

"Yeah, maybe. It's funny, I spent most of my life sleeping by myself, but I've gotten used to sharing my bed with you," Nabiki replied, "I don't know why it happened so quickly."

"Why was it a lousy night?" the younger girl asked.

"Just had a hard time getting to sleep, my mind was whirling too much, and then when I finally managed to nod off, I started having some sort of nightmare about something I can't quite remember," Nabiki replied.

"I can stay with you tonight, if you think it would help," Hinako offered.

"I'd like that," Nabiki replied, "Having you there would help."

"Then it's settled," Hinako said.

"I think it was because you missed the training session yesterday," Ranma said, with a grin, "You've gotten used to working off some of your nervous energy, and since you didn't work out much, your body wasn't ready to go to sleep."

Nabiki frowned in concentration as Akane chimed in. "He's got a good point. I know I always have a hard time sleeping if I haven't spent time exercising," she added.

"Hm, you do make a good case," Soun said, "I'm sure that's all there was to it."

"Perhaps you're right," Nabiki said, "I know I'm usually exhausted by the time we finish, especially once I get a chance to soak in the furo afterwards." 'No way am I going to tell everyone it was because I was thinking about that jerk,' she thought.

Ranma and Akane shared knowing looks, though they were glad that they had diverted Soun's attention.

* * *

Author's Notes: Finally, another installment in this story. I apologize for the slight delay in posting this chapter, but real life unfortunately (or fortunately as the case may be) had reared its head. My wife (who is also my beta reader) and I are beginning the process to build a new house, and as one can imagine the small bit of spare time that I had is now consumed with the details needed for that. For those that are still interested, I have got partway through the next chapter of Different Path, so that also took some time away from this story. Please, read, and hopefully enjoy, Gentle Readers, this chapter. As always, I look forward to any review or constructive criticisms that you wish to send my way. 


	70. Nabiki's Feelings

Chapter 70 Nabiki's Feelings

Nabiki stood looking indecisively at her closet as she stared at her school uniforms. 'What's with you girl?' she thought, 'they are all the same. Just pick one for crying out loud!'

Akane slipped into the room, and walked quickly over to her sister and pulled her into a tight hug. "Hey, it can't be that bad," she crooned.

"I can't be with that jerk, Akane, I'd kill him in a week if we got together. We have nothing in common, he's a musclebound meathead, who wouldn't know literature, or arts, or economics, or science, if his life depended on it," Nabiki hissed.

"So maybe that mochi meant nothing. Did you ever think that?" Akane asked, "Are you going to live your life believing in that kind of crap?"

"But that old man was so convincing!" Nabiki cried.

"And you're the logical one of the bunch," Akane scoffed.

"But, how many weird things have we seen over that last year? I mean you are married to Ranma and he turns into a girl. Mousse turns into a duck, and Taro turns into whatever the hell he turns into," Nabiki said, "How can I not believe that there is more than what our philosophy explains?"

"Follow what is in your heart, sis," Akane replied, "You know better than this. Now get dressed, I don't want you skipping another day of class. Well, unless it's in a good cause, like running off with Souta, or something."

Nabiki chuckled and kissed her sister's cheek, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by either girl, both of whose eyes were suspiciously damp. "Sure sis, thanks for caring so much," she said.

* * *

Nabiki drifted slowly toward the main gate of the school, her mood pensive, as she walked, images flashing in her mind's eye. Her feelings for Souta, the undeniable forbidden attraction she felt for Kumon, the reaction of the mochi, all churned in her mind, until she wished to scream to the heavens.

Like a balm from Gilead, Souta was standing by the gate, waiting for her arrival as always. He hugged her briefly, and then placed a light kiss on her lips, somehow sensing her mood. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

Returning his hug, Nabiki frowned slightly. "I will be, just a lot on my mind right now," she replied, "I'm not quite ready to talk about it though."

"That's fine, just know that I'm there for you when you are ready," Souta said. They separated, and started walking toward the school building, as Nabiki began to relax in his pleasant company, and her previous dark mood began to disappear.

'He's such a nice guy,' Nabiki thought, a faint smile on her lips, 'I'm not sure I deserve him, especially with those cherry blossoms appearing on Kumon's face. What does that mean? I'm so confused.'

"You're still thinking about whatever it is that is bothering you, aren't you?" Souta asked, plaintively, "What can I do to get you to stop worrying about it?"

Nabiki sighed and replied, a bit resignedly, "Just being you is pretty much enough. We'll talk more at lunch, okay?"

"Sure, you know me, always ready to help a damsel in distress," Souta replied, lightly, causing Nabiki to grin crookedly at him, as she wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned against his shoulder.

* * *

Kodachi watched as her brother sat down across the courtyard. Akari quickly joined him, kneeling as a proper lady should, and began to lay out a rather extensive lunch from the large wicker picnic basket that her pig had been carrying on his back. The aforementioned porcine monster stood guard, his dark little eyes gazing suspiciously around at the horde of students who were basking in the glorious sunlit day. A smile appeared on the gymnast's face, and she said, "I hate to admit it, but my brother has indeed surprised me."

"Oh, in what way?" Mousse asked.

"Akari," Kodachi replied as if that explained everything and after a moment, Mousse nodded his head as if it indeed did. "Now that one, I am feeling sorry for," she continued as she spotted Nabiki walking out of the main door, with Souta dancing attendance on her.

"Nabiki?" Sayuri asked, "Because of yesterday you mean?"

"That was a pretty over the top reaction to the mochi," Kodachi said, "It was almost as if it meant something other than that Kumon had eaten one."

"Just let it go for now," Ranma said, a note of warning in his voice, "And for her sake, don't say anything about it."

Kodachi looked at him appraisingly and then nodded in acceptance. "As you wish, Ranma-sama, but it looks like it may be a moot point. It appears that we will not be blessed with their company today."

Ranma and Akane traded worried looks, and then shrugged their shoulders, as each one realized that whatever was going on was out of their hands, and both of them hoping that Nabiki didn't say anything to damage the still fragile relationship that she had with Souta.

* * *

Souta gazed warily at Nabiki as she knelt down next to him. The two of them quietly opened their bento boxes and began to eat their lunch, with Nabiki refusing to look at him. Finally he sighed, and asked, "Are you unhappy with me for some reason?"

Nabiki almost wept at the note of pain in her boyfriend's voice and not trusting her voice, she merely shook her head, while she attempted to regain her composure. Finally, she spoke almost inaudibly, "NO, it is anything but that, Souta. It's just that something happened and I don't know how to go about telling you."

"It's probably best if you start at the beginning," Souta suggested.

"Well, this is difficult," Nabiki began.

Souta reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand. Nabiki leaned into it, as he said, "So long as you aren't breaking up with me, I can probably handle anything that you throw at me."

Nabiki once more nearly wept at the note of worry in his voice and hastened to say, "No, that's not something that I want to do." She looked scared, as she added softly, "Though you may want to once I've finished."

"Now I'm really getting worried. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?" Souta asked.

"Remember the mochi? Well, one of Ranma's students, Ryü Kumon, ate one of them, and those damn blossoms appeared on his forehead," Nabiki replied.

"Do you like him?" Souta asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Nabiki replied, not meeting his eyes, "No, he's a big jerk, full of himself, he's arrogant, a musclebound meathead, with no redeeming qualities."

"So you do like him," Souta said in resignation.

"No, not really," Nabiki sighed, "There's some sort of physical attraction that I don't really understand since he's not that handsome compared to you, but all we do is argue. We have nothing in common, not like you and me."

"If you want to be with him, then I'll step aside," Souta said, sadly, "After all, I'm used to it. I never can seem to keep the girl." He began to stand up, only to have Nabiki grab his arm and force him back down.

"Don't you go all noble on me, Souta Higarushi. I want to be with you," Nabiki growled. She crushed her lips on his, and kissed him hard. "I don't really give a damn about those stupid cherry blossom mochi," she growled once they broke apart for air.

"Is that everything that is bothering you?" Souta asked.

"Yes, that was it. I care so much about you, and I feel so good when I'm with you, and I don't want to lose you, but I had a real rough night thinking about all sorts of things, and it scared me. I wasn't sure how you would take the cherry blossom thing," Nabiki replied.

"I think you're making entirely too much out of it, myself," Souta said, with a relieved smile, "Do you even know who sold you the ingredients for the mochi? How do you know that it is even anything resembling magic? You're usually so logical about things, I'm surprised you even bought the stuff."

Nabiki blushed and said, "I was looking for a little reassurance about us, I guess, and wasn't thinking it through."

"You don't need any reassurance, Nabiki, whether we stay together as a couple or not, you're my friend first and foremost, and we'll always have that to fall back on," Souta said.

Nabiki glanced around to see if anyone was looking, and reached over and kissed him, with her tongue begging for entrance. They sat there blissfully, until the bell rang, waking them from their private explorations, leaving them both breathing hard, and very flushed.

* * *

Nabiki reluctantly parted from Souta, as Akane and Ranma walked past heading home, both of them giving out wolf-whistles. Nabiki rolled her eyes at their antics, and said, "Hey, I definitely remember the two of you doing this."

"Yes, but public displays of affection from you? Nabiki, the Ice Queen of Furinkan High School! Is the world coming to an end?" Ranma asked, laughing, as Nabiki scowled at him.

"Just you wait, Saotome," Nabiki growled, "I'll get you for that comment."

"Ah, just go back to kissing your boyfriend, that way you'll be in a good mood during training," he shot back.

Nabiki grinned and asked, "Is that an order, sensei?"

"Yes, I think it is. I want you to practice Anything Goes Kissing Techniques, and I think Souta wouldn't mind being your partner," Ranma replied, with a grin.

"I don't know, Ranma, will it hurt me?" Souta asked, barely keeping from laughing out loud.

"Oh, if she does it right, I expect to see a few bruises," Ranma smirked back.

"Actually, I believe those are technically called 'hickeys,' at least that's what I remember," Akane added.

"Hmm, maybe we should practice some of that," Ranma said waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Well, teachers should always know the technique before they teach it. Otherwise, how can you give a decent critique of the results unless you know how to do it," Akane said, with a cheeky grin.

"Truer words were never spoken, Akane. Race you home," Ranma said, as he began to jog rapidly down the street, with Akane close behind.

"I do have to get home," Nabiki began, "But since my sensei told me to learn this technique, I suppose I can take a little time. I just won't do some of the rest of the training."

"In that case, let's find a bit more privacy. After all, we wouldn't want your school's secret techniques to get out," Souta said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Nabiki grinned as they walked off down the street to find a good spot to hide.

* * *

Kumon began his kata, moving smoothly from one stance to the next, blocking imaginary attacks, and moving into an offensive position. But for whatever reason, he could feel his concentration waver, and his movements were just that little touch off, a finger jab just a hair too far, or a blocking forearm just that little bit out of position. Finally, he stopped in disgust at himself, and sank down into a lotus position to meditate and regain his center.

The others in the dojo continued on their various routines, as the girls, except for the absent Nabiki, worked with Soun, while Ranma watched Mousse and Akane spar. Pairing them up had turned into a serendipitous stroke of near genius, as Akane was forced into a state of constant vigilance as she never could tell where one of Mousse's attacks would come from, and Mousse was able to take Akane's strikes without too much trouble. So it was turning into a win-win situation in that Akane was learning to move even more quickly than before, while the sledgehammer like blows he was receiving were toughening Mousse up. A smirk crossed Ranma's face as he also realized that he was winning too, since he got to massage Akane after the training was over, and she was very grateful, and then he grinned even larger as he recognized the lustful look that Kodachi was sending her husband's way, and knew that Mousse was also getting that sort of attention.

The door to the dojo slid open, and Nabiki rushed in, her lips puffy, and a small bruise peeking out from under the collar of her blouse. She unbuttoned her blouse, and tossed it to oneside, leaving her clad in a sports bra and her shorts, and also revealing more than one "love bite" on her neck. "Sorry I'm late, sensei," she purred, "But you did want me to do a thorough job on that other task you set me on didn't you?"

Kumon's eyes jerked open at the sound of Nabiki's voice, and then they narrowed at the evidence that she had been making out with that poor excuse for a boyfriend she had.

"Of course, big sis," Ranma replied, with a grin, "I wouldn't want you to shirk on your training after all. Why don't you join Soun and work on that kata?"

Kumon shucked off his shirt, and walked over to a pile of cinderblocks, and began stacking them in several stacks of about ten blocks each. He glared once in Nabiki's direction and then regained his calm, and proceded to turn each stack into a pile of rubble.

Nabiki glanced over once at Kumon, and licked her suddenly dry lips as she took in his rippling muscles and taut stomach, and then deliberately turned her back on him, as she lightly ran her finger across her lips remembering the feel of Souta's lips on hers.

* * *

Yumi called from the kitchen, where she, Hinako and Sayuri had escaped to roughly thirty minutes before, "Dinner will be ready in about an hour, Ranma."

"Okay, you heard Yumi. That gives us just enough time to get cleaned up. Good session, I've seen a lot of improvement in all of you," Ranma said, helping Akane to her feet.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Ranma-sama," Kodachi said, as she wrapped one arm around her husband and helped him toward the door.

"Good sparring with you, Akane-san," Mousse said, wincing with pain, "Be careful, Dachi, I think she bruised my ribs pretty good on that side."

"I had fun too, Mousse," Akane said, as she avoided putting any weight on her right foot. "I think it's twisted, Ranma," she said softly.

"Here, let me take a look at it," Ranma said, as he knelt down and felt her ankle. "No swelling at least," he added as he pulled an elastic wrap from his pocket and wrapped her ankle securely. "That should hold it for now, but you should stay off it as much as you can," he said, when he finished.

Nabiki exited the dojo quickly, after she picked up her blouse, and headed toward the house, only to be intercepted by a streaking Kumon.

"Soun, what do you think?" Ranma asked.

"About the training?" Soun asked, and then continued at the nod he received, "Well, Yumi is just joining in to spend time with me, so she really doesn't count. Nabiki has remembered most of what I taught her, and is getting pretty good at it, but I don't think she wants to really get to the next level, which is fine. I think she just wanted the company and the exercise. Sayuri has been a surprise. She is picking up the basics very well, and I think we should teach her more of the family techniques. Kodachi is no surprise. She is quite skilled with her gymnastic techniques, and is learning what I have been willing to show very quickly. It might be interesting to match her with Mousse to see how the two of them would fare against each other. Hinako is also a treat, she is behind the others but only because of her youth."

"I think that is a fair assessment of their skills," Akane said, quietly.

Their conversation however was soon interrupted by the sound of a mallet hitting Kumon's head, as Nabiki spat, "Whom I date is none of your damned business. And whom I let kiss me is really none of your damned business. Now stay the hell away from me, you arrogant ass who thinks he is the gods' gift to women. I'd tell you that Souta is ten times the man you are, but since you are a zero, that wouldn't be fair to him." She stormed off into the house, muttering imprecations under her breath as she did so.

The three teachers walked out and stood on the low platform surrounding the dojo, almost identical looks of amusement on their faces. "I guess I'll go see if I can cool Nabiki off," Akane said, a little uncertainly, "I don't think I have ever seen her lose control. And I've never seen her use a mallet." She headed into the house to find her sister.

"That is not the Nabiki I know," Ranma said, in amazement, "That is so unlike her. Looks like Kumon is pushing all of the wrong buttons."

"My daughter does have a temper, not quite as bad as Akane's is or perhaps was," Soun said, "But she learned to keep it tightly reined. She taught herself, instead of you helping Akane learn to control hers. The two of you have managed to learn to control your tempers and not let it control you. Speaking of the two of you, I have taught you both all of the Tendo techniques."

"Yes, and I thank you for allowing me to learn them," Ranma said, seriously, as he watched Kumon head around the side of the house to leave.

"It is only fitting for the Grandmaster of the school to know those teachings," Soun replied, "It is also time for me to step down as master of the Tendo School, now that Akane knows those secrets. She has proven herself to my satisfaction."

"Are you sure you're ready to step down?" Ranma asked.

Soun grinned and replied, "Yes, son, it is time. She is actually better than I am, and it is time for the school to be passed down to your generation. Before you ask, yes, I will continue to help out with the teaching. I have regained the love of teaching that I lost so many years before."

* * *

Souta trudged through the door of his home, and wearily took his shoes off, setting them on the mat by the door. "I'm home," he called, and headed for the stairs. As he climbed them, his sister waited for him at the top.

"Hi Souta, did you have a good day at school?" Kagome asked, brightly.

"It had its moments," Souta replied as he brushed past her to head to his room.

Kagome bit her lip in indecision as she reached her left hand out and grabbed her brother's arm. "Souta, what happened?" she asked, only to be ignored as he stared at the rings on her finger.

With a genuine smile on his face, he turned to her and said, "Finally decided to come out into the open, I see. How did Mom take the news?"

"Well at first she was a little mad that we got married back in the Feudal era, and then hid it from her for so long. I honestly don't know why we never told anyone when we did it, and then it was just easier to keep it a secret. But once she got over being hurt, she was pretty happy about it," Kagome replied. Then what he said registered, and she asked, "Did you already know?"

"I sort of guessed, and I saw the rings once when you bent over and the chain fell out from your blouse. You tucked them back in pretty quickly, but it wasn't quick enough," Souta replied.

"How do you feel about it?" she asked.

"Well, you know what I think about InuYasha, though I'm pretty much over my hero-worshipping stage, and I know how much he cares about you. So I'm cool with it. Would have liked to have been at the wedding, just to watch him sweat, but other than that, no problem," Souta replied. His smile disappeared as if it had never been there, as he turned to leave, only to feel her hand tighten on his arm.

"You never answered me about what happened at school. When you came in, you looked pretty upset," Kagome said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. My love life sucks, that's all," Souta said.

"I thought you and Nabiki were doing well together. Did you two break up?" Kagome asked.

"I thought we were too. But, no we're still together, though I don't know for how much longer," he replied bitterly

"I still don't understand. You're at least an hour late getting home from school, and your face is a bit flushed. And if I'm not mistaken, I think I see a hickey peeking out from under your collar, so it's obvious the two of you were making out somewhere," Kagome said, her face puzzled, "So why do you think it's falling apart?"

"I was okay until I started home, and got to thinking about it on the train," Souta said, sadly, "I realized that there was something odd about the way Nabiki was kissing me, like she doing it in desperation, trying to hang on to something that she felt was slipping away." He shook her hand off and entered his room, closing the door behind him.

"Oh Souta," Kagome said, softly, "I so hope you are reading too much into that and are wrong. I don't want to see your heart broken once more."

* * *

Souta lay on his bed, staring sightlessly up at the ceiling, thinking about the day that he had gone through. Even though they had spent quite an enjoyable time making out under the bridge, Souta couldn't shake off the sense of impending doom that he was feeling. Once again, he felt the familiar pain of loss, since he was almost convinced that the two of them were going to break up. How many times had he received the 'let's just be friends' speech, and how many times had he spoken the exact same words. As the thoughts and emotions whirled in his mind, he almost didn't hear the knock on his door.

"Hey, Souta, you in there?" InuYasha called.

Souta sighed and called out, "Yeah, I'm in here, come on in."

The door opened and InuYasha strode in, dressed in jeans, and a pullover.

"Congratulations, InuYasha, I'm glad someone's love life is working out. Though if you hurt my sister," Souta said.

"Hey, I'll never hurt her, you know that," InuYasha said. He shuffled his bare feet for a moment, his nails scraping on the wooden floor, and then said, "I'm still not too good at this, but Kagome sent me in here to talk to you, you know guy stuff."

"I don't really want to talk about it," Souta said.

"Didn't imagine you did. No guy really likes to talk about the touchy-feely stuff. Getting in touch with our emotions. Feh! But Kagome sent me in here, and I ain't gonna tell her that I didn't talk to you. She'd sit me for sure. I know I ain't the world's best person to ask for advice about love. I mean, look how long it took me to admit to myself that I was in love with your sister. But, the way I see it, you can talk to me, or you can talk to your grandfather, your choice," InuYasha said.

Souta shuddered at that thought, and said, "Okay, given those two choices, you are certainly the lesser of two evils. I don't think I could handle any of his platitudes right now."

InuYasha sank down on his haunches and said, "Kagome said that you're worried that you might be breaking up with Nabiki. Why do ya think that?"

"There's this guy at the dojo, a new student of Ranma's named Ryü Kumon. Anyway, she's sort of attracted to him, I guess physically. She told me that today," Souta replied.

"What are your feelings toward Nabiki? I know you like her," InuYasha asked.

Souta turned his head away, and replied, "Why should that matter? I'm just going to get my heart broken, again." He said the last word, bitterly.

"Of course it matters," InuYasha said, simply, "Or are you simply afraid to admit it to yourself."

Souta sat up in his bed, glaring at the hanyou, and spat, "I'm not afraid."

"Oh?" InuYasha asked.

"Fine," Souta cried, "I think I'm in love with her, damn it to hell!"

"Then what are you going to do about it?" InuYasha asked, "Have you told her?"

"It's not that easy," Souta replied.

InuYasha grinned and said, "Of course not. If it were, it wouldn't be worth it. And how does she feel about you?"

Souta shrugged and said, "She says she doesn't want to break up. That we have a lot of things in common, things that she treasures. So I guess she likes me, at least enough to kiss me."

InuYasha asked, "Then what are you so worried about. If she says she wants to be with you, why are you looking like you've lost her?"

Souta mumbled something, but the hanyou's sharp ears heard him.

"What about magic mochi?" InuYasha asked.

"He ate some magic mochi that says they are supposed to be together," Souta growled.

InuYasha growled back at him, "And you believe that?"

"I try not to, but what if it's telling the truth?" Souta asked.

"What if it's not?" InuYasha growled back, "Are you going to just let her slip away? Or are you going to be a man and fight for her?"

"But what can I do? I can't fight fate!" Souta asked in despair.

"Show her how much she means to you, tell her you love her, hell, you're more of an expert on dating than I am," InuYasha replied, somewhat exasperated, "And what do you have to lose anyway?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess you're right," Souta said with a rusty chuckle, "I don't have much to lose."

* * *

Akane chuckled to herself as she hobbled to her sister's room; the sound of Nabiki's cursing coming through the door was hilarious, especially coming from the normally cool and collected young woman. She pushed the door open. "You kiss Souta with that mouth?" she teased as she leaned against the wall, taking weight off of her ankle.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Nabiki retorted, a wry smile on her lips, "Not that it is any real business of yours, Mrs. Saotome."

"So what was that all about outside with Kumon?" Akane asked.

"Him being a jerk as usual," Nabiki replied, "Thinks he's something special because he's a martial artist, I guess, thinks that any girl would be lucky to be with him!" She paused to get herself back under control. "No way am I going to fall for that arrogant airhead, no way," she growled, "I don't care how nice his abs look, or that he has an arse to die for!"

"Good for you!" Akane exclaimed, "I like Souta. He's a real nice guy, and after the way he's been bounced around, it's time he ended up with someone."

"And he's not a bad kisser," Nabiki said with a titter, "But then you'd know about that."

"Me?" Akane asked, "We only stage-kissed, you know with a gap between our lips when we were rehearsing." She grinned, and added, "I think he was afraid of Ranma or something. Pity that, Ranma is the only boy I've ever kissed, so I have no way of comparing how good he is."

"Tell you what, sis," Nabiki said, "I'll kiss Ranma and then I can tell you who does a better job."

"Thanks for the offer, but keep your lips to yourself. His belong to me," Akane retorted, knowing Nabiki was just trying to get a rise out of her.

"Possessive, aren't you?" Nabiki teased.

"Damn straight I am," Akane said, grinning at her sister, glad that she had managed to jolly the older girl out of her blue mood. She added, "You kiss your boyfriend, and leave my husband out of it. And from the way you looked when you got home, Souta does a bang up job of kissing you."

"Blows my socks off, that he does," Nabiki replied, her eyes slightly unfocused, then she giggled.

"Now that my job of cheering you up is done, why don't you help me downstairs, and we can wash up," Akane suggested.

"Sure sis," Nabiki said. She stood up and then hugged her sister. "Thanks, Akane, you are the best."

* * *

Soun bowed his head for a moment as his family gathered around waiting for dinner. He then raised his head and glanced over at Ranma, who nodded. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and said, "If I could have your attention for a moment, I have an announcement to make."

Everyone quieted down, all of them with the exception of Ranma looking a bit perplexed.

Soun stood straight up, his face an impassive mask, as he said, "After much consideration, and consultation with the grandmaster of this school, I have come to a conclusion that I wish to share with you. I started the Tendo branch of this school, partially in an attempt to redeem myself after following the teachings of the perverted Happosai, and partially to develop some of the ideas that I had come up with. But, I lost most of my desire after the death of my wife. These past several months have awakened that desire, but also have driven home the fact that I no longer merit the title of master of this school. Therefore, Master Saotome, do I have your permission to step down in favor of my successor?"

Ranma inclined his head in a nod, and watched as Akane gasped when her father bowed to her.

"Akane Saotome, it is my duty and pleasure to name you as the new master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Soun said once he straightened up.

Akane stood up and bowed to her father and then to Ranma, and then said, "Thank you father, Master. I will do my best to bring honour to our school."

Soun said, "I know you will, my daughter."

"I have every confidence in you, and Akane, that's the last time you call me Master," Ranma said, softly.

"I think this calls for a little celebration," Soun said.

"I agree Daddy," Kasumi said, as she brought out a bottle of wine, and glasses for everyone.

* * *

Ukyo sighed with relief as she watched the last customer walk out the door that was being held open by Konatsu. He walked outside for a moment, and then returned with her banner, which he furled and leaned it against the wall. Then he locked the door.

Konatsu grinned at his wife and asked, "You look tired. Why don't you go soak in the tub while I finish cleaning up?"

"Are you sure?" Ukyo asked, glancing around the room.

"Yes, I just need to sweep and mop in here, and then finish up the last of the dishes," Konatsu replied.

"Okay, I'll take you up on that," Ukyo said, "Just let me put the sauces and the batter away in the back."

"If you're good, I'll massage your back," Konatsu offered. He started turning the chairs over and placing them on the tables, so they would be out of the way while he swept and mopped.

Ukyo looked at him fondly, and then did as she had said, taking the cans of sauce back into the storeroom, after making sure the lids were on tight. Then she returned to gather up the cans of batter to place them in the refrigerator, glad that Konatsu had suggested that the fresh ingredients always be stored in the back, and only brought to the grill once an order was placed. It certainly made things easier to clean up at night. She stopped at the door to the main room, watching Konatsu work, gliding effortlessly around the room, cleaning with a beatific smile on his face.

"Don't take too long, sugar," Ukyo said, "I'd like a little us time tonight."

"I'll be up in time to scrub your front," Konatsu replied.

"I think you meant my back," Ukyo retorted.

"Oh, I'll do that, too," Konatsu said, without missing a beat, as Ukyo blew him a kiss and disappeared behind the curtain hiding the stairs. He gazed after her for a moment, a fond smile on his face, and then got back to work, with an added incentive to finish quickly. Using the ninja skills from his training as a kunoichi, he was soon done with the main room, leaving only the small amount of dishes to be cleaned back in the preparation kitchen.

* * *

Souta waited at the school gate, his hands behind his back, watching with anticipation for the arrival of his girlfriend. He grinned, as she appeared jogging lightly on the top of the fence with Ranma and Akane, with Sayuri running on the ground next to them. His grin grew even bigger as he watched her eyes light up when she saw him waiting for her, and with a glad cry she jumped to the ground and rushed over to him, flinging her arms around him in a crushing hug. He brought one arm around and pulled her to him, leaving the other arm still hiding.

"Missed you," Nabiki said, her eyes searching his for something, something she wasn't really sure of.

Souta chuckled, the rumbling in his chest making her feel strangely warm. "I missed you, as well, after all, it's been what almost ten hours since I saw you last," he finished. He turned bashful, and said, "I got you something."

"A present? For moi?" Nabiki said.

Souta brought his arm out and held out a small box of chocolates. "Here, these are for you," he said, his eyes uncertain, "I made them myself. Well, Mom helped."

"Oh," Nabiki said, a catch in her throat, "Oh." Words failed and she teared up a little. Finally, she gave up trying to tell him what it meant to her and showed him instead as she leaned in for a kiss that curled Ranma, Akane and Sayuri's toes.

"Whoa," Akane said, as she fanned herself.

"You said it, sis," Sayuri breathed, "I, um, well, I think I need to find Hiroshi."

"Are you sure we need to go to class, Akane?" Ranma asked, as he swept her into his arms, her back against his chest.

"Didn't you already get enough this morning, Ranma?" Akane asked, with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm a teenager with stamina, what can I say?" Ranma shot back, with a grin.

"Yeah, isn't martial arts great?" Akane said, as the young couple left Nabiki and Souta kissing by the gate. As she walked by, she said, "Get a room you two," to the oblivious couple.

* * *

Akane watched silently for a few minutes, her teeth worrying her bottom lip, as once more Nabiki and Ryü stood a few meters apart, with Nabiki glaring at the young man, her hands on either side of her waist, while Kumon was smirking at her, as he unapologetically ogled her body.

"If you don't stop trying to undress me with your eyes, I'll make sure you never have any need for a woman in your life," Nabiki spat, her eyes flashing her anger.

"Ah, love," Kumon said, "I love it when you talk like that to me. All that passion just waiting for me to unleash. You really should let me show you what a real man can do."

"Already have a real man, thank you very much," Nabiki said heatedly, "And you're just a third rate martial artist, with no redeeming qualities as far as I can tell. Arrogant, sexist, overbearing, worthless piece of trash."

"That's a bit harsh," Ranma said, mildly.

"Stay out of it, little brother," Nabiki said.

Ranma straightened up to his full height, and his face went expressionless. "I don't think so, Nabiki, this is our dojo, and you are disturbing the class," he said, his tone completely flat, "so take your arse over to the other side of the room and work with Akane. As for you, Kumon, stop looking at her like she's a piece of meat. Not many girls that I am aware of like that in a guy. You're not here to flirt or whatever the hell you are doing, you are here to learn. Or do you plan on squandering the opportunity that I am offering you?"

Kumon muttered something under his breath and then nodded jerkily. "I'll behave myself," he said.

"Right," Ranma drawled, "Then get back to what I showed you."

* * *

Hinako finished her midnight snack, and placed her bowl in the sink after rinsing out the last of the melted ice cream. Then she turned out the light and made her way back upstairs, only to stop as she passed by Nabiki's door, at the sound of a low moan escaping the room. Curious, she eased the door open and saw Nabiki writhing sensuously in her sleep, a low moan escaping her lips that as Hinako stood there slowly resolved into words.

"Oooh, Ryü right there," Nabiki moaned, "That feels soooo good. Ummmm, don't stop, yessss, just like that."

Hinako blushed prettily as she realized exactly what kind of dream she had walked in on. She slowly slid the door shut, and headed back to her room, and as she entered her sanctuary, she broke out giggling. Finally, she gasped, "I may look like a little girl, but I certainly am not one." She grinned as Nabiki continued to moan, only the name of the man changed to Souta.

* * *

Nabiki smiled happily and her eyes lit up as she saw Souta waiting in his usual spot, a brilliant smile on his face. Squealing uncharacteristically, she leapt from the fence, almost knocking Ranma off in her hurry to meet her boyfriend, especially since she felt a little guilty over what she remembered from her dream the night before, the one that had left a suspicious wet spot behind.

Souta braced himself, as Nabiki all but threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace, as she lightly kissed his lips.

"Can we skip school again?" Nabiki asked, "I really need to be with you today."

Souta shook his head sadly, and said, "We have those tests in Japanese History, and Math, remember?"

"Oh yeah, damn, I forgot," Nabiki said.

"But we can spend some time after school is over," Souta said, "Unless you have to go right home."

Ranma, Akane and Sayuri reached them. Akane giggling at something Ranma had said.

"What's so funny?" Nabiki asked, suspiciously.

"Oh, Ranma was just making a comment about how much improvement he's seen in your abilities," Sayuri said, biting the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Impressive dismount from the fence, Nabiki," Ranma said, with a grin, "I'd say Souta must be a pretty good incentive for you. And since I heard what Souta was saying, if you want to skip the session tonight, feel free."

"No, I'll be there, though probably a bit late," Nabiki said.

The trio grinned at her and Souta and then headed into the courtyard.

Souta handed her a small, brightly wrapped package. "A little something that I found the other day, and it reminded me of you," he said, a bit bashfully.

Quickly, Nabiki ripped the paper off to find a book of Japanese poetry, with pencil sketches illustrating the opposing page. "I love this," she squealed, as he captured her lips. They may have stayed there for hours if the bell warning school was about to start hadn't rung.

They broke apart and Nabiki laced her hand in his, clutching the book to her chest. She headed toward the gate, only to be brought up short when Souta didn't move. "Are you coming?" she asked.

A wicked smile graced his lips for a moment as he decided to go for the old joke. "No, just breathing hard," he said, with a smirk, which earned him a light punch on his arm.

Laughing the young couple headed toward the school.

* * *

"Aw gee, they're at it again," Akane said, as she watched her sister feuding with Kumon once again, "It's the same thing everytime we get together to practice."

"It's that unresolved sexual tension that's between them," Kodachi said, clinically.

"You think that's what it is?" Hinako asked.

Kodachi shrugged her shoulders, and replied, "Well, what else could it be? They like each other but neither one of them want to admit it, so they fight the attraction and each other."

"Do you really think they are suited?" Sayuri asked.

"Sure, just look at them," Kodachi said, "Both attractive, interested in martial arts. What more do you need?"

"I don't think so, I mean, what do they have in common?" Akane disagreed, "She's bright, wants a business career, likes the fine arts, such as theatre, music, literature. He's unschooled because of his background, roaming the countryside by himself, knows nothing about the fine arts, and only cares about martial arts."

"Sort of like Ranma, right?" Kodachi pointed out.

"Uh, Ranma has some surprises for you then. He enjoys some theatre, though it does have to be either a straight comedy, or an action adventure. You should have seen him when we went to Man of La Mancha," Akane said, "And he actually has read quite a few literary works."

"Uh oh, there they go!" Sayuri gasped as she covered Hinako's eyes with her hands.

Nabiki and Kumon crashed their lips together in a passionate kiss, putting their arms around each other, as Nabiki wrapped her legs around his waist, and Kumon holding her bum for support. Then they sprang apart, spitting in disgust.

"That was indescribably bad," Nabiki said, and then she raced back into the house, a sick look on her face.

Hinako pulled herself away from Sayuri and ran after her friend.

"Ugh, that was like kissing a dead fish," Kumon said, in disgust, "That was nothing like I expected"

"Um, I really don't want to know how you know what kissing a dead fish is like. That is bringing up mental images that I really don't want to have," Ranma said.

"YOU HURT MY DAUGHTER!" Demon-head Soun roared, as Kumon cringed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kumon cried, "It'll never happen again!" as he went into an impressive imitation of the Crouching Tiger and fell to his knees.

"Daddy, stop that!" Akane exclaimed, as Soun deflated.

Ranma grinned and said, "Hey, when did you learn that technique? I know I haven't shown that to you, and the only person I know who practices it is Pop."

"So, is this whatever it is between you and my sister over with now?" Akane asked.

"Oh yeah, I got more passion kissing the back of my hand than I got from her," Kumon muttered.

"Okay, another one of those bad mental images," Ranma grumbled, "No more leering, no more fighting, no more of that behavior, right?"

"I think it is safe to say that we won't be bickering like we were," the young man replied.

"Good then, I'm glad this is over and done with. I was really beginning to get tired of it all," Ranma replied.

* * *

Hinako ran after Nabiki as the older girl entered the furoba, and found the mouthwash. Nabiki swished around a large gulp of the minty liquid, gargling a few times, and then spat it out. She repeated the process several times.

"Hey, are you okay?" Hinako asked as she wrapped Nabiki in a loose hug.

Nabiki hiccupped and replied, "I will be. Why was I so worried about that? Wanting that so much? Kami, it was awful. I thought with all of the fighting we do, there would be fireworks, or sparks, or something. But it was flat, I felt nothing, worse than nothing." She turned in Hinako's arms and hugged her back.

"So are there sparks when you kiss Souta?" Hinako asked, not really wanting to hear the answer, since it might break her heart.

"Yeah, some, he's a good kisser, and really gives it all his attention, so there's something there," Nabiki replied, her eyes a bit dreamy.

Hinako sighed and reached up to lightly brush her lips against Nabiki's cheek, except Nabiki turned at that moment and the two girls' lips met in a kiss. Nabiki's eyes widened for a second and Hinako tried to back away, only to have Nabiki prevent it. Finally, they broke their kiss, with Nabiki breathing hard.

"Hi-chan, don't take this the wrong way, since I'm not interested that way, but I got more of a buzz kissing you than I did Kumon," Nabiki said, breathlessly.

"I-I didn't mind," Hinako stammered, blushing furiously, "Don't take this the wrong way, either, but if that's what a kiss really feels like, I wouldn't mind practicing with you some more." Then she giggled at the dumbstruck expression on the older girl's face. "Just kidding, Na-chan," she breathed.

"I certainly hope so," Nabiki said, giggling in relief.

"Yep, no unrequited sexual tension between us, little sister," Hinako teased.

"Hi-chan, you are something else. I hope you do find the man of your dreams one day," Nabiki said, resting her chin on the shorter girl's head.

"He's already taken," Hinako whispered.

"I'm so sorry, Hi-chan," Nabiki replied, "But there's bound to be someone else out there for you."

"I hope so," Hinako said, with a sigh, "But I'm so in love with him."

"Are you in love, or is it just a crush?" Nabiki asked.

"I don't know. Just take good care of him for me, please?" Hinako asked, letting the cat out of the bag.

"You have a crush on Souta?" Nabiki asked, her eyes narrowing. 'How did I miss that?' she asked, wondering what else she had missed.

Hinako nodded miserably, not trusting her voice.

"Oh Hi-chan, I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Nabiki whispered, "But now that I know my own feelings, he's mine."

"Kissing Kumon cleared that up for you, did it?" Hinako asked, a bit snarkily.

"I really don't know what came over me when I did that, to be honest but I'm glad I did. You know they say that opposites attract, but there has to be something in common for any relationship to work, and we had nothing. And then to find out that all of that fighting and arguing didn't mean passion, just meant we don't like each other, that was such a relief," Nabiki replied.

Hinako sighed heavily and said, "This is so difficult for me, Na-chan. I mean I really didn't have a chance to be in a relationship before you cured me, and I owe you more than I can ever repay, but he's the first guy that has really made me tingle, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, I see how he makes you feel, and I feel so guilty about wanting him to make me feel that way too."

Nabiki echoed Hinako's sigh and replied, "I don't know what to tell you, Hi-chan. Not that it would have made any difference, but I wish I had known how you felt earlier, if for no other reason than not to rub our relationship in your face. I don't want him to come between us, big sister, but I won't give him up, not to you, not to anybody."

Hinako teared up, and squeezed Nabiki tightly. "I wouldn't ask you to do that. I just wanted, oh I don't know!" she wailed.

Nabiki showed that she was her father's daughter, as the floodgates opened and she wept. "I know, dearie, I know," she sobbed as the two girls cried together.

After several long cathartic minutes, Hinako wiped her tears away and said, "You take care of him, you understand me, Nabiki Tendo. You hurt him, I'll know, and you won't like what happens."

"You'll be standing behind me, Hinako," Nabiki said, drying her eyes. She glanced at the mirror and said, "Ugh, we both look like a fright."

Hinako choked back a laugh and said, "Neither one of us should cry, I guess." The two girls smiled at each other and all was suddenly right with the world.

* * *

As per his plan to ensure that he retained Nabiki's love, the young man was standing patiently at the gate to the school courtyard, his briefcase on the ground in front of him, and once more, his hands behind his back as he watched for her to show up. As the Tendo-Saotome clan neared, a boyish grin appeared on his face as he saw that they had persuaded Sayuri to join them on the fence as they ran to school, with Akane keeping one wary out for her sister while Ranma was assisting Sayuri. As she neared the end of the fence, Nabiki leapt down, and ran to her boyfriend, a happy smile on her face, and as she approached, he could sense something was different. Some shadow had lifted from her heart. He braced himself as she glomped onto him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.

"Looks like you missed me, Na-chan," Souta said softly, as he watched Ranma help Sayuri down from the fence, "And I can see that you three have finally corrupted Sayuri completely."

A throaty chuckle left her throat and she grinned at him. "Yes, soon you also will fall under our sway," she retorted, "that is if you plan on being with me for any length of time."

"Then I guess I'd better practice my martial arts some more," he said, "Cause I plan to be with you for as long as you'll let me." He brought his arms forward and added, "I brought you something this morning. I saw these in mom's garden, and immediately thought of you."

Nabiki stepped back, and saw that he was holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums, of various colors, all freshly picked with the dew still on the blossoms. She said, with a catch in her throat, "They're lovely, Souta, but you're starting to spoil me. This is three days in a row that you have given me a gift, and I haven't given you anything in return."

"Oh, but I think you have, Nabiki. A gift that I'm not sure that I deserve, but one that I am elated to have," Souta said, "But, I do have an ulterior motive. I was hoping that you could forego your martial arts training this afternoon for an evening with me. I could pick you up about six and we could go get dinner and dancing."

Ranma caught the nervousness in Souta's stance as he asked Nabiki to go out with him, and shot an inquisitive look in his direction. The young man hesitated and then bent his head slightly and Ranma said suddenly, "I think that would be a good idea, especially after yesterday. You could use the time with your boyfriend; after all I've made you ignore him terribly this week. You've only been able to spend, what all of five hours with him outside of school and you haven't had a chance to study with him for a while either."

Nabiki looked at Ranma suspiciously, with good reason, since her brother-in-law was looked at her innocently, with an expression that said he knew something that she didn't however.

"In that case, since my sensei says it is acceptable, I will go with you tonight," Nabiki said,

Ranma asked, "Before you run off, I need a brief word with Souta in private, if that's okay?"

Souta glanced at Ranma, a definite look of apprehension on his face as Nabiki said, "Sure, I'll wait for you over at the steps."

Akane looked askance at her husband, and then shrugged as the three girls headed toward the steps, where Hiroshi was waiting for Sayuri.

"I don't suppose I need to give you the Saotome threats," Ranma said, "Can we just assume I told them to you?"

Souta grinned at him and said, "I'd never hurt her, ever, you know that."

Ranma grinned back at him and replied, "I know, just had to get that out of the way. She had a bit of a rocky afternoon yesterday, so she's a little shaky this morning. Good luck with what you are planning tonight."

"You know?" Souta asked, in surprise.

"I suspected," Ranma admitted, "And now you've confirmed it." He clasped Souta's shoulder in a comradely gesture, and said, "You're a good man, and a good friend."

"Thanks, Ranma, that means a lot to me," Souta said, huskily. He hesitated and then asked, "Do you think she will?"

"I don't pretend to know how women think, Souta, but I think you'll be happy," Ranma replied. He glanced across the courtyard and said, "We'd better join them, or they'll start asking questions that you may not be ready to answer."

Souta chuckled nervously and said, "You're probably correct." The two young men headed over to join the two women in their lives.

Once they got there, Nabiki asked, "What did you need to talk to Souta about?"

"Just some guy stuff, nothing serious," Souta replied, quickly.

"Yeah, guy stuff," Ranma added, "Needed some advice about something, that's all."

Akane and Nabiki looked unconvinced, but any chance of further conversation was ended when a swarm of girls descended on Nabiki, asking excitedly about the bouquet of flowers she was holding. Fortunately, for all concerned, the first bell rang, and everyone began to scatter to their respective classrooms.

* * *

Akane watched with amused eyes as Nabiki stared in panic at her closet, or more accurately what was left of her closet, since most of her clothes were scattered across the room, generally to comments such as "What was I thinking when I bought that!" or "I look like a little girl in that!" or quite often, merely, "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!" Finally, she took pity on her sister and called down the hall, "Kasumi, we need you!" Presently, Kasumi walked in, her eyes dancing, and asked, "Sister dear, whatever is the problem?"

"She has a date with Souta and can't find a thing to wear," Akane replied, grinning.

"That's good, I thought we'd had a clothing explosion or something looking at the state of this room," Kasumi said, giggling. She glanced around the room for a few minutes, and then picking up this skirt, and that blouse, and a ribbon from somewhere, she quickly assembled an ensemble.

Nabiki looked at the combination, and smiled. "That's perfect!" she exclaimed, slipping out of her school uniform. She looked at the bra she was wearing and said, "This won't do, either." Walking over to her dresser, she picked out something that was barely there, in black lace, and changed into it.

"Well, I see my job here is done," Kasumi said, with a grin, as she walked back out the door. The two girls remaining grinned back as she left, then Nabiki began working on her makeup.

A diffident knock sounded at the door. The two girls looked up to see Hinako standing there, an odd expression on her face.

"What is it, dearie?" Nabiki asked.

"Na-chan, I did something wrong," Hinako said softly, as she entered the room.

"What did you do?" Nabiki asked, only to freeze as Hinako came fully into the light, and she saw several pink cherry blossom imprints on the younger girl's forehead.

"I ate one of your rice balls," Hinako said, hanging her head, "You know how I am about sweets."

Akane released her sister as Nabiki rushed over to the distraught girl. "I'm not angry with you, Hi-chan, truly I'm not," Nabiki said, ignoring the fact that she was dressed only in her bra and panties. She grabbed Hinako in a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, at least let me get out of the room," Akane teased, "Before you two start making out."

"Hush you," Nabiki said, absently. Suddenly her eyes lit up with an eerie glow and she chuckled, evilly.

"Um, Nabiki, you're beginning to scare me," Hinako said, though her tone was light.

"No worries, sis, you just helped me more than I can say," Nabiki said. She released the young girl who had an odd look in her eyes, "Now I know that that magic mochi kit was a fraud. There's no way you're the man for me."

Hinako giggled for a moment and then lightly kissed Nabiki on the cheek. "But I do love you, little sister, and I plan on being with you as long as you'll let me," she said.

"Me, too," Akane said as she hugged the two girls.

Nabiki felt strangely warmed as she shared the group hug.

* * *

Ranma glanced up as the door to the dojo opened and Cologne pogoed into the room, followed first by Shampoo, and then by two girls he thought that he would never see again, Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran. "Okay, everybody, we'll take a short break," he said, with a grin, "We have some company."

"Hello, sonny boy," Cologne said, "Don't let us interrupt. I wanted the younglings to see your students in action."

#Why are we here, Elder Khu Lon?# Lin-Lin whined.

#Warriors of Joketsuzoku do not whine, child,# Xian Pu snapped.

"You heard the Elder," Ranma said, "I guess break is over." He bowed briefly to Khu Lon and said, #Elder, may I greet our sisters?#

#How do you know our tongue, outlander?# Rin-Rin asked.

#I am wounded that you do not remember me, little sisters,# Ranma replied, a smirk dancing on his lips. He turned to the elder and asked, #I thought you informed the Council. I guess they didn't tell everyone.#

#They saw no need at the time, though, there is no need for secrets from these two,# Khu Lon said.

Ranma walked over to the water jug and poured some of the contents on his head, triggering the change. #Remember me now, little sisters?# she asked, as the two girls fainted.

Quickly they were roused, to stand ashamed in front of Khu Lon, who berated them, asking, #Is that how warriors of our tribe act? Greet your sister properly!#

#Xiao Mai, it is good to see you again,# Lin-Lin said shakily.

#I see my elder sister,# Ran-Ran said simply.

#It is good to see my sisters once more. Let me introduce you to my mate,# Xiao Mai said. "Akane, could you come over here," she called.

Akane walked over, nervously, and waited. "Acchan, these are two of my Amazon sisters, Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran, the younger sisters of Shampoo. They always followed us around while Shampoo and I were training in the village." She added, #Ran-Ran, Lin-Lin, this is my wife, Akane.#

"We honoured to meet wife of sister," Lin-Lin said hesitantly.

"Sister speak for Ran-Ran," Ran-Ran said.

Akane bowed and said, "May your weapons always hit true."

"Girls, what are you doing in Nerima?" Ranma asked.

#Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran miss big sister Xian Pu, and want to see her, and her Airen,# Ran-Ran replied.

#And we were running away from the stupid males in our village,# Lin-Lin added, #Want mate that is worthy of us. Can't find that there. They all weak in body and head.#

The two girls glanced over at Ryü, who once again was exercising without his shirt on. They then traded glances and Lin-Lin asked, "Who pasty boy there? He look like decent fighter."

"No scars though. Either no fight anyone or very, very good," Ran-Ran added.

"That's Ryü Kumon, one of my new students," Ranma replied.

"Hey, Saotome, leave those half-pints alone and give me some pointers," Kumon shouted.

"Half-pints, what mean half-pint?" Lin-Lin asked, her eyes narrowed in anger.

"I think he was saying that you two are short," Akane replied.

"Die!" Lin-Lin cried.

"No one insult Ran-Ran!" Ran-Ran exclaimed.

The two girls charged Kumon, swinging their weapons, and causing Kumon to jump back.

"Call these crazy bitches off me!" Kumon exclaimed.

"Can't do that, Kumon, you insulted their honour. They are out for blood, your blood," Ranma said.

Ryü growled angrily and said, "Okay, if that's the way they want it!" He cried, "Möko Kaimon Ha!" and slashed the air with his hands. The whirlwinds from his blast picked up the two girls and slammed them into the wall of the dojo, where they slumped unconscious.

Ranma stared at the three of them, an astonished look on her face, and then began to giggle.

Shampoo walked over to her sisters, hiding a grin, and nudged first one and then the other, waking them up.

Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran stood up shakily and traded looks. Then as one they approached Kumon who looked at them warily.

"We no fight, no more," Lin-Lin said, causing Kumon to relax, prematurely.

The two girls said, in unison, "Wo ai ni Airen," and kissed Kumon one after the other.

"Congratulations, son-in-law," Cologne said, a twinkle in her eye, "Welcome to our family."

"What!" Kumon exclaimed.

"You husband," Lin-Lin said, as she rubbed her body against Kumon.

"You husband, we twins, we share," Ran-Ran echoed as she repeated her sister's action.

"Um, according to Amazon law, because you beat them in combat, they must redeem their honour by marrying the man that beat them. Just be glad you aren't female," Akane said, since Ranma was still laughing her arse off, as she had sat down hard on the wooden floor of the dojo.

Kumon looked fearfully at the two young girls, and screamed. He ran through the wall of the dojo and disappeared, with the two girls following him.

Akane sighed and said, "Oh well, we needed to replace those panels anyway."

"Pull yourself together, sonny boy," Cologne said, a scary grin on her face.

"This is just too funny for words," Ranma gasped out, wiping the tears of laughter from her face, "Those poor girls. But it sure couldn't happen to a more deserving guy. You'll have your hands full with him, he's more arrogant than I ever was."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Akane said, archly.

"What she said," Cologne agreed, cackling madly.

Ranma smirked at them both and said, "You'd better go catch up with them and bring them back. Just don't hurt my student too much."

"Oh, I won't have to. The girls may be young, but they'll keep him in line,' Cologne said as she began hopping after her charges.

Shampoo sighed and asked, "Is he good man?"

"He's a decent fighter," Ranma replied, "But he thinks he's a gift to women everywhere. He had a thing for Nabiki until they realized that there wasn't anything there, and in fact, I think they actively dislike each other now."

"Mercenary girl need stay away from loud-mouth boy, even though Shampoo like mercenary girl, Shampoo must help sisters and protect their Airen from other women," Shampoo said.

"Don't think that'll be a problem," Ranma said, a knowing smirk on his face.

* * *

Author's Notes: Another chapter in the bank for your reading pleasure, Gentle Readers. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it, especially the twists at the end. And what does Ranma think he knows? As always, reviews and constructive criticisms are welcomed as they help to improve my tale, and indeed some of your comments have been incorporated in this very chapter. Until next time. 


	71. Souta's Feelings

Chapter 71 Souta's Feelings

Nabiki sat back in her chair, pushed her plate away from her, and delicately dabbed her mouth with her napkin. The food, the atmosphere, the music from the dance band playing in the background, all contributed to a feeling of peace and contentment. "Souta, this is wonderful," she said, as she took a small sip of her wine, "I'm so glad you thought of this."

"No problem, I've been thinking about this for a little while, bringing you here," Souta replied, "Just needed to find the right reason, I guess."

"I'm glad you finally found a reason," Nabiki said, softly, "I'm having a good time. But I guess I need to spoil the mood for a moment. There's something I need to confess."

"What would that be?" Souta asked, a worried look appearing on his face.

"IsortofkissedKumonyesterday," she blurted.

"Huh?" was the intelligent response.

"I, um, well, I sort of kissed Kumon, yesterday," Nabiki said, looking down at the table so she wouldn't see the hurt in her boyfriend's eyes.

"You kissed him?" Souta asked, an odd note in his voice, as some tension rose between the two of them.

"Uh uh, I don't know why. It was horrible. There was nothing," Nabiki said, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"You kissed him!" Souta exclaimed, as if in shock, "But," only to stop as she reached across the table and clasped his hand.

"There was that feeling of something between us, and that stupid mochi, it had me all messed up so badly that I couldn't sleep. It was driving me crazy. But I'm glad I did it finally. Kissing him got all of that nonsense out of the way and I figured out that he wasn't anything that I wanted," Nabiki said, still not looking at him.

"So you got it out of your system and realized what you wanted," Souta said, "Does that explain why you looked like you no longer had the weight of the world on your shoulders this morning?"

"Well, yes, that was part of it, that and the recognition that there's no one that I'd rather be with than you. I know that now," Nabiki said, "And then something happened this evening while I was getting ready that was funny."

"Was that why you were laughing so hard when I picked you up?" he asked.

She chuckled and said, "Yes, Hinako snitched one of the rice balls, and ate it this afternoon. She had cherry blossoms on her face, too, so I'm pretty sure that it meant nothing anyway. I was worrying about something that simply wasn't there."

Souta grinned and said, "Actually, the way you and Hinako act, I probably should be more worried about her stealing you away from me."

Nabiki swatted his shoulder, and smirked. "With good reason, I actually like her," she retorted. They both chuckled, and the tension between them vanished. She added, "Though, I'm the one who should be worried. Did you know that she has a crush on you?"

Souta chuckled and replied, "Of course I did. I'm not that clueless about women, or in her case, girls. I never tried to lead her on or anything though, so I figured it would eventually fade away. Besides, she's too young for me anyway. What is she, about thirteen now?"

Nabiki giggled and said, "Actually, she's much older than she looks. Would you believe twenty-seven?"

Souta looked at her suspiciously and said, "Okay, now you're putting me on, aren't you?"

"No, honestly she is. She just had a rare condition that when it was cured reverted her back to how she looks now," Nabiki said.

"I guess I'll believe you," Souta said. Then a smirk appeared on his face and he chortled, "So you felt nothing when you kissed that arse? Bet that was a blow to his ego."

"Do you forgive me?" she asked, hesitantly.

"You're here with me tonight, so there's nothng to forgive," Souta replied, just as the band began to play some slow dance music. He rose and bowed to her and asked, "Would my lady care to dance?"

Nabiki stood and replied, two dots of colour on her cheeks, "Yes, my lady would care to dance, kind sir."

----------------------

The young man woke from his drug-induced slumber and slowly took in his surroundings. He quickly stopped struggling as the ropes binding his body to the bedframe began to cut cruelly into his wrists and ankles.

"Ah, you're awake, son-in-law," an unfamiliar voice said from just outside of his vision.

"Who are you? And why have you taken me prisoner?" the man growled.

An odd thumping sound arose and then a gnome appeared on top of a wooden staff.

"Oh it's you," the young man said, "Cologne, wasn't it?"

"Yes, son-in-law," Cologne replied, "But I didn't take you prisoner."

"Then set me free, you old ghoul," Kumon growled, only to receive a whack on his head for his pains.

"Politeness counts, son-in-law," Cologne said, "And I will do that soon, but since you aren't familiar with our customs, I felt that I needed a captive audience so you wouldn't bolt again."

"Why should I care about some musty old rules that aren't mine?" Kumon asked, angrily.

"Because if you don't follow them, I'll have no choice but to kill you," Cologne said with a straight face.

"Um, in that case, I guess I will listen," Kumon said, his face pale.

"Excellent choice, son-in-law," Cologne said. She bowed her head for a moment and then said, "My people are an ancient tribe, son-in-law, with many laws that have developed over the centuries to allow us to survive. They are strict, and outsiders sometimes consider them capricious. One of our oldest laws deals with what happens when one of our warriors is defeated by an outsider."

"An outsider such as myself, I suppose," Kumon said.

"Yes, one such as yourself," Cologne admitted, "If an outsider male defeats one of our warriors in honourable combat, to alleviate her shame, that warrior must take that male as her husband. So, since you defeated both Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran, they have given you the Kiss of Marriage."

"But what if I don't want to be married, especially to two girls?" Kumon asked, his face ashen.

"What if I tell you that it really doesn't matter what you want?" Cologne shot back, "You have two lovely girls who want you. And that is all that matters."

"But they are so young," Kumon whined.

"They are nearly fifteen," Cologne said, patiently, "Well old enough by our village standards to have found a husband." Then she grinned and added, "Fortunately, you being a martial artist should give you enough stamina to keep up with them."

Suddenly the door burst in and the two girls rushed in. "How airen?" Lin-Lin asked.

"Is airen hungry?" Ran-Ran asked.

Kumon groaned.

"Well, I'll leave you with your wives so you can get to know each other," Cologne cackled. As she left, the last thing she saw was an ashen-faced Kumon being glomped onto by both girls.

----------------------

Souta guided Nabiki back from the dance floor, a happy flush on her face, as he helped her into her chair, and then pushed it back. He sat down at the table across from her, and waited as the server finished clearing off the remnants of the meal that they had finished some number of minutes ago, before they had joined the throng on the dance floor. Souta filled up her wine glass with the Bordeaux that he had selected and then finished killing the bottle by emptying it into his glass. He took a brief sip, and sat looking a bit uncertainly at the woman sitting across from him, and idly fingered the lump in his pocket.

Nabiki sipped her wine, a happy smile on her face, then said, a bit breathlessly, "You are a magnificent dancer. How did I get so lucky to be with you?"

Souta gazed tenderly at the woman across from him, and thought, 'This is it.' With a graceful movement, he gathered his courage, and slid to the floor on one knee, pulling out a small box as he did so, causing Nabiki to immediately bring one hand to her mouth, as her eyes began to tear up. Stammering, he said, "Nabiki, I was so afraid that I was going to lose you this week, and it made me realize just how much you mean to me. I want you in my life, in whatever way you'll have me, as your friend, your boyfriend, eventually your lover, and hopefully all three forever. I don't want to find out what it is like to live without you. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

The restaurant quieted down, and Nabiki saw that everyone was listening, waiting for her answer, as the young man knelt in front of her, a small black box open in his hand, displaying a small, yet exsquisite diamond ring. Wordlessly, she nodded, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and then she replied, haltingly, "Yes, Souta, I will marry you."

Souta let out the breath he wasn't aware that he had been holding and gently took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her ring finger, kissing it lightly as he did so. The room broke out in applause, and the small band began playing a traditional wedding song.

"Now get off of that floor, and kiss me properly," Nabiki said, huskily, causing an immense shiver to run down her fiancé's spine. Eagerly he complied, and the couple kissed to the heavy sighs of several of the young women in the restaurant, sighs that caused more than one young man to wince internally, as they saw a kiss that ranked up there highly as kisses went, right after the kiss that Wesley and Buttercup shared.

Finally they parted and Souta regained his seat, however, Nabiki refused to let go of his hand. She asked, "When?"

"Which when?" Souta asked, confused.

"When do you want to get married?" Nabiki asked, rolling her eyes at the obtuseness of her fiancé. Of course, the mere thought of Souta in that role was causing interesting things to happen as an intense tingle arose.

"I was thinking maybe when we got to college, or perhaps just before we go," he replied, "Either works for me. There'll be some adjustments we would have to make either way, us being away from our families, and then the adjustment in learning to live with each other. I don't know whether it is better to do all of that at one time, or get one, well, shock for lack of a better word, out of the way before we get married."

"I think I'd like to wait until after we get to college," Nabiki said, "I think just moving away from our families into a strange situation will be enough of a struggle to handle. Until I know I can take that, I wouldn't want to make any more big changes."

"Okay, that's fine with me," Souta said, "That was sort of the way I was leaning myself, but I didn't want to force you to do something you didn't want to do."

"Now, all we have to do is convince Daddy to let us wait," Nabiki teased.

"He won't be upset that we didn't have a mi-ai, or trade betrothal gifts, will he?" Souta asked, concerned.

"I'm about as far from a traditional girl as you can get, Souta," Nabiki replied, "So it's what you and I decide that is important. He'll get over it, eventually. But, I want you to come in tonight so we can announce it, okay?"

"Sure, but I'll tell Mom tonight you said yes when I get home tonight, if that's okay with you?" Souta replied.

"She knew you were going to ask me to marry you?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, yeah, I needed her help to pick out the ring," Souta said, a bit sheepishly.

Nabiki smiled, and teased, "Well, that explains why it is so perfect. I knew **you** couldn't have done it."

"Very funny," Souta retorted, smiling at his fiancée.

----------------------

Mousse relaxed against the low back of the divan as he watched his wife dance. Somehow she was twirling several of her black ribbons, covering all of her important bits, with only the occasional flash of pale skin showing that she was the only thing under those ribbons. Only the light flush of his cheeks, and the somewhat ragged breathing, showed the impact that she was having on him as she moved, taunting him with the odd glimpse of the body he had become so familiar with over the course of the last few months. "Much as I'm enjoying this kata," he said, his voice even, though a bit husky, "I certainly hope this isn't one that you are planning on entering in one of the cheerleading competitions."

Kodachi laughed gaily, and replied, "No, I'll reserve this for my darling husband."

Mousse chuckled, and said, "Lucky man, your husband that is."

With a flourish, Kodachi spun around, wrapping her body in her ribbons. She looked down bashfully, and asked, "Would my husband care to unwrap his present?"

"It's your birthday dear, why are you giving me a present?" Mousse asked, as he gracefully rose to his feet, and in several quick steps approached her, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her toward the large king-size bed.

"I love forceful men," Kodachi purred, causing blood flow issues in them both, then she added, "Oh, I expect that if things go the way I want, I'll be getting several presents tonight."

"I'll do my best, my lady," Mousse said, "I think I'm up for the challenge."

"I certainly hope so. I was trying my best to get a rise out of you," Kodachi retorted with a smirk, just before he tossed her lightly in the bed, and slid out of his robe, showing her that indeed she had gotten a rise out of the situation.

----------------------

Akari sighed happily as her fiancée handed her into the rickshaw that he had hired for the evening. First the fancy restaurant, where she had been wined and dined to a fare-the-well, then the semi-private box at the opera, where she had sat enraptured at the experience, something that she had actually never experienced before, and now, the return to the Kuno estate, where she would spend the night, before returning with her fiancée to her ancestral home in the country.

"My lady, did you enjoy yourself?" Tatewaki asked.

"I certainly did, sweetie," Akari replied, "It was wonderful. I can't thank you enough for taking me out tonight."

"Only the best for my love," the young man said, grandly.

"Are you ready to meet Grandfather, sweetie?" Akari asked.

"The man who raised such a glorious flower? Of course, I must thank him for allowing a goddess to come forth and meet me on that glorious sunlit day," Kuno proclaimed.

"Oh, please," Akari said, fluttering her eyelashes, "I'm far from a goddess."

"Au contraire, my dearest," Kuno said, "Goddess you are. And only someone as wondrous as myself can strive to be worthy of your love. The ancient English poet Shakespeare said it best, but alas I cannot recall his words to do you honour."

----------------------

Cologne looked up as the building rattled as something large crashed into the street outside. Sighing, she grabbed a pot of tea and pogoed out of the restaurant to see the wayward Taro sprawled out on the street, with Perfume straddling the minotaur's body. #Par Fum, where have you two been?# she asked, as she neared the young couple, furious that they had disappeared for so long instead of staying around to help train Ranma and Akane.

#Sorry, Elder,# Par Fum whispered, #We just wanted some time to ourselves. We didn't get a long time by ourselves before the Council sent us here. And well, it didn't feel right to, um, well.#

"Never mind, I was young once," Cologne said, sighing as she poured the hot water over Taro, transforming him back. She grinned, and added, "And I guess I can see why you wanted some time with him," as the young man tried to hide himself behind his hands, while Perfume giggled from his shoulders.

"Do you mind?" Taro growled.

"No, not really, while I may be too old to buy, I still enjoy window-shopping," Cologne cackled, as she hopped back into the café. Taro sped after her, ducking as he entered the doorway to keep from braining his wife on the doorframe.

Perfume dropped to the floor and tossed a robe to her husband, who gratefully wrapped it around himself.

"One of the things we did, Elder, was return to the village," Taro said, with what was left of his dignity, "And bring you some scrolls from the Council. They have been monitoring the situation with both the people of the Musk and the Phoenix, and have some mail for you."

Perfume opened the bag she was carrying once more and handed a dozen scrolls to the Elder.

"Let me guess, I have several different suggestions from most of the council, don't I?" Cologne asked, dryly.

"Fraid so, Elder," Perfume said, "And most of them, of course, are contradictory with each other."

A rusty chuckle came from the diminutive gnome perched on her staff. "Of course, I would have been disappointed otherwise," she rasped. She sighed and said, "To bed, both of you. It is late, and I must ponder this so-called wisdom. Oh, and before I forget, we also have Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran and their airen staying with us."

Perfume started and asked, "When did they get here? And how did they get a husband?"

"A few days ago, and today," Cologne replied, with a cackle.

"They certainly work fast," Perfume snickered, "So who are the lucky men?"

"Lucky man, singular. They are sharing the same husband. A student of Ranma Saotome, who was foolish enough to fight them. To their shame, they lost almost immediately."

"And promptly gave the kiss of marriage to atone for their defeat," Perfume said, glancing over at her husband.

Taro grinned at her and said, "At least you made me work for it." He chuckled and added, "I'm still not sure you didn't throw the fight."

Cologne frowned and backed away.

Perfume narrowed her eyes and hissed, "I didn't throw the fight. I wouldn't dishonour either of us by doing that!"

Taro grabbed her hands by the wrists and said, quickly, "That was a joke."

"One in bad taste," Cologne said.

Taro nodded his head, "I knew that as soon as I said it. Seriously, dear, I really know better." His wife continued to glare at him.

"Gently, Perfume," Cologne said softly, "There have been cases where that happened in the past."

At the stern look from the Elder, Perfume sighed. "I suppose I did overreact. But, do you think that may have been the case today, that they deliberately lost?" Perfume asked.

Cologne shrugged her shoulders, and said, "They are young, so perhaps that was the case. However, what is done is done. And we will not ask them." The last came out as more of a statement of fact than anything else, and the couple in front of her nodded quickly.

----------------------

Hinako looked up briefly from where she was watching television in the family room, as she heard the front door open and Nabiki call out, "We're home!" and then the sound of two sets of footsteps padding lightly down the highly polished wood floor toward them.

Kasumi called, "We're in the family room, sis."

"Where else would everyone be?" Nabiki asked as the couple walked into the room holding hands.

Hinako's eyes lit up as she saw Souta next to Nabiki, but then her face fell as she saw first that they were holding hands, and then her face went blank as she saw the glint of something on Nabiki's left hand. "I'm not feeling well," she said, faintly, "I think I'll go to bed. See you in the morning." She stood up unsteadily and fled out the door, leaving the rest of the family clueless, except for Nabiki who half-turned to follow, and then sighed.

"What got into her?" Soun asked, from the shogi board, where he was losing badly against Yumi.

Nabiki said, sadly, "She has a bit of a crush on Souta, and I guess she didn't take this too well." She smiled weakly as she held up her left hand, prominently displaying the small diamond ring on her finger.

Kasumi's eyes got huge and she squealed happily as she stood up and rushed over and hugged her sister.

Soun looked puzzled until Yumi whispered in his ear and then he burst into tears.

Ranma stood up and shook Souta's hand, and said, simply, "Congratulations, brother. Welcome to the madness."

Souta chuckled and said, "Well, you can't say I didn't have some warning. I have watched all of you for the last year or so. And you know my family isn't exactly the most normal. After all, I just found out that my sister married InuYasha."

Akane flowed gracefully to her feet, followed quickly by Sayuri as they joined Kasumi in a large group hug. Tofu glanced over at Soun, who was still crying, and rolled his eyes.

"I think this is a time for celebration," Tofu said mildly.

Nabiki said, "I suppose so. But, I need to go talk to Hi-chan."

"Let me, sister," Kasumi said, softly, "And then perhaps after that she will be ready to face you."

Nabiki thought about that for a moment and then nodded slightly. "You always know best about this sort of thing," she said.

"When are you going to have the wedding?" Akane asked, causing Kasumi to stop in the doorway.

Nabiki giggled and said, arching one eyebrow, "Well, since we can control ourselves, unlike some people I know, we want to wait until we've gotten a term or two done in college before we get married."

Ranma traded knowing looks with his wife and said, "That was our plan, too."

"And not that I'm complaining or anything, since I wouldn't trade this for the world, but look what happened to us," Akane said.

"What was that that Yuka and Daisuke said, oh yeah, it's not like some prince from some faraway land is going to kidnap me and take me away somewhere," Nabiki said, dryly.

Tofu chuckled and said, "Well, now that you have thoroughly jinxed yourself."

"Ha, Ranma will protect me," Nabiki said, "Besides, I think there's another wedding happening sooner anyway." She carefully didn't glance over at her father, who was still being comforted by Yumi.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, with an angelic smile, as she finally drifted out of the room, heading upstairs.

----------------------

Hinako lay on her bed, sobbing into her pillow, in the dark room. 'Why does it hurt so much?' she thought, as she cried, the tears immediately being absorbed into the pillowcase. A polite knock at the door caught her attention and she rolled over and asked, "Who is it?" her voice breaking on every word.

"It's Kasumi," Kasumi said, "Can I come it?"

"S-sure," Hinako answered, dashing the tears from her face.

The door opened and Kasumi entered the dark room, and crossed quickly to the bed where she sat down. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, simply.

"It just hurts, Kasumi," Hinako wailed, "I thought I could handle it, but then I saw the ring and my heart tore."

Kasumi gathered up the young girl in her arms and just let Hinako cry for a few minutes, rubbing her back in a comforting gesture. Finally, once the tears were gone, she asked, tenderly, "You know that neither Souta or Nabiki would ever do anything to hurt you?"

"I know that, they care for me. And eventually, I'll be happy for them," Hinako replied, "And to be honest, in an abstract way, I already am."

"You just wish it was someone else she was happy with, though, right?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, and that makes me feel so selfish, so self-centered. Does that make me a bad person?" Hinako asked, her words muffled against Kasumi's shoulder.

"No, it just makes you human," Kasumi replied, wisely.

Hinako giggled at that, and said, "Thanks, that does make me feel better for some reason."

"First crushes can be hard to get over," Kasumi said, "at least from what I've read and seen. You know, you ought to talk to Akane about her crush."

"Oh?" Hinako asked.

"Yes, she had a crush on another guy," Kasumi said, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Hinako asked, "Who was he?"

"My husband, of course that was before we got married," Kasumi replied, with a smile.

"That had to be awkward for all of you," Hinako said.

"Just a little. Tofu and I were aware of her crush. It was a bit more obvious than the one you have on Souta," Kasumi said, "Tofu and I already had feelings for each other, not that we had managed to tell ourselves that, much less each other, so it wasn't too bad. Once Akane realized how we felt for each other, she even helped us get together. Of course, by that time, Ranma had come along and swept her off her feet, but she had already given up on Tofu before then."

"Does that mean I won't stop hurting until I find someone else?" Hinako asked, her eyes beginning to tear up again.

"No, I don't mean that, though it probably helped Akane get over Tofu a bit easier," Kasumi admitted, "Only you know what it will take." She hesitated and then said, "Nabiki is worried about you. She would have come up here after you but she wasn't sure you would want to see her."

"I'm not going to give up my friendship with her just because she is marrying the man I'm in love with," Hinako said, simply.

"Are you sure it's really love though, and not just a crush?" Kasumi asked gently.

Hinako shrugged, and replied, "I'm not that experienced enough to tell the difference. Even if I were really the twentyseven my date of birth would ask us to believe, the curse that I was under never let me mature correctly. Now that I am able to actually grow up, my feelings are still easily muddled."

"That's just part of growing up, I guess," Kasumi said.

"I suppose you're right," Hinako said, "I wish it wasn't quite so painful."

Kasumi sighed and said, "I wish I could tell you that it would be easy to let go, but I won't lie to you. I will tell you though that it will get better, in time."

Hinako smiled bitterly and said, "I actually knew that." She sighed and added, "I can't avoid Nabiki forever. When you get a chance, send her to see me. But, for now, I think I'll hide up here. It will help not to see them together."

Kasumi nodded and said, "I'll let them know. At the risk of repeating myself though, they do care for you a great deal." After that, she headed back out the door, while Hinako sat feeling a little bit happier about things. After a few minutes, a hesitant knock at the door got her attention.

"Hey, Kasumi said you wanted to talk," Nabiki said, softly.

"Sure, come on in sis," Hinako said evenly.

Nabiki walked hesitantly into the room, and stood uncertainly next to the bed.

"For crying out loud, I'm not going to bite," Hinako snapped, "You can sit on the bed with me." A rusty chuckle sounded and she added, "After all, we've slept together for months."

Nabiki chuckled and sat down next to her sister in all but blood. "This just feels a little awkward," she said.

"If you think I'm going to let a mere man come between us, you're not as smart as I thought you were," Hinako retorted.

"Even someone as special as Souta?" Nabiki asked.

Hinako replied, "I loved you long before I had a crush on Souta. And yes, I love you, and your sisters, very much. Platonically, of course, since neither of us swing that way." She giggled and added, "In spite of the occasional kidding about it."

"I just wish my happiness hadn't come at the cost of hurting you," Nabiki said.

Hinako nodded and said, "I know that, Na-chan. But Kasumi and I had a long talk, and some of the things she told me helped. Just try to keep the kissing and stuff somewhere I can't see them, at least for a while."

"We can do that," Nabiki said agreeably, "I wouldn't want to rub it in your face, anyway. I'm not that cruel."

"I know. Now, tell me about it, how did he ask you? Was it romantic?" Hinako asked.

"Are you sure you want to hear about it?" Nabiki asked in response.

Hinako reached out and grabbed Nabiki's hand, turning it so she could get a good look at the ring. She sighed heavily and replied, "I think I need to, to help me let go. By the way, I love the ring." She grinned for a second and added, "Except for the fact that it's on the wrong hand."

"It's on my left ring finger," Nabiki said.

"True, but I was referring to the fact that you're wearing it instead of me," Hinako said lightheartedly.

Nabiki grinned and said, "I obviously have a different opinion. Anyway, to answer your question, yes it was very romantic." Her eyes took on a dreamy expression and she added, "We went out to a very nice restaurant. The meal was lovely, and we talked about all sorts of things. Then he took me out on the dance floor, and we danced for what seemed like hours. I felt so loved being in his arms. Then he took me back to the table, and seated me. He sat down for a moment, and then the next thing I knew, he was out of his chair, kneeling on the floor in front of me, and he asked me. The whole restaurant grew still, and I said 'yes.' He put the ring on my finger, kissed it, and then he kissed me."

A quiet sob got her attention, and Nabiki looked to see that Hinako was crying. "That was so romantic," the young girl sobbed, as Nabiki pulled her into a rough embrace. "I'm really happy for you, these aren't totally sad tears, there are some happy tears. I just hope that someone out there will love me like Souta does you," she said.

"As wonderful as you are, I'm sure that there will be. In fact, you may have to beat them off with a club when you get a bit older," Nabiki said, "Remember what you looked like as an adult."

Hinako giggled and said, "True, I was rather well-endowed, wasn't I?"

"Oh, I would say so. Most of the boys ran into the wall when you walked by as an adult because they were so distracted," Nabiki said, smirking at her friend.

"Hmm, that could be a problem then," Hinako mused, "I certainly want to be liked for me, not my body."

"You'll just have to cross that bridge when you get to it, I suppose," Nabiki said.

Hinako nodded her head in agreement, and said, "You're right about that. Though, since I don't have to worry about changing anymore, my clothes won't be quite as provocative anymore. It was always a pain finding a dress that would fit me like this and yet not be so short I couldn't bend over without flashing the world when I grew, not to mention stretching the top out so I damn near fell out." A frown flashed across her face for a moment, and then it disappeared and a wry smile took its place.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Nabiki asked, quirking her eyebrow.

Hinako blushed and replied, "Just a silly thought. I frowned because I realized the reason that none of the boys at school interest me was because they act so young. But, then I realized that I'm not that much older, not really, what with all of the switching back and forth I did growing up."

"Actually, Hi-chan, you can't see it, but you aren't acting like the little girl you once were. You are so much more mature just in these last few weeks. And," Nabiki said, pausing for a moment, "And, even the crush you have on Souta shows that you are beginning to grow up."

Hinako smiled wryly once more, and said, "I suppose that's true enough." She pushed Nabiki away and added, "Speaking of which, you probably should go find your fiancé, before he decides to come up here and find you."

"Yes, I suppose I do need to rescue him from Daddy," Nabiki said, "I'll see you in the morning." She bent down and lightly kissed Hinako's forehead, and the slid off the bed and headed downstairs.

Hinako stared at the door for a moment, and then with a tired smile, lay back down on her bed, and closed her eyes.

----------------------

Nabiki sank down onto her bed, her gaze intent on the ring on her finger, as she finally allowed herself to think about what she had done. A beatific smile appeared on her face, as she felt the butterflies in her stomach as she recalled that last tender kiss from Souta before he raced off to catch the last train to his home. 'I'm getting married!' she thought, excitedly, bouncing on her bed. Her smile grew wider and then she giggled. "YES! This is so right!" she exclaimed, "Ooooh, the girls at school are going to be sooo jealous. Most of them never thought we would last. That the Ice Queen was just playing with him for some nefarious reason. Gods, I so love that man!" She actually felt like 'squeeeeing,' if it weren't so undignified. Fortunately, Sayuri hadn't had that problem and had 'squeeed' enough for all of them that evening. But, now in the privacy of her own bedroom, she really wanted to since she was feeling so uncharacteristically giddy. "But then it's not every day you get engaged, so why shouldn't I feel this way," she said.

"What way?" a tired voice asked from her doorway.

Nabiki whipped around and saw Hinako standing uncertainly in the doorway. "Hey, I thought you went to bed," she said.

"Couldn't sleep," Hinako replied, "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh that," Nabiki said, "Just so excited I could explode, I guess. I can't remember ever feeling this way, and I don't ever want it to go away."

"C-can I stay with you?" Hinako asked, blushing.

"Trying to steal me away from Souta?" Nabiki gently teased.

Hinako giggled and replied, "Ah, you've seen through my nefarious plan. Rats, foiled again."

Nabiki laughed and said, "There's the girl I love. Sure, Hi-chan, I would love the company."

"Just don't dream too much about Souta tonight," Hinako said, a smirk on her face.

"Can't make any promises about that," Nabiki said, blushing, as she patted the bed next to her. The young girl raced over and dove onto the bed, bouncing Nabiki almost off the edge.

"You seem to be in better spirits," Nabiki observed as she finished getting ready for bed.

"One of the things I was doing was thinking about things. That's why I couldn't sleep. And I decided that since I can't have him, I can't think of anyone I'd rather he be with than you. You make each other so happy, it's almost sickening, so I decided I'd be happy for you both, instead of wanting to scratch your eyes out," Hinako said, "And, you know what, when I decided that, things just seemed to be easier to handle."

Nabiki smiled and said, "I'm glad we can be adult about this."

Hinako giggled and said, "Me too."

----------------------

Souta opened the door to his home and stepped inside. He slipped out of his shoes and placed them in the small cubby beside the door and then called, "I'm home!"

His mother came bustling around the corner, carrying a small dishtowel, and wearing her favorite apron. "Did you ask her?" she asked.

"Yes, mom, I did," Souta replied, a bashful look on his face.

"Well?" she asked.

Souta asked, with an innocent look on his face, "Well what?"

"What did she say?" she asked, a little exasperated.

He smiled at her and exclaimed, "She said 'Yes!' You're going to have a new daughter." He picked her up and twirled her around the small entry hall, grinning crazily.

"She did!" his mother exclaimed, and then she squealed happily.

Kagome came tumbling down the stairs, her clothing somewhat disarrayed, with a shirtless InuYasha behind her. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked.

"Are we under attack?" InuYasha asked, one hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I'm getting married, Sis," Souta said simply.

Kagome's eyes grew wide and her mouthed dropped open in surprise.

Souta gently reached out and pushed on her chin. "Flies, Sis, you'll catch flies," he said, with a smirk.

"You mean my advice actually worked!" InuYasha exclaimed.

"Yes, brother, it did," Souta said with a grin as he released his now dizzy mother and clasped arms with the half-demon, "Thank you."

InuYasha merely chuckled and relaxed, or relaxed as much as he ever did. "No problem, Souta. I'm just glad it worked," he said, smirking at his wife.

"Have you told her parents? When's the wedding? Oh dear, we must have them over for a meal," his mother babbled.

"Yes, we told them when I took her home after dinner," Souta replied, "And they were happy about it, too. Well, except for Tendo-san, he sort of spent most of the evening crying, and hanging onto me telling me to take good care of his little girl, or he'd hurt me."

"From what Nabiki has told me that sounds a lot like him," Kagome said.

"And we aren't in any real hurry to have the wedding. We sort of decided to wait until we had a term or two of college under our belt before that happened. It'll be hard enough moving into a dorm on campus away from all of you, and then to throw living with each other on top of that, well we decided that might be too stressful," Souta finished, "And actually, they've invited us to dinner this weekend, if that's okay?"

"Of course it is," his mother replied, a huge grin on her face.

"We won't be able to come," Kagome said, "We promised Miroku and Sango that we would meet them tomorrow at the village. They wanted us to babysit so they could have a few nights to themselves."

"That's fine," Souta replied, "There'll be plenty of time for you guys to meet the rest of them, anyway." He grinned, and added, "Besides, I don't think Tendo-san could really handle meeting a demon, anyway."

"And putting Ranma and InuYasha in the same room," Kagome said, giving a theatrical shudder, "The testosterone being emitted by them would drown us all. Or worse yet, cause hair to grow where I don't want it."

"That's probably true. Just think, an alpha male cat and an alpha male dog, the fur would be flying," Souta added, teasing his brother-in-law.

"Ha, ha," InuYasha said, with a smirk, "I actually like that baka. He reminds me of someone."

"Try looking in a mirror," Kaogome teased. She grinned at her husband and said, "By the way, are you ready to finish what you were starting?"

InuYasha grinned and said, "Do you think you can keep up?"

"Lead the way, husband of mine," Kagome said, as she chased her husband back upstairs.

Souta frowned slightly and added, "I think Tendo-san wants to think of this dinner as some sort of modified betrothal ceremony, so we'll need to pick up the traditional gifts."

His mother smiled and said, "Already taken care of, my son. I was pretty optimistic, so I prepared the gifts when you asked me to help with the ring. Now, tomorrow will be a long day, especially with school, so you should get some sleep."

"You too, Mom," Souta said, as he briefly hugged his mother.

----------------------

Nabiki stopped at the end of the fence, girding herself for the hurricane that she was about to face, as she saw her fiancé give her a quizzical look. Ranma and Akane stopped for a moment, and then Akane's face cleared and she said, "You'll get through it, sis."

"Akane's right, besides, if they give you too hard a time, just tell 'em that Akane and I might have a few words with them," Ranma added.

"Um, add me in on that. I may not be in their class, but I'm ready to kick some arse," Sayuri put in, causing all of them to chuckle.

"Maybe we ought to stand back and let her take care of them," Akane suggested, "Wouldn't want to break a nail, now that I think about it."

Sayuri stuck her tongue out at Akane.

"Well, go meet him," Ranma said, "And let's get this show on the road. Make the kiss a good one."

"Peasant, you don't have a romantic bone in your body," Nabiki said, with a grin, as she leapt to the ground and started running towards Souta, who ostentatiously braced himself.

"I can assure you he's romantic enough for me," Akane purred, in a tone that caused Ranma to have blood flow issues.

Souta opened his arms as once again Nabiki glomped him in a hug, and wrapped his arms around her as she leaned in for a heady kiss. Ranma and Akane walked by holding hands, while Sayuri openly snickered as the trio headed off to find Hiroshi.

"So how'd your mom take the news?" Nabiki asked, a bit breathlessly, her face flushed.

"Everyone was pretty happy, though InuYasha was patting himself on the back pretty hard," Souta replied, with a dazed but happy grin on his face. He chuckled and said, "I was afraid that it was just a dream when I woke up this morning. Glad to see it wasn't."

"Believe me, dear, I know exactly how excited you are to see me," Nabiki purred, a smirk on her face. She deliberately pulled herself to him tightly, and then released. Buffing the diamond on her blouse, she then entwined her right hand with his left. "Shall we go break a bunch of hearts?" she asked.

They headed into the courtyard, where a gaggle of giggling girls, and their corresponding band of bewildered boys quickly surrounded them. The cacophony of sound as all of the girls spoke at once, was nearly deafening, until Nabiki's icy glare finally caused them to quiet to an uneasy silence.

"Okay, yes, Souta and I are engaged, happened last night," Nabiki began, only to be interrupted by a whoop of glee from one of the girls.

"I won! I won!" Yuka caroled, as she danced around the courtyard.

Nabiki eyed her suspiciously and asked, "What did you win?"

"Yesterday is the day I had for the betting pool," Yuka explained.

"What betting pool?" Nabiki asked.

"Um, boss, the one we were running on when you got engaged," one of her underlings replied, hesitantly.

"You were betting on **me**?" Nabiki asked, aghast.

At that, her sister, and brother-in-law began to laugh. "Now you know how we feel, sis," Akane said, with a grin.

Nabiki shook her head and just replied, "Make sure I get my percentage." She closed her eyes for a moment and then asked, "Where was I in answering the questions I heard?" She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then answered, "Not pregnant, not planning on getting pregnant, at least nine months after we get married before there's children. No immediate plans for a wedding, probably when we get to college; families are ecstatic at the news; yes, the proposal was very romantic. No, I'm not moving in with his family. No, he's not moving in with me. Did that get all the questions out of the way? Any more questions, and I'll start to charge." The crowd grew quiet for the moment, so she said, "I thought that would be the case. Let's go, Souta." She took off, dragging her fiancé through the crowd as the first bell began to ring, scattering the onlookers like tenpins, oblivious to the chattering masses as they began to shout additional questions.

----------------------

Nabiki staggered into the house, supported by Souta, and closely followed by the giggling trio of Ranma, Akane and Sayuri. There Kasumi and Yumi met them.

"Oh my!" Kasumi and Yumi exclaimed. "What happened to her?" Kasumi continued.

"Just had to run the gauntlet at school," Souta replied, "Apparently we're the talk of the school, and she couldn't handle the attention. And this pack of chortling fools didn't help any."

"I don't remember a great deal of sympathy from her when Akane and I got engaged, much less married," Ranma said, with a grin, "And the gossip queens and kings wouldn't let us alone. As I remember she wanted to charge me to handle them for me, until I reminded her that she could charge them for the stories."

Kasumi hid a grin as Yumi snickered, very unladylike. "I wish I could feel sorry for you sis," Kasumi said, "But I think you may just have reaped what you have sown."

"I can feel the love," Nabiki snapped as she kicked off her shoes.

"Why don't you take a little time and go soak in the furo?" Akane suggested, "And relax just a bit before we have our class."

"That's not a bad idea, Nabiki," Ranma agreed, "You could use a little time to wind down from your ordeal."

"You don't have to twist my arm," Nabiki replied, "I think I will." She grinned suddenly and asked, "Souta, are you coming?" As soon as she said that she saw a smirk growing on his face and a twinkle in his eye appear. She added quickly, "Don't even think about saying that."

Souta grinned at her and replied, a bit regretfully, after looking at the shocked expression on Kasumi's face, "No that might be just a touch too soon."

"That's certainly the case, it wouldn't be proper," Kasumi said, just a touch stiffly, "I can't believe you would even suggest that, Nabiki."

Nabiki grinned and said, "I was mostly kidding sis, since I knew it would get a rise out of you. Though, I would have thought Doc would have loosened you up a little."

"It's not that, sis. I'm not quite ready to be an aunt, not quite yet," Kasumi gently chided.

"Me, either," Akane chimed in, glancing pointedly back and forth between her two sisters, "And I remember what you said this morning, Nabiki, about nine months minimum after you get married before you have a child."

Souta said, "I imagine it'll be a bit later than that, anyway. Got careers to get started before we work on additions to the family, right, Nabiki?"

"That's the plan, anyway," Nabiki agreed.

"Well, you know what they say, that life is what happens while you are making plans," Yumi said, "Look at me, a case in point. Where was I not long ago, after all. In a miserable, loveless marriage, with a daughter who hated me."

"Never hated you, Mommy, we just had drifted apart. Since you've moved in here, we've gotten so much closer," Sayuri protested.

"The point is, that wasn't part of my plan," Yumi explained.

"Well, speaking of plans, we have homework to do if we want to get to our training session on time," Ranma said, "So, Akane, Sayuri and I need to disappear for a while."

"I've got some snacks ready for you that I'll bring up," Yumi said. The three youths nodded their heads in thanks and made their way upstairs.

Souta said, "I talked to Mom. She was fine with coming over for dinner this weekend to meet everyone. She's very excited about everything."

"I know Daddy is looking forward to meeting your family," Kasumi said.

"As is Mom," Souta said, "I will have to warn you. Grandfather is a bit of a character."

"I think we can handle someone who is a bit of a character," Kasumi said, "Our family is a bit unique."

"Until Saturday, then, Kasumi-san," Souta said, bowing slightly.

"Around six thirty or so," Kasumi said.

Nabiki cleared her throat, and pointedly looked at her sister and Yumi, who got the hint and returned to the family room.

"See you tomorrow, then," Souta said.

"If you think you're getting away from here with out kissing me, you're sadly mistaken," Nabiki said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Souta said, as he bent down and captured her lips.

----------------------

Nabiki was in the middle of her kata when the door to the dojo came crashing open. There, framed in the doorway, were two Amazon girls, one on either side of a tired-looking Kumon, who looked like he had been ridden hard and put away wet, while the two girls had a mysterious smirk, somewhat reminiscent of that on the La Gioconda.

"Yo Kumon, you're late," Ranma said, with a faint grin on his face, "Did the girls keep you busy?"

"Shut up, Saotome," Ryü growled, though it would have been more impressive if the growl had risen about a squeak, and he hadn't been walking gingerly into the room.

#Sisters, welcome to our school,# Ranma said in an oddly formal voice as he bowed to the twins.

#We are honoured to be here, sister,# Lin-Lin said, ignoring the incorrect gender of the person in front of her.

"What sister say," Ran-Ran said.

#Is your airen accepting his new status?# Ranma asked, his eyes dancing with unsurpressed mirth.

#It was very hard to get him to understand,# Ran-Ran said, then she pouted and said, #Xiao Mei, it is very hard to treat you correctly.#

"I understand," Ranma said, as he walked over to the water jug and poured some on to his head. "This better?" she asked.

"Much," Lin-Lin said, with a sigh of relief.

"We not really understand all Elder tell us, but it help to talk to sister, not male," Ran-Ran said apologetically.

#I understand, sisters, and since there is no difference to me which body I wear, I will try to stay this way when you are here,# Ranma said, #Though my wife will have a different opinion.#

Akane surprised her then by saying in halting Chinese, #Gender matter not. Soul is all. Airen is Airen, no matter whether male or female.#

Ran-Ran grinned then, and bowed to Akane. "Sister have right of it. Person is here," she said, placing her hand over her heart.

#You do me honour, calling me sister,# Akane said, bowing to the girl.

#Honour is ours, knowing shield-sister of Xiao Mei,# Lin-Lin said.

The pleasant interlude was broken then as Nodoka walked in, pulling a somewhat bedraggled Genma into the dojo.

"Hello Pop," Ranma said, cheerily, "What are you doing here?"

"I brought him here," Nodoka replied, "He showed up at home, and I wanted to find out what happened to Kumon since he didn't show up last night."

"Oh yeah, I guess in all of the excitement, I forgot to call," Ranma said.

Genma growled angrily, "Why are you a girl, Ranma?"

"Well," Ranma began, in a voice filled with artificial patience, "There was this baka of a Pop who was too stupid to admit that he couldn't read Chinese, a cursed training ground, and a bunch of springs that no one in their right mind would go near."

"NO, WHY ARE YOU FEMALE RIGHT NOW!" Genma roared.

"Common courtesy," Ranma said, waving off the furious Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran, as they bristled, flourishing their weapons.

"What do you mean by that?" Nodoka asked, trying to stem off the explosion she could see coming, as evidenced by the slight throbbing vein on the side of her son, well, daughter's forehead.

"My Amazon sisters Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran are here, but it is difficult for them to handle me as a male, so to make things easier for them, I changed genders," Ranma explained, patiently. She sighed and said, #Ran-Ran, Lin-Lin, this is my mother, Nodoka, and I'm sure you remember Pop.#

"It honour to meet you, Nodoka-san," Lin-Lin said, bowing deeply, "Daughter make too too good Amazon warrior. You should be proud of her."

"Like sister say," Ran-Ran echoed, bowing just as deeply, "Big sister make great name in village. Can not say same for ugly fat man. His nickname was he who steal, and eat a lot."

"I am honoured to meet you, and happy to hear that about Ranma, though that is no surprise to me," Nodoka said, bowing slightly. She carefully hid a smile at the name her husband had received and then asked, "What happened to Kumon so he couldn't come home last night? I see he made it here."

"You mean airen?" Lin-Lin asked.

"Um, Mom, Ryü ran afoul of one of the Amazon traditions. He beat them in combat, and according to their ancient laws, well, he's married to them now," Ranma replied, not hiding the amusement in his voice.

"Married?" Nodoka asked, in some surprise, "Oh dear, and he had just moved into the house. I suppose he'll be leaving then."

Genma had been looking around the dojo, which was filled with students being taught by Akane and his old friend Soun, and clearly not liking what he was seeing. He asked, a hint of anger in his voice, "Boy, what's going on in here?"

"Well, duh, it looks like a class in martial arts to me," Ranma said, as if to a child.

"You can't teach a class," Genma growled.

"Oh, since when? Need I remind you who the Grandmaster of the school is, and who decides what students are part of the school?" Ranma replied, coolly, "Or have you forgotten in your travels?"

"But you can't share the Saotome secrets without my permission!" Genma snapped.

"Au contraire, Pop," Ranma said, sternly, crossing her arms across her chest, "As Grandmaster, those secrets are mine to hand out to whatever students I think are ready for them. You lost any say in the matter when I defeated the old pervert."

Genma stared at her, sputtering in anger.

Soun called, "Ranma is correct, Saotome. It is her decision now for both schools."

"Besides, you've already given out some of the family secrets any way," Ranma said, "Which reminds me. Hey, Kumon, get your arse over here."

The young man walked over to the group.

"Pop, this is my latest student, Ryü Kumon," Ranma said, then, "Ryü, this is my Pop, Genma Saotome."

Ryü's eyes went cold and he said, coldly, "Hello, my name is Ryü Kumon. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"

Ranma hid a smile as he recognized the movie quote, while Genma went pale. He backed away a step, only to have Kumon approach, repeating the modified quote from the movie as a mantra. Finally, Genma broke and ran off, with Kumon chasing him, still repeating the words.

"Looks like Pop is in trouble again," Ranma said, with a grin.

"You don't look too worried," Nodoka said, staring at her daughter in surprise.

"Hey, I figure anyone who can quote The Princess Bride can't be too bad," Ranma replied, "Anyway, what's Pop doing back in town?"

"He's spent all of the money that I gave him, and came back to give me a status report on how he was coming in atoning for all of the things that he had done wrong," Nodoka replied.

"Ah, well this is good timing then. He'll be able to make up for what he did to Kumon's father, once Ryü has a kilogram or two of flesh run off the old man, on the other hand, this is my time he's a wasting," Ranma said, as she watched the chase, though now it was Kumon chasing a wet panda. She called, "Hey, you poor man's Inigo Montoya, are you done playing?"

"Sure, Saotome, I can play pin the tail on the panda anytime!" Ryü called as he veered off to the dojo, grinning evilly.

Ranma growled, "Get your arse in here then, and you can spar with your wives. That way you can get used to them kicking your sorry arse around."

"Yeah, right, like that'll happen," Kumon retorted.

"Already did, remember, Cologne told me they showed up at the café with you trussed up like a pig," Ranma shot right back, with a grin, "Since you didn't run quick enough, you got caught and that's why you're their airen."

Kumon smirked, and said, "No, the reason I'm their airen is because they jumped me last night and then this morning."

Ranma grinned at him and said, "Two things. One, they didn't drag in here dead like you, and two, that's way too much information."

"I'd better go take care of Genma," Nodoka said, looking at the quivering mass of fur collapsed on the grass next to the kitchen.

"That's probably a good idea. Yumi usually has a kettle heating in the kitchen," Ranma said as she glanced over to where she was performing a kata under the watchful eye of her boyfriend.

"Yumi," Nodoka called, "If you'd like, I can start the meal preparations."

Without breaking concentration, Yumi replied, "Actually that's done. But you could start the rice and soup."

"Consider it done," Nodoka told her friend, as she headed down the steps.

"Airen!" Lin-Lin called, "Spar with me!'

"No, spar with me!" Ran-Ran said.

Kumon glanced between the two girls, no women, he could never doubt that, not after last night, and blanched.

Kodachi snickered and said, just loud enough to be heard, "Ain't love grand."

Sayuri stopped in her tracks and asked, "Dost mine ears deceiveth me? Didst thou just say ain't?"

Kodachi growled, "Please, I really hate it when Tacchi butchers the Bard. And yes, I can say the occasional vulgarity."

Sayuri grinned at her and replied, "I'm just glad you're human, girlfriend."

"Instead of the plastic doll that I pretended to be, you mean?" Kodachi asked, with a bit of a grin.

"Something like that," Akane said.

"Yeah, I like this Kodachi. Didn't much care for that gymnastics bimbo," Akane replied, with a grin.

"I was never a bimbo," Kodachi smirked, "Though I will admit to being a bit off."

"Yeah, right, off, that's a good word," Akane teased, "Though I do like this Kodachi so much better."

Kodachi replied, "Truth be told, so do I."

----------------------

Genma watched in utter amazement as the Tendo family room filled to capacity as everyone knelt or sat at the table, with a strange woman sitting nearly in his old friend's lap.

"Saotome, my old friend, let me introduce you to Yumi," Soun said, grandly, "You may remember Sayuri, this is her mother and my friend."

Yumi arched an eyebrow at him and purred, "Just a friend?"

"Well, special friend," Soun replied, as he discretely dropped his napkin into his lap, hiding his reaction.

"I am happy for you, my old friend," Genma grunted, "You look much better than the last time I saw you."

"Why shouldn't I?" Soun replied, "Things have changed greatly since you left on your last journey. The dojo is flourishing, with so many students, and I feel so much younger just because of that. Nabiki is engaged to a very nice man. And I have found someone who I care a great deal for."

Yumi blushed prettily at that comment, knowing the actual truth behind his words. While not totally traditional, the man that had stolen her heart showed how much he loved her by his actions, not his words, following the traditions of their people.

"How have you been, my old friend?" Soun asked.

Unfortunately, Genma had just finished filling his gaping maw with a load of food, so he was unable to answer.

"He has been retracing some of his steps to correct some of his misdeeds," Nodoka said, while Yumi narrowed her eyes at the crude manners of this strange man. In fact it was a mystery to her how Ranma had turned out to be such a nice person with this as his example.

"We should celebrate your good fortune, my old friend," Genma said grandiosely, "Why don't we have some of your good saké?"

"I'm sorry, Saotome-kun," Yumi said quickly, "But I forgot to buy some today after our party last night. In fact, I believe that the only thing we have to drink is the tea, or water."

"Yumi is right," Kasumi interjected, a slight frown briefly marring her features, "I totally forgot to restock the cabinet. What with all of the excitement of Nabiki and Souta, I didn't even think about it."

"Ah well," Genma said, "That can't be helped. Congratulations on your engagement, Nabiki."

"Thank you, Mr. Saotome," Nabiki said, evenly, "That means so much to me to hear that from you." The sarcasm in her voice was completely missed by the balding martial artist.

"Looks like traveling on the road seems to agree with you, Saotome," Soun said, "You seem to have lost some weight."

'Yeah, it's amazing what not being able to eat us out of house and home has done for him,' Nabiki thought, 'Not to mention how him being gone has helped with our budget. I wonder how Nodoka managed with him staying at her place before she kicked him out of Nerima.'

"The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril," Genma prated, "And my months on the road have reminded me often of that old saying. But, it was a journey well worth taking, for I have helped many people on that trek."

'Yeah, helped them out of their money or food, I bet,' Ranma scoffed mentally, 'Pop, who do you think you are fooling? You almost never help anyone unless there's something in it for you.'

"I returned to many of the dojos that Ranma and I visited during his training trip, and found that for reasons that were unknown to me, I wasn't immediately welcomed," Genma said.

'Gee, Saotome, I wonder why that would have been? After all, surely all of your good points would have outweighed your gluttinous behavior, your petty larceny, and your crudeness, wouldn't they?' Akane thought, rolling her eyes at the man who unfortunately was her father-in-law.

"But, I am happy to say, once they saw that I indeed meant to atone for whatever misdeeds that I might have performed, and was willing to work at whatever menial task that the sensei wished to set before me, they soon changed their tune, and welcomed me with open arms," Genma finished.

"Pop," Ranma said, slowly, "Not that I would doubt your word, or anything." He was interrupted by a snort of disbelief coming from almost everyone in the room. "As I was saying, I going to need to see more evidence than your unsupported word," he finished.

"You doubt my word?" Genma asked, having the audacity to look affronted.

"Fortunately my son, we don't have to rely solely on his word," Nodoka interrupted, "The letters of commendation that I read last night all praise your father, extolling the change in his actions."

"In that case, I have to admit to being surprised, Pop. I didn't really think you had it in you to turn over a new leaf. Figured it would be really hard to teach an old panda new tricks, as it were," Ranma said, an amazed look on his face.

Genma looked hurt and said, "I am surprised at you, son. After all of my sacrificies, giving up my own personal comforts to take you on a ten-year training trip. Oh the tragedy, to have such an ungrateful child! What did I ever do to deserve this disrespect?"

"Cut the pathos, Pop," Ranma replied, clearly annoyed, "Will he be staying long, Mom?"

"Only a few days," Nodoka answered.

"Good," Ranma said, flatly. Then he turned to his wife and asked, "How do you feel about a short training trip starting tomorrow?"

"That might be a good idea, get you out of Nerima before you start breaking things," Akane replied, as she could see her husband was suppressing his anger, "Like buildings, or people."

"That might be for the best," Nodoka sighed, "Come husband, we should return home."

Genma looked at her in shock, quickly shoving some more food in his mouth.

"Auntie, you aren't going to stay and finish your meal?" Kasumi asked.

"No, I think we should be going," Nodoka replied.

"You are certainly welcome to stay, Mom," Ranma said, in a artic cold voice, "And if Pop promises to only open his mouth to put food in it, he is also welcome."

Genma opened his mouth to say something, only to stop at the glare coming from Nodoka, and with a hint of steel in her voice, she said, "He will behave, you have my word on it. I, too, haven't forgotten all of the things that he did to you, all in the guise of training." Genma winced as he felt the bite of those cutting words, glad that at least for the moment, they were only words, as he eyed the hilt of the blade sticking out of the clothwrapped bundle lying next to his wife.

----------------------

Author's Notes: Once again an update to this little story. I hope, Gentle Readers, that this installment meets with your approval. And for those of you were expecting the proposal, props to you. As always, reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged.


	72. The Fairy Tale Ending

Chapter 72 The Fairy Tale Ending

Akane cast a worried look at her husband as he had retreated into himself during the dinner. While Genma had managed to keep his mouth closed during the dinner, at least as far as talking was concerned, the odd grimace on the older man's face during the entire ordeal had obviously affected Ranma. She reached over and grabbed his hand and squeezed it, actually rather hard, causing him to glance over at her. She gave him 'that' look, and he mouthed, "Later, but thanks."

Nodoka didn't miss the byplay between her younger son and his wife, and an almost imperceptible frown flashed across her face. While she still was not completely familiar with her son's moods, she could tell that something was upsetting him.

Finally, the endless dinner was finished, and the family began to separate. While normally, Ranma would have helped with the cleanup, the vise-like grip that his wife had on his hand kept him from helping. However, to most everyone's surprise, Nabiki had shown a most unNabiki-like streak by assisting in taking the dishes into the kitchen. Yumi had somehow picked up on the incipent explosion and had dragged Soun off somewhere, though based on the expression on his face, he wasn't too concerned about being taken away, and in fact appeared to be extremely 'hopeful,' something his daughters had decided to ignore.

Ranma slowly looked up, his eyes cold, and a chill filled the room, causing Genma to wish that he could transform and gain his fur coat. "Pop," the young man growled, "I really don't know why you came back, and I doubt that you have truly turned over a new leaf. Something about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in that nervous gesture that Akane had come to know so well.

"As my husband is attempting to say," Akane broke in with a sigh, "We don't really trust you, Saotome."

"Actually dear, it's more that I don't like who I turn into when that fat bastard is around," Ranma said, softly, gently squeezing her hand. After a long moment, he said, in a much louder voice, "Pop, the only reason I still allow you here is because I truly believe you thought what you were doing was the best way to fulfill the pledge you made Mom. Now that probably says loads about your intelligence, not to mention your common sense, so I won't say anything more about it. Akane and I are leaving for a while, and I would consider it a favor if you weren't in Nerima when we came back."

"Ranma, I have had a lot of time to think while I was wandering around Japan," Genma said slowly, the sincerity oozing from his voice, "And I truly am sorry for some of the things I put you through. But I can't blame you for mistrusting my change of heart. I've not really given you any reason to trust me."

"Save it, Pop, I'm not really interested in your lies," Ranma said, coldly, "My life is pretty good right now. And while you'll always be my Pop, I don't want you around to screw things up. I don't want you to tell me you've changed; I need you to show me. Actions speak louder than words, Pop, they always have. And your actions in the past have shown you have a certain character, one not really worthy of my respect."

"What can I do to change your mind? I really have changed," Genma persisted.

"Son, please give him a chance," Nodoka begged.

Ranma closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose in a tired gesture. Finally, he said, "If you can prove to Mom's satisfaction that you have changed your ways, then I'll consider it. Right now, I just don't trust you anymore, Pop. You've done too many things to me that I have a hard time forgiving. For now, though, I need to get out of here." He stood up, and helped Akane to stand. "We've got some packing to do," he added as the couple turned to leave, "Don't be here in the morning." He paused, then, and turned, a blush on his face, "Sorry, Mom, that was a bit rude of me." He grinned wryly and finished, "Bye mom, we'll be leaving early, probably at first light, so I doubt we'll see each other until we get back."

* * *

Once the young couple had turned the corner and disappeared from view, Genma sagged, the drooping of his once proud carriage showing that the warrior spirit within him had been defeated. "I've lost him," he sighed, not caring who heard him. 

"Yes, Genma, I believe you have indeed," Nodoka said, a sad look on her face as she watched her family fragment in front of her. She asked, sadly, "Was what you did worth the price you just paid?"

Genma turned troubled eyes on his wife, looking more thoughtful than she had ever seen him. "I always believed that old saying, that whatever didn't kill you made you stronger. And I guess that's the way I trained the boy. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing, and I did create one of the best martial artists that I have ever seen. That has to count for something, doesn't it?" he replied.

"You tell me," Nodoka said, calmly, "You're the one whose son just walked out without a backward glance, and basically told you to stay out of his life."

"The path of a true martial artist is always strewn with difficulities, and fraught with peril," he replied, as he stood up. He reached down and assisted his wife to her feet and said, with a heavy sigh, "Alas, what's done is done and I can't change the past. All I can do is hope to show him that I am not the same person that I once was. Since he doesn't want me here, I guess we should head back to your house."

Nodoka looked at him, her eyes unreadable, and then nodded. "I think we should go, or at least once I talk to Kasumi," she said.

* * *

Akane continued glancing at her husband as they left the family room, and his parents behind them. As they walked down the immaculate wooden floors, toward the stairs, she sensed that he was extremely upset about what had gone on since his father had shown up at the dojo that afternoon, but decided to wait until they reached the somewhat dubious privacy of their bedroom before rounding on him. 

Ranma could almost feel the stare that his wife was giving him as they walked down the hall. Almost shyly, he reached out and slowly clasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as if in thanks that she was there, as an unspoken acknowledgement that he would explain why he was feeling the way he was. Silently, they continued their journey, until, with a sigh of relief, they reached the sanctity of their room, and hid behind the closed door. He immediately busied himself with packing his backpack, which merely consisted of adding the clothing that he would need to the contents already within, since he always ensured that the camping supplies were always ready so he could leave on a moment's notice, a habit that he had almost unknowingly picked up from his years on the road with the old man.

Akane stared at him in fond exasperation, and growled, "What's wrong with you, Ranma?"

"Akane, I can't, not like this," Ranma said, softly, "Would you get me some water?"

Akane glowed bright red as she said, shrilly, "NO, I don't think so. No more of this having to be a girl to share the really big things. I married you for better and for worse, damn it to hell, so don't you dare try to hide how you feel!"

Ranma sighed and walked over to his wife and embraced her, letting his head fall to her shoulder. "Remember what I said? That I didn't like who I was when Pop was around?"

"Of course," Akane said, gently kissing his cheek.

Once again, Ranma sighed, collapsing into the comfort of her embrace. She felt a tear land on her back as she felt him shudder in her arms. Finally, he raised a teary face and said, "When he's not here, I can forget about most of what he put me through, Akane, but when he's back, all of it comes rushing back to me. The physical abuse I can live with, after all, most of it was indeed some manner of training, to toughen me up, if nothing else." He frowned, and continued, "The emotional abuse, though, that I think affected me the most. The constant belittling of my abilities, the name-calling, and everything else he did, that all added up to a lot of emotional scarring." He stopped as Akane hugged him almost to the point where he could swear he heard his ribs creak.

"I think I stopped thinking of him as my father when he threw me in that pit," Ranma continued, as his eyes grew distant, and his voice went harsh.

Akane crooned softly, "As well you should have. A real father wouldn't have subjected you to that kind of torture." She began to weep, softly, tears falling from her eyes as she finally realized the things that her husband had lived through. While some Kami had shown her some of the things that had occurred before, they were through a glass dimly, but now she was seeing some of them face to face, and the hurt in the young man's voice nearly broke her heart as she began to see just what he had been through in the ten years he had been traveling with his father.

Ranma pulled her head up and gazed into her eyes, an eerie light in his eyes that was showing the raw power residing in his slim frame, a power that quite frankly was causing her to wish that they were doing something else other than standing in their room, something that involved their bed, and for some reason, a copious amount of whipped cream.

"And, I think that was part of the reason you and I had such a hard time connecting the first time," Ranma said, passionately, yet softly, causing even more warmth in her belly, "I had all of the social skills of my father and it showed in how I treated you. And I hated how that was. What with my most excellent ability to put my foot in my mouth when I was around you, I despaired of us ever getting together, even though you were the only woman I ever wanted."

Ranma stopped as Akane prevented him from saying anything more by the simple expedient of covering his lips with hers, her tongue begging entry, and her clever fingers began the task of removing his clothing.

She pulled away briefly to pull her blouse off over her head, not even bothering with the pesky buttons, exposing her body to him, and he breathed, "Kawaii, definitely kawaii."

"Less talk, more kissing," Akane hissed as she slid out of her skirt, leaving them both in just their underwear. Ranma pushed her backwards until her legs hit the bed, and then the two of them tumbled onto the mattress.

* * *

True to his decision, Ranma and Akane had left at first light, though not before Nabiki had extorted a promise that they would do the best that they could to be back in time for the dinner with the Higurashi's. That, however, was now a promise two days old, and there had been no sign of either of them since they had vanished through the gate of the compound. The dinner was now that evening and the two remaining sisters were showing their concern about the missing pair. The normally mild-mannered Kasumi had actually been seen to snap angrily at Sayuri, who had innocently left a dishtowel hanging slightly askew on the towel rack. On the other hand, Nabiki seemed to be channeling her older sister, as she had been busily sweeping, dusting, mopping, and in general had done more house-cleaning in the last two days than she had probably done in the prior ten years, combined. 

Now, the time for the guests to arrive was nigh, and Kasumi, with the able assistance of Yumi, Sayuri and Hinako, was preparing a large meal of chicken stir-fry, steamed rice, and several different kinds of sushi. Nabiki had been banned from the kitchen, and indeed was in her room, sitting carefully on her chair so as not to wrinkle the kimono that she was wearing, one that had been handed down for several generations, and was strictly used for a mi-ai ceremony, for in spite of her assurances to Souta, her father had insisted that they have a formal betrothal meal, especially once he remembered that Souta's grandfather was the priest of a Shinto shrine. She had, however refused to wear a hood, or otherwise cover her face, and her father had reluctantly acquiesced to that non-negotiable demand.

Soun stood nervously by the front door, waiting for his guests to arrive, dressed in his only suit, albeit one that had been immaculately brushed by Yumi so that it nearly shone. He smiled happily as he thought about the woman that was brightening up his life, wondering not for the first time if some Kami had taken an interest in his family causing all of the good fortune that had happened since Ranma had arrived. A polite knock on the door caused him to start. Quickly, he flung the door open, to find a nervous-looking Souta standing there, dressed plainly, yet finely, in a dark suit, with an attractive woman standing behind him, a faint dusting of grey accenting her otherwise dark hair, with a pleasant smile on her face. She was attired in a conservative dress, and was holding the arm of a very elderly man, with a long flowing beard and mustache, his hair pulled back into a topknot, and wearing a Shinto priest's robe to round out his ensemble.

"Tendo-san, this is my mother, Kyoko Higurashi, and my grandfather, Kentaro Higurashi," Souta said, bowing politely to the older man, "Grandfather, mother, this is Soun Tendo, the father of Nabiki."

"Please, come in, and welcome to our home," Soun said, stepping back from the door to allow them to enter.

Souta stepped back to help his grandfather totter up the low steps to the front door and then into the entry hall, while his mother hovered anxiously behind them, a small box tucked discretely under one arm. "Grandfather, let me help you with your sandals," he said softly, squatting down to unlace the sandals from the old man's feet.

"We're meeting in the family room, Souta," Soun said, as he quickly moved to assist him, eying the old man as he tottered.

"Thank you, Tendo-san," Souta said softly, as the two of them divested his antiquarian ancestor of his sandals, and then Soun led the other three around the corner and into the family room, where the extended Tendo clan was gathered around a table that was groaning with food.

* * *

Soun stood proudly at the head of the table, and said, "Higurashi-san, this is my eldest daughter, Kasumi, and her husband, Tofu Ono, my youngest daughter Hinako, and my friend Yumi Sato and her daughter Sayuri. And of course, you know my middle daughter Nabiki." 

The old man bowed to the occupants of the room, and asked, "Don't you have one more daughter, Tendo-san?"

"Akane is with her husband on a training trip, though they thought they would be here for the dinner tonight," Nabiki replied, a faint frown on her face, a frown that promised misery to whoever had displeased her.

"They left in the middle of the week," Souta added, a matching frown on his face, "It was really odd. They were at school the day before, and never mentioned anything about not seeing us the rest of the week."

"It was a sudden decision on his part," Soun said, "But, enough about that; tonight is a night to get to know each other as we perform a mi-ai and agree to bind our families together."

"I'm looking forward to meeting all of you," Mrs. Higurashi said, in her soft voice, "Nabiki is such a sweet girl, and I am so glad that the two of them got together. And Souta has told me so much about his friends that I think I know them almost as well as I know my own children."

"Mom, you're embarrassing us," Souta said.

His mother smiled at him and said, "That's what parents do. I thought you would know that by now."

Kasumi interjected, "Why don't we bring in the meal and eat dinner?"

"An excellent suggestion," the old man replied in a quavery voice, "Souta has told us often about how marvelous you cook. Something this old man is interested in finding out for himself, he he."

* * *

Meanwhile, on a small island located somewhere in the Sea of Japan, a blue-haired girl was glaring at her red-haired companion, who was looking somewhat apologetically at the other girl. 

"This really wasn't something I intended, Akane," the red-haired girl said, with a heavy sigh, "All I wanted to do was visit some of the dojos that Pop allegedly went to and find out what happened. Seriously, I really forgot about Tsuruyasennen until we ended up here. Anyway, why would I want to star in a perverted version of Cinderella?"

Akane chuckled and replied, "Because you can't stand not being the center of attention, can you Ranma?"

"Ha, ha," Ranma said, scowling, though the light in her eyes showed she wasn't taking the comment seriously.

"We were just lucky when the cliff crumbled beneath us," Akane said, as she remembered how the two of them had ended up here in the decrepit old mansion.

"_Come on, slow poke," Ranma teased, as he danced around his wife while she was trying to hit him, his hair once more tied up in a pigtail. The sun shining behind her blinded him to the fact that they were standing very close to the edge of a precipice, where the land fell away sharply to the azure waters far below._

"_Just you wait, I'll get you yet," Akane growled, her aura beginning to flare visibly around her, as she sped up her attacks. Ranma actually had to work a little harder to avoid the flashing fists of his wife as the two of them continued to spar._

"_Remember, stay focused," Ranma said, as he dodged a vicious leg sweep by soaring into the air, only to see Akane follow._

"_Nowhere to run, now," Akane cried in triumph, as she managed to connect just enough to cause Ranma to tumble in his flight. They came dropping down, but because of the blow, Ranma landed awkwardly, as the two of them landed hard. Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave way, and they slid down the cliff in a shower of rocks and dirt, until they plummeted into the cold water below. Akane rose, spluttering, glad that Ranma had finally managed to teach her to swim. She glanced around, looking for Ranma, only to see her floating face down in the water, a large lump on the back of her head showing that she had been struck on the way down. Akane feverishly swam over and rolled her over, getting her face out of the water. She reached around with one arm and held her in place, and tried to get to the shore, only to realize, with a sinking heart, that there was a heavy current pulling her and her unconscious husband away from the safety of the shore and out into the dark blue sea._

_Suddenly, up in the distance, she saw a small island, which the current was carrying her towards. Standing high above the pounding surf, on a bluff looming out over the water, stood what appeared to be a castle out of a fairy tale, with many spires and turrets, all carved out of a white stone. With a sigh of relief, Akane allowed the heavy surf to carry them toward the rocky beach below the castle, pulling the dead weight of her lover and friend with her. Finally, one last surge of the white-topped waves pushed them onto the beach, depositing them gently just at the water line. Using what was left of her stamina, she crawled away from the water, pulling Ranma with her, and once she reached where she could, collapsed in a heap as her eyes closed from exhaustion._

* * *

_Ranma's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned slightly, feeling extremely confused. The last thing she remembered was sparring with Akane, but now, she was in a large bed in a stately room, with her wife entwined with her. The room appeared odd to her, and then she recognized that it was decorated in a British manor style, from the large, ornately carved wooden bed, the large matching dresser, the heavy drapes on either side of the headboard, as well as on all of the windows, and the picture frame paneling in the wainscoting around each wall._

"_Ah, you are awake," an elderly man said, as he approached, dressed in what Ranma vaguely recognized from some of the British comedies that Nabiki liked as a butler's uniform, except for the monocle in one eye._

_Akane mumbled something unintelligible, a gentle trail of drool running down from her mouth. Ranma shook her slightly, as she asked, "Where am I?" She sat up slowly, and reluctantly, pulling away from her wife, and rubbed the back of her head, wincing slightly at the lump she found._

"_You and your companion were found unconscious on the beach, miss," the old man said, "You were brought here in hopes that you might recover in more comfortable surroundings. That was a nasty bump on the back of your head, I hope you are feeling fine."_

_Akane finally roused, and as her eyes focused, she shot up straight in the bed, gasping, "Ranma!"_

"_Right here, tomboy," Ranma replied, as she hugged the other girl._

"_I was so worried about you," Akane gasped, "You were out cold."_

"_What happened?" Ranma asked, "The last thing I remember, we were sparring on that cliff."_

"_The cliff crumbled beneath us, and we fell into the ocean," Akane replied, "But, something must have hit you, because you wouldn't wake up. The ocean carried us to this island. That was the last thing that I remember, pulling us out of the water."_

_The old man cleared his throat and said, "You were very fortunate to have washed up on this very day, this very beach."_

"_Yes, for you are the very image of my beloved," another voice interrupted._

"_Huh?" Akane asked. Ranma and Akane looked over to the source of the voice to see a handsome young man standing in the doorway. He was wearing a kimono, with an interesting ocean pattern on the sleeves, showing the waves crashing, while on the legs, a fish was cavorting through the waves, with the words, 'Great Catch' written above. The young man held a fan in his left hand, while oddly, a bag of ice cubes was sitting on his head._

"_Who are you? And what do you mean saying I'm the image of your beloved," Akane asked._

"_Ah, pardon my manners, lovely lady, but I was actually referring to your companion," the man said, "Allow me to welcome you both to my private beach."_

_The butler asked, "Master Yohyo, are you well enough to rise from your bed?"_

"_Yes, Jeeves, for my lovesickness ends as of this day," Yohyo replied, taking the ice from off his head as he danced over to the two girls who were sitting on the edge of the bed, a matching look of confusion on their faces._

"_Do you know this guy?" Akane hissed._

_Ranma shook her head, and replied, "I don't remember him at all, Akane." She raised her voice, and said, "I'm sorry, uh, Yohyo wasn't I? But, I don't believe I've ever met you before."_

"_Come now, my lady, surely you jest," Yohyo said, a smile on his face, "How could you not remember me? For surely, I remember you, and the glorious day that we met."_

_From the puzzled look on Ranma's face, it was obvious she didn't have a clue what Yohyo was talking about._

"_Now my lady," Yohyo said, as he took Ranma's unshod foot in his hand, "With your lovely foot, stomp on me as hard as you can.'_

_Ranma's eyes narrowed as the two women screamed, "Pervert!" With an almost instinctinve reaction, they kicked him, sending Yohyo soaring gracefully into the air._

"_What are you, some kind of pervert!" Ranma cried as Akane hugged her._

"_Master Yohyo!" Jeeves exclaimed._

_Yohyo rushed back and said, "Silly girl, you misunderstand me, I said stomp, not kick."_

_Ranma stared at him, and suddenly a light of recognition appeared in her eyes. She backed away, and said, "Don't come any closer."_

_Yohyo moved closer, only to stop as the sound of a blow filled the air, as Akane moved quickly between them, and punched him in the nose._

"_Let me explain," Yohyo said, quickly, "Long ago I met her, just for a moment, and then I lost her." He sighed heavily and added, in verse, "But my heart it's true love surely knows, always I see her, when I wake or I doze, and even while blood drips from my nose." Sure enough, a small trickle of blood was flowing from the young man's nose, as he daintily brought a handkerchief to staunch the flow. "She left but just one clue and that is this," he continued, turning to show a print of a dainty foot on the back of his head._

"_A footprint?" Akane asked, in astonishment._

"_A poignant memento of her love," Yohyo said, turning his back for a moment._

"_Well it certainly isn't one of us," Ranma said._

"_Please humour me, step on me as hard as you can," Yohyo requested, looking back over his shoulder to see a vacant bed. "Ahhh, she's gone!" he cried._

_Below the castle, bounding from one rock to the next, Ranma looked back over her shoulder and called, "Come on, tomboy, keep up!"_

_Akane laughed and said, "What's the matter? Running away from another suitor?"_

"_Really, the guys I have to deal with," Ranma yelled back, "But, after all, I am taken. Or are you getting bored with me?"_

"_Ranma, I can never be bored around you. You were what they had in mind when they made up that old Chinese curse," Akane retorted with a grin._

_Ranma chuckled and began to retort, only to hear both her stomach and Akane's protest loudly._

"_I guess we should have gotten something to eat before we escaped," Akane said, sheepishly. The two of them continued on, and ended up on a rocky beach below the castle._

"_Akane, I think I remember this, at least a little," Ranma said, once they were far enough from the castle for them to feel safe._

"_Okay, spill, who is that guy?" Akane asked._

"_His name is Yohyo Tsuruyasennen, and he is the scion of a highly respected family within the Thousand Year Crane financial conclave," Ranma began, "And I think I met him a long time ago, but before I was cursed, so I'm a little confused about what he saw. Anyway, he was on a journey to train for a hot springs excavation."_

"_A hot springs excavation?" Akane asked._

"_His family was wealthy, but tradition bound, and invests in hot spring resorts. In every generation, each heir is required to excavate a new hot spring," Ranma replied._

"_Okay, but what does that have to do with you?" Akane asked._

"_He was fixing his meal one day, and I guess I came by and landed on his head, and ate up all his food," Ranma replied, very sheepishly, "But in my defense, Pop had starved me for most of two days."_

_Akane shook her head, and said, fondly,"Ranma, one of these days you need to learn to think with your head and not your stomach."_

"_Not one of my best traits, I know, but growing up with Pop didn't encourage a lot of deep thinking. I'm trying to change, but it is a bit difficult," Ranma said. As she did so, they heard several girls talking around the next bend in the beach._

"_Who is that?" Akane asked._

"_Oh, them," Ranma replied, "This island is the private beach of Yohyo's family, and every year, he invites girls to come here on this day. If I remember correctly, tonight is the night that he hopes to find the girl of his dreams." She gave a wry smile, and added, "It's a shame that all of it is a sham, and that the girl of his dreams is really a guy."_

"_What do you mean by a sham?" Akane asked._

"_Oh that. Well, if we had stayed a bit longer we would have seen that Yohyo is broke. I never really understood what happened to his family wealth, but there are parts of the castle that are falling apart, he has no electricity, so no hot water," Ranma replied, "But, there is something that we can do to fix that."_

"_Oh, what would that be?" Akane asked._

_Ranma smirked at her and said, "This castle is actually on the site of a large spring, but, there is a large boulder blocking the water. One of us can go to where it is in the castle and break the boulder, releasing the water."_

"_How are we going to get back in?" Akane asked._

"_That's easy. He is going to have a party tonight, one last swan song before he gets evicted from the property. All of the women were invited to the island. We'll just sneak in with them," Ranma said, then she frowned slightly, "I just wish your hair was a little longer."_

_Akane raised one hand to the back of her neck and touched the ends where her hair brushed her collar. "Why, what's wrong with my hair?" she asked, a little self-consciously, "I thought you liked my hair short?"_

"_What!" Ranma asked, then realized what she had said before. Sighing, she replied, "I like your hair short, or long, or anywhere in-between. But you do look cuter when it's short like it is now. It's just that right now, I wish you could put it in a braid, so you won't stand out. Come on, I'll show you." She grabbed Akane's hand and pulled her around the point separating the part of the beach that they were on with a festive party scene, consisting of dozens of women moving between many tables groaning with food._

_Akane jerked her hand loose, still a little miffed at Ranma until she realized what she had meant. All of the other girls, except for her, had their hair put up in a pig-tail, and indeed looked vaguely like Ranma from the back. A silent 'Oh' formed as the two of them headed toward the buffet tables to quiet their hunger._

* * *

_The sun sank below the horizon behind the castle, finishing a glorious sunset, the women gathered around the lighted tiki torches casting their light across the golden strand. As soon as it was totally dark, a massive explosion of fireworks occurred, lighting the area, and causing the crowd to 'Ooh' and 'Aah' at the display._

_One of the girls exclaimed, "Oh! That's the signal. It's time for the Bon Odori dance competition to start; we need to get up to the castle!"_

_A second girl added, her excitement almost palpable, "They say Master Yohyo's bride is to be chosen tonight!"_

"_Ooooh, my chance to marry a rich man!" a third said._

'_Golddiggers,' Akane thought, a little disgusted at the thought, 'Have they no real pride?' She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and asked, quietly, "So what's the plan?"_

"_We'll just follow them up to the castle, and then you can split off to find a place to hide," Ranma said, after a moment of thought. She shuddered and added, "Since I can't remember where the damn thing is, the simplest way to find it is to have Yohyo show us the way. If I remember correctly, when my foot fit his footprint, I got knocked out by something, and woke up in the chamber with the boulder. We'll just let that happen again, and you can follow us down there."_

"_Sure, Ranma," Akane hissed back,"But don't get yourself hurt too badly," as the two of them followed the crowd of women into the main floor of the castle, to find a large room brightly decorated, with hundreds of paper lanterns providing light to the vast room, and on a platform soaring high above the stone floor, a man beating an eerie rhythm on a large drum. The other women fell into a single file around the pavilion, while she peeled off to find a place to hide._

_Ranma glanced around at the large crowd, and sighed. 'This is one of my dumber plans,' she thought, as she watched each woman eagerly step forward toward a prone Yohyo, a look of eager anticipation on their face. The routine was the same, the woman would place their foot on the back of Yohyo's head, and then he would say, "Next!" dashing that woman's heart, as she would turn and walk dejectedly away to drown her sorrows at the ice cream bar. The line began to shorten as more and more of the women were rejected._

_After what seemed like forever, the last girl passed by Yohyo. "Alas, not her either," he said, as he stood up. He hung his head in sorrow and declaimed, "Oh how can this be! I thought tonight, surely, I would find her who haunts my memories!"_

"_My poor Master Yohyo," Jeeves said, sympathetically. Then he spotted Ranma standing diffendently against one of the columns. "Ah, but there is one more left. That young lady over there," he said, as he rushed over. "Please come, come," he pleaded, as he grabbed Ranma's hand._

_Ranma winced at the thought of what she was about to do, and nodded. She walked over to the once again recumbent Yohyo, and stepped delicately on his head and pushed._

"_This horrible grinding," Yohyo said, springing up, "Then it **was **you! The girl of my past, and future!"_

_The other girls gasped as he declared his love for the interloper in their midst, and the sound of fireworks exploding in the air._

"_I'm not the one for you, though, my heart belongs to another," Ranma said, stepping back._

"_I'll never let you get away again!" Yohyo exclaimed. He yanked on a conveniently placed rope, causing a large iron ball to land on Ranma's head, knocking her out. Then he turned to his butler and added, "Jeeves, please make the necessary arrangements."_

"_Yes sir!" the elderly man replied, as he watched Yohyo pick the young woman up in his arms and tenderly carry her off._

_Akane watched from the depths of an embrasure, pressing herself against the rough stone walls of the opening as Yohyo walked by, Ranma in his arms. Silent as a ghost, she followed him, as he led her into the depths of the castle and to a large courtyard in the center of the castle. She continued hiding as she watched him lay Ranma gently down on the marble floor, next to a large boulder with an odd looking statue resting on it. Then she watched in horror as he picked up a wicked looking pick-axe, a wild look in his eyes._

_Yohyo stood over the body of the woman he loved. Then he swung the pick-axe, just as Akane cried, "Genko Fenikusu!" firing a ki blast that hit him in the small of his back, causing the pick to fly out of his hand and clang loudly against the boulder, and then bouncing back to hit Yohyo in the head, dropping him where he stood._

_Akane rushed over as Ranma sat up, rubbing her head. "What's all the racket?" she asked, as suddenly Jeeves came rushing in to attend to his master._

"_You wicked, wicked girl," Jeeves said, "How dare you attack Master Yohyo?"_

"_He was going to kill Ranma!" Akane exclaimed._

"_No he wasn't," the old man shot back, "He was trying to use the axe on that boulder." He bent down to pick Yohyo up, crying, "Oh my poor master!"_

"_Wait, Jeeves. Tell us the truth! What is going on here?" Akane asked, "Why is there no running water in this place? No electricity?"_

"_That is not my tale to tell," the old man replied, stiffly, as Yohyo began to groan. The young man's eyes fluttered open. "My poor master," he repeated, stifling his tears._

"_Ah, do not fear for me, Jeeves. Just a minor headache," Yohyo said, softly._

"_And just when you've been reunited with your lady love," the old man babbled, wiping the tears from his eyes with a pristine handkerchief._

"_Look, this is all a big mistake," Ranma said, "You have never seen me before in your life. That I can promise you. You've mistaken me for someone else."_

"_And I still want to know the answers to my questions," Akane growled, "We know that there is no water or electricity. But why?"_

_Yohyo sighed and traded glances with Jeeves. He said, sadly, "In truth, the conclave shudders under its debt. It is on the verge of collapse."_

_Akane asked, "But what about that big festival out there?"_

"_Only a final show for our customers," Jeeves admitted._

"_Our utilities have been shut off. Tomorrow, this island will be handed over to another," Yohyo said, a tear dripping from his eye._

"_Oh, if that boulder would only crack and the spring would flow!" Jeeves cried, his words barely understandable through his wrenching sobs._

"_Easy Jeeves," Yohyo said, "Don't say any more."_

"_Wait, you mean there is a spring on this island?" Ranma asked, playing along._

"_Forgive me. In truth, I am too poor to ask you to be my," Yohyo began, only to be interrupted by Akane._

"_Never mind that, she's taken, anyway! What about the spring?" Akane exclaimed._

"_Tonight, we will have a farewell karaoke contest!" Yohyo began, pulling a microphone out of somewhere, as the old man wailed on his accordion._

"_Just **answer** the question!" Akane exclaimed._

_Yohyo pointed to the boulder, and replied, "This is the boulder. If it would break, the hot spring would flow."_

"_Unfortunately, it is extremely hard, and the pick merely bounces off," Jeeves added._

"_And if the spring would flow?" Akane asked._

"_I could make this island a resort, and I would be flourishing again," Yohyo replied._

"_Okay, then we'll do it," Ranma said._

"_You, what can mere girls do?" Yohyo asked._

_Akane bristled angrily, and snapped, "What do you mean by mere girls? I'll show you **mere**!"_

_Ranma caught her wrist before she could swing at Yohyo. "Save it for the boulder," she suggested._

"_Breaking Point?" Akane asked._

"_Yeah, that makes the most sense to me. We'll have to do it from the same side of the boulder though," Ranma replied._

"_Okay, you two need to leave, this could be a bit dangerous," Akane ordered, still steaming a little._

"_If it is dangerous, then I forbid you to do it," Yohyo said, "I would be devastated if something were to happen to such fair maidens."_

"_JUST GO!" Ranma exploded, the force of her voice driving him back several meters, and causing an ominous creak in one of the inner walls._

"_Going, that we are," Jeeves said, clearly frightened of the girl, as he dragged his master out of the courtyard, slamming the double doors closed behind them._

_Ranma looked grimly at Akane as they stationed themselves on one side of the massive boulder. "Center yourself," she said, softly, as the two girls briefly closed their eyes. A soft glow began to form around each of them, as they focused their energies._

_On the other side of the door, Yohyo asked, "I wonder what they are doing? I'll just peak a little." He opened the door in spite of Jeeves protest, "N-no Master Yohyo, please!"_

"_On three," Ranma said, and then counted down. As she said, "Three," as one the two girls cried, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" stabbing the stubborn stone with their index fingers. The boulder cracked from the point of impact, surprising both girls since they expected it to shatter. "That's one tough stone," Ranma said, glaring at it._

"_Are we going to do it again?" Akane asked._

"_What's happening?" Yohyo asked, as he heard a loud rumble._

_Ranma smiled and said, "Don't think so," as suddenly, water came pouring out the mouth of the odd shaped statue, and causing billowing clouds of steam to occur._

"_The hot spring!" Yohyo exclaimed as he opened the door, and walked in two see two shadowy figures walking out of the clouds of steam. However, instead of there being two girls, the girl of his dreams had vanished. Instead a taller, dark haired young man stood there, holding the hand of the other girl. "What?" he exclaimed._

"_Sorry about this," Ranma said, "I **am** that girl that you thought haunted your memories. But you couldn't have seen me, not as a girl." He bowed his head for a moment, and said, "You must have only seen me, running away after eating your food, and thought from the back that I was female. Now, I figure we're even. Thank you for all of your kindness."_

_Akane bowed politely to Yohyo and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope that your future looks brighter now that you have your spring." _

"Yeah, I'm glad you were able to get us to this island," Ranma agreed, breaking Akane out of her remembrance of the last two days.

Akane blinked her eyes for a moment, and giggled. "I still can't believe that you got wet as soon as we walked out of the castle. You hadn't been male for more than ten minutes this time," she snickered. Then she said, "It was a good thing that we did."

"I'm glad we were able to help Yohyo. That's one less debt for me to repay," Ranma agreed, "I'm just sorry we're missing the dinner with Souta's family. I wanted to meet them and get to know them a little better."

"Yeah, Nabiki will be a bit disappointed in us, I'm afraid," Akane said, ruefully.

"We only promised to try to be there," Ranma reminded her, "Now, let's see about getting back to the mainland, and heading home."

----------------------

Ranma was in his room, trying to catch up the schoolwork he had missed during their 'short' training trip, while Akane was downstairs attempting to cajole Yumi into making them a snack. Grumbling under his breath, "Why should I care about which warlord became the first shogun?" he began reading the relevant pages in his Japanese history book, while attempting to fight off the boredom the topic was causing. He closed his eyes for a moment, which was almost a fatal mistake, but he was saved from that fate by the sound of the door opening.

"Ranma," Akane said, causing him to jerk upright and his eyes to fly open.

"I wasn't asleep!" he exclaimed, as she giggled.

"I just wanted to tell you that Mom is here, and wanted to talk to you about Genma," Akane said, once she managed to stop giggling.

Ranma frowned quickly and then sighed. "Well, I was wondering what might possibly be worse than this assignment," he said, with a tired smile, "I hope I'm not about to find out." He ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it up, and then asked, "Why don't you ask her to join us up here? I'd rather not have this conversation at all, but I'm positive I don't want to have it in front of the rest of the family."

"Sure, she's standing just down the hall. I thought you would rather have a bit of privacy," Akane said, as she gave a come-hither gesture toward the stairs, and walked into the room to sit down behind Ranma and wrap her arms around his chest.

Nodoka walked in and knelt gracefully down in front of her son and daughter-in-law, something looking oddly amiss. Then Ranma realized that she was without her everpresent bundle.

"Hey, Mom," Ranma said, tiredly.

Nodoka's mouth quirked as if to hide a smile, and then she said, "That's not much of a greeting, my manly son."

"Sorry, Mom, it's just that I went out to do battle with the dragons called Japanese History, and, well, sadly, the dragons won," Ranma said, causing Akane to giggle.

Nodoka smiled at that, and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. I thought Ranma never lost."

"That's not completely true, Mom," Ranma said, with a chuckle, "I only come close to that in martial arts. And while my grades are getting better, with the girls' help any way, I still have problems with my studies."

"You're almost as smart as I am, Ranma, so don't let me hear you put yourself down again," Akane spat, almost angrily.

"Listen to your wife, she is a very smart woman," Nodoka said.

The three of them shared a quiet moment and then she said, "As much fun as this has been, I suppose I should tell you why I came here tonight."

Ranma looked at her impassively and said, "I suppose we should, Mom."

Nodoka sighed and said, "I spent the time you were gone talking with your father. He truly is trying to change his ways, my son, and it hurt him greatly that you ordered him to leave."

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "Mom, I'm trying, but it's very hard. I didn't want to colour your opinion of him with my own viewpoint. After all, something about him must have attracted him to you. And since I don't want to pour bleach on my brain, I won't pursue that anymore."

"Seriously, bad thoughts," Akane said, as she shuddered.

Nodoka straightened up and said, proudly, "I would never have taken someone to my bed who was unattractive."

"Um, Mom, please," Ranma begged, "Really, not a good thought."

"Just where do you think you came from?" Nodoka asked.

"Let's try to get back on topic," Akane said, rolling her eyes.

"Very well," Nodoka said, "I'd really appreciate it if you could accept that your father is trying."

The other two ignored the quiet quip from Akane, "Yes, he is very trying," though Ranma did have to disguise his laugh with a cough.

"Mom, one of the things that we did on our trip was to visit a few of the dojos that Pop visited," Ranma said.

"We managed to find six of them in the time that we had, well, actually only four of them were still there. Two of the dojos had closed their doors when the sensei died, leaving no one to teach," Akane added.

"Anyway, of those four, all of them admitted that Pop had visited. The masters did say that Genma had attempted to atone for whatever he had done wrong, though since he was extremely lazy, most of his projects were only partially completed," Ranma continued.

Akane shrugged as she finished the tale, "They all wrote the notes that Genma showed you, so that does mean he is trying. Now, the ones from the schools that had closed, we have no idea where he got them. Our best guess is that he got someone to write them, just so he had something to show."

"That's not a very large sample," Ranma said, "But, so long as he didn't try to fake any of the others, it does look like he has changed, or at least wants to get back into our good graces."

"Does that mean he can come back?" Nodoka asked, "I do want my husband back; those years were too lonely."

Ranma frowned and sat in silence for quite a while, in fact, long enough to begin to worry his mother. Finally, she could stand the tension no longer and asked, "Have I upset you, my son?"

Ranma rubbed his eyes, and replied, "Do what you want with him, Mom. Just keep him away from my school."

"Our school," Akane growled, elbowing him hard.

"Our school," Ranma agreed, rubbing the spot where she hit him, "We don't want him training any of our students. His methods are too dangerous."

"Thank you, Ranma," Nodoka said, "I know this is hard for you."

"No Mom, you really don't know, I'm afraid. This isn't just hard for me," Ranma spat, "There are times when I almost hate him for what he put me through."

"You should see the scars that he has, Mom," Akane whispered.

"And those are just the ones that are visible," Ranma said, "The ones on the inside, those no one can see."

"But he's really sorry for everything he put you through," Nodoka said.

"Is he? Or does he just want you to think he is because he wants to share your bed?" her son asked, bitterly.

Nodoka rose quickly, her mouth set in a tight line, her stance rigid. "How dare you?" she hissed.

Ranma replied, biting each word off, "You don't know him the way I do, Mom. You didn't spend ten years of your life with him, watching him con other people, watching him lie, cheat and steal his way across Japan and then into China. You weren't there to be constantly belittled, to doubt your own worth. That's the way he tried to motivate me, you know, the insults, telling me I hit like a girl, was as weak as a girl. That kind of crap. And then, just to make the whole thing complete, he takes me to China so I can actually become a girl. If it wasn't for Akane, or that I ran into the Amazons, I would have fallen to pieces when I ended up in the spring, at least once I had a chance to think about it. Instead, they showed me that women aren't weak, and, well, now, when I hit him, he can honestly say that I hit like a girl. Of course, he'll have to regain consciousness before he can do that."

Nodoka's face crumpled, and she began to cry.

"Ah Mom, don't. I can't handle women when they cry," Ranma said, springing to his feet, only to be torn as he heard Akane sobbing behind him. He stood there, indecisively, only to have the decision taken away from him as both women launched themselves at him and wrapped their arms around him, one sobbing on each shoulder. He placed his arms around them both, and just held them, hating himself for causing them pain. "I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to make you cry. You either, Akane, where's my strong tomboy?" he whispered.

"Crying on your shoulder, right now," Akane said, through her sobs, "I knew he was horrible to you growing up from what you told me, I just didn't realize how bad it really was."

"Mom, if you have a chance with Pop, take it. Most of the physical abuse could be construed as training, and I honestly believe he felt that he was doing the best he could to raise me to be the best martial artist possible," Ranma said, "So I can more or less forgive him for that. Now, the Neko-ken, Jusenkyo, and all of the verbal abuse, and taking me away from you for so long, that will take a long time for me to get over."

Nodoka dried her tears, and said, "I'm so sorry that I let him do that to you, son."

"Mom, you didn't know what he was going to do. I don't blame you in the least for what happened," Ranma said, softly, "And it's over and done with now. I just have a few demons to kill, and I'll be fine, especially with help from you and Akane."

"Demons?" Akane asked.

"Figure of speech. Just the things in my past that sometimes gave me nightmares," Ranma replied, "The nightmares that disappeared once we started sharing a bed."

"Oh, I never knew," Akane gasped.

"No reason why you would," Ranma said with a shrug, "I hid them from you. I've put most of them behind me. You helped me past my fears over the Neko-ken. I need to get over Pop, and then there's just one last fear."

"Get over Genma?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Mom, I've told Akane this already, but I just don't like the person I become when I'm around him. I've tried real hard to put some of the mannerisms he taught me behind me, so I don't act like a complete jerk, but when HE shows up, I sometimes revert to that. And I don't want to act like that, because that's the way he acts."

"Oh, I understand now," Nodoka said, "I had wondered how you had managed to learn how to be the way you are, after I saw how your father acted. His behavior was nothing like that when he was courting me. Even though we were an arranged marriage, my father would not have forced me to wed someone who I didn't care for, nor a man whose behavior showed him as less than honourable."

"Yes, I had wondered about that myself, Mom," Akane said.

"He is slowly beginning to return to who he was when I married him, though, so perhaps in the future you will see your father for who he truly is," Nodoka added.

"I hope so, for your sake, if nothing else. You deserve as much happiness as you can have," Ranma said.

"Just give me a few grandchildren, and I will be ecstatic," Nodoka said with a smirk.

"MOM!" Akane and Ranma exclaimed, as their faces went red with embarrassment. Ranma added, "We told you we aren't ready for kids yet. Got to get into college at least, first."

"Though we don't mind practicing," Akane added, causing Ranma to blush harder while his mother chuckled at his discomfiture.

He huffed, "If you two are going to start talking about our sex life, I'm out of here." He rose to his feet, preparing to make his escape.

"We'll stop," Nodoka said, chuckling still, "I wouldn't want to run you off." She sobered and said, "I'll keep Genma away from you for awhile. We need to get to know each other, anyway, and it would be best for all concerned if we did that away from you."

Ranma smirked and said, "That's true. I'd rather not think about the two of you 'getting to know each other' anyway. Best keep that out of my sight."

Akane grinned and said, "Yeah, I've got the same problem with Dad and Yumi. While I don't mind seeing them cuddle a little, anything beyond that, ughh."

"What, you think he shouldn't enjoy himself with her?" Nodoka asked, "We do have our own needs too, you know?"

"Again, I think that falls in the category of too much information," Ranma said, with a strained expression on his face, "Can we just agree to drop the embarrassing stuff?"

"You should hear what we talk about in the public baths," Nodoka said.

"MOM!" Ranma said, as he fled the room.

"I think we broke him," Akane said, just before she broke out giggling.

* * *

The gaunt young man stared frantically at the three imposing figures standing in front of him. One of them had just demanded, "Hey, hand over the money!" 

The second of the three masked figures added, "We might look harmless, but we're really bad dudes."

The third, his mask a wolfshead, finished, "Go get busy and cough up some metal."

The young man cringed away and whined, "Y-yes sir, please don't hit me!" as he dug feverishly through his bag. His hands closed around something and whirling quickly, he cried, "Some metal!" as one hand held a long wicked looking spike while the second had a mallet. He attempted to nail one of his assailants, only to have the masked figure dodge away.

"Think you can mess with us!" the figure cried as the three of them proceded to beat up the hapless youth.

"Take that!" cried one.

"And that!" cried the second, as he pummeled the boy.

"And that and that!" added the third, his blows driving the youth to the ground.

Suddenly, a fifth figure added itself to the mix, as three lightning quick blows threw the three attackers to the ground, knocking all of them out.

"Hey, Gosunkugi, what's up?" the rescuer asked.

"Oh hello, Ranma, thank you for saving me from my predicament," Gosunkugi said, bowing politely.

"Not a problem, Gosunkugi. I don't like bullies, never have, never will," Ranma said with a shrug.

"Fighting again, Ranma," a female voice asked.

"Not really, just helping out a friend, Miyo," Ranma said, as Gosunkugi looked up and his heart broke.

'No, she didn't see me getting rescued by Saotome!' he thought, as he suddenly resembled the figure in the painting Scream.

"Are you okay, Hi-chan?" his girlfriend asked.

"I'm sorry you had to see something so embarrassing," he stammered.

"Oh don't worry about it, Gosunkugi," Ranma said, "You just aren't as strong as those guys are, and there were three of them." He hopped up on the fence and said, "See you at school, you two." He sped off, and was soon out of sight.

"He's such a nice man," Miyo said, her eyes dreamy, "Akane is such a lucky woman."

'Curse you Saotome, first you steal Akane Tendo, and now you have shamed me in front of my beloved,' Gosunkugi thought angrily.

"Think of that, just stepping in to save you like that," Miyo gushed, twisting the knife in even further.

'Of course, he might be nicer than I thought. He did save me after all,' Hikaru thought, his mind racing feverishly, "And he is strong.' His face twisted, and he continued, 'As well as arrogant. OOOO, I'm so jealous. If only I was a strong as Saotome!'

* * *

Later that same day, Hikaru hid in the safety of his cluttered room on the second floor of his family's home; a room filled with his various interests, as one corner was devoted to photography, with cameras strewn haphazardly on the bookshelf taking up one wall of the room, with many tripods leaning against the wall. Voodoo paraphernalia littered the floors, with a voodoo doll, stuck with multiple pins lying carelessly where he had tossed it. Thumbing idly through one of his magazines that he read to help with his English, and kept only for the articles, he stumbled across an interesting advertisement. 

"Hmmm, Win with One-Punch Miracle Armor," he quoted, "Jack: a true story, about a boy that the girls laughed at and called a weakling. So he ordered One-Punch, and now they call him Strong Man!" 'Sounds like me, though in fairness, Miyo doesn't laugh at me,' he thought, until his thoughts darkened, 'She looked like she was drooling over him. Damn you Saotome, wasn't it enough that you stole Akane Tendo away from me, do you have to take Miyo?' He cackled evilly and said, "Become a strong man just by wearing this armour. Perfect."

* * *

A few days elapsed, and then, to Gosunkugi's pleasure, the postman came to the door and delivered a large box addressed to him. Quickly carrying the box into the family room, he ripped off the brown paper wrapping the box, exposing the contents to the world. There, blazoned in gaudy colours, stood an armoured figure, looming ominously over the words, 'MIRACLE ARMOUR, One-Punch' as Hikaru tittered in the background, an odd twitch happening with one eye. He rapidly opened the box and quickly donned the silver and black uniform. "Transformed!" he cried as quickly lost himself in dreams, 'Just think, from now on, you'll be a hero. Imagine, Miyo looking at me in adoration, or Akane Tendo, seeing how strong I've become. And Ranma Saotome, groveling at my feet in fear after I have defeated him. To show Miyo and Akane that I am better than he.' Once more, he cackled evilly. "Here I go!" he cried as he tried to stand up, only to fail. "Mmmm, it's heavy!" he whined. "Mommy, Daddy!" he cried, "Help!"

* * *

A few days later, Ranma received a letter in the morning post. He opened the letter, and read, 'To Saotome: I formally challenge you to a battle. Please come by my house to pick me up after school. Gosunkugi.' "Hmm, that's right. He hasn't been at school for the last three days. Miyo hasn't been looking too happy about that, either." He thought for a moment, and then swore, "Damn, it's that stupid armour. Well, I can't turn down the challenge, but I'll be damned if I embarrass myself in front of the school this time." 

"What's that, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"It's a letter from Gosunkugi challenging me to a fight," Ranma said, handing her the letter.

"He's challenging you to a fight? What is he smoking? Or has he been taking some of his voodoo concoctions and they finally rotted his brain?" Akane asked, "And why would he challenge you in the first place?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and glanced around carefully. "I don't why he is challenging me this time, but the last time he had that huge crush on you and thought I was a rival for your affections," he replied, "Of course, he was only half right. You didn't give him a second thought, and you did care for me."

"Even if you hadn't been around, he wouldn't have had a chance. He's just too creepy, what with all of the voodoo, and the stalking me, everywhere with his camera," Akane said, with a theatrical shudder, "Miyo is in love with him, and she is definitely welcome to have him. At least as far as I'm concerned. So what are you going to do about this?"

"Well, I can't really back down from a challenge, though it's tempting. I'm sure, though, that if I don't show up, he'll let the rest of the school know about it," Ranma groused.

"Would you rather be the laughingstock of the school for taking his challenge seriously?" Akane asked, acidly, "There's no way he can be a real challenge for you, not unless he's cheating somehow."

"Well, that's true enough," Ranma said, a bit agreeably, "If I remember correctly, he bought some sort of armour that makes him strong. Of course, the idiot didn't read the instructions before he put it on. Unless he is attached to his enemy, he can't even move, and then to top it off, it'll explode after a certain number of days unless he can hit said enemy."

"And I guess you're the enemy?" Akane asked, rolling her eyes.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Looks like it based on the silly challenge letter."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Akane asked.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to fight him," Ranma replied, "You've got a point there. It would be a bit demeaning, now that I've slowed down long enough to think about it."

* * *

Ranma headed toward Gosunkugi's house, racing after his wife. "Now, why are we doing this, again?" he asked, "I thought I wasn't supposed to fight him?"

"You aren't going to fight him, we're meeting Miyo there. Get with the program, baka," Akane replied.

"What does Miyo have to do with this?" Ranma asked.

"It finally came to me. Remember when you saved Gosunkugi from those three thugs a few days ago," Akane said, patiently. 'Kami, I love him, but does he have to be so slow?' she thought. Then her eyes lit up as she continued, 'Though, he certainly has his uses. Yummy.'

"Of course I remember," Ranma replied, then his eyes grew big. "Oh yeah, I saved him in front of Miyo. I bet he was mortified. No wonder he's irritated with me," he finished.

"Finally!" Akane retorted with a smile, "And yes, I imagine that's what has him torqued off. You made him look bad in front of his girlfriend."

"But I couldn't walk away and let him get beaten up by those morons," Ranma protested.

"Of course not. That wouldn't be bushido," Akane said soothingly, "though you could still work on your manners, I can't fault you on much of the rest of the Way of the Warrior."

Ranma blushed, and said, "I got a long way to go before I can claim that, Acchan."

"Not as long as you think," Akane said, fondly, "And we'll get there together."

"There's his house," Ranma said.

"Okay, showtime," Akane said as they knocked on the door.

* * *

The young couple stopped in the doorway and stared at the odd sight in front of them while Miyo continued in the rest of the way. Gosunkugi was kneeling on the floor in front of the low table, wearing some sort of odd armour, a man, who obviously was his father, reading a newspaper, and a pale woman, who must have contributed the sunken eyes, pouring tea, as they ate their evening meal. 

"Hey Saotome, I've been waiting for you," Hikaru said.

"Welcome," his father said, tearing his attention from the paper.

"My, my, more of Hikaru's friends," his mother added.

Hikaru chuckled, and added, "I can't move a single step."

His father added, "So we've been camping out here all this time." The three of them laughed causing Ranma and Akane to cringe at the high-pitched noise.

"Why can't you move?" Miyo asked.

"It's this armour," Hikaru replied, "It's so heavy I can't move."

"If it's so heavy, why don't you take it off?" Akane asked.

"There's an automatic locking system, and, well, I'm not sure how to say this, but, it's set up so that I can't take it off unless I punch the one person I really, really, really hate!"

"Oh Hi-chan, you idiot," Miyo exploded, "How could you do something that stupid?"

"Are you related to Ranma's father?" Akane asked.

"Gosunkugi, that person you really, really hate, better not be me," Ranma said, as he backed away.

"I'm afraid so," the sallow youth replied, as he attempted to chain Ranma to him, only to fail, as the agile youth moved out of the way, and clamped the cuff to Gosunkugi's other hand.

"Don't think so," Ranma said, "I didn't wake up yesterday."

To everyone's surprise, Hikaru stood up, his face puzzled. "I thought I couldn't move unless I was connected to the one person I really, really, hated," he muttered.

"Um, maybe you hate yourself," Akane suggested, "Or at least how you behave."

"She may have a point," Miyo said, "You have so little confidence in your abilities that I sometimes wonder if you like yourself."

"Listen to your girlfriend," Ranma said, "She likes you, and while she's a bit odd, she wouldn't be with someone who has no worth."

"But, I'm not worthy of her," Hikaru whined.

"Why is that? Because you're a ninety pound weakling who always gets sand kicked in his face on the beach?" Ranma asked, "Do you know what I had to sacrifice to become as strong as I am? Or Akane, for that matter? The things we had to do, the effort we had to expend? You are attempting to cheat by wearing that silly suit to let you do things that I had to almost die to learn how to do. How honourable is that? Is that the image you want to give your girlfriend?"

Gosunkugi paled and then he straightened up. "No, I want her to see me for who I am," he said, softly.

Miyo noticed an odd readout on the armour. "What is that clock? It reads a bit more than five minutes, and seems to be counting down," she asked.

The armour confirmed her by an odd voice saying, "You have five minutes," as an bell began to ring.

"NO! If I don't hit you within five minutes, this armour will explode," Hikaru exclaimed, as he swung at Ranma, who dodged him easily.

"Am I who you really hate? You can move now, and you aren't attached to me," Ranma said, dodging another blow.

"Three minutes," the armour counted down.

Hikaru growled, "Saotome, if you value your life, you must let me hit you!" He tried once more to hit Ranma, who easily evaded him.

"Akane, Miyo, get out of here!" Ranma yelled, as he moved once more. "Do you really want to hurt your girlfriend?" he asked. The two girls raced out of the room.

The countdown continued as the two of them fought, or more accurately, Gosunkugi would swing wildly, while Ranma would sway out of the way, avoiding the ham-fisted swings. Finally, at ten seconds, Gosunkugi hit himself, and the armour fell off.

"See, isn't that better?" Ranma asked.

"What?" Hikaru asked.

"I'm not your enemy, Gosunkugi, your self image is," Ranma replied, "You have a lovely girlfriend, who adores you. You're pretty smart, and while you would blow away in a stiff wind, you have a tenacity that many people would kill to have. Be proud of who you are."

"Listen to your friend, son," Mr. Gosunkugi said.

Suddenly Miyo came flying back into the room, and tackled her boyfriend. "Don't you ever do something like that again! The cards say that if you do, you'll perish, and I couldn't live with myself if you did. Besides, our daughter would never forgive you if she wasn't born," the young seer said.

"But, but," Gosunkugi stammered.

"Of course not soon," Miyo said, "That won't get started until after we get married."

"Married!" Gosunkugi squeaked, as he fainted.

Miyo looked at him fondly as her future mother-in-law hugged her. Ranma and Akane traded looks and disappeared out the front door.

* * *

Author's Notes: Another installment in my story for your amusement, Gentle Readers. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are encouraged. If you have a question about the story, there is also my forum/ 


	73. Compliment Me!

Chapter 73 Compliment Me!

Author's Note: As a bit of a warning, within this chapter there is a rather extensive flash-sideways as Ranma recounts a particular episode that occurred in the original timeline. It is presented in italics to distinguish it from the current timeline. And now, on with the story.

Ranma and Akane came into the family room and knelt down at the table waiting for the rest of the family to join them for dinner, still giggling over what had occurred at Gosunkugi's house. "Did you see the look on his face when Miyo mentioned their daughter?" Akane asked, her eyes dancing.

"Oh yeah, he was about to keel over on the spot, and then the marriage word," Ranma chortled.

"Didn't look like his mother would mind too much, though. Did you see the hug she gave Miyo? She's ready for a wedding, I bet," Akane added, smirking.

Nabiki glided into the room, and knelt down across the table from them. A sniff of disdain was the only acknowledgement of their existence, as she continued to ignore them, which had become her habit since their tardy return from the last training trip.

Ranma and Akane traded troubled looks, and then sighed simultaneously. Ranma resolved to make one final attempt at talking to his sister-in-law, though he was definitely not looking forward to that. An angry Nabiki was not something he wanted to face. His musings were interrupted as Kasumi led her helpers out of the kitchen, and placed the meal down on the table.

Kasumi served up the food, and each of them said, "Itadakimasu," showing their appreciation for the meal.

After several minutes, Ranma finished his rice and asked, "Kasumi, could I have some more rice, please?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ranma, that was the last of it," Kasumi replied, pleasantly, ignoring the half-filled rice cooker at her elbow.

Ranma sighed, looked pointedly at the rice cooker, while Kasumi turned to her husband and offered him some more rice.

The rest of the family stopped to watch as Ranma stood up, bowed politely, and said, "Another excellent meal, Yumi, Sayuri, Hinako." Akane joined him hurriedly, as the young couple left the room.

Soun glanced at his daughter, noticing the slight narrowing of her eyes, and decided to take the coward's way out and not say anything.

Hinako snapped, "You two are being very mean to Ranma and Akane, and I don't think it is very nice of you."

"It's none of your concern. It's a family matter," Nabiki snapped.

Hinako grew still, a tear showing at the corner of her eye, and she stood up. "I see, I thought I was family, I guess I was wrong," she said, coldly, as she tossed her chopsticks at Nabiki, not caring how rude that was, and ran out of the room.

"Are you planning on tearing this family apart?" Tofu asked, mildly, "Or is that simply a side effect of what you are doing?"

"They missed my engagement ceremony!" Nabiki exclaimed.

"Stay out of this, husband," Kasumi said, her pleasant voice belying the anger in her eyes.

Tofu frowned slightly, as his back stiffened. "I don't think so, not when it is affecting all of us. Did either of you bother to ask why they were unable to be there?" he asked, coldly, "Did you not see the nasty bruise on the back of his head? Or how exhausted they looked when they staggered in?" He gave both of them a disgusted look, and added, "I'm disappointed in both of you." He stood up abruptly and walked outside and sat on one of the large rocks surrounding the koi pond, leaving a pair of stricken women behind him, both of them wondering exactly where things went wrong.

Sayuri's eyes went wide with shock, as Kasumi brought her hands to her mouth and said, "Oh my. Oh dear."

Soun began to wail, and Yumi looked uncertainly between her daughter and her man.

Sayuri sighed as she looked at everyone, and then slowly began to clear the table of the remnants of the disastrous meal. Yumi began to comfort Soun, as Nabiki and Kasumi traded troubled looks.

* * *

Akane closed the door to their bedroom, a stricken look on her face. "Ranma," she asked, sadly, "What is going on?"

"It looks like Nabiki and Kasumi took us missing the mi-ai much more seriously than I thought they would," Ranma replied, slamming his fists into their dresser, though he had regulated the power in his blows so that they didn't even disturb the dust on the top of the dresser. Another sign that Kasumi was miffed with them, in that the room obviously hadn't seen her normal attention.

Akane sighed heavily, and then her attention was grabbed by the sounds of someone running heavily past their door, weeping copiously. Curious, she slid the door open to catch a brief glimpse of Hinako as she rounded the corner and headed toward her room. She shared a glance with Ranma who said, "Take care of her. Something must really be wrong."

"I'm not as sensitive as Kasumi, but there was a horrible shift in the wa of the house a moment ago," Akane agreed, as she vanished through the door and rushed down the hall to the room she used to use. She screeched to a stop as she reached the door and gasped. The wooden duck that once hung so proudly on the door, with Hinako's name enscribed on it, was lying on the floor, broken in at least three pieces, and she could hear the sound of the young girl sobbing through the door. She opened the door, and entered, stopping as she saw Hinako sitting on her bed, idly watching her fish swimming in their bowl, while the tears streamed down her cheeks, an open suitcase on the floor, already half-filled with her belongings. "Hey, budge over," Akane said as she sat down next to the young girl, and pulled her into a hug.

The two girls sat there as Hinako sobbed on her shoulder, while Akane made soothing noises, and rubbed her back. Finally, the young girl stopped her crying, and Akane gently asked, "What brought that on?"

"Your wicked sister said I wasn't family," Hinako said, her voice muffled by Akane's shirt.

"Of course you're family, Hi-chan, you're my younger older sister," Akane replied, "Nabiki is just mad at Ranma and me and you got in the middle of it, that's all."

"But that's no reason for her to be mean to you," Hinako sobbed, "Or me."

Akane sighed, wondering when she turned into an adult and said, "True, but sometimes even if you love someone very much you'll do something that will hurt that person. We missed her ceremony, though it wasn't really our fault, well, at least not totally, and it hurt her feelings. She'll get over it, eventually, probably after she comes up with some sort of vengeance." She chuckled for a moment and added, "Probably something pretty embarrassing, and more than likely using photographs."

"She still shouldn't have said what she did to me," Hinako whimpered.

Akane nodded and replied, "That's true enough, and I imagine she's feeling pretty bad about it right about now. While she is holding a grudge with Ranma and me, she's too honest with herself to be mad at you. At least not too long, anyway."

Neither of them noticed the faint catch in someone's throat, or the gentle footsteps as that someone padded away from the open door.

* * *

Tofu stared unseeingly into the dusk as a nightingale sang in the distance, its song doing nothing to ease the ache in his heart. Since their wedding, there had been few disagreements with Kasumi, not that either of them were perfect, but usually they managed to see both sides of any argument, and had always followed the first rule of any successful marriage, never going to bed angry with the other. 'Somehow, I don't think this will be as easy to paper over,' he thought sadly, 'I'm not even sure she realizes what is wrong.'

A very familiar voice asked, hesitantly, "Tea, Ono-san?"

Tofu sighed and half-turned. "Sure, Kasumi-chan, I'd love some tea," he replied, a sad look in his eyes, a look that partially disappeared as he saw the formal kimono that his wife had changed into.

Kasumi knelt gracefully to the ground, the tray in her hands never moving from horizontal, and then she placed it carefully in front of her. She gazed bashfully at the ground, and poured green tea into her best set of teacups; cups made so delicately of bone china that they were almost translucent. She used both hands to pick up one of the cups and handed it to her husband, still not looking him in the eye.

Tofu waited until his wife poured herself a cup and then they sipped their tea simultaneously.

Once she had drunk her tea, Kasumi placed her cup back on the tray, and then glanced up at her husband through her eyelashes. Then she bowed her head and said, softly, "I was wrong, Ono-san. I was allowing my disappointment to disturb the wa of our home, and I thank you for showing me the error of my ways."

"I'm not really the one you should be apologizing to," her husband said, quietly.

"That is also true," Kasumi replied sorrowfully, "I've really messed up, haven't I?"

"Aside from treating both Ranma and Akane like distant cousins that you barely want to acknowledge as relatives, you mean?" Tofu replied, "Yes, you have, dear. But both of them will forgive you at the drop of a hat. You know that too."

"Yes, but I'm ashamed of my actions," Kasumi said, dropping her eyes to the ground. She idly noticed that it was time to cut the grass, since it was at least fifteen millimeters too tall, and that one of the stones had moved slightly out of position.

"As well you should be," Tofu said, "You saw how they were when they staggered in for breakfast the morning after the ceremony. Both of them were exhausted because they had run all the way across the island to get back to Nerima."

"Why didn't they take the train?" Kasumi asked.

"No money, mainly," Tofu replied.

"That doesn't sound like them," Kasumi said.

"True, but they haven't told me any more," Tofu said, "And the only reason they told me that much was I wanted to know why they were as tired as they were during my exam that morning. And then they promptly fell asleep in the clinic, as you may recall."

"Not really, I was too busy being angry," Kasumi said, "Showing up the morning after the betrothal ceremony just seemed to be an insult to Nabiki."

"Do you really think either of them would have missed the ceremony unless they had a good reason?" Tofu asked, "You know them better than that."

Kasumi sighed and asked, "So how do I apologize to them?"

Tofu chuckled and looked pointedly at the teapot on the tray between them.

"Oh," Kasumi said, a faint tinge of red on her cheeks.

* * *

Ranma finished the last of his homework and gladly closed his textbook with an eager grin. 'Akane is going to be so surprised that I'm finished,' he thought smugly, 'she hasn't even started this one yet.' Then he sighed and said, "Of course, she is helping Hi-chan through whatever was causing her to cry, so I shouldn't be too cocky."

A timid voice asked from the door, "Ranma, can we talk?"

Ranma whirled around on the floor and stared in astonishment at the last person he thought he would see standing in his doorway. "Sure, come on in," he said, finally.

Nabiki edged into the room, and leaned against the doorframe, looking uncharacteristically uncertain as she nibbled nervously on her lower lip, and pressed her forefingers together several times.

Ranma waited out the uncomfortable silenece for a while, and then arched one eyebrow. "So why are you up here talking to me, or rather, in here not talking to me?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Nabiki blushed furiously.

"What? A blush? Who are you and what did you do to the real Nabiki Tendo?" Ranma teased.

"Mmmmm," Nabiki mumbled.

"I didn't quite get that," Ranma said.

Nabiki sighed and pushed herself off the wall and stood up. Not looking him in the eye, she said, "I just had our brother-in-law read me the riot act."

"Doc!" Ranma exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, Doc," Nabiki affirmed, "Right after I upset Hinako."

"So **that's** why she ran by crying. Akane's talking to her to find out what happened," Ranma said.

Nabiki looked up finally, her face miserable, and said, "I happened to her. I got angry with her and said some things that I didn't mean."

"Sis, don't take your anger at me and Akane out on the rest of the family," Ranma said, softly, "It's not fair to them, or to you."

Nabiki gave a rusty chuckle and said, wearily, "That's essentially what Tofu said."

"Wise man, our brother-in-law," Ranma agreed. He sighed and added, "I know we hurt your feelings by not being at the mi-ai, and I'm sorry we missed it. It wasn't intentional at all."

Nabiki abruptly sat down and drew her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Why didn't you come?" she whispered.

"We had a bit of an accident on our trip," Ranma said with a shrug. He grinned wryly and continued, "We were silly enough to do some sparring on a bluff overlooking the ocean on the other side of the island. The damn thing collapsed under us, and we fell into the water, leaving our backpacks behind. I hit my head on something, and Akane managed to swim well enough to get us both to safety on a small, private island. It took us some time to get back to this island, and then we found that someone had taken our belongings. So, no money, or anything meant we had to walk back here. That's why we were late getting home, and by the time we got here it was late and all we wanted to do was sleep."

"Oh my," Nabiki gasped, "You were lucky you weren't killed."

"It's just a good thing I taught Akane how to swim," Ranma said, "And I can't imagine how she still managed to drag me with her."

"Desperation, mostly," Akane said from the doorway, "I couldn't let you drown."

"Akane, I'm so sorry for the way I treated the two of you," Nabiki said, her eyes downcast once more.

"You had every right to be angry with us. We missed one of the most important days in your life, and you didn't know why," Akane said, reasonably.

"Yeah, but I should have asked," Nabiki said, "Instead of treating you like dirt." She smiled sadly, and added, "And here I thought I was the rational one of the bunch."

Akane shrugged and said, "Feelings aren't always logical, sis."

"Why'd you have to leave in the first place?" Nabiki asked, wincing a little at the whiny sound of her voice.

"Pop," Ranma spat, as if that explained everything.

Akane rolled her eyes and added, "We don't really trust Saotome any further than you could throw him. And there are still some issues with the way he raised Ranma that haven't been dealt with completely."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes and asked, "What kind of issues?"

"That's between me and Pop, sis," Ranma hissed, "Just leave it alone."

"You know that's like waving red meat in front of a pit bull, don't you, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, "Trying to keep something secret from me. I'll eventually figure it out."

Ranma glared at her in impotent anger, knowing from many years of experience that she was probably correct.

"Sis, why are you doing this? Is this some sort of odd revenge for us missing your party?" Akane asked, her eyes snapping angrily.

"Actually no," Nabiki replied, thoughtfully, "It's more a desire to help, strangely enough."

"You?" Ranma growled, "What can you do?"

"Lend another sympathetic ear, if nothing else. And I'm more detached from your relationship with Saotome than you and Akane, so perhaps I can see things a bit differently," Nabiki replied smoothly.

Ranma and Akane traded looks, and then sighed. "There's a lot of my life that only Akane and Mom know about, that I've kept private," Ranma began.

* * *

Kasumi and Tofu returned to the family room just in time to see an ashen-faced Nabiki stagger into the room, supported on either side by Ranma and Akane. Ranma helped her sit down, while Akane raced out of the room, and then promptly returned with a damp cloth to wipe her sister's face, and a glass of water.

"Oh my! What's wrong with Nabiki?" Kasumi exclaimed as she bustled over to help minister to her sister.

"Heard something that made me ill," Nabiki muttered.

"Literally, as a matter of fact, all over the floor in our room," Akane added, handing the glass to her sister.

"Drink that, it'll help get the taste out of your mouth," Ranma suggested.

"I need something a hell of a lot stronger than that," Nabiki retorted, looking pointedly at the ornate cabinet standing at the far wall, "Some of the good plum wine would be just about right."

Tofu glanced at his wife for permission, which she gave after studying her sister for several long moments. He opened the cabinet and brought out a small crystal carafe and a few glasses.

"None for me, Doc," Ranma said softly, "It's a tad too sweet for my taste."

"Or me," Akane added, "If there is a little red wine, though, I wouldn't mind a little of that. I think Daddy has a Bordeaux open."

Tofu glanced in the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Chateau Bouscaut and handed that and a tulip-shaped glass to his wife. She poured out a modest amount and handed her sister her drink, while Tofu served the plum wine to the rest.

"What was bad enough that it drove you to drink?" Kasumi asked, as Nabiki tossed back her wine as if it were water.

"Ranma told me a bit more about his adventures with his esteemed father," Nabiki said, her eyes flaring in anger. She took a deep breath and said, "Ranma, Akane, I understand why you disappeared while that furry bastard was here, and I forgive you for missing my betrothal ceremony."

"If it's just the same to you, we'll feel guilty for a few more days, okay?" Akane asked brightly, as she breathed in the bouquet of her wine, as she swirled it gently in her glass, releasing the aromatics in the liquid.

Nabiki grinned at her and then her frown returned. "Where's Daddy?" she asked.

"He and Yumi are on a date," Tofu replied, "Why?"

"Because I want to talk to him and explain why I never want to see Saotome in this house," Nabiki replied, "Even though this is really Ranma and Akane's home now, Daddy will have to make that person understand he is no longer welcome here."

"Sis," Ranma interjected, his voice troubled, "That's not really necessary. Mom thinks he is attempting to change his ways."

"And you really believe that!" Nabiki exclaimed, "After the hell he put you through?"

Ranma looked at her helplessly. "I don't know what I believe, Nabiki," he replied slowly, "But he's the man that Mom married, and she so wants him to come back to her as the man she married. How can I begrudge her that?"

"You are entirely too forgiving, my brother," she shot back, "But you are my family, and no one hurts my family with impunity."

"Impu-what?" Ranma asked, a perplexed look on his face.

Nabiki sighed and said, "Impunity, it means without punishment, or freedom from punishment, harm or loss."

Ranma smirked at her and said, "I knew that. I'm not quite the dumb jock I pretend to be. Can't you take a joke?" He chuckled at the look of mock outrage on her face.

* * *

A slight look of annoyance flashed across Kasumi's face as she heard the phone ring in the kitchen just as she set the food down for the evening meal. 'Why does someone always call just as I'm about to eat?' she thought, and then she smoothed out her face back to her pleasant mask.

"I'll get it!" Akane said, as she stood up, before Kasumi could. She raced out of the family room and down the short hall to the kitchen, where she answered the bothersome pest. "Hello, Tendo residence, this is Akane Saotome speaking," she said into the black handset. She listened for a little while and said, "Of course Mom, I'll tell Ranma. We'll stop by tomorrow and talk then. I'd love to stay and chat some more, but Kasumi just started serving dinner." She listened for a moment longer and said, "Oh, don't worry. We haven't started eating, yet. I look forward to seeing you then. Bye Bye!" She hung up the phone and walked back toward the family room, a small frown on her face that disappeared as soon as she entered the room and rejoined her family, kneeling next to her husband.

"Who was on the phone?" Nabiki asked.

"It was Mom. She just called to ask Ranma and I to stop by before school tomorrow," Akane replied.

"Did she say what it was about? Or does she just want to spend a little time with us?" Ranma asked.

"No, not really, she didn't say anything. I imagine she's a little lonely again, since it's just her in the house again," Akane replied.

"I thought Kumon was staying with her," Soun said.

"Not anymore," Sayuri corrected, "His 'wives' forced him to move into the Nekohaten. They don't want to let him out their sight for a moment."

"And based on the totally dazed look on his face the last time I saw him, he is perfectly happy to do whatever they ask him to do," Ranma said, a knowing grin on his face.

"They need to slow down or they'll burn him out, or wear it down to a nub," Nabiki said, smirking.

Ranma traded grins with his wife and she retorted, "He's a martial artist, I think he'll do just fine. I know mine does."

Hinako giggled and said, "Too much information, Akane."

Tofu chuckled and raised an eyebrow at his blushing wife, who wisely decided to say nothing.

Yumi gave a speculative look in the direction of Soun, and sighed. 'I hope that's true,' she thought to herself.

Soun shifted uncomfortably as he suddenly felt Yumi gazing at him, and ran his finger nervously around his collar wondering why it had suddenly gotten tighter.

* * *

Grumbling half-heartedly at the ungodly hour that his wife had woken him so they could make the trip to his mother's house and not be late to school, Ranma leapt to the ground outside their destination. He headed up the immaculately swept sidewalk, through the small, but tidy front yard and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and his mother smiled when she saw him standing there with Akane. "Thank you for coming, Ranma, Akane. I know this was a little bit of an inconvenience having you stop by before school," she said, "But, I made up a small bento for the two of you to share as a way to make up for it."

"Ah, it's really not a bother, Mom," Ranma said, changing his tune completely, as Akane rolled her eyes.

"We can always make time for you, Mom," Akane added.

"Please, come in," Nodoka said, as she ushered the young couple into the small entry. They quickly shed their shoes, and dropped their schoolbags next to them, and followed Nodoka into the kitchen, where she stood looking at her son uncertainly, taping her forefingers together in a nervous gesture.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Ranma asked, picking up.

"Well, it's your father," Nodoka replied, watching as Ranma's face darkened in anger. "Wait, it's not what you think, I'm sure. He's just so lost after what you told him, and I can't get him to do anything. He just stays in his room, and well, just see for yourself," she added hurriedly. She led them out of the kitchen and into a small, dark room. There, lying on a thin pad, they spotted Genma, sleeping in a very strange position.

"Hmmm, legs crossed, arms outstretched over his head, and his palms flat together,' Ranma thought. Then his eyes grew big as he stammered, "Th-that stance, Saotome School Stance of Submission, the Carp on the Cutting Board!"

"What does that mean, dear?" Nodoka asked.

"It means that you surrender unconditionally to whatever punishment your opponent can dish out!" Ranma replied.

Genma opened his eyes hearing his son's voice, and he knelt in front of him, his head downcast. "Do what you must do," he said, "A father should be proud to be finished off by his own son."

"Oh don't get so melodramatic," Ranma sneered, "I have no intention of killing you, for pity's sake. You have much to atone for before I let you get off that easily." He rose from his position, and said, "Come Akane, we need to hurry or we'll be late for class."

* * *

Kodachi sat down next to Nabiki at lunch and asked, in a quiet voice that only she could hear, "Are you over your snit with Ranma and Akane?"

"Was it that obvious that I was angry at them?" Nabiki replied, just as quietly.

"To a trained observer such as myself, it was very plain," Kodachi said.

"Well then, to answer your original question, I am over it. I wasn't happy that they missed my betrothal ceremony, but I understand why it happened," Nabiki replied, but then added with an evil grin, "Of course, that doesn't mean I won't get some sort of revenge on them." The two girls giggled at that.

Ranma looked over at Nabiki and a chill ran up his spine at the sound of the two girls laughing, a sound that boded him no good.

Akane opened up her bento, and smiled happily. Instead of the somewhat scanty portions that had been in her lunch the last few days; the box was filled with several of her favorite foods, and a small note from Kasumi, which basically wished her a good day. She nudged her husband and showed him the note.

Ranma quickly opened his bento from home, and indeed it was packed to the very brim with food, so between what Kasumi had made for him, and what his mother had pressed into his hands before they left her that morning, he had a veritable feast for most normal people, or in his case, enough food that he probably wouldn't need to get an okonomiyaki from Ukyo to take the edge off his hunger.

"I guess this means we are forgiven," Akane said, softly, her eyes shining happily.

"I think so too," Ranma replied, wrapping one arm around his wife and drawing her to him, to place a chaste kiss on her cheek. He sighed, and added, "I think we still need to watch out for Nabiki. There's something that she is planning, that I am sure of."

Akane nodded her head, and replied, "Yes, something embarrassing, if I know my sister."

"Some sort of revenge at any rate," Ranma agreed, as he shivered.

Akane looked at him in concern, and he mouthed, "Later," as he saw the rest of the crowd eye them strangely.

* * *

Ranma waited, stretched out on the roof overlooking their bedroom, gazing contentedly at the full moon rising in the sky. A sound from below alerted him to the arrival of his wife, as she clambered out of the window and onto the roof to join him.

"So what did you remember at lunch today?" Akane asked.

"That obvious, I take it?" he replied, not really surprised by her question.

Akane smirked and said, "Then she must have done something that embarrassed you, or something."

"Yeah, a memory of something that won't ever happen," Ranma said. He sighed, and recounted the story.

_Akane stared at her sister in disbelief. "Nabiki, you bought a ticket to a concert!" she exclaimed, staring at the piece of paper in her sister's hand_.

_Kasumi looked equally shocked. "With your own money?" she asked, her ladle momentarily forgotten in her hand._

"_Why not?" Nabiki asked, her prized trophy raised triumphantly in her hand, "I spend money, too, on rare occasions. Not only that, I paid a bribe for a really good seat."_

"_Oh my, this is so peculiar," Kasumi said, her hands placed together prayerfully, as if to ward off the coming of the Apocalypse._

_Completing the jinx, Akane wrung her hands and said, "I just hope nothing bad happens."_

_At that moment, they heard the sound of thundering feet, as Ranma chased Happosai into the kitchen. "Stop, you old goat!" Ranma exclaimed as they burst into the room._

_Happosai merely jeered back at him, and bounced around the room. In a moment of complete frustration, Ranma grabbed a wooden spoon from the counter, and threw it at the diminutive pervert. Unfortunately for our hero, the disgusting freak of nature, leapt out of the way, just as the spoon was about to strike. And even more unfortunately for our hero, with an accuracy that couldn't have been obtained deliberately, the spoon took the ducat out of Nabiki's hand and inevitably ended up landing in the gas flame on the stove, where the pot that Kasumi had been stirring resided. In a quick poof of smoke, the precious ticket vanished into thin air before anyone could grab it out of the fire._

_Nabiki froze in shock, as Akane and Kasumi stared horrorstruck at the sight. The air turned frigid, as the instigator of the tragedy made his escape, once more leaving his hapless victims in his wake, while Ranma unknowingly prepared to face his doom._

Akane couldn't help herself, she began to giggle.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh yeah, I was doomed. Especially with all of the support from you guys. The next morning, all of you deserted me, leaving me alone in the house with Nabiki. And that's when she began to get her vengeance."

_"Have fun everybody," Nabiki said, cheerily, "I hope today is the best that it can be."_

_Ranma stood there, watching the Tendo's leave, his fingers pressed together, a worried expression on his face._

"_I'm sorry, Nabiki, it's a prior engagement," Kasumi said, dressed nicely, yet modestly._

"_Me too," Akane said, a tennis racket in one hand._

"_And we have a neighborhood meeting," Soun said, standing next to a silent panda._

"_I'll be fine, staying home with Ranma," Nabiki said, sweetly, "Oh sure, I was looking forward to the concert, but now I have so much spare time."_

_Ranma bent over in pain from an unseen blow, his hands outstretched in the typical pinkie pose._

"_Uh Ranma? This is one day that you might not want to give Nabiki any trouble," Akane said quietly, looking very cute in her tennis outfit, not that Ranma would ever tell her that._

_Ranma glowered and said, "I get that." 'I'm not a total idiot,' he silently fumed._

_Quickly, the rest of the family deserted Ranma, leaving him to an uncertain fate._

"Um, aren't you waxing a bit poetically here?" Akane asked.

"Hey, it's my story, I can wax any way I want to," Ranma retorted, with a smirk. He sighed, and said, "This started out innocently enough. We sat around the table in the family room for a while, Nabiki sighing in boredom, and me stewing in my worry, waiting for the axe to fall, and her to start yelling at me, or worse, crying. I can never handle girls when they cry. It's almost unfair."

_Nabiki sighed, her elbows on the table, her hands cradling her chin, as she stared out at the distance._

_Ranma knelt in front of her, a tray carrying a steaming cup of tea in his hands, and asked, "Um, would you like me to rub your shoulders, perhaps?"_

_Nabiki replied brightly, a brittle smile on her face, "It's all right, really, don't worry about it."_

"_But," Ranma began._

"_We all make mistakes," Nabiki said, facing him, and laughed._

_Ranma joined her briefly and said, with a sigh of relief, "W-well, I'm gl-glad."_

_Nabiki turned away with a sigh, and said, quietly, as if too herself, "Sure was an expensive ticket, though."_

_Ranma felt a stab of guilt in his chest. He quickly vanished, and then returned a few moments later, female, dressed only in a lacy bra and pair of panties, sitting on a rose-covered pillow. A small tear trickly down her cheek, as she called, "Nabiki, you can take all the pictures you like," as she carefully adjusted one of the straps so it fell daintily off her shoulder._

_Nabiki gasped, and stammered, "R-ramna, you'd do this for little old me?" Wide-eyed, she stared at her, an act that would have gone over slightly better, if she hadn't whipped out her boxy camera from some hidden pocket of the universe, and snapped several pictures, as Ranma posed alluringly._

_After a few minutes, she disappeared, and Ranma vanished as well, her to get the pictures developed for sale, and the pseudo-girl to return to her correct gender and attire._

Akane looked at him in complete surprise. "She took racy pictures of you as a girl!" she exclaimed, "And you let her!"

"I felt so guilty about burning her ticket. She had me wrapped around her finger and I couldn't do a thing about it," Ranma said, his face reddening with embarrassment.

"What did she do with the pictures?" Akane asked.

"Er, um, well, she sold them to a lot of perverted boys," Ranma stammered, as his wife began to glow red with anger.

"Did she sell ones of me, also?" Akane asked, her eyes flashing.

Ranma gulped and simply nodded.

"That bitch!" Akane raged, clenching her fists in anger.

"Calm down," Ranma urged quickly, "Remember, that wasn't the sister you know now. Before, she was doing everything she could to earn a lot of money, and nearly crossed over a lot of lines, and maybe even did cross. But that girl doesn't exist, not anymore."

"You're entirely too forgiving," Akane said, but at least she went from a rapid boil to a mere simmer.

"Perhaps, but you have to remember that when I realized that I had come back, I had to forgive everyone for the things that hadn't happened yet," Ranma said.

Akane took a deep, calming breath, causing her chest to swell, something that Ranma noticed appreciatively. She saw his interest immediately, and blushed, losing the last of her anger as she saw the hint of lust in his eyes. "Gee, I wonder what you're thinking of," she said, a bit sarcastically, "Down boy, we can do that later. I want to know what happened next." She giggled at the look of disappointment in his eyes and said, huskily, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Well, after I changed back, I came down and Nabiki told me she had sold all of the pictures and had made back the money that the ticket had cost her," Ranma said, casting his mind back to retrieve the memory.

_After Nabiki had told him she had earned back all of the money, he asked, "Feel better now?"_

"_Sure, sure," Nabiki said, turning away, and then continued in a sad voice, "I wonder how the concert's going?"_

_Once again, a stab of guilt hit the hapless hero in the heart._

"_I'm hungry," Nabiki said, as she walked off._

"_Okay, okay," Ranma muttered as he headed to the phone to place an order._

_Shortly, he returned to the family room, where Nabiki was watching the television, sighing heavily to herself. "Look, Nabiki," he said, as he placed a large round box on the table._

"_Wow! Special deluxe sushi!" Nabiki exclaimed, her eyes wide with delight._

"_It's my treat," Ranma said, as he finished removing the lid._

_Nabiki looked in and her face drooped as she said, sadly, "Too bad there's no teriyaki eel. That's my favorite."_

"_What?" Ranma asked._

"_Well, I won't be picky," Nabiki said, picking up a pair of chopsticks._

"_It's okay, I'll help you," Ranma said, twirling his chopsticks expertly in one hand, and then he looked down to see an empty box, as Nabiki daintily dabbed her lips with a napkin. "Huh?" he said, dumbly._

_Nabiki looked at him innocently and said, "I didn't want it to go to waste."_

"_You ate all of it?" Ranma said, in surprise. He muttered under his breath, "That twit! A person tries to be nice and…"_

"_Oh yeah," Nabiki said, regaining his attention, as she slapped a large bundle on the table, "Since I have all this time on my hands, because I am missing the concert, I can work on my side job."_

"_Side job?" Ranma asked._

"_Yes, I have these special handkerchiefs that I sell," Nabiki replied, absently, "I could certainly use a little help."_

"_Well, I don't know," Ranma began._

"_What, you won't help little ol' me?" Nabiki asked, a sorrowful look on her face, "After all, I don't ask much. All you have to do is stuff these hankies in the envelopes."_

_Ranma sighed and asked, "Just put these hankies in these envelopes?"_

"_Yes, that's all you have to do," Nabiki replied._

_Ranma moved over and took the box from the table and opened it. "Oh well, I guess I don't have anything better to do."_

"_Thanks for the help," Nabiki said._

_Ranma pulled out one of the hankies and turned it over. There staring him in the face was a picture of his female body, topless, wearing only a pair of boxers, and waving a fan. "And what is **this**!" he exclaimed._

_Nabiki continued addressing her envelopes, dipping her brush carefully into the open bottle of ink. "Mail order," she replied, absently, "I get a lot of orders from other districts."_

_Ranma stood up and yelled, "You're covering the entire country!" He slammed his fists onto the table, causing the inkbottle to fly up into the air._

"_OH!" Nabiki exclaimed, "If this ink spills on this blouse I spent a whole weeks pay on!"_

_Ranma dove quickly. "Over my dead body!" he exclaimed as he knocked Nabiki to the ground, covering her body with his as the bottle landed on his back. "Nabiki, are you okay?" he asked._

"_Thank you, Ranma. You're so brave," Nabiki said, as she reached over her head._

_Ranma heard a click, and asked, "Huh?"_

_A picture shot out of the camera, and slowly an image emerged of Ranma lying on top of Nabiki as if he had just kiseed her._

"_Ranma," Nabiki gasped, "What are we going to do? If Akane sees this picture, we're doomed!"_

_Ranma saw red. "You took the picture, you conniving bitch!" he exclaimed._

Once more, Ranma was brought back to the present by the sound of Akane giggling. "You didn't!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I fell for it, **again**," Ranma replied heavily. "Anyway, to make a long story short, I managed to get the picture away from her. But I had to chase her around the house for a while, with her screaming loudly. And then I snatched the picture and ripped it."

"Let me guess, she was taping the whole thing, wasn't she?" Akane asked.

Ranma smiled wryly and replied, "Yes, the whole thing. And if all you heard was the audio, it sounded like I had just ripped her clothing off."

_"Goodness, Ranma, if Akane hears this!" Nabiki exclaimed._

"_I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!" Ranma roared, clenching his fists._

"_Can you deny the evidence?" Nabiki scoffed. She took off running, with Ranma chasing her._

"_Stop!" Ranma cried as Nabiki turned the corner. As he followed, he tripped over a broom that Nabiki had stretched over the floor. However, she miscalculated as Ranma somehow managed to land headfirst onto her head, causing the tape to fly up into the air, and dazing the mercenary girl._

"_The tape!" Ranma cried as he grabbed the cassette and pulled the tape out, crushing it in his hands. As he landed back onto the floor, he sighed with relief, "Saved again!" Then he noticed Nabiki sprawled out on the floor, face down; apparently not breathing. In a panic, he knelt over her and asked, "Nabiki, are you" Then his eyes saw the message she had written on the floor, reading, 'Ranma did it.' Quickly, he rushed off and then came back and scrubbed the floor furiously, not noticing that Nabiki had disappeared. Just as he relaxed from his labours, suddenly Nabiki's blouse came floating through the air, landing on the floor next to him, closely followed by her slacks. "Huh?" he exclaimed, looking upo to see Nabiki peering around one of the sliding doors, her bare shoulder clearly evident. "What do you thjnk you are doing?" he asked, aghast._

"_Just changing clothes," Nabiki replied innocently._

_At that very moment, they heard the sounds of their family coming in the front door._

"_We're home!" Kasumi called._

"_Our Dads got back early, too!" Akane added._

"_Oh no, they'll see us!" Ranma exclaimed, a large sweat drop beading down his forehead._

"_If we're caught like this, they'll all think you took," Nabiki cried._

"_Put your clothes back on," Ranma said, frantically, as he held the blouse and slacks at Nabiki._

"_5000 yen," Nabiki said._

"_2000," Ranma bargained, pushing the clothing at her again._

"_4500," Nabiki replied._

"_3000," Ranma said, "And that's my final offer."_

"_Okay, I guess I'll settle," Nabiki said._

_With a sigh of relief, Ranma handed her the last of his ready cash, and the clothing._

"_Oh, there you are," Akane said, from behind them, causing Ranma to dive across the floor. "What are you doing, sis?" she asked._

_Nabiki stepped out from where she had been hiding behind the door, dressed in a sleeveless top, and slacks, holding the clothes that Ranma had shoved at her. "For some strange reason, Ranma wanted me to wear these clothes," she replied, as Ranma ended up in the classic pose, his pinkie and index finger extended on both hands._

Akane began to laugh, a deep laugh that shook her entire frame, as Ranma looked at her sourly. "It wasn't that funny," he protested, "You got so jealous then, that I really did fear what your reaction would be, even if everything was completely innocent. You never let me explain what had happened before hitting me."

Akane smiled sadly, and said, "I guess I could see me doing that." She brightened and added, "And I am very possessive of you."

"Ditto," Ranma shot back, with a smirk.

"So she would try to get back at us, won't she?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, unless we can come up with something that would change her mind," Ranma replied.

"Hmmm, a bribe maybe," Akane mused.

Ranma pondered for a while and then snapped his fingers. "That's it, tickets to a concert for her and Souta," he crowed.

"Perfect," Akane replied.

* * *

The next morning, a distraught Nodoka arrived at the Tendo home, almost at daybreak, bearing a cryptic message. A single card, placed on the futon that had been used by Genma, reading, 'Please Don't Look for Me, Genma Saotome.'

"What does that mean?" Kasumi asked, as the family assembled around the table for breakfast.

'Could it be that he is off training?' Ranma thought, as a memory attempted to rise from the depths of his mind, like some sort of pelagic shark, only to sink back into the abyss from which it came.

Nabiki replied, "Maybe he ran away because he was afraid of Ranma."

Soun added, "I wonder why he wanted me to come with him."

"What?" Kasumi asked.

"He met me for a few minutes as I was coming back from the council meeting. He wanted to talk to me about something over a glass or two. He even offered to buy," Soun replied.

"Pop offered to pay for something!" Ranma exclaimed.

Soun chuckled and said, "Yes he did. Surprised me, I have to admit. But, I had to turn him down, Yumi and I had tickets to a play. In the little time I had, he asked if I would go on a trip with him, but I turned him down."

"It's just odd, that's what it is," Nabiki said.

Ranma shrugged and said, "It's just Pop being Pop, that's what it is. He'll turn up, eventually, probably after he does something foolish, again."

"How could you be so blasé about all of this?" Nodoka asked.

"Mom, he's a more or less grown man, a decent martial artist, when he isn't lazing around somewhere soaking up drink, food, and sun," Ranma said, "He can take care of himself. I know that sounds a little heartless, but that's the honest truth. And if he doesn't want to be found, there's very little anyone can do to find him."

"As a bunch of debt collectors have found to their sorrow," Nabiki muttered.

"Yes, Happosai taught him well," Soun said, shaking his head in dismay.

"Changing subjects, don't forget that we have been invited to join Tatewaki, Akari, Kodachi and Mousse at the beach after school tomorrow," Nabiki said, "He said that they have plenty of room at their beach house."

"Mom, why don't you come with us?" Ranma suggested, "You could keep Yumi and Soun company."

"If I wouldn't be in the way," Nodoka replied, tentatively, while Soun looked at Yumi to get her opinion.

"We'd love to have you with us," Yumi said, "I enjoyed our chats together, and missed having you around since you moved back into your home." Her eyes danced as she added, "Of course, Soun and I do want some time by ourselves."

Nodoka smirked and asked, "Are you sure you don't need a chaperone?"

"Quite sure," Yumi and Soun said, nearly in unison.

"In that case, I guess I could come. It would help me keep my mind off of Genma, and let me spend some time with my son," Nodoka said.

"Good, that's settled. Now all I need to do is talk to Mousse at school to take care of something," Ranma said.

"Oh?" Akane asked.

Ranma grinned sheepishly and said, "Well, I sort of wanted to spend time on the beach with my wife, and maybe the occasional kiss, so I thought I would get some of his waterproof soap so I wouldn't change when I get wet."

"Knowing you, you probably still ought to wear a t-shirt," Akane said, "You know, just in case."

Ranma smiled wryly at her, acknowledging her point and said, "I expect you're right. With my luck, the soap would wear off just at the wrong time and give all of the guys on the beach a treat."

* * *

Nabiki had nearly finished her accounting when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She practically jumped out of her chair, since with her headphones on, and the volume on her stereo up high, she hadn't heard anyone approach. Whirling, she saw Ranma and Akane standing in her room, a look of amusement on their faces as she nearly strangled herself with the cord. She slid the headphones back off her ears and glared at them.

"Easy there, sis, it'll be a little hard for us to apologize if you're gasping for breath," Ranma said.

"We knocked, but I guess you couldn't hear us," Akane added.

Nabiki grinned wryly and said, "Brother of mine, you nearly scared ten years off my life when you touched me."

"Er, that would have actually been me, sis," Akane admitted sheepishly.

"Since when did you move that quietly?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma chuckled and said, "We could have ran a herd of elephants through here and you wouldn't have noticed. I could hear the music playing even through the headphones it was up so loud."

"Anyway, the reason we came in was to give you this," Akane said, handing her a small envelope, "Sort of an apology for missing your betrothal ceremony."

Nabiki opened the envelope and reached in to see a pair of center section, main floor tickets to a pop concert two weeks away. "This is my favorite idol singer," she said, her eyes shining brightly. She stood up and hugged the pair, and added, "I guess this means I'll have to give up my plans for embarrassing the hell out of you, now." She giggled at the look of relief that crossed both their faces.

* * *

Ranma stopped at the top of the stone steps leading down to the sandy beach below, a confused look on his face. The strand was empty, and if he wasn't mistaken, he thought he saw tumbleweed rolling in large balls down the deserted concessions area. "Um, guys, don't you think there is something odd about this beach?" he asked as he followed Akane, Nabiki, Souta, Kasumi and Tofu down the stairway.

"It's the height of the tourist season," Akane replied as they walked past the umbrella rental stand and then the mat rental.

"And we are the only ones here," Nabiki said, as they passed the empty showers.

"This place looks abandoned," Tofu said slowly, as he scanned up and down the empty row of beach wear shoppes, small cafés, and water sport rental shoppes.

They walked out to the seashore where the empty waves were rolling up onto the glistening sands, and there they found the answer to the riddle. A line of buoys floated across the waves, anchoring a heavy cable, and festooned with signs, some reading, 'No Swimming,' and others reading, 'Danger, Vicious Dog!'

Nabiki exclaimed, "No Swimming?"

Souta asked, "Vicious dog, a dog in the sea? That makes no sense to me."

Ranma had a look of dawning comprehension on his face, and he turned to Akane and said, "Let's head to that inn we passed on the way, and see if we can't find someone who can tell us what is going on."

Akane looked at him, and said, "That's a real good idea. And maybe we can find the rest of the party before they waste their time coming down here." She whispered, "Do you know what is going on?"

"I remember this from before," Ranma breathed into her ear as the rest of the group headed back up the beach to the weatherbeaten inn. As they neared the inn, they spotted Soun, Yumi, and Nodoka through an open screen leading into the main room of the inn. As they headed into the room, they found that the adults were sitting across a low table from a collection of townfolk. On the table were several cups filled with tea, as well as a small tray covered with fruit.

Soun said, "I see, in other words, a monster."

"Yes sir," an elderly man said, apparently the spokesman for the group of shopkeepers, "A monster that's lived off this shore for many a decade. And every blasted summer, without fail, it gets into its dang head to drag pretty girls into the sea."

"Thanks to that, folks won't come nowhere near," one man said, sobbing.

The rest of the crowd began to cry as a second shopkeeper said, "At this rate, the Seaside Teahouse and Merchant's Association will be..."

"Enough," Soun interrupted, "The slaying of monster's is a martial artist's duty."

"I agree," Kuno said, "A duty that I will be honoured to perform."

"But he only attacks girls," Soun said.

Kodachi walked over, dressed in a barely there bikini, and said, "Then the answer is obvious, isn't it? It shall be I who brave the depths of the sea and destroy the monster that is depriving these good men of their livelihood."

Akane began to volunteer, until she saw the amused look on Ranma's face. "Let her do it," he whispered, "This will be funny as hell."

Mousse said, "Are you sure, my darling Kodachi?"

"Quite sure, my dearest," Kodachi replied, "It is my duty."

Akane hissed back, "Why don't you do it?"

Ranma smirked at her and whispered, "It'll be more fun if she does it. Wait and see. And anyway, the soap won't wear off for at least one more day."

"Can you hold your breath that long?" Akane asked.

"Quite long," Kodachi replied. She took a deep breath, swelling her chest, to the obvious enjoyment of the shopkeepers, and held it for quite a long time, and then exhaled noisily. "If we are going to do this, then let's get to it," she said, walking out of the inn, followed by the crowd.

* * *

Kodachi quickly swam out to the line of buoys, her lithe body parting the waves effortlessly. Taking a deep breath, she submerged and rapidly swam down toward the ocean floor, when suddenly she spotted a bright light glowing from somewhere below her. A large monster appeared from nowhere, its claws reaching out to snatch her succulent body. She dodged one blow, and attempted one of her own, only to see her arm pass completely through the beast. 'Wh-what the hell! No physical body!' she thought. Then her attention was drawn to the source of the glow, an ancient Shinto shrine, festooned with papers that used to be wards, now ruined as the ink had long since dissolved in the harsh sea water. 'So that's it, the big demon is just an apparition, and the real thing is this shrine!' she thought as she swam quickly down to the shrine. With a quick blow from the gymnast's club that appeared out of some unseen place, she crushed the shrine.

A loud explosion occurred, a huge blast of light, and Kodachi was buffeted around by the aftershocks, as her swimsuit shredded off her body, and knocking her out.

* * *

Kodachi slowly opened her eyes to find herself in her bed at the beach house, her husband, Akari, Kasumi and Tofu sitting around, looking anxiously at her.

Mousse said, "You're awake!"

"Are you all right, Kodachi?" Kasumi asked, "You gave us quite a scare."

"You passed out and floated up to the surface," Akari said, shyly.

"What about the monster! It was like one of those stone lion-dog guardian things," Kodachi asked, sitting up, and allowing her sheets to slide down her torso.

"Yeah, about the lion-dog," Tofu said, as he pointed to her body.

"Augh!" Kodachi screamed as she saw what she was wearing. A hideous one-piece swimsuit, with the lion-dog depicted on the suit. "What!" she exclaimed, "I would never be caught dead wearing a piece of trash like this! It is so not my style."

"We tried hard while you were out, but we just can't seem to get it off," Akari said.

"Can't get it off!" Kodachi exclaimed. She began tugging at the straps holding the suit up, and finally managed to get them partially off her shoulders, only to have her husband approach with a pair of scissors in an attempt to cut the suit. To her surprise, the lion-dog began to growl, and snatched the scissors out of his hands, and chewed them up, finally spitting the battered remnants out.

Then the suit began to weep.

"Oh dear!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"The swimsuit is crying!" Akari exclaimed.

To their surprise, a voice came from the suit, saying, "Oh, what a tragic swimsuit am I. That lovely summer day, I was to be worn for the first time by my young lady, and be complimented by her beloved young man, Natsuhiko. But, he came to her and handed her a different swimsuit, telling her that she'd look so much better in that one. To my horror, my young lady agreed, and tossed me aside. Until I am complimented by Natsuhiko, I cannot rest in peace."

"So that's why you latched onto Kodachi," Akari surmised.

"And unless you get that compliment," Mousse said, "She'll never get you off."

"Life grants but one chance at true love," the suit said, "If my wish is not granted by sunset tomorrow, her fate will be to come back with me to the shrine in the sea. Where of course, she will eventually drown."

"Get off of me!" Kodachi screamed, as she tore furiously at the suit.

The suit squealed, "What are you doing?"

"This is awful!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"Somehow we must find this Natsuhiko," Mousse declared. Quickly, he left the room, followed closely by Tofu and Akari, all calling for Natsuhiko.

An old man tottered up the street, waving his fan, dressed in a kimono. "Somebody calling me?" he asked.

"The innkeeper," Tofu said, "You're ..."

"Natsuhiko, yeah," the old man said, "That's me."

Mousse pulled Kodachi from the room, and commanded, "Compliment this suit, right now!"

"GWAH!" Natsuhiko yelled as he recoiled from the hideous display in front of him. "You'd look better in this one," he said, whipping another suit out, "Free of charge."

Kodach hit him several times, and said, "Peasant, you fail to understand the consequences of your actions."

"Hey, don't get mad," the old man grumbled.

"You don't understand," Mousse said, as he quickly explained the situation.

The old man scratched his head for a moment once Mousse was finished, and then said, "Now that you mention it, yeah, something like that did happen when I was young."

"Well," Mousse snapped.

"I guess it goes against all my aesthetic principles, but I suppose I can help out," Natsuhiko said. He sighed heavily.

Tofu grabbed Kodachi just as she was about to hit the old man again. "Wait, you can pummel him after the compliment," he hissed.

Natsuhiko turned to the suit and said, "Hey, hot swim suit."

The lion-dog growled, nastily, "What do I care if some old man likes me?"

"That's Natsuhiko," Kodachi exclaimed, "The real him."

"You think I'm stupid? Natsuhiko is young and handsome," the suit snarled.

"But that was decades ago," Akari protested.

"It's no use, we need someone who looks like the young Natsuhiko," Mousse said, fearing mightily for his wife.

"That's impossible!" Akari cried, "How can we possibly find someone who looks like he did."

At that moment, fortune smiled upon them as a figure loomed in the doorway, hidden by the shadows. "I've been searching for you," the figure said, "Dinner is ready."

"Oh, Natsuhiko!" the suit cried.

"What!" Akari exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Kasumi asked.

"It is I, Tatewaki Kuno, captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new star of the high school fencing world, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High," the figure said, stepping into the light, to reveal that it was indeed Kuno.

"Natsuhiko," the suit cried as it forced Kodachi to near her brother, "Oh how I've longed to see you!"

The old man cried, "You look exactly like my younger self! How did I not see that before?"

"He does?" Kodachi said in disbelief.

"Natsuhiko!" the suit sighed.

"So that means that if Kuno compliments the suit by sunset tomorrow, Kodachi won't be dragged by the suit to her death," Mousse said.

"But with a suit this utterly vile, we can't exactly depend on spontaneous praise," Tofu said.

"Huh, with my brother, it is in the bag!" Kodachi said, confidently. She walked over to her brother and said, winsomely, "Brother dear, I have a huge favour to ask."

"Anything, my sister," Tatewaki said.

"Tell me how much you like my swimsuit, please?" she asked.

Kuno laughed and asked, "Is that all?" Striking a pose, he declaimed, "I REFUSE! NO WAY. NEVER!"

"What!" Kodachi exclaimed.

"Why?" the suit cried.

Kuno shuddered, and said, "Don't like it. That suit is beyond words. Remove it quickly."

"Sure thing, brother. Just flatter it first, and then I may remove it," Kodachi tried to explain.

"Forget it," her brother said, as he turned to leave.

A voice of command barked, "Tachi, stay, heel!"

To their amazement, Kuno stopped in his tracks, and turned. "Yes, Akari, dear, what can I do for you?" he asked, quickly.

Akari rushed over and dragged him down to her level by the simple expedient of pulling on his ear, and whispered in that selfsame ear. After several minutes of her speaking, punctuate by the occasional comment of "No way!" from Kuno, finally one last buzz in his ears caused his shoulders to slump.

"You aren't serious?" he asked, not daring to look at her eyes.

Akari merely glared at him, causing him to take a step backwards.

"Very well, I must confess your potent arguments have totally overwhelmed my poor defenses. I shall do as you command," Kuno said.

Akari released his ear, at which point he began rubbing it gingerly, and approached his sister, and the disgusting suit that she was wearing. "Your swimsuit is so hip," Kuno said.

The suit sighed happily and said, "I wish."

"I wish what?" Kodachi asked reluctantly.

"That fateful day, I was to be worn by my lady, and go on a date with Natsuhiko," the suit said wistfully, "If only I could have that happen, then I would be so happy."

Kuno backed away, looking at his sister, who was glaring down at the suit. Akari glared at her boyfriend, and walked over to him once more. He carefully kept his ears safe from her and muttered, "The things that I do for love." Faking a smile, he turned to Kodachi, and asked, "It would be my privilege to date with you, darling Kodachi."

Kodachi looked at the suit and sighed, "I do wish to date with you, my dearest Tachi."

The rest of the crowd went "Ewwww!" except for Akari, who merely nodded approvingly at the odd couple.

Mousse opened his mouth, only to have Akari grab him by the ear and start hissing at him. Once more, aside from the occasional "Never," or "I won't allow it!" coming from the once blind Amazon, there was silence except for the sibilance of Akari's voice just too low to hear. With a heavy sigh, Mousse nodded his acquiescence and Akari released his ear. Wincing, he said, "That sounds like a good idea. I hope you have a good time on your date."

Now it was Kuno's turn to stare at Akari in shock, only to nod quickly as she made a grab for his ear. "I'm not one of your pigs," he muttered.

Watching silently from the shadows, Akane snickered and said, quietly, "I guess you knew all about that."

"Uh-uh, sure did, and this time I don't have to go on a date with that baka," Ranma whispered with glee, trying to keep from breaking out in a happy dance.

"We'll make a day of it then, tomorrow," Kuno said, "Just you and I, my dear Kodachi, on a d-date."

"You can't imagine how much I am looking forward to it," Kodachi said.

* * *

The next morning found the reluctant couple wandering the beach, walking hand-in-hand, as they sought for something to do. First, they entered an ice cream parlour, where they alternated feeding each other their ice cream. Then, they splashed around in the water, chasing each other and otherwise having a good time, in a beach filled with people now that the word had spread that the horror of the sea had been vanquished, at least for a time. Finally, around midafternoon, they played hit the watermelon, and then collapsed in exhaustion.

The suit finally spoke, "I must tell you, now that I am actually on a date with Natsuhiko, I'm so happy!"

Mousse walked up then and asked, "Th-then does that mean you're satisfied?"

"That you'll let Kodachi go?" Akari asked, joining them.

"Well, there's just one last thing, to top off the date, one last compliment, and then a kiss goodnight," the suit replied.

"A k-kiss," Tatewaki stammered.

"Um, I'm not really one who kisses on the first date," Kodachi demurred. Mousse rolled his eyes in amusement, remembering his first date with her.

"But how do I know that it is a real date, if you don't kiss?" the suit whined. The lion-dog pouted and then added, petulantly, "If you don't kiss before sunset, I'll take her with me."

Kodachi glanced over her shoulder and shuddered as she saw the sun nearly touching the horizon.

Kuno glanced over at Akari, who once more glared at him, and swallowed heavily. "I've had such a good time with you, my beloved Kodachi, that I too must insist on one chaste kiss to seal our date," he said grandiously.

"But first, that final compliment," Kodachi said, hoping to postpone the inevitable.

"Of course. I must admit, that I have never seen a swimsuit as striking as this. It shows your impeccable taste, my darling," Tatewaki said.

The pair of siblings embraced, and lightly pressed their lips together.

The suit exclaimed, "At last, at last!" and zipped off of Kodachi, leaving her exposed, before a robe suddenly enveloped her, courtesy of Mousse's quick hands. "To garment heaven, I go," the suit cried, as it disappeared into the setting sun.

Ranma appeared with two glasses of wine on a tray. Tatewaki and Kodachi quickly grabbed a glass and gulped half of it, attempting to get the taste of the other's lips out of their mouth.

"That was the single most disgusting thing that I have ever done," Kodachi said.

"It had to have been better than being dragged to your death by that suit," Mousse said mildly.

"Just barely," Kodachi said, "Take me away from here, my husband."

"Come Tachi, you and I can go snuggle somewhere, and help you overcome your trauma," Akari said, looping her arm through his.

* * *

Author's Note: Once again, another chapter in my ongoing saga rewriting the Ranmaverse. I hope it meets with my Gentle Readers' approval. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. And while specific comments to reviews are not allowed, since Savie reviewed anonymously, I'll respond here. The story that you were wondering about is not mine. It is Lord Archive's A Second Chance. While there are some surface similarities between this tale and his, most of it is completely different. It is a fun read though, so I would encourage anyone to find it. I hope to have the next update to this story up a bit quicker, real life permitting. 


	74. The Seeds of Tragedy

Chapter 74 The Seeds of Tragedy

Ranma leaned against the wall of the dojo and watched with pride as his students performed their exercises, though he noticed with a touch of concern that he would likely need to intervene with Hinako when they started sparring after the warmups were done. Even though he knew Nabiki had attempted to apologize to the smaller girl, the damage to their relationship was too large to be fixed with a simple apology, and indeed was only thinly papered over. He was also mildly alarmed that Kumon had not shown up with his two wives, as up until today they had been nearly fanatical about learning the school's techniques. He scratched his head, puzzled, and then his head shot up as he sensed the approach of someone who could only be Cologne.

The sound of wood hitting the steps leading into the dojo caught his attention, and a grim-faced Cologne hopped into the room. She said, "Saotome-sensei, forgive my intrusion, but we must talk."

Ranma's eyes narrowed at the unaccustomed honorific and said, quietly, "Very well, Elder Cologne," returning the honor, "Shall we talk outside?"

"That would be best," the elder replied, hopping back out, with Ranma following slowly, an extremely puzzled look on his face.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"We received a message from the Council this morning," Cologne replied, "A summons for Kumon and his wives to return to the village immediately."

"Kumon at the village?" Ranma asked, "Is that wise?"

"Are you questioning the wisdom of the Council?" Cologne asked, sternly.

Ranma frowned and replied, "Maybe not their wisdom so much as their common sense."

Cologne raised an eyebrow, inviting further explanation.

Ranma waved his hands in front of him, and tried to find the words. Finally, he sighed and added, "I have been called arrogant by some people, perhaps rightly. I have also been raised by an idiot who constantly belittled the female gender, and while I don't believe him, some of my attitudes unfortunately are still tainted by that. Kumon, however, makes me look like an ardent feminist, and almost shy. Sending someone like that to your village is like tossing a lit match into a tank of kerosene."

"Perhaps, though some of his rough edges have been smoothed off by his wives," Cologne said mildly.

"Are you really sure about that? In my opinion, he's getting the only thing that he really wants from a woman from them." Akane asked from where she was eavesdropping.

Cologne shrugged and said, "Again, that is of no matter. The Council has requested them to come. And it is a very brave or very foolish person who refuses to do as they wish."

Ranma sighed and said, "And you, of course, made sure he went, anyway. But why are you telling me?" 'Though, now that I stop to think about it, foolishly brave is a good description of both of us,' he thought, with a private grin.

"Courtesy, if nothing else," the elderly woman replied, "You are their sensei, their teacher in the arts, and therefore you should have been informed of their departure."

"When are they leaving?" Akane asked.

"They left this morning as soon as they packed. Awesome and Perfume were directed to return as well, and the three flew off on his back," Cologne replied.

"That's a change as well," Ranma mused, "I thought they had sent him here to work with me, not that he has yet. Always one excuse after another."

"Again, there was little choice in the matter. Not once they had become aware of Perfume's condition," Cologne muttered.

"Condition?" Ranma asked, as Akane quickly put some pieces together, and gasped. The yen dropped then, and Ranma chuckled.

"Yes, she is with child," Cologne replied with a frightening smile, one that would not look out of place on one of the Gargoyles surmounting St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland.

Ranma nodded slowly and said, "And that explains why she was called back. Children are precious to the Amazon people, so they try to minimize the risk to pregnant women."

"Yes, that we do," Cologne said, "But more importantly, we desire to celebrate the new life coming to us. She will be greatly revered for bringing a child of such a coupling to life."

"Taro is an adequate fighter in his human form," Ranma said.

Cologne looked thoughtfully at him and said, "True, I was considering how powerful he is when he transforms. That is a powerful combination."

Ranma shrugged and said, "Wasn't too much for Akane and me to handle. But, maybe we got lucky." Of course, his tone of voice indicated he didn't believe that for a moment. Akane's stifled giggle showed what she thought about that idea too.

"What about his curse?" Akane asked, an odd look in her eyes.

"Jusenkyo curses don't cross," the old woman said, "At least not in our experience. The baby won't be affected by the fact that Awesome has a curse." She chuckled and added, "And neither will any of yours." She nearly chuckled at the look of relief on the young couple's faces. Cologne stopped for a moment, and then decided to go for it as she finished, "Or any that Ranma might bear, for that matter." She cackled as Ranma did a traditional spit-take and his eyes grew wide with fear, while Akane snickered.

"What's wrong, Ranma, am I supposed to have them all" Akane asked.

Ranma sputtered for a moment and then said, with a dignity he really didn't feel, "Well, getting back on topic, I guess I won't be too sorry to see him go, he's a bit too much of an arrogant arse for me."

Cologne cackled and said, "Sounds a bit like the pot and the kettle."

Ranma grinned, and retorted, "It's not arrogance if you can pull it off."

"As much fun as this has been, we do have a lesson to teach," Akane reminded, not bothering to hide her grin.

"Thank you for letting us know about Kumon, Elder," Ranma said formally, "I appreciate the courtesy."

"And give our congratulations to Taro and Perfume," Akane added. Ranma nodded his agreement.

"If it is alright with you, I'd like to watch for a little while. Shampoo can hold down the restaurant for an hour or so longer," Cologne said.

"Of course, we would be honoured," Akane said, as she pulled her husband back into the dojo.

* * *

Nabiki hesitated outside the door to Hinako's room, and glanced at the item in her hand, hoping that would be enough, and then put it behind her back. With a heavy sigh, she knocked politely on the door and waited for it to open. 

The door opened, and Hinako stood there. Her face lost her pleasant smile when she saw who was standing there and snarled, "What do you want?"

"Hi-chan, we need," Nabiki began, only to have Hinako correct her, saying, "Ninomiya, please, Tendo."

Nabiki sighed and restarted, "Ninomiya-san, we need to talk."

"Very well, talk," the young girl said coldly, not making any move to let Nabiki enter.

Nabiki bowed her head and said, softly, hiding her teary eyes, "I wronged you terribly, and I've tried to apologize several times, but you won't accept them. I don't know what else I can do to make it up to you, but I don't want to lose my friend, my sister." She sighed, and continued, "I shouldn't have let my disappointment with Ranma and Akane spill out onto you, I knew that as soon as those horrid words left my mouth, but by then it was too late to bring them back." She waited, hoping to get a reaction from Hinako, only to hear dead silence. She sighed once more and finished, "Here, this is for you. Please put it back where it belongs." She brought her hand out in front of her and opened it to show a small heart-shaped plaque with 'Hinako' written on it in gold leaf, a small gold-coloured cord acting as a hanger.

A small hand reached out and picked up the plaque and Hinako said, "It's very nice. Tell Kasumi thank you."

"Kasumi didn't make it, I did, myself," Nabiki said, lifting her face and letting Hinako see the tears flowing down, "I wanted to show you that you are a part of this family by my actions, hoping that maybe that would get through to you."

"Help me hang it," Hinako said, as she lifted the plaque toward the nail on the door.

Nabiki looped the small cord over the protruding nail, and Hinako let the plaque slide down against the door, where it hung securely.

An odd expression went across Hinako's face and then she turned and embraced the other girl, feeling the tension leave Nabiki and leaving her trembling.

"I can't forget what you said, Na-chan, but I will forgive you," Hinako said tremulously.

"Oh gods, thank you," Nabiki breathed, as the two girls cried happy tears together, oblivious to their quiet audience.

Ranma drew Akane back from the end of the hall, his body pushing Kasumi back as well. "Good," he said, "That's settled."

"Yes, maybe now our family will be whole again," Akane said, carefully not looking at her sister, who blushed furiously.

Kasumi stood there for a moment, her eyes blank, and then a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Yes, the spirit of the house has returned to equilibrium. All now is right," she whispered.

* * *

Shampoo sighed heavily as she knelt down next to Akane the next day at lunch, her normally effervescent personality obviously missing for some reason, as she slowly took her lunch out of her take-out boxes. 

"What's wrong?" Akane asked, softly.

"Miss airen," the purple-haired girl replied.

"Oh, I didn't realize Ryoga was missing," Akane said, in surprise.

Shampoo shrugged and said, "Airen go to store to get present for Shampoo, and not come back for week now. Shampoo just lonely."

Akane grinned and said, "Not staying warm at night, I bet."

Shampoo turned to her, and pouted. Then she said, as she brightened, "Shampoo not too worried. Airen make it up to Shampoo many times once he return. Besides, curse mostly gone, and Elders give Airen potion."

"Oh?" Akane asked, while the rest of the group chattered obviously in the background.

"Potion help Airen find way back to Shampoo. Allow him to always know where Shampoo is, so he can find Shampoo. That what great-grandmother say when she get hair from Shampoo," Shampoo said.

"How's it work?" Ranma asked, proving that he was doing more than eating his bento.

"Shampoo not real sure. Great-grandmother say Airen be able to sense closeness to Shampoo. So long as Shampoo stay in Nerima, Airen eventually find his way back home," Shampoo replied.

"Oh, okay, some sort of method to orient on you. Interesting that he can sense how close he is. I wonder what kind of search pattern would work quickest to get him here," Ranma said, half to himself.

"Maybe we should ask her to make some for us," Akane said, thoughtfully.

"Why would we want to do that? Neither of us gets lost," Ranma said.

Akane smirked at him and replied, "In case you get kidnapped again, it'll be easier for me to find you and rescue your sorry arse."

Ranma pulled one eye down at her.

* * *

The sun rose on an idyllic glade, deep in a remote forest, as the birds greeted the dawn with the sound of their cries. A dainty doe watched as her fawn sipped from the crystal clear spring-fed pool in the center of the sun-dappled glade, as a proud stag stood guard over the area. Suddenly, the stag raised his head sharply, his large rack waving menancingly as something got his attention. At one end of the glade, he sensed a disturbance, as the birds quieted, and the doe and fawn darted away, while the stag backed slowly away from the unseen danger. With a heavy crash, one of the titans of the forest came crashing down, as a weary figure staggered through. Stopping, the bandana-clad person lifted his head to the heavens and cried, "Where am I!!!!!!" He glanced around and saw to his astonishment, a panda, lying on its back, its body curled around a large turck tire. 

'Ack, Ryoga,' a sigh read, 'I told you not to look for me!'

Ryoga wiped his forehead, and growled, "It's not like I was looking for you. I certainly don't care if you run away. Why are you here anyway?"

'Training, don't tell Ranma I'm here,' the next sign read.

"Well, gee, since I don't know where the hell I am, that won't be a problem," Ryoga said, glaring at the annoying pest, "Which way is Nerima, anyway?"

The panda raised one paw and pointed to the left.

"That's what I thought," Ryoga said, as he made a beeline in that direction, knocking trees down as he slowly moved off in a spiral.

* * *

With a feeling of déjà vu, Ranma leaned back against the wall of the dojo and watched with pride as his students performed their exercises. With a hidden smile, he saw Hinako and Nabiki work together in a complex kata, their arms and legs flashing in unison as the pair performed flawlessly, grins on their faces as they moved. Obviously they had indeed bridged their differences and were friends, no sisters, once more. He chuckled as they finished with a flourish that wasn't exactly part of the kata, and then collapsed in each other's arms, laughing with glee. 

"Good job, you two," Akane said, "But that last isn't part of what we taught you."

"Sis, it is Anything Goes, right?" Nabiki quipped.

"Yes it is, scamp," Akane said, with a grin, as she tossed a couple of water bottles to the two girls.

Sayuri called, "Mom, are you still having trouble with that last movement? Tendo-san sure seems to have to help you move an awful lot!!'

Soun and Yumi froze, with his arms wrapped around her waist from where he was helping her to move.

'Busted,' Akane thought, as she added, "Yeah, Dad, stop flirting with Yumi and show her those moves."

"Looking good Mousse, Kodachi," Ranma said as he pushed himself away from the wall. Somehow the fusion between the Amazon's Hidden Weapon techniques and the gymnast's movements had created some interesting fighting moves, "I want you two to write that up on a series of scrolls for when we open the dojo for real."

"Yes, Saotome-sensei," Mousse replied, a hint of a smile on his face, while Kodachi bowed mockingly.

Ranma mock-growled at them as he tossed them their water, pointedly not looking at the damp leotard that Kodachi was wearing like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination. Fortunately, his attention was diverted by the sound of two people rushing up the pebbled walk, as Shampoo led her husband into the dojo. "Hey, it's the lost boy," Ranma said, walking over to clasp arms with his friend, "When did you get back in town?"

"Just now, Ranma," Ryoga growled, rolling his eyes.

"And Shampoo dragged you over here instead of up to her room?" Ranma asked in surprise.

"Shampoo have plenty of time to have her way with Airen. What he tell me too too important," Shampoo said, a saucy look on her face, while Ryoga blushed.

"Oh?" Ranma asked, "What could be more important than that?"

Ryoga blushed and replied, "I ran into your father several kilometers from here, at least I think it was. Anyway, he was in his cursed form, clutching a truck tire. Said he was training. Just thought you should know, before I got distracted and forgot about it."

"Thanks buddy," Ranma said, "Now, why don't you let Shampoo take you home and greet you properly?"

"Shampoo say that excellent idea," Shampoo smirked.

"See you at school tomorrow Shampoo," Akane called.

"Maybe, maybe not. Depends on how well Airen greet Shampoo," Shampoo tossed over her shoulder as she dragged her husband out of the dojo.

"What was that all about?" Akane asked.

"Pop is off training in this silly technique," Ranma replied, quietly, "Something he liked to call the cradle from hell."

"Is it a fearsome technique?" Akane asked.

Ranma shook his head and replied, "No, actually it's embarrassing as hell, to be honest."

"Oh, that sounds like something he would come up with," Akane snickered as they returned to their class.

* * *

The little bell over the door tinkled as it opened, framing Shampoo and Ryoga as they returned from yet another errand. Ever since Ryoga had returned, they had nearly been joined at the hip to prevent him wandering off, well, that and the metal chain tied to the collar around his neck that was securely held by his wife. At first, Ryoga had been a little embarrassed about the situation, but then after suffering a devasting shock and awe campaign, helped along by copious use of Shampoo's pout, had forced him to reconsider his reluctance. 

They walked in to find Cologne idly sorting through the day's post, tossing the bills to be paid in one pile, the junk mail into the trash, leaving only a newspaper. "That's interesting," the old woman muttered, "A paper from home. It'll be nice to catch up on some of the news from there."

"What is that?" Ryoga asked.

"The Amazon clan village paper," Cologne replied, as she unfolded it, and displayed the front page.

Shampoo gasped as she saw the front page. There, prominently plastered across the page, just below the fold were photographs of Ryoga and her. "Great grandmother, what paper say?" she asked.

"Does this say what I think it says?" Ryoga asked.

"Shampoo translate for you!" Shampoo replied, as she took the paper from her great grandmother, ignoring for the moment the glare from the elderly woman. She scanned it quickly and then said, "It say, 'Interview with Shampoo, who now live in Tokyo and very happy. Heart pounding, in newlywed life to Ryoga.' Oh that part of article good. But this part not so good. It say where Shampoo live!"

"So, why is that a problem?" Ryoga asked.

"Time to be **careful**! **Ryoga's** life in danger, too," Shampoo said, as she grabbed Ryoga's hands.

"Wha?" Ryoga asked.

"Terrible enemy is come for attack Shampoo," his wife exclaimed, "Now it know Ryoga is airen and attack him too!"

Ryoga shrugged and said, "I'm not afraid of anything, Shampoo. We can face it together. But tell who this enemy is? What can you tell me about him?"

"Ten year ago," Shampoo began, "Great grandmother and Shampoo visit Yakusai village in China. She leave me to go to store."

"I will stock up on herbal medicines," Cologne said, as they stopped on the dusty road that lead through the small village, "You wait here for me."

"_Yes, great grandmother," the young girl said._

"_Be careful with the children of this village. There are many pranksters," the old woman said, as she hopped away on her cane, a large clay jar carefully tied to her back._

"_Yes! Careful!" Shampoo said, as she waved goodbye. She squatted down and using a small stick that she found lying on the ground, began drawing pictures in the dust._

"_You are child from Amazon clan, please?" a voice said from behind her. Shampoo turned around to see an attractive little girl, of about her age, with some sort of feathery decoration on either side of her straight black hair, carrying a basket filled with herbs. She laughed for a moment and then added, "Memento from our meeting, please." Suddenly, a cloud of something came from her hands as she continued, "Wind direction good." Finaly, she pulled out a small watering can from behind her back and poured water over Shampoo, saying, politely, "Pour water over, please."_

"_What you doing?" Shampoo exclaimed, kicking the girl away from her._

"_No worry, please. Just guinea pig for herbal medicine," the girl said, as she sailed away._

"_AIYAA!! What's this?!" Shampoo shrieked as suddenly dozens of seeds began to sprout in her clothing._

"So what does that have to do with anything?" Ryoga asked, pulling Shampoo back to the present from her memories of a time long past.

"So seeds of tragedy sown," Shampoo replied.

'This is weird, I've never seen Shampoo showing **fear** before, must be someone really powerful,' Ryoga thought as he followed his wife upstairs.

* * *

Akane briefly kissed Ranma and said, "I'll see you at home. Remember, the girls are meeting over at Yuki's for a girls' night out." 

Ranma grinned and asked, "Should I change and come with you? Just to keep you out of trouble, of course."

Akane thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up with mischief, and then reluctantly shook her head. "No, some of the things they'll likely talk about would embarrass you. But, don't worry, I won't talk too much about you."

"Oh, it's going to be one of those kinds of parties," Ranma said, smirking, "Let me have your stuff and I'll take it home. You have a good time and stay out of trouble."

Akane handed him her bookbag, and he placed it over one shoulder. He grabbed her and gave her a kiss that made her weak at the knees, and disappeared.

Akane stared absently out the window, until Sayuri poked her in the side, giggling.

* * *

Ranma walked expertly across the wooden fence, his hands behind his back, with his Chinese cap lightly askew, falling across one eye, as he whistled. Suddenly, he felt a disturbance, and jumped out several feet, just as a large cloud of dust settled where he had been. Turning, he stared at the young woman who had appeared, silhouetted by the setting sun, casting her entirely in shadow. 

"Who are you?" he asked, as he watched her warily.

"Wind direction good," the woman said, as she stepped forward, showing that she was a girl about his age, obviously Chinese, wearing a traveling cloak, with two odd feathery ornaments in her hair.

"Seeds," Ranma muttered as he recognized the cloud of dust. A look of dawning recognition appeared on his face as he groaned. "Pink or is it Link, I never could tell them apart,' he thought.

"You are Shampoo's husband, please?" the woman asked, clutching what appeared to be a newspaper in one hand.

Ranma groaned once more and replied, "No, I'm not. Do I look like that moron? He's probably at the Nekohaten." He cast a wary eye at the sky and saw that it had clouded up.

"Weather good, please," the woman said, "In lieu of introductions, please." #Zai jian!# she added as she disappeared, just as the skies opened up, causing Ranma to transform.

Suddenly, dozens of seed sprouted all over Ranma's clothing, as she sighed in resignation as the mandrake roots knocked her out.

A short while later, a red-faced Akane came roaring around the corner, growling under her breath, "How could those girls ask me how endowed Ranma was? Or whether or not we'd…" She stopped suddenly as she saw her husband sprawled out on the sidewalk, her body covered by some strange vine, and a dazed look on her face. "Ranma!" Akane cried, as she raced over to her and sank down on her knees next to the red-haired girl, "What happened?"

The dazed girl ignored her. As Akane examined her husband, she noticed some sort of odd-shaped root, something that looked like a misshapen human figure. As she reached for the root, she heard a horrific screech from behind her. Whirling quickly, she saw a normally pleasant-faced young woman, about her age, obviously Chinese from her features and her clothing, dressed warmly in a hooded traveling cloak with some sort of odd feathery adornments in her otherwise straight black hair. She stammered, "Wh-who are you?"

"Who did such a horrible thing, please?" the woman asked. She sank to her knees next to Ranma and exclaimed, "The mandrake is human-shaped but poisonous root! In legend, if it is carelessly torn out, it emits a blood-curdling scream! Those who hear its screams die instantly!!" She pulled out a handful of rubber items and said, sternly, "Put on earplugs, please!" handing a pair to Akane and then placing a pair first in Ranma's ears and then in hers. She looked grimly at Akane and mouthed, "Pray this works, please!" as she yanked the roots out from where they were planted, all of which screamed loudly enough to be heard even muffled through the earplugs. Working feverishly, she pulled out many herbs from the basket that was on her back, something that Akane had managed to overlook, and concocted something in the massive mortar and pestle set that she had pulled out of that selfsame basket. Finally she said, "Antidote, please!" as she poured the mixture down Ranma's throat.

Ranma woke up, sputtering and then said, "Bleah, it tastes like a ferret exploded in my mouth!"

"You almost died, please," the woman said.

Ranma's eyes finally focused on the young woman, and she growled, "What did you do to me, you!!" Suddenly, she stopped as her anger vanished, as the young woman cringed from her. "Wait, you aren't the same girl as before, are you? Thank you for whatever you did."

"What you mean, please?" the woman asked, as she saw that Ranma was no longer angry with her.

"That girl that did this to me, she looked much like you, but somehow I can sense something different about you," Ranma replied, "Something that tells me you aren't the same." Ranma bowed and said, "Thank you for saving me, miss."

"I called Link," the girl said, "But, now must find sister." She ran off quickly, leaving Ranma and Akane behind.

"I need to warn Shampoo somehow that they are here," Ranma said as the girl vanished.

"This is something that happened the last time?" Akane asked.

"Yes, it did, but how do I let her know that Pink and Link are here? She'll want to know how I know about them chasing her," Ranma mused, only to slap herself on the head. "Idiot," she snarled, "Duh, I can tell Cologne. She can handle what they need to know."

"But why did you get attacked?" Akane asked, "That doesn't make any sense."

Ranma rubbed the back of her neck, and replied, "I honestly have no idea, other than for some reason she thought I was Shampoo's husband. That's what happened last time, so it sort of made a sort of twisted sense, but I haven't a clue why she thought I was Ryoga."

"Husband? Would you care to explain that?" Akane asked, a little coolly.

"Not much to explain, to be honest. It was just Shampoo being Shampoo. Remember, I told you that before I accidentally beat her and got the kiss of death, and then the kiss of marriage, right?"

"Well, yeah," Akane said, slowly.

"Anyway, the idiot girl managed to give an interview to her local village newspaper and claimed that we were happily married," Ranma said, "Not that that was ever going to happen. So they had some pictures in the paper of the two of us, separate pictures by the way, and that allowed Pink and Link, or whatever their real names in Chinese are, to track her here."

"So they attacked you, for what?" Akane asked.

"Revenge, I guess, for what Shampoo had done to them in the past," Ranma said, with a shrug, "That whole enemies is for killing thing of Shampoo, don't you know? Anyway, they captured Shampoo, and like an idiot, I went to save her. That saving people thing I have, I guess. And then you had to rescue me, so that worked out okay. Gave you a chance to show what you had. This time, if they take Shampoo, you can do all the heavy lifting and I'll just make comments from the cheap seats." He smirked at her as he said that.

Akane grinned and said, "No thanks, I'll let Ryoga do it. After all, he's supposed to be her knight in shining armour. I'll just bring some popcorn so we can both watch."

"Sounds like a date to me," Ranma said.

Akane lightly swatted him, and said, "I'd rather have another real date, with candles on the table, and a piano playing in the background."

"I can arrange that, I imagine," Ranma said, "We could use a night out on the town. I love our family, but there sure seems to be an awfully lot of them now, so it's getting a little tough to find time for just us. The training trip was fun, but there's more to life than martial arts." He grinned and added, "And if you tell Pop that, I'll deny ever saying it."

* * *

Cologne hung up the handset after the lengthy phone call, a frown on her face as she digested all of the information she had just received. After a few minutes of thought, she decided on her course of action and called her great granddaughter and her husband into the kitchen. Fortunately, there was a brief lull as all of the students who descended upon the café after school was over had left, and the salarymen who came after their long workday was over had yet to arrive. 

"What great grandmother want?" Shampoo asked, as she dragged her husband by the hand into the small kitchen.

"I had an interesting conversation with Sonny Boy," Cologne replied, "It seems he was attacked by some girl thinking he was your husband. Someone who attacked him with deadly mandrake seeds."

"Is Ranma okay?" Ryoga asked.

Cologne sighed, and wondered, not for the first time, why Shampoo had been so foolish to get involved with her idiotic husband. "Yes, of course he's fine. Otherwise, how could I have had a talk with him."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Ryoga muttered, blushing.

"Yeah, that sounds like something I've heard before," Cologne muttered under her breath. Raising her voice, she added, "A second girl came and gave him the antidote, and said her name was Link." She noticed with interest that Shampoo paled at that information.

"That name not familiar, but Shampoo run afoul of someone like that," Shampoo muttered.

"Oh, that's the girl that you told me about," Ryoga said.

"What girl might that be?" Cologne asked.

"Some girl that she had problems with ten years ago," Ryoga replied. He grinned and added, "We also know something more about her."

Shampoo waited for a moment, and then asked, "What we know?"

Ryoga smirked, and replied, "Well, obviously she is a blind fool. How could she have confused Saotome with someone as handsome as me?"

"I thought you had something serious to add," Cologne growled as she whacked him with her cane.

Shampoo suddenly whirled and threw her bonborri at something, only to watch as it crashed into a large mirror standing against the wall, shattering it into dozens of pieces.

Out of the debris, the strange girl appeared, standing in the middle of one of the tables, disturbing two of the diners. "Ho, so you still live Shampoo's husband?" she said.

"Well, duh," Ryoga replied, "You didn't attack me, you blind fool, you attacked one of my friends."

"This time I'll kill you please," the woman cried as she pulled something out of her basket. "Wind direction good!" she exclaimed as she tossed the substance at Ryoga and Shampoo, only to see it get blown back toward her as Shampoo grabbed two fans and began waving them furiously.

"We no fall for that!" Shampoo cried.

One of the customerssaid, "Huh!" as the seeds began to fall around them.

Another added, "What's this!?"

Shampoo, Ryoga and Cologne covered their ears as the mandrakes cried, causing the customers to collapse.

The girl leapt at them, four arms waving multiple weapons. "Shampoo, so good to see you!" the girl cried.

"Arms?" Cologne growled.

"WHA!" Ryoga cried.

As the arms swept forward, Shampoo blocked them with the shaft of her bonborris.

"This girl ain't human!" Ryoga cried.

"Silly trick no fool Shampoo," Shampoo cried, as she forced the girl away, soaring her high into the air, where suddenly the figure split in two.

"There's two!" Ryoga cried.

"You see!! Is twins!!" Shampoo exclaimed.

"I figured that out already," Ryoga growled as the two girls once more landed on one of the tables, the one on the left wearing a dark blouse over her white skirt, and black leggings, while the second had a white blouse instead. Each blouse had a different ideograph on them as well, to additionally distinguish between the two.

"Yakusai Village poisonous plant wielder Pink, please," the left hand girl cried, while her sisted added, "Yakusai Village poisonous plant wielder Link, please."

In unison, the two girls cried, "We've come to kill Shampoo and her husband Ryoga!!" They continued, "We will wreak vengeance on Shampoo and husband, please."

Cologne asked, "Shampoo what did you do?"

"And why am I a target, too?" Ryoga asked.

"Shampoo is victim," Shampoo replied, "Ten year ago I almost die from Pink's mandrake."

Pink cried, "Not true!! When Link happen by, she give antidote to Shampoo. When Shampoo came to, she cry 'All your fault,' and hit Link high into air."

"The innocent Link was the punched one," Link cried.

"Link's pain is my pain," Pink said.

"But only I felt the pain, please," Link retorted.

"So we kill Shampoo's husband, too. You will feel the same misery as we," the two girls intoned.

"To go to these lengths over something that happened in childhood," Ryoga said, keeping a wary eye out on the two girls, "They really hold a grudge, huh?"

Shampoo replied, "You just **heard** Shampoo is **victim**. That why, every time Shampoo meet them after, Shampoo smack them one hundred times! That's all."

"That's all? **Who** was the victim, again?" Ryoga asked.

At that moment, the two girls leapt up into the air, crying, "SHAMPOO AND HUSBAND, PREPARE YOURSELVES!!"

Pink glared and pulled multiple black flowers out of her bag, exclaiming, "Poisonous **male** flower of weakness, please!!"

Link extracted a large quantity of white blossoms also, adding, "Medicinal **female** flower of love, please!!"

As one, the two girls went into a flurry of activity, mixing their flowers together to form a combined attack.

"Flowers!" Shampoo exclaimed.

"Poison, again!" Ryoga added.

The three jumped back through the door of the café, just as the flowers blew toward them, ducking out of the way as they did so, just as a large group of athletes came jogging down the street.

"Take cover!" Ryoga cried.

Pink and Link came to the door, waving a set of fans. "Wind direction good, please," they cried, as Ryoga and Shampoo ducked out of the way, and Cologne slid off her cane. The flowers flew past them to waft over the surprised men in the street. At the same time, a porcelain toilet came flying out of the darkness of the café and slammed into Pink, throwing her into the middle of the flowers, while a black ribbon wrapped itself around Link, pulling her back into the café.

Suddenly, the men began doing all sorts of domestic chores, cooking, cleaning, baking, laundry and the like, while Pink sat on the pavement, looking dazed, a set of white and black blossoms forming a pretty arrangement in her hair.

Shampoo and Ryoga stared at the scene in wonder. "What is this?" Ryoga asked.

Mousse and Kodachi came out of the restaurant, dragging Link out behind them, wrapped securely in one of Kodachi's ribbons.

"Our collaborative effort," Link replied, sullenly, "All who have this motherhood flower will become the Good Wife. No matter what happens to them, they will not fight back, please."

"Their will to fight disappears," Ryoga gasped.

"Then always to be defeating," Shampoo added, "Oh such terrifying flower."

Mousse walked over to Pink and watched her for a moment, and then called, "Kodachi dear, could you come here?"

Kodachi joined her husband, and asked, "What am I looking for?"

"She's not acting quite like the others," Mousse replied, quietly.

"No real surprise," Kodachi said, as she wrapped her up with a ribbon also, just to be on the safe side.

"Oh?" Mousse asked, turning to look at his wife.

"She's been working with poisons for much of her life, if she fought Shampoo ten years ago, so she has undoubtedly worked up at least some resistance to them," Kodachi replied, "At least that would be my experience from when I dallied with them."

"Ah, of course, I see," Mousse said, thoughtfully, "So while it may have affected her a little bit, she's really not under the influence. At least not like those poor souls." He nodded in the direction of the men, who were still performing their housekeeping tasks, and indeed several were actually sweeping the street clean of the fallen flowers and other debris that had been littering the area.

"Would anyone like some tea?" Cologne asked, a set of the flowers in her hair, and a tray with several teacups in her hands.

"AIYAA!" Shampoo exclaimed, "Not great-grandmother!!"

Link asked, "I make antidote, please? Save Elder and sister."

"Shampoo no trust you," Shampoo snarled.

"That makes us even. I don't trust you either," Link said, her eyes flaring with anger, "I helped you ten years ago and you have done nothing but beat me up ever since then."

"Ranma said she helped him with the mandrakes," Mousse added.

"When did he tell you that?" Ryoga asked.

"When he called to ask us to hide in the back room and wait for them to show up," Kodachi replied, "Though how he knew they would come today is an interesting question."

"Well, they did attack him earlier today, thinking he was me," Ryoga replied slowly, "But I'm a little insulted that he thought we needed backup."

"I guess I shouldn't point out that you did need backup then," Mousse said with a smirk.

Ryoga glared at him, then, only to have Mousse ignore him.

"What we do with great grandmother?" Shampoo asked, bringing them back to the problem at hand.

"I think we have to trust Link," Kodachi replied, "Watch." She walked over to one of the men, and gently plucked the flowers out of his hair. To everyone's surprise but Kodachi, the man screamed and collapsed to the ground, breathing shallowly.

"Don't do that!" Link screamed, "Let me help him before he die!!"

"Promise?" Ryoga asked.

"On my honour," Link replied, her face pale, "I have little time to save him, please."

Ryoga quickly pulled the ribbons off of her, freeing Link.

The young woman quickly selected some ingredients from her basket, crushing the various blossoms and herbs with her mortar and pestle. "I need an infusion," she muttered under her breath.

"Would the tea work?" Kodachi asked, as she followed her every movement.

"No, the caffeine in the tea would counteract the ingredients. Something with alcohol is what I need," Link replied, absently.

Mousse pulled a bottle of wine out of his sleeve. With a flourish, he opened the bottle and handed it to Link.

"Perfect," Link said, as she measured out a dram of the liquid and added it to her concoction, continuously stirring as she did so. Finally, she poured some of the potage into a small silver cup and handed it to Kodachi. "Give this to them, it should cure them by causing the flowers to fall out of their hair without damage," she said, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead.

Kodachi walked over to the man lying on the ground and pulled him to a sitting position, and poured a small amount of the gooey liquid into his mouth. After a few minutes, his breathing returned to normal and he pulled himself up to his feet, looking at his companions in shock.

"What happened here?" the man asked, "Why are my friends acting so strangely?"

"Nothing of any consequence," Kodachi replied as Mousse administered the cure to Cologne, and then the rest of the innocent victims.

"Thank you, Link," Mousse said as he walked back to her, "Now, I don't really care who is at fault in this foolish feud between you and Shampoo, you shouldn't involve innocent people in it. Ryoga has never done anything to harm you, and neither has any of the rest of us. Your sister attacked a friend of ours, thinking that he was Ryoga."

"All you foreigners look alike to us," Pink muttered, "It's an honest mistake."

"Um, he and I look nothing alike," Ryoga growled, "I'm much better looking than he is, with a stronger physique."

"Modest, isn't he?" Kodachi asked in an aside.

Mousse chuckled and said, "Ranma might argue the point if he were here."

"I suggest you take your sister and leave," Cologne said, coldly, "I'm not particularly amused by your actions right now, and you really don't want to cross me. You're several hundred years too young to want to face me."

"Honoured Elder, forgive us for involving you in our feud, please," Link said, bowing, "The only person we should be seeking vengeance on is Shampoo."

"Why are you seeking revenge, anyway? Sounds kind of foolish if you ask me," Ryoga said, "Fighting her over something that happened ten years ago, wasting all of that time and energy on something so trivial. Coming all the way here from China. Foolishness if you ask me."

Shampoo smirked and said something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Bread Fight."

Link said, "We go now, please."

Mousse suggested, "I'd leave your sister tied up, just to keep the two of you out of mischief, until you leave the area. I'd really rather not have to fight you."

"But we will if we have to," Kodachi added.

Link essayed a weak smile and helped her sister to her feet, and the pair trudged down the street, and vanished out of sight.

"Good, we've seen the last of them," Ryoga said.

Shampoo rolled her eyes and said, "Shampoo not so sure. They give up too too easy."

* * *

Ranma stopped at the door to the dojo, blocking his students from entering as he saw Soun and Yumi performing an elaborate kata. He hissed, "Quiet, just watch," as the four girls with him peeked around the open door. 

The couple continued on, oblivious to their unseen audience, as they moved gracefully in sync from one form to the next, their eyes only on each other, moving as if to music only they could hear. Then suddenly they moved into each other's arms and began to sway together almost in a dance step.

Akane gasped, and put her hand over her mouth, as a few tears began to flow down her face.

Nabiki sighed and said, softly, "That was their kata, the one they always did together. I remember the last time they danced like that, just before she went to the hospital for the final time."

Sayuri wrapped her arms around her near sister, while Hinako hugged Nabiki. "They look good, don't they, sis?" Sayuri asked.

"They sure do," Akane said, huskily, "I never thought I would see that again."

"I think we'll forget about working out today," Ranma said, gently, "This is much more important than what I had planned. Let's give them their privacy." He turned and gently pulled his wife away from the door, as she buried her head in his chest. They lead the other three girls back to the house and into the kitchen.

"Oh, Ranma, Akane, the bath is still hot, so jump in before dinner," Kasumi said, as she stirred the pot on the stove.

"Thanks, sis," Akane said, "That's sounds wonderful. I could use a good soak right now."

Ranma pulled Akane toward the furoba, and said softly, "I think we'll be seeing an engagement ring on Yumi's finger soon, with a wedding as soon as it is honourable."

"Twelve months to the day from the time the divorce was final," Akane agreed.

"The hour, more than likely," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

"True," Akane said, with a giggle, "I just wonder how soon she'll move into his room."

"That's not something that I want to think about, much less talk about," Ranma said, blushing, as he opened the outer door to the changing room, and followed Akane in.

"Well, it is a necessary," Akane began, only to be interrupted by Ranma placing his hand over her mouth.

"Hush, listen," he said, very quietly.

Akane closed her mouth and listened intently. Then she heard it, a noise coming from the bathing chamber; "There's something in there."

"Or someone," Ranma said, "I swear this is repeating itself entirely too closely for my comfort. That must be Pink and Link growing their damn plants again."

"In MY home!!" Akane growled, her eyes glowing dangerously.

"Then let's let them know that their manners leave a little to be desired," Ranma said, as he slid the door open and they entered the room, to see the girl that had attacked him, and her sister, sitting on the edge of the furo, which was filled with all sorts of herbs and flowers.

"AIYAA! Why are you here, please?" Link asked.

"That's **my **line!" Akane exclaimed, "This is our home."

"This place is a perfect nursery, please," Link said.

Pink growled, "Get in our way…"

Link finished, "And you'll feel pain, please."

"I don't think so," Akane said, as she cried, "Genko Fenikusu!" releasing a glowing ball of energy at the plants, blasting them apart, but releasing a large cloud of pollen, blocking everything from view.

Ranma pulled Akane out of the bathing chamber, quickly, and slid the door closed, keeping the pollen in the room.

"Kasumi is going to be really mad at you, just think of the mess that will be in there," Ranma said, as he heard the two girls coughing in the other room.

"Okay, that wasn't the brightest thing in the world for me to do, I admit," Akane said, a little sheepishly.

Ranma grinned and said, "No point in crying over it, though. Let's find some fans, and blow the mess out the window."

"There's an electric fan in here, above the washer," Akane said, pointing to the small box fan.

Ranma grabbed that and set it down on the floor, and plugged it in. Akane slid the door back, allowing the breeze from the small yet powerful fan to start blowing the pollen toward the back of the room, where it began to flow out the small window that was open. Ranma tied a mask around his nose and mouth, and slowly walked into the chamber, clearing the area, and uncovering a pair of unconscious women.

Akane rushed in, her mouth and nose also covered, and dragged the two girls out into the changing room, and then returned with a broom and slowly helped clean up the disaster she had caused.

* * *

An exhausted Ranma and Akane stumbled out of the bathing chamber, after spending an extremely long time in cleanup, to find the two girls were still out cold. With a sigh, Ranma splashed water onto the face of the two girls, waking them up. 

"What you do to us, Shampoo's husband?" Pink sputtered, as she wiped her face dry.

"Let's get this straight, I'm not Shampoo's husband. I am married to Akane here, and this is our home that you invaded," Ranma said, his eyes cold, and a chill rose in the room.

"And where do you get off attacking **my** man and then coming here?" Akane said, her battle aura flaring.

Pink paled as she saw the power of the two people standing in front of her.

"Why you think this Shampoo's husband? He look nothing like picture in paper," Link asked, softly.

"I would hope not," Ranma said, a wry grin on his face, "I look nothing like that muscle-bound meathead." His grin grew bigger, as he added, "I'm much more handsome."

Pink grumbled under her breath, something that none of them caught.

"So you just decided to attack an innocent with your mandrake roots?" Ranma asked.

"You survived her mandrakes, please!" Link exclaimed.

"Only with your help," Ranma replied.

Link looked puzzled, and said, "Link not understand. I found a young girl and helped her."

"Long story," Ranma said, just as Akane splashed him with cold water. Ranma brushed her wet hair out of her face, and added, "Well, I guess that makes it a bit shorter."

"That seemed like the easiest way to make your point," Akane said, with a shrug.

"As I said then, Link, you cured me and we thank you for that. And because of that, we will only ask that you leave us and our friends alone," Ranma said.

"Pink must have her vengeance," Pink said, "For all of the hurts that evil Shampoo has caused us."

"But who started all of this? Wasn't it you when you poisoned her?" Ranma asked, reasonably.

"I don't know how long you have been chasing her, seeking revenge, but hasn't it been a complete waste of your time?" Akane added.

"And someone once said that the best revenge is living well. Have you lived well?" Ranma finished.

Link frowned in concentration and then said, "We shall leave, please?"

"Of course," Ranma said, "There's nothing keeping you here."

"Come sister, we have much to talk about," Link said. Her sister glared at her for a moment, and then the two of them stood up and ran out of the room.

"Do you think we did any good?" Akane asked.

"I have no clue," Ranma replied, "This is a lot different now. And I never did understand them, anyway."

"Are their only weapons the plants and the things that they can make from the blossoms?" Akane asked

"As far as I know, that 's the case," Ranma replied.

Akane thought for a moment and then grinned. "I need to talk to Nabiki," she said, as she vanished out the door.

Ranma stared after her for a moment, and then chuckled. "I wonder what that was all about," he said, "Oh well, I suppose she'll let me know when she's ready."

* * *

The next morning dawned clear and bright, as the young friends headed toward the high school as they neared the end of the term. As they neared, they heard a loud murmuring coming from ahead, as they rounded the final corner and entered the street that led the main gate. Akane screeched to a stop, dragging Ranma back, while the girls ran into their back, not realizing that the duo had halted. There, a horrible growth filled the grounds of the school, threatening plants towering high above the gates, reaching nearly to the top of the building itself, filled with all sorts of vines eagerly seeking out their next victim, while the students and teachers who had arrived gazed warily at the tendrils creeping toward them. At the forefront of the onlookers, they recognized the dimunitive form of the Amazon Elder Cologne, with Mousse and Kodachi standing next to her, a worried expression on their faces. 

Ranma and Akane rushed forward, and joined them, leaving Nabiki and Sayuri to follow as best they could, though Nabiki had stopped long enough to make a quick call on her cell phone. "What is all this, Elder?" Akane asked.

"My idiot son-in-law got captured by those girls last night and taken here," Cologne said, "And Shampoo went after to save him. Apparently the poison sniffing sword and the protective shield that I gave her wasn't enough to get through to them."

"Ah! An incredible miasma!" one of the teachers said, backing up away from the sight.

"A forest of poisonous plants," Cologne said.

"Then Ryoga and Shampoo are," Akane began.

"Yes, trapped in there somewhere," Mousse said.

Meanwhile, in the center of the courtyard, in the midst of the poisonous plants, Pink and Link were staring in satisfaction at a cage made of thorny vines, surrounding Ryoga and Shampoo.

"This is Shampoo and husband's grave, please," Pink said.

"Arggh!" Ryoga growled, while Shampoo knelt on the fleshy surface of the cage, and said, her hands clasped tightly together, "Oh, too-too tragic."

"A flimsy cage like this!" Ryoga said, as he grabbed the vines preparing to rip them to shreds.

Link giggled and said, "If you touch the stalks, you will be paralyzed, please."

At the electric shock he received, Ryoga growled, "You could have told me sooner!" Finally, the shock quit and he was released backwards, where he fell hard onto the fruits, gourds and vegetables forming the floor of the cage, only to have some of them explode, as blossoms sprang up snapping at him hungrily.

"Inside of the cage rigged with poisonous plant traps, please," Pink said.

"You suffer more, please," Link added, with an equally sadistic look on her face.

"Foo," Ryoga said, as he panted.

"So we get poison unless we're not move?" Shampoo asked.

"We'll make you move!" Pink said as she threw something at them, causing the pair to jump and hit the top of the cage, which released a rain of liquid.

"AIYAA!" Shampoo screamed.

Ryoga yelled, "Dah! Acid!!!"

"Feels good, please," Pink said.

Link bowed her head, tears streaming down her face, as she added, "I've been waiting for this moment, please."

Back at the main gate, Cologne handed Akane a dragon-headed staff, and a delicate fan, and said, "This is a flame-throwing staff, and the fan of divine wind."

Nabiki arrived and said, "Wait another few minutes, guys, the things you asked for are on the way."

"I'm not sure how much longer Ryoga and Shampoo have," Mousse said, heatedly.

Ranma smiled grimly and said, "I think there is plenty of time, Pink and Link wouldn't want their vengeance to be short. They'll want them to suffer for their perceived injuries."

It might have developed into an argument, but fortunately for their friendship, a white-paneled delivery truck chose that moment to roar up and screech to a stop only a few meters away from them. Two green-clad attendants hopped out, and then raced to the back of the van and flung the doors open, and pulled out several large grey cyclindrical tanks, as well as several heavy coats, and insulated gloves, and wheeled them over on four identical dollies. Akane handed the stunned Amazons their weapons back.

"What's this?" Cologne asked.

Nabiki smirked and replied, "I called in a few favours. I wanted some liquid oxygen, but they wouldn't let me have any. Said it would be too dangerous. The liquid nitrogen will have to do."

"What's that for?" Mousse asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Ranma watched as Akane pulled the coat on and slipped the gloves on her hands. "Open the gate, Ranma," she ordered, as she took the metal nozzle in one hand, and grabbed the handle for the dolly in the other.

Ranma nodded slowly, and pulled the gate back, and watched as Akane began spraying the plants with the super-cold liquid nitrogen, freezing them instantly, and causing the stems to crack under the weight, with a shower of crystal shards. He quickly donned a coat and gloves and joined her, spraying the plants on the other side of the entry, as a white cloud began to form in front of them. The pair of them slowly moved forward, soon becoming lost to view in the billowing vapours.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Nabiki asked, "There's two more tanks."

Mousse looked at Kodachi, who nodded. They quickly put on the protective gear, while Mousse slid the staff and fan in his robes, just in case. Then, they also began working through the debris left behind by the first pair, and keeping by the walls, began to work around the courtyard, also soon lost in the clouds of condensation.

Back at the middle of the courtyard, Pink and Link began to hear the sound of their alarm going off. "An intruder, please!" Pink cried.

"Anyone who interferes will be eliminated, please," Link added, as they headed off towards the main gate, leaving Shampoo and a still dazed Ryoga behind.

The two girls soon neared the disturbance, only to begin to shiver as the billowing cloud of cold air moved their way. "AIYAA! What is this, please?" Pink cried.

"Our plants, they are freezing, please," Link added.

"What evilness is this, please?" Pink asked, as her teeth began to chatter in the chill air. Suddenly, the plants in front of them crashed to the ground with an icy clatter.

There in the gap were silhouetted two figures in the icy white cloud, and tendrils of cold air wafted toward the two shivering Chinese girls who began to back up.

"Pink, Link," a cold soprano voice called, "If you know what is good for you, you'll give up now." Through the mists, a strange redhaired girl appeared, one that Link recognized as the girl she had helped the day before, and the not-Ryoga's wife that had beaten them that night, dressed heavily, and pulling two odd-looking tanks.

"Poisonous plant-barrage, please!" Pink cried, throwing multiple blossoms at the pair, while Link cried, "Wind direction good, please," as she pulled out a large fan and began waving it at them to drive the poison at them.

Akane turned the nozzle up and began spraying the air in front of her, blowing the plants back at the stunned girls, and driving them back several meters, where the poison began to affect them.

"My poison works very well, please," Pink said, slowly, as she slumped to the ground.

"Will make antidote, please," Link said weakly, as she quickly whipped up something. The two girls drank the antidote, and immediately began to feel better, prematurely as it turned out, as Akane and Ranma stepped forward, spraying the foliage around them, and causing it to freeze once more.

"Take us to where Ryoga and Shampoo are, and we'll show you mercy," Ranma said, as she glared at the icicle-clad girls.

"Already done that, please," Pink said, her teeth chattering.

"Icy blast could have killed, please," Link added, as she helped her sister to her feet.

"Well, you two had better behave, or we'll see how you'll like being a frozen popcicle like Han Solo was," Akane snarled.

"HUH!?" Pink and Link asked.

"Cultural illiterates," Akane grumbled, as they followed Pink and Link through the plants, giving the foliage a dose of cleansing spray from one tank or the other whenever a tendril got too near.

Finally, they reached the centre of the courtyard, where Ryoga and Shampoo were still trapped in the cage, both nearly unconscious. Akane let a blast of the nitrogen out of the tank, freezing the plants forming the cage, and freeing the prisoners.

"You two grab Ryoga and Shampoo and bring them with us," Ranma ordered.

Pink and Link looked mutinously at her for a moment, and then each of them took one of them and began carrying them out of the botanical booby-trapped area, as Ranma and Akane continued to spray the few plants still foolish enough to attack them.

"And no foolishness," Akane said, "We won't allow any harm to come to our friends, and you won't like what we do to you." From behind them, they heard the sounds of plants crashing to the ground, and realized that Mousse and Kodachi must be cleaning up the treacherous plants closer to the building.

* * *

Cologne waited anxiously by the gate, watching as the plants in the distance toppled to the ground, each one accompanied by a clattering of ice crystals as the frozen behemoths crushed under their own weight. Even though she was sure of the outcome, the mere fact that this foolish quest for vengeance on the part of the girls from the Yakusei village had ensnared several innocents was weighing heavily on her mind. While she had been content to allow Shampoo to handle the occasional attack in the past, this had gone over the line, especially when she remembered how the motherhood flower had affected even her. Finally, with a sigh of relief, she saw the two girls staggering out of the mists, carrying Ryoga and Shampoo slung over their backs, with Ranma and Akane coldly following them. 

Dumping the two unconscious victims on the ground, Pink and Link wearily sank down to join them. "Heavy, please," Pink said.

"This stops now," Cologne said, a horrific scowl on her face, "It is one thing to attack my great granddaughter, as she is somewhat to blame for what happened, but Ryoga has nothing to do with it. I don't know who started this whole thing, and quite frankly, I don't care. If you come after Shampoo again, I will get involved, and you won't like what happens then."

"Pink not scared of old woman, please," Pink sneered.

"We should observe a brief moment of silence," Akane said.

"Why moment of silence, please?" Link asked.

"Respect for the dead," Akane replied.

"It was nice knowing you," Ranma said, pleasantly, "Where would you like the remains sent?"

"What remains, please?" Link asked.

Akane replied, "Your foolish sister just insulted one of the Elders of the Joketsuzoku. There's only going to be a smear on the ground when she's done."

At that moment, Shampoo began to stir, as the effects of the toxic gases she had breathed inadvertently began to wear off. Soon, she opened her eyes, and slowly sat up, holding her head with one hand. "Shampoo's head hurts, great grandmother," she whined.

"Serves you right, foolish girl," Cologne said, with no sympathy at all in her voice. Scowling even more, she berated her, "This ends now, Shampoo. No more beating these two girls up. That is an order from an Elder, and you will obey it!"

"Y-yes, Elder," Shampoo stammered.

"And what is your answer, little girls?" Cologne asked, glaring at Pink and Link.

"I'd advise you to agree," Ranma said, "You really don't want to get on her bad side."

"Shampoo no attack you anymore," Shampoo said, downcast.

Pink traded glances with Link and said, "We no try anymore, either. Elder is entirely too scary, please."

"Agree, please," Link said, quickly, "Fighting really not good thing, please." She quickly blended several of the herbs and potions from her bag and handed it to the bemused Elder who had watched with interest. "This antidote, please," Link explained. The two girls stood up and bowed politely to Cologne, and Link added, "We leaving now for China, please." They scampered off quickly and disappeared out of sight.

Behind them, suddenly they heard the roar of something, and then flames began to spread as a horrific explosion shook the ground. Quickly, Ranma looked up to see two figures clasping each other, flying up into the air, and soaring over in their general direction.

With a startled oath, Cologne caught the wooden staff, as a somewhat charred Mousse and Kodachi landed on the pavement next to them, Mousse barely able to absorb the force of the landing as they collapsed.

"Idiot," Kodachi hissed.

"Well, I didn't know that they'd explode," Mousse muttered, sheepishly.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Cologne asked.

Kodachi glared at her husband, and then realized exactly how much she was showing as the blast had torn the jacket off her, and shredded her dress. "We ran out of the liquid nitrogen, so this hero decided to burn the rest of the plants with that staff. Who'd have thought that a flame might have caused things to ignite? There apparently was enough pressure in the two tanks that they exploded."

Ranma pulled her jacket off and tossed it at Kodachi to preserve what was left of her modesty. Then they heard the sounds of sirens in the distance, and she suggested, "I imagine we won't be having school today, so we might as well go home. Besides, those two probably need to see Tofu unless you have something for any burns they might have."

"We have some salves at the café that will work wonders," Cologne said, "But I could use some help getting them there."

"I'll take the meathead," Ranma said, "If you help Shampoo. Mousse looks like he can carry Kodachi. Those robes of his must be asbestos lined or something."

Mousse slowly stood up and said, "No, but they are somewhat fire resistant." He bent down long enough for Kodachi to sling an arm around his neck, and picked her up, cradling her in his arms, while Ranma grunted as she slung Ryoga over her back. Shampoo originally fought off Akane's help until she staggered and collapsed into her arms.

* * *

Ranma sipped his tea while he watched Cologne administer the antidote to Shampoo and Ryoga, while Mousse tended to Kodachi's burns with a cream that had already reduced the angry red to a faint pink. Finally, Shampoo staggered to her feet, and asked, "Where they go?" 

Akane said, "They gave Cologne an antidote and left."

"Pink and Link go back to China after leaving antidote?" Shampoo asked in amazement.

"Yes, I think between Ranma and Cologne, they were scared to do anything else," Mousse said, with a chuckle.

Of course, Pink and Link had one final word to say, as they discovered the next day when the Joketsuzoku newspaper showed up, with a picture of a redhaired girl carrying Ryoga on her back, with a caption reading, "Shampoo's husband weak, say Pink and Link."

Shampoo read the paper to Ryoga who was still recuperating from all of the damage that he had received attempting to keep Shampoo safe, and growled, "When injuries heal, we going together to beat them up."

Ryoga shook his head and said, "Let's not start another feud with them. I really don't think I could survive."

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, real life has slowed down my writing, unfortunately, and it looks like it will perhaps get busier for the remainder of the year. Though, I did manage to sneak in a well-deserved vacation in the Hill country of Texas last weekend, which while also slowing down my writing did allow some ideas to percolate. Never fear, I will continue to post as regularly as I can. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. And I hope everyone enjoys this rendition of the Pink and Link story arc. I did want something a bit different. Next chapter, the return of a certain panda. 


	75. The Cradle from Hell

Chapter 75 The Cradle from Hell or How to Irritate a Panda

Soun paced nervously outside the ground floor guest room, as he waited for his date to appear, one hand occasionally twitching toward the pocket where he kept his cigarettes, or at least he did until Yumi had made plain her distaste at the habit. Of course, the way she had 'persuaded' him to give it up had certainly had its moments. A brief chuckle caught his attention as he stopped in his tracks to see his son-in-law leaning against the wall, an amused look on his face.

"Soun, it'll be worth the wait," Tofu said, a grin on his face, "At least that's what Kasumi told me. You cleaned up pretty nicely yourself."

Indeed, Soun felt good about his appearance. With his return to teaching, he had managed to lose most of the excess pounds he had put on over the years, so his middle-aged belly had vanished. The western style suit that Yumi had picked out for him was tailored to his new physique, and she had trimmed his hair just the day before, though she had teased him gently about the faint tinges of grey that were beginning to show up around the temple. Of course, his rejoinder that just because there was snow on the roof didn't mean there wasn't still a fire in the furnace had caused her to blush furiously. He shrugged his shoulders and replied, finally, "It's just that tonight is pretty important. And I want everything to go well."

"I'm sure it will," Tofu said, "Kasumi made the reservations at the restaurant herself, and the owner owes Nabiki a couple of small favours."

"I think half of Nerima must owe her small favours," Soun grumbled, "I wish she'd stop that. It'll attract attention that she really doesn't want."

Tofu frowned slightly and said, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's not like she's doing anything that would cause someone like the yakusa to be involved. She doesn't do anything illegal, just provide a small betting service on things, and gather and collate information that's pretty much readily available."

Though, at that moment, the door to the guest room slid open, and Soun immediately lost interest in anything his son-in-law might have been saying. There, framed in the doorway, stood Yumi, wearing a periwinkle dress, modestly cut in front, just enough to show off the small diamond pendant nestled securely, and a slit halfway up her right thigh to allow her to move gracefully.

"W-wow!" Soun exclaimed, his eyes saying much more, as Yumi blushed. Gulping, he extended his arm and asked, "Shall we, my lady?"

Yumi's eyes danced as she linked her arm with his, and she whispered, "Thank you."

"You two be good, and don't stay out too late," Kasumi teased from behind Yumi, a beatific smile on her face as she watched her father look flustered.

Soun led Yumi down the hall, stopping only long enough to allow the pair to put their dress shoes on, while Kasumi flowed over to her husband and leaned back against him, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I've never seen him look happier," Tofu stated, "And it looks like he's lost years."

"He missed Mommy so badly," Kasumi said, a hint of moisture in her eyes, "Yumi has been real good for him. It won't be long now, I bet."

"Tonight, I think," Tofu said, "Did you see how nervous he was?"

"Surely he doesn't think she would turn him down?" Kasumi asked.

Tofu chuckled deeply and replied, "How little you know us, dear. I was petrified when I asked you, sure that you would say no. I asked Ranma, he said the same thing. It's the scariest thing in the world, if you ask me."

"As if I would have turned you down," Kasumi chided gently. Then an impish look appeared on her face as she asked, "So what are we going to do tonight? The house is empty and it's just us."

Tofu grinned broadly and spun his wife in his arms. "Something will come up, I'm sure," he replied, as he bent down and kissed her.

"Oh my," Kasumi breathed, "I certainly hope so."

* * *

High up on the flank of Mount Okuhotaka, a middle-aged man, dressed in a tattered gi that once, long ago, might have been white, sat in a hidden glen, carefully watching a small fire as he warmed himself against the chill of the night. The light of the fire danced against the wire rims of his glasses as he slowly stirred some sort of soup. A brace of fish, likely from the pool sitting off to one side of the glade, was sitting over the fire on skewers, slowly grilling as the fat dripped into the coals. He idly raised his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. A second pot sitting on the side of the firepit was slowly beginning to come to a boil. A ragged tent was pitched nearby, with a giant tractor tire resting against one of the trees that was providing protection from the wind blowing down from the still snow-encrusted summit, which would otherwise have made the night even cooler. He heard the sounds of something howling off in the distance, and knew that there were hunters on the prowl. The lonely sound of the hunter seemed fitting accompanionment to the wreck that was his life. A bitter smile flashed across his face for a moment as he recalled other nights, nights that he had shared with his son as they listened to similar sounds of wolves on the prowl. Then, a second sense, one that had oft served him well, told him that he was no longer alone in the glade, as another predator stepped out of the shadows.

A large grey wolf stared at him, his coat blending into the darkness better than black ever would have done; its jaws open in a frightening grin, its eyes glinting in the firelight. As the two predators stared at each other, the wolf bent down and picked up something from under its paw and raised its head, a large rat dangling from its mouth.

"Get out of here, there's nothing for you here," the man growled.

The wolf stared at him, unblinking, not moving a muscle, only the faint movement of its chest indicating that it was more than a statue.

The man picked up a pail and poured the contents over his head, and suddenly a large panda sat there in his place. The panda stood up, glaring dangerously at the oddly skittish animal. It could still sense the manscent that had lured it to this place, as well as the pleasant aroma of the cooking fish. But, one wolf, against a large panda, armed with razor sharp claws, and heavily muscled; those were odds that the wolf was too clever to fall prey to. Within a blink of an eye, the wolf disappeared, taking its meal away with it. With a sigh, the panda picked up the pot of water with both paws, and poured the contents on its head. Instantly, the tired middle-aged man was standing where the panda had been. With an annoyed look, the man grabbed the fish off the fire and placed them on a small battered tin plate, and dumped several spoonfuls of something from the pot onto the plate. Expertly wielding a set of chopsticks, the man began to eat, and rapidly demolished the meat to a few bones. After a few minutes, he grunted as he rose and ambled over to the pond; pulling on a rope, he brought up a basket from the chill waters, and grabbed a bottle of Sapporo Light. "Ranma, my boy, I will make you forgive me if that's the last thing I do," the man growled as he took a long pull on his beer and began to look morosely off into the distance, wondering about how his life had fallen apart so badly.

* * *

Ranma sneezed loudly as they left the movie theatre, causing Akane to giggle. "Someone must be talking about you," she said, as she wrapped an arm around his.

"Can't imagine anyone talking about me," Ranma said, with a chuckle.

"Ranma, modest?" Akane exclaimed in mock surprise.

Ranma bumped her with his hip, sending her staggering a little. "Yep, I'm the most modest person you know," he teased.

Akane rolled her eyes at him and decided to change the subject. "So what did you think about the movie?" she asked.

"Well, it wasn't too bad," Ranma said thoughtfully, "I liked the first one a lot better. And I still don't know what the grail was supposed to be. The action sequences were a bit silly, I thought."

"Well, the grail was some sort of Christian relic, I think," Akane said, "Not that I really know for sure."

"The other thing, when did James Bond get so old?" Ranma asked, plaintively.

"That wasn't James Bond; that was Sean Connery. He just played James Bond in a bunch of movies," Akane replied, a bit amused.

"No, that was James Bond," Ranma insisted, "He'll always own that role."

A low growl suddenly got their attention as they saw a gaunt black dog standing in the alley next to them, saliva dripping from its jaws, as it watched them walk by.

Ranma narrowed his eyes at the grim-looking dog and growled back, "Get lost, mutt. You don't want to mess with me." He flared his aura slightly, and the dog's eyes grew wide. With a thought, he brought his hand down in a slashing motion, and four slashes appeared in the pavement in front of the dog.

With a startled yelp, the dog turned tail and ran.

"Scaring a dog with the Neko-ken? Isn't that a bit low for you?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged, and replied, "It's not like I wanted to hurt the mangy thing. But, it was spoiling for a fight, or something, and I'm in too good a mood to wrestle with it. This way, I just hurt its pride. And, cats just don't like dogs, remember?"

Akane chuckled and replied, "I guess you really have integrated the cat into you."

The two of them walked on in companionable silence for several minutes, nearing the street leading to the house. "Are you sure you want to go home?" Ranma asked suddenly.

"Yes, we promised Kasumi we would be in early," Akane replied, a bit sadly, "I'm not sure why, though. We won't have class tomorrow with the shape the school is in."

"You think all of those kilotonnes of rotting plant material will be a problem?" Ranma asked, teasingly.

"Oh, I think the large crater where the tanks exploded are more an issue," Akane replied, "That and the fact that half the windows were broken in the explosion."

"I wonder if Mousse is sleeping on the couch," Ranma mused, "Kodachi looked like she wanted to kill him for being that stupid."

"Do you blame her?" Akane asked, "I'm still not happy you got to see so much of her."

"I'm not really a typical guy, remember," Ranma said, "There's nothing that she has that I haven't got, so getting a flash of skin doesn't do that much for me. Besides, you're more than sexy enough for me."

"Good save," Akane said, her ears pinking up a little, as she grabbed Ranma's head, and kissed him bruisingly, pinning him against the wall of their compound.

A series of giggles interrupted the young couple, fortunately, since their hands had begun roaming to places that were really not appropriate for a city street. Blushing, Ranma and Akane parted to see Sayuri and Hiroshi watching them, arms wrapped around each other.

"Get a room you two," Hiroshi said, with a grin.

"Oh, wait, you have a room. Why are you here making out?" Sayuri teased.

"Maybe we can watch? Get a few pointers," Hiroshi said.

Ranma glared at him, while Akane muttered, "Perverts."

"Hey, you're the ones making out on a public street. What does that make you?" Hiroshi replied, defensively.

"Exhibitionists, I think," Sayuri replied, as Ranma and Akane reddened again.

"Well, that certainly spoiled the mood," Ranma muttered.

Akane giggled and said, softly, "I'll make it up to you later tonight," causing Ranma to brighten up a little.

"We might as well go inside now," Ranma said, as he took Akane by the hand and led her down the path to the front door, only to stop suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Akane asked.

Ranma frowned slightly, as he gazed at the house, wondering what seemed off to him. Then he snapped his fingers, annoyed at himself, and asked, "Doc and Kasumi were staying home tonight, right?"

Akane nodded.

"Then why's the house dark, with no lights on?" he asked.

"I don't know," Akane said, slowly, "Do you think something happened to them?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ranma replied, as he began to open the door.

Just as the door was about half-open, they heard a loud scream from somewhere upstairs. Akane rushed into the house and thundered up the stairs, with Ranma following close behind. Akane cried, "Kasumi, Tofu!!"

As they neared the door to the Ono's room, it flew open, and Tofu came rushing out dressed barely in a robe. "What's wrong?" he cried.

Akane screeched to a stop and slammed her fist in her mouth and began to blush.

"Um, Doc," Ranma said, trying to keep from laughing, "That's an interesting look. I don't really think that's your style, though."

Tofu looked at him, confused, and then realized that he had grabbed the wrong robe in the darkness and ducked back into his room.

"Um, we'll just be downstairs," Ranma said, grabbing his wife and pulling her back down the stairs, where once he had reached the safety of the family room, he began to laugh.

"It's not funny, I'm scarred for life," Akane said, just before she broke down giggling.

Kasumi flowed into the room, her face serene, only the faintest hint of pink in her cheeks, followed closely by her husband. This time, at least, he was attired correctly, though he refused to look either Ranma or Akane in the eye.

"Sorry about that, sis, but when we didn't see any lights on in the house, and then we heard a scream," Akane began, only to stop as she blushed.

"And why exactly did we add the insulation to your bedroom?" Kasumi merely asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Um, nice weather we're having," Ranma said, "In an obvious attempt to change the subject."

"Yes, I agree Ranma," Tofu said, "Nice and sunny during the day. Though it still seems to be chilly at night."

"I haven't found that to be the case," Akane said, primly, "I'm usually plenty warm at night."

Tofu chuckled and said, "I meant outside."

"I knew what you meant," Akane smirked.

Kasumi coughed loudly and said, primly, "I thought we were changing the subject."

"We're home!" Nabiki called from the front door, and then they heard Hinako come bouncing down the hall, followed by a much more sedate Nabiki, who added as she entered the room, "Sayuri will be in later. She's still saying good night to Hiroshi."

"Did you have a good time?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, we did. Mrs. Higurashi enjoyed having Hinako over for a meal. I think she really misses having a little girl around the place," Nabiki said, "and her father was a lot of fun, talking about the history of the shrine. And Souta and I had some time by ourselves beneath the sacred tree, so that worked out fine."

"He didn't come back with you?" Ranma asked, a little annoyed. 'The trains aren't always the safest place for a pair of girls especially at this time of night,' he thought.

"No, I told him to stay. There didn't seem to be much reason for him to pay for a round trip back, just so he could walk me home. I called him just before we walked in though, so he'd know we got here safely," Nabiki said.

"That's still not a good idea," Kasumi said, "You never know what might happen on the trains."

"Aside from a couple of salarymen who obviously had stopped and had too many at a bar, there wasn't anyone in our car," Hinako said, "And the conductor stayed with us anyway." She grinned and added, "Of course, the handful of yen that Souta gave him had nothing to do with that."

"Ah, so he did at least do what he could," Kasumi said.

"Sis, I just couldn't make him spend that much money to come back with us," Nabiki said, "You know how I am about wasting money unnecessarily.

"That's cold comfort if something had happened to either of you because he wasn't there to protect you," Kasumi retorted.

"Actually, if he had come back with you, there wouldn't have really been any reason for him to go back home. He could have spent the night," Ranma said.

"Um, we're sort of out of places for him to stay," Nabiki retorted.

"Oh?" Akane asked, arching her eyebrow.

Nabiki was rescued, at least for the moment, as the front door opened and then closed. Their father called from the entry, "We're home!" After a few minutes, Yumi and Soun walked in hand in hand, and stopped at the door to the family room, with Sayuri standing behind them, an oddly anxious yet exhilarated look on her face.

"Daughters, I have an announcement to make," Soun began, only to be interrupted as his daughters saw the ring on Yumi's finger and descended upon her, squealing happily while Ranma and Tofu slapped his back in approval.

"Congratulations, Soun," Tofu said, quickly echoed by Ranma.

"Thanks, Tofu, Ranma," Soun said, his eyes shining happily.

"Have you set a date yet?" Ranma asked.

Soun replied, "We haven't actually talked about it yet. But I don't think it will be any longer than it has to in order to be proper. Early next year, once it has been a year since her divorce from he who is no longer to be named."

"That's an odd way to talk about him," Tofu said, confused.

"Oh, apparently you haven't heard," Soun said.

Tofu waited for a moment and then said, "That's a moderately annoying habit that you picked up from somewhere."

"I imagine he's referring to the fact that Sato was removed from his clan roster after his disappearance. Apparently, they decided that his behavior was a blot on their honour," Ranma replied.

"How'd you know about it, then?" Tofu grumped.

"Yumi told Sayuri who told Akane who told me," Ranma said, with a shrug.

The women oohed and aahed as they examined the ring, while at least one muttered something similar to "It's about time." They pulled Yumi out of the family room to go spend some quality time with each other without the men.

Just before she vanished out the door, Nabiki turned and said, "Ranma, I'll give Akane your winnings, okay?"

"Sure, she's the one that handles our bank account, anyway," Ranma said, agreeably.

"What winnings?" Soun asked, while Tofu looked away.

Ranma stared down at the floor for a long time before answering. "Um, well, Nabiki was running a pool on when you'd pop the question," Ranma finally stammered out, "And I had this week all to myself. So I guess I won all the money."

"You people were betting on us!" Soun exclaimed, "I can't believe you would do that. At least Tofu and Kasumi weren't in on that foolishness."

"It's just a little bit of harmless fun," Tofu said, sheepishly.

"Yeah, Kasumi had next week. I bet she's a little miffed," Ranma said, with a grin.

"How do you think Yumi felt? She just missed too," Tofu said, with a grin.

Soun sank down on the floor, muttering imprecations under his breath.

"Soun, I'm not sure that's even physically possible," Tofu objected, "And as a doctor, I should know."

* * *

Ukyo wiped down her grill, as she finished for the evening, as Konatsu bowed the last customer out of the café. "Mom should be here soon, Konatsu," she called, as her husband brought in the banner showing that the restaurant was now closed for the day.

Konatsu carefully rolled up the banner on its pole and set it aside. He glanced down at what he was wearing, and shrugged his shoulders, deciding that he did have time to change out of his feminine attire. "I'll go upstairs and change," he said, and then asked, "Are we eating here or in the apartment?"

"There's more room down here," Ukyo replied, "The table we have upstairs is really just too small for three people."

"Okay, I'll be down in just a minute to help finish the meal," Konastu said, as he blew her a kiss, and vanished behind the decorative hanging blocking the view of the stairs leading to their upstairs apartment.

Ukyo took off her man's jacket that she wore to hide her assets better, tossing it aside to hang on a small hook that Konatsu had added to the wall for just such a purpose, and let her hair down, allowing herself to look a bit more feminine. Nodoka had gotten used to the fact that her children didn't exactly follow all of the male-female roles that her generation had, but Ukyo and Konatsu had long since decided, given the option, to not rub their cross-dressing too much in her face. She walked into the back, where several different pots were simmering on the stove, and started putting together a small salad from the ingredients that Konatsu had already prepared.

The bell over the door rang, signaling that it had been opened. Ukyo looked through the doorway and saw that her mother-in-law had entered, dressed somewhat formally. Ukyo grimaced for a moment, wondering what that was all about, and then shrugged, realizing that she would find out soon enough. "Hey, Mom," she called, "I'm in the back, and Konatsu is upstairs changing."

"Hello, dear," Nodoka said, serenely, as she joined her daughter-in-law, "Do you need a hand with anything?"

"Dinner is mostly ready, but I haven't had a chance to set up a table, if you'd like to do that," Ukyo replied, "I thought we'd eat down here, it's less crowded."

"That's fine," Nodoka said, "It's a family dinner, no matter where we eat. That's truly what is important." She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Not to criticize or anything, but did you wish to change?" While she was talking, she put together a small tray with several plates, bowls, and other tableware.

"I had intended to, but it took longer than I expected to clear out the café tonight. We had a pretty good crowd all evening, which is good. Means we earned a good profit, but this is fine," Ukyo replied, "And I don't look too much like a guy with my jacket off." She grinned and said, "You'll just have to get used to having a set of somewhat odd children, I guess."

Nodoka chuckled and said, "I'm just afraid what will happen when the four of you have children."

"They'll know which one of us is the mommy and which one is the daddy," Ukyo said, blushing slightly, "These are more just uniforms for Konatsu and me. He's more comfortable, I'll admit, still wearing dresses, but he does mostly wear men's clothing after we close down. Now, Ranma and Akane, that's an entirely different set of problems." She didn't fail to notice the slight wince as she said, "Ranma."

Konatsu walked in and brightened up. "Hello, Mom," he said, as he walked over to give her a brief hug, "You're looking nice."

Nodoka smiled and twirled around, girlishly, and said, "Thank you son. You look rather nice yourself."

Ukyo said, "If I can have a little help, we can eat, and then we can talk about whatever is on your mind, Mom." The three of them brought the meal to one of the tables, and began to eat.

"Couldn't I just want to spend some time with my family?" Nodoka asked.

"True, but you work here part of the time, so you see us some," Konatsu replied, "Though, I guess in fairness, it's not the same since we can only talk a little because of the customers."

"This is very good, daughter," Nodoka said, finishing her soup and daintily dabbing at her lip with her napkin.

"Thank you, but Konatsu made the soup," Ukyo said.

"In that case, you did an excellent job, my son," Nodoka said.

Konatsu blushed at the praise and demurred, saying, "It was still your recipe, Ukyo. All I did was to follow the directions."

Nodoka smiled happily for a moment, and then her smile slipped. "Ukyo, you were right, I did have a reason why I asked to eat with you," Nodoka began, "I'm just not sure how to start."

Konatsu chuckled and said, "Well, usually the best place would be at the beginning, but if you want to be different, you could start in the middle."

"I guess you know that Genma is gone again," Nodoka said, waiting for the two of them to nod their heads, "What you may not know is why?"

"Not really, though I'm sure it has something to do with Ranchan," Ukyo replied.

"In part at least, that's true," Nodoka said. She sighed heavily, showing her years for once, and continued, "My husband did many foolish things while he was away from me, some that reflected on his honour badly and some that were truly dishonourable. But, he has repented of those things and is trying to atone for what he did. He has gone back to several of the schools that he, well for lack of a better word, stole things from and made amends at many of them. But my son is less than trusting that Genma has indeed changed his ways."

"I can understand Ranma-sama feeling that way, Mom," Konatsu said, "While I am grateful to you for adopting me, your husband is not the most honest of people."

"And I can understand Ranma being reluctant to believe that Saotome indeed changed," Ukyo added, "But, I'm not sure why you're talking to us about this. Shouldn't you be talking to Ranma, instead?"

"I was hoping to enlist your aid, actually," Nodoka replied.

Ukyo frowned slightly and said, "I'm not sure that I can help. After all, your husband did engage Ranma to me, even though he had no intentions of honouring that agreement with my father. And then, when I tracked him down to punish him for that act of betrayal, he blamed Ranchan, and refused to take responsibility for his own actions." She smiled fondly at her husband, clasped his hand for a moment and added, "Not that I mind how things worked out, Mom, I'm very happy with Konatsu. But the truth is, your husband promised me Ranma, and then reneged on that promise. That doesn't strike me as overly honourable."

Nodoka winced and said, "No, it isn't."

"And while I don't know everything that happened after he abandoned me by the roadside, several things that Ranchan let slip tell me that your husband continued lieing, cheating, and stealing his way across Japan until he had no where else to go," Ukyo continued, inexorably.

"But he's trying!" Nodoka exclaimed, not very happy with the way this conversation was going.

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I just don't know," Ukyo said with a shrug, "To be honest, that's really between the three of you. I'll likely never believe him, but I don't know him the way you do. After all, he was only around me for a few months when I was six, and then the couple of months I held him captive while we came here. You were at least married to him for several years before he vanished with Ranma."

"Mom, as much as we'd like to help you, I'm not sure really what you are asking us to do," Konatsu said, "How Ranma feels about his father isn't something that we can control. Ultimately, that's something between the two of them. And if you try to get in the middle, I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

Nodoka sighed and said, sadly, "I was hoping to have some help in getting Ranma to listen to me. But I suppose you're correct. I just wanted to get my family back together again. In spite of all of the things that Genma did, I still love him and want him to have a good relationship with you and Ranma. Is that truly too much to ask?"

Konatsu sighed and said, "It probably is. I don't have any real problems with your husband, after all, he never did anything really to me, other than destroy the tea shop. And that really turned out for the best in any case. You've heard my wife's opinion, so there's not much point in repeating it. I think you'll just have to let things go. No meddling, and no pushing. Ranma doesn't take kindly to that, and neither does Akane or Ukyo for that matter."

"I'll try to keep an open mind, Mom, if nothing else for your sake. But, you may just have to get used to the fact that we may always have a chilly relationship with Genma," Ukyo said, "That's not necessarily a problem since we can certainly limit our interactions. And over time, perhaps things will change, especially if he is sincere. I just can't promise anything beyond that."

Nodoka nodded slowly, and said, "I can't say I'm happy with any of this, but I can't force any of you to trust Genma. If this is the best that I can have, then it'll just have to do." In an obvious change of topic, she asked, "So, when can I expect to be a grandmother?"

Ukyo blushed and exclaimed, "Mom!!"

Konatsu chuckled and added, "We've talked about it but, honestly, Ukyo needs to finish her education before we even think about children. For pretty much the same reasons that Ranma and Akane are waiting, I imagine."

"Just don't make me wait too long, please," Nodoka said, a bit wistfully, "I miss having little ones around, and seeing them grow up."

"That will happen when it happens and not until then. But, our children won't be wandering off for ten years on a training trip, I can assure you of that," Ukyo said.

The three of them chuckled briefly at that and continued their evening, laying aside the contentious subject of Genma Saotome and talking about pleasant things, instead.

* * *

To the surprise of no one, the high school remained closed and classes had once more been cancelled, as the work crew worked feverishly to repair the massive damage to the grounds from the fiasco of a few days ago. Hinako had thrown a mild temper tantrum when she found out that she still had class, but after pouting for several minutes, she calmed down and headed off to school, leaving the rest of her family to find things to do for that day. Ranma's suggestion of spending most of the time working out in the dojo had met with some resistance on the part of the girls, since they had seen the forecast and realized that the afternoon would be bright and sunny, with a gentle breeze, perfect for laying out and soaking up some rays. With a grin, he acquiesced after they promised to work hard that morning. Soun, on the other hand, left around midmorning as he had received notice of an emergency town council meeting, while Kasumi headed off to college for her classes.

As promised, that afternoon found the girls wearing their suits out by the koi pond, with Nabiki and Sayuri lying next to their respective boyfriends, since both Souta and Hiroshi had taken the opportunity of a day off to make their way to the Tendo home to be with their 'significant other,' as Hiroshi had put it, earning him a bit of an affectionate glare from Sayuri. Souta's eyes, on the other hand, had nearly popped out when Ranma came out wearing her bikini, earning him a swat from Nabiki.

"Um, should I ask why you're a girl right now?" Hiroshi asked, a bead of sweat running down his face.

"The sun feels different, is all," Ranma said with a shrug, causing Hiroshi to blanch and look away quickly, glad that he was laying on his stomach.

'Don't think about it,' Hiroshi thought to himself, as his face went from white to green, 'That's not really a girl.'

Ranma smiled knowingly at him and stretched out in her lounger, and asked, "What's wrong, Hiroshi? You look a little ill."

"That's not the suit you usually wear, Ranma, how come?" Sayuri asked, as Akane walked out with a tray of drinks.

"It's a bit more modest," Ranma replied, just as Akane tripped and spilled the cold water on her.

"Sorry, Ranchan," Akane muttered, tossing a towel over to her wife.

"And that's the other reason I'm a girl right now," Ranma said, with a chuckle as she dried off her hair, "Just think what would have happened if I had just been in a pair of trunks, or a t-shirt."

Hiroshi groaned for a moment, and Souta grinned. "You are so cruel, Saotome," he said, "And I think you're about to break Hiroshi."

"He's the one thinking perverted thoughts," Ranma said.

"Yeah, but you're the one that turns into a sexy girl," Souta retorted.

Ranma smirked and said, "I'm not sure that's the smartest thing to say when you're next to your fiancée."

"He's engaged, not blind," Nabiki replied, mildly, "And he's right. You do make a sexy girl. He'll just have to get used to this, since he'll be joining us at the beach this summer."

Akane asked, "Has anyone told them the big news?"

"What news?" Hiroshi asked.

"Well, I guess that answers that," Ranma replied, "Weren't you with Sayuri last night when her mom came home."

"Yes, but I left as soon as they showed up," Hiroshi replied, blushing slightly.

"Oh, were you being a bit too affectionate?" Akane smirked.

"Anyway," Sayuri said in a rush, her cheeks rosy and not from the sun, "Mom and Mr. Tendo are getting married."

"Good, it's about time," Souta said, with a chuckle.

"So now you'll be Akane's sister for real," Hiroshi said, "That'll be so cool."

Akane, Nabiki and Sayuri giggled. "We think so," Akane added.

"Yeah, I'm happy for Daddy. Yumi, too, for that matter. They both deserve some happiness," Nabiki added.

"I haven't seen Mommy looking so happy, and she's looking younger everyday," Sayuri said.

"Some of that is probably the exercise she's getting," Ranma said, "But I think she's letting herself be happy and forgetting the bad times she had."

Hiroshi glanced at his watch and saw that it was getting close to three o'clock. "Damn, I need to head on home. I promised Mom I would help her in the yard today," he said. He stood up and headed toward the house to change, followed closely by Sayuri.

As the young couple neared the house, Yumi opened the door and said, "Oh, good, you're about done. I could use some help with dinner."

"Congratulations," Hiroshi said, bowing slightly, "I just heard the good news."

Yumi giggled girlishly, and replied, "Thank you. I still can barely believe it is real. That is until I look at my ring, and realize that it isn't a dream." She glanced down at her left hand, and her face brightened even more.

"I'm gonna walk Hiroshi to the front gate, and then I'll come back in and help," Sayuri said.

"After you've changed, or at least thrown a top on, young lady," Yumi said, with a mock frown, "Parading around in front of those boys dressed like that." She giggled finally, showing Sayuri she was just kidding.

"Very funny, Mom," Sayuri retorted, as she followed Hiroshi around the house and up the walk to the front gate, where they spent several minutes kissing goodbye.

* * *

Hinako knelt at the table and waited patiently as Kasumi, Yumi and Sayuri brought in the evening meal and began to distribute the dishes to the group situated around the table, though the man she had come to consider her father was conspicuous by his absence. Finally, her patience was exhausted and she asked, her eyes downcast, "Where's Daddy?" causing the three natural born daughters to catch their breath and their eyes to become moist.

"Hi-chan, Daddy got called to a town council meeting while you were at school," Nabiki said, as she reached over and squeezed the young girl's hand.

"He called an hour or so ago and said not to wait for him, that the meeting was running late," Kasumi added, "He did say that he would get something on the way home."

"Not that I accepted that, of course," Yumi said, "I told him in no uncertain terms that dinner would be waiting for him."

"And that explains why there's not a place setting for you, doesn't it?" Akane asked.

"Of course. I knew that if he knew I was waiting to eat that he would come straight home," Yumi said.

"I would have waited," Kasumi began.

"Sis, you've been taking care of us for a very long time, and we appreciate it, but it's someone else's turn to take care of Daddy now," Nabiki said, as Kasumi and Yumi locked gazes for a moment until Kasumi looked away.

"I'm not taking your place, dear," Yumi said, softly.

"Actually, you are," Kasumi argued, "But it is your place, not mine, and you can do things for him that I couldn't."

"True," Yumi said, a faint blush on her face, "But only that. We already share the rest of the housework"

"And once you graduate and begin your practice, you won't have the time to do much around here, you know that," Tofu said.

"That's unfortunately true," Kasumi said.

"Doc, I think I'm gonna disagree with you, at least in part," Ranma said, "I know for a fact that you spend much of your free time working out privately, doing Tai Chai. That's one of the reasons you stay late at the clinic after it closes, so you can do that and get a chance to relax. Kasumi doing housework is her version of that."

Tofu looked startled for a moment and then chuckled ruefully. "I guess I should have known that you would figure that out," Tofu said.

"What? That you're a martial artist? I already knew that. What I wasn't sure of was when you had a chance to practice," Ranma replied, "And I found out by accident a few months ago when I wandered by the clinic on the way home and saw you in the back."

"I'm home," a tired voice called from the front, a voice everyone recognized as the patriarch of the family. Shortly, an exhausted Soun staggered in, to be greeted by his fiancée, as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You look like death warmed over," Yumi said.

"That's about how I feel. I'd rather face a dozen monsters than try to work with that group. Kami, it was like herding cats," Soun said, rubbing his eyes, "It took them forever to get to the only real solution."

"Well, what was the issue in the first place?" Sayuri asked.

"What to do with the school," Soun replied, "The contractor told us that it would take four or five weeks to get everything cleaned up and repaired."

"I guess I don't see the issue. Why didn't they just say that the term was over? After all, there is only one more week before they would have broken for summer," Yumi asked.

"And that was the only logical conclusion," Soun said tiredly, "Which is why it took us this long to come to it. They couldn't even use the excuse of not having the money to do the work, since Kuno and Cologne had come up with the funding. Though why Kuno was willing didn't make any sense to me."

"I think because Kodachi was part of the rescue attempt, and her husband is the one that caused much of the minor damage," Akane said.

"And since it was Shampoo and Ryoga being rescued, that explains Cologne's willingness to help out," Sayuri added.

"I'm surprised that she didn't get Pink and Link to help. It was their fault in the first place," Akane said.

"Does it really matter right now?" Yumi asked, "Soun, dinner for you can wait. What you need right now is to relax in the furo. The water should be hot for you."

Soun brightened up briefly, and then said, "That might be a good idea. My back is stiff from those chairs they were using."

"Come then," Yumi said, as she began to lead him out of the family room.

"Where are you going, Mom?" Sayuri asked.

"As any good fiancée will do, I'm going to take care of my fiancé and scrub his back," Yumi said, as they disappeared down the hallway.

"Oh my," Kasumi said.

Akane blushed and looked over at Sayuri, who was blushing also.

"Well, you did say there were things that she could do that you couldn't," Tofu said unwisely.

"True, but I didn't expect her to start taking those duties seriously," Kasumi said, just a bit plaintively, as she glared at her husband, "It's not proper."

Akane said, "They've been dancing around that for months now, sis."

"And they are both adults," Sayuri said, blushing slightly.

"And don't you get any ideas, Nabiki," Kasumi said, a frown on her face.

Nabiki smirked and said, "The ideas are already there, big sis, but I don't plan on acting on them." She waited a beat and then added, "At least not yet."

Kasumi pressed her forefingers together and said, "Oh dear, oh my, oh dear!!!"

Nabiki grinned and said, "You are entirely too easy, sister of mine." She sobered and added, "Don't take this the wrong way sis, but I had a very good mother growing up."

"We both did," Akane said, as Kasumi sniffled.

* * *

The meal was over and the cleanup of the dishes had begun, with Ranma and Akane joining Kasumi and Sayuri in the kitchen, when Yumi ghosted in, dressed in a robe tightly belted around her, her cheeks rosy.

"How's Daddy?" Akane asked.

"Better," Yumi said, "I finally got him to relax, though it took more time than I expected. All of his muscles were tied up in knots. There was one spot I didn't think I would ever get to loosen up." She sighed, and added, "I know he likes serving on the council, part of his saving people attitude, but it takes so much out of him."

"But he wouldn't be who he is otherwise," Ranma said simply.

Yumi sighed and said, "True, and I wouldn't have fallen for him."

"Here's a tray for the two of you," Sayuri said, as she filled the tray with several bowls and plates filled with food.

"Are you really okay with this, dear?" Yumi asked.

"Mom!" Sayuri exclaimed, as Akane walked over and joined her.

"Yumi, you make Daddy happy. That means more than we can say," Akane said, simply.

"And he makes you happy," Sayuri added, "And that makes me happy." She wrapped an arm around Akane, and finished, "And it also means my best friend will also be my sister, so that's even better."

"Good, I have to admit I was a little worried. So many things have changed for us and I was scared that this might be too much for you," Yumi said softly.

Sayuri grinned and said, "Mom, since you left Sato you've lost years in your appearance. And I know why that is. I couldn't be happier for you and Tendo-san."

"And we care for you just as much, Yumi," Kasumi said, "You make Daddy happy and that is all we can ask for."

"And it just means our clan got bigger," Ranma said.

"We've been doing a bit of that this year, haven't we?" Akane asked.

"True," Ranma replied, "In fact, we may need to think about adding some space somewhere."

"A western style bathroom would be good, complete with a shower," Akane said.

"That was one of the things I was thinking about," Ranma said, "Perhaps even two, and then another bedroom or two also." The two of them walked out of the kitchen, still talking about things that they wanted to do to the house.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, "They do have some grand ideas."

* * *

The next morning dawned ominously as a typhoon located in the north Pacific caused the weather patterns in Nerima to shift once more, bringing an unseasonal cold front through the area, with heavy clouds hanging like a harbinger of doom.

Even Kasumi's normally cheery disposition was no match for the gloomy skies as the weather affected nearly everyone in the extended household. She had uncharacteristically snapped at poor Hinako who had accidently dropped a rice bowl while setting the table for breakfast, sending shards of the bowl across the otherwise pristine wood surface, causing the young girl to flee from the family room in tears.

Oddly, the only one who wasn't affected adversely by the weather was Nabiki, but that was simply because when her alarm rang that morning, she had taken one look at the dismal sky outside her window and decided that sleeping in was an excellent suggestion and had promptly rolled over, pulling her blanket over her head to block the limited light coming through her window.

The situation wasn't helped when Ranma came in from the dojo, where she reported that the family altar had nearly crashed to the floor. Fortunately, she had managed to catch it, but in coming back to the house, she had been caught in the middle of a sudden rain that had triggered the change. However, when she had returned to the house, dripping wet, and somewhat angry, she discovered several things. One, that for some reason, the hot water heater had decided that this was the morning to be tempermental and stop working, and secondly, that there was no way she wanted to enter the kitchen and ask Kasumi to heat some water up for her on the stove. She had gotten as far as the door only to stop suddenly as she watched Kasumi and Yumi glare at each other, in a manner that reminded the once and future man of nothing less than one of the showdowns in a spaghetti Western he, or at the moment, she, had watched a few days ago.

Kasumi and Yumi evidentally had put their squabble behind them as they brought out the breakfast dishes and distributed them to the family.

When Soun heard about the family shrine, and then about the broken bowl, he paled, and said, "Evil omens. Something wicked this way comes."

Akane scoffed openly until her chopstick broke off as she was putting a morsel of rice in her mouth.

Soun gasped and said, "Another evil omen. Something horrible is going to occur, I just know it."

At that moment the silence was broken by the shrill sound of the telephone ringing. Akane stood quickly up and walked into the hall to anwer the annoying device, only to call out, "Ranma, it's for you. It's your Mom."

Ranma frowned slightly and then rose from her kneeling position to take the call. After a few minutes she came back, her frown even more pronounced. Akane followed her in as the young couple knelt back at the table. "I guess you were right, those were evil omens," Ranma said after thinking about the conversation she had just had.

"Oh?" Soun asked, a look of fear on his face.

"Mom called to say that Pop was back in town and planning on coming over here this morning," Ranma replied, "Apparently to talk to me."

"Oh my, that does sound ominous, Ranma," Kasumi said, "What do you plan on doing?"

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Listen to him, I guess. I do owe Mom that courtesy at least."

"I have a kettle on the stove heating for you," Yumi said.

"Thanks, but I don't see any reason to change," Ranma said, with a wicked grin.

Sayuri asked, "Why not?"

Ranma's grin grew wider as she replied, "This'll give him another reminder of how he screwed up my life. Plus, I need to do more sparring in this form, any way. I can use the exercise. And with it raining out there with the wind blowing the way it is, I'd get wet again just going out to the dojo even with the covered walkway."

"Ah, practicality," Tofu said with a chuckle.

"Not just that, like I said, it'll annoy him no end," Ranma said, then a smirk appeared on her face, "However, I just realized I'm not quite dressed correctly. Can't have these things bouncing around, after all." She bounded to her feet, pulling Akane to her feet as well. "I need your help, dear," she added to the surprised look she was given as she left the room.

* * *

Yumi heard a knock at the front door from where she was dusting in the hall. Sighing, she climbed to her feet, leaving the dust cloth behind, and made the short trip to the door. She opened the door, and shrieked. There, standing in front of her, was a wet, bedraggled looking panda, in a stained and tattered gi, smelling almost exactly like a wet dog. To her amazement, the beast cringed back, and pulled out a sign from some unknown place.

The sign read, 'I'm Genma Saotome.'

Soun rushed to the door when he heard his fiancée scream. Puzzled for a second, he suddenly realized that no one had ever mentioned his friend's curse. "Don't worry, Yumi, that's just Ranma's father," Soun said, trying hard not to laugh, since he had no intention of getting Yumi mad at him.

'Where's my son?' the sign now read.

"Ranma is in the dojo," Soun replied.

The panda started into the entry, only to stop as the woman moved to block its path, her gaze flicking down to the water dripping off onto the floor.

"Um, not to be rude, but I just finished cleaning in here," Yumi said, "So, if it isn't too much trouble, could you just walk around to the back."

Soun frowned slightly but stopped at the fierce glare he received.

"It isn't proper to have an animal in the house, not one this large," Yumi said, "It's so unsanitary. And there's no telling where he's been. If I find one flea in this house because he entered."

"Yes, I agree," Soun said quickly as visions of sleeping in the dojo danced in his mind's eye, "Besides, you'd just get soaked again, anyway."

The panda growled angrily and then nodded, heading around the side toward the dojo.

"Fleas?" Soun asked.

"I swear I thought I saw something peeking out from that beast's chin," Yumi said, "And that gi, I wouldn't use that as a rag." She shuddered theatrically.

* * *

Ranma grinned to herself as she checked her appearance quickly, the frilly ecru blouse, the short skirt, her nails painted brightly. 'Perfect for irritating the old man,' she thought, 'This should be so much fun!'

Akane was watching and nodded as she saw the panda turn the corner and walk across the wet grass toward the dojo, the mud oozing up between its claws as it dug furrows into the soggy ground.

"Oooh, Kasumi is not going to be happy to see that," Akane said, a smirk appearing briefly on her face.

"Oh?" Ranma asked.

"Your father is on his way, but between how heavy he is as a panda, and how wet the ground is, he's tearing up the lawn," Akane said.

"Oh my," Ranma said, before she broke out giggling.

"Yeah, Kasumi will be looking for a recipe that requires panda meat," Akane said, as she walked over to join the redhaired girl.

Ranma looked askance at that, and asked, "Can you imagine how rancid the meat would be?"

"Shhh, he's nearly here," Akane said.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, they heard the sound of the panda stomping up the wooden stairs. They quickly got into position, with Ranma kneeling daintily on the floor, a book of haiku in her hands, and began reading from the middle of one of the selections. Akane stood next to an easel, a palette in one hand and a brush in the other as she added a few strokes to the canvas on the easel, examining the flower arrangement that she was using for her model.

The door to the dojo crashed open, revealing a soaking wet panda.

Ranma looked up from her book and then said, demurely, "Hello father."

Akane glanced over with a frown, and nodded politely. "Keep reading, Ranma, I need the inspiration," she hissed.

"Yes dear," Ranma said, obediently as she continued with the poem, only to be interrupted by the panda growling.

"Did you have something to say, Saotome?" Akane asked, "Can't you see we're busy?"

The panda woofed and looked around the dojo hoping to find some hot water, only to sigh in disappointment. Quickly, a sign appeared in its hands, which read, 'This would be quicker,' FLIP 'If I had some hot water.'

"I'm sure it would," Akane said, "And I think your wish is about to be granted." She nodded toward the door, where Kasumi was standing, a kettle in her hand.

With a flourish, Kasumi poured the water over the panda, which yelped as the scalding water flowed down, reaching several sensitive areas, but also triggering the transformation.

Genma gasped for a second and then said, "Thank you Kasumi, but the water doesn't need to be quite that hot."

For a fleeting second, a look of disdain flashed across Kasumi's face. She said, "I'm sorry, Saotome. I was afraid that it would cool down too much on my way over here. Are you staying for dinner, or will you be returning to your wife?"

"I won't be here too long, Kasumi, I need to return with Nodoka. She's coming by shortly to take me shopping with her," Genma replied.

"Ah, then I don't need to double what we were cooking," Kasumi said as she headed back to the house.

"How was your trip, Saotome?" Akane asked, curtly.

"Yes, Father, how was it?" Ranma asked, her eyes downcast.

"It was a training trip, an exhausting trip at that, where I worked quite hard at a new technique," Genma replied, his eyes cold as he watched for a reaction from Ranma.

"Doesn't look like it did much for you, old man," Akane sneered, "You're still horribly overweight."

"That's all muscle, I'll have you know, and since when did you get so rude," Genma shot back.

"Since when did you stop bathing?" Akane growled, "Try hot water and soap next time."

Ranma gasped, and said, in her most saccharinely sweet tone, "Akane, that's terribly rude." She hesitated and then added, "However, your hygiene does leave a little to be desired, Father. But, I'm not sure that it is his fault, Acchan. He does still wear that gi when he is a panda, and that probably leaves something behind."

"That's what I was smelling! Attar of wet dog," Akane exclaimed, "Thank you for reminding me."

Genma looked shocked. He sputtered angrily for a moment and then finally spat, "If you're done discussing that, we can get to why I am here."

"Very well, we can drop that subject for now, Father," Ranma said, politely, "Would you care to share that reason? We are all ears."

"Yeah, spit it out old man! I'm losing what little light there is and I promised Yuka that I would have this done for her by tomorrow," Akane demanded.

A look of frustration appeared on Genma's face as this conversation was not going the way he had imagined. Then, another thing about the situation finally sunk in, and he asked, "Wait, why are you a girl?"

Ranma shrugged and pointed to the weather outside as if it should be obvious. "Akane wanted some company while she painted and with the way the wind was blowing there would have been no way for me to come here and stay male," she replied, calmly.

"And I like the sound of her voice when she reads. Male, the poems just don't sound as good," Akane interjected, "Not that I expected you to understand any of that."

"Poetry, painting," Genma snarled, "You gone soft, boy. I need to get you back into training."

"As odd as it sounds, Father, there are more things to life than Martial Arts," Ranma said, evenly, "Even Mother agrees with that."

"Obviously," Akane added, "or otherwise you wouldn't have needed to steal Ranma away from her for ten years."

Genma sputtered for a moment and then snarled, "That's not important right now. I came here for a reason."

Ranma made a hurry up gesture with her hand, her head cocked to one side.

Genma opened his mouth but then looked confused. "Who are you and what did you do to my son?" he finally asked, "Ranma is arrogant, and rude to me. You're being more modest and polite than Kasumi."

Ranma frowned slightly and replied, "I'm still the same person I always was, Father. I don't know what you are talking about. Am I acting any different, Acchan?"

Akane smiled faintly, and replied, "No, you're acting just like the person I married. Sweet, caring, kind, considerate of my feelings. Are you sure you aren't confused, Saotome?"

Genma stared at the two girls, his mouth agape, and a bead of sweat rolled down his face. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "I don't know what is going on here. Ranma is channeling Kasumi, Akane is acting like Ranma, and even Kasumi was acting strangely."

"I'm sorry, Father, I really don't understand what you are talking about," Ranma said, her eyes still downcast, hiding the mirth dancing in them from her father.

Genma glared at her, and then huffed. "I don't know what game you're playing boy, but it ends now," he demanded.

"No game, Father," Ranma said, still keeping her composure, though it was getting harder watching the old man's face get redder.

Genma fumed, 'How dare he act like that? Where is the fighting spirit I taught him? He has become weak.' "Never mind that, now. The reason I am here is to demand that you show me the respect that I deserve. I am your father and still have things to teach you," he growled.

"I believe that I have always shown you the respect that you deserve," Ranma said, "Have I not, Akane?"

"You have indeed shown him all the respect that he should have," Akane replied, "And as far as teaching Ranma anything else, I doubt that. She defeated Happosai, by herself, something that you were unable to do, old man."

"Gently, dear, while it is true I defeated the old man, I caught him when he was weakened by his captivity," Ranma reminded.

"So, it's called Anything Goes for a reason, Ranchan," Akane retorted.

"Would you two stop that and listen to me!!!" Genma exclaimed.

"Sorry Father, were you saying something?" Ranma asked, politely.

Genma sighed, wiping his hand across his face. Finally, he said, "You've grown a lot, my boy, but now, I, Genma Saotome, am about to show you what a real man is!!"

"Father, with all due respect, I think it is time for you to leave," Ranma said, "I certainly don't need you to show me how to be a man. After all, I didn't run away from my wife and hide like a coward for ten years."

"And my husband is more of a man than you'll ever be!" Akane exclaimed, her battle aura flaring wildly.

"Do you think you can stand against me, girl?" Genma growled.

Ranma flowed gracefully to her feet, and slipped out of her skirt, and blouse, leaving her dressed in a pair of short shorts and a sports bra. "Do you honestly think that you can stand against me, old man?" she growled, her aura almost a physical force.

"I challenged you, didn't I?" Genma snarled.

"Mom tried to get me to think that you had changed. I even wanted to give you another chance. But you don't belong here, not any more. This is our dojo," Ranma said.

"Then you leave me no choice," Genma snarled, as he charged Ranma.

Ranma smirked and said, "There's always a choice." She planted one foot behind her, and attacked, her fists flying with Genma blocking as best he could, until one blow slipped past and clipped the old man's chin.

Genma shrugged off the blow, and flared his aura, while he laughed maniacally.

"I can feel the old man's battle aura way over here," Akane gasped, "Can he really be planning on clobbering Ranma?"

"Soon, Ranma, soon you shall be groveling at my feet," Genma hissed, his eyes squinting behind his glasses.

"Talk is cheap, old man," Ranma said, "So why don't you stop talking and ACT!"

"All right, you asked for it," Genma declared. He ducked out of the way of another blow, leaping high into the air, tucking his legs up and wrapping his arms around them like a ball as he spun back toward Ranma.

'Oh no you don't! I remember this move, old man,' Ranma thought as she dodged back.

"SPECIAL ATTACK! CRADLE FROM HELL!!" Genma roared as he neared the girl, opening his arms wide as if to engulf her, only for Ranma to pummel him severely before dancing away.

"That still gives me the creeps," Ranma muttered under her breath as she backed away warily.

"Come and hug your daddy!" Genma cried as once more he came toward Ranma, crying, "Cradle from Hell!" only to receive a foot in his gut, blasting him back into the yard, where he landed with a squelch in the damp grass. The rain poured down and transformed the old man into an overweight panda. With a groan, the panda collapsed.

"So much for that," Ranma said, then she added, "Oh dear, I broke a nail."

Akane goggled at her for a moment, and then broke out laughing. "You are pulling my leg, aren't you?" she asked.

"No, I really did break a nail," Ranma said, with a pout, "See. And you worked so hard on them this morning."

"Sometimes I worry about you, Ranchan," Akane said, shaking her head.

"Sometimes I worry about me, too," Ranma said, finally breaking into a smile. They headed outside to stand next to the downed panda.

"What do you want to do with him?" Akane asked.

"Let Mom handle him, I guess," Ranma replied, as she saw her mother approach briskly.

"Ranma, you promised," Nodoka said, in dismay.

"We tried, Mom, but the old man just was too rude. He wouldn't listen," Akane said.

Nodoka sighed and said, "Help me carry him to the curb."

"Oh, are you throwing him out with the trash?" Akane asked hopefully.

Nodoka rolled her eyes, and replied, "No, I have a rickshaw waiting outside, or at least it should be. I gave the owner a big enough tip."

Ranma grunted as she bent down and slung the panda over her shoulder, and carried it out the front gate where she found a rickshaw, with a waiting driver. She set the panda into the seat, where Nodoka joined her unconscious husband.

The wild-eyed driver looked askance at the panda and backed away slowly.

"Don't worry, it's tame," Nodoka said.

The driver picked up the poles at the front of the rickshaw, and started running down the street, leaving Ranma and Akane to wonder what would happen next.

"That was sort of fun, playing with the old man's mind like that," Ranma said, with a grin.

"Yeah, did I do a good job of pretending to be you?" Akane asked, as they headed back into the house, stopping to dry their feet with a towel that Kasumi had discretely left.

"Sort of. The insults didn't quite roll of the tongue as easily. And there weren't enough," Ranma said, with a wink, "How'd I do being Kasumi-ish?"

"Is that even a word?" Akane asked.

"Is now," Ranma replied, "Race you to the furo. I want to change."

"You were right about that attack. It was embarrassing to watch," Akane said.

"Tell me about it. It gave me the creeps back then. I fought him as a guy that time, and guys just aren't supposed to hug guys. It isn't proper. And I wasn't about to let him get too close, besides, not dressed like this," Ranma said, glancing down at her attire.

"He's not Happosai, he wouldn't try to do anything that he shouldn't," Akane protested mildly.

"True, but he's never shown me any affection to speak of, so it would have just been too awkward. Your father at least has hugged you girls occasionally, but I think you were the first person that I can remember that actually hugged me," Ranma said. Then she cursed as she saw the occupied sign on the furo. "I guess we'll have to wait. Maybe Kasumi has her kettle going," she said with a sigh.

* * *

Author's Note: A question for my Gentle Readers. A couple of people have commented on my treatment of Genma in this story and I wanted to solicit opinions on whether the characters have treated him poorly in this tale. As always, I hope my readers have enjoyed my efforts in this chapter. And comments and constructive criticism is welcomed. As a reminder, there is also a forum for this work, for those who would like additional comments. 


	76. The One to Carry On

Chapter 76 The One to Carry On

Ranma sighed heavily as Akane pulled him up the immaculate gravel walkway toward his mother's house. "Tell me again, way are we doing this?" he whined as he dragged his feet, scattering the white stones, whincing internally as he did so knowing that his mother would spend hours returning each stone to its proper place.

"Because in spite of everything that idiot did to you, you still care about your father, even though you won't admit it to anyone, including yourself," Akane retorted, acridly, "And second, because Mom asked us to come here this morning, and you can't tell her no, no matter what, and third, because you know it's the right thing to do to come to some sort of relationship with your father. And fourth, because I promised her that you would be here, and I never, well rarely, go back on a promise, and I won't on this one. I may not like him much, but as you have said, innumerable times, he's the only father you've got." By the end of her mini-tirade, the young couple had reached the front door, and Akane rapped her knuckles on the door to announce their presence to the inhabitants as she waited patiently for someone to appear to her summons.

Ranma glared at his wife, and opened his mouth to respond. However, whatever response he was about to make was overcome by events as the door opened to reveal his mother standing there, looking oddly vulnerable, dressed in an antique kimono, all in white, with no embroidery or adornments embellishing the plain, unpatterned fabric. Nodoka bowed deeply to her son and then to her daughter-in-law. Then she said, in a very formal manner, "Thank you for coming, my dears. Your presence means a great deal to Genma and me."

"You were a bit cryptic on the phone this morning when you called to ask us to come," Akane said cautiously, slightly confused by the greeting that they had received.

Nodoka grimaced very briefly as a shadow passed across her face, and then her face smoothed out as she said, impassively, "After the events of yesterday with your father, I decided that things could not continue as they are. One way or another, things must be settled between Ranma and his father."

Ranma looked at her mulishly. "Mom, he can't force me to respect him, especially not with some lame moves that are more embarrassing than anything else," he said, a bit defensively, "I know you want me to give him another chance, and I really want to do that, but I won't let him control my life, not any more. He's made entirely too many poor choices to allow me that luxury."

Nodoka sighed as she moved out of the way to allow them entry. "I'm aware of that," she said, "And I can't begin to understand what he had in mind yesterday, but he IS your father."

"Let's just get this over with," Ranma grumbled, earning him a sharp jab in the ribs from his wife, and a sorrowful gaze from his mother, one or the other of which caused him to duck his head and mumble, "Sorry."

Ranma and Akane followed Nodoka into the house, and took their shoes off. Nodoka said, softly, "You'll need to keep those. Your father is waiting for you in the garden in back." They traded looks for a moment, and then carrying their shoes, followed Nodoka out the back door to the engawa running around that side of the house.

Akane stopped suddenly as she saw Genma sitting in the middle of the garden in the seiza position, with his legs drawn up so he was actually sitting on his heels. He was dressed in a brand new white gi, with an unlaquered wooden table in front of him. On the table was a sheaf of paper, several pens, and an inkpot. Her face paled as she gasped, and she grabbed Ranma by the arm to get his attention.

Ranma looked up from where he was putting on his shoes and saw his father. He also gasped in shock, and his face went white.

"I thought we came here to talk," Akane spat, almost accusingly.

Genma looked up, a puzzled expression on his face when he heard the twin gasps, and saw the horror-struck faces of his son and daughter-in-law. After a moment, he put two and two together, and amazingly got four as the answer. A wry smile appeared on his face and he said, "It's not what you two are thinking."

"You aren't committing seppuku?" Ranma asked.

"Not hardly," Nodoka replied for him, a note of acerbity in her voice.

"Then why the white clothing, and everything?" Akane asked.

Genma replied, "Nodoka got tired of my old gi, and insisted that I buy a new one." A faint red hue appeared on his cheeks as he admitted that.

"I most certainly did. I burned that disgusting rag," Nodoka said.

Genma added, "She also wanted me to write down a formal apology to Ranma, but it was such a nice day that I decided to do it out here, and this was the writing table we had."

"Did you honestly think that I would let him get off the hook that easily for what he has done, anyway?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma sighed and replied, "You can't blame me for thinking that though. I know how much honour means to you, and he has done quite a bit to tarnish our honour. That would be a way to restore some of that."

"Perhaps," Nodoka said, "Though I'm not sure I would allow him a kozuka."

Genma rolled his eyes at that, and said, "Ranma."

"Pop," Ranma interrupted, "I'm not sure what you are trying to do. That lame stunt yesterday certainly wasn't a good move on your part. You can't force any one to respect you. You earn respect by your actions, something you should know, since you're the one that taught me that."

Genma sighed and hung his head. "I know that you hate me, son, and for that I am truly sorry," he began, only to be interrupted once more.

"Pop, I don't hate you, I don't even dislike you. I don't trust you, that's true, nor do I respect you as a man. As a martial artist, however, you do have my respect. You're good at that, not as good as me, of course, but I don't have to hold back quite as much with you," Ranma said, mildly.

Nodoka turned away as a bead of moisture appeared in her eyes. Genma looked at him, his eyes mysterious behind his glasses. "That's good to know," he finally replied, "then my efforts weren't totally in vain." He sighed heavily, and suddenly looked much older. "I may have said this before, I don't remember, but I regret much of what I put you through. I had an epiphany several weeks ago, and finally saw what I had done through your eyes, and I wasn't happy with what I saw."

"Pop," Ranma said, slowly, "You're saying all of the right words. But, honestly, do you expect me to believe that you've changed? I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, for Mom's sake, if nothing else, but do you really think I can? After all, I've seen how you have acted for the last ten years. Can you truly change your spots?"

"I think what my husband is trying to say is that talk is cheap. It's your actions that need to show that you've changed," Akane added.

Genma sighed and nodded. "I know that there's really no reason for you to trust me, either of you. All I can ask is that you give me the chance to try to show you that I have indeed changed," he said.

"You know that if I give you another chance, it will be only because Mom wants it. She deserves happiness, and for some reason, seems to think that you are part of what she wants," Ranma said, "But it will be the last chance you get from me."

"Or from me," Akane said, her eyes blazing.

"Why are you so angry with him?" Nodoka asked.

Akane growled, "I'm the one that gets him through his nightmares, Mom. Ones caused by the things that your husband put him through. If you had heard the things that he cries in his sleep, you'd be angry too."

"That's fair enough," Genma said, a bit quickly, hoping to divert Nodoka from what Akane was saying.

"Glad you think so," Ranma said, dryly, "But, your own actions will be what prove whether you've changed or not. I know that you have made amends at many of the dojos we visited during our journey, and that is a good start, but you haven't paid for the yatai that you stole from Ukyo, for example. And I am worried that there are other things like that in your past that I don't know about that will come back to haunt us."

"I don't have any other skeletons in my past, I swear on what is left of my honour and on my love for your mother," Genma said, fervently.

Ranma stared at him for several long moments, pondering his choices. Then he looked over at his mother, who was clasping her hands in a fervent prayer, her eyes filled with hope. Finally, he looked at his wife, who shrugged her shoulders showing that it was his decision. "Pop, don't make me regret this," Ranma warned, "I mean it, Pop. This is your last chance to SHOW that you've changed. Words alone won't cut it, only your actions will make me believe that you are not the same self-centered bastard that I grew up with."

"Thank you, son," Nodoka breathed, as Genma broke out in a grin.

* * *

Ranma lagged behind slightly as he followed his father, Soun and the priest onto the grounds of the Shinto shrine, wondering why they were here. Both of older men had been tight-lipped about the reason for the visit, though something about the priest was familiar. 

"A demon? You'd like us to bring this oni under control!" Soun exclaimed, breaking the silence.

"Yes, one thousand years ago, a monkey priest battled against an evil oni and sealed it away," the priest replied, as he led them into the shrine proper. On a table against one of the walls, next to a small altar, a small measuring box sat, an almost illegible ward written out on a piece of parchment resting on the box. "The priest sealed it away in this box," the priest continued.

"This box?" Soun asked.

"It was closed with a magical seal, but look at the characters," the priest replied, "They're so faded that they can barely hold the demon."

The box started shaking at that moment, moving around on the altar cloth.

"It's time to place a new seal upon it," the priest exclaimed.

"Um, why didn't you replace the ward before, instead of coming to find us?" Ranma asked.

The priest paused and said, "Didn't think about it, I guess. That probably would have been a bit smarter, wouldn't it?"

The box started glowing, sparks shooting out of it, and it began to move even more, like something was trying to escape.

"NO!!" the priest exclaimed, "NOT NOW!!!!!!"

Eerie flames began to rise from the box, and the parchment seal began to smoulder.

"Quickly! Hold it down!!" the priest cried.

Soun and Genma dove for the box, each of them attempting to hold the lid closed.

"We have it!" Soun cried.

"Demon containment is the duty of a martial arts family," Genma added, ponderously.

Ranma rolled his eyes at the pious sentiment from his father.

"Augh! It's oozing out," Soun said as the priest rushed forward.

"Here comes the magic seal!" the priest cried as he slapped the ward onto the box, only to pale as something chuckled from within the box.

"Foolish mortals!! For over a thousand years I have been unjustly imprisoned in this cursed box!," an ominous voice came from the box, as an even denser cloud of something was emitted from the box, "But now, soon, very soon, I'll be free to ravage the village at will!!!!"

"I-it can't be!," Ranma said, "And that doesn't look like the correct character for the ward. Isn't there a vertical stroke missing?"

An eerie aura began to show as the roof of the shrine was struck by lightning, and the lights flickered ominously. A cloud of energy began to form above the box, and an enormous figure began to form as the energy started to coalesce. Finally, the cloud cleared with a loud 'CRACK' and floating in the air was a small ball of something, surmounted by two triangular-shaped horns, with two bulging eyes.

"That's the evil oni!?" Ranma asked, a smirk appearing on his face, as the cute little figure began to laugh a wicked laugh.

"Alas, yes," the priest replied, a look of horror on his face, as the oni suddenly headed toward Genma and disappeared inside him. The priest finished a little anti-climatically, "And it's evil is that it takes over the bodies of others and leads them down the path of wickedness."

On Genma's forehead appeared two little triangular shaped horns, and an evil glow appeared in his eyes as he pulled a marker out of somewhere and began to scribble all over Soun's face.

"What are you doing, Saotome?" Soun said, attempting to get away.

"And how do we defeat it?" Ranma asked. 'Might as well have some fun with this,' he thought.

The priest thought for a second and replied, "It will leave the afflicted with just one punch. But, how could you hit a loved one?"

Ranma smirked and said, "Easily. He's a martial artist, he's used to being hit by me. In fact, he's my favorite punching bag." With a mighty swing, Ranma delivered an uppercut into Genma's chin, driving him through the roof of the shrine.

"Ooooh! You can't let it escape!" the priest cried as they saw the oni pop out of Genma.

The three of them chased after Genma. "I just have to catch it, right?" Ranma asked, as they raced down the stairs leading up to the shrine, only to screech to a halt as they ran into an all too familiar bokken-wielding upperclassman, though he was oddly adorned with the telltale horns.

"How can this be?" Kuno said, "My heart that was filled with love is now ablaze with **rage**! RANMA SAOTOME, prepare yourself!!" He charged, swinging his bokken as if to cleave Ranma in twain.

Ranma dodged the first blow. 'Too slow, Kuno,' he thought.

"Why is this so?" Kuno prated as he swung once more, only to be hit by a haymaker that came from somewhere near the pavement, lifting him high into the air and sending him gracefully soaring away, while the oni once more popped free.

"Gee, I missed that Kuno. NOT!" Ranma said.

"Oh no!!! You let him escape one more," the priest wailed.

Genma was near the wall, rapidly scribbling graffiti on the wall with his marker, drawing ugly pictures of Soun Tendo, and otherwise defacing the pristine stone.

Tendo walked over and stood behind Genma, his arms folded in front of him, and said, "You can stop now. The oni's gone and you aren't possessed. You're doing this on your own."

"Don't mind me, I'm just a cute panda!!" Genma said, as he turned to run, only to be yanked to a stop by Soun grabbing onto his gi.

"Give it a rest, Pop. That doesn't work even when you are a panda," Ranma groaned.

* * *

Hiroshi stopped just before reaching the Tendo compound and put the small bouquet of flowers he was carrying under one arm, while he held his hand in front of his mouth and blew against it. 'Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have had that snack before I left the house,' he thought, 'the wasabi is coming back to haunt me just a bit.' Then he looked up as he heard a strange whistling sound. His eyes widened as he saw an incoming Kuno coming in to a one-point landing, and jumped out of the way, just as the upperclassman landed headfirst on the sidewalk in front of him, shattering the concrete. A strange blob floated out of the recumbent figure and suddenly fixated on Hiroshi, who stood transfixed. The blob entered Hiroshi, whose eyes began to blaze, as two little horns popped out on his forehead. He laughed evily, and said, "Suddenly, I feel like embracing evil!!!" He raced into the compound startling Kasumi who was watering the walk to remove the dust. 

"Hello, Hiroshi, Sayuri isn't quite ready for your date," Kasumi said, "I believe she is still in the bath, so make yourself at home while she gets ready."

Hiroshi smirked and said, "Don't mind if I do. I'll make myself right at home." He headed into the house, pausing just long enough to take his shoes off, since not even the evilest person would dirty up Kasumi's clean floor.

Ranma rushed into the compound and asked, frantically, "Kasumi, did someone come here just now?"

"Well, Hiroshi is here for his date with Sayuri," Kasumi replied. Her father entered just as she said that.

"Was there anything odd about him?" her father asked.

"Well, now that you mention it, he had these odd little pointy things on his head," Kasumi replied, "He just went inside to wait for Sayuri to leave the furo and get ready."

Ranma's eyes grew panicky, and he rushed into the house.

* * *

Sayuri sighed happily as the warm water soothed her tired muscles. Even though Ranma had been dragged off on some sort of adventure, Akane had been a fierce taskmistress, running the class through the wringer working on a particular set of katas, and Sayuri was now sore in places that she hadn't realized existed before. By now, she had managed to lose track of time, between the combination of her tired state, and the steam rising off from the water, she had drifted off into a pleasant daydream, involving her boyfriend Hiroshi, and some strawberry ice cream. Suddenly, she was roused from her reverie by the sound of someone shouting outside the bathing chamber. 

"Don't you dare go in there, Hiroshi! You hear me!" Ranma was yelling from the hall as the door to the chamber began to slide open. "Don't even think about it!" the voice continued.

Sayuri started to reach for her towel, preparing to cover herself up, when she heard the sound of a blow.

"Sorry, Hiroshi, it was for your own good," Ranma said. Then she heard Ranma dragging something out of the changing room, as he called out, "You can come out when you're decent, Sayuri. Then, we'll explain everything."

* * *

Sayuri huffed a little at the end of the story Ranma told her, as a red-faced Hiroshi kept bowing to her in apology. 

"It wasn't me! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it," Hiroshi said, in a frantic undertone, the large knot on his head turning slightly purple.

"Sorry about the knot," Ranma murmured.

The priest turned to Ranma and asked, "And the oni?"

"Well, I kinda lost sight of it," Ranma admitted a bit sheepishly.

The priest glared, and repeated, "You kinda lost sight?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and asked, "It's not so bad if you just leave it alone, right?"

"No, but at least I trapped it in here with us," the priest said, "I placed wards on all of the walls and gates leaving the compound so the nothing can't get out."

"Nothing? What do you mean by nothing can get out?" Nabiki asked.

The priest shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Exactly that. No one can cross that line to enter the compound."

"Isn't that extreme?" Nabiki asked.

"How long do you think we'll be locked up in here?" Akane asked at nearly the same moment.

"Who knows? Who cares? We must limit the damage it can cause. Since you two let it go free, it's your responsibility to recapture it," the priest replied, completely unconcerned.

Nabiki glared at the priest for a moment, and then she sighed. "I guess I'd better call Souta and warn him about coming over," she said, as she headed to the hall to find the telephone to cancel her date with her fiancé.

"Hey, you're making too much out of that little runt oni," Ranma groused.

"Oh, good grief, do something Daddy," Akane snapped.

"Easier said than done, Akane. We have no idea where it may be hiding. It could be almost anywhere in this house," Soun said.

"Or maybe it's not hiding in the house at all," Genma said, ponderously, "Maybe right now the ogre is hiding inside one of us."

Sayuri exclaimed, "One of us could be possessed!?"

Everyone stared at each other wondering who the unlucky victim could be, trying to spot the telltale horns somewhere on the poor soul.

* * *

Souta hung the phone up, a frown on his face and walked into the family room. 

"Souta, you look a bit unhappy," his sister said, from where she was playing with her cat, while her grandfather snored in the overstuffed armchair.

"Yeah, that was Nabiki. She called to cancel. Said that they had trouble with an oni at the Tendo's and some idiot priest had warded that perimeter so that nothing could get out," Souta replied.

Kagome narrowed her eyes and said, "That's not the way to kill a demon. Those people could be in all sort of danger. What was that priest thinking?"

"I have no idea. You're the miko in the family. I'm just the little brother around for comic relief," Souta said, with a wry smile.

Kagome shook her head in annoyance and said, "We really don't need even an oni running around loose in the modern era. People wouldn't be safe."

"True," Souta said, "I'm sure things were simpler back in the warring states era."

Kagome chuckled and suggested, "Why don't we go visit your fiancée? I'd like to meet the rest of the family anyway."

"Thanks, sis. I was hoping you would come. Just don't let gramps know about it," Souta said.

"No kidding. He'd complicate things so much," Kagome said with a shudder.

* * *

Genma finally snapped and turned to his son and accused, "Ranma, fess up. You're the one possessed by the oni, right? You're about ready to cough up pea soup any minute now, aren't you?" 

"WHAT!! Are you out of your mind, Pop?" Ranma replied, angrily.

Genma shot to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Ranma, who recoiled. "IF you really were my son, you would have offered me a back rub or something by now!!"

Ranma jumped up, and glared at his father. "You must be thinking of some other son. I've never given you a back rub in my life. How do we know that you aren't possessed, again? Someone as weak in self control as you would be easy to overcome!"

"Calm down now," Soun said, placatingly, "Both of you. It's unmanly. What we need is proof."

Tofu looked ominously at Genma and said, "You're accusations aren't helping anything."

Kasumi turned to the priest and asked, "I'm confused. Shouldn't we be able to tell who was possessed by their horns?"

"Yes, but the horns need not appear on the head," the priest replied. He stood up, and grabbed Ranma by the ankle and pulled his foot up. "For example, they could protrude from the soles of the feet."

"Then how would I be able to walk, stupid?" Ranma retorted.

Akane laughed nervously, and asked, "Isn't there some easy way to tell if someone is possessed?"

The priest thought for a moment, and then his eyes glinted. "There is. First, you bind the accused very tightly in ropes," he replied, suiting his actions to his words, and binding Ranma in some stout cord that Genma handed him. He picked Ranma up and headed outside.

"Go on," Genma said, as he and Soun followed.

The priest stopped at the koi pond, and replied, "Then you submerge him in the lake."

"And then?" Genma asked as they joined the priest and the struggling Ranma.

"If he drowns, he was innocent. If he floats, it's proof that he was possessed after all," the priest said.

"So that's how it works," Soun and Genma said in unison.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed.

The priest tossed Ranma up into the air, and the hapless victim landed in the water with a loud splash.

"Sink, prove your innocence," Soun said.

A fiery red-haired girl came soaring out of the water, her eyes blazing angrily. "If you're going to test people, why don't you take that test first!!" she roared, as she kicked the priest in the head, knocking his odd-shaped hat off, exposing a pair of horns. "Oni!!" Ranma finished.

"Look!!!! Horns!!!" Soun and Genma exclaimed, once more in unison, like some sort of odd Greek chorus.

Ranma's follow-through knocked the priest into the water, causing the oni to pop out. With a triumphant scream, Ranma slammed the old wooden box down on the oni, driving the open end of the box down onto one of the rocks around the pond, trapping the oni. "HA! Now I've got you, trouble-maker!!" Ranma crowed.

* * *

The afternoon wore on, while everyone stared intently at the heavily warded and wrapped box. A celebration was in process, as Soun and Genma toasted each other with the contents of Soun's liquor cabinet, praising each other's prowess in capturing the oni, oblivious to the snickering from the rest of the family. 

"Well, well, the case is closed, Saotome," Soun said, with great satisfaction.

"Looks like it Tendo. We can bind up an oni or two before breakfast," Genma replied, equally fatuously. He picked up a large frosty mug of beer and said, "Let's drink up, Tendo. We deserve it. Trapping an oni is thirsty work."

"I can't thank you enough," the priest said, "I had such evil urges. I hope I didn't hurt any one while I was under his influence."

Kasumi walked in carrying a large steaming bowl. "I've made everyone a special dish. Everyone dig in. There's plenty for everyone. Even with Mr. Saotome here."

Everyone replied, "Thank you!" as they reached for their chopsticks and began to eat. Suddenly, something in the food caused them to choke.

"Paralysis powder!" the priest gasped out.

"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped, "Did I do that? Please forgive me. I couldn't help it. I just had this sudden evil urge."

"Kasumi!" Akane exclaimed, "You've got horns on your head!"

Genma exclaimed, "Impossible! The oni is right here in this box!"

"It's sealed away with this ward!" Soun added.

The priest pulled off the wrapping paper to expose the ward. "NO! That's the ward for safe childbirth!" he exclaimed.

"You used the wrong ward, again!" Ranma cried, "What kind of priest are you?"

"Oh my," Kasumi exclaimed, covering her mouth with one hand.

Tofu snarled at the priest, "How do we get that thing out of my wife?"

"All you have to do is hit her, just like the rest," the priest replied.

"If I hit her, the demon will leave," Ranma mused to himself, "But how can I possibly HIT Kasumi? What a dilemma!"

Demon-head Soun roared at Ranma, "DON'T EVEN **THINK **ABOUT HITTING HER!!!"

"I just said I can't!" Ranma protested, cringing away from the apparition in front of him.

While Ranma had been sitting there pre-occupied, Kasumi had taken out her sewing kit, and quickly sewed a few characters on the back of Ranma's shirt. "There, Ranma, all done," Kasumi said pleasantly, as Nabiki nearly snorted her soft drink out her nose as she read the words emblazoned on Ranma's favorite shirt. 'Cross-dresser,' the character read.

"Gee, thanks, Kasumi," Ranma stammered.

"Oh yes, I nearly forgot. The ironing," Kasumi said, as she tested the iron and began to press Genma's gi. Unfortunately, she had neglected to have Genma take it off first, though the thought of an unclothed Genma had nearly gagged all the females in the room.

Genma began to yell in pain as the hot iron scorched his skin.

Soon, the attraction of torturing Genma paled for the demon-possessed Kasumi. She turned to her father and asked, "Father, should I massage your shoulders?"

"Oh, Kasumi, even possessed by a demon, you're such a good daughter," Soun said, with a sigh, as he stared at the sharp claws that had suddenly appeared on his daughter's hands.

"How does this feel?" Kasumi asked as she ran her claws over her father's back.

"Can't we do something about this?" Akane asked.

"Arrrgg, you saw what Soun did when I even considered hitting her," Ranma said softly, "There has to be some other way of getting that thing out of her."

"There **is** one way," the priest said.

"WHAT!!!" Akane exclaimed.

"If we paste a new magic seal to her forehead, the demon will instantly leap out," the priest explained.

"Why didn't you tell us that earlier," Nabiki growled dangerously.

Soun grabbed the ward out of the priest's hand and slapped it on his daughter's forehead.

Kasumi stared at him for a moment, and then pulled a marker from her pocket and began to scribble on her father's face.

"It's not coming out!" Ranma said.

"I don't understand," the priest said, despondently, "A seal marked with the character for 'bean' always exorcises such demons."

A new voice replied calmly, "You wrote it wrong. That is the ward for prevention of gluttony, not the one for exorcism."

Akane quickly added the missing horizontal stroke, converting the character into the correct one, and the demon immediately popped out and tried to flee, only to be transfixed by a blazing arrow, destroying it completely.

Nabiki turned to the woman garbed in a pair of red slacks and a white blouse and exclaimed, "Kagome! When did you get here?"

"Just now. Souta said that you had some sort of demon infestation, and well, that's something I have a bit of familiarity with, getting rid of demons," the pleasant young woman said. 'Of course, I feel like Kikyo dressed like this,' she thought as she grimaced at the priestess robes that she was wearing, since she had decided she needed to look the part in case the errant priest gave her any trouble.

"You killed that demon!" the priest exclaimed, "What gives you the right to do that? It was my demon!"

"Do you know what could have happened if that oni had gotten free? The havoc it could have wreaked to the people of this city? It would only have gotten stronger every time it caused someone to do something evil, until eventually it would have gotten so strong that it could have started destroying things," Kagome said, her voice cold, "Trying to trap the oni would have been a waste of time."

"You don't know that," the priest protested.

Kagome looked at him, and said simply, "I've had more experience with demons than you ever will. Now, you need to go back to your temple and practice your wards."

"No kidding, he's only got one right as far as I can tell," Ranma said, with a smirk.

"Oh, you mean the one supposedly keeping the oni trapped inside this wall," Kagome said coolly.

"Yes," Akane said, slowly, "that's the one. Or wouldn't it do that?"

Kagome shrugged and said, "Yes, it would have done that. It would have also seriously hurt any human who tried to leave as well. There are better wards to prevent demons from passing that wouldn't have affected humans." She turned to the priest and repeated, "There is no reason for you to stay here anymore. The oni is destroyed, no thanks to you, and the danger is over. Go back and re-learn your lessons."

"What she said," Ranma said, simply.

Yumi hopped out of the kitchen, her legs tied together with a dishtowel, her hands secured behind her by a pair of velvet-lined handcuffs, and a gag in her mouth.

"Oh dear, did I do that?" Kasumi asked, her eyes wide.

"What I want to know is why you had a pair of velvet-lined handcuffs," Nabiki said, with a smirk.

Kasumi smoothed her skirt with her hands and turned to her sister and said, innocently, "I must have found them cleaning your room."

"They're most certainly not mine," Nabiki protested, though from the looks on everyone's face, no one believed her.

* * *

Kasumi looked pensively out the window of their bedroom, her thoughts dark as she thought about how she had been violated by the oni. Her husband moved through the darkness, his strides sure and confident, as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. 

"That wasn't you," he said.

"But I did so many evil things," she protested.

"Dear, repeat after me, that wasn't you," Tofu said calmly, "And you really didn't do anything that bad."

Suddenly they heard a loud scream from the direction of Soun's bedroom.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, "I forgot to tell Daddy I had made up his bedding. I guess he found the tacks that I left behind."

Tofu stared at her for a second, and then surprised her as he broke out laughing. "That sounded like a woman's voice," he said, finally.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "Poor Yumi. I hope she doesn't hate me in the morning."

"No one could possibly hate you, Ka-chan," Tofu said.

* * *

Kasumi led the man from the neighborhood watch into the family room and said, "Daddy, you have a visitor." 

"Ah, Tsujimura-san, welcome my friend," Soun said.

"I'll bring some tea," Kasumi said, as she glided out the door, without waiting for an acknowledgement from either of the two men.

"Tendo-san, we are in need of your assistance," Tsujimura said, as he sat down at the table across from Soun.

"Of course, my friend, you only need to ask," Soun said, his interest roused, "Truth be told, I could use a little excitement."

"Like things have been boring around here," Nabiki drawled from where she was parked in front of the television, taking a few notes on the happenings in the financial world.

"Tendo-san, there has been a rash of food thefts lately. Many of the local restaurants in the centre of town have been hit. Even some friends of yours have been affected. They stole food from that odd Chinese girl Shampoo while she was in the middle of a delivery. And someone robbed Ucchans. And neither of them saw anything!" Tsujimura said.

"What's that! Food thefts!" Soun exclaimed, "And neither Shampoo nor Ukyo saw anything. Hmmm, that means you are dealing with someone very clever and very fast."

"Hence our problem," his visitor said, "The police can deal with ordinary thieves, but this person is far from ordinary."

"I agree. This is beyond their capabilites," Soun said, rubbing his chin. He pondered things for a moment, and then said, "If such horrible people are running loose in town, we certainly can't sit back and ignore it. Our course is clear. We must gather the dojo's might to bring the culprits to justice."

"What's that all about?" Ranma asked from the engawa, where Akane and he were standing.

"Excellent timing, Ranma," Soun said. He turned and said, "Tsujimura-san, this is my son-in-law, Ranma Saotome. You remember my daughter, Akane, his wife. Ranma, Akane, this is Mahito Tsujimura, with the neighborhood watch. He was just telling me about some food thefts that have happened in the last few days."

"Okay, but why does he need our help?" Akane asked, "Isn't that what the police are for?"

"Apparently they were able to steal food from both Shampoo and Ukyo, without either of them seeing who did it," Soun said.

"Hmm, that doesn't sound too good," Ranma said, "Obviously, not an ordinary person."

"But we were going to go away this weekend, remember?" Akane asked, a bit petulantly.

"I know, but I need your help. I was going to ask your father, as well," Soun said, "You know the duties and obligations of a martial artist, daughter."

"Please, don't underestimate these thieves," Tsujimura said, "Apparently their speed is beyond belief."

Akane's eyes flashed for a second, and then she said, "We must protect the helpless. Yes, I know all of that." She sighed, and said, "Of course we'll help. Besides, Shampoo and Ukyo are our friends."

"Good," Soun said, "Then it's settled. We'll get right on the case, Tsujimura-san."

"We'll all sleep better knowing that you have it well in hand, Tendo-san," Tsujimura said, "Now, I don't want to wear out my welcome, so I'll see myself out." He stood up, followed quickly by Soun.

"Nonsense, what kind of a host would I be?" Soun said as he followed his friend out of the room.

"Don't worry, Akane, we'll have time later on this summer to go on that trip," Ranma said, as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him.

Akane sighed and said, "I know. I was just looking forward to getting away from here for a few days, that's all."

"I'll make it up to you," Ranma said, a hint of promise in his voice, and a roguish light in his eyes.

"Oh, and just exactly what did you have in mind, Mr. Saotome?" Akane asked, playfully, as she ground against him.

"I'm sure we can think of something, Mrs. Saotome," Ranma replied, with a smirk, as he led her out of the room.

A few minutes later, Kasumi entered the now vacant family room. "Oh my, where did Daddy go?" she asked as she brought a tray into the family room.

* * *

That very afternoon Akane found herself trapped in a small café with her father and Genma Saotome, as they devoured several platters of sushi, as well as some nori rice cakes. 

With a sigh, Akane asked, "Dad, weren't we supposed to be staking out the food thieves?"

"Have some faith in your father," Soun said, sternly, as he swallowed a piece of salmon sushi, "We pretend to be customers, and wait for the thieves to show. And when they do, we'll strike!"

"Besides, this isn't costing us anything. The neighborhood watch agreed to pay for our meals while we are looking for the thieves," Genma added.

"Whatever, Daddy. I'm going home," Akane said, with a look of disgust.

"Wait a minute, Akane," her father said. He handed her a to-go box, wrapped in a napkin, and said, "Here, toasted rice cake. Take this home as a gift for everyone at home."

Akane rolled her eyes, and left the restaurant, heading down the busy streets for her home, wondering once more how she had gotten talked into this fiasco. 'Those thieves won't show up there, this is a stupid plan,' she thought in disgust. 'Must have been something Saotome thought of. Though Daddy has come up with a few that were equally as foolish.' She shook her head and wondered, 'Does he want to catch those thieves or not?' She turned down the street that paralled the canal, its chain-link fence on her right, to find that she was all alone.

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, as the wind picked up, blowing the leaves past her and causing her green skirt to billow out. Then, she felt someone come up behind her and she whirled, asking, "Who's there?"

A young girl, maybe eleven or twelve, wearing a blue and white blouse, with a blue skirt, a red bow in her brown hair was staring at her, or more accurately, the box in Akane's hand, almost salivating. "It's food," she cried as she rushed forward.

"Hold it, Kurumi," another voice called, "I've told you before, it's not right!"

The girl named Kurumi stopped in her tracks, and Akane looked past her to see a girl of roughly her age standing there, also dressed in blue, with her arms folded over her chest. Her long black hair was pulled back away from her face in a ponytail, except for two tendrils that framed her face, falling down to her shoulders. The hilt of some sort of weapon was showing above her right shoulder, with some sort of hoop at the other end.

"But it smells soooo good!" Kurumi protested.

"Come on, I told you to stop!" the other girl commanded, a touch of anger in her voice.

Akane looked at the box in her hand and then kindly held it out to the young girl. She said, pleasantly, "Here, have some. Go ahead."

Kurumi looked at her in shock, and gasped, "Really? It's okay? You really mean it?" She turned back to the other girl, as if asking permission.

The older girl nodded her head, and Kurumi yelled, "Hurrah!!!" She snatched the box out of Akane's hand, and in a blink of an eye, emptied it of its contents.

The two girls knelt on the sidewalk, and bowed to Akane. The older girl said, "You are very kind and truly, very generous." She looked at the younger girl and asked, "Now what do you say to the nice lady?"

Kurumi bowed once more and said, "Thank you. It was very delicious."

Akane backed away, and said, "Think nothing of it. I gotta go. Bye Bye." With a wave, she turned and headed off toward home. 'Wow, that kid must have been starving!' she thought. Then she turned as she heard footsteps behind her to find that the two girls were following her, each of them carrying a cloth bundle in their hands.

The youngest gave a nervous titter as she saw Akane turn. The two girls stopped, while a bead of sweat rolled down the back of Akane's head as she wondered why she had gained a pair of shadows. The two girls bowed slightly once more.

Akane laughed nervously, and continued her journey. 'Why are those girls following me?' she wondered, 'Maybe it's like feeding a stray!' She reached the street she needed to turn on, and as soon as she was out of sight, started running to get away from her pursuers. 'I'm sorry, I just don't have time to play games today,' she thought, as she left a cloud of dust behind her.

* * *

Yumi was standing outside the main gate, sweeping the sidewalk clean, when she saw Akane race up, breathlessly. "Well, hello Akane. Welcome home!" she said. 

Akane stopped in front of her, panting a little. 'I made it home. I lost them,' she thought.

"So tell me," Yumi asked, a note of amusement in her voice, "who are your little friends, Akane?"

Akane turned to find the two girls smiling at her. "No way!" Akane exclaimed.

"Please come in," Yumi said, "Kasumi was just fixing a small snack for all of us."

Kurumi's eyes lit up with delight.

* * *

The two girls waited uncomfortably in the family room, with their benefactor Akane, as several other girls and one boy drifted in. 

Yumi and Kasumi brought in a large bowl filled with food, and they placed them on the table, and then knelt down to join Sayuri, Nabiki, Akane, Hinako, Ranma and the two guests.

Kasumi smiled kindly and said, "Please help yourself. Have as many as you like."

"Thank you very much," the older girl said, while Kurumi squealed in delight.

"Okay, then I will!" Kurumi exclaimed as she reached for the bowl, only to have her progress blocked by the other girl's odd weapon.

The sound of footsteps was heard, and then Genma and Soun turned the corner and entered the family room. "We're back!" Soun exclaimed, then he added, "We have visitors. Welcome to our home."

"I must apologize for intruding," the older girl said, bowing politely.

Nabiki smirked and said, "My what a proper young lady. Not like you at all, is she Akane?"

"Was that really necessary?" Soun said, chastising his middle daughter.

Ranma chuckled and said, "You are a bit of a tomboy, Akane. Not that I want to change that."

Akane turned a deadly gaze on him and asked, "You were saying something?"

Ranma gulped and said, "No, not really."

"Lady Akane," the older girl said, as she slid back from the table a bit, and bowed. Kurumi followed suit, a bit uncertainly. "Please forgive us for not introducing ourselves sooner. My name is Natsume. My little sister Kurumi and I have been traveling from one end of Japan to the other, searching for our long lost father. Forgive us, my little sister likes to eat. Our money ran out, and she began eating other people's food in order to fill her endless appetite. It's very troubling. I try to stop her, but I can't."

"Then you're the thieves that have been jumping the bills!" Ranma exclaimed.

Natsume raised her head up and replied, "Yes. Yet, even though we were complete strangers, the Lady Akane gave us her own food. We owe her and that is why we have come. In order to somehow repay her kindness."

"It's okay! Don't worry about it!" Akane exclaimed, a bead of sweat dropping from her brow.

"But somehow we must pay you back," Natsume explained.

"I don't know how to take this. I don't know what to say," Akane said.

Ranma wrapped one arm around her and said, "That's the kind of person you are, Akane. You always do things out of the kindness of your heart."

"You know what to say, Akane," her father said, with a note of amusement in his voice. He turned to the two girls, and said, "I'm sure it is difficult living on wits alone. Why not stay with us for awhile?"

"Are you serious?" Natsume asked.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Kurumi added.

Soun chuckled and said, "I think this case is closed! A happy ending! Right, Saotome?"

"Why there isn't a crime in the world that we can't solve, eh Tendo?" Genma replied, bombastically.

"Eh, Saotome, you're so easygoing," Soun said, as the pair began to chuckle. "But you still owe me for those rice cakes," he added after a moment..

"Oh, I couldn't forget something like that," Genma replied with a nervous chuckle, "But don't we have some delicious snacks to eat?"

Hinako turned to Kurumi and lisped, sticking out her hand, "Hi, my name is Hinako. Wanna be friends?"

Kurumi's eyes lit up and she nodded happily, shaking the other girl's hand. "I'd like that," she replied, shyly.

"Maybe later, I can show you around," Hinako said.

* * *

Hinako watched as Kurumi lifted a ten-kilogram arm weight with her right arm, while Natsume sat on the floor of the dojo watching Ranma and Akane lead Yumi, Nabiki and Sayuri through a kata that seemed somehow familiar. 

"Wow! So you're in martial arts training, too. Just like I am!" Hinako lisped.

"That's right! It's a promise that we both made. We've got to get in shape so we can be great martial artists like our father is," Kurumi replied, brightly.

"Your father?" Hinako asked.

"Our father is a very powerful martial artist," Natsume explained, "His punches could tear the heavens! His kicks shake the very Earth! Man among men! A king of all kings in fact."

"We don't know where he is right now, but that's okay. He's with us wherever we go, watching over us. A guardian angel. That's why we're not sad, because he protects us." The two girls suddenly clasped hands.

Natsume said, in a voice choked with emotion, "That's exactly right, Kurumi!"

"I really miss him," Kurumi said, sadly.

"Why don't we have a little match," Hinako suggested, hoping to take the girls's minds off their troubles.

Kurumi said, hesitantly, "Oh, I don't know."

"Come on, I want to see how good you are. Please?" Hinako pleaded.

"All right then," Natsume said, "Since you ask it of us, Hinako, we will gladly spar with you." She turned to her sister and asked, "Isn't that right, Kurumi?"

"I g-guess so," Kurumi stammered, "I'll need to change. I can't spar in this dress, though."

"Big sister Kasumi moved your things into the downstairs guest room," Hinako said, "You can change in there."

"Come on then, sister," Natsume said as she flowed gracefully to her feet.

Ranma pulled Akane to the side while the girls continued their kata. "I remember this a little," he said softly, "You'll likely hear and see a few things that you won't like. Things aren't what they will look like though. Remember that, and just watch what happens."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

"Looks like we'll see Kurumi spar with Hinako. Some of what you see is likely to look familiar, if what I am remembering is correct," Ranma whispered.

* * *

"Okay, everyone, it's time for dinner," Yumi called. Before the echo from her words could die, the family room was crowded as Nodoka, Yumi and Kasumi brought in a large meal. 

"Mom, when did you get here?" Ranma asked, in surprise.

"Since your father was already here, Kasumi called to invite me for dinner," Nodoka replied.

Akane walked in hesitantly with a tray of her own and set it down on the table. As opposed to the trays the other women had brought in, her dumplings were a little misshapen, her colours were ever so slightly off, and some of the vegetables appeared to be a bit ragged.

"What happened, Akane? You were doing so well with your cooking," Ranma asked softly.

"I was so excited about cooking for some guests that I got a little too worked up about things," his wife replied, a bit sadly.

"Did you taste them?" Ranma asked.

Akane nodded.

"Then, that's really all that matters," he replied, "If it tastes good, the presentation doesn't matter quite as much."

Natsume and Kurumi looked at the groaning table, filled with food, and could hardly believe their eyes. A veritable feast was spread before them.

"Thank you for the food," Natsume said.

Kurumi leaned forward with a large bowl of rice in her hands, and said, "Yes, thank you, thank you."

"Dig in everyone," Yumi said, as she knelt down next to Soun, while Nodoka joined her husband, placing a gentle hand on his arm as a warning to mind his manners.

* * *

Kurumi and Natsume daintily wiped their lips, though they were barely visible over the tower of dishes in front of them. Kurumi said, "It was delicious." 

"I'm so glad you liked it," Yumi said, as she bowed in response to the praise.

"Kurumi, I understand you and Hinako had a match today. How did it go?" Soun asked.

"Well," Kurumi said, stalling for time as she sipped her tea.

"She was a bit of a pushover," Akane said, with a sigh.

"Akane!" Hinako protested.

"Well, little sis, you do only do martial arts to avoid dieting and to keep in shape," Akane said, calmly.

Hinako thought for a moment and then nodded at the truth in the statement. "That's true enough. Mostly though I like it because it helps me relieve stress. It's not like I'm the heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, after all," she said.

Kurumi exclaimed, "Anything Goes School of Martial Arts!"

Soun asked, "What's wrong, you two? You look a little pale."

"Our one and only goal," Natsume replied, sternly, "is to be the best in Woman's Anything Goes School of Martial Arts."

"Be the best in Anything Goes School of Martial Arts!" Soun exclaimed.

"That's impossible. The only two families that practice Anything Goes in the world today are the Saotomes and the Tendos," Nabiki said.

Natsume bowed her head and said, "Our father said this: When you become true martial artists, I will allow you to carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts."

"Tell us. What's your father's name?" Genma asked, his face pale.

"It's Tendo," Natsume replied.

"Soun Tendo," Kurumi added.

"Well, that's my name. I'm Soun Tendo," Soun said, as he calmly took a sip of his tea, before what had just been implied began to sink in.

"What!?" Natsume said, "Then, you are the one. You're our long lost father!" A look of happiness appeared on her face, as she stood up and raced around the table to hug Soun, and cry, "Father! How we've missed you!!" She was joined by her sister, who wrapped her arms around Soun's neck, happy tears running down her face.

Soun looked at the two girls, clearly uncomfortable, and indeed in a state of confusion.

Nabiki froze in shock, her eyes searching her father's face for some hint, while Kasumi was in tears, her hands hiding her downcast face so she wouldn't have to look at her father. Akane, on the other hand, was glaring angrily at him, clearly not liking what she was seeing. Ranma leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and then she looked confused. Sayuri was looking fearfully in her mother's direction, afraid of her reaction based on her history with her former husband and his betrayals.

"Oh daddy, you didn't?" Kasumi gasped, as she clung to her husband.

"Wow, there's still life in you after all, Tendo," Genma said, causing Ranma to send a quelling glare his way, while Nodoka looked at Soun in disgust.

Yumi turned to her fiancé, trembling in suppressed rage. She looked down at the ring on her finger, and began playing with it, whether in preparation to remove it, or not, no one looking at her could tell.

Soun was shaking his head in denial, a vein throbbing in his forehead, as he struggled with his emotions.

"Soun," Yumi hissed venomously, "Is what they said true?"

"No Yumi, I swear it is not. Kimiko was the only woman I was ever with," Soun replied softly, yet with a firm note in his voice, a glint of anger in his eyes at the accusation. Then, a different emotion went across hs face, as he blushed and added, quietly, "Until now, anyway."

Yumi looked at him uncertainly for a long moment, and then she reddened as well.

"Too much information, Daddy," Nabiki said, with a smirk on her face, while Akane snickered in the background.

"Oh my Daddy, that is so improper," Kasumi said, primly, though the light dancing in her eyes showed that she was really only saying that because it was expected of her.

Natsumi's face fell in dismay, and her sister began to cry, as Soun peeled them off. He frowned at them, and said, in a not unkind voice, "I'm truly sorry, girls. I know that you are desparate to find your father, but there's no way that I could be he. You'll have to continue your search elsewhere."

Nabiki suddenly hissed, "How dare you accuse our father of betraying his wife, our mother? We graciously took you in. Is this how you repay our kindness? What proof do you have?" An impressive battle aura flickered around her frame as she struggled with her emotions.

Natsume replied, "I have proof right here." She handed a photograph to Soun. "That's our father," she added.

Nabiki moved around to see the photo, while Soun looked at the picture, which showed two little girls, and a man's back.

"What, you mean this man with his back to the camera?" Nabiki scoffed.

"That's right. It all happened ten years ago," Natsume replied, "My little sister and I were deep in the mountains one day when a large bear appeared out of the trees, threatening our very lives. Suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere, and with fearsome blows drove the beast away. He asked us if we were all right. And that was when we realized that this kindly stranger could be none other than our beloved long lost father. He said to us, when the two of you become true martial artists, I shall allow you to carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts." She sighed, happily, and added, "I never dreamed that we would be so soon reunited."

Nodoka said, "Look deep into your heart. See if you can remember. Are you sure this doesn't ring any bells?"

"Of course it doesn't. There is no way that I can have any illegitimate children," Soun said.

Nabiki looked at the photo once more, and said, "Oh come on now. One crummy little snapshot doesn't prove anything."

"Nabiki's right. You can't even see the face of him," Yumi said, as she regained her composure.

"They were just kids at the time. They were just confused, that's all," Akane said.

"How brilliantly reasoned, Nabiki, Akane. How clever!" Soun said, with a look of relief on his face.

"Oh no, there's no mistake," Natsume said, "Take a look at this." She turned the photo over to show the writing on the back.

Akane read what was written, "When you're all grown up I'll let you carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Signed, Your Father, Soun Tendo."

"You really are our daddy," Kurumi said, her hands clasped together.

"Kurumi, I don't know who the man was who gave you this picture, but I can assure you that it wasn't me," Soun said, a bit angrily, "I'm sorry that some low life pretended to be me, but I have not left Nerima since I was married. For the last time, I am not your father!"

Genma watched as the once hopeful girls sank back almost into depression. Kurumi latched onto her sister, trembling, as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. He glanced over wistfully at his wife, and thought, 'If I do this, I'll lose her forever. She'll never forgive me. And Ranma, he'll likely kill me. But, if I don't, those poor girls.' His back straightened, and said, rustily, "I'm sorry, Tendo. I was that low life, I'm afraid. When I met them, I used your name."

Nodoka turned to her husband, and you could feel the temperature in the room plummet. Her eyes went cold and she said, icily, "So you did betray me, in spite of your denials."

Ranma stared at his father in amazement, and then gave a nod of grudging respect.

"But," Akane said, only to stop at the vise-like grip Ranma had on her arm.

"Let him do this," he hissed to her in a voice so soft only she could hear it.

"I'm not proud of my actions, Nodoka. But, yes, I had a few moments of weakness," Genma replied, refusing to back down now that he had set sail on this disastrous course.

"I see," Nodoka said, her voice getting even icier, if that was possible. "You do know what this means? What it will cost you?" she asked.

"Of course," Genma said simply, "But it is the honourable thing to do." He took the photograph away from Natsume and said, "See, look at the broad back of the man in this picture, the very posture of a mighty martial artist, the strength in the frame of that figure. It could only be me."

Kurumi clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture and exclaimed, "You really are our Papa!!!" She flung her arms around him, or at least attempted to, as the young girl's arms could only reach partway around his corpulent frame.

Nodoka sighed for a moment as she saw how happy the two girls were. "We still have things to talk about, Saotome," she said as a look of grief appeared on her face for a heartbeat. Her face smoothed out, and she turned to the two girls who looked fearfully at the stone-faced woman. She said, "Get your things, girls. You will be coming home with me. You are welcome in my home."

Genma let out a barely audible sigh of relief until Nodoka turned her cold eyes back to him. "You and I will be having a discussion when we get home," she said.

"I expect we should," Genma said, with a wince, as he imagined how pointed the discussion was likely to be.

Nodoka smiled thinly. "Don't worry. I won't be tossing you out, even though you deserve it. However, since these girls have just now found their father, it would be cruel of me to come between you. Even though you left them behind, they still should find out the kind of person you are."

"But why are you doing this?" Natsune asked.

Nodoka said simply, "Why should I hold what my husband did against you? Niether you and your sister had any choice in who was your father. But now that I know you exist, you are Saotome, a proud clan, now, and that means you are family."

"Thank you, Mrs. Saotome," Natsume said, bowing to the older woman.

"Please, at least call me Auntie," Nodoka said.

"Our mother long ago joined our ancestors," Natsume said, "C-could we call you M-mommy?"

"Of course you may," Nodoka replied, her eyes suspiciously moist.

"So have we grown up enough, Daddy?" Kurumi asked.

"Eh?" Genma replied.

"To carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, like you promised," Natsume replied.

"Girls, I'm afraid that Saotome promised you something that he couldn't," Soun said, gently, "He wasn't the Grandmaster of the school, and there already is an heir for each branch already."

Kurumi's face fell.

"Who are they?" Natsume asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Um, that would be us," Ranma replied, "My wife Akane is the heir to the Tendo school, and I am the heir to the Saotome school. And our children will unite the two branches as our fathers wish." He blushed as he said the word, 'children,' and Akane giggled.

"But, that doesn't mean you can't continue to practice and learn. You'll just need the permission of the Grandmaster to do so," Soun added quickly.

"When can we meet the Grandmaster?" Natsume asked, "Or can we challenge your heirs?"

"You are welcome to return tomorrow so he may judge your skills," Soun said, with a brief look at Ranma, while Ranma squeezed Akane's hand as she was about to make some comment.

"As to challenging us for the school, I suppose you could if you'd like. However, there's no real reason to do that. You would still be learning our schools, and carrying on our traditions even if you don't inherit so anything other than that would be pointless," Ranma replied with a shrug. He carefully didn't smile, as he thought, 'Not that you could beat either of us this time.'

Natsume pondered that for a moment and nodded. "I suppose that makes sense," she said.

"Come girls, we should head home," Genma said.

"Their things are in the guest room," Kasumi said, as she stood up and followed Genma and the two girls out of the room.

Ranma quickly moved to his mother and pulled her outside. He asked, "You do know that he's no more their father than you are, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Their ages alone would tell me that, and besides, ten years ago he was with you on that training trip," Nodoka said calmly. She smiled thinly and added, "I couldn't let him waste his sacrifice. You WILL treat them as your sisters."

Ranma looked at her for a moment and then asked, "Are you sure about this?"

Nodoka merely nodded her head. "Quite sure. This may be his path to redemption, and I will not let him stray," she said.

"Then of course I will," Ranma said.

"Then I want you to know that I have never been more proud of your father," Nodoka said, her eyes blazing with emotion.

Ranma chuckled for a moment. When he finished, he said, "I didn't know that he had it in him, to be honest. But, what he did, saying that the girls were his, knowing what he was giving up and doing it anyway, I have to admit, he has earned a great deal of respect."

"Who else knows?" Nodoka asked.

"Akane suspects. She knows my story quite well. Nabiki will surely figure it out, but she'll keep quiet. The rest, they won't figure it out," Ranma replied.

"Then we must ensure that they go along with this. I will not let those girls be hurt, not by anyone," Nodoka ordered.

"Sure, it is a matter of Saotome honour now," Ranma agreed, "And the girls deserve a home." 'And you want some more children to spoil,' he thought.

"I will bring them over tomorrow, and you can judge their abilities. I assume from what Tendo-san didn't say that you wished not to let them know that you are the Grandmaster of the school?" Nodoka said.

"It really doesn't matter one way or the other. They will find out tomorrow anyway. But this has been a rather traumatic day for them, so I didn't see any reason to throw more at them," Ranma replied.

"Good night then dear," Nodoka said, as she saw Kasumi enter the family room, obviously looking for her, "It appears that the rest of our family is waiting for me."

"I'll see them to the gate. I do want to give my sisters a proper greeting," Ranma said, "And my welcome to the family."

* * *

Ranma waited on the roof of the house for Akane to join him, lying back on the blanket that he had brought with him, watching the darkening sky, when across the vault of stars, a meteor shower passed by, sending streaks of light across the skyline of downtown Tokyo. 

"Is this seat taken?" a soft voice asked.

Ranma chuckled lightly and scooted over. "Plenty of room, Akane," he said, as she sat down next to him, "How's your Dad?"

"Still a little shaken up, I guess. It isn't every day that a pair of girls come out of the woodwork to declare that they are your long lost daughters," Akane replied, "I'm just surprised that your father really is the one. And that he was honest enough to admit it."

Ranma grinned and asked, "You honestly believed that? Naw, Pop isn't their real father, but neither is your dad. I don't think we ever did find out the truth about them, to be honest. Somehow, and I never did understand how he managed, Happosai was the one that pretended to be your dad and train them at least a little bit in Anything Goes. And he was the one that promised that they could carry on the dojo."

"O," Akane said, her eyes wide, "Then why?"

"Pop, you mean?" Ranma asked.

Akane nodded.

Ranma shrugged and said, "I guess he felt sorry for them. And, maybe he didn't want your father to get in trouble with Yumi, I suppose. And, it is an honourable thing that he did, so perhaps he did it to show me something."

"Do you honestly think he managed to change? Him?" Akane asked, in some surprise.

Ranma shrugged once more and replied, "Don't really know what to think about him right now. All I can do is wait and see, I guess. I just hope the girls don't go too overboard tomorrow, if they do what they did last time. Pop will like it just a bit too much, I'm afraid."

"What did they do?" Akane asked.

"Waited on your dad hand and foot, pretty much. Annoyed you doing it too, which wasn't a good thing," Ranma replied, "And you lost a match because of it." He smiled ruefully, and added, "Or rather, we lost a match, if I were to be honest about it. Neither one of us had learned to fight real well with a partner, and they had." He sobered and said, "Don't take them lightly. They are good. You should be better than they are, though, as much as we've trained, and we have learned to battle as partners this time. But, neither one of us should get complacent."

"Do you really think they would challenge us for the dojo?" Akane asked.

"That's what they came here for, and Pop is likely to support them, at least a little, if he thinks with his stomach," Ranma answered.

"And we know he would never do that," Akane retorted, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Author's Notes: Once more it is time for the dreaded author's notes, I see. First, for those not familiar with Natsume and Kurumi, they are from two OVAs, cleverly titled the One to Carry On, part 1 and part 2. Second, Genma claiming to be there father is not unique to this story, there is at least one fanfiction that did this as well. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name, as it was a well-done story as I recall. Third, I am curious as to everyone's thoughts. Is this truly going to redeem Genma? Anyway, as always, reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. In case this is the final chapter before the holidays, have a safe and enjoyable time. For those who celebrate, Merry Christmas. 


	77. The King of Poverty's Challenge

Chapter 77 The King of Poverty's Challenge

Genma rolled out of the futon that he had been banished to, in the smallest and meanest room of the house, and slowly pulled himself to his feet, scratching himself in several different places many of them best left unmentioned as he ambled over to the small dresser that now held his clothing, except for those that he kept in his backpack in case he needed to make an emergency escape. Unfortunately, Nodoka had hidden the selfsame backpack, so he was basically forced to remain in the area, especially since it had his stash of yen. He was basically at her mercy. Grumbling to himself, he dressed, and then left his room and headed down the short hall to the family room.

A soft voice interrupted his progress, as a female voice said, "Good morning, Father."

Genma looked around and saw Natsume kneeling on the pristine wooden floor, just outside the kitchen.

"I've made some breakfast for you," Natsume continued, "Just for you."

"I'll be right in," Genma said, as his stomach grumbled at the mention of food. He followed her into the family room to see a lavish spread, with several dishes that he didn't really recognize, but the aroma rising from them piqued his appetite and sent it soaring. "W-what is this?" he asked.

Nodoka replied, "They insisted on making your breakfast personally, Genma."

"As the man of the house, it's very important for you to eat properly," Natsume said, as she brandished a razor sharp knife and fork and cut a portion of roast. She held it up to him and added, "Say Ahhhh!"

Genma opened his mouth and allowed Natsume to place the large morsel into his mouth. After a few moments he swallowed, and said, "That was very good."

Kurumi held up a platter of chicken wings and said, "Papa! Have some of this one as well!!"

Genma smiled at the two girls and began to devour everything in front of him, while Nodoka contented herself with the miso soup, pickled fish and rice that she had prepared for herself.

Kurumi and Natsume watched rapturously as their father ate the food that they had prepared, until Nodoka murmured, "You two should eat as well. We have a long day in front of us and need to return to the Tendo's sometime this afternoon."

"Yes, Mom," Natsume said, smiling at the older woman, while Kurumi merely started shoveling food into her mouth, her hands almost blurring.

* * *

Once the morning meal was well under way, Kasumi placed a small box discretely next to her sister Nabiki, an impish light in her eyes. "Thanks for letting me borrow this yesterday," she said, demurely. 

Nabiki arched an eyebrow and took the lid off the box, and peeked inside. She immediately blushed at the contents. "I told you yesterday that those aren't mine," she complained, "Why don't you believe me?" Tipping the box over, she spilled out the velvet-lined handcuffs that had adorned Yumi's wrists the day before.

"I **did** find them in your room," her sister said, with an uncharacteristic smirk on her face.

"That may very well be true, but they are still not mine," Nabiki groused, then she smirked and asked, "And what did you use them for anyway?"

Before Kasumi could answer, a squeal of delight caught their attention. "There they are! I had wondered where those had gotten off to," Hinako said, with an innocent smile on her face.

Around the table, everyone's jaw dropped in surprise.

"These are yours!" Akane gasped.

"But you're so young!" Yumi exclaimed.

Hinako giggled merrily at the looks she was getting and explained, "I got given them as a joke some years ago. School disciplinarian, remember? I stumbled across them when we were packing up my old apartment. I must have left them in Nabiki's room by mistake."

"Oh dear!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"I've never used them, of course," Hinako continued, "I'm not that kind of girl."

Soun shuddered at the mental images he was having, and in a very obvious attempt to change the subject, asked, "Ranma, when are the girls coming over?"

"Some time this afternoon is all Mom said," Ranma replied, "She was going to tell them a little about the family and then take them to the café to meet Konatsu and Ukyo for lunch before coming by. At least that's what I understand, anyway."

"You need to add the girls to the scroll of students, too," Akane reminded him.

"I will once I see where they fit in," Ranma said, "I want to record their current level, just as I have with everyone else."

Soun steepled his fingers and asked, "Saotome and I never actually took the time to develop a ranking system. And since he and I were the only students the old master had, I doubt he had one. So how are you assigning people then?"

"Well, after a great deal of thought, I decided that since we are mainly a school for teaching the art, that our school would best be served by using the old Menkyo system," Ranma explained, "I really think that fits our philosophy better."

"Why the Menkyo?" Akane asked, "Why not a dan system like in Aikido?"

Ranma frowned slightly, putting on a professorial air that really looked unsuited for him. Then he replied, "Anything Goes is really more of a teaching school, we don't actually try to compete with other dojos, so a dan ranking didn't seem right to me. That's sort of why I went back to Menkyo. As you may know, in that system there are usually three to five certificates, corresponding to teaching qualification levels. Brand new students will be unranked at first, of course. But once they have mastered the basic techniques, and can be regarded as a true member of the school, we'll award the first level certificate, the Oku-Iri." He smiled apologetically at Hinako, Sayuri, Nabiki and Yumi and said, "That's why at the moment, the four of you are still unranked."

Hinako pouted slightly, while Sayuri shrugged her shoulders.

Nabiki grinned at him, and said, "If you think I'm upset, you don't know me that well. I know I'm not there yet, even though we practice well more than the three hours per week that most do in Budo today. I sure don't intend to take ten years to get there."

Ranma chuckled at that sally and then continued, saying, "Then I thought we would have two certificates for instructor level qualification, Sho-Mokuroku and Go-Mokuroku, or Assistant Instructor and Qualified Instructor. Akane, Soun, both of you I have ranked as Assistant, though neither of you are completely familiar with all of the techniques of the school, since I haven't trained Akane in all of the Saotome techniques yet. Once you have those mastered, then Akane will be raised to Qualified."

Akane merely nodded as she realized that he was correct, something that amazed several in the room, since a not too much younger Akane would have lost her temper at not being considered the best. She only said, "Then you'd better plan on a lot more training for me soon."

"And then there will be the Menkyo-Kaiden, which will signify mastery of the school, someone who is fully qualified for all aspects of the teaching of the school," Ranma finished, "The rank that I hold, and one that I hope Akane reaches in a few years, assuming she continues to work as hard as she has this past year."

Soun frowned for a moment working that out in his head and then nodded decisively. "That does sound like a good plan," he said finally, "I agree, you have made a good case for your decision."

"And that's why I want to see how much Kurumi and Natsume know of the Anything Goes school, if any, so I can place them properly," Ranma said.

* * *

Ranma pulled Akane aside waiting for the class to enter the dojo. With a sober expression on his face, he said, softly, "I'm worried about what will happen with Kurumi and Natsume. They challenged you; or rather Natsume challenged you for the rights to the dojo last time. Kurumi wasn't really happy about it, but went along with it reluctantly." 

"Do you think that will happen this time?" Akane asked, equally soft, as she watched her father start the class without them.

"I honestly don't know. I think Kurumi would be happy just to be my sister, and leave well enough alone. But Natsume, there's something about her. A look in her eyes when she thinks no one is watching, a hunger for a place of her own, that will likely cause her to be a bit reckless," Ranma replied.

Akane thought for a moment and then asked, "So, how do we handle it?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, hopefully better than we did the first time we fought them. I was a real jerk about things and forced my way into the challenge, but we didn't work together very well. It was a complete disaster. Kurumi fights with a ribbon, and when it hits you, it feels like it is on fire. Then the blows from Natsume's carpet beater thingy feels so cold, like a razor sharp wind. Then, she has the Anything Goes Final Attack, the Ring of Dragon Fire. You need to be careful."

Akane looked at him. "This is our dojo! I won't let it go!" she hissed fiercely.

"Wouldn't expect you to," Ranma replied, mildly, "But things are a bit different this time already. You've had a lot more training, both from me and from the old woman. You're stronger, faster and tougher, so you should have an easier time about it if you fight her one on one. Just remember what you've learned, keep your cool, and stay focused."

"Will you let me do this, if it comes to that?" Akane asked, her eyes shining, "Prove that I am a martial artist?"

"You don't have anything to prove to me about that, Acchan. Not this time, anyway. You've proven it to me too many times already," Ranma replied. He sighed heavily and added, "And though it will irk me to no end, I understand why you'll have to do this if she challenges you. But, if you look like you're getting hurt."

"NO!!! This will be MY fight," Akane said. 'I need to prove to myself that I can do this,' she thought.

Ranma looked at her, his face tight and then he nodded, jerkily. "But, if they both attack?"

"Then you can have my back," Akane said.

Ranma closed his eyes for a moment, and then quirked a wry smile. "Always, just like you have mine," he said, pulling her in for a fierce kiss that left her breathless.

"Um," Hinako asked, "Aren't we supposed to be practicing?"

"Yes, we are," Ranma said, blushing slightly, as he made a promise to himself to push Akane to her limits today to get her ready for whatever might come.

* * *

Genma sank heavily onto the engawa and gazed out across the immaculate back garden, groaning slightly to himself. "Ugh, I am stuffed," he said, clutching his distended belly, "Even I can't eat that much!" He paused for a moment and added, "Well at least not everyday, I can't. But it was good!" 

"Oh Poppa," Kurumi called, "Let me give you a back rub." She rushed over and began massaging his back.

"Oh, thank you," Genma said, sighing happily. 'Happiness is two daughters tending to your every whim!' he thought.

"You are so tense!" Kurumi exclaimed, as she worked on a particularly stubborn knot.

"This is heaven," Genma moaned.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, as Nodoka called from the family room, "Daughters, come see!"

"Don't make her wait," Genma said, with a sigh.

"Yes, Poppa!" Kurumi said, and then she raised her voice slightly, and called, "Coming, Momma!" She rushed back into the family room at breakneck speed, to find her sister kneeling ladylike on the wooden floor near their new mother, who was holding a yellowed scroll.

"Daughters, I wanted you to see this," Nodoka began, as she unrolled the scroll to show the latest addition.

Natsume's eyes moistened as she saw the elegant brush strokes on the aged paper, and then gasped at the sight of the three kanji characters that spelled out her name, right below someone named Konatsu and his wife Ukyo, and Ranma and his wife Akane. Seeing the four characters that spelled out Saotome next to her name made her feel strangely warmed inside, a feeling that she hadn't had since her birth mother had joined their ancestors, just before the beginning of their trek to find their father.

Kurumi hugged her sister as she realized what she was seeing. There, on the scroll, were the seven characters that spelled out 'Kurumi Saotome,' a sign that she had come home. Happy tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking her sister's blouse, but neither of them cared, as Natsume let her tears flow. After a few moments, they felt their new mother embrace them.

"Yes, Daughters, you have been added to our clan's roster," Nodoka said, her face calm, "But there a few things that you need to know about our family."

"I know Ranma and Akane," Natsume said, hesitantly, "But who is Konatsu and Ukyo?"

"That is one of the things that I wanted to tell you," Nodoka replied, "Konatsu is your brother by adoption into the clan, and Ukyo is his wife. They run a small café not too far from the Tendo's home, and we will stop by there on the way to meet the grandmaster."

"Another brother!" Kurumi exclaimed, "Yippeee!!"

Nodoka smiled fondly at the two girls, and then said, "I do have to warn you, though. There are several things about our family that may strike you as a bit odd. And if your father ever suggests a training trip to China, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can."

Natsume looked at her strangely, then asked, "Um, why is that?"

"It is easier to show you than to tell you," Nodoka replied, "Follow me." She rose gracefully to her feet, and placed the scroll reverently in an ivory scroll case. She laid the case on a small stand in an ornately carved display cabinet and then led the girls outside, their curiousity beginning to get the best of them, especially as she had picked up a pail of water from the kitchen as she went through it to the engawa.

"Mom, do we need to do some cleaning? I thought you were going to tell us about our family," Kurumi asked, clearly puzzled by what was going on.

Genma watched them approach, a pained look on his face when he saw the bucket in his wife's hand, the two girls trailing behind in her wake.

"Girls, your father did something rather foolish," Nodoka said, as she tossed the contents of the bucket at Genma.

To the girls' utter amazement, as soon as the water hit their father, he disappeared, and a large wet panda stood in his place. Kurumi sank to her knees in shock, while Natsume stammered, "W-what?"

"Genma and Ranma went on a long training trip, one destination of which was in the cursed valley of Jusenkyo. There, each of them fell into one of the springs in that valley," Nodoka said, in a too calm voice, "and thus picked up a curse that is activated when they are hit with cold water. As you can see, Genma has been cursed to change into a panda."

The panda whipped out a sign from somewhere, which read, 'Was this really necessary?'

"Yes, dear, I thought it would be easier to show them than to explain it. Especially since they would think I was crazy if I just told them," Nodoka replied.

"Mother is right," Natsume agreed, "I barely can believe this even though I saw it with my own eyes." The colour was beginning to return to her cheeks as she realized that the animal in front of her was somehow still her father.

"What does Ranma turn into? You said he has a curse also," Kurumi asked, looking a bit fearfully at the panda.

"If you see a buxom redhaired girl at the Tendo's, that would most likely be my son," Nodoka replied.

"Akane doesn't mind that he turns into a girl?" Natsume asked, non-plussed.

Nodoka replied, "No, she doesn't mind. He's still the same person in either form. Though I think she wishes he wasn't better built than she is. She's just a little sensitive about that, I believe." She shrugged and said, "Anyway, enough about that. Ukyo and Konatsu are expecting us shortly. We should head on over to the café to let you meet them before the lunch crowd begins to arrive."

"Yes, Mom," Kurumi said, as she and her sister followed Nodoka back to the front door to find their shoes, leaving the panda behind, who was waving a sign that read, 'Hey, change me back!'

* * *

Natsume followed her new mother into the restaurant and glanced around, approvingly, at the neat, but empty shop. In front of her was a grill, with several bar stools placed in front of it, and several booths lined the walls, with a scattering of tables in the open floor space. An arched doorway was in behind the bar, presumably leading to a kitchen, while an opening screened by beaded cords was in one corner of the room. 

Kurumi sniffed appreciatively as she passed through the front door. From the aromas she smelled, it was obvious that someone in the restaurant was an excellent cook.

"Ukyo, Konatsu, we're here," Nodoka called, a little unnecessarily, as the bell over the door had already announced their arrival, and a very attractive young woman dressed in a formal kimono came out of the back room, followed closely by a young man wearing an okonomiyaki vendor's uniform, his long, brown hair pulled back into a loose pony-tail.

'It's a shame he's taken,' Natsume thought, 'He's a cutie!' She unconsciously stood taller, thrusting her shoulders back as she smoothed out the fabric of her dress.

"Mom," the girl said, rushing over and bowing politely.

"Good morning, son," Nodoka said, "I'd like you to meet your new sisters."

"It is an honour to meet you," Konatsu said, bowing to each in turn.

Natsume's eyes widened in shock, while Kurumi's mouth gaped open. Then they traded looks that appeared to ask, 'Do we really want to be in this weird family?'

"Natsume, Kurumi, this is your brother Konatsu, and his wife Ukyo," Nodoko said.

Konatsu looked at the expressions on the two girls' faces and chuckled. "Mom, I'd say you've shocked them quite nicely," he said. He turned to the two girls and said, "I'm sure this looks a bit odd, but there's a really simple explanation for all of this."

"You look like a girl," Kurumi stammered.

"And I thought you were a guy," Natsume said, blushing furiously.

Ukyo giggled pleasantly as she approached. "No, very much a woman," she said.

"As you've proven to me several times," Konatsu said, causing Ukyo to blush, and reach for her battle spatula.

"Oh, you, you man, you," Ukyo sputtered, as Konatsu wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Konatsu was raised as a kunoichi for much of his life, and grew up believing he was a girl," Nodoka explained, "While Ukyo pretended to be a boy after being abandoned by my husband."

"That doesn't explain why they are crossdressers now, though," Natsume protested.

Ukyo and Konatsu traded smiles and then she answered, "This is more for marketing purposes. I get more customers when they think the chef in the restaurant is male, and that there is an attractive waitress serving them food. It's really funny watching the men flirt with Konatsu."

"Oh, the women that come here to make time with you are pretty funny also," Konatsu said, "Exactly how many have tried to leave their phone number for you?"

"About the same number that've left you theirs," Ukyo retorted.

"Mom, don't take this the wrong way, but our family is strange," Kurumi said, just as her stomach finally began to protest; the smells in the air being too much for her, apparently.

"Didn't I just feed you?" Nodoka asked, with a wry smile.

"That was at least an hour ago," Kurumi whined.

Natsume chuckled and replied, "This bottomless pit? She's hungry again before she's cleaned up the crumbs off the table from the last meal."

"I can whip up a few okonomiyakis," Ukyo offered.

"I was going to suggest they help out around the restaurant, but I'm not so sure now," Nodoka said, "Kurumi might eat up all of the profits."

Ukyo grinned and headed toward the back to get her batter and other ingredients.

"I wouldn't mind helping," Natsume said, "And I can cook reasonably well. But, I'm not sure about Kurumi working here."

"We did all right when Ranma was helping," Konatsu said, "Surely she can't be as bad as he is about always eating?"

Natsume replied, "Actually, she may be worse."

"Dear, I want you to eat slowly," Nodoka cautioned, "Her food is too good not to get a chance to savor."

"Thanks, Mom, but you're a much better cook than I am," Ukyo said, as she entered, catching what she had said. She moved over to the hot grill, pouring a few dollops of batter onto the greased surface.

"Perhaps," Nodoka demurred, "but you are very good, my daughter."

Natsume turned to her sister and added, "I agree with Mom, sister. You ate so fast this morning that you didn't really get a chance to taste how good it was. And it's not like anyone is going to take it away from you."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Ranma once told me about how Genma used to try to steal his food," Nodoka replied, "Saying it was speed training, I believe. But, I won't let him do that at my table, so I wouldn't worry about it at home. Now, if he takes you on any training trips, you might have a problem."

"I guess that depends on whether the grandmaster allows us to be students of the school, I suppose, whether he can take us on a training trip," Natsume said.

Nodoka carefully hid a smile as she said, "I doubt there will be a problem with the grandmaster allowing you into the school."

"Grandmaster, but that's," Ukyo began, only to stop at Nodoka's headshake.

"They'll meet him soon enough," Nodoka said.

Ukyo watched as the okonomiyakis began to cook, and when the bubbles in the center began to stay open, she expertly flipped them over, and began to add the rest of the ingredients onto the lightly browned surface, finishing them off with a smiley face made out of her special okonomiyaki sauce. "Here you go, four seafood specials," she said as she slid the Japanese pancake onto a large platter.

* * *

Akane sighed happily as she slid into the steaming water of the furo and nestled up next to her husband, leaning her back against his chest. 

"Good workout," Ranma said, "I think you just about have that last kata figured out."

"That was the last of the Tendo school techniques, wasn't it?" Akane asked.

"I think so. I'm just glad that you learned more from your father than I remembered," Ranma said.

"Well, he did teach me for several years, even after Mom died," Akane said, "Until he finally couldn't do it anymore. Then I just practiced what he taught me by myself, as best I could. So it was more a matter of you helping me get rid of some of the rust."

"Well, that and the errors that had crept in over time," Ranma said, with a smirk.

Akane punched him in the shoulder for that remark.

"I knew you were better than I pretended the last time around. I just wish I hadn't been a total idiot and had trained you to your full potential. Things would have been so much better between us," Ranma said, just a bit wistfully.

Akane sighed and then kissed her husband, forcefully. "I thought we promised not to dwell on the should haves, could haves, and might have beens," she said, "And what's important is that we're together this time."

Ranma grinned toothily at her and added, "And I'm not really cut out to be the dark, brooding, introspective kind of guy, am I?"

Akane giggled and replied, "Nope, that wouldn't be how I would describe you."

"And I've at least shown you all of the beginning and intermediate level techniques in the Saotome School," Ranma mused, "So you just need to practice them. Then you've learned several of the things that I've picked up. Probably the Hiryű Shōten Ha should be next, though you'll have a hard time with that, I'm afraid, even though you've gotten better about your temper."

Akane nodded, as her face fell. "More meditation, I guess?" she asked.

"Couldn't hurt," Ranma replied, "That would help you with the Umi-Ken-Sen, too. On the other hand, you'll probably have an easier time learning the Yama-Ken-Sen than I did."

They sat there in companionable silence for a short while, each of them lost in their thoughts, simply content to be with each other. Then, in a troubled voice, Akane broke the silence and asked, "When you were describing where you had ranked everyone, you didn't mention Genma. How come?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck, nervously, and replied, "I'm not sure that I want him to teach any of the students. I know what he put me through, and I wouldn't willingly have that happen to anyone else."

"Ranma," Akane growled.

"I know, I know. I have to give him a chance," Ranma replied, "Any way, while he knows all of the techniques that he taught me, he doesn't know all that I do, so he'd rank as an Assistant. But, he won't take kindly to me teaching him anything, so that's probably where he'll stay."

"Um, won't that cause issues if and when I finally reach the next level?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "**When** that happens, we'll deal with it. Until then, I won't worry too much about it." He waggled his eyebrows at her and said, "Now, that's enough about that. Instead, I'd much rather think about the wet, naked woman I have in the bath with me." Then he bent down and nuzzled her neck, sending pleasant shivers up and down her spine.

Akane giggled, and asked, "Did you lock the door?"

"Yeah, put the sign out, and everything. Locked both the outer door and the inner door, just to be sure," Ranma replied, then returned to kissing what he could reach of her, gently running his hands up and down her arms.

"Good," Akane purred as she rolled in his arms.

"We do need to hurry just a little. Wouldn't want the water to cool," Ranma said, somewhat distracted by the feel of Akane's breasts, just as Akane kissing him sealed his lips.

Akane pulled back just long enough to say, "True, would be awkward you changing in midstream so to speak."

* * *

Yumi glanced up as the gate to the compound opened and the new members of the Saotome clan filed in, followed by Nodoka and Genma. She bowed politely to the two young girls and said, "They are waiting for you in the dojo, young ladies. Just go around the side of the house. Just remember to remove your shoes before you enter the dojo." 

"Of course, Mrs. Tendo," Kurumi said, bowing politely, "Thank you for your welcome."

"Um, I'm not Mrs. Tendo," Yumi said, blushing slightly.

"Not yet," Nodoka teased lightly, "They are merely engaged, young lady."

Kurumi blushed prettily and said, "My apologies, then. But, what should I call you?" The last was asked plaintively.

Yumi replied, "I would prefer you call me Yumi. After all, that is my name."

Natsume bowed deeply and said, "Yumi-san, as my sister said, thank you for your welcoming us to your home."

"We should make our way to the dojo, I doubt you wish to make the grandmaster wait much longer," Nodoka said, carefully hiding a smile, as the two girls shook their heads frantically, and nearly vanished around the side of the house.

"This is very important to them, isn't it?" Yumi asked, an amused note in her voice.

"Yes, now they have a family once more, and a school to be a part of," Nodoka replied.

Yumi looked at her carefully and asked, "How are **you** doing? After the revelations from yesterday, that is if I am not being too forward in asking."

"Better than you may expect," Nodoka replied.

Yumi stared at her in amazement and simply said, "When I found out that Sato had cheated on me, I was devastated. How can you be so strong?"

Nodoka replied, calmly, "Because I've had over ten years to get over his betrayal. The day he talked me into allowing him to take my son away from me, to train him as a man among men, the day I lost my mind. That day was the only betrayal. Anything else is insignificant."

"You must hate him, then," Yumi said, knowingly.

Nodoka smiled oddly and said, "No, actually, I don't. I think that his act in acknowledging the girls is truly showing that he is returning to the man I married."

It was Yumi's turn to look at her strangely. "I don't understand. How can you not hate him? He openly showed that he slept with another woman, not once but twice, by claiming those two as his own. Though, it did make me happy to find out that it wasn't my Soun that was the father."

"Suffice it to say that there is more to the story than what has been told, but I can not tell you the details. Just believe me when I say that I have never been more proud of my husband than when he said he was their father, giving them his name. That showed me that he was once more the honourable man that I married, worthy of being samurai," Nodoka said, her eyes shining with pride.

"Samurai?" Yumi asked, shaking her head. After a moment, she said, "I guess that does explain it. You seem to live to a different set of principles than us normal folk."

Nodoka chuckled for a moment, and then asked, "Now, shall we join them? I assume my husband is with Ranma and Akane to assist in judging the girls?"

Yumi reddened and replied, "Actually, no. Your husband was forbidden entrance to the compound this day."

"Who would do that?" Nodoka asked.

"Umm, well, Kasumi and I. We revoked his welcome for his acts against you," Yumi replied, blushing furiously.

"Kasumi!?" Nodoka exclaimed, then she broke into laughter. Shaking her head, she pulled Yumi into a brief embrace and then led her toward the dojo.

* * *

Kurumi rushed into the dojo, barely stopping long enough to leave her shoes behind, only to screech to a stop as her sister grabbed her by the collar. 

"I have taught you better than that," Natsume hissed.

"Sorry sister," Kurumi whispered, "I just got so excited!!!"

Natsume glanced around the frozen tableau, seeing Akane, Sayuri, Nabiki and Hinako performing some sort of kata that was unfamiliar, while Soun Tendo was talking to a redhaired girl in a low voice. Her eyes widened briefly, and then a mask fell over her face. "Hello, Ranma-sensei," she said.

"Damn, Mom must have told," Ranma said, with a grin, "That spoils my surprise."

"Well, it was a little hard to believe," Natsume said, with a gamin grin, "But then she poured some water over Father, and well, that kind of proved it for us."

"Brother," Kurumi asked, "Why is our family so weird?"

Ranma grinned and replied, simply, "Pop," as if that explained it all, totally confusing her new sisters.

Akane took pity on them and answered, "A lot of the things that are odd about the Saotome family can be traced back to Genma, how he raised Ranma, got him engaged to at least two girls, cursed to turn into a girl. Ukyo was the other girl engaged to Ranma, who was deserted on the side of the road by Genma, and gave up her feminity because of Genma. Now, that doesn't explain Konatsu. He came from an even more dysfunctional family than Ranma."

"Well, to be fair," Ranma said, slowly, "Pop was taught by Happosai, and that had to have had some bad effects on him."

Akane looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, idly tapping her front teeth with one finger as she did so. Then she took a long look at her father and slowly nodded her head in understanding. "Do you think that training under the old pervert exaggerated their worst behaviors?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged, proving that she was all girl beneath her silk blouse, and replied, "I think so. I've never asked either of them about how long they trained, and when it stopped, but the few times either of them talked about it, they always used tones of horror." She walked over and pulled Kurumi and Natsume into a group hug and said, "Pop is very strong, but he is also very lazy. And he tends to be ruled by his appetites."

Natsume looked downcast and asked, softly, "Is Father a bad person?"

Ranma traded looks with Akane and then answered, "I don't think bad is the right word to describe him. He has done some bad things, and made poor choices, but that certainly describes all of us here in this dojo, I would expect. No, if I would describe him best, I think careless and unthinking are more appropriate. He had one goal in life, and that was to train me to be the best martial artist, to be a man among men."

Kurumi giggled and said, "Well, he certainly succeeded in that. Didn't he, big sister?" She waited a beat and finished, "That is big sister Ranma."

Akane snorted in amusement while Ranma rolled her eyes. "That is a very old joke around here now," she said, with a grin.

"Only if you've heard it before," Kurumi retorted, smirking.

Natsume asked, soberly, "Did he train you to be the best martial artist?"

"That he did manage to do. I am the best," Ranma said, seriously.

"Does the Grandmaster of the school agree?" Natsume asked.

Akane nearly lost her composure completely as Ranma replied, gravely, "I believe that he does."

"So when do we meet him?" Kurumi asked, quivering excitedly, "I want to meet him, and become a member of his school."

"As do I," Natsume said, gravely, hiding her excitement beneath a stoic mien that even Nabiki would have envied.

Ranma glanced over at her wife, and decided to spill the beans. "Actually, you've already met the master of the school," she said, as the two girls looked confused as they tried to decide who it could possibly be. "Um, it's me, actually," Ranma confessed, "I have that responsibility."

"You!?" Natsume exclaimed, in tones of disbelief, while Kurumi's jaw gaped open in surprise.

"Yes, me," Ranma said, "I'm sure it's a bit of a shock, but I am better than Pop, and much better than Mr. Tendo. I am also the master of the Saotome branch, and Akane is essentially the master of the Tendo branch, since Mr. Tendo has ceded her that responsibility upon our marriage."

"We want to determine how much you were taught of the techniques of the school so we can decide where best to rate you, and determine what weaknesses you may have," Akane said, in a pleasant tone.

Natsume glanced over at her sister for a moment and then said in a saccharinely sweet voice, "But, Akane, the dojo should go down to the school's strongest fighter. The right to pass on the techniques of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts belongs to that person. In other words, I believe my sister and I are more logical choices than you to inherit the dojo."

Kurumi gasped, "Natsume, no!"

Akane looked at Natsume, an amused expression on her face. "So you say you're stronger than me?" she asked, scornfully, as Ranma sighed in the background.

"Shall we find out?" Natsume asked.

Akane chuckled and asked, "What is your wish, sensei? After all, she is your sister."

Ranma shrugged once more and replied, "It's your decision, student. She has challenged you."

"But she didn't really observe the forms, honoured instructor," Akane replied.

Ranma rolled her eyes at that and retorted, "True, but it is your challenge. Granted, it really isn't very fair, but what can I do?"

"Enough!" Natsume exclaimed, "Akane Tendo, I challenge you for the right to the Tendo Dojo!"

Ranma frowned and said, "Natsume, you aren't actually a Tendo. I'm not sure that you know the Tendo arts, since the man who taught you would not be familiar with those techniques."

"Let it go, Ranma. She challenged me," Akane said, using the skills that Ranma had taught her to keep her temper in check.

"Natsume, no!" Kurumi exclaimed once more, "We shouldn't!"

"Father promised us!" Natsume retorted.

"An empty promise, one that he can't fulfill," Kurumi replied, "He doesn't own the Tendo dojo. And there isn't a Saotome dojo."

"It's all right, Kurumi," Akane said, kindly. Suddenly her visage grew stern as she turned to Natsume. "You think you are stronger than I am, huh?" she asked, coolly, "Shall we find out if you are correct?"

"Anytime you're ready," Natsume replied.

Ranma sighed once more and then intervened. "If we are going to do this, then we are going to do it correctly, and with the proper forms. Kurumi, would you ask Mr. Tendo and the rest to join us in the dojo, please," she said, "And Natsume, I assume you would like to change into something to fight in besides your street clothes."

"Yes, big brother-sister," Kurumi replied, with a grin, as she vanished out the door of the dojo.

Natsume bowed politely and replied, "Thank you, I would like to change out of my skirt and blouse." Suiting her actions to her words, she quickly skinned out of her skirt and blouse, folding them neatly, and then dropping her bra onto the pile. When Ranma realized what she was doing, she turned her back, politely and waited until Natusme had put on a pair of blue hakama and a matching top, one which barely covered her breasts.

"Um, I meant changing somewhere else," Ranma said, blushing slightly, as she glanced over at her wife to see how she was taking it.

"I didn't see any point to it," Natsume said with a shrug, "We're all girls here right now, and you didn't see anything that you don't have yourself."

"True, but still there's really a guy in here, doncha know?" Ranma said. She glanced back over to see an amused expression on Akane's face.

"It's not going to work," Akane said, chuckling, "I won't let that display get to me."

Natsume grinned at her and replied, "It was worth a shot. It takes a special kind of woman not to get angry when her man gets a peek at these."

"He's seen better before. All he needs is water and a mirror," Akane retorted.

Natsume flushed and her eyes flashed angrily.

Soun rushed in and asked, "What is going on here?"

Natsume replied, "I have challenged Akane for the right to carry on the Tendo dojo."

Soun babbled, "That's what Kurumi said. I couldn't believe my ears. Why!! Oh WHY!!!" Tears sprang from his eyes, and flowed copiously down his cheeks, as Ranma led him to the side of the room, away from where the match would be.

The rest of the crew crowded in, Nodoka looking a little concerned, as she saw Akane and Natsume facing off in the middle of the wooden floor. "Daughter, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"It's all right, Mom," Akane replied, "This needs to be done."

"Don't hurt her too badly, sis," Nabiki said, smirking.

"Why is this happening!!!!!" Soun wailed.

"There's no fighting fate," Kurumi replied.

"Oh, don't hurt each other, all right?" Kasumi begged.

The two girls settled into position, on either end of the dojo, with Akane looking completely relaxed, though if one looked carefully, it was obvious that she was coiled to attack.

Ranma stepped forward, her face calm. She held her hand up and then dropped it, saying, "BEGIN!!"

Natsume whirled around, spinning once, as she lashed out with her weapon, an icy blast reaching toward Akane, who dodged mostly out of the way, clutching one arm.

'Ranma was right! That blow felt so cold, like a razor sharp wind,' Akane thought, 'Good thing we did the Breaking Point training and toughened me up some.' She stood there for a long moment, and then smirked at Natsume. Then, with a loud cry of "Genko Fenikusu!" she fired off a ki blast that knocked the taller girl back against the wall.

Natsume staggered upright, and straightened her top, while her eyes narrowed. "Not bad," she quipped, "Not bad at all. Of course, it isn't good enough." She whirled around once more, aiming another blow at Akane with her weapon. To her surprise, Akane was there, grasping the shaft before Natsume could complete the strike, and tearing it out of her hand.

Akane tossed the carpet beater to the corner, and with a smirk, yelled, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!" Her fists blurred as she hit Natsume several times, driving the taller girl around the dojo, while Kurumi paled watching her sister get beat, barely blocking each blow from landing squarely.

"She's fast!!!" Kurumi gasped.

"Just be glad she's pulling her punches," Ranma said, softly, "If she was going all out, those blows would really hurt."

"She's not going all out?" Kurumi asked, stunned.

"Nope," Ranma replied, her eyes dancing with mirth. She turned to Kurumi and said, softly, "I watched you against Hinako the other day, and while you have some skill, it looks to me that you have spent most of your time learning to fight with your ribbon, or in Natsume's case, with her carpet beater. What happens when you have no weapon?"

"We can fight, though we usually fight better together," Kurumi replied.

"And that is both a strength and a weakness," Ranma said, with a serious expression on her face, "A weapon can be too much of a crutch, but you always have your body, so long as it is in good shape, anyway. So, we teach mostly unarmed styles in Anything Goes, though Akane and I are both familiar with many weapon techniques. We just prefer not to rely on them. And that is part of the true meaning of Anything Goes." She turned to an empty spot and asked, loudly, "Right, Pop?"

Genma dropped from the ceiling where he had been concealing himself with the Umi-Ken-Sen, and said, roundly, "Very good, Ranma my boy."

Finally, Natsume fell for a feint from Akane's right, and fell victim to a high kick to the head, crashing her hard against the wooden floor, where she bounced once and then lay still.

"NATSUME!" Kurumi cried as she rushed to her sister. Kasumi rushed over, checked her pulse, and pulled down an eyelid and checked her vision.

Soun continued babbling in the corner, while everyone ignored him.

"She'll be okay," Kasumi said, as she knelt beside the younger girl.

And in fact, at that moment, Natsume's eyes fluttered open and she asked, woozily, "What happened?"

"You lost," Kurumi replied, flatly.

"How? How did I lose to a girl who never left the city, while we wandered Japan, training ourselves?" Natsume asked, aghast.

"Because she's not just a girl from the city," Ranma replied, gently, "She spent a lot of time learning her father's art. Enough time that really all that needed to happen was for a good sparring partner to show up and help her fix the mistakes that crept in. Then we've been training together for over a year, boiling down the things that Pop taught me, throwing out the stupid stuff, and giving her a concentrated dose of what I know. Plus, my Amazon friends have helped, giving us partners that drive our skills to the level they are at now."

Akane added, "Maybe in a different lifetime you could have beaten me, but Ranma's a good teacher, as so is Cologne. Between the two of them, I've come a long way from the little girl that spent hours breaking dozens of bricks, mornings running several kilometers. I'm still not where I want to be, but I am getting there."

Ranma stood up and towered over the two girls. She asked, "Kurumi, do you wish to challenge anyone here?"

"If Natsume couldn't beat Akane, then I have no chance. Besides, I didn't want her to do it anyway. You all have been so nice, accepting us into your home. What Natsume did, I thought was terribly ill-mannered," Kurumi whispered, her eyes downcast, causing Natsume's ears to pink. She finished, "She embarrassed herself and me by her conduct. I beg your forgiveness."

"You did nothing wrong, sister," Ranma said, pulling her to her feet and clasping her in a brief hug.

Akane pulled Natsume up and asked, "Are we done with this now?"

"Yes," Natsume said, not looking her in the eye, "Teach me, sensei."

"Sensei?" Akane responded with a grin, "Not quite there yet, am I, Ranma?"

"No, not totally, though you will teach her, at least some," Ranma said, "I still want to see them work out at least a little." She turned to her father and added, "And you'll be training them, I suppose?"

"Of course, I will," Genma said, his eyes gleaming at the chance.

"NO foolishness, no pits, no throwing boulders at them, no insults," Ranma warned.

Genma had the decency to look sheepish and replied, "I can learn from my mistakes, Ranma my boy."

Ranma smirked at him, her eyes dancing as she replied, "I hope so. And sisters, whatever you do, don't go to China with him."

"Don't worry, Mom already told us that," Kurumi said.

Natsume asked, "So what happens now, Ranma?"

"If you're up to it, I want to see you do a few katas that I'll show you, to see how fast you pick them up, and I want to see Kurumi do a little more sparring to gauge her skill," Ranma replied, once more slipping into the role of sensei, "I don't know how much of the basic Anything Goes techniques you know, since obviously Pop couldn't have taught you a lot. But one of our strengths is to learn from other schools and winnow out the best parts to add to our school, and I can tell you have done some of that."

"Once we know your basic strengths and weaknesses," Akane added, "We can decide what to concentrate on."

"Certainly more of the hand to hand combat," Genma observed, "I was disappointed a little in your showing, daughter."

Natsume flushed at the criticism, only to have Akane leap to her defense. "Mr. Saotome, I doubt she was expecting my ki blast, and she did manage to block most of my blows once I got rid of her carpet beater," the other girl said.

"Insults, Pop," Ranma warned.

"No, he was right. I was overconfident, thinking that I was her better," Natsume said, "I took her too lightly, but it would not have mattered. In the end, her skill would have won out." She shivered for a moment and added, "And I would hate to see the two of you fighting as a team."

"Less talk, more sparring," Ranma said, pointing Natsume over to a set of wooden posts with padded tops, "Let me see what you've got."

Akane smirked evilly, and said, "I thought you already did."

Ranma rolled her eyes, as she followed Natsume over to the posts.

* * *

Yumi looked askance at the three girls as they entered the house. "Everyone else came in long ago, in plenty of time to get ready for dinner," she chided them, "You three will just have to share the furo. You can't soak long, though. Ranma made sure that the water was piping hot." 

Natsume and Kurumi traded looks with each other and saw that they were indeed looking the worse for wear. Ranma had been a brutal taskmistress, with Akane being a close second, as they had run the two girls ragged. Finally, she had sent the two of them off to jog around Nerima with Akane tending them, while she muttered something about getting a bath.

"When I thought Ranma said jog around Nerima, I thought she was kidding," Kurumi said.

"And I thought we would at least use the sidewalk," Natsume grumbled.

"Roof hopping, fence walking, they're all good tools for training," Akane said, brightly, as she led the two girls down the hall and toward the bathing chamber. Fortunately, the sign was down, and the rooms were empty, as Akane hung the sign outside.

Akane grinned at the two girls, and asked, "What are you two waiting for? You heard Yumi, dinner will be on the table soon, and I'm starving." She slid out of her keokogi, tossing it toward the clothes hamper, and then slid out of her hakama, which quickly ended up in the same place.

Startled, the two girls quickly joined her in doffing their clothing, though Akane narrowed her eyes slightly at the large bruise she spotted on Natsume's breast. "Damn, did I do that?" she asked, quietly.

"Hazard of the profession," Natsume replied, glancing down.

"Yeah, but I thought I was pulling my blows better than that," Akane muttered as she finished undressing, leading the way into the inner chamber and finding one of the stools.

The three girls traded off scrubbing each other's backs off, and rinsing each other's body off with cold water from the tap, until each of them were clean, and then they hopped into the furo to soak for the few minutes that they had left.

Natsume cleared her throat and asked, softly, "Akane, can you forgive me for what I did? Trying to take your place, steal your heritage."

Akane frowned for a moment and said, "Honestly, it will take a while. As Kurumi said, you have no claim on the Tendo dojo at all, since Daddy isn't your father, Mr. Saotome is. But, I can also understand having a dream, and losing it like you did, can't be easy. Eventually, yes, I imagine I will forgive you. On the other hand, I'll never forget."

Natsume flushed, and then sighed. "And I suppose challenging Ranma for the Saotome school," she began.

"Would be," Akane interrupted, with a voice of doom, "Foolish."

"He is that good?" Kurumi asked.

Akane looked away, her eyes distant, seeing something only she could see. A chill wind blew from somewhere and the room filled with the feeling of an incipent lightning strike as their skin tingled. Finally, she answered, "Ranma NEVER loses." Then she sighed, and the sense of power receded. "He has seen so much, done so much, in such a short time, that you would not, could not, believe. A journey unlike any other," she added, her voice soft and mysterious, causing goose bumps to appear on the other two girls, as once again a chill wind blew through the room, in spite of the hot water that they were immersed in.

Kurumi reached over and grabbed Akane's hand, pulling her back from wherever she had gone, and in a very obvious attempt to change the subject, asked, "What's it like? Being married to Ranma, I mean. The whole changing thing, isn't that a bit hard to handle."

Akane smiled oddly then and replied, "Being married to him is so much different than I expected. I'm not exactly a traditional Japanese woman, and I was so afraid growing up that I would be limited in what I could do, when all that I wanted was to run the dojo. I just wanted to make Daddy proud of me, so that I could continue his school. And then there was the Hentai horde, finding out that Daddy had promised one of us to Mr. Saotome's son."

"Hentai horde?" Natsume asked.

"Not really important, not anymore. We took care of that," Akane said, a bit wistfully. Her gaze stared off into the distance, as she added, "Meeting him for the first time, or actually her, finding out about his curse. Becoming his friend, falling in love. Almost like a fairy tale."

"But, him turning into a girl," Natsume sputtered.

"Well, I don't really mind about that, other than an occasional spike of jealousy that Ranma has a better body than I do," Akane replied, ruefully, "And as he says, it's not his fault he fell into the spring of drowned bimbo. Though, I definitely prefer him male, there's too many things he can do then that he can't as a female."

"Such as?" Natsume asked.

The tips of Akane's ears turned red as she replied, "None of your business. You're too young."

"I'm seventeen, and Kurumi is sixteen," Natsume replied.

"Still too young," Akane said, blushing slightly.

* * *

Ranma found his accustomed place on top of the roof, staring idly out across the rooftops of Nerima, lost in thought. 'Well, things could have gone a bit better, I suppose,' he thought, 'But, on the other hand, they could have gone a lot worse. Natsume sure did a lot worse against Akane than I expected her to. Has Akane really gotten that much better, or did we do it to ourselves when we fought them in the alternate time?' 

Fortunately, before he could get too introspective, his space was invaded by the oddly welcome form of his father. "Ranma, my boy," the old man grunted, as he made his way up over the eaves, "Akane said you might be up here."

"Yeah, it's where I do some of my best thinking," Ranma replied, "You should try it some time."

Genma chuckled lightly and asked, "What, sitting up here, or thinking in general?"

"Thinking in general," Ranma retorted, smirking at his father.

"Not something that I've done a lot of in the past," Genma agreed, "But, I do intend to start. You can teach an old panda new tricks."

"Can I trust their training to you, old man?" Ranma asked.

Genma said, a bit ruefully, "Yeah, I think so. I've gotten most of my foolishness out training you. And it's different this time. I don't have to train them to be men among men, after all."

"That would be a bit difficult, all things considered," Ranma replied.

"Yeah, but it looks like I won't have to convince Natsume to wear a sports bra, not after the display she made trying out some of the aerial moves," Genma said.

"Yeah, Mom did tear into her a bit about that, didn't she?" Ranma said, with a chuckle remembering her reaction.

"Proper ladies don't show their bosoms, I believe is what she said," Genma grunted. They grinned at each other for a moment. Finally, Genma said what he had come to say, "Would it help if I said I was proud of you, son?"

"I don't know," Ranma replied, "I think it would just confuse me. Or make me wonder what you had done with the real Genma Saotome."

Genma sighed heavily and said, "Well, for what it is worth, I am. You've turned out to be an excellent martial artist and a fine young man. I just wish I could take most of the credit."

Ranma looked at him, as his father pulled himself slowly to his feet and left. "You probably will," he said, sourly to himself. He shook his head and said, "I wish I could believe you've changed. We still have dark days in front of us, and I could use you at my back."

Once more his privacy was invaded as Nabiki pulled herself up onto the roof. "There you are," she said, as she stalked over to where he was sitting against the peak.

"I need to find a better place to hide," Ranma muttered.

Nabiki grinned and asked, "Do you really think you could hide from me?"

Ranma looked at her, his eyes cold, and replied, "If I needed to? Sure, not a problem."

Nabiki shivered theatrically, and then asked, "Ranma, I really need a favour. I need to talk to you about something."

"So, talk," Ranma said.

"Not here," Nabiki replied, "I've cleared it with Akane, but, we're eating somewhere else tonight."

"Who's after you?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki shook her head and said, "It's not like that. I, well, I wanted some advice, that's all."

"And you came to me?" Ranma asked, in disbelief.

Nabiki blushed and replied, "Well, I needed a male opinion, and well, you're the closest male I could talk to."

Ranma grinned, and said, "Other than Souta of course, so this must be about him. Okay, tell me where and when and I'll be there. I'm not sure how much help I'll be but."

"Thanks, big brother, I'd like to leave in an hour or so. Dress nicely," Nabiki said, sighing heavily. Then she surprised them both by hugging him, just before she clambered down onto the balcony outside of Hinako's room.

"Definitely need a new place to hide if even Nabiki can get up here," Ranma muttered.

"I heard that," Nabiki said from below the eave, chuckling, "And you're right. If I can get up there, it isn't a safe haven anymore."

"See you in a little while, sis," Ranma called back, as he bounded over to the top of the fence, and then disappeared.

* * *

Nabiki was pacing nervously back and forth on the engawa, slightly overdressed in her sister Kasumi's opinion, in a black cocktail dress, a diamond pendant dangling in the center of the generous view of her cleavage, with a diamond stud in each ear, while she waited for Ranma to arrive. 

Akane had taken one look at the ensemble that Nabiki was wearing, and hissed, "I'm trusting you a great deal, sis," before dragging a shell-shocked Ranma back upstairs to change. Several minutes later, Ranma walked back down in a charcoal-grey suit, with Akane's arm draped possessively around his waist.

Ranma stammered, "You look very nice, Nabiki, but isn't it a bit over the top?" Especially, as he neared, he realized that the dress plunged deeply in the back, making it plain that she was missing at least one piece of clothing.

"I promise I'll return him in one piece," Nabiki told Akane.

"You'd better," Akane replied. Then, she kissed Ranma rather passionately, and added, "Remember who you belong to."

"Akane, there was never a doubt, I'm yours, body and soul," Ranma replied, as Akane reluctantly gave him to Nabiki.

"I want him back in one piece, sis," Akane said, half-teasing, half-seriously.

Nabiki smirked, and replied, "I've never broken a boy before."

Ranma rolled his eyes and said, "If we don't leave soon, you'll be taking a girl out tonight, Nabiki."

"Kami forbid, that would ruin MY image," Nabiki replied, "Now, Akane could probably pull it off."

Akane pushed the two of them toward the sidewalk, a wicked grin on her face. "You DO know that you owe me big time, sis?" she asked.

"Put it on my tab," Nabiki retorted.

* * *

A very cute young couple drifted through the central shopping district in Nerima, perhaps a bit overdressed for a shopping trip, but the merchants didn't really mind. 

Ranma glanced over at the young woman who was wrapped around his arm and asked, "Not that I really mind, since I am being seen with an attractive young woman, but why are we here?"

Nabiki blushed and stammered, "Souta's birthday is coming soon and well, I've never really had a boyfriend before, much less a fiancé, and his gift has to be perfect."

Ranma frowned and replied, "And that's what you wanted me for. Kami, talk about pressure. And what am I supposed to know about what he wants."

"But you're a guy," Nabiki exclaimed, her eyes misting slightly.

"And so's Pop! Do you honestly think we have anything in common?" Ranma shot back, just before Nabiki began to cry. "Oh fuck, I can't handle women when they cry," he growled as he pulled Nabiki into a tight hug, hoping that this didn't get back to Akane.

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Nabiki blubbered, "I don't know why this is so important to me, or why I can't do this by myself. Please, help me through this!!!"

Ranma groaned and replied, "I'll try and help. I just can't promise that it'll be the perfect gift, okay? Besides, so long as he knows that you tried, he won't care. The silly twit is madly in love with you."

"I know, and I love him too. That's why this first gift has to be perfect," Nabiki said, lifting teary eyes toward him.

"What happened to the cool, calm, collected Nabiki?" Ranma asked, "This is so unlike you."

"Yeah, I know. Isn't this weird," Nabiki replied, smiling sheepishly, "I never thought I would feel this way about someone, you know? But, it's great."

"Anyway, let's get back on task," Ranma said, glancing around, his eyes landed on a display in a jewelry store. "He's not much for jewelry, but how about a nice watch?" he asked.

"Too impersonal," Nabiki replied.

"Okay, how about something in there?" Ranma asked, pointing to the next store over, an upscale men's clothing store.

"No! I'm his fiancée, not his mother. Clothing should be something I wait to get him after we're married," Nabiki replied.

"Hmmm, running out of ideas. He's still interested in acting, isn't he?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, he is, even though he's going to join me and get a degree in business. He still wants to minor in fine arts," Nabiki replied.

"How about a book of plays, then?" Ranma suggested diffidently, waiting for that idea to get shot down.

"Kagome got him one. She already told me," Nabiki replied, starting to get a panicked look on her face once more.

Ranma thought hard for a moment and then he asked, "Wait! Does he have a photograph of you, or better one of the two of you?"

Nabiki's eyes lit up and she shook her head. "No, he doesn't oddly enough," she replied.

"Then that's what you should do. Get a nice frame that he can put on his bedside table, so that the first thing he sees in the morning and the last thing at night is your face," Ranma suggested.

"That would work. A little mushy, but not embarrassingly so," Nabiki replied as she dragged him into the next store, which conveniently was a shop which sold picture frames.

Ranma spotted a sturdy silver frame that wasn't overly ornate and pointed it out to his companion.

"That's perfect, Ranchan," Nabiki cooed, causing Ranma to raise an eyebrow in surprise, both at the term of endearment as well as at the thought of Nabiki cooing. Quickly, Nabiki grabbed the frame and carried it over to the cashier. Opening her small, silver-sequined, black clutch, her face fell as she saw that somehow she had left her billfold at home.

"What's wrong, now?" Ranma asked, as he saw the expression on her face.

"I must have forgotten to transfer my wallet to this purse when I was getting ready," Nabiki replied, crestfallen.

"Don't worry, I've got some money," Ranma replied, pulling his wallet out of his inside breast pocket, "You can pay me back when we go home." He pulled a few bills out of the wallet and handed them to the attractive woman running the register, and getting back the frame and a bit of change. "Now that this is taken care of, let's get something to eat," he suggested.

"I had planned on taking you to Ruffino's," Nabiki said.

"That's that Italian place that just opened up, right?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki nodded and said, "The owner is a friend of mine and I wanted to bring him some business."

"Sounds good. I'm been meaning to take Akane there," Ranma said, "It's supposed to be a nice romantic place to take a date."

"That's what the owner was aiming for," Nabiki agreed as the pair headed down the street towards the restaurant.

* * *

Ranma reluctantly pushed his plate away and dabbed his mouth with his napkin. "That was very good," he said, "But I can't eat another bite." 

Nabiki grinned and said, "Well since that was your third entrée and you insisted on all three salad, and vegetables, I can't say that I'm terribly surprised."

"You made pretty good inroads on your meal, too," Ranma retorted.

"It's all the exercise I've been getting," Nabiki replied, "All of you martial artists are being a bad influence on me, and I've needed to eat more just to keep from losing weight."

"That's the price of an increased metabolism," Ranma said, "Though Pop seems to have slowed down a bit, as much weight as he's put on over the last couple of years."

Nabiki chuckled agreeably and sipped her glass of Chardonay. After a moment, she said, "I'm really glad you invaded our home, Ranma. So many good things have happened to us since then, and we have you to thank for all of them."

Ranma frowned slightly and said, "Not all, Nabiki. I'll take credit for Tofu and Kasumi getting together. And marrying Akane was the best thing that ever happened to me, so that's sort of a wash."

"Daddy hasn't been this happy in years, not since Mommy died," Nabiki said, "And that's thanks to you."

"Only partially," Ranma protested, "I had nothing to do with him getting together with Yumi."

"Perhaps not, but because he was feeling better because the school was going to survive, he was able to attract her," Nabiki retorted, "So, indirectly, anyway, she's with him because of you."

"I think you're giving me entirely too much credit," Ranma said, the tips of his ears turning red as he was beginning to be embarrassed by the praise, "I didn't do that much."

The waitress walked over to the table and asked, "Will that be all, or did you save room for some dessert?"

Nabiki traded glances with Ranma and replied for them both, "No, it was all good, but I'm afraid that we're too full for anything else."

"Yes, just bring us our bill," Ranma agreed, "Thank you for your service, it was excellent."

The attractive young woman blushed and said, "You're a very lucky woman, miss. This one is a keeper."

Ranma reddened even more, as Nabiki giggled attractively.

* * *

Nabiki stopped Ranma as they left the restaurant and said, "Thank you for an enjoyable evening, Ranma." 

"It was my pleasure, Nabiki," Ranma replied gallantly.

"Thanks for paying for dinner, and for the present," Nabiki added, "I just can't believe I was so foolish as to leave my wallet at home."

"Forget it, Ms. Tendo, I enjoyed our 'date.' It was fun, and I learned some more about you," Ranma said, as she took his arm and headed off down the street.

Suddenly she stopped, and glanced around. "Hmm, I could have sworn I sensed something," she said quietly, "It's creepy, this feeling."

Ranma grinned at her and said, "Don't worry, you're safe with me."

"My hero!" Nabiki teased. The pair continued their journey, neither one of them seeing the figures coming out of the darkness.

"Ah, Nabiki Tendo, eighteen years old. An impressive opponent," one of the figures said. He paused dramatically, like a cheap comic book villain, and then with a swirl of an imaginary cape said, "Let's go, April."

A second voice replied, "Yes, Master!"

* * *

Kasumi walked into the family room carrying an envelope addressed to Nabiki. "Sis, it's the oddest thing. This letter was stuck to the gate when I came back from the market, and it's addressed to you," she said, handing the aforementioned note to her middle sister, who tore her eyes off of the financial news only long enough to receive the note, and then nod briefly to her in thanks. 

"What's that?" Akane asked, looking at the note, which from where she was sitting, she could see written, 'Letter of Challenge to Nabiki Tendo,' written in elegant kanji script. "A challenge letter? To Nabiki?" she asked in astonishment.

As she said that, a commercial came on the television, and Nabiki overheard that comment.

"A letter of challenge? But who would challenge me?" Nabiki asked, as she tore open the envelope and pulled out a stiff piece of parchment and read, 'I have been watching you these past few days. I would like to challenge you. The date, tomorrow, at Ruffino's. Formal wear requested.' Odd kind of challenge. And it is unsigned."

"Have you made any enemies lately?" Yumi asked.

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders and said, "Not that I am aware of."

Ranma frowned next to Akane and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm a daughter of the Tendo dojo, too. Once I'm challenged, I can't run away," Nabiki replied.

"But this challenge, at a fancy restaurant," Akane exclaimed.

Ranma hissed, "We need to talk," looking pointedly at both Akane and Nabiki.

Nabiki nodded, and mouthed, "Tonight. Roof."

**

* * *

Ranma watched in amusement as Nabiki stood on the balcony rail and leapt to the rooftop. "You're getting better at that," he said, with a grin, "Looks like we're turning you into a real martial artist." **

Akane giggled next to him, as Nabiki shot him a pointed look. "Very funny, older brother," Nabiki growled as she sat down next to them.

"So what's the deal with this challenge?" Akane asked, "Is this something that happened the first time?"

"Yes, it is, though it's not what either of you think," Ranma replied, "The challenge was issued by a guy named Kinnosuke Kasha-o, of the Kasha-o dojo. And that school teaches the art of living based on never using one's own money to pay for anything. Anyone who takes on a Kasha warrior usually ends up in financial ruin."

"So why'd he challenge me then?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't know why he did this time. Last time, you were much more of a mercenary at heart, pinching yen with the best of them, and living off of other people. Like Kuno for example, but there were other's that I heard about."

"He thinks I'm just like him then," Nabiki said, in disgust, "He thinks I leach off of other people, and can't stand the competition."

"But you aren't like that, sis!" Akane exclaimed.

Nabiki frowned and said, "But I could easily have been. It's very easy for me to see where I could have been drawn down that path, chasing the next yen without worrying about the consequences, who I stepped on to get there, or who got hurt in the process." She shivered.

Akane pulled her sister into a tight embrace, while Ranma wrapped his arms around them both. "I guess somehow Ranma coming back changed things so you didn't have to go that way," Akane said, "Because I don't think you would have liked the person it sounds like this Kinnosuke thinks you are."

"Another thing to thank you for, big brother," Nabiki half-sobbed.

Ranma blushed and said, "I think you just needed a bit of a prod in the right direction, that's all. You're the one who befriended Hinako, for instance, and took her into your heart. And then there's Souta. I had nothing to do with that. That was all you."

Nabiki blush nearly matched Ranma's while Akane quietly snickered at the two of them. "Enough of the mutual admiration society stuff. What are we going to do about this idiot and his challenge?" she asked, while privately she promised to herself to find out exactly what the two of them had talked about on their evening out, since something had obviously happened.

"I can't just ignore it, I guess," Nabiki replied, slowly, looking at Ranma for guidance.

Ranma closed his eyes to try to remember. Finally, he said, "I think that he tried to pass the challenge off as a date. Maybe you can work with that?"

Nabiki's eyes narrowed in thought, and she nodded. "I think I can use that," she replied, "But, I wouldn't mind having the two of you there as backup. Just in case."

Ranma replied, "Sure, a nice romantic evening with my wife. We can do that"

* * *

Nabiki sat nervously at the best table in the restaurant, her eyes darting over to where Ranma and Akane were sitting over by the wall, watching her watch them. She was dressed nicely, if a bit more conservatively than the last time she had been in the restaurant. 

"Hello, Miss Nabiki Tendo," a soft tenor voice spoke from behind her.

Nabiki half-turned in her chair to see a handsome young man, with an engaging smile, and expressive eyes bearing down on her. He was dressed in a nice vested suit, and was carrying a large bouquet of flowers.

The young man continued, "Of course, my challenge was a mere jest. I look forward to a delightful date."

"Thank you so much for inviting me," Nabiki replied, politely, "But who are you?"

"Ah forgive my poor manners. I have the honour to be the seventh generation of the Kasha-o dojo, Kinnosuke Kasha-o," Kinnosuke replied.

"A pleasure to meet you, I suppose," Nabiki replied, "But that still doesn't really tell me much about you." 'He does appear to have a great deal of money, at least the way that he is dressed,' she thought, 'but I did see him living in the box in the park, just as Ranma had said.'

"Please, let us order our meal," Kinnosuke suggested, "And then I'll tell you a bit about myself."

Nabiki stared at him for a moment and then shrugged. "I think not. I doubt my fiancé would approve of me being on a 'date' with another man," she said, "And I don't particularly like stalkers, which is what you appear to be. Nor am I interested in playing games with you. The reputation of the Kasha-o dojo has preceded you, and I'm not impressed."

Kinnosuke flushed angrily as Nabiki stood. "And your reputation has preceded you as well, Miss Tendo. Don't be quite so high and mighty. You are just the same as I. I saw how you took advantage of that young man you were with the other day. How would your alleged fiancé feel about him?" he spat.

"I'm certainly NOT the same as you," Nabiki replied, evenly, "And that man I was with was my brother-in-law. So my fiancé certainly wouldn't mind, after all, I was with Ranma to pick out a present for my fiancé. And I repaid Ranma the money I owed him as soon as we got home. You are sadly mistaken about me; I am nothing like you, a parasite. Good day to you." She turned and headed over to join her sister and brother-in-law.

"Wait!" Kinnosuke exclaimed, "Then in that case, I challenge you Nabiki Tendo."

Nabiki turned and said, "Not interested, Kasha-o, not interested."

A large man dressed formally in a tuxedo eased over between them and asked, "Is there a problem, Miss Tendo? Is this man bothering you?"

"No, Kentaro, there's no problem. I'm just a bit particular about the company I keep, that's all. Which reminds me, make sure he has money to pay for his meal," Nabiki told the headwaiter.

"Of course, Miss Tendo," Kentaro replied, suavely, "I assume you are going to join your family at their table?"

"No, I wouldn't want to spoil their evening. I was just letting them know I was heading home is all," Nabiki replied.

Kentaro nodded his understanding, and said, "I will be sure to let them know, if you wish to depart."

Nabiki smiled her thanks and started toward the exit, while Kentaro turned to Kinnosuke. "I trust Miss Tendo's concern is misplaced and that you do indeed have a means to pay for the bar tab you have already run up," he said, "Will you be paying in cash or using your card?"

Nabiki paused as she awaited the young man's answer.

"My card, I believe. Allow me to call my butler," Kinnosuke answered, evenly. "April," he called, pulling a hand puppet dressed as a butler out from under the table.

"Yes, master," the puppet replied.

Kentaro blicked in astonishment, as the puppet began to wail, "Oh my. This is terrible! How could I have done such a thing? Master, I've forgotten your card!"

"What?" Kinnosuke exclaimed, "What am I going to do with you!!"

"Silly me!" the puppet replied, bowing towards Kinnosuke.

"Such a funny man," Nabiki mused as she made her way outside.

"Ventriloquism?" Akane asked.

"He is pretty good," Ranma replied.

"My, how embarrassing," Kinnosuke said to Kentaro.

"Yes, it is most unfortunate for you," Kentaro replied, menacingly, as he easily plucked the smaller man out of his chair, "I believe we have some dishes that you can wash to take care of the drinks you had in the bar while waiting, not to mention the flowers that you ordered."

'Nabiki Tendo, I'll get you for this,' Kinnosuke thought angrily as he attempted unsuccessfully to pull himself away from the heavy-set waiter. "There's no need for this unpleasantness. It was an honest mistake on my part," he said, haughtily, "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, actually I do. Kinnosuke Kasha-o, whose school teaches never to spend your own money on anything," Kentaro replied, "Well, you're in luck. You'll just work it out in trade, instead." He handed the young man off to two other waiters and said, "You know what to do with him."

"Yes, boss," one of them replied, as they dragged the hapless victim through the kitchen doors.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope that my Gentle Readers all had a safe and successful holiday season. I also hope that you enjoyed reading this little installment as much as I enjoyed writing it. One note, remember in this story line, Akane has had some extensive training in martial arts, so I feel like she certainly should have had little trouble defeating Natsume. Also, in canon, she did manage to fend off the hentai horde for a significant period of time. I do believe, however, she backslid a lot once Ranma came onto the scene. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. 


	78. Experimental Herb: Towering Hair

Chapter 78 Experimental Herb: Towering Hair

Natsume hesitantly followed her sister in the dojo, still unsure of her welcome after her disgraceful behavior, challenging Akane for the rights to a school that didn't belong to her, even though the other girl had graciously forgiven her the transgression. Even now, Natsume wasn't quite sure why she had challenged her, something she really hadn't intended on doing. Perhaps Kurumi had the right of it, when she explained that she was just trying to show who the alpha female was. A wry smile graced her face as she thought, 'And I guess we found out too. Certainly wasn't me, was it?'

"Good, you two are here," Ranma said, "I was afraid that something had come up."

"No, it just took a bit long to convince Natsume to wear the things that Mommy bought," Kurumi said, as she took off her shirt, leaving her in a loose t-shirt over a sports bra, and a pair of shorts.

"True," Natsume said, as she joined her sister, wearing much the same, feeling just a bit exposed as she wasn't really used to showing quite so much leg, then blushing furiously as she remembered exactly how exposed she had been trying one of the aerial maneuvers that her father had shown her, and how unhappy her adoptive mother had been at the sight.

"It's all foolishness, if you ask me," Genma grumbled, since he had been the one forced to wait for them to dress, "Aside from the little wardrobe malfunction the other day, what they were wearing was fine. Just a waste of time and money, watching them go shopping."

"Mom certainly didn't seem to think so," Akane observed mildly, "And this is actually easier to move in than a gi."

Natsume took a look around the dojo and relaxed completely as she realized that the other girls were dressed in much the same, something that she had not realized the other day for some reason.

"Okay, I thought we would start off with a few simple exercises to warm up, and get everything stretched out first," Ranma said, "And then, Pop, you can work with your students while Akane and I work with the rest. Keep it reasonably simple while you're in the dojo though, okay?"

"As many people as we have in here right now, we don't need to be dodging around," Akane added.

Genma growled something that neither of them heard and nodded.

"Okay, this is basically some moves I picked up and modified at one of the dojos we trained at," Ranma said, "One of the nice things about it is that it is a good aerobic workout, and will get the heartrate up while working most of the muscle groups, but it isn't real hard to learn."

"Everyone else has already learned it, Natsume, Kurumi, so just watch us and then when you think you are ready, flow into the steps," Akane said, flashing them a smile.

"And as I always tell my students, if you aren't having fun then you aren't doing it right," Ranma finished, as he flowed into what was obviously the starting position for the kata.

* * *

Ranma leaned back against the wall of the dojo and watched his father working out with Natsume and Kurumi. At the moment, Kurumi was working with the punching pole, hitting the cloth wrapped rod with each fist, while Genma watched closely. Natsume was shadowboxing over in one corner, waiting her turn. At first, things had been going reasonably well, but as the young girl continued her task, their father began to get annoyed. Finally, he snapped, "You hit like a girl!" stopping Kurumi in her tracks, as a few tears began to show in her eyes. 

Natsume's eyes narrowed at the insult, but before either she or her sister could say anything, Ranma had pulled Genma out of the dojo, into the pouring rain.

"Pop," they heard Ranma say wearily, "I thought you had promised no insults!"

After a moment, they heard her sigh, "Okay, then let me show you how a girl hits." A few moments of brief combat shook the outside of the dojo, before the red-haired girl walked in, grabbing a towel to dry herself off. She closed her eyes briefly for a moment, and sighed. "Idiot Pop," she muttered as she walked over to her sisters. "Um, Pop is sort of tied up at the moment, so I'll be working with you the rest of the afternoon," she said, with a smirk.

Akane glanced out the door to see a very unhappy panda tied up into a knot, rolled up against the wall of the compound, and suppressed a giggle, only to finally break out and laugh.

Ranma saw how unhappy Kurumi was and pulled her into a brief hug. "Hey, that's just Pop being Pop. It was the way he tried to motivate me when I was younger. Saying I hit like a girl was sort of the worst insult he could come up with, and I guess he backslid a little with you," she murmured, "Must not be able to teach an old panda new tricks, or some such."

"Sort of ironic, then, all things considered," Kurumi whispered, a brief smile appearing on her face as Ranma rolled her eyes.

"And what's wrong with hitting like a girl?" Natsume nearly snarled.

Ranma grinned and replied, "Nothing, actually. Akane hits pretty hard, for example, and Pop knows that, the hard way as a matter of fact." She shook her head in disgust and added, "What he was trying to say, and failed miserably at, was that Kurumi has picked up a few bad habits apparently and was doing something wrong. Not much, mind you. Watch me, and see if you can tell what I am doing that was different from what you were doing, Kurumi."

Kurumi nodded, still a bit unhappy, as Ranma walked over to the post and began punching it, her motions slow at first, and then picking up speed until she was hitting the pad at around half speed.

The two girls watched intently, and then Natsume gasped, covering her mouth. "You were off angle, not hitting squarely on the post, just a few millimeters, but that must have been what Father was seeing," she said.

Ranma stopped and turned with a huge grin and replied, "That's it. And because you were off, you weren't getting all of your power behind the blows, nor could you get a good rhythm going. And you were sort of fighting against yourself, just a little. Natsume, let me see you do this."

Natsume took her place in front of the pole and starting in much the same manner, began alternating blows. Soon she was up to speed, though she was still hitting the pole much less often than Ranma had been.

Kurumi watched her sister carefully, as she saw Ranma smile in satisfaction.

"She's got it down," Ranma said, "Do you see it?"

Kurumi faltered a little and replied, "I think so."

"Okay, you go over to the other pole, and try. Just do your best, okay?" her sister suggested, "And smile like you're enjoying yourself."

* * *

Genma lounged idly on the engawa at his wife's home, gazing with vacant eyes at the beautiful garden Nodoka had lovingly tended during the ten years he had been gone, silently cursing his stupidity with his actions of the afternoon. The shock on Kurumi's face at his harsh words had nearly been his undoing, and then Ranma's chastisement, justifiable as it was, had been the finishing touch. He had stayed in his cursed form, tied up in knots for several hours until Kasumi had taken pity on him, and gently freed him from his contorted position, and he had retreated here, disgusted with himself and his words. 

"Father, here's your beer," Natsume said, handing him a large glass stein.

"Thank you, Natsume," Genma grunted, putting the beer down without tasting it. He frowned and asked, "Where's Kurumi?"

"Um, she's in our room," Natsume replied.

Genma sighed heavily, and asked, "Would you ask her to come here? We need to talk."

Natsume took a long look at her father and nodded, replying, "Of course, Father." She immediately headed back into the house to find her sister, shortly to return with her sister, who refused to come near him, or look him in the eyes.

Genma sighed again. 'I screwed up pretty badly,' he thought. "Kurumi, I said a few things today that I am ashamed of," he said, "I should have handled things better and given you constructive criticism instead of just falling back on my old insults."

"What you said wasn't very nice, Daddy," Kurumi replied, heatedly, "And it hurt my feelings."

"Well, um, all I can do is say I am sorry, and try to do better," Genma said, sheepishly, "If it helps any, I knew that I screwed up as soon as the words left my mouth."

Natsume smiled wryly and asked, "You haven't had much experience with girls, have you?"

"Training them, you mean?" Genma asked.

Natsume shook her head and replied, "No, just being around them, talking to them, that sort of thing."

Genma replied, in a rare moment of introspection, "I spent the last ten years of my life wandering aimlessly from dojo to dojo, training Ranma in martial arts. I had made a foolish promise to Nodoka, and focused all of my energy on attempting to fulfill it. That didn't leave me much time to deal with females. There weren't that many woman martial artists that were at his level, so I mostly ignored them. So I guess in that respect, I never learned to deal with you." He shrugged his shoulders and added, "I was raised to believe that women were weaker than men, and it's hard to forget that, even if I have real evidence staring me in the face that says that that isn't true. I'm still struggling with that, and will likely fail more often than not. Just be patient with me while we learn to live with each other, that's all I can ask."

"This is hard for us, Daddy," Kurumi said, sadly, "We've had you on a pedestal for so long, dreaming of the day when we would finally find you."

"And then to discover you aren't the god-like person we had dreamed of," Natsume added, soberly.

Genma looked troubled, and finally took a drink from his beer mug, gathering his thoughts. "I have a lot of things to make up for, things that I have done wrong," he said, "So I'm certainly not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. Nor someone that should be up on a pedestal. And I am sure to make more than my share of mistakes. And hope that the three of us can muddle through and make our relationship work. I have a great deal to make up to the pair of you, and that will start now by being the best father that I can be."

"And we know how good that is, don't we, Genma?" Nodoka asked from behind them, her face expressionless.

"What's done is done, Nodoka. All I can do now is strive to be better," Genma said, a hint of a whine in his voice, "No one can change the past."

Nodoka looked at him, a sad expression on her face, and said, "That's true enough. I bitterly regretted one of the decisions I made in the past. And you're correct about not being able to change the past. If I could, I wouldn't have let you take Ranma away from me for so long." She sighed heavily and added, "Girls, I could use some help in the kitchen, and I wanted to talk to you about a few things."

"Of course, Mommy," Kurumi said, brightly, hoping she could steal a few nibbles while she was helping.

Natsume chuckled as she rose gracefully from her knees and added, "It would be a pleasure. Hopefully I can learn a few more things from you while I help. You are an excellent cook, and a treasure to watch."

Genma watched as the three women headed back into the house, and slowly sipped at his beer, watching the sun begin to set over the rooftops. "This is indeed a wonderful life. They are such nice girls," he said, "I can not fail them. Not like I failed Ranma and Nodoka."

* * *

Nodoka stood at the sink peeling some carrots for the stir-fry dish she was planning, while Natsume dredged the chicken with the seasoned flour. Kurumi carefully mixed together ingredients for a sauce, following a receipe that Nodoka had given her. 

After a few minutes, Nodoka cleared her throat and said, firmly, "Daughters, there is something that I must ask of you."

"What, Mommy?" Kurumi asked, her eyes wide.

Nodoka smiled briefly and replied, "Odd as it may sound, since I am very much a traditional wife, and appreciate your adherence to the old ways, but I must ask you not to wait on my husband, your father, quite as much as you are doing."

"But why Mother?" Natsume asked, a bit astonished.

Nodoka frowned slightly, as she fumbled for the correct words to explain her meaning. Finally, she replied, "Your father's cursed form is very appropriate for him, as it matches his behavior almost perfectly. He much prefers to spend his time idly, without working terribly hard at anything. Well, except for his martial arts, of course. This is a behavior he picked up while he was off training Ranma, my son, your brother, and one that I would like him to change. To return back to the man that he once was."

Kurumi had a puzzled expression on her face as she asked, "I still don't see the connection, Mommy. Why shouldn't we take care of him?"

Nodoka paused, an odd look of confusion on her face, as she considered the question carefully. "If we are constantly taking care of all of his needs, what incentive does he have to do things, even little things, for himself?" she finally asked, "I don't mean cooking or housekeeping chores. I really wouldn't expect him to do much around the house except for the necessary repairs that crop up, and none of us want to eat his cooking, so those would still be things that we would do. But, the waiting on hand and foot, that needs to be toned down. And bringing him a beer, don't do that unless you've poured one for yourself. That sort of thing."

"Um, actually, I don't drink. Don't like the taste, myself, and Kurumi is still a little young," Natsume replied. She glanced at her sister and after exchanging their thoughts, she added, "We still don't really understand, Mother, but since you ask it of us, we will, of course, obey your wishes."

Nodoka grimaced slightly and then said, "I guess that will do. Now, for dinner, I thought we would have teriyaki chicken stirfry. So, Natsume if you would finish cutting up the vegetables, and Kurumi, you work on the miso, I'll set the rice cooker."

"Could we steam some gouzas? I really like them," Kurumi asked, eagerly.

Nodoka thought about the contents of her kitchen for a moment, and then shook her head. "I don't think I have everything we need to make those," she said, "But, there are some buns in the freezer that we could have for dessert."

"Ooh, sweet buns?" Natsume asked, excitedly.

"Uh huh, and there's some double fudge ripple ice cream that we can have for afters," Nodoka added.

"Yippeeee!" Kurumi shouted, as Nodoka and Natsume covered their ears, as the young girl began to dance around the kitchen, singing, "Food, Food, glorious food!!!"

* * *

Kasumi cleared her throat to get everyone's attention at dinner that evening. "Ranma, I was wondering if you could go to market with me tomorrow?" she asked sweetly. 

"Akane, Mr. Tendo, can you handle the training session without me?" Ranma asked.

Akane shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Don't see why not."

"If Kasumi needs your help, then I don't see a problem," Soun chimed in.

"Just keep an eye on Pop, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid again like he did today," Ranma suggested, "He really hurt Kurumi's feelings with his dumb comment."

Akane's grin grew feral and she said, "If he does, I'll just show him how a girl hits. I haven't used my mallet in a long time, and I don't want to get rusty."

"Now, Akane, that just isn't very nice. I'm sure Mr. Saotome will behave after the little chat I had with him this afternoon," Kasumi said, beatifically, "He was most ashamed of what he had done after I told him how disappointed I was with him."

"What'd you need help for?" Ranma asked, "Not that I don't mind spending time with you."

"Stop flirting with my sister," Akane said, with a smirk. Ranma flashed her a smile, knowing she was simply teasing.

"There's a sale on rice at the market, according to the paper, but it only comes in twenty-five kilogram bags for the sale price," Kasumi replied, ignoring her sister, "And I'd like to buy a couple of them at least."

"Just make sure you get him back in time to attend Souta's birthday party," Nabiki said.

"That's a dinner party, isn't it?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, it is, at their home at the shrine," Nabiki replied.

"We'll just leave by mid-morning, then," Kasumi decided, "That will get us home in time for him to wash up."

"Just make sure you give me my husband back in good shape," Akane teased, lightly.

* * *

Ranma cast a wary eye at the cloudy sky and sighed. 

"What's wrong, Ranma?" Kasumi asked.

"Looks like I have a thirty percent chance of being a girl," Ranma replied.

"I think you mean one hundred percent chance of being a girl, thirty percent of the time," Kasumi retorted, with a pretty giggle.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Good point. So anyway, that's the forecast for the day. I'm just glad that we found this cart. While I could probably carry the rice home with me, whether I was a guy or a girl, it would have been a little bit uncomfortable."

"I honestly forgot we had it hiding in the storage shed," Kasumi replied, a little too quickly.

Ranma grinned toothily at her and said, "I thought so. There had to be an ulterior motive for you wanting me to come with you. I just didn't expect you to be sneaky."

"Who do you think taught Nabiki?" Kasumi asked guilessly.

Ranma's smile widened at that. "Now I'm worried," he said, "What would Akane think? Here I am, with the second most beautiful woman in Nerima."

"Ooh, flattery," Kasumi said, blushing, "But who's the first?"

"Trick question, right? It's Akane of course. That's my opinion anyway," Ranma said.

"You're right, I did ask you to walk with me for a reason," Kasumi said, getting down to business, "I wanted to chat with you and I have found that the only safe way for me to talk privately is when I am shopping. Even though Nabiki knows better than to eavesdrop on me. Of course, it took several days of her clothes not getting washed, and her bedding not being cleaned before she figured it out. Not to mention all the experimental dishes I needed her to try out to make sure I had made them correctly."

"I can see that," Ranma said, after he recovered from his laughter.

Kasumi whipped out her umbrella and opened it, just as the clouds opened up, and fulfilled the partly cloudy part of the forecast, and dumped a light rain onto them. Of course, there was just enough wind to blow the rain onto Ranma, triggering the change.

"Well, little sister, looks like you were right," Kasumi giggled.

Ranma looked at her a bit sourly, and sighed. "I hate it when I'm right about that," she grumbled.

"There's the store," Kasumi said, as she pointed to a small store with a large cloth awning in front, "You can leave the cart outside and bring the rice to it. It won't fit in there otherwise."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Ranma asked.

"Hmm, oh. Just that it was a very nice thing that Saotome did, taking responsibility for Natsume and Kurumi, even though he really isn't their father," Kasumi replied, absently, as she took out her grocery list, and began to walk down the aisles of the store, selecting several items and handing them to Ranma, while checking them off the list as she found them.

Ranma stopped for a second, and then asked, "How did you know?"

"Oh, that jacket in the photograph. It looked familiar, but it wasn't until today that I remembered where I saw it before. It was in that pile of clothing that belonged to that old man, before we donated it to the Woman's Shelter," Kasumi replied, "So it wasn't your father or mine in the picture, it was Happosai. And I can't believe that he is really the father. Though I can believe he would tell them he was."

"That's how I figured it out, myself," Ranma admitted, as Kasumi handed her a small sack of boneless chicken breasts.

"Just make sure you tell Auntie Nodoka the truth," Kasumi said, "So she isn't hurt."

"She knows already. She figured it out from the timing. Natsume is only a little younger than I am, and Mom knew that Pop hadn't ever left her side while she was pregnant with me. Plus, he would be scared to death if he actually had done something like that," Ranma said, softly, "She may want a man among men, but she doesn't plan on sharing, either."

"I thought that's what you are," Kasumi retorted.

"It's what she thought she was marrying, as best I can tell," Ranma said, giggling, "Though I think she didn't get exactly what she expected." She shrugged and added, "She doesn't intend to tell Pop she knows the truth, and she's already added the girls to the clan roster."

"Why doesn't she want Genma to know that she knows?" Kasumi asked, as she examined a tuna steak, making a brief moue as she decided it wasn't quite fresh enough for her.

"Who knows what a woman thinks? In spite of appearances, I sure don't," Ranma replied, earning a bit of a sharp glance from Kasumi, "At a guess, though, she is still angry with him for being gone for so long. I know that they don't share a bedroom, not that I want to think about them and a bedroom at the same time."

Kasumi giggled and asked, "Why is that, Ranma?"

"Too too embarrassing to think about them doing, well, you know," Ranma muttered, "Parents aren't supposed to."

"Right, and you plan on stopping once you have kids? Only one child then, I guess," Kasumi replied, lights dancing in her eyes.

"It's just not a mental image that I want," Ranma replied, with dignity, "Sort of like how you are with Mr. Tendo and Yumi."

"What Yumi and Daddy do in the privacy of their own bedroom is none of my business," Kasumi chided, "I won't even give them a hard time about not waiting until they are married."

"Prim and proper Kasumi! You surprise me," Ranma teased.

"I've mellowed perhaps. Or more likely, feel like they deserve as much happiness as they can get after the lives that they have lived," Kasumi retorted, "And I can pretend that they are just sharing a bed, much like you and Akane did before you got married." She glared at her and added, "That is all that you did, right?"

"She was entitled to wear white on her wedding day," Ranma replied, "Though I have to admit it took a lot of willpower."

"Not to mention moving the date up a bit," Kasumi said, "I still haven't totally forgiven you two for eloping. At least I was able to be at the town hall with you."

"You'll get to plan a big wedding for Nabiki and Yumi," Ranma said.

"True," Kasumi said, her eyes distant for a second. She brightened up, and said, "This is the entire list, except for the rice. I'll take this up to the front, if you would get the rice. Then we can get you back to the house to change."

* * *

Akane pushed her bowl away and daintily wiped her lips with her napkin, and then carefully crossed her chopsticks over the bowl. "That was excellent, Mrs. Higurashi," she said, "Could I get the recipe?" 

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Higurashi replied, smiling sweetly, "I'm just glad you liked it."

"Akane is right," Ranma said, "I thought it was wonderful."

"I wasn't sure that you did. You only had three servings," Nabiki said, with a grin.

"Almost kept up with InuYasha," Souta snickered.

"Eh?" the old man at the table said, as he jerked awake.

"Nah, he had me beat. Though if Kurumi had been here, she would have given him a run for his money," Ranma said, smirking.

"Oh, he's on his best behavior, made him promise to act civilized for once," Kagome chimed in.

"Feh, what is this, pick on the dog-demon day?" InuYasha growled, mock-glaring at the group.

"And why would today be any different than any other day?" Souta teased.

"Feh," InuYasha said, folding his arms across his chest, and pouting a little.

"Who's Kurumi? I don't think I know her," Souta asked.

"Oh, of course. You haven't heard the news. It seems that Ranma has two new sisters, Kurumi about fourteen, I think, and Natsume, who's seventeen," Nabiki replied, as she moved over to be closer to her fiancé.

"Yeah, they were a couple of orphans that apparently turned out actually to be Pop's kids," Ranma said, "Mom adopted them into the clan, and they're staying with them. They come over to the dojo to learn from Pop and me."

"Us," Akane corrected, elbowing her husband rather hard..

"Us," Ranma said, "Anyway, the youngest one likes to eat, a lot. That's how we met them in the first place." He ignored the slight pain in his side.

"Oh," Mrs. Higurashi said, a little coolly.

"Mom's cool with it," Akane said, quickly, "And there's more to the story than what we can tell you. That is strictly Saotome clan knowledge."

"I hate secrets," InuYasha said, as his stomach grumbled.

"Didn't you have enough?" Kagome asked, fondly, as she tweaked one of his ears.

"There's still cake and ice cream," Mrs. Higurashi said, as she stood back up from her kneeling position.

"Mom, do you need any help?" Kagome asked, as she joined her mother.

"No dear, stay here and entertain, please," her mother replied.

"I'll help," Akane offered, quickly rising to her feet, "There's certainly too much for you to carry in."

Mrs. Higurashi looked at her uncertainly, until she noticed the look in the young woman's eyes, one almost pleading for the chance to help. "Certainly, I wasn't thinking about how many people are here," she said, as she led Akane into the kitchen.

Akane waited until they were in the kitchen and then said, softly, "Higurashi-san, you seem to be a bit unhappy with what you just heard."

"I've never been particularly comfortable with infidelity," the older woman said, a bit heatedly.

"Neither am I," Akane admitted, "And normally, Genma's apparent betrayal of Mom would bother me no end."

The other woman looked at her curiously, and asked, "Apparent?"

Akane hesitated for a moment, and then took the plunge. "Please don't let anyone else know this. It would only hurt Natsume and Kurumi, and they don't deserve it," she begged.

"I'm listening," Mrs. Higurashi said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Saotome isn't really their father. They came to our home, and claimed Daddy was their father, though he isn't either. But, they had a photograph of them when they were about five or six, with a promise from someone that they would inherit the Tendo dojo, signed allegedly by Daddy," Akane said, "It wasn't him. It was the old grandmaster of the school, an old pervert named Happosai, who died last year, that made that promise, but he isn't their true father, either. They truly are orphans, but Genma pretended that he was their father to give them a home, a really noble gesture."

Mrs. Higurashi gasped, and said, "It truly was. But, what about his wife? Didn't he think about how she would feel?"

"Oh, Mom knows the truth," Akane said with a grin. The grin turned wicked as she added, "Of course, she has no intention of telling him that, at least not for quite a long time." The two women shared a knowing look.

"Still, she must be a saint," Mrs. Higurashi said.

"No, not really," Akane said, "But, she does have a great heart."

"I'd like to meet her, she does sound like someone I would like to know," Mrs. Higurashi said.

"I think you two would get along quite nicely," Akane said, "Perhaps you could meet for tea. But, we'd better get the desserts, I'm sure the boys are wondering if we forgot them."

As they walked in, carrying a tray, Akane said, "Souta, Shampoo wanted me to make her apologies for not coming tonight. She fully intended to come with Ryoga, and Kodachi was going to come with Mousse, but something came up at the last minute at the café."

"Yeah, Cologne needed to be somewhere else, one of her suppliers had brought her something that she needed to take care of," Ranma said.

"That's okay, I can understand something coming up at the last minute," Souta said, as he glanced around the full family room, with all of the rest of his friends scattered around the table.

"I'm going to have to leave pretty soon," Ukyo said, from where she was sitting with her fingers entwined with Konatsu, "I can close the restaurant for the afternoon, but I really can't afford to miss the dinner hour."

"I understand," Souta said, "I'm just glad that the two of you could get away at all."

* * *

The presents had been opened and most of the guests had headed home, leaving Souta and Nabiki some privacy as they wandered around the shrine, only to make their way to the sacred tree and sit down on the stone walk in front of it. Nabiki leaned her back against her fiancé's chest as he wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her head. 

"Thank you for the photograph, that was exactly what I wanted," Souta said, as he pulled back and began to nuzzle her neck.

Nabiki moaned slightly at the sensations traveling down her spine and quirked a smile. "You'll have to thank Ranma for it then. I was a complete mess about it. I wanted something that was perfect, you know my first present since we got engaged, and I had worked myself up into a right state about the whole thing. Poor Ranma, he wanted to know what had happened to the cool, calm, collected Nabiki he knew," she said, a little breathlessly, as she moved his roaming hands back down to safer territory.

"You could have given me a piece of string and I would have loved it," Souta teased, only to wince as Nabiki playfully punched his leg with her fist.

"Jerk," she said, "And I was so worried about it. Maybe I should take it back."

"Don't you dare! It's going on my bedside table so it'll be the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning," Souta said.

Nabiki rolled in his arms so she was sitting sideways on Souta's lap, and kissed him. After a few minutes, they broke apart breathlessly, as they looked at each other with darkened eyes, trying to bring things back under control, especially as Nabiki realized exactly how happy Souta was at the moment.

"We need to slow down just a bit," she said, shivering slightly as she came down from her own high.

"Yeah, I know. We promised each other," Souta said, shakily, "But it's getting harder."

Nabiki snorted her amusement, but chose not to say what crossed her mind at that comment.

"You know what I meant, minx," Souta said, with a chuckle.

Nabiki rewarded him with another punch, this time to his arm.

"Hmmm, when did you start getting so violent? Are you channeling your sister?" Souta teased, as he playfully rubbed where she had hit him.

"It's the company I keep," Nabiki replied, smirking.

Souta grinned for a moment, and then the grin died. "I'm going to start coming by the dojo and get some training myself," he said, somberly.

"Uh, why would you want that?" Nabiki asked, "I mean you do some martial arts, but you've never really been too serious about it. Even when you dropped in before, back during the play, you were mostly just goofing off."

"Love, my sister is a miko, a priestess. Grandfather is a priest, so it's in my blood. I didn't get the calling, the full gift, but I can still sense things. And I can tell that there is something about Ranma, some doom that still faces him," Souta replied, gravely, "I don't know what it is, I don't know when it happens, but when it does, I want to be able to at least help protect you and our family if it comes down to that."

Nabiki sighed and said, "It'll be hard for you to get to that point. Ranma and Akane are so much better than all of us."

"I don't have to be as good as them, I just have to be better than who ever comes after you," Souta said.

"True enough," Nabiki allowed, "And I can't fault your reasoning. It's partly why I started getting serious about the arts again, after all. There are times, when Ranma and Akane let their guard down, when I see something in their eyes, a look of pain at something that only they have seen, that scares the hell out of me."

Souta looked at her somberly, and said, "I don't know about Ranma and Akane, but I can tell both Kagome and InuYasha have seen some really scary shit. She's come back from wherever she goes in the past with all sorts of damage, with a look in her eyes that wasn't there before she started going into the Bone-eater's Well. And InuYasha, occasionally he lets something slip that makes me glad I don't really know what goes on. He's a half-demon, for crying out loud, so I know that there are things out there that just aren't covered by our science, that aren't logical by what we have sussed out about the universe."

"Like changing forms when wet," Nabiki said, with a wry grin, "Or oni's that can possess us. Or strange wishing swords that can cause all sorts of problems."

Souta nodded, and said, "And I've seen Ranma and Akane here, working out with Kagome and InuYasha, when they didn't know that I was watching, when they can really cut loose. There are things that all of them can do that are simply frightening. I don't want to go up against whatever threats that they are facing, but I do want to be able to take care of myself enough not to be a burden when it hits the fan."

"Okay, I'll let Ranma know that you'll be coming by," Nabiki said, "But, at the moment you have a seriously annoyed fiancée sitting in your lap."

"Annoyed?" Souta asked, surprised.

"Um, well you haven't kissed me in quite some time, and no girl likes to be ignored," Nabiki said.

"Why do I think you're trying to divert me?" Souta asked, with a grin, as Nabiki leaned back in for a kiss.

"I don't know," she murmured against his lips, "Is it working?"

* * *

Cologne hopped on her cane down the neat sidewalk until she reached the front door of her destination. She knocked politely on the door and waited patiently for it to open. 

The door opened and a young girl that Cologne had never seen before said, "Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes, is Nodoka Saotome here," Cologne replied.

"Yes, she is, just a second," the girl said, as she closed the door slightly, and yelled, "Hey, Mom, there's a dried up old monkey on a cane asking for you!!!"

"Kurumi!!!" a second girl exclaimed from behind the door.

Suddenly the door opened once more, and Nodoka Saotome was standing there, two little dots of red on her face from embarrassment. "Hello, Cologne," she said, quickly, "Please come in. Sorry about Kurumi."

"Children these days," Cologne said, cackling madly as she entered, "They have no respect for their elders."

Nodoka sighed and said, "Cologne, I'd like you to meet my daughters, Natsume the eldest, and Kurumi, the youngest. Daughters, this is Cologne, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, a good friend of your brother's."

Natsume's eyes grew wide as she bowed deeply, dragging her sister with her. "We are honoured by your presence, Matriarch," she said, quickly, "Please forgive my young sister's exuberance. She meant no insult by it."

"I've been called worse by better," Cologne said, graciously, "Think nothing of it. Now, I have business with the head of the Saotome clan."

"I'll go get Father, then," Natsume offered.

"Um, actually, I meant your mother," Cologne said, hiding a grin, "After all, I am from the tribe of Chinese Amazons."

"Oops, I guess we're really making points here, aren't we?" Natsume asked, rhetorically.

"Why don't you two quit while you're behind?" Nodoka _suggested_. She turned to Cologne and said, "We can sit in the family room and talk of things there. I had just poured some tea."

"That would be lovely," Cologne said, as she followed Nodoka into the family room and knelt down at the table.

Nodoka poured a second cup of tea from the ornate teapot sitting on the table and handed it to Cologne, who took an appreciative sip of the green tea.

"Daughters? I was unaware that you had any daughters," Cologne said.

"It is a long and tiresome story. Suffice it to say that Genma had a dalliance in the past and they are the result. We have adopted them into the Saotome clan," Nodoka replied stiffly, but her eyes were begging the elderly woman in front of her to not ask any more questions.

"Ah, youthful indiscretions, don't we all have skeletons in our closets," Cologne said, dropping the topic, and taking another sip of her tea. "If they are interested, I could give them some training," she said, after a moment, "Oh, by the way, this is a nice blend of tea."

"Thank you, I rather like the jasmine flowers myself," Nodoka replied, calmly, "And I suppose they would. They are into martial arts, as you might imagine. You'd have to coordinate that with Genma and Ranma."

"Do you intend to teach them the art of the sword as well?" Cologne asked.

Nodoka eyed Cologne cautiously and then smiled. "I suppose it would be too much to believe that I could have fooled you about that," she said, "and yes, I plan on showing them the basics. Ranma and Akane will need decent sparring partners, if for no other reason, and it would be nice to have more chances to pass it down to future generations." She paused, and said, "But as nice as this is, I doubt you came this way for idle conversaion."

"True enough. I have some experimental herbs. A special request from the traveling herbalist who visits me from time to time," Cologne began, "Unfortunately, I don't have a suitable test subject. And I was wondering if your husband could be persuaded."

"Genma?" Nodoka asked in surprise, "Why what do the herbs do?"

"It is a hair tonic, at least that is what I was told," Cologne replied.

Nodoka's eyes danced in mirth as she frowned. "I don't know, he really hates to admit that he is vain in that way," she said, severely, "But, I will at least ask him."

"That would be wonderful," Cologne said, handing her a rather ornate glass jar, stoppered by a cork, with Chinese writing down the side of the bottle.

* * *

Nodoka entered the smallest bedroom to find her husband snoring away on the thin futon pad, covered lightly by a threadbare blanket against the cool of the morning. Sighing, she looked at him longingly, until she saw that he was beginning to stir under her scrutiny, and smoothed her face into the impassive mask she was forcing herself to wear until he admitted the truth to her. 

Genma rolled over and shot up quickly, his arms in a defensive posture as he sensed he was in danger. His eyes opened and then he relaxed as he realized that it was only his wife standing there, though his danger sense was still tingling.

"We had a visit from Elder Cologne last night," Nodoka said, "After you had gone carousing."

"I'll have you know I spent the evening in the company of Tendo," Genma said, with as much dignity as he could manage.

"Yes, and I've already had a phone call from Yumi complaining of him coming home totally drunk," Nodoka replied, "So I'm sure that you are in nearly as bad a shape."

Genma smirked and said, "He's just a lightweight. Can't hold his liquor."

Nodoka narrowed her eyes and asked, evilly, "Really? Not like you can." She nodded to someone, and then came a cacophony of drums and clashing cymbals.

Genma's eyes nearly bugged out, as suddenly a vein in his forehead began to pulse in rhythm with the beat of the drums, and his mouth felt like something had curled up and died in it. He groaned in pain, and looked wildly around the room for something, what he was not sure of.

"Here's a bucket of water, Father," Natsume said, as she dragged the bucket into the room.

"I wonder if it would help if I plunged my head in it," Genma pondered.

"Only if you held it in for a very long time," Kurumi snapped, angrily, as she glared at her father in disgust, since she and her sister had been the ones to carry him into the bedroom after the taxi driver had dumped him at the curb, and to clean up the mess he had left behind.

Genma pondered that for a moment, wondering if maybe that would be a good idea with the two or three brain cells that were working. "Too much blood in my alcohol stream," he muttered.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Cologne came by and asked if you would help her out," Nodoka said, "And of course, I said you would."

Genma looked at her warily through his bloodshot eyes and asked, "What kind of help?"

"She has a herbal concoction, a hair tonic, that she needs a vic, I mean, volunteer to try," Nodoka said, as the two girls attempted to hide their smiles.

"A hair tonic!!" Genma roared, wincing at the noise.

"What's the matter, Daddy?" Kurumi asked, "Afraid to admit that you are bald?"

"Listen well, Kurumi," Genma said, ponderously, as he pulled himself to his feet, wrapped in his blanket to preserve his dignity, "Hair is the creation of a higher power. For foolish mortals, it is impossible to create and should not even been attempted."

Natsume grinned at him and said, "In other words, Father, you've tried out a bunch of remedies and nothing has worked."

"Guess I'll take it back then," Nodoka said, carefully expressionless.

"Didn't say I wouldn't try it," Genma said, as he lunged for the bottle. He glared at the three women, until they got the hint and left the room. He read the label, which said, "'Towering hair. Instant results.' "Ha, what a bunch of rot," he said, "Anyway, here goes." He slid his bandana off his head, and poured a generous amount of the tonic in his hands, and then briskly massaged it into his scalp. After waiting for a while, he sighed, as nothing had happened. "Well, fooey, doesn't work at all," he said, as he slowly made his way into the family room for breakfast.

Natsume glanced over at her father as he sank to the floor next to the table. "Oh dear, Father. It didn't work, did it? What a shame!" she said, as she handed him a bowl of miso soup.

"So what if it didn't? Does it really matter?" Kurumi asked, handing him his bowl of rice, with two small fish sitting on top of the rice.

Genma stood back up, and headed back out of the room. "Well then, I'm off to bed," he said.

"But it's seven o'clock in the morning!" Kurumi exclaimed.

Nodoka rose gracefully from her knees and followed her husband down the hall. "You can't tell me that you weren't hoping," she said softly, as she reached for his arm, her eyes downcast. She sighed, and added, "I'm sorry, Genma. I ended up only making things worse."

Genma turned and said, "Foolish woman, I am not so weak as that."

"You mean you really don't care?" his wife asked, a look of tenderness in her eyes.

Genma laughed, though it seemed a bit forced, and replied, "Not at all."

"Then you wouldn't mind joining us for breakfast, and then taking our daughters to the Tendos for their lessons?" Nodoka asked, "After all, that **IS** what a true martial artist would do."

Genma sighed heavily and nodded, as he followed his wife back into the family room.

* * *

Natsume and Kurumi rushed into the dojo, followed slowly by a reluctant and wet panda. 

Ranma shook his head and pointed towards one of the corners of the room, where a large thermos was sitting, and the panda shuffled over toward it, moaning as it did so.

"That old woman must have been waiting for Daddy," Kurumi said, as she stripped down to her training attire, followed by a still somewhat bashful Natsume.

"Are you talking about the old woman that likes to water down the sidewalk outside her house?" Ranma asked.

Natsume nodded her head, her cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment.

"What's wrong, sis?" Ranma asked quietly.

"I'm still not comfortable showing this much skin," Natsume replied, glancing down at her legs.

"We need to show you the benefits of sunning," Nabiki said, with a grin, overhearing the conversation.

"Tanning, that's different," Natsume protested.

Nabiki glanced down at her short shorts and compared them to what Natsume was wearing and grinned. "Girl, you really don't have anything to worry about," she said, "sure, you're showing a bit of leg, but look around the dojo. Aside from Ranma, who doesn't have eyes for anyone but Akane, who's gonna give a damn about that much skin?"

Natsume hung her head and muttered, 'I guess not. I didn't think I would be that bashful."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Sis, you just made a big mistake. I bet Nabiki will have you out of that shell by the start of the next term."

Nabiki chuckled and said, "Sucker bet if ever I heard one."

Genma waddled over to them and said, "Boy, shouldn't we be having a lesson?"

"Sure, Pop," Ranma replied equably, "Just waiting for everyone to get ready. They all know that they need to stretch and warmup, so I don't need to hover over them like they were little children." He paused for a moment and then added, "Mom called while you guys were on the way over here and said you've had a bit of a bad morning. I thought maybe you might want to wait for Tendo to get back from the council meeting and play some shogi, for old time's sake. He mentioned last night that he hadn't had a good game in a long time."

"Are you trying to put me out to pasture?" Genma snarled.

"Easy, Pop. Mom was right, something's got your goat," Ranma said. He gazed impassively at his father for a moment, and then said, "You aren't teaching, not my students, not until you get yourself under control. Go find a quiet place and do some meditation."

Genma's eyes blazed with anger, and he yelled, "You should have quit while you were ahead!!!" Then, to both of their surprise, a huge mass of black hair sprung from his head, tearing through the faded white bandana that he had used to hide his bald pate.

Ranma ducked back in shock, a look of fear on his face.

"What's going on?" Nabiki asked.

"What the hell?" Akane exclaimed.

"Is this a dream?" Genma asked, staring at the towering hair atop his head. He reached up and felt his head, as tears began to stream down his face, he whispered, "It's no dream! Lush as a jungle at night!!!"

The s-shing of steel being drawn caught everyone's attention, as Natsume drew her blade.

"What do you think you are doing?" Genma asked.

"You don't think you should cut it a little?" Natsume asked, as Ranma suddenly frowned, recognizing the blade.

"Foolish girl!" Genma exclaimed, as his hair shot at Natsume, causing her to dance back.

"Hmmm," Akane said, "Amazing, it's hair of steel!"

"This precious hair I've been given, no single strand I shall cut!!!" Genma exclaimed, as he began to laugh.

To everyone's surprise, the flowing locks of hair began to fall off of his head, leaving him bald once more. Genma sobbed once, and then vanished.

Ranma walked over to Natsume and asked, "Did Mom give you that sword?"

Natsume sheathed her sword and replied, "Yes, she did, my brother."

Ranma sighed, and said, "Then wield it with honour."

"Of course," Natsume said, with a quiet dignity that shook Ranma to his very core.

Ranma bowed his head for a moment, and then raised his head. "Ya know, I wish we'd run into you sooner. It would've been fun to grow up with sisters, and maybe I wouldn't have been quite as clueless about girls," he said.

"I would have liked that too," Natsume said.

"But you still would have been clueless," Akane said, as she wrapped her arms around him, "That's part of your charm." After a moment, she asked, "Now, would someone like to tell me what just happened? How did he get a head of hair, and then why did it fall out?"

Kurumi replied, "Well, that old woman with the funny name came over and talked to Mommy last night."

"What old woman?" Nabiki asked.

"The Amazon Cologne," Natsume replied, grimacing slightly, "Anyway, she had received some sort of herbal tonic that was supposed to grow hair and needed a victim to try it out on."

"And I guess Daddy is the only bald man she knows, so she asked Mommy, who gave it to Daddy. He tried it this morning but nothing happened," Kurumi finished.

"The hair started growing when he got angry," Nabiki realized.

"And if fell out when he was happy," Akane said.

Ranma grinned and shook his head. "Pop, that's another fine mess you've gotten yourself into," he said.

"I wonder where he went?" Natsume said, with a frown.

Ranma replied, "I imagine he went back to your home, probably to hide for a while."

"Now Ranma, imagine how he feels, okay? You know that he is self-conscious about not having any hair, that's why he wears that bandana," Akane gently chided him.

"That, and he got a terrible sunburn one year," Ranma said, "He had cut his hair pretty close, and then we had that really hot summer. I think that's the real reason he lost most of his hair."

"Well, anyway, just don't tease him about it, and he'll get over it, I'm sure," Akane said.

"Why would I tease him about that?" Ranma asked, puzzled, "The only time I try to get him mad is when we spar. That way he loses focus, and it's easier to take him out."

* * *

Nodoka heard the sounds of someone sobbing in the distance, so she rose from her bed, and donned her housecoat, pulling it tight around her against the chill of the early morning, and followed the sounds until she found herself outside her husband's bedroom. 'Odd, I would have expected it to be one of the girls,' she thought, as she slid the door open. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight streaming into the room from the small window opposite the door, still surprised at the sniffling coming from the blanket-covered lump on the floor. She walked over to her husband and knelt down next to him and said, "I'm sorry, Genma. I shouldn't have told you about the hair tonic and got your hopes up like this. Please, I don't like it when you are unhappy, it disturbs the wa of the house. And it makes me sad, as well." 

Genma shot up, enraged, and screamed, "I'm over here, you dolt!!" A black mass grew immediately from his head.

Nodoka turned around and glared at him. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!" she exclaimed.

Genma threw himself to the floor in the position of the Crouching Tiger, and chanted, "Forgive me, forgive me!!" though the heavy crop of hair on his head prevented him from doing a full prostration. "Th-that's it!" he exclaimed, "I understand now. It is so clear."

"What my husband is so clear?" Nodoka asked, still annoyed.

"It's ANGER! This hair tonic is stimulated by **anger**!" Genma exclaimed, "The towering hair of towering rage would stab the heavens!!"

"What!?" Nodoka exclaimed, backing away, as her husband began laughing hysterically, which of course, caused the locks of hair to fall away, covering the floor with a dense mat.

"And laughter makes it fall out," Natsume observed from the door, as she rubbed her eyes, with Kurumi peering around from behind her.

"NOOOOO!" Genma wailed, reaching up to his scalp, only to find it bare once more.

"Some of us were trying to sleep," Kurumi snarled.

"Sorry, she's not much of a morning person," Natsume apologized.

Genma grabbed the bottle of tonic and said, disgustedly, "Foo, there's not much left of this test sample. I've got to use it carefully." He patted some more of the tonic onto his scalp and a new crop of hair blossomed. He snuggled back into his blankets, and immediately began snoring.

"I guess the show's over for the night," Nodoka said.

"G'night Mommy," Kurumi said, as she drifted down the hall.

"Night, Mother," Natsume added as she followed her sister to the room they were sharing.

Nodoka gazed throughtfully at her husband. "It's not like he's a porcupine," she said, softly, "So why that hair?"

"Thank you, Nodoka," Genma said, "I'm happy, so happy!"

Nodoka glanced down to see him still asleep. "Just talking in his sleep, that's all," she said, "Well, so long as he's happy." She left the room, sliding the door shut as she did so. The clock chimed the hour, and she sighed. "Not much point in going back to bed," she said, "It's only an hour til dawn. A cup of tea would be nice right now." She heard an odd sound, and tried to slide open the door, only to feel some resistance. She peered in carefully to find that the hair on her husband's head had pierced the door, and was holding it closed. "Okay," she said, slowly as she backed away, "That's weird even for Nerima."

* * *

Natsume pounded on the door to her father's room, and called, "Father, breakfast is ready!! Hurry up before it gets cold!!" 

The door slid open, and Genma staggered out of the room, his back bent under the heavy load of hair. Genma shuffled down the hall, scratching his backside, his eyes half-closed, and entered the family room, to find Kurumi kneeling daintily at the table, which was groaning under the weight of the food already present.

Nodoka walked in from the kitchen, carrying a tray filled with cups and a pot of tea and set her burden down on the table, and knelt gracefully on the floor.

Natsume knelt down next to her sister and the four of them began to eat.

Nodoka asked, "Did you sleep well, my husband?"

"Yes, dear, I did," Genma replied, "Had a few odd dreams, that I can't really recall."

"This is very good, Natsume," Nodoka said, "Our daughters prepared all of this for us. And cleaned up the kitchen."

"They are good girls, that is true," Genma said. He stopped eating for a moment. "Thank you, Kurumi," he said as he bowed to Kurumi, scratching her face lightly with his pointed hair.

"Daddy, that hurt," Kurumi whined, as she backed away from the table.

"Father, be careful, that hair is dangerous," Natsume said, eying the mass warily.

"I agree, Genma, did you notice what shape your door was in this morning?" Nodoka asked.

Genma frowned and replied, "No, not really."

While his attention was on his wife, Kurumi sprang into action, her steel-like fingers digging into her father's sides, tickling him unmercifully. Genma began to laugh, uncontrollably, and his hair fell out.

"Genma, I didn't expect you to shed when you aren't a panda," Nodoka sighed, "What a disgusting mess!!"

"I'll clean it up, Mommy." Kurumi said, "It just scared me, that's why I got rid of all that hair."

"The girls are right, dear," Nodoka said, "I think it was a mistake to give you that herbal potion. The hair it grows is dangerous."

Genma stared at her for a moment, and then shot to his feet. "Why do you hate me so much?" he cried as he ran out of the family room.

Nodoka sprang quickly to her feet to chase after Genma, only to see him vanish out the back. "Genma, that stuff is dangerous. We need to return it!" she cried as she ran after him, followed by her daughters.

"It's mine!" Genma cried, dashing some more of the tonic on his head, causing the wild growth of his hair to reoccur, "I'll never forgive you for this, Nodoka!!!"

"Stop!" Nodoka cried.

"If you come near me, I'll have my lustrous black hair attack you!" Genma shot back over his shoulder as he cleared the wall in one giant leap.

Nodoka was not far behind him as she showed that she could do whatever he could do, as she also cleared the fence, touching lightly on the top before she sprang to the ground below, only to see her husband fall into the neighbor's koi pond.

The pond boiled ominously and then a large white ball of fur, with a striping of black, emerged from the depths, easily five meters in diameter..

"What is that?" Nodoka exclaimed.

"A ball of duckweed?" Natsume guessed.

"No, it's a sea urchin," Kurumi surmised.

"Gack, it's a giant panda!" Nodoka cried as it began to roll toward them, "Quickly, flee!"

The three women darted out the gate and down the street, the ball of panda rolling after them, and they fled for their lives.

* * *

Ranma whistled softly, but tunelessly, as he bounded across the rooftops of Nerima, heading toward the market to pick up the items that Kasumi and Yumi had asked him to obtain, the grocery list tucked carefully in his pants pocket. As he passed by the high school, he noticed three women heading his way, chased by a ball of something, which was smashing all obstacles in its way. As they neared him, he swore angrily as he realized the three women were his mother and his 'sisters,' especially as he saw several bodies being carried along by the furball. "At this rate, it'll smash half the town, if someone doesn't stop it!" he exclaimed, "And I guess I got elected. Bloody hell, what Kami did I piss off?' 

Nodoka cried, "Watch out!!!" as the three of them raced down the street, trying to stay ahead of the enraged panda. The handful of people in the street either vanished into the shops lining the street, or darted down one of the side streets, scattering their belongings behind them.

Ranma spotted something in the detritus, and leapt down, grabbing a dry erase board. "I sure hope this works," he said, as he quickly rubbed the board against his shirt. He held the board out in front of him, muttering, "Everyone knows that static electricity is irresistible to fur!"

The rolling ball of fur veered toward Ranma, drawn by the electrical charge on the board. Just as it seemed that he was about to be crushed, Ranma leapt up to the top of the wall and watched as the ball slammed into the stone beneath him, shaking the wall nearly enough to knock him off. Suddenly, a sign popped out of the mass, reading, 'Doesn't hurt or itch one bit! WaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!' The laughter was enough to make all of the fur fall off, leaving a neatly sheered panda behind.

"That was one sad fight," Ranma said, disgustedly as he watched the panda cry in the street. He fell forward and landed lightly on the sidewalk, near where a small potion bottle glinted in the sunlight, catching his attention.

"That was close," Nodoka said, as she joined her son.

"Yeah, we avoided serious injury by a hair," Ranma replied, with a smirk.

The panda held up a sign that read, 'I heard that you know!!!'

"Sure, get mad for all the good that'll do you," Natsume said.

"Besides it was an absolutely horrible pun," Kurumi added, giggling.

Ranma picked up the empty bottle from the ground and read the inscription on it. "Mom," he asked, "How did Pop use this?"

"He rubbed it on his scalp," Nodoka replied.

Ranma smirked and said, "He really should learn to read Chinese. This says to take six milliliters orally at night, before going to bed. And under no circumstances is it to be used topically, as the results will be unpredictable."

Nodoka stared at him for a moment, and then broke out laughing, a deep rich soul-cleansing laughter, while the panda pouted.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of Nerima, a valiant warrior girded herself for battle against an implacable foe. Though, trusting in her own instincts, she had taken certain precautions that now allowed her the luxury of selecting her battlefield, giving her the advantage, or at least so she hoped. After examining the situation carefully, she smiled grimly as she found what she had anticipated, and picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. After a few moments, she muttered, "Put down that blasted book and answer the phone, Eri. This is important." Finally, her persistence paid off, as the phone was answered. "Hello, Eri, it's Nabiki Tendo. I need your help," she said. 

Nabiki listened for a moment, and then chuckled. "So which book am I tearing you away from?" she asked.

"Oh, the latest Harrington. Didn't think you were into science fiction," Nabiki said, with a grin, "Anyway, as I expected, I haven't heard the last of that moron Kasha-o. Silliest thing, he's attempting to buy things from some of the vendors in the area and charge them to us. Not quite sure why he would think that would work."

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the jewelry store downtown. That's where he is right now, but one of my people is following him around. She'll call and let me know where he is if he moves," Nabiki said, "Thanks, we'll owe you one. See you in a few." She ended her call, and placed her phone in her purse, slinging that over her shoulder. Exiting her room, she headed downstairs, calling to Yumi, "I'm going out for a little while, Yumi. I should be back in time for dinner."

"Okay, Nabiki, have a good time," Yumi replied from the family room, where she was dusting the furniture, while singing lightly with the radio.

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Nabiki said, as she closed the door behind her, with a grin that a pelagic shark would have recognized as that of another predator.

* * *

Nabiki waited while Eri Takugami joined her, dressed in a nice civilian suit, though her posture and attitude still screamed police officer. "Thanks again for coming, Eri," Nabiki said. 

"Hey, what are friends for?" Eri replied, a pleasant smile on her face.

Nabiki grimaced and said, "I wish I'd learned that lesson a bit sooner than I did. Anyway, enough philosophy. Kasha-o has moved on to the electronic store."

"Then let's go convince him of the error of his ways," Eri said, straightening up even more, her back ramrod straight. Which had the side affect of attracting the attention of several of the males passing by, to the point where several ran into the sides of the buildings.

Nabiki stifled a grin as she led the well-endowed young officer into the nearby store and to the front register where sure enough Kinnosuke Kasha-o was attempting to convince the store clerk to charge his purchases to the Tendo family.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Kinnosuke, how have the mighty fallen?" Nabiki gently chided, as the young man whirled, his eyes maddened.

"You!" he spat, "Do you know what you have done to me?"

"Not play your game, basically," Nabiki replied calmly, though Eri saw her tense her muscles slightly.

"No, you have caused me to lose face with my family," Kinnosuke flared, "I actually had to spend some of my own money. That is unacceptable."

Eri frowned imperceptibly, and said, "You do know that there are several laws that you are attempting to break, don't you?"

Kinnosuke narrowed his eyes at the interruption, and snarled, "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, a thief and a liar and a cheat," Eri replied calmly.

"Thief?" Kinnosuke asked.

Eri smiled thinly and replied, "Well, that's what most people would call trying to use somebody else's money to buy things. Identity theft, if nothing else. A liar, pretending to be someone else. A cheat, well that should be self-evident."

"The sad thing is he is worth a little over twenty million in his own right," Nabiki mused, "Or at least he was."

"What do you mean, was?" Kinnosuke asked.

"I imagine there'll be a few fines to keep you out of jail," Nabiki smirked.

Eri said, "Sounds like my cue. I am Sergeant Eri Takugami of the Nerima police, and you are under arrest."

"You can't arrest me, I've done nothing wrong," Kinnosuke said.

Eri chuckled and said, "Oh, I disagree, young man. Theft, for starters. Vagrancy, for seconds, and by the way, we've collected the box that you were living in, and your belongings and they are currently at the station."

"You can't, I won't go, you can't make me," the young man said, panicking.

Eri nearly purred. "Oh, please, do resist arrest," she said, as she set herself.

Kinnosuke paused suddenly as he saw her hand resting on the hilt of her baton, just waiting to draw it, and all the fire went out of him, as he turned and placed his hands behind him.

"Oh, poo, no one wants to play with me," Eri pouted as she pulled out the plastic cuffs and tied his hands together.

"But, I don't understand," Kinnosuke whined, "Tendo, you are just like me! Why won't you play the game?"

"Because I'm not like you, not now, not ever," Nabiki replied, her voice dangerous, "I might have turned out like you once, but I looked into my future and didn't like the person I saw there, so I changed. And it's disgusting to think that you would have ruined someone as a game. That's the most disgusting thing that I have ever heard." She pulled herself together and bowed to the shopkeeper. "Thank you Mr. Yumigachi for you assistance," she said.

"Of course, Tendo-san, it was the least I could do after your help," the shopkeeper replied, his eyes glinting with anger at the young man who had attempted to deceive him.

"Are you prepared to file a complaint?" Eri asked.

"Definitely Sergeant Takugami. Attempting to steal my merchandise, that's almost as bad as shoplifting," the old man grumbled, "I'll stop by the station after I close, if that is acceptable?"

"Very acceptable, honourable shopkeeper," Eri replied. She pulled a whistle from her pocket, and blew it, tapping her foot impatiently until two officers raced in, their eyes taking in the situation at a glance as they snapped to attention. "Take this garbage to the station, and hold him for me,' she ordered, "The charges are attempted theft, attempted identity theft, vagrancy, at least for now. There may be more as we investigate his past."

"Yes, Sergeant," the older of the two officers said, taking Kinnosuke roughly by the shoulders and propelling him out the door, as his fellow officer snapped a salute and followed.

"Think you've seen the last of him?" Eri asked.

Nabiki shrugged, and replied, "He's zero for two. He can try for three if he wants, but no one in the area will fall for him trying to scam them."

"But if he tries again?" Eri persisted.

"I've protected our family as best I can," Nabiki replied, "But he'll have some time to think while he comes to trial, so maybe he'll leave us alone."

"Maybe," Eri said, doubtfully.

* * *

Author's notes: Gentle readers, sorry for the slight delay in the posting of this chapter. Between real life, and a plot bunny in another universe, this took a bit longer than I intended. I trust you enjoyed this version, and the beginning of the integration of Natsume and Kurumi into the Saotome family, as well as the slow, painfully slow, redemption of Genma. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. For those interested in a dialogue, there is a forum for this story also 


	79. The Tragic Legend

Chapter 79 The Tragic Legend of the Black Cherry Tree

Tatewaki stood at the main gate to the Kuno estate, an unhappy expression on his face.

Akari sighed heavily as she turned to him. "I don't want to go, either, Tachi. But, I have obligations at the farm. Grandfather can't take care of everything that needs to be done. And Katsunishiki needs to return to help train the rest of the sumo wrestling pigs," she said, as she moved into his embrace.

"I will miss you," Kuno said, pulling her toward him and lightly brushing his lips on the top of her head.

"You could come with me," Akari suggested, "Grandfather desires to meet you before we set a date."

Kuno face lit up for a moment, and then fell as he sighed. He said, "I wish I could. But giri has me in its tight coils, and I must remain."

Akari sighed wistfully and said, "I understand. Duty is a harsh taskmistress."

"But a rewarding one, at least sometimes, my love," Kuno rebuked lightly. He relented and said, "I will come for the weekend, and pay my respects to your grandfather and to ask him officially for your hand."

"I look forward to the day that we are joined, beloved," Akari said, her eyes shining, void of anything approaching rational thought.

Kuno chuckled and said, "As do I. We may wed when you are ready. However, I must finish my education. There is much that I must learn so that I may increase the glory that is the Kuno clan."

"I will count the days, my beloved," Akari said, as she reached up and pulled him in for a bruising kiss. Finally, she broke away, and gazed at him as if to memorize his every feature. Finally she sighed, clambered up on her faithful companion, and rode down the street.

Kuno watched her go, scattering the pedestrians, until she had turned the corner and was out of sight. "Gone but a few moments, and I miss her already," he said, sadly, "Alas, my heart is rent in twain, and I know not how I will survive until I see her sweet face once more, and taste her sweet lips again."

"That was rather cloying," a female voice said from behind him.

He whirled to see his sister with her paramour, an amused expression on her face. "And you have the soul of a peasant, my sister," he said, hautily, "To mock such a pure expression of love."

"I thought you had decided to stop sounding like bad poetry every time you opened your mouth," Kodachi retorted. She relented and said, "I'll miss her too. She's a nice girl, if not too good for you."

"True, she is an angel descended from the heavens, and I must strive mightily to be worthy of her, but that task is worth the effort, for whenever I see that smile of hers, my heart is filled with bliss, for lo, she makes me a better person just by being in her presence," Kuno said.

Mousse whistled and said, "I'm impressed, all of that was one sentence and no break for a breath."

Kuno colored slightly.

"We're off to do some shopping and then depart on our trip, brother dearest, so enjoy your day," Kodachi said, as she and Mousse linked arms.

* * *

Late that night, Tatewaki gave up tossing and turning in his bed, and climbed back out. "Hmm, can't sleep. Perhaps if I practiced my kendo, I'll tire myself out enough." He changed into his hakama and gi, grabbed his bokken and headed outside into the lush grounds of his family estate, bathed by the light of the full moon shining down upon him. He took several long strides, and found himself next to a black cherry tree. He attacked the defenseless tree with his bokken, taking several swings, which etched deeply into the bark. When he was finished, he had carved his name, and the words, 'pig riding girl,' into the bark, and a symbol showing his love for her. 

He blushed as he realized what he had done, and said, "I must admit, it's quite romantic."

He turned to head back to the house, when a strange rustling sound got his attention. "Halt, who goes there?" he asked, whirling around, his bokken at the ready. A light flashed, and he screamed, a scream that would wake the dead.

* * *

The attractively dressed waitress, Konatsu placed the order for table seven on the stand in front of Ukyo, and then vanished into the kitchen to prepare the remainder of the order. 

Ukyo read the neat writing on the slip of paper, and poured several dollops of okonomiyaki batter on the already greased grill. She waited until bubbles began to form in the batter and stayed open. Just as she started to flip the pancakes, the phone next to her rang. Expertly flipping with one hand, she answered the phone with the other, cradling the instrument between her head and her shoulder, so she could use that hand to flip the other pancakes.

"Thanks for calling Ucchan's Okonomiyaki!" she said into the phone.

On the other end, she heard someone gasp, "C-cursed Spatula!" Then the phone went dead.

"Huh!" Ukyo said, as she grabbed the phone, "Hello? Hello? Hellooooh?"

"What's the matter, Ucchan?" Konatsu asked as he drifted back into the front room.

"It's the oddest thing. That phone call, someone said 'Cursed Spatula,' and then the phone went dead," Ukyo replied. She hesitated for a moment and then said, loudly, "I'm sorry everyone. But I have to close the restaurant. There's a bit of an emergency that I need to deal with."

Konatsu raced upstairs and moments later, a young man came rushing back down, finding that during his absence, the restaurant had cleared.

Ukyo reached up and took her battle spatula from its place of honour on the wall. "Let's go," she said.

Konatsu took the banner down outside and furled it, placing it against the inside wall. Then the two of them left, locking the door behind them.

Ukyo took off down the street at a run, with Konatsu close behind.

"Cursed Spatula?" he asked, once he had caught up.

"That's right. It's a famous tale among us okonomiyaki chefs," she replied, "Many a chef has gone up against this terrible spatula, but not a single one has yet to be able to master it."

They went on down the road for a bit, and then she added, "And everyone who has laid hands on that dreaded instrument has been plagued with the gravest of misfortunes. My old friend Oochan recently came into possession of that flat horror. Something horrible must have happened."

Finally they came to a storefront, whose sign boldly proclaimed, 'Heracles Okonomiyaki.' Ukyo flung the door open and raced inside, calling, "Oochan, are you okay?" She screeched to a stop, causing Konatsu to barrel into her.

"Warn me next time," he complained, until he saw what was inside the store.

A middle-aged man, with an oddly shaped head, that looked amazingly like a spatula, was collapsed on the floor, the phone dangling from its cord above him, a small spatula still clutched in his hand, resting on top of a small pillow. The spatula must have been extremely hot, as it was sizzling on the pillow, a cloud of black smoke rising from the melting fibres.

Ukyo rushed over and knelt down. "What's the matter, Oochan? You must be strong!" she cried.

Konatsu grabbed the man by the neck and pulled him up. "So this is the cursed spatula!" he exclaimed.

"No-o, this is Oochan!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"That **thing** turned him into this hideous **spatula-being!" **Konatsu exclaimed, "The horrors!!"

"Hmph," Oochan muttered, his eyes still closed, "This is my **real face**, you nincompoop!"

"Oochan, you've come to!" Ukyo breathed, clasping her hands in joy.

"U-ukyo," Oochan said, weakly, as he lifted up, releasing the spatula as he did so.

"What happened, Oochan?" Ukyo asked.

"The cursed spatula," Oochan replied, pointing with a trembling hand at the spatula lying on the pillow.

"Huh? This?" Konatsu asked, picking up the spatula.

"NO!!! Don't pick it up with your hand!" Oochan exclaimed.

"Huh?!" Konatsu asked, puzzled, as he opened his hand to drop the spatula. To his surprise, it had affixed itself to his hand, and no matter how hard he shook his hand, it would not come free. "It's not coming off!" he exclaimed, as he tried to pry his hand free to no avail.

"WHAT!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"Unless you master its use fully, the spatula will **_never_** leave your hand," Oochan said, wheezing heavily, "Why didn't you listen when I told you?"

"Because you **didn't**!" Konatsu snapped, hitting him with the spatula. "When you say 'master,' what do you mean?" he asked.

"It could only mean one thing. To grill okonomiyaki," Ukyo explained.

"Ha! That's easy!" Konatsu exclaimed, "I've watched you make it so many times, I could do it in my sleep." Moving to the still hot grill, he poured a generous drop of batter on the grill, and then when the batter began to bubble, he tried to use the spatula to flip the okonomiyaki. As he brought the spatula around, a blast of light flared out of the spatula, vaporizing the okonomiyaki.

"What!!! Heat rays!!" Ukyo exclaimed, as she watched as the spatula pulled Konatsu's hand up, and began beating him on the head.

"The spatula hates making okonomiyaki," Oochan wailed, "Why didn't you listen?"

"Because you didn't tell us!!!" Ukyo exclaimed.

Konatsu tried once more to cook an okonomiyaki, only to have the spatula send out another heat blast, propelling him out the door and soaring high up into the sky.

"Hmm," Konatsu said, "The view is pretty nice up here. Wait, is that a tree running around over by the high school? That's strange, even for Nerima!! Nah, can't be! Trees don't move." The momemtun from the heat ray finally died down and he fell back toward the rooftops, landing lightly on the first one, and springing down to the ground.

Ukyo came running up, a bucket of batter in her hand. She expertly sent a glob of batter up into the air, and yelled, "Konatsu!!!"

Konatsu turned the spatula toward the batter, which cooperated by sending a blast of heat at the batter, sending it back toward Ukyo.

She caught it on her battle spatula, and cried, "Look! It's been perfectly done!!"

"That means I'm free of the cursed spatula!" Konatsu exclaimed as he opened his hand, only to see the spatula stay put.

"What?!" Ukyo exclaimed, "It's still not coming off!!"

Oochan staggered up, supporting himself with a stick.

"Oochan!" Ukyo cried.

"S-starch," the older man said, just before he collapsed, "Can't forget. Starch." He lapsed into unconsciousness once more.

"Th-that's it!" Ukyo said, excitedly, as she examined the okonomiyaki on her spatula, "It needs starch!"

"This time for sure!" Konatsu cried, as he shook some cornstarch over the food. They waited for a second, and then he opened his hand. The spatula stubbornly stayed put. "Whyyyy!!!!" Konatsu cried.

Ukyo squatted down and muttered, "Now what? That batter texture should be perfect!"

Konatsu froze in thought. "Texture? Starch? What a minute, that pillow was burning!"

"Huh?" Ukyo asked.

"Ho! It sounds weird, but could he have meant laundry starch?" Konatsu replied, as he spread a cloth down on Ukyo's battle spatula and spritzed some starch onto the cloth. Then using the spatula in his hand, he pressed the starch into the cloth. The starch sizzled for a second and then with a pop, the spatula freed itself from his hand.

"IT CAME OFF!" Ukyo cried, hugging her husband in relief.

"That's what I said, you nincompoop!" Oochan gasped, "STARCH, I said."

"If you meant laundry starch, say laundry from the start," Konastu said. He stood and glowered at the prone figure, loath to do anything else to him.

"No wonder no okonomiyaki chef could master it," Ukyo said, as she carefully wrapped the spatula in the cloth, vowing to throw it into the uncaring sea the next time she visited the beach.

* * *

A few days later, at the Tendo home, they were invaded by a delegation from the town council, a delegation of one. Yumi frowned slightly as she remembered the obnoxious man who had so rudely ogled her one evening, but smoothed her face out, as she said, "Hello, Goya-san, welcome to our home." 

"Ah, Miss Sato, a pleasure to meet you once more," the middle-aged man, who fancied himself a Casanova, said, suavely.

Yumi hid a shudder, as his idea of suave was most people's idea of oily, and asked, "Won't you please come in? Are you here to see Tendo-san?"

"Of course, thank you," Goya replied, as he entered, removing his shoes and placing them to one side, and putting a pair of the guest slippers on his feet. He straightened and said, "Yes, I'm here to see Tendo. There's a bit of council business that I need to bring him in on."

"He's in the family room, if you'd like to follow me," Yumi said.

"Lead on, my dear," Goya said, hiding a leer as she turned to lead him down the hall and into the family room. He paused long enough to watch the sway of her hips and the motion of her rear and then he waddled as fast as he could to follow.

Yumi slid the screen open, and stood back. "Soun, you have visitor," she announced.

Soun looked up from the shogi board, which allowed Ranma to move several pieces, and add two more of his to the playing field.

Goya appeared in the door, and said, "Soun, my old friend, we have much to discuss. The council has sent me to beg you for your help."

"I was about to pour some tea," Yumi said.

"Excellent, we can discuss your troubles over a cup of tea. Things are never quite as bad as they seem after a good cup," Soun said, cheerfully.

Goya waddled over, and sat heavily down of the floor near the table, his cheek jowls bouncing slightly.

"You remember my son-in-law Ranma Saotome, don't you?" Soun asked.

"Of course, I've heard nothing but good about him," Goya gushed, obviously not meaning a word of it.

"What brings you here?" Ranma asked politely, hiding his dislike of the smarmy man sitting in front of him.

Yumi glided in, carrying a tray of tea, and quickly passed them out to the three men sitting at the table.

Goya looked slightly affronted and then replied, smoothly, "The last several evenings, we have had several reports of a monster."

"A monster?" Soun asked, raising an eyebrow at that, "Of course, it is the duty of a martial artist to defend the village against any danger."

"What kind of monster?" Ranma asked.

"Some sort of odd hybrid, part human, part tree. But, it hasn't done anything but ask women for a date," Goya replied.

"An 'asking-out' demon?" Ranma asked, clearly puzzled.

"Yes, and for some reason, it only accosts women who have some sort of animal theme about them," Goya said, "And asks them for a date. The first night, the woman in question was wearing a blouse that had little pigs in the pattern. The second night, the woman was wearing earring that had a pig as the figurine. And last night, the poor girl was walking her pet pig. Cute little thing, with a polka-dotted handkerchief knotted around its neck. The girl called it Charlotte, for some reason."

Ranma began choking on his tea, while Soun began to pound his back.

Ranma waved weakly and rasped, "I'm okay, the tea just went down the wrong way."

* * *

The little bell over the door rang, as the door slammed open, causing Shampoo to reach for her bonborris, only to relax as a wide-eyed Ranma raced in. 

"Ramna, what you doing?" Shampoo asked.

"Where's Ryoga?" Ranma asked, breathlessly as he had run the entire way from his home once they had managed to dislodge Goya from the family room. Yumi had disappeared, muttering something about taking a bath to get rid of a slimy feeling as soon as the door had closed.

"Airen?' Shampoo asked, "He's in back with Great Grandmother."

"Thanks," Ranma said, as he rushed past her into the kitchen, where he found Cologne perched on her staff while watching Ryoga carefully peel some potatos, wearing a flowered apron over his clothing.

"Yo, Ranma, what's up?" Ryoga said, waving his potato peeler, as he tossed a potato into a pot on the stove.

"Yes, sonny boy, what are you doing here?" Cologne asked.

"Ryoga, have you been to China recently?" Ranma asked, as the bell rang once more.

"Um, yes, I managed to get misplaced just a bit last week, and ended up in Shanghai for a few days before I was able to get back to Japan. Bit of a swim, mind you," Ryoga said, "Why?"

"You didn't end up in Jusenkyo again, did you?" Ranma asked.

Ryoga frowned and said, "Trust me, Ranma, I'd remember if I'd ended up there. That didn't happen."

Ranma sighed heavily and said, "Good. Forget I came here." He rushed out of the back room.

"What was that all about?" Ryoga asked.

Cologne shook her head and said, "I haven't a clue. Sounds like he's starting to lose it."

* * *

Akane looked up as Ranma slid into the family room next to her, just as Kasumi brought in the last of the dinner meal. 

"Where'd you run off to?" Nabiki asked, "Souta was a little disappointed that you weren't here to spar with him. He's got this thing about not fighting girls."

"Had to check on something," Ranma muttered, "Something I heard had concerned me, and I needed to make sure it hadn't happened. Nothing terribly important, though."

Nabiki looked at him a bit suspiciously, but let it drop, as the meal was served.

"Ranma, make sure you try the gyozas," Kasumi said, gently.

Ranma glanced over at the chicken dumplings, and saw immediately that Kasumi hadn't made them. The crimped edges were just a bit ragged, though they smelled delicious. He used his chopsticks to pick up a couple of the gyozas, and popped one into his mouth. Quickly, he fanned his mouth, blushing slightly. After he finished chewing, he swallowed, and grabbed his water, drinking a large amount. "Sorry, it was hotter than I expected. Good though. Another success for Akane, right?"

Akane looked at him with shining eyes and nodded. "I made them just for you," she gushed, "Did they really turn out okay?"

"You didn't try them?" Ranma asked, frownly slightly.

Akane blushed and said, "Yes, I had one, but I was still worried. I like things spicier than you do."

"Oh, sorry, misunderstood. Yes, it was good. Didn't seem that spicy, but don't add anything," Ranma replied, placing a light kiss on her cheek.

Kasumi giggled and asked, "How come I never get a kiss like that when I fix something good?"

Yumi's eyes smouldered as she turned to Soun and asked, "What she said?"

Soun and Tofu exchanged identical looks and then turned on Ranma. "See what you did?" Soun hissed.

"Like you really object to kissing Mom," Sayuri retorted saucily.

"Good point," Soun said, suiting his actions to his words.

"Ughh, impressionable children at the table," Hinako teased.

"Really Daddy, was that appropriate?" Kasumi asked, just before Tofu pulled her around and kissed her.

Nabiki pouted, and said, "Where's Souta when I need him?"

"Hiroshi isn't here either," Sayuri sighed.

"At least you two have boyfriends," Hinako sulked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That will come in time, Sis," Akane said.

"Maybe, but I'm starting to regret staying a little girl," Hinako said, with a sigh.

"Not so little any more," Tofu said, clinically, "Things are starting to develop as they should. And, you seem to be able to handle things much better now."

"True," Hinako said, "No more spacing out like I used to when I reverted to this age before."

Yumi looked at them, a puzzled expression on her face.

"It's a long story, Yumi," Hinako said, "But, I'm actually twenty-six, no seven, years old. But I had an odd condition that reverted me back to physically thirteen. I also had a rather difficult time focusing on things both as an adult and when I was a child. I was able to find a cure, but it left me in this child's body, which while not bad in itself, since it has allowed me to grow up normally, and come to terms with things, I also remember what it was like when I was physically more mature."

"That's hard to believe," Yumi said, slowly.

"True, though," Ranma said, quickly.

"Didn't say I didn't believe it," Yumi replied, "I've come to believe all sorts of odd things since I came to live here."

* * *

Two attractive young women walked down the darkened streets of Nerima, both of them carrying a paper lantern to light their way. One of them was dressed in a gi, a pair of wooden geta on her feet, while the other was wearing a Chinese blouse and loose slacks. 

"Whose idea was this?" one girl asked, "This is pretty lame."

"Um, Ranma, I believe it was your idea," the second girl replied, hiding her smile.

"Well, next time I have an idea this stupid, Akane, tell me," Ranma said, frowning slightly.

Akane smirked as they walked a bit further down the street. Then she asked, softly, "Hey, Ranma, this 'asking out' demon, doesn't it **remind** you of someone?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Ranma admitted, "But I didn't want to go there, since he seemed to be happy with Akari."

"That might explain the pig fetish, though," Akane said, earning her a startled look.

"I didn't think of that," Ranma said, after a moment, "And didn't she go home for the week?"

"That's what Kodachi said before she and Mousse left on their trip," Akane replied, "Something about how she was sorry to leave her brother all alone in the house except for the servants."

"You don't suppose he did something stupid?" Ranma asked.

Akane gave him a withering look.

"Yeah, I know. Dumb question, this is Kuno we're talking about. When you look up 'stupid' in the dictionary, it has his picture beside it," Ranma said.

"I thought that was Genma," Akane said, with a grin.

"Naw, he's not stupid, not really. Now, if you'd look under 'lazy,' that's where you'd find his picture," Ranma retorted.

The two girls grinned at each other as they continued down the street.

* * *

The sky began to darken as the sun slowly sank toward the horizon while Ranma and Akane continued to troll for the 'date' monster. 

"We've wandered through most of Nerima," Akane said, her spirits low, as her feet were sore from the pounding of the wooden clogs against the pavement.

"We have to be doing something wrong," Ranma said, with a sigh, "That old fat man said that the 'asking out' demon struck every night for the the past three nights."

"But what could it be?" Akane asked.

Ranma groaned as she suddenly remembered what the old man had said. "Idiot!" she exclaimed, "We forgot the most important thing!"

"What?" Akane asked, through gritted teeth.

"We forgot all about the damn pig fetish," Ranma groaned, "When he said something that sounded like, well never mind what I thought, I let that slip completely out of my head."

"Well, it's too late to do anything about it tonight," Akane said, "We'll just have to try again tomorrow."

"Still annoys me no end that I did something so stupid," Ranma grumbled as she followed Akane back toward their home.

Akane smirked and said, "Well, I know how you can make it up to me."

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her and asked, "And what would that be?"

"I'm going to definitely need a foot rub when we get home. I honestly don't know what I was thinking wearing geta," Akane replied.

"Wait, then, let's get you off your feet," Ranma said, "Before they get any sorer." Ranma bent down slightly, and said, "Come on, climb on."

"You sure, Ranma?" Akane asked, biting her lip indecisively.

"Wouldn't have offered if I wasn't," Ranma replied.

Akane reluctantly climbed onto her back, and then Ranma grabbed her legs, while Akane wrapped her arms around her wife's neck. "Hold on tight," she said, as she began to walk down the street.

* * *

The young couple had nearly reached their home, when a quiet voice spoke from the shadows, "Mistress Akane, Mistress, I mean, Master Ranma, you have to help me!" 

Akane slid down off of Ranma's back and asked, "Who's there?"

A diminutive ninja appeared out of nowhere and replied, "It is I, Sasuke Sarugakure. And Master Tatewaki is in trouble." He was nearly in tears as he spoke.

"I haven't seen you around much, Sasuke," Ranma said.

"Wouldn't be much of a ninja if you had, Master Ranma," Sasuke said, "Though part of that is because of the shame that I feel for not discovering your secret."

"We're nearly home, Sasuke, why don't you come with us and tell us all about it," Akane said, kindly.

"I will meet you there," the ninja said, as he tossed a small ball to the pavement, which exploded in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the ninja was gone.

"We really should introduce him to Konatsu," Ranma muttered.

* * *

Akane stared at the black-garbed ninja, completely shocked. "Kuno has been possessed by a cherry tree?" she exclaimed, "And you don't know how to free him?" 

Sasuke was nearly in tears as he replied, "No, and I've been so troubled. Master Tatewaki has been going out every evening searching for his pig-riding girl. It took me a while to discover why."

Ranma and Akane exchanged long-suffering looks, while Sasuke sipped his tea that Kasumi had left on the table in the family room, before dragging everyone else out of the room.

"Okay, I'll go ahead and ask," Ranma asked, "Why is he wandering around Nerima asking strangers for a date?"

"I have an ancient document handed down within the Kuno clan," Sasuke replied, pulling a yellowed and brittle scroll out of the sleeve of his uniform. He handed it to the two girls.

'The Tragic Legend of the Black Cherry Tree,' Akane read aloud, 'Long ago, there lived a man who carved the name of the maiden he loved onto the trunk of the black cherry tree. The black cherry tree, greatly angered, possessed the man, and sacrificed the maiden whose name was carved onto its trunk.'

"Hmm, a sacrifice," Ranma said, her eyes glinting like blue sapphires, "So?"

"Indeed unfortunate. And even worse, the name he carved is pig-riding girl. Because of this, if Mistress Unryu becomes the sacrifice, Master Tatewaki will be saved," the ninja replied.

Akane looked troubled and asked, "But would he really want to do that? Kuno is in love with Akari, and if he kills her, what would he do? Wouldn't he go insane?"

"Aye, there's the rub," Sasuke replied, "She is everything to him. If she were to die to save his life, it would shatter what is left of my master's sanity. I fear for what would happen then."

"Why come to us?" Ranma asked.

"I didn't know where else to turn, Master Ranma," Sasuke replied, "Mistress Kodachi is still vacationing with her husband, and there is a limit to how much longer I can keep Master Tatewaki under control."

"I don't know how we can help though, except to keep Akari safe," Akane said, as she chewed on her lower lip.

Sasuke looked troubled and he sighed heavily. "You were my last hope," he admitted.

Ranma glanced down at the scroll and frowned as she read, 'The sacrificial maiden cannot escape from beneath the branches of the tree because of a barrier.'

"A b-barrier?" Akane gasped.

"That means we need to keep Akari and Kuno away from each other," Ranma replied, her face ashen, wondering how she could explain that to either of them.

Akane snatched the scroll away from her wife, and read further, 'If the sacrificial maiden spends one enjoyable night on a date, she is spared.'

"Is THAT all?" Ranma asked, "That should be simple enough. Those two are nigh inseperable when they are together. It's almost sickening, to be honest, to see their brains ooze out of their ears when they look at each other."

Akane looked worried as she said, "I'm not too sure about that last, Ranma. It was written in a different hand with another color ink."

Ranma frowned as if she was trying to remember something, but then shrugged her shoulders. "When is Akari supposed to return?" she asked.

"She had intended to spend several weeks at home with her grandfather," Sasuke replied, "And indeed, Master Tatewaki had made some mention of visiting her this weekend. However, I have taken the liberty to send word of what has befallen Master Tatewaki to Mistress Akari. I am unsure of when she will receive it, however."

"Damn," Ranma cursed, "That's not good. What if he manages to find someone who accidently meets the requirement of pig-riding girl? I mean the last three girls he accosted were associated with pigs in some manner."

"Then we have to do something, Ranma," Akane said.

"I'm open to suggestions," Ranma said, "Since I don't have a clue about what we can do."

"Please, you two are my only hope," Sasuke pleaded, "While my master is still in control, at least, partially, I have no idea whether he can continue to fight off the black cherry tree."

Akane frowned and said, "Then, the only thing I can think of to do what you did and get word to Akari and have her come back to Nerima as soon as possible."

"But what about the sacrifice thing?" Ranma asked, her brows furrowed in concern.

"That's where we'll have to come in," Akane replied, "To make sure nothing happens to her, at least not anything that she doesn't want to happen."

Sasuke bowed and said, "As I mentioned, I had taken the liberty to send word to Mistress Akari about the unfortunate circumstances that befell Master Tatewaki. As impetuous as she is, I would not be surprised to see her shortly after she receives my letter. Certainly the day after next.."

"That doesn't leave us much time to come up with a plan," Akane said.

Ranma ordered, "Sasuke, as soon as Akari shows up, call us."

The ninja nodded and then vanished.

* * *

Akari leapt from her giant pig Katsunishiki, almost before the beast had rumbled to a stop, and landed gracefully in front of the gate to her beloved's home. Ringing the bell, she waited impatiently for someone to answer her summons, pacing nervously from one side of the gate to the other. Finally, losing all semblance of calm, she snapped. "Katsunishiki, the gate!" she ordered. 

The pig stared at the gate for a moment, an evil glint in its reddened eyes, before it backed up several paces. Then with a cry, it raced forward, and hit the gate with its massive shoulder, splintering the gate, and continued on into the grounds of the estate.

Akari moved regally onto the lawn surrounding the main house, daintily stepping over the debris, and carefully keeping her dress from being snagged by the ragged wrought iron that once had held the gate together.

A shocked voice said, "Mistress Akari, I was coming as fast as I could."

"Sasuke, I got your message, where is Tachi, my sweetie?" Akari demanded, as she came to a stop in front of the ninja that had suddenly appeared from the shrubbery.

"He is sorely afflicted, my lady," Sasuke said, a bit hesitantly, "And Master Ranma and Mistress Akane ordered me to ask you to wait for their arrival before you saw him."

Akari merely sniffed, and brushed past the ninja who fell to his knees and begged, "Mistress Akari, please, wait for them to come. They promised to be here as soon as possible after I let them know that you were here."

"No offense to Ranma and Akane, but that's MY fiancé that we're talking about, and I don't care to wait," Akari said as she continued to move forward.

Sasuke started forward as if to stop her, only to have the giant sumo-wrestling pig move between them, almost knocking the small ninja to the ground.

"Nice piggy," Sasuke stammered as he pulled out a cellular phone and quickly dialed a number.

* * *

Ranma and Akane raced to the Kuno estate, with Akane keeping up rather well with the pace that Ranma had set. As they entered through the tattered remains of what had once been a stout gate, they slid to a stop as they saw an ominous sight. Sasuke was off to one side, wringing his hands, as he watched the standoff. Katsunishiki was standing guard in front of its mistress, glaring at a toppled tree. Kuno's head was partially visible, while the rest of his body was apparently wholly contained within the trunk of what appeared to be a black cherry tree, while Akari was crying copiously, a heavy stream of tears running down her face, while she pounded on the flank of the oblivious pig. 

"LET ME BY! THAT'S MY SWEETUMS," Akari screamed, trying ineffectualy to move the pig out of her way.

"Smart pig," Ranma observed as they raced over to Akari, with Akane wrapping her arms around her distraught friend.

"Please!!!" Akari wailed, as she buried her face in Akane's shoulder, while Akane made ineffectual soothing noises.

Ranma turned to Sasuke and asked, "We got here as soon as we could after you called, but what happened while we were on the way?"

Sasuke replied, "Mistress Akari rushed into the grounds and started looking for Master Tatewaki. I called you and then followed after as soon as I could. She found him here in the garden, but before she could near him, Katsunishiki interposed his body between them, and then knocked the Master over. He has prevented her from approaching, and will not allow Master Tatewaki to rise."

"Can't fault the pig's instincts," Ranma said approvingly, "So long as she is not underneath the branches, she can't be trapped by the barrier."

"How do we save my sweetie?" Akari cried.

Akane stared at her husband in dismay, and then repeated the words from the scroll, "The Tragic Legend of the Black Cherry Tree, Long ago, there lived a man who carved the name of the maiden he loved onto the trunk of the black cherry tree. The black cherry tree, greatly angered, possessed the man, and sacrificed the maiden whose name was carved onto its trunk. The sacrificial maiden cannot escape from beneath the branches of the tree because of a barrier. However, if the sacrificial maiden spends one enjoyable night on a date, she is spared."

Akari's face brightened and she said, "See, that's all we have to do. I can spend the day with my beloved, and that will free him from this curse."

Ranma looked uncertain, and looked over at Akane, who shrugged her shoulders. He nodded to Akari.

"Fine, then, let's pack a picnic and go flower-viewing or something," Akari said.

Ranma chuckled and said, "First you need to convince your pig."

Two little piggish eyes stared back at her mistress, as she glared back. The giant pig snorted and backed away, allowing the tree to struggle up to stand on its roots. As it did so, its canopy cast its shadow over Akari, trapping her within its barrier.

"What? A flower viewing!" an all too familiar voice said from behind them.

Ranma and Akane turned, and saw Soun and Yumi standing there, with Nabiki next to them.

"Thanks, we'd love to come!" Soun said, while Yumi held up the large picnic basket that she was carrying.

Ranma looked at Akane. Akane looked at Ranma. Then they both exclaimed, "How the hell did you three hear about the flower viewing!"

Nabiki merely smiled mysteriously.

* * *

The large blanket was spread out across the luscious green grass of the park, with Yumi, Nabiki, Ranma and Akane sprawled out on the blanket and Akari sitting as close to her fiancé as she could, while Soun danced around waving a set of fans. 

Katsunishiki continued its vigil, its tiny black eyes never moving from where they stared at the trunk of the black cherry tree.

"My, what an unusual tree! It looks like a face!" Yumi said, as she placed out several trays of sushi and sashimi.

Akane forced a laugh and said, "This is fun, isn't it?"

"Wait!" Kuno exclaimed, "I'm not flowering viewing, I'm being flower-viewed."

Akari glanced around to discover that it was true. They had drawn the attention of several of the other people who had taken advantage of the sunny day to stroll through the park and commune with nature.

"No fun!" Kuno exclaimed.

Akari nodded and asked, "Oh?"

The tree toppled over, landing in Akari's lap, expelling her breath out of her in a loud "OOF!"

"What are you doing, sweetie?" Akari asked, once she had regained her breath.

"Lap pillow," Kuno explained. He closed his eyes, and sighed, "Ah, when I'm like this, the sensation of your soft lap." His eyes sprang open and he groaned, "I can't feel it!!"

"Well, of course not, your body's made up of wood," Ranma said, a note of disgust in his voice.

"Hmmm, how troubling," Akari said, a single tear running down her cheek.

"Well, we might as well kiss, then, I suppose," Kuno said, a hopeful note in his voice.

"I'm not sure about that," Nabiki said.

The tree turned as much as it could and said, "But if all I have is a face, what else can we do that would be fun?"

"I'm afraid of splinters," Akari admitted.

"Ah, that could be a problem," Tatewaki replied, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I know!" Akari exclaimed as she pulled a marker from her purse and scribbled quickly on the face sticking out of the tree trunk. She held up her compact mirror and said, "See, look, a funny face!"

"Why, you cute thing!" Kuno exclaimed. He concentrated for a moment and then the branches of the tree became laden with cherry blossoms. A moment later, there was a wreath of blossoms that one of the branches placed delicately around Akari's neck. "A necklace of cherry blossoms," he said, "My gift to you!"

"Oh, how pretty," Akari squealed happily, "How thoughtful!"

"Made beautiful with my own flowers," the tree said.

Akari tittered for several moments, and then sighed, "This is fun, isn't it, sweetie?"

"No, it's boring," Kuno replied, "And I want my kiss."

The pig had finally lost all patience and it charged the tree, sending it soaring high into the air by butting it with its head.

Akari rose to her feet and then began to berate the pig. "You could have hurt my sweetums," she said, her voice as cold as ice, as Katsunishiki began to look sheepish.

The tree slammed into the ground next to her, and Soun stumbled back, an expression of fear on his face.

"Be careful, Akari, I sense a vast aura of phantom energy," Soun said, causing Ranma to roll his eyes.

The sun hid its face behind the clouds, as if afraid of what was about to happen.

"CURSE THIS MAN!" an eerie voice cried.

"What!" Akane exclaimed.

"Using the name of the Black Cherry Tree to do as he pleases with MY sacrificial maiden!" the voice exclaimed.

"The true Black Cherry Tree has shown himself," Ranma said, clenching his fists as Akari moved toward her possessed boyfriend, only to have Akane grab her.

"Sacrificial Maiden, if you desire to escape my barrier," the voice said, "Kiss ME!"

Akari struggled to get closer to the tree, whose branches were waving wildly. "Let me go!!" she cried, "Let me save my beloved!!!"

Suddenly, a loud "BRAAAAAP," was heard and the tree spun around.

There, a disheveled Ranma was standing, a roaring chain saw in his hands, white smoke billowing around him and the smell of gasoline burning in the air. A feral light in his eyes, Ranma exclaimed, "HA! I love the smell of gasoline in the evening!"

"Wait," the tree said, "It was a lovely date! Farewell!" The trunk of the tree split open, and Kuno was rudely ejected onto the ground, and the tree scampered off into the sunset.

"Tachi! Sweetie!!!" Akari exclaimed as she pulled herself away from Akane and rushed to her fiancé.

"That was one weak-willed spirit," Ranma said, with a grin.

"You mean Kuno was the stronger one?" Akane asked.

"I'm so glad you're free, sweetie," Akari said as she began kissing her semi-conscious fiancé.

"Well, that was a bit anticlimactic," Nabiki sighed.

* * *

Akane scampered into the dojo and slammed the door closed behind her, then quickly pulled the hasp across the frame and slid the bolt through, securing it tightly. Then she spun, wide-eyed and ran to the back wall, where she slid down against it, her face pale as if she had seen a ghost. 

Ranma stared at her in amazement and then asked, "What's wrong Akane?"

"Your mother!" Akane exclaimed, hiding her face in her hands.

Ranma rushed over and pulled her into a hug. "What has she done now?" he asked, trying to calm the shivering girl in his arms down.

Akane lifted her face up and asked, tremulously, "Do you remember when we came back married after I rescued you from China?"

Ranma rolled his eyes and replied, "Of course, the days we spent alone in Niigata were wonderful."

"NO! I meant after we got back, and promised your mother that we would have a ceremony in August," Akane moaned.

"Yes, I remember. We agreed before we came home that we would do something small," Ranma said.

"Well, it's the first of August next Saturday, and she's decided that we'll have a ceremony then," Akane said, once more hiding her face.

"But that's only a couple of days away," Ranma exploded.

Akane nodded her head and said, her voice muffled, "I know, but apparently she's been planning this with Yumi and Kasumi behind our backs. Looking at the size of the guest list, I swear they've invited all of Nerima."

"I doubt that, seriously. Do you know how many hundreds of thousands live in the prefecture?" Ranma replied, soothingly.

"I saw the list. It was a stack of papers five centimeters tall," Akane wailed.

Ranma stopped rubbing her back as he froze in dismay. "That's a lot of names,"he gulped.

"I tried telling her that we just wanted a small ceremony with our closest friends, and that I wanted to plan it myself, but she just smiled, you know the way she does, and ignored me," Akane said, "That's when I ran in here to hide. I'm not coming out for at least a week."

"Um, I'm not really sure I like that plan," Ranma said, with a sly grin, "I rather like waking up next to you for some odd reason."

Akane blushed.

"And come to think about it, you'd get kind of ripe if you stayed in here, not to mention the whole getting meals thing," Ranma teased.

That earned him a punch in his shoulder, though Akane giggled after she did that.

"Feeling a bit better are we?" Ranma asked, rubbing his wounded shoulder.

"Perhaps," Akane said, "Though I'm glad we eloped. If we were doing this for real, I think I'd run away, what with all of the pressure I'm getting from the family."

Ranma smiled in understanding and said, "Me too, the first time I went through this was pretty scary. I didn't even know then that you loved me. Our families had us under so much pressure that we didn't have time for us. This time was so much better. Especially since it was our decision, not theirs."

"Well to be fair, I didn't know that you loved me either," Akane sniffed.

"We didn't have much of an opportunity to talk about it, though, did we? Besides, if I had shown you any real affection, they would have married us off in a heartbeat. And I wanted you to marry me because you wanted to, not because your daddy told us to," Ranma said, "I think that's why we had so much trouble then."

"I know," Akane said, "And I agree, we've done so much better now. And I can't think of anyone I'd rather wake up next to."

"Good thing," Ranma said, pretending to frown. He grinned toothily and said, "I do admit, though, that I am looking forward to seeing you in your wedding dress."

"Do you think I would look better in a kimono?" Akane asked, suddenly.

Ranma blushed and replied, "No, I mean, either would look good on you. Of course, I know what I'd rather see you in, though it wouldn't quite be appropriate until later."

Akane grinned and said, "Gee, I can't imagine WHAT you meant by that. Besides, you've seen me in my skin more times than I can count."

"But it is such a pretty outfit," Ranma said, his eyes glazing.

"My legs are too thick, my breasts are too small, and my waist is too big," Akane grumbled.

"And I wouldn't change any of it," Ranma said, "Especially since I disagree. Sure, you have strong legs, you're a martial artist, just like me, and my legs aren't any smaller around when I'm female than yours. And as for the rest, I love you just the way you are, and wouldn't change a thing."

* * *

The morning of the wedding dawned brightly as Ranma wandered into the dojo to work out for an hour or so, mostly to get out of the way of the females in the house, all of whom seemed to be extremely giddy. However, as he entered the training hall, he was savagely attacked. 

"Now, while he's passed out," Soun said.

"First this, then that," Genma said, as he quickly redressed his son with the outfit that Soun handed him.

Ranma groaned suddenly and rose to his feet, to find himself wearing a white tuxedo. "Huh," he asked, "What's the big idea?"

"Well, since Akane has agreed to marry you," Soun began.

"And we didn't want you to get cold feet," Genma added.

Ranma rolled his eyes and reached out with hands like steel, wrapping them around the necks of the two men, lifting them effortlessly from their feet. "Pop, Soun, I am **already** married to Akane, and to think that I would get cold feet now is stupid thinking. In the first place, I rather enjoy being married to her, the fringe benefits are quite nice, and in the second place, I would never want to disappoint Mom or Akane."

"Now Ranma," Soun began.

Ranma glowered at them and said, "Just imagine what Akane would do to me if I embarrassed her like that, leaving her waiting for me. Do you really think I would do that to her? Assuming she left me in one piece, sleeping on the floor would be the least of my worries." He frowned at his father and said, "Not that I expect you to remember what it's like to share a bed with the woman you love, Pop. Probably one reason why I'm an only child, now that I think about it."

"Now, boy," Genma sputtered.

"Just shut up, Pop. It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt," Ranma said, coldly, "And Soun, I thought you knew better. How did you let him talk you into this?"

"Well," Soun began, only to stumble to a halt.

"And Mom, what would she think? Since, really, the only reason we're doing this in the first place is allow her to be at our wedding. She'd be pretty disappointed in me if I stood my bride up. Probably think that there was something amiss in my training to be a man among men. Wonder who she'd take that out on? Huh, Pop?"

Soun began to back away from his old friend and said, "This was a bad idea, Saotome. I can't imagine why I agreed to this in the first place. Ranma is honourable, he would never leave Akane at the altar, so to speak."

"I bet it sounded a lot more reasonable after the third bottle of saké," Ranma sneered, "Or was it several litres of beer?" His gaze hardened and he added, "What would Yumi think of this?"

Soun fled, leaving his erstwhile friend behind to face the music, as Ranma cracked his knuckles.

The young man smirked and said, "Pop, consider this a reprieve. I'd rather not ruin this tux, or the ceremony, but so help me, if you so much as twitch, I won't be responsible for what happens to you."

"Now, my boy, I just wanted to do what was for the greater good," Genma essayed.

"And since when are you an expert on the greater good?" Ranma sighed, "Just leave and let me alone. I could have done without the bruises the two of you gave me, you know. Maybe I should let Akane do what she will with you? After all, you're trying to ruin her wedding day, sort of." He chuckled dryly as his father turned tail and ran out the door. "What a coward!" he exclaimed.

* * *

Ranma swallowed hard as Akane walked slowly toward him down the path from the house to the dojo to join him at the steps. She had elected not to wear the traditional kimono and headdress of a Shinto wedding, but instead was wearing a Western style wedding dress, with embroidery across the modest bodice, lace above, rising to circle her neck, where a pearl choker set off the ensemble. A feeling of déjà vu passed through him as he recognized the dress as the one that she had worn during the failed attempt the first time through. "You look beautiful," he breathed, as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. For some reason, it seemed to have shrank. 

"It was my mother's," Akane said, quietly, seeing the look in his eyes and blushing heavily as his eyes turned lustful, "You look pretty good yourself in that tux."

"I guess I clean up all right, after all," Ranma said, with a grin as he offered her his arm, "Shall we? I believe they are waiting for us."

Akane giggled as she took his arm, and they walked slowly into the dojo and headed toward the back wall, where the Shinto priest had set up an altar. They stopped for a second and Akane handed a small corsage to her older sister Kasumi. She bent down and lightly kissed her cheek, and then the two of them took the few short steps to the raised platform. Once they were there, the priest walked in, in his traditional dress, and he quickly joined them in front of the altar.

Ranma watched as the Shinto priest began to perform a ritual of purification over the bride and groom, but he quickly stopped paying attention, as he was entranced watching his wife's reaction to what was going on. It wasn't until she hissed at him to pay attention that he realized that the priest had already finished the opening prayer and was pouring the cups of saké.

Ranma and Akane picked up the first small cups. They brought their cup up to their partner's lips, and then they took a small sip from the offered cup. Per the ritual of San-San Ku-Do, they repeated that twice with the small cup and then set them down on the small altar at the same time. They then repeated the process with the medium cup, once again taking three sips from the offered cup, and then placing the cups down. Finally, the ritual was repeated with the large cup, and they once more placed the cups on the table exactly at the same moment to overcome the superstition that the person who set the cup down first would see their ancestors first.

Ranma picked up the parchment scroll upon which he had written his marriage oath, and began to read it. His voice quavered as he spoke, barely audible to the waiting throng of witnesses, but they were heartfelt words that meant a great deal to Akane as she began to glow with happiness.

Once Ranma was finished, the priest picked up two rings from the altar. He bowed over them briefly, in a wordless prayer and then handed the smaller of the two to him. With a gentle smile, the priest said, "The rings are a symbol of the endless love that we are here today to acknowledge. The tiny circle of gold also stands for the purity of the relationship that we celebrate. And borrowing slightly from my western brethren, Ranma Saotome, place the ring on your beloved's finger, and say, 'With this ring, I thee wed.' Then Akane, you will do the same."

Ranma took the ring from the priest and with a trembling hand, slid it on the ring finger of Akane's left hand. As he lifted her hand, he felt suddenly wet. Turning his head, he saw a shocked Hiroshi and Daisuke trying to hide a couple of large water pistols. Promising death to his erstwhile friends with his glare, he turned back and lightly kissed the ring and said, in a slightly stronger voice, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Akane raised an eyebrow at the dripping form of her husband, and then calmly and serenely took the other ring from the priest. She placed it upon Ranma's ring finger, and likewise lifted up his left hand and lightly kissed the ring. She said, in a ringing voice, that echoed through the building, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Akane and Ranma picked up sprigs of the sakaki tree and placed them on the altar. Then they bowed once, then again. Finally, they clapped their hands, one time, and then bowed once more.

The priest raised his hands above them in blessing. Then he bowed slightly to them, and walked up the aisle and out the door, as the family members began to cheer.

The young couple laced their hands together and headed down the aisle to the door. As they reached the door, they turned and Akane said, "I want to thank all of you for coming. As many of you know, Ranma and I have been married for several months, but we wished to invite all of our friends to a celebration, and formally say the vows."

"And without any further fuss, let's party!" Ranma said, as he led his wife outside and through the lavishly decorated grounds and toward the tables groaning with food.

* * *

"Okay, Ranma, why didn't you change?" Akane whispered as he stood with her, one arm wrapped possessively around her waist. 

Ranma chuckled and said, "It's supposed to be a special day for you, and I didn't want anything to go wrong. And having two brides and no groom at the wedding struck me as a bad thing. Would have totally confused the priest, if nothing else. So I used some of the waterproof soap to keep from changing in case I got wet. Good thing I did, since that wasn't the first time I got damp. Your dad got me once with a vase of flowers, and then Pop got me with something. That's why I'm now in a burgundy tuxedo instead of the white one that Pop shoe-horned me into this morning."

"Huh?" Akane asked, confused.

"Oh, your Dad and Pop ambushed me this morning in the dojo, knocking me out. When I came to, I was wearing a white tux," Ranma explained, "For some reason they were afraid that I was going to run out or something."

"Where did they get THAT idea?" Akane asked.

"Haven't a clue," Ranma replied, "But knowing them the way I do, it was probably some sort of drunken dream conjured up out of nothing over several bottles of beer."

"Well, it doesn't matter now. We've had the ceremony your Mom wanted, so she's happy," Akane said.

"And that's the only thing that really mattered today," Ranma said. He chuckled as he saw Hiroshi being pulled around the corner of the house by his ear. "Looks like I don't have to say anything to Hiroshi. Sayuri has him well in hand," he said, with a grin.

"Oh was he the one with the water?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, him and Daisuke," Ranma said, as Yuka chased Daisuke out the front gate, waiting until they were out of sight before she began to berate him, her voice carrying clearly over the noise of the party.

"I'd say that our girl friends have taken care of them for us," Akane said, giggling.

"How much longer do we need to stay?" Ranma asked.

Akane rolled her eyes at him and said, "Just a tad bit impatient are we?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "This monkey suit isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, and whoever invented ties, especially bow-ties, should have been strung up by one from the nearest tree. Wanted to get us both into something a bit more comfortable. Besides, I'm still waiting for something to go wrong, and I can't really fight in this thing. And I'd hate to see you try in that dress."

"Good point. Nabiki wants to wear it for her wedding too, and she'd kill me if I damaged it," Akane said, thoughtfully, "But, we have to stay for another hour. Besides, our train doesn't leave for another couple of hours."

"We could change into something else, though," Ranma suggested, hopefully.

"I guess we could," Akane said, after a moment, "We've greeted everyone, and all of the guests are busily devouring the feast that the other women put together. I'm a little surprised that you've eaten as little as you have."

Ranma grinned sheepishly and said, "Stomach is still tied up in knots. Don't know why I was so nervous, but I was, and it haven't settled down yet."

"Oh Ranma," Akane said, fondly, "That's so sweet."

"Silly of me, I know, but I just have bad memories," Ranma said, quietly, "And that dress brought them back."

Akane frowned for a moment, and said, "Well hopefully we've replaced those memories with some good ones."

"Mostly," Ranma replied, his eyes darting around, looking for any threat that might come at them, "I just have this bad feeling still. Don't know why, no real reason, I guess."

Akane wrapped her arm around him and said, "Ranma, just because you're being paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you. There have been too many times that someone has attacked one of us to not practice constant vigilance."

The small band began playing some dance music, and Nodoka pulled Genma into the middle of the lawn.

"Now that's something I didn't think I would ever see," Ranma said, as he pulled away from his wife. He bowed and asked, "Would my lady give me the honour of this dance?"

"Nicely done, my lord," Akane replied, a smile on her face, "And yes, I would love to dance with you."

They headed toward the center of the lawn, and began to sway to the music, as Akane rested her head on her husband's shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her back.

Yumi leaned back against Soun's chest as he held her, and sighed. "They make such a lovely couple," she breathed, "I am so jealous of them."

"I know dear, but our day will come soon enough," Soun replied.

Yumi giggled and said, "I know, but time seems to flow so slowly. Have I told you how happy you've made me, or for that matter, Sayuri, lately?"

"It has been my pleasure," Soun said archly, "And she's a good girl. Fits in well with the horde of females that I seem to have collected."

"True, our girls have grown close, all five of them," Yumi said, "I sometimes wonder if you're feeling outnumbered."

Soun grinned and said, "I was always outnumbered. Not that I'm in any real hurry for that to change. Though, I am glad to have a couple of sons-in-law to help balance things out just a bit. And I like Souta, he and Nabiki make an exciting pair."

"I'm not quite as sanguine about Sayuri and Hiroshi, though," Yumi said, "I'm not sure that they are meant to last."

"Maybe, maybe not. Ranma and Akane were a bit young when they wed, and there's no doubt in my mind that they were meant to be together. And while they won't admit it, Kasumi and Tofu loved each other for years," Soun replied, thoughtfully, "So finding your life mate at this young an age isn't beyond the realm of possibility. On the other hand, if they end up going to different schools once they graduate, they may find someone else. But, does it really matter so long as she ends up happy?"

"No, it doesn't," Yumi replied, "That's all I really want is for her to make her path, and be happy. Whether she ends up with Hiroshi, someone else, or even no one at all, so long as she has a good life, I'll be happy."

"And that's really all we can ask for our children, isn't it?" Soun asked, "We raise them the best that we can, but then we have to turn them loose to make their own way, and hope that what we have taught them will be enough. Odd, isn't it, that we never get any real training on how to raise children?"

"Well, looking at the three that you've raised, I think you've done a pretty good job," Yumi said.

"Most of that was Kasumi, I have to say. I was somewhat of a mess until Ranma and Akane got together," Soun replied, "And then you entered my life, and things got so much better."

"I feel the same way," Yumi said, as she watched the remaining young couples join in the dancing, as Yuki dragged her fiancé into the mix, while her daughter brought Hiroshi.

Yumi giggled attractively as she pointed out Nodoka. Her friend was pulling on a leather leash that was attached to a collar around the neck of her husband, forcing the panda to join her in the throng of dancing couples. She sighed a bit wistfully then.

"I'm not too old to go out there," Soun said, a bit diffidently.

"Neither am I," Yumi said, "And I don't think we'll embarrass our children too much."

"That's their problem, isn't it?" Soun asked, as he led her to into the crowd and found a small patch of lawn.

* * *

Author's Notes: Welcome Gentle Readers to the latest chapter of this story. I hope everyone enjoyed this one. A bit of sweetness and fluff, I suppose, with a look at a few characters that have been on the sidelines. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. 


	80. Enter Ken and His Copycat Kerchief

Chapter 80 Enter Ken and His Copycat Kerchief

Akane gazed out the window of the bus, watching the scenery as it flew by rapidly, while her husband slept, his head lolling against her shoulder. With an indulgent smile, she gently caressed Ranma's hair with one hand. He had fallen asleep nearly as soon as they boarded the bus at the train station for their long ride up into the Hida Mountains to find the inn that was to be their final destination. Her smile grew wider as the bus careened around the mountains, going through one switchback to the next, winding its way ever deeper, stopping occasionally at the small towns that seemed to nestle in a wide spot in the road to drop off a few passengers. Each of the towns had a sameness of character, a few storefronts along the main highway, with a few side streets heading up into the tree-covered hills, with the odd house peeking out from the trees. Currently, the highway was following a stream as it roared its way down to the valley below. Finally, the driver pulled the bus over in the middle of nowhere, and turned to her.

"This is your stop, miss," the elderly man said, "That road there will take you to the inn."

Akane glanced out the window and saw a small, slightly overgrown path leading away from the highway. She turned to wake Ranma, only to see his eyes already open.

Ranma clambered to his feet, and grabbed his backpack, slinging it onto his back, and then handed Akane hers. With an eager grin, she slid her arms through the straps, making sure it rested securely in place, and then the two of them exited the bus. They waved to the driver as the bus headed higher up the mountain road, leaving them in an apparent wilderness, with the river rushing by on one side of the highway, and a heavily forested hillside on the other, the only break the path that Akane had already noticed.

"So where did you hear about this inn?" Akane asked, with a grin on her face.

"Your dad is the one who made all of the arrangements," Ranma admitted.

Akane rolled her eyes at that. "Well, I wonder how far it is to the Hot Springs hotel?" she asked.

Ranma rooted around in his backpack for a moment, emerging triumphantly with a folded piece of paper that he quickly flattened out to show that it was a hand written map, showing plainly the route to the Hotel Royal Prince Okura. After studying it for a moment, he frowned and said, "I don't really know, to be honest. This map leaves a lot to be desired. Your father didn't seem to think it was too far, though." He glanced to the sky and added, "However, we need to get going. The sun sets early in these mountains, and I don't really like the look of those clouds."

* * *

A couple of hours and a brief rainshower later, Ranma stared at the map in disgust. "At least the rain has stopped, of course, it did wear off all of the waterproof soap first," she groused as she then looked over the edge of the cliff that the map and road had led them too. The precipice overlooked a picturesque valley, once again one with a river running through it. She frowned and said, "You know, it's possible that this map isn't very accurate."

Akane rolled her eyes and retorted, "You think. I don't exactly see a hotel around here."

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, I suppose that we missed a turn or something. But, I don't remember seeing another way to go."

Akane said, "I don't either. So what are we going to do? Lost in the wilderness, without a place to stay."

"Not exactly. It's not what I had planned for our honeymoon, but I did bring our tent with me," Ranma said, "And we can always make our way back to the road tomorrow."

At that moment, the two girls heard something rustling in the heavy shrubbery that was bordering the path. Akane instinctively drew closer to Ranma, as they both dropped their backpacks to the ground to free themselves for action.

A spindly man forced his way through the brush, dressed in a hotel livery, and said, "Hello, you two look lost."

"Yes, we are. Do you live around here?" Akane asked, "Do you know where the Hotel Royal Prince Okura is?"

"I have the honour to be the manager," the man said, bowing, "Welcome."

"Good," Ranma said, "So where the hell is the Hotel Royal Prince Okura?"

"It's just down there," the man said, pointing past them.

Ranma and Akane turned and looked in the direction he was pointing to see a dark-roofed building down in the valley far below, surrounded by a tall wall, with a driveway leading down to a road that bordered the edge of a tall cliff, formed by the river flowing far below.

The man said, "You missed the turn off some ways back, but we were expecting you so I had come up to meet you. The bus must have been making much better time, though, than I had anticipated."

"Well, show us the way, sir," Ranma said.

* * *

Ranma followed the manager and Akane up the immaculately kept drive that wove its way from the river road through the towering trees until they reached the pristine walls surrounding the large two-story building they had seen from the cliff, an extremely perplexed look on her face. As she continued up the drive to the inn itself, she spotted a large sign proclaiming that this was indeed the Hotel Royal Prince Okura. When she saw that, her confused look turned into a frown. She followed her wife through the large double doors into the lobby, where the manager walked over to the counter. He spun a register around and said, "Please, sign your names in our register."

Akane glanced over at Ranma who appeared to be in a mild state of shock, and quickly wrote their names in elegant kanji.

The manager turned to a large pegboard behind the desk, and took down a rather large and ornate key from one of the hooks protruding from the board. A faint frown creased Akane's forehead as she saw that all of the other hooks had keys hanging from them.

"Are we the only guests?" Akane asked.

"Yes, we just finished a rather extensive remodeling and only reopened today," the manager replied, obsequiously, and handed her the key, "So you two ladies are our only guests. Though for some reason, the two of you are booked into our honeymoon suite."

"Ah, I can understand your confusion," Akane replied, glancing over at Ranma, "My husband will be joining us shortly. His sister Ranko came with me to keep me company until he could arrive. Odd, I know, but we are very close."

The manager looked at her with an odd expression on his face, which quickly smoothed out, as he bowed to her. "Then, again, let me welcome you to the Royal Prince Okura, and if there is anything I can do to make your stay enjoyable, please do not hesitate to ask." He straightened up and said, "Your suite is on the first floor, up that flight of stairs, and looks out over the mountains, so the view is spectacular."

* * *

Ranma glanced around the elegantly appointed room, and slowly sank down in a chair at the table sitting in front of the windows overlooking the mountains, a bewildered expression on her face.

Akane walked over and sat down next to her in one of the remaining chairs, and placed the tray she was carrying onto the table. "What's wrong, Ranma?" she asked quietly, disturbed more than she was willing to admit to herself by the odd actions of the redhaired girl.

"Something isn't right," Ranma replied, a haunted look in her eyes, "It took me a while to remember, even though the name of the hotel seemed familiar to me for some reason. Finally, just before we arrived, I remembered a little bit about this place. And what I remember is that this place was a ramshackle dump, something someone as cheap as your father would have booked the family."

"But this looks very nice," Akane protested, "Are you sure you're remembering what really happened?"

"I don't know," Ranma admitted, "It was a long time ago in my timeline, and I don't even remember anything about what we were doing there, but I'm sure that it wasn't like this. I just don't understand why it is different now and it's weirding me out for some reason."

At that moment, someone knocked at the door.

"Come in," Akane called.

The door opened, and the manager stepped in. "Good afternoon, young ladies," he said, "I was wondering if you girls would enjoy a dip in our outdoor bathing facilities? We will serve dinner in two hours so that would give you plenty of time."

"Outdoor bath?" Akane asked.

Ranma quickly replied, "We'd love to." 'I need to change back, anyway,' she thought as she realized for the first time that she hadn't even looked for hot water once they arrived in their room.

"They do say that our hot spring water cures all the usual ailments," the manager said, "It is even said to enhance the skills of martial artists."

"Wow, will it really improve martial-arts skills?" Akane asked, wide-eyed.

Ranma rolled her eyes, and said, "We could soak for a little while, thank you. And you said dinner would be served in two hours, right?"

"Yes, Miss Saotome, that I did," the manager replied, bowing his way out of the room.

* * *

Ranma stopped in front of the paired doors and said, "Looks like this is where we separate."

Akane looked at her bemused and asked, "Why is that?"

Ranma pointed above the doors. Hanging above each of the doors was a wooden sign, one reading, 'Men,' and the other reading, 'Women.' "Doesn't look like it is set up for mixed bathing," she explained.

Akane grinned and said, "I don't see a problem, Ranma. Looks to me like there's only girls here right now."

Ranma rolled her eyes and retorted, "Right, until we get into the hot spring water."

"Still not a problem," Akane said, her eyes lighting up, "We're the only guests staying here, and if you think I'm letting you out of my sight, you have another think coming."

Ranma looked both ways and asked, "Are you sure?" Her cheeks turned slightly pink as she asked.

"I'm very sure. It is, after all, our honeymoon," Akane purred, sending interesting sensations running up and down the other girl's spine.

"Then I guess you'll get to scrub my," Ranma said, pausing for a few moments until she added, "Back."

"That's all I'm going to scrub," Akane said, saucily, "I'm not an exhibitionist, after all."

* * *

A pair of giggling, well-scrubbed, pink-cheeked girls, with their towels draped across their torsos, left the bathing area and walked across the tile floor to the open end of the room that looked out upon the large spring-fed pool. On the right side of the pool was a large, irregular rock wall, stretching from the bathing area to the far end of the pool, though some parts of the wall were lower than others.

Akane dropped her towel, and did a surface dive into the hot water, splashing her companion.

Ranma chuckled, as he left his towel behind, and jumped down into the water, and then swam out to meet his wife. "Showing off just a bit are we?" he asked.

"Maybe a bit," Akane admitted as she pulled him in for a searing kiss.

After a few minutes, they broke apart, panting heavily.

"Um, are you sure we need to be here?" Ranma asked huskily.

Akane squeaked, "Yes, it would be foolish to come to a hot spring hotel and not get into the water."

Ranma pointed to a low bench barely visible through the steam, and said, "Why don't we go sit there?"

"That sounds like a good idea, and then you can tell me what little you remember about when we visited here before," Akane agreed.

Ranma looked at her for a moment and then nodded his acceptance. They waded over to the low bench and sat down, which left the water just below their shoulders. Akane rested her head on his shoulder as he placed an arm around her.

"There's not much to really tell," Ranma said, slowly, "All I actually remember is coming here. Someone had sent your father an invitation, asking him to come here and bring his family for a three night, two-day vacation. I can't even remember who all came, to be honest. I guess it just didn't make that much of an impression on me, other than the fact that the hotel was pretty rundown."

"The manager told me that they had just reopened after a remodeling, so perhaps you aren't too far wrong. Maybe we just came earlier before," Akane replied.

"I guess," Ranma replied, slowly, "It's just a difference from what I remember happening. Sort of like Souta not being at Furinkan the first time around. Those kind of things make me just a little nervous, that's all."

Akane half-turned and said, coyly, "Maybe I can get your mind off of things, Mr. Saotome."

Ranma quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What do you have in mind, Mrs. Saotome?" only to find out as she pulled him into another searing kiss.

This time the kiss was interrupted as the young lovers heard a quiet splash, as if something small had entered the water.

"It's not just me who heard that, right?" Ranma asked.

Akane gasped, "Do you think something's out there? Like a peeping Tom?"

Ranma frowned and said, "Well, I'm pretty sure this side of the pool is connected to the men's side, even though there were separate entrances. But, maybe it was just some sort of animal."

"We are pretty high up in the mountains," Akane agreed, "Could it be wild monkeys?"

"Maybe," Ranma said, doubtfully, as his attention was caught by a shadow in the water over by the rock wall, which slowly disappeared as if something was swimming into the depths.

"Hey, Ranma, what's wrong? Did you see something?" Akane asked, a little stridently.

"I dunno," Ranma replied, "Maybe."

Akane shivered in spite of the warm water and said, "I think we should go back to our room."

"That's not a bad idea," Ranma said, as he backed toward the bathing and changing area, keeping his body between whatever it was and Akane.

Akane backed toward the ledge leading up to the doubtful safety of the changing area. Once she reached it, she turned, and grabbed her towel. She started climbing out of the pool, wrapping the towel around her wet body, and headed quickly to where she had left her clothing.

Ranma joined her, his towel secured loosely around his waist as he waited until she was dressed. Then, he quickly pulled his slacks over his damp body, never taking his eyes off of the water.

"Let's go to our room," Akane said, urgently, as somehow the pool area seemed to have turned ominous, with all sorts of shapes barely visible through the steam that was now billowing from the water.

* * *

Roughly an hour later, Ranma rose from the bed, after taking a quick look at the clock ticking on the bedside table. Slipping into his bathrobe, he ensured that the blanket was still covering the nude form of his slumbering wife, and then walked to the window. He watched for a moment as the sun began to set behind the mountains to the west, painting the sky with a brilliant mixture of reds and yellows.

A soft rustle from behind him caught his attention, so he turned to see one of Akane's hands idly questing about the sheets, looking for him. The absence of his body slowly roused her to wakefulness, and she rolled over, pulling the sheets around her as she sat up.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Ranma said, with a warm chuckle, "We need to get going. They are serving dinner in a bit less than an hour, remember?"

Akane stretched, letting the sheet fall from her body, and arched her back, groaning with pleasure as it popped, and then she rose gracefully from the bed. "It's your fault if we're late," she teased, smiling to herself as she watched his reaction.

"Right, blame it on the boy," Ranma groused as he moved toward the dresser to retrieve a change of clothing, "Besides, I don't remember you complaining. In fact, you were pretty enthusiastic about things, as I recall." With a smirk, he let the bathrobe slip down off his shoulders and pool on the floor, letting her get just as good a look at him.

Akane bit her lip and asked, "Are you sure we need to get dressed and go eat?" To her chagrin, her stomach disagreed with her.

"It might be just a touch embarrassing for the only guests not to show up for the meal that they are preparing for us," Ranma said, "Besides, I'm starving."

* * *

The manager looked up as the door to the dining room opened, and a radiant young woman walked in, followed closely by a tall young man. "Ah, Mrs. Saotome, this must be your husband, Mr. Saotome," the manager said, "I was unaware that he had arrived."

Ranma looked startled for a moment, and then said something under his breath, causing Akane to giggle. He blushed slightly and replied, "Yes, though I still really don't think of myself as Mr. Saotome. That's always been Pop before."

"It is a pleasure to welcome you to our fine establishment," the manager said, fawning over his guests.

"Thank you, Mister uhh," Ranma said, "Um, I don't believe I know your name, now that I think about it."

"Certainly, I am Ichiro Takagushi, manager of the hotel," the man said, "And your host for the evening. Let me show you to your table." He led them to a small table for two near one of the large windows opening onto the grounds of the hotel, and pulled out a chair.

Akane looked startled for a second and then sat down. The manager then unfolded her napkin, and placed it in her lap. Meanwhile, Ranma sat down across from his wife.

"When did you arrive, young sir?" Takagushi asked, "And where is your sister, Miss Ranko? Will she be joining you for dinner?"

Akane replied, quickly, "No, it will be just us tonight."

Ranma shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Would either of you care for some wine? Perhaps an aperitif?" Takagushi asked.

Ranma replied, "Tea is fine with me."

Akane agreed, "Some tea would be lovely."

"Any particular tea? We have several different ones to select from," the manager asked.

Akane tapped her teeth with her forefinger and then replied, "I think Formosa Oolong. I'm in the mood for something with some body."

Ranma nodded his agreement, and added, "Also, please bring me a glass of cold water, and another one of hot."

The manager looked at him a bit oddly as if that meant something to him, and then nodded. "I'll bring that right out," Takagushi asked, as he handed Ranma a small slate with the menu written in chalk on it, "These are the selections for the evening meal. Please take your time, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask." He bowed once more, and left quietly through a swinging door that presumably led to the kitchen, based on the muffled clatter of pans coming from that direction.

Soon, the manager bustled in, followed by an attractive waitress carrying a tray. On the tray were the items that Ranma had asked for, as well as a teapot and two delicate china cups. The manager had a towel discretely tucked over one arm.

Ranma waited until the waitress had placed her items on the table in front of them, and returned to the kitchen before he looked sheepishly at the manager. "I'm afraid my wife didn't quite tell the complete truth this afternoon," he began, "And you have already met me." He reached for the glass of cold water and poured it over his head, triggering the change.

"Ah, another one!" Takagushi exclaimed, taking the appearance of the young woman he had been previously introduced to with aplomb.

"Excuse me?" Ranma asked, as she reached for the glass of hot water. Clearly surprised at the reaction, or more accurately the lack of reaction, she poured the contents of the glass over her head, reversing her transformation.

Takagushi handed him the towel and replied, "Yes, I met another person in the same situation a few months ago. He said it was a curse he obtained in China. Was it that same for you?"

"Yes, in a valley called Jusenkyo," Ranma replied.

"I thought as much," Takagushi said, "When you asked me for the hot and cold water, that is."

"This other young man, who was he?" Akane asked.

"A young Chinese man, with his wife and two retainers," the manager replied, "He was also on his honeymoon when he came to stay here. That was before we remodeled, and to be honest he was moderately disappointed at what he found when he arrived."

"I wonder if that was Prince Herb," Ranma mused.

"Yes, I believe that was his name," Takagushi confirmed.

"Why was he disappointed?" Akane asked.

The manager blushed and replied, "We used to be a top-rated resort. The young owner of the hotel, Master Yutaro Yudono had let things slide a bit during the unfortunate illness of his father. And then his father finally died, leaving the young Master in charge, and in heavy debt."

"That's terrible," Akane gasped.

"His father's last wish was for a grandchild, but no women would come to a place as rundown as we had become. So it seemed that he would be forever alone," the manager said, sadly, "Because of our reputation, the only ones who did come were martial artists, such as yourselves. He would lie in wait as they bathed, and then when they least expected, would attack. By engaging them in combat, the young Master was able to forget his loneliness, and improve his fighting skills. Thus the art of Bathhouse Fu was born."

"Bathhouse Fu," Ranma said, his ears perking up, while Akane nodded.

"Yes, that is what the young Master called it," the manager said, "Though his skill wasn't sufficient to prevent his defeat at the hands of Prince Herb. After his encounter with Prince Herb and his lovely bride, things changed for the better. Prince Herb had come to the hotel on the recommendation of his father. Apparently, this was where his father had brought his mother for their honeymoon, and there were some sentimental feelings on the part of the prince. He helped us with our financing, which allowed us to bring the hotel back to its former glory."

"I'm happy to hear that," Ranma replied.

"And then, the young Master has filmed some commercials which have raised interest in the hotel. In deed, we have a large number of female guests arriving tomorrow," the manager added, "So, Master Saotome, I'm afraid that you won't be able to join your wife in the baths tomorrow as it was reported you did today. It would not be proper."

"That explains what we heard and saw this afternoon in the baths," Akane growled, "Your master is nothing but a Peeping Tom. He should be ashamed of himself." She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at the manager.

"Alas, I had hoped that he had changed his ways," the manager said, hanging his head in shame.

"If he keeps to his side of the baths, then I won't have to do anything," Akane said, her eyes flashing angrily.

Ranma chuckled and added, "And that would be better for his continued health if she didn't have to do anything."

"I will so inform the young Master," the manager said, stiffly.

Akane said, "Your faithfulness to Yudono does you credit, however. His actions are no reflection on you."

The man bowed once more, his face impassive and then he deliberately changed the subject, asking, "Have you decided on your meals?"

"I would like the teriyaki chicken," Akane replied, "Miso soup, of course, and the house salad."

"Excellent choice," the manager murmured, "And for you, sir?"

"The Shogun platter, I think, though I'd like a second yakitori instead of the meatball skewer," Ranma replied, "and the shrimp stir-fry. And miso soup and house salad, also."

The manager chuckled and asked, "I assume you want both soups and salads?"

Ranma grinned at him, and said, "Of course. I do have to keep my strength up, after all."

The manager grinned knowingly. "I'll tell the chef your choices, and they should bring the soups out shortly. And as an apology for the young Master's actions this afternoon, would it be presumptious of me to offer you a complimentary bottle of wine with your meal?"

"We are celebrating, Ranma," Akane said, simply, "And we aren't our fathers."

Ranma grinned wryly and said, "True, I suppose one drink won't hurt." He glanced over at the manager and said, "A nice Merlot would be good."

"We have an excellent house wine that is very drinkable," the manager said. "I'll bring a bottle out for you."

* * *

The next morning, when Ranma and Akane descended the stairs into the lobby, they found the area around the desk packed with girls, from roughly their age to somewhere in the late twenties, all of them swarming around a twenty-ish young man, thrusting pads of paper in his face, hoping for his autograph.

Takagushi ghosted up and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Saotome, how pleasant to see you this morning. Sorry for the excitement. I honestly wasn't expecting a swarm of fangirls. Apparently the young Master made a bit of an impression in his commercial."

"Must have been one hell of a commercial he aired," Ranma replied, easily.

The young man turned toward them, allowing them to finally see him fully. Akane drew in a deep breath and sighed, "He's drop-dead gorgeous!"

"And you're taken," Ranma said, quickly, an odd note in his voice.

"Very taken," Akane replied, taking his arm, "Well, let's leave peeping Tom with his fans and get some breakfast. I'm starving. We had quite a workout this morning."

The manager managed to keep his face smooth, as he said, "Very good. And the mountain air seems to stimulate the appetite as well, I have found." The young couple moved off toward the dining room. Just before they got out of earshot, he chuckled and added, "Ah, young honeymooners. So energetic."

Akane blushed, and muttered, "Pervert."

Ranma grinned. "It's your own fault you know, talking about the morning workout like that," he teased.

"We were up on the mountain practicing martial arts," Akane sniffed.

"We are on our honeymoon, after all. Understandable mistake, I would think," Ranma said, lightly as he led her into the dining room.

* * *

Ranma chuckled as Akane danced down the street away from him, her eyes glinting with amusement. "You honestly think you can keep away from me?" he asked, in spite of the heavy burden he was carrying, since just before she had scampered off, his wife had tossed her backpack at him, yelling, "Catch!!!"

"I have to give you some sort of handicap, just to make it even," Akane teased, as she continued to backpeddle down the street toward their home.

Ranma slung her backpack over one shoulder and began running after her, then screeched to a halt as he heard a strange click. He looked around, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, which now that he stopped to think about it, seemed strange to him.

"Come on, slowpoke," Akane teased, as she pulled one eyelid down at him and went, "Bieeee!"

Shaking his premonition off, Ranma continued his chase, leaping up onto the fence paralleling the street. With a burst of speed, he caught up to his wife just as she reached the front gate. Sweeping her up in his arms, he twirled her around, and yelled, "Gotcha!"

Akane looked at him coyly and asked, "Now that you've caught me, what are you going to do with me?"

"Didn't you get enough?" Ranma retorted, playfully.

The gate swung open, and Nabiki stuck her head out. "Am I glad to see the two of you," she said, pulling them into the yard and closing the gate quickly.

Something about her manner immediately got their attention. "What's wrong, Sis?" Akane asked.

"I'm not sure," Nabiki replied, "But come into the house and I'll fill you in on what I know."

Ranma and Akane traded looks and then followed her into the house. After stopping long enough for the three of them to shed their shoes, Nabiki led them into the family room, where Ranma dropped the two backpacks next to the wall.

"So what's the big mystery?" Akane asked.

"There's a new martial artist in town," Nabiki said, "And so far he's managed to defeat Mousse, Kuno, and Ryoga."

"Just those three?" Ranma asked.

"They're the only ones that I'm aware of," Nabiki replied, "And they've gone to the mountains to train together."

"How were they beat?" Akane asked.

"Somehow their own techniques were turned against them," Nabiki replied, "And each of them felt like they had been followed for a few hours before they were attacked."

Ranma frowned slightly and said, "Someone was following us on our way home."

"That doesn't sound good," Akane said.

Nabiki sighed and said, "And that's not the only odd thing that's been happening around here. Someone has been impersonating me and trying to buy things in the marketplace on credit. Of course all of the shopkeepers in Nerima know better than that."

Ranma narrowed his eyes in thought and then asked, "Where's Pop and Soun? We need to talk to them."

"Daddy went over to your parents' house to help your father train Natsume and Kurumi," Nabiki replied, "And Yumi went with him. They're planning on eating dinner with your parents before they come home." She looked at him suspiciously and accused, "You know something!"

"I suspect something," Ranma corrected, "And that's why I want to bounce what I think I know off Pop and Soun."

Nabiki waved the distinction away and asked, "Okay, what do you think you know?"

"Um, it's something I sort of remember, about a guy who can imitate other people flawlessly," Ranma replied, a bit vaguely. "Manekko Kenchan, or something like that. He uses his martial arts abilities to copy the fighting style and appearance of anyone he sees."

Akane looked worried and asked, "Why is he pretending to be Nabiki, though?"

"I don't know," Ranma replied, "And that worries me." He frowned suddenly and asked, "Did you let Souta know about what was going on?"

"As soon as I found out about it," Nabiki replied, causing Ranma to relax slightly.

"Good, that should help," Ranma said.

"You think this copycat would try to cause problems with Souta?" Akane asked.

"If he really wanted to, there are all sorts of ways he could cause mischief if he wanted to. He could pretend to be Nabiki and get caught going into a love motel, for instance, or meet Souta and call off the engagement, in a real messy fashion," Ranma replied.

Nabiki paled, as she obviously hadn't thought of that.

"What does he look like?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "About my height, black hair, usually wears a bandana on his head, a red shirt, and trousers with suspenders. Carries a camera around his neck that he uses to take pictures of his next victim."

"I've seen someone with that description around, lurking in the shadows," Nabiki replied, "And I think he took a few pictures of me. Didn't think much of it, though. Someone wandering around Japan with a camera isn't out of the ordinary at all."

"So do you know how to defeat this guy?" Akane asked.

Ranma nodded his head and said, "I have an idea on how to do it, anyway."

Nabiki relaxed imperceptibly and said, "Enough about him then. Now on to something more interesting. How was the honeymoon?"

Akane blushed furiously, while Ranma replied, "We had a good time."

Nabiki smirked and said, "I'm **sure **you did."

Akane flared and said, "What we did is really none of your business, Nabiki. And besides, we have been married for months. We worked out, did some katas, soaked in the hot springs, and generally had a good time. And anything else we did is between Ranma and me."

Nabiki fell backwards, scuttling away from the obviously angry girl.

"Don't let it get to you, Acchan," Ranma soothed, "Besides, we can always tease her about Souta."

Akane suddenly calmed down and her eyes grew wicked. "Yes, I think you're right. She's just jealous of what we have," she said, with a smirk.

Nabiki retorted, "I wouldn't say that. Though, I do admit to some curiousity about the whole thing. Is it as good as I've been told?"

"I think I'm not supposed to be listening to this," Ranma said, hastily, "Too much like girl talk for me. And I'm not equipped for that."

"We can fix that with a glass of water," Nabiki said.

"Still think like a guy," Ranma said, "So, I'm going to get while the getting is good." He picked up the two packs, and headed out the door.

"Well?" Nabiki asked.

"That's a little personal," Akane replied, "Why are you so curious, now? You didn't ask after we eloped."

Nabiki sighed heavily and replied, "I never really thought I would get married, to be honest. I had my life planned out, going to university, getting a degree in business, then probably a master's degree, probably in management. Building a career in a large company and working my way to the top. Didn't really leave much room for romance. And so, I chose not to think about what I would be missing. Then, well, Souta happened, and my plans have changed. And that's made me a bit anxious about, well, being intimate. And not measuring up, I guess."

"Do you love him?" Akane asked, simply.

"Of course I do, very much," Nabiki replied.

"Then I wouldn't worry about it. The two of you will be just fine," Akane said, wisely.

* * *

"Welcome back, Akane, Ranma," Soun said, as the young couple joined him for breakfast, even going so far as to lay aside his newspaper to give his greeting.

"Thanks, Daddy," Akane said, as she knelt down at the table.

Ranma grinned and said, "It's good to be home. Nothing like sleeping in our own bed, and eating home-cooking."

"How was the resort?" Soun asked.

Ranma replied, "Pretty nice. They had just finished remodeling it, and we were the only guests the first day, so we had the run of the place."

"And soaking in the hot spring pool was a nice way to end the day, especially after we did our workout up on the mountainside," Akane added.

"You actually left the bedroom?" Sayuri teased, good naturedly.

Akane blushed, while Ranma retorted, "Had to find something to eat, and didn't want to have room service."

"Besides, there was plenty of privacy up on the mountain, wasn't there?" Yumi asked, as she placed a large tray of food on the table.

"Now, that would be telling," Akane replied, hastily.

"Daddy, what can you tell us about someone named Manekko Kenchan?" Nabiki asked.

"Why do you ask, daughter?" Soun asked in return.

"Someone has been taking pictures of me," Nabiki replied.

"And someone took one of me yesterday," Ranma added.

"That man is no ordinary paparazzi," Soun replied, his voice grim, "Copycat Ken, as he is also known, in my town!?"

"Who is Copycat Ken?" Yumi asked, surprised at the reaction from her fiancé.

"He is a master of Copy Martial Arts. He takes your picture, and uses your image AND your attacks!" Soun explained, "Be very afraid of him."

"Isn't he just some sort of impersonator? Why should anyone be afraid of him?" Sayuri asked, "Aren't you being just a little melodramatic? Isn't he just someone too lame to come up with his own moves?"

"If only it were that simple," Soun groaned, "If he is here, Copycat Ken will win for sure."

"Daddy may have a point. He's already faced Kuno, Ryoga and Mousse, and defeated each of them with their own attacks," Nabiki said, clearly troubled.

Ranma said, grimly, "He hasn't faced me yet, nor does he know any of my techniques. He may be in for a bit of a surprise."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Ranma?" Akane asked, as she tightened the belt on her gi.

"Quite sure," Ranma replied, with a smirk, "It's just too pretty a day to practice in the dojo. And I like the chance of really cutting loose. We can't do that inside, you know that."

"But, what about?" Akane began, only to be interrupted.

"Come on, are we going to talk or spar?" Ranma asked.

Akane frowned at him and then replied, "Spar, of course."

"Then let's do it," Ranma suggested.

Akane quirked a smile and asked, "Do you think you can handle me?"

Ranma laughed and said, cockily, "With a great deal of pleasure, actually. Rather enjoy _handling_ you as a matter of fact."

Akane blushed, while Nabiki catcalled from the engawa, "Are you two going to practice or just flirt with each other?"

Akane and Ranma gazed at each other and then in unison replied, "Spar."

* * *

Ranma grabbed Akane by the wrist and spun her around, avoiding her elbow flashing around to catch his ribs. "Did you hear that click?" he hissed.

Akane nodded slightly, her eyes narrowed. Then she pointed, and ordered, "You, come out of there!"

A young man, dressed in a red shirt, wearing a bandana on his head appeared from behind the tall tree shading the far corner of the estate. "Gimme a pose?" the young man asked. He raised his camera to his eye and Ranma and Akane posed for the shot. The camera clicked.

Ranma snarled angrily, releasing Akane. He growled, "What's the big idea? You're the guy whose been taking my picture! Hand over that film!!" as he charged the young man.

The young man continued to snap shots of Ranma as he charged, only to leap to the top of the wall at the last moment, allowing Ranma to plow into it and bounce off.

"Why you!" Ranma exclaimed.

The young man laughed evilly, and said, "You'd best prepare yourself for my return, Ranma Saotome." He turned to Akane and smirked, "Akane! Such a cute expression! Gimme a pose!" He raised his camera to take the shot, only to be struck by a mallet that came from the angered young woman, knocking him over the wall.

A muttered, "Ow, I didn't see that coming!" came over the wall, and then they saw the young man leap to the house opposite and begin running away.

"Come back here!" Ranma cried.

* * *

Akane shivered as the cold water cascaded down her body, and ran down into the drain set into the floor of the furoba. Ranma took the brush and scrubbed her back thoroughly, causing the other girl to groan slightly as the bristles found some of the bruises that their sparring match had left. Then she took the soap and washcloth, and washed her wife's back, finishing her off with one more bucket of lukewarm water to rinse all of the soap off.

Akane rose from the stool and slipped into the furo, letting the hot water ease the mild discomfort she had, as Ranma joined her, transforming back as the water had its affect.

"So did you do what you wanted?" Akane asked.

Ranma smiled and said, "Yeah, I think so. Showed him just enough of my techniques to let him think he can beat me. And that Breaking Point you performed was perfect. Definitely got him thinking I was going all out."

"When do think he'll come back?" Akane asked.

"Not sure, probably soon, would be my guess," Ranma replied, as he rested his head against the back wall of the tub and closed his eyes.

Suddenly the door to the bathing chamber crashed open and Nabiki stormed in, visibly upset.

"NABIKI!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma's eyes flew open and he cried, "Nabiki, I'm starkers!"

"Bugger that! When are you going to do something about that bastard?" Nabiki spat.

"Working on it," Ranma muttered as he made sure that the water was mostly opaque.

"Well work faster," Nabiki growled.

Akane glared at her sister and snapped, "What's got you so upset?"

"That imposter pretended to be me again," Nabiki snarled, "Fortunately, Souta remembered my warning and didn't believe he was me. That bastard didn't know the answer to the security question that I had set up with Souta."

"I assume you have a question you can ask Souta, also," Ranma said.

"Yes, I do. I called him right after our talk yesterday," Nabiki replied, "And set them up so we couldn't be fooled."

"Why is he going after you?" Ranma asked, "That doesn't make sense."

"Well, when you defeat him you can ask him," Nabiki replied, beginning to cool down.

"I'm starting to wrinkle up," Ranma said, "So do you mind? I'd like to get out of the furo now."

A faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks, as Nabiki's eyes widened as she realized what she had done in her anger. She wheeled around and fled the room, closing the door behind her.

"Well, that was a bit strange," Akane muttered under her breath.

"Really! I'm never seen her quite that rattled," Ranma said, "Ken must be really worrying her. I guess she's afraid that someone will fall for his impersonation and cost the family a lot of yen."

"That's probably a piece of it," Akane said, as she rose from the tub and reached for her towel, "But, I think you hit on it yesterday. I think he's trying to ruin her life, not our bank account. That's just a small target."

Ranma rose from the water, and sluiced off the droplets. "Yeah, that's got to be it. Still don't know Ken's motive for doing it though."

Akane draped her towel around her body and shrugged. "Like sis said, you can ask him once you've beaten him," she replied, confidently, "After all, you never lose."

Ranma grinned and said, "Well, it's more like I always win in the end."

* * *

Ranma opened the refrigerator and gazed at the contents. "Yumi, I thought we had some Match," he said.

"Sayuri had the last one this afternoon, Ranma, and no one has gone to the grocer's since," Yumi answered as she peeled a bunch of carrots for dinner.

"Do I have time to run down to the snack machine before dinner?" Ranma asked.

"Sure, I've just started preparing the vegetables," Yumi replied.

Ranma asked, "Are you the only one fixing dinner tonight? Do you need some help?"

"Sayuri and Hinako will be down soon, but Kasumi went out to eat with Tofu," Yumi replied, calmly.

"I'll be back soon, and if you need some more help, just ask," Ranma replied.

"Thanks, Ranma, but we'll be fine," Yumi said, flashing a smile in his direction as she picked up another carrot.

Ranma saluted jauntily and said, "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Ranma placed his coin into the slot and made his selection. Soon, he heard the rattle and clank as the machine prepared to deliver his soft drink. He reached down and pulled the can from the dispense slot. He straightened up and pulled the pop-top and opened the can. As he lifted the can to his lips and prepared to take a sip, a red umbrella came flashing out of the darkness to spear the can out of his hand and slammed into the soft drink machine.

"Who's there!?" Ranma cried as he whirled angrily around to face the direction the umbrella had come from.

Ryoga moved out from behind a lamppost, an evil smirk on his face, an eerie chuckle emanating from him.

"Ryoga! What are you playing at?" Ranma exclaimed. He pulled the umbrella out of the machine and then his eyes narrowed as he felt the relatively light weight of the umbrella. He said, "You aren't Ryoga! Who are you? What's the meaning of this?"

The fake Ryoga merely laughed and then kicked the umbrella, knocking the soft drink can high up into the sky, as its contents drained out the open hole. Then he roared, "Take this!" as he lunged forward, with his right fist extended.

Ranma leapt lightly over the onrushing figure, kicking backwards as he passed over the young man, driving him forcefully into the soft drink machine, and a blaze of light arced from the machine when he hit it, and then it exploded. Ranma crouched on the wall overlooking the street and gazed down, waiting for the cloud of smoke to clear.

The young man began to laugh uproariously, confirming without a doubt that it was not Ryoga. "Hey, did you see that? Pretty cool, wasn't it? I could get used to that technique," he said.

"I hate to tell you this, but if you're stealing Ryoga's techniques, it won't do you any good against me," Ranma said, standing tall on the wall, "He's never beaten me!" He smirked, and exclaimed, "You must be that Manekko Kenchan, Ken the Copycat, aren't you!!"

The young man disappeared behind a cloak. Then, he reappeared from behind the cloak in his true form, wearing his trademark bandana, red t-shirt, with a pair of green suspenders holding up his pants. "Bingo!" he exclaimed.

"So you're the imposter that beat Ryoga," Ranma said, leaping down to the pavement, "Learned all of his moves just like Tendo-san said!"

The boy flicked his fingers and replied, "Bingo! And you're next, Ranma Saotome!" He jumped into the air, and pulled his cloak around him, and then revealed that he had transformed into the spitting image of Ranma, dressed in the same outfit that he was wearing.

Ranma stepped back, as he faced himself.

"Come on, man," Ken said, setting himself, "Let's do it! I'll take care of you just like I did that Ryoga!"

"Do you really think that an imitation can beat the real thing?" Ranma asked, with a smirk, as he stood on the balls of his feet ready to move.

Ken chuckled and retorted, "Exactly who is the fake and who is the real thing?"

Ranma's grin grew wicked as he replied, "Well, since you really don't know the first thing about practicing Anything Goes Martial Arts, I expect that you're the fake."

"I've copied all of your techniques," Ken said, "And this is boring! Let's fight!"

"Shall we dance, then?" Ranma asked, gesturing toward Ken with a mocking 'Come to Me' motion. His grin grew even more sardonic as he waited.

"I'm going to wipe that smile off your face," Ken growled. He leaped back up into the air, and came crashing down, one foot extended, only to have Ranma block him with his arm, and shove his attacker back to the other side of the narrow street.

Ranma and Ken jumped up into the air and traded several blows, as Ranma's grin grew even larger.

* * *

Akane walked down the darkened street. "Honestly, Ranma, just how long does it take to buy a soft drink?" she muttered, "It's been half an hour since he left, and dinner is getting cold on the table. If I didn't love his arse, I'd let him starve!" Suddenly, she heard a roar from in front of her, and she looked up, her anger fleeing immediately, and being replaced by a look of concern. She saw her husband, soaring through the air, and then he landed in front of her. To her surprise, a second Ranma, dressed in the same yellow shirt and blue pants landed on the other side of her. "Ranma, what's going on?" she gasped.

"Akane, don't let him trick you. That's Copycat Ken," one of the Ranma's cried.

"Shut up," the other one exclaimed, "Jerk, you're the copycat!"

"What'd you say!" the first Ranma cried, as Akane backed out from between them.

Akane gasped as the two Ranma's began to battle, evenly matched as far as she could tell. "I can't tell which is which!" she exclaimed, "It's just like Daddy said, not only does Copycat Ken take the shape of the person he's impersonating, he takes their strength too! Oh, Ranma, I hope you know what you are doing!"

"Don't give me that! Stronger than me!" one Ranma cried, as he dodged a kick to the face, "Yeah, right, I don't think so!"

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing!" the second one retorted, dodging the return blows.

"Cheater!" one cried.

"Fake!" the other one exclaimed, as they continued to battle on.

"Fine then!" the first cried, "This'll prove I'm the real thing!" He focused for a second and then cried, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire!!" and his punches sped up to a rapid pace.

The other one cried, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!" and matched him blow for blow.

Akane watched in agony as the two Ranma's traded blows, though she thought something appeared a little odd. She gasped, as she thought, 'Ranma is faster than this! What's he playing at!'

"You know," one Ranma said, conversationally, as he grunted as a blow glanced off his arm, "There were only a few rules Pop taught me growing up."

"What'd you mean, taught you! He taught me!" the other one cried.

"First, always let the other guy think he can win," the first Ranma said, "By not going all out against him!"

"Yeah, so he taught me that, so what?" the second Ranma said, as they continued to trade punches.

"The second thing he taught me," the first Ranma drawled, "Is to never give a sucker an even break. Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!" His blows picked up speed as his fists moved even faster, so fast that they were nigh invisible. Finally, he connected several times with his opponent's chest, and then one to his chin, rocking him back into the wall, where he bounced once, and then collapsed to the ground.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, and then her eyes narrowed as she became suddenly unsure.

"Oh Akane!" the other Ranma said.

* * *

Ranma groaned as he woke up, a stabbing pain in his head. He looked blearily up from the ground where he lay to see a contrite Akane standing over him, a bucket in her hand. He groaned once more and tried to raise his head, which made it throb even more. "Where's Ken?" he asked.

"Over there where you knocked him into the wall," Akane replied, not looking him in the eye.

"If I won, why does my head hurt?" Ranma asked, wearily, finally realizing from the tone of his voice that he was currently a she.

Akane blushed and replied, "Well, I wasn't sure which one of you was which, so I hit you both with my mallet."

"Um, what was wrong with using a bucket of water?" Ranma asked, as Akane helped her sit up.

If anything, Akane blushed even redder and muttered something.

"I didn't catch that," Ranma said, as she struggled to her feet, standing triumphantly, if wobbly.

"Um, I didn't think about it, at least not until it was too late," Akane said, her face completely red now.

Ranma winced and said, "You know, that's the one thing that I didn't miss, you hitting me with that damned mallet."

Akane winced in sympathy and wailed, "I'm so sorry, Ranma, I really, really, am."

Ranma sighed and wrapped her arm around Akane's waist. "I know, but that doesn't stop my head from hurting."

"What can I do to make it better?"Akane asked.

"How about a kiss?" Ranma suggested.

Akane giggled and then complied, as Ranma sighed into the kiss.

"Much better," the red-haired girl said, with a cheeky grin.

Akane swatted her shoulder lightly and asked, "What do you want to do with the trash?"

"I guess we'll take him home with us and deal with him there," Ranma replied, "You'll have to carry him though, I feel a bit too woozy just standing here."

"Sure, just help get him up on my back and I'll take him home," Akane said.

Ranma struggled over to Ken, who had reverted to his true form as he lay there unconscious with Akane keeping a watchful eye on her husband to make sure she was as okay as she was saying.

"You'll have to untie his hands before I can carry him," Akane said.

Ranma turned him over and began to laugh. "You used your bra to tie him up!" she exclaimed.

"Only thing I had at hand," Akane said, sheepishly.

"Well, that does explain why you look so perky right now," Ranma muttered idly as she bent down to untie Ken's hands.

"Try not to stretch it, it's one of my good ones," Akane said, as she turned and squatted down, presenting her back to her husband.

Ranma pulled Ken up and leaned him over Akane's back. Akane reached up and grabbed Ken's arms, while Ranma helped her stand up. Then the two of them headed back to the house.

* * *

Ken slowly woke up to a world of darkness, his head aching, and his body contorted strangely as he lay on a cold, wooden floor. He tried to pull his arms forward from out from behind his back, only to be prevented by the fact that they were joined together by some soft material that resisted his attempts to pull his arms apart, and then he heard the faint rattle of metal.

"It seems like our guest is awake," a male voice said quietly.

"Good, I have several questions to ask him," a female voice replied, her voice extremely cold.

"Have you blinded me?" Ken asked, trying but failing to keep the panic from his voice.

"No, merely put a hood over your head," the male voice replied, "I thought that would keep you from getting any ideas about escaping, in case you woke up before we finished dinner."

"Where am I?" Ken asked, still a little panicked, though since his greatest fear had been set aside, he was feeling more in control.

"In the Tendo dojo," the female voice said, even colder.

A second female said, "We're wasting time. Let's get on with the questions."

"Okay, first things first, why are you trying to defeat me?" the male voice asked.

"Who are you? I have to admit I don't recognize your voice," Ken replied, stalling for time, and wishing that his head would stop throbbing. He moved slightly, and realized for the first time that he was no longer wearing his clothing, and was nearly nude in front of two women. A faint blush rose unseen in the dark hood.

"Ranma Saotome," the male voice identified himself.

"Why should I tell you?" Ken asked in disdain.

"Because things will get very unpleasant for you if you don't," the first female replied.

Ken shook his head, and growled, "I'm not afraid of pain."

"Oh, but there are worse things than pain," Ranma replied.

Ken surmised that Saotome had made some sort of gesture, because suddenly the hood was pulled roughly from his head, and then his head was allowed to slam back down onto the hard wooden floor. He painfully raised his head as far as he could and saw a hard-faced young man standing in front of him, with several buckets next to him. "Go ahead, and do your worst," Ken sneered, "I'm not afraid of you."

"Then you're a fool," the second female voice said from behind him.

Ken bristled at the tone and sneered, "I'm no fool."

"I'm only going to ask this one more time. Why are you challenging me?" Ranma asked.

"No reason," Ken replied, scornfully, "I just felt like a little bit of light exercise."

Ranma chuckled mirthlessly and said, in an apparent non-sequiter, "There's this odd valley in China, famous as a training ground. Maybe you've heard of it. It's called Jusenkyo."

"No, doesn't ring any bells," Ken admitted.

"Pity, it would make this a little easier," Ranma said, shrugging his shoulders. He thought for a moment and then continued, "Well, to make a long story short, the valley is filled with hundreds, maybe thousands, of spring-fed pools, with at least that many bamboo poles dotting the landscape."

"Fascinating story, but I really have better things to do than to lay around here," Ken said.

"Actually, you don't have anything better to do, and laying around here is probably the best thing for you right now," the first female voice said, "Because if you aren't here then we've disposed of you."

"Now, Nabiki, it's really not nice to scare our guest," a third female voice said from behind Ken.

"The story gets very interesting, and in fact, I'm about to tell you why you should care," Ranma said, "It seems that the pools are cursed, so that if you fall in the pool, you transform into whatever last drowned in the pool."

"Likely story. Next you'll be telling me that you believe in demons, and onis, and the supernatural," Ken said, his tone clearly disbelieving.

"Okay, I won't tell you that. More fool you though. Perhaps you'll believe your own eyes though," Ranma said, with a sigh, as he picked up a bucket and poured it over his head. To Ken's surprise, the young man vanished and in his place was a gorgeous, well-built, redheaded girl, dressed in the yellow shirt and blue pants that Ranma had been wearing, though she filled it out much nicer than he had. "Cold water triggers the transformation," the girl said, in a pleasant soprano voice.

"Cute trick," Ken sneered.

"Oh, it's no trick, I assure you," the girl said, "I'm still Ranma, still looking at you, and still the best martial artist in Nerima. I'm also now fully female." She picked up a second bucket, from which whisps of steam were rising, and poured that over her head. The figure of Ranma appeared in her place, with only a damp puddle to mark where she had been.

"Still not impressed," Ken scoffed, "And that hasn't given me any reason to talk to you."

"I did mention that there were lots of those pools didn't I?" Ranma asked, "And that there are worse things that someone could turn into. Pigs, ducks, cats, flying minotaurs, for example."

"So, why should I care? I'm here, the valley is in Jusenkyo," Ken said, all but laughing at Ranma.

"True the pools are there. Didn't say anything about not having some of the water here though," Ranma said, glancing over at several large barrels placed carefully to one side of the room.

That got Ken's attention, but he tried to bluff his way through, "So, you seem to handle changing back and forth. Why do you think I would have a problem with it?"

"Well, one of the pools is Chanyuiniichuan, the spring of drowned octopus," Ranma replied, "Though how an octopus drowned boggles the mind. So, what do you think would happen if you picked up that curse, and say, got left in the ocean?"

Ken shuddered for a moment and then stiffly said, "I gave my word that I would not tell you."

"Well, then what do you think, Nabiki? Should I go through with it?" Ranma asked.

"Of course," Nabiki replied, with no inflection to her voice. Then she added, in a voice showing that this was much more important to her, "Well, bother, I broke a nail!"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "You heard the lady." He headed toward one of the casks.

Ken was chilled to the bone by the total indifference from the girl called Nabiki and said, in a strangled voice, "Wait! I'll talk."

"That's more like it," the second female voice said.

"I wouldn't give up on the water yet, though Ranma," the third female voice said, "We haven't heard what he's going to tell us yet, Akane."

"True, Kasumi, so spill," Nabiki said, as Ranma stood near the casks, his hands on his hips waiting.

""I wanted to fight Saotome because he's the best martial artist in Nerima, and because I was hired to do so," Ken admitted.

"And why did you pretend to be Nabiki?" Akane asked.

"Because I was also hired to do that," Ken said.

"Why would someone pay you to impersonate me?" Nabiki asked, "I can understand paying you to fight Ranma. There are cowards everywhere, but why me?"

"You were the main target. Saotome was merely a side benefit. If I defeated him, and learned his techniques, I'd be the best," Ken said.

Nabiki gasped, and exclaimed, "Moi, what have I done to deserve being a target?"

"I hope you were being sarcastic," Akane said, "But, that's immaterial. Who hired you?"

"Some clown named Kinnosuke," Ken said.

Ranma laughed and said, "I hope you got the money in advance."

"Huh? No, he'll only pay me when the job is completed. Only after I've successfully broken off her engagement to what's his name, and ruined her reputation, will I see the payment," Ken said.

"Do you happen to know Kinnosuke's family name?" Ranma asked, still amused.

"Um, no, we just met by chance, and he discovered my abilities. The amount of yen he promised me was just too good to pass up," Ken replied.

"And it was too good to be true as well," Nabiki said, with a snicker.

"It's Kasha-o, of the Kasha-o dojo," Akane said.

Ken paled and he gasped, "Kasha-o!"

"I see you've heard of them," Ranma said, dryly.

"Yes, and that they never spend their own money," Ken said, dourly.

"You've been had, I'm afraid," Nabiki said.

Ken chuckled ruefully and said, "I'd say that you're probably correct. Well, that means I have no reason for pretending to be you any more."

"That's nice to hear," Nabiki said, "Because you really don't want to get my future brother-in-law angry with you."

Ranma grinned and added, "She's got a point. InuYasha can be a little scary, especially when his eyes go red, and his fangs grow."

Ken looked at Ranma as if he had grown a second head. "Huh?" he asked, intelligently.

"What my husband was attempting to say is that my sister's future brother-in-law is a half demon," Akane said.

"There's no such thing as demons," Ken said, though his voice trembled as he said that.

"Just keep telling yourself that," Ranma said as he moved away from the casks. He loomed over Ken and asked, "What should we do with you, I wonder?"

"Um, just let me go?" Ken suggested hopefully. His face grew grim as he added, "I do have someone else I need to target, after all."

"Ladies?" Ranma asked.

"Oh my, you know my opinion, little brother," Kasumi said.

"Suppose I do at that, Kasumi," Ranma said, agreeably enough.

"Enemy of my enemy is my friend," Akane said.

"Well, not necessarily, but in this case, probably true," Ranma said.

"And we do still have the cursed water," Nabiki said, "But, if he promises to stay away from us."

"Well, Kenchan?" Ranma asked.

Ken shrugged and replied, "Since you defeated me, and there's no profit in impersonating Miss Tendo, yes, I can promise that you'll never see me again."

"Good enough for me," Ranma said, "Let him go, Akane."

"Um, Ranma, you have the keys to the handcuffs," Akane said, "Don't you?"

Kasumi pulled a small chain out from her dress and replied, "Actually, I have them." She pulled the chain over her head and tossed it to Akane.

Akane unlocked the handcuffs and backed away, muttering, "Why did she have the key? And why was it so warm?"

"You can untie your legs now that your hands are free," Ranma said, "Though, you'll forgive us if it has to happen some where else." He nodded at Akane.

Akane's mallet came crashing down, knocking Ken out.

"That's really scary," Ranma said, as he moved over to pick the unconscious man up.

* * *

Author's Note: Several people have suggested that Ken be hired by Kinnosuke. Thank you for that idea, and hopefully I wrote something close to what you had in mind. As always, reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. 


	81. The Secret Treasure

Chapter 81 Secret Treasure

Mrs. Higurashi wiped her hands dry on her apron and then opened the door. There, standing on the front step was her future daughter-in-law. "Nabiki, what a pleasant surprise!" she exclaimed, "Souta didn't tell me you were coming over."

Nabiki smiled thinly and said, "He didn't know I was coming. Something's come up and I needed to see him."

"Well, don't just stand there, dearie. Come in. He's in the kitchen. I just took a batch of cookies out of the oven, and he and InuYasha are waiting for them to cool down enough to eat," the kindly woman said.

"You left a plate of cookies unguarded in the kitchen with both of those two hovering!" Nabiki said, half in jest and half in shock.

"Kagome promised to keep an eye on them, and whack them with a wooden spoon if they reached for the plate," Mrs. Higurashi replied, calmly.

Nabiki took her shoes off and walked in, saying, "But who is watching the guardian? She loves your cookies."

"I heard that!" Kagome called from the kitchen.

Nabiki entered the kitchen to find, to her surprise, that either there had been a large batch of cookies, or that the three occupants of the room had managed to restain themselves from raiding the plate, though now that she looked closer, there appeared to be a suspicious crumb on Kagome's lip.

Souta stood up quickly, his chair crashing to the floor as he rushed over to greet his fiancée, only to screech to a stop as he asked, "What's the secret answer."

"He was afraid of cats," Nabiki replied, causing Souta's frown to disappear.

"Good, it is you," Souta said in relief.

"What was that all about?" Kagome asked, her eyes darting between the young couple.

"Oh, there was a person pretending to be me," Nabiki replied, "And I wanted to make sure that there was a way for Souta to know that I was me, and vice versa. So I set up a set of questions that only the other one would know the answer to."

InuYasha growled, "Someone was pretending to be you! Why?"

"He was hired to try to ruin my life. He was supposed to do something that would cause Souta to break off the engagement, and also run up large bills at the local stores," Nabiki replied, "But, Ranma and Akane caught him and showed him the error of his ways, so that should be over and done with."

"Why would someone hire him to destroy your life?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, clearly upset.

"There's a guy, named Kinnosuke Kasha-o, who targeted me for some sick reason of his own," Nabiki explained.

"Remember, Mom, I told you about him," Souta said.

"Oh yes, I remember," his mother replied, "I can't say that I understand, though."

"Neither do I, for that matter," Nabiki said, "He got this notion that I was somehow like him, and wanted to show me that he was better at what he did than I was. I've had a couple of run-ins with him, the most recent of which got him arrested for theft. He's out waiting trial, and hired someone named Copycat Ken to pretend to be me."

"Pretty elaborate plot," Souta said, "Why didn't he just have this copycat pretend to be you and have him go to the police and ask for the charges to be dropped?"

"I don't have any idea, to be honest," Nabiki replied.

"You are staying for dinner," Mrs. Higurashi said, firmly, in a tone that said she wasn't taking no for an answer.

Nabiki grinned and said, "Let me think, spend some quality time with my fiancé, and then eat a nice dinner. That sounds like a real good idea."

"In that case, shoo," Mrs. Higurashi said, shoving the young couple out the door, to the amusement of Kagome and InuYasha.

Kagome waited until the sound of the outer door closing told her that her brother and her sister-in-law-in-waiting were gone. Her eyes grew cold and she said, "That's the third time this Kasha-o character has tried to hurt Nabiki. It ends now."

InuYasha slowly nodded as he felt the waves of anger roiling the air coming from his wife. "I'll take care of him," he said. He glanced over at the plate, with a wistful expression on his face, "I can have a cookie, first, though, can't I?"

Kagome smiled fondly at him, and nodded. "Don't be silly, of course you can. Anyway, we don't know where this bastard stays, so until we know that, there's no reason for you to rush out trying to hunt him down," she said, "Besides, I'll give Eri a call tomorrow; she can probably give me the answer we need."

* * *

Nabiki moaned with pleasure and then reluctantly pushed Souta's hands to safer territory, breaking their kiss.

"I thought you liked that," Souta asked, breathing heavily after the long heated kiss.

Nabiki replied, huskily, "I liked it just a little too much."

Souta sighed heavily and said, "And we don't really want to get too carried away. But it sure is hard."

"Yes, it is," Nabiki said, carefully only looking him in the eye and not moving in his lap.

The gentle teasing might have continued except for the gentle cough from the direction of the house.

The young couple looked up to see Kagome standing on the engawa. "Mom sent me out to tell you that dinner is ready," she said, a faint tinge of red barely visible on her cheeks.

The young couple rose from where they had been sitting beneath the sacred tree. Nabiki checked her blouse to make sure she was presentable and then they walked arm in arm back to the house.

"Sorry for interrupting you guys," Kagome said, her blush more visible.

"No, it's fine," Nabiki said, trying to get her breathing back under control.

Kagome chuckled good-naturedly and said, "I remember teen-age hormones."

Nabiki grinned wryly and said, "You aren't that much older than we are, Kagome. And I'm sure your hormones are just as bad as mine."

Kagome linked arms with her and said, "Why don't we spend some time together? I'm sure there are some things I can tell you about Souta that will keep your libido under control."

"I am right here, you know!" Souta exclaimed.

"And your point is?" Kagome asked.

"You're supposed to wait until I'm gone before you embarrass me," Souta replied, with a grin.

"That's not what my rule book says," Kagome said, with a grin.

"Rule book?" Souta asked.

"The Big Sister's Rule Book, of course," Kagome said.

"I'm pretty sure that Kasumi has a copy of it, too," Nabiki added.

* * *

Ranma and Akane entered the family room, followed by a still bleary eyed Nabiki, as they joined the rest of the family for breakfast.

Hinako entered the room carrying a large cup of coffee, which she then handed to Nabiki, making sure the near comatose girl had her hands securely around the cup before she released it. The aroma of the coffee was almost enough to open Nabiki's eyes, as Hinako gently guided the cup to her adopted sister's mouth. After a few sips, Nabiki woke completely, and snagged the business section of the newspaper from the pile in front of her father and began to check the currency exchange rates from the day before.

Sayuri raced into the family room and skidded to a stop, and then knelt gracefully at the table, looking completely innocent.

Soun was buried in the depths of his paper, reading the local news. He turned the page and a headline below the fold caught his attention. He began reading the item, and when he was roughly halfway through, started to chuckle.

"What's so funny, Daddy?" Hinako asked, as she knelt down next to Nabiki.

"Just reading the latest about that Kasha-o character," Soun replied, "It seems that getting arrested for theft didn't teach him any lessons."

Nabiki snatched the paper rudely from his hands and scanned down until she found the article. She too began to chuckle as she read through the brief report. Tossing the paper aside, she stood up quickly and ran out of the room.

"Okaaaay," Sayuri began, "What is that all about?"

"According to the reporter, Kasha-o apparently tried to cheat several other people out of some money over the last two to three weeks. Obviously your friend Eri was keeping an eye on him, and let him have enough rope to hang himself. When she finally arrested him two days ago, he tried to claim that he was innocent, that he hadn't even been in some of the stores that she had videotaped him in. Which to be fair, there may be some truth to that, since he would have had to have been in two places at the same time for a few of the thefts. The police froze his bank account, so that they could reimburse the victims, but even though Kasha-o swore that he had money in the account, it only held just enough yen to keep it open," Soun replied.

"Okay, that's interesting enough, but what is so funny about it?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, just a couple of things. One, after Kasha-o was arrested, the victims all received their money back anonymously in the mail, to the exact yen. And two, he didn't give them much of a fight, like he was happy to be back in jail. He's pleaded guilty, and will be sentenced tomorrow. When they arrested him, he was in a state of shock, and kept muttering something about fangs and red-eyed monsters. And the wall of the room he was in was scored with what appeared to be claw marks," Nabiki answered from the doorway, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"Red-eyed monster, fangs, gee, I wonder who that could have been," Akane said, giggling.

"Sounds like somebody didn't like what was going on," Ranma replied, mildly.

"Couple of somebodies, it seems," Nabiki replied.

Yumi and Kasumi chose that moment to enter the family room, each of them carrying a tray heavily laden with food, which they placed in the center of the table. They had apparently drafted Tofu to help, as he walked in with six bento boxes.

Kasumi asked, "Nabiki, did you do what Auntie Nodoka asked, and make arrangements for the girls?"

"Yes, sis. Both Kurumi and Natsume are enrolled at Furinkan. In fact, Natsume will be joining Ranma, Akane, Ukyo and Sayuri in the same homeroom," Nabiki replied.

"Oh my, poor Miss Morisato won't know what hit her. Another Saotome in the classroom," Akane said, a grin on her face.

"True enough," Sayuri agreed, "Though at this rate, half the class will be related to each other."

"That'll be four of us with the same family name. And you're family too," Ranma said.

"And the Amazons, Ryoga and Kodachi through your adoption," Akane reminded him.

"Yeah, though we've kept that mostly quiet," Ranma said, "Damn you're right. That's almost half the entire class."

"We're supposed to meet the girls at the front gate, so we should hurry," Akane reminded her husband.

"Good thing our bookbags are ready to go by the front door then," Ranma said.

Akane grinned at him and said, impudently, "Aren't you glad I insisted that we get them ready last night?"

* * *

Ranma jumped down from the wall and crossed the street to the gate that gave entrance to the schoolyard, with Akane nearly on his heels. He grinned at her since he had deliberately increased the pace, leaving Nabiki and Sayuri behind. "Not bad, my beautiful tomboy, not bad at all," he said, a bit cheekily. He leaned against the wall and pulled Akane to him.

"I was a little worried about the girls, though," Akane said, "They aren't ready for that pace." She squirmed around, until her back was leaning into her husband's chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist.

"True, but neither of them will try to run on the fences until they are ready," Ranma said, "And we need to do some roof-hopping, just to keep in practice."

"We'll do that going home then," Akane said, "Sayuri and Nabiki can walk home without us."

"Um, I imagine Natsume and Kurumi will be coming home with us for their lessons," Ranma reminded her.

Akane shrugged her shoulders and said, "We can still roof-hop, though. They won't mind."

"In fact, they'd probably like to learn," Ranma said, thoughtfully.

Akane chuckled and pointed down the street. "Looks like they already know how," she said, as her husband looked where she was pointing and saw two girls dressed in the Furinkan uniform leaping from one roof to the next.

Ranma grinned and said, "Looks like you're right." After a moment of watching, he frowned slightly.

Akane could feel her husband tense slightly and she half-turned to see him frowning at something. She glanced back at his sisters as they neared and then her frown matched his. "I see it. I'll talk to them," she said.

Ranma sighed, and said, "Thanks. It'd be a bit too embarrassing if I had to tell them."

"You didn't have any problem telling me to wear shorts," Akane half-protested.

Ranma smirked and retorted, "It's a bit different. YOU hadn't just flashed me accidentally."

Akane smiled in understanding and said, "Okay, I can see how it would be a bit different. You're off the hook for now."

Ranma sighed and said, "Thanks. That's not really older brother territory, or at least not anywhere I want to go." He changed the subject and said, "There's Nabiki and Sayuri," pointing at the two girls walking quickly toward them on the wall that lined the street.

"They made decent time," Akane said, "I think they're nearly ready for the next step, don't you?"

Ranma gauged their progress and nodded his head. "Yeah, I think you're right. We need to crank it up another notch."

Kurumi sprang from the last roof, landing lightly on the wall first, and then somersaulting down to the ground, causing Ranma to wince as her short skirt opened. She raced over and hugged her brother, kissing him on the cheek, as had become her custom over the last few days.

Natsume descended gracefully from the roof and walked decorously over to her brother. Her greeting was much more formal as she bowed deeply and said, "Good morning, elder brother, Akane."

"And a good morning to you, Natsume," Ranma said, with a smile. He shook his head and added, "I'm not quite sure that is part of the Furinkan dress code, though."

Natsume looked quizzically at him,

"Your carpet beater," Ranma replied, pointing to the handle sticking over her shoulder.

"If Ukyo can wear her battle spatula, that shouldn't be a problem," Akane said sternly, "And since when do you care about the school dress code anyway?"

Ranma gave her a sheepish look and replied, "You do have a couple of good points there."

"Are you two ready for your first day of class?" Akane asked, as Sayuri and Nabiki joined them briefly.

"Hi, Natsume, Kurumi," Nabiki said, a greeting that Sayuri echoed.

"Hello, my friends," Natsume replied, still extremely proper.

"Lighten up, Natsume," Kurumi said, with a cute pout, "Smile at least."

Natsume said, straightfaced, "I am smiling."

"You'll sit with us at lunch, won't you?" Sayuri asked, "That way you can meet the rest of our friends."

"That would be nice," Natsume replied.

"Especially if Ukyo is there with her grill," Kurumi added, "She makes the best okonomiyaki!"

"And I thought Ranma had a large appetite," Sayuri said with a grin.

Ranma chuckled and replied, "I think I've been replaced there."

Nabiki said, "I'm going to go find Souta. We'll catch up at lunch."

"Bye, sis," Akane said, as Nabiki headed into the schoolyard.

"I need to meet Hiroshi," Sayuri said, as she departed also.

"And we should start heading in ourselves," Akane said, "It wouldn't do to have you two late on your first day."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Good point. There's no reason for them to start out holding buckets of water."

Natsume looked confused and Akane quickly added, "That's how they punish us here for minor infractions of the rules. They send us out of class to hold buckets of water out in the hallway."

Kurumi smirked and said, "That had to be a scary punishment for you, big brother."

"We'll take you to your classroom, Kurumi, and one of us will stay with you until the teacher arrives," Akane said, keeping a straight face.

* * *

The young teacher bustled down the hallway toward her classroom, struggling with the heavy briefcase she was carrying. As she neared her room, she saw one of her students standing out in the hall with a girl dressed in the Furikan School uniform.

Ranma saw his teacher nearing and quickly moved to her, taking the heavy case from her hand. "Let me take this for you, sensei," he grunted as he felt the load, "What do you have in here, anyway? A load of bricks?"

"Thank you Mr. Saotome," his teacher said, with an attractive smile, "It's just all my books, I'm afraid." She paused and then asked, "Why are you standing out in the hall, instead of in your seat where you belong?"

"I wanted to introduce you to the new student," Ranma said, as they neared the girl.

"Yes, the principal told me that I would get another student this term," the teacher said.

"Yes, sensei," Ranma replied, "Miss Morisato, this is my sister Natsume."

Natsume bowed deeply, and said, "Sensei, it is an honour to meet you."

"Oh dear, another Saotome," Miss Morisato grumbled, "How on earth shall I keep you all straight?"

Ranma said, "Um, sensei, Akane will be a few minutes late. She is waiting with my younger sister so she can introduce her to her new teacher in homeroom 1A."

Miss Morisato sighed and said, "That is very kind of her. Mr. Saotome, please take your seat. Miss Saotome, please wait until I ask you to enter."

The two teens bowed politely, and Ranma entered the room, placing the heavy briefcase on the teacher's desk at the front of the room before finding his desk.

Miss Morisato followed Ranma in, and stood behind her desk, waiting for the room to quiet down as the other students realized she was there.

After a few minutes, Akane entered the classroom, and closed the door behind her. She slid into her seat next to her husband just as the final bell finished ringing.

Miss Morisato smiled and said, "Cutting it just a bit close, Mrs. Saotome, were we? Don't worry, Mr. Saotome explained where you were."

"Thank you, sensei," Akane said, sighing in relief.

"Class, we are getting a new student for the remainder of the school year," Miss Morisato said. She walked to the door and opened it, saying, "You may come in now and introduce yourself. Tell them something about yourself, also, please."

The boys in the class gasped as an attractive, long-blackhaired girl walked into the classroom.

"Man, she's hot!" one boy whispered from the back of the room, unfortunately loud enough for Ranma to hear.

"Isn't she though," a second sighed, staring at her with dreamy eyes, a small trickle of drool coming from the corner of his mouth.

"My name is Natsume Saotome," Natsume said.

"Saotome?" a third boy asked.

"I am happy to join this class," Natsume continued, "I know several of the students already through my brother and sister-in-laws."

"She's Ranma's sister!" the first boy gasped, and then his face paled as he saw Ranma turned around in his chair staring impassively at him. The other two boys sitting next to him gulped.

"I am also a martial artist, of some skill, though not quite as good as my sister-in-law Akane," Natsume said.

"Thank you, Miss Saotome. There's an empty desk between Mrs. Saotome, and well, the other Mrs. Saotome. Why don't you sit there," Miss Morisato said.

Akane and Ukyo traded looks and then Akane suggested, "Miss Morisato, this is going to be a bit confusing. If it is easier on you, I won't be offended if you call me either Saotome-Tendo, or just Tendo, and I'm sure Ukyo will agree."

"Akane is right, sensei. While I'm proud to be a Saotome, with three women and Ranma all sharing the same family name, it would be simpler on you and less confusing for us if you'd call me Kuonji, or Saotome-Kuonji," Ukyo added.

The look of relief on the young teacher's face was almost comical and she said, "Thank you both, ladies. That will make things a bit less confusing all around, I'm sure."

By that time, Natsume had found her chair and sat down.

"Okay, class, today we will start our English Literature class by beginning to examine a play by the great English playwright William Shakespeare," Miss Morisato said, "So, please turn in your books to page 231, so we can discuss The Taming of the Shrew."

* * *

Akane giggled as Kurumi bounced down the stairs to the courtyard, and waved to a couple of her classmates before running over and joining the rest of the group, who had already made themselves comfortable on the ground. The boisterous girl greeted her brother with a hug and a kiss, before settling down next to him.

Daisuke grinned and asked, "Starting a harem there, Ranma?"

Ranma rolled his eyes and replied, "Naw, this is my sister Kurumi."

"For some reason, she likes him," Akane teased gently.

"Natsume, Kurumi, you know some of these people already, but, the boy with no tact is Daisuke, and the girl sitting next to him is his fiancée Yuka. Then, sitting next to them is Shampoo, our Amazon sister. Sitting next to Sayuri is her boyfriend Hiroshi. Mousse, Kodachi, and Souta you've met at the dojo for training. Guys, these are my sisters Natsume and Kurumi," Ranma said as a quick introduction.

Ukyo finished setting up her grill, and turned to join in on the conversation. "How do you two like your first day at Furinkan?" she asked, as she stirred her batter, while waiting for the grill to heat up.

"It seems nice enough," Natsume said, properly, "Though the building is a bit old-fashioned."

"I met some really nice girls in class," Kurumi added, as she watched Ukyo avidly, though she was devouring the contents of her bento, which was filled with the same amount of food as Ranma's.

"It is a pretty old school," Kodachi said, "Though it was remodeled sometime in the sixties according to my father. I still like it better than St. Bacchus, even though that school is a lot newer."

"It's probably because you didn't actually have a group of friends like this there," Nabiki said.

Kodachi grinned wryly and said, "That's true enough. I was too busy being the Black Rose."

"You were the Black Rose?" Natsume asked, "I've heard about you. School of Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts, wasn't it, sister?"

"Yes, it was," Kurumi replied, "That explains why you seemed familiar. We saw you at an exhibtion at a school we were attending last year. No wait, two years ago."

"Small world," Kodachi said, "I still practice Rhythmic Gymnastics, though I've given up some of the things that I used to do."

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of batter sizzling on the grill, as Ukyo poured out several dollops.

Kurumi began salivating at the aroma rising from the grill.

"Ukyo, how do you manage to run the restaurant and still go to class?" Natsume asked.

"Well, the school lets me leave early during the week, and Konatsu and Mom run it until I get there," Ukyo replied, "And then on Saturday, we only have a half day, so I can help with the rush at lunch anyway. The hard part is finding enough time to do all the schoolwork, but we manage." She expertly flipped the pancakes, and then brushed them with her sauce. From her bag, she pulled out several plastic containers, and dumped the contents onto the pancakes.

"Are you still wanting us to help out after school?" Natsume asked.

"As much as you can, sure," Ukyo replied, using her spatula to place the okonomiyakis on several plates. She handed one to Ranma, and a second to a grinning Kurumi, while she settled down on the ground to eat hers.

* * *

As always, the final class period of the day was physical education, and Ranma was outside with the boy's gym class, practicing with a soccer ball, and showing off just a bit as he juggled the ball with Hiroshi and Daisuke.

Suddenly, a horde of girls came running from the direction of the girl's gym, Akane in the lead, with Natsume close behind, and the remaining girls carrying push brooms over their shoulders. "Gym shorts thief!!!" they cried as they chased a diminutive figure toward the boys.

"Happosai? But how, he's dead!" Ranma gasped. He raced toward the figure and then kicked the soccer ball as hard as he could, nailing the thief in the back.

"A hit!!!" Akane cried, as she led the girls over to begin beating the thief.

"Take that!!" they yelled as the brooms came crashing down.

Ranma reached the girls and asked, "Who is that?" 'It better not be the old freak, or Cologne better have a good explanation!' he thought, angrily.

The girls separated enough for Akane to see their victim. "The shorts thief is a little kid," she gasped.

"A little kid!" Ranma exclaimed, as he joined Akane, "How can a little kid be a pervert?"

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke billowed around them.

"A smoke screen!" Akane exclaimed.

A small voice cried, "Lightning Sharpie!" and a shadowy figure appeared before them for a second.

When the smoke cleared, Natsume cried, "The shorts, the little boy, all gone!"

Ranma stammered, "Th-that kid!"

"Huh!" Akane asked. Then she gasped as she saw Ranma's face. On his cheek, the word 'Dope' was written.

"That's no ordinary kid," Ranma said, "He didn't even give me the chance to duck!"

Sayuri exclaimed, "Wow! What penmanship!"

"He wrote it so fast!" Yuka cried.

"Such a little kid," Natsume added.

"And he wrote it in cursive," Daisuke said, as he reached his fiancée.

"Would you stop admiring him, already!" Akane huffed, as she glared at her friends.

"He's no ordinary kid, all right," Natsume said.

* * *

Akane crowed loudly as she beat Ranma to the front gate. "I won!" she cried, gaily, her eyes flashing her excitement.

"And I still think flashing me was cheating," Ranma retorted, as he swept his wife up, bussing her noisily, to the amusement of their friends coming up from behind.

"Get a room, you two," Nabiki said, dryly.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Souta said, flashing his fiancée a wicked grin, "That actually looks like a good idea to me." He advanced towards her, only to have her dart through the gate.

"You'll have to catch me first, Souta!" Nabiki cried as she ran toward the front door. Souta chuckled and took off after her.

Sayuri sighed and asked, "Where's Hiroshi when I need him?"

"You just left him," Kodachi said, laughing, "And he was looking thoroughly kissed when I saw him last."

"We really need to get started with class," Mousse said, a grin on his face.

Ranma sighed as he released Akane and said, "Yeah, I know. They really loaded us down with homework tonight for some reason, and I just know it'll take hours to work through it all."

"I feel sorry for Natsume and Kurumi, working at Ucchans, and still trying to squeeze in martial arts and school," Akane said, as she pulled Ranma toward the front door.

* * *

"Tadaima!" Akane cried, "We're home!" She slipped off her shoes, and left them in the cubby by the front door, and then she and Ranma headed toward the family room.

"We have a guest," Kasumi said in greeting, as they entered the room.

Ranma screeched to a stop as he recognized the diminutive figure sitting on the floor next to Soun. "You!" he exclaimed.

"It's that little kid from this afternoon!" Akane added.

"What are you doing here?" Ranma spat, his eyes narrowing.

Soun said, stiffly, "I have decided to take him on as a disciple."

"WHAT!!!!" Akane screeched.

Ranma exclaimed, astonished, "You made him your disciple!?"

"I have no choice. I have a duty to train him. Look at this letter!" Soun said, quickly.

"A letter?" Akane asked.

Soun handed her a note, and Ranma read it over her shoulder. It read,

_'Dear Happosai,_

_Please look after my great grandson, Rakutarō._

_Rakkyōsai'_

"Hmmm, Rakkyōsai?" Ranma asked.

"Who's Rakkyōsai? And why should we care? Happosai is dead, Ranma is the new master," Akane asked.

"And as his disciple it falls upon me to honour this request. It is my giri," Soun said.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"The master," Soun began, only to stop at a raised eyebrow from Ranma. "Sorry," he muttered, "Old habits are still hard to break. Anyway, Happosai told us stories of his youth during our training trips. Of course, I always assumed he was putting himself in the best light. Rakkyōsai was once his closest friend. They even called each other nicknames, Happy and Lucky."

"Okay, so what's that got to do with anything?" Akane asked.

"Apparently, Rakkyōsai disappeared one day without a trace," Soun replied, "Happosai was never able to learn if he was even still alive. That was one of his deepest regrets."

Ranma looked at Soun with a puzzled expression. "So why do you have to take this brat in?" he asked.

"Well, if Rakkyōsai entrusted Happosai with his great-grandson, it is my giri as his eldest disciple to train the boy," Soun said.

"He **is** good," Ranma said, slowly, "But, still, our school is very rigorous."

"I'm sure he can handle it," Soun said.

Ranma shook his head and said, softly, "There is something very strange about that boy. How could someone that young be as good as he seems to be? And why would he steal the girls' clothing?"

The little boy laughed and before anyone could stop him had pulled out a pen from the pen case he carried on his back, and wrote all over Soun's face.

Akane grabbed the little boy and chided, "No, no, no. Daddy can be very scary when he gets mad."

Soun scrubbed his face clean, and said, in a kind voice, "How can I get mad at a little child like that?"

Rakutarō put on a remorseful expression, and lisped, "I'm sorry."

Akane bent down, and patted his cheek. "All right. That's okay, then."

The little boy bent his head down, and said, "Oh yes. So very sorry." He reached out and patted her 'accidentally' on her breast.

Ranma eyed him suspiciously, and then pulled him away from Akane. "Hey you, don't get so personal!" he exclaimed, "That's my wife you're fondling!"

The little boy leapt up, placing a small ball on top of Ranma's head, and then sprang away as the ball exploded, leaving a blackened and burnt Ranma behind.

Akane asked, "Are you mad at him?"

"Like your father said, how can I get mad at a little kid? He's just being playful," Ranma replied.

The little boy hit him on the head with a mallet, which was the final straw.

Ranma whirled, and said, angrily "Why you little brat! I'm gonna!"

Rakutarō took off running, with Ranma close behind. They ran out the house, with Ranma making one futile grab after another.

"Stop right there, you little brat!" Ranma cried, as he followed Rakutarō to the top of the wall, and then from the wall to the roof on the house across the street.

Akane and Soun ran out after them, and watched as they disappeared.

"Ranma can't catch him!" Akane gasped.

"That is indeed no **ordinary** child!" Soun exclaimed.

* * *

Ranma chased the little boy across the tiled rooftops, while the clouds rumbled overhead and the sky darkened. Finally, he kicked up a few of the tiles, and launched them at his prey. The tiles flew truly, and slammed into the back and head of the young boy, knocking him down. Ranma cried, "Gotcha!!" as he leapt forward, his arms outstretched. As he landed, however, the little boy sprang up, soaring high into the air.

The boy pulled a large pen from the case on his back, and cried, "LIGHTNING SHARP PEN!!" As he swung the nib of the pen around at Ranma, he called, "Inextricable Ink!!!' and released as stream of black ink from the pen, which wrapped around Ranma, pinning his arms to his side.

Ranma gasped, "I can't move!"

"This ink is infused with mystic glue," Rakutarō said, as he landed near to Ranma, "The more you struggle, the tighter it grows. I have awaited this opportunity to be with you alone."

"And here I thought you were a little kid who could barely talk," Ranma said, as a bolt of lightning flashed across the skies, "You're full of surprises."

"I have a question for you, Grand Master," the little boy said, sneering on the final words, "Master Happosai's treasure, the 'Brocade Butterfly.' Where is it?"

"The 'Brocade Butterfly?' What's that?" Ranma asked in response, as the raindrops began to fall.

"Hmmm, if you will not answer truthfully," Rakutarō "Then I must draw a mustache on your face!" He came running at his helpless victim, his pen at the ready, when the rain finally triggered Ranma's transformation, and a buxom woman was standing in his place.

"Will you cut that out!" a soprano voice cried shrilly.

Rakutarō stopped in his tracks for a moment, and then cried, "Oh Master!" and buried his face in her bosom.

"What are you doing?" Ranma exclaimed, as she kicked the perverted little boy. The force of the kick sent him flying far away from her. She watched as he dwindled into the distance, and added, "Cheez, that's one perverted kid!"

* * *

"The 'Brocade Butterfly?' What is that?" Akane asked.

"I don't know. Rakutarō never did tell me what it was. He was just insistent that Happosai had it, and that we were hiding it from him," Ranma replied.

"Did Happosai ever mention that to you, Daddy?" Kasumi asked.

Soun shook his head. "Not that I can recall," he said, grimly.

"It'll be a bit hard to give this thing to Rakutarō if we don't even know what it is," Nabiki said, dryly.

"No kidding," Ranma replied, "And that's assuming we still have possession of it. We don't even know if whatever it is was in the cave with him. And I suppose it's possible that I gave it to Cologne, thinking that it belonged to the Amazons."

"The Joketsuzoku! That would be most unfortunate!" a tiny voice said.

"I was wondering when you would turn up, Rakutarō," Ranma said, without turning around.

"And why would that be unfortunate? Does it actually belong to them?" Akane asked.

"NO! I, I mean, Rakkyōsai created it," the little boy said, as he landed in the middle of the room, "Approximately one hundred years ago, back when he and Happosai were young, around eighteen or so. My great grandfather was a tall, handsome youth, with long blond hair, while Happy was a scrawny little thing. One day, he came by to see his friend because he had heard that my great grandfather had created something called the 'Brocade Butterfly' and wanted to see it. Not thinking anything about it, my great grandfather showed him the treasure that he had created, only to have the forked-tongued devil steal it from him. That was the last time that my great grandfather saw that sneak. And he made me swear to retrieve the treasure. That was his last wish." A single tear rolled down the cheek of the young boy.

"We'll help you find it, Rakutarō, won't we Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Oh Akane!" Rakutarō exclaimed, as he attempted to bury his head in her chest.

"Wipe your tears on this old man's chest!" Soun exclaimed, stepping between them.

"Eep!!!" the little boy exclaimed, recoiling in disgust. He pulled a pail out of nowhere, and drenched Ranma, triggering the transformation. Immediately, he began rubbing his face in the red-haired girl's breasts.

Ranma cried, "Geroffme!" and slammed her fists down on him, knocking the little boy to the floor.

"You hit a little child!" Akane exclaimed.

"There's something strange about him, though. He's so perverted!" Nabiki exclaimed.

"Obviously this Rakkyōsai must have been just as perverted as Happosai was," Akane replied, torn between her dismay at seeing the little boy cry, and her hatred of perverts.

The little boy stared at Ranma in disbelief and said, "You hit me! How could you hit a little child?" He ran out the door, and disappeared.

Ranma gazed out the door for a moment, and then headed outside.

"Where are you going?" Akane asked.

"I put the old freak's things in the storage shed," Ranma replied, "I thought I'd look through them to see if I missed this 'Brocade Butterfly' when I was sorting through them."

"Would you like some company?" Akane asked.

Ranma grinned and replied, "Sure, though it's a little cramped in there."

"I know," Akane retorted, giving him a lustful look.

* * *

The next morning found Ranma and Akane making their way to school, both of them running across the top of the fence bordering the canal. "What is so special about those inks?" Akane asked.

"I really don't know," Ranma replied, "I was sure surprised when we found that box labeled 'Brocade Butterfly.' I can't imagine how I didn't see it before. Why was it the old freak's treasure? What secret is hidden in that box?"

"Those rainbow coloured inks?" Akane mused, "What could that mean?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "They are pretty, especially the iridescent ones." He frowned suddenly as he remembered something, and snapped his fingers. "That kid, he used some sort of special ink when he attacked me," he said.

"Then could this be more of the same?" Akane gasped.

"I wonder what kind of special attack these inks could be used for," her husband said.

Akane took the box out of her case and looked at it. "What is so special about this ink?" she wondered.

Suddenly, they heard someone cry, ""Spider Thread of Ink!!!" A cloud of black ink headed their way.

"Watch out!" Ranma cried as he shielded Akane from the oncoming danger, picking her up and jumping to the fence on the other side of the street.

The young couple watched as a spider web of ink stretched across the street in front of them.

"Rakutarō!" Ranma cried.

"Ha! So you're here, eh?" Akane added.

"The 'Brocade Butterfly,' it's mine!" Rakutarō cried as he sent a pen tied to a string at Akane. The pen wrapped the string around the box in her hand, and then with a tug, he pulled it to himself.

'Aagh! He got it!" Akane cried.

Rakutarō laughed as he leapt to the top of a nearby house and started running across the rooftops. Once he had gotten safely away, he stopped and opened the box, only to gasp as he saw the crude wooden figure nestled in the box instead of the inks that he had been expecting.

A soft thump from behind him caught his attention. He turned and saw the young couple squatting several feet from him. "Just kidding," Akane said, as she smirked at her husband, who was holding the case of ink in his hand.

"If you want it," Ranma said, "You'll have to defeat the master. And I beat Happosai to get that title. Do you feel lucky, punk? Do you?"

"Oh come on, Ranma, quoting movie lines?" Akane asked fondly.

Ranma smirked at her and said, "Hey, it worked for Clint Eastwood, didn't it?"

Rakutarō raised his pen and cried, "BLAZING INK-RING!" as he drew a ring of ink around the young couple.

Ranma smirked as he jumped over the ring just before it caught fire. "Gee, I wish I had some marshmallows," he sighed as the little kid gazed at him in dismay.

Rakutarō put a pen in his mouth and then blew hard. He cried, "Brush bomb!" as the brush on the pen flew toward Ranma, and exploded, knocking Ranma to the street below.

Akane jumped down, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just let my guard down a bit," Ranma replied, "I'm letting the fact that he's just a little kid mess with my mind. I just can't seem to take him seriously."

"That's a damn good way to get hurt," Akane chided him.

"PEN HEAD BUTT!" Rakutarō cried, as he slammed the end of his pen into Ranma's head, driving him into the pavement. The box of ink flew out of his hand, and the young boy snatched it out of the air and ran off, muttering, "Amateur!"

"HEY!" Akane protested as she watched the brat run off.

Ranma sat up and reached for a convenient bucket and poured the cold water over his head.

"Wait, you're still going to go after him?" Akane asked.

"Yup, there's something about that ink that bothers me, something niggling in the back of my mind," Ranma said, as she ran after the little boy.

"But I wonder, if it is just ink, how can it be so special?" Akane wondered as she raced after the redhaired girl.

Ranma took to the roofs, running as fast as she could to catch up. "Ooooh, that little brat, no more mister nice guy," she mumbled as she neared the boy. "Rakutarō!" she cried, as she ripped her shirt open, exposing her breasts to the world.

The little boy turned around, and his eyes grew big. Drool ran down his chin as he raced back to latch onto the grand prize.

'Pervert!' Ranma thought, 'Just like Happosai! His greatest weakness!'

"Ooh, Master!" Rakutarō exclaimed as he nuzzled her chest.

"HA! You fell for it, fool!" Ranma exclaimed, as she clamped her arms around the little boy. "Rakutarō! Now you shall taste hell on earth!" she cried, as she leapt up, and went through the roof of the building she was standing on, to land with a loud splash in the waters of the community bath, instantly changing her back. "Take this!" he exclaimed, "The Pec-Press of Fear!" as he squeezed the little boy hard against his chest. He laughed maniacally, and asked, "How does it feel to be crushed against the bare chest of a man?"

"Insolent whelp," an old voice whined.

"Huh!" Ranma exclaimed as he raised the little boy out of the water, to find instead an old man, who reminded him greatly of Happosai.

"Meet your doom!" the old man cried.

Ranma grinned oddly and said, "I knew you were't an ordinary kid! You're just another dirty old man, just like Happosai!"

"Indeed!" the old man exclaimed, "I'm actually Rakkyōsai." He laughed at the astonished look on the young man's face, a laugh that sent chills up and down the spines of all who heard it, since it was the laugh of someone who had obviously left his sanity behind him years ago. He sobered and added, "I regained my youth when I fell into Tontsūniichuan, the spring of drowned child, at Jusenkyo. Thus I have returned for my revenge. Though, I became a little too young."

"You do remember that Happosai is dead?" Ranma asked.

"Doesn't matter. Since you are his successor, I will take my revenge against you. Since I have regained the secret 'Brocade Butterfly' that he stole from me so many years ago, there is no reason to allow you to go on living!" the old man exclaimed as he leapt from the water. He pulled his brush from his pack, and cried, "Prepare to die!!!"

Ranma jumped out of the bath, and landed on the tiled floor, his eyes watchful.

"WASABI INK BOMB!" the old lech cried, as he swung the brush in Ranma's direction. The brush landed on the tile near Ranma and exploded, sending a cloud in his direction.

"Damn, my nose stings," Ranma cried, as the smell of the Chinese horseradish burned his nostrils. Then he was struck by a blast from a hose, and the cold water changed him into his female form. "That's cold!" she cried.

Rakkyōsai cackled eerily once more as the clouds dissipated. "I've waited an age for this day to come," he hissed. He gazed down at the box in his hand and said, "It's time to use this rainbow-coloured 'Brocade Butterfly.' My deadly Lightning Sharp-Pen attack will be complete at last!"

"What!!" Ranma exclaimed. She thought quickly and ran through the various attacks. 'Inextricable Ink! Blazing Ink-Ring! Wasabi-Ink Bomb! All those brush techniques! Those were just the beginning!'

"Now you will learn, at the end of your days, the power I have!" Rakkyōsai cried, as he tossed the box of ink up in the air. He cried, "Lightning Sharp-Pen Lightning Attack!! WILD BUTTERFLY DANCE!!!" as he swung his brush.

"What!" Ranma exclaimed, "Seven colours of lights reflecting, like butterflies!"

"TIME TO END THIS!" the old man cried, as he descended from on high, the butt of his brush forward.

"I don't think so!" Ranma cried as she sent a blizzard of wooden buckets skyward, knocking him backwards and then to the floor, interrupting his attack.

"Do you think that would save you?" Rakkyōsai cried, as he ripped a parchment from his pencase.

"I'm not finished, freak!" Ranma scoffed, as she watched warily.

"Feel honoured. You will be the first victim of the 'Brocade Butterfly!' But not the last, oh no!" the old man cried, laughing hysterically. He leapt forward, the paper outstretched.

Suddenly a memory or a sense of déjà vu fell over Ranma and she smirked, allowing her shirt to flop open. The lech immediately changed his trajectory and slammed the paper across her exposed chest.

"A breast print! A breast print!" Rakkyōsai cried, as he laughed and danced around.

Ranma sneered as she jumped and landed on the old man's head, driving him into the ground. She snatched the paper from his hands and shredded it, saying, "Oh-ho, it was that kind of technique! You're just a washed up dirty old man!"

"Ripping it up is useless! Sheet after sheet after sheet! I'll do it again!" Rakkyōsai cried.

"Never! I'm gonna take care of you right now!" Ranma cried, as she leapt out the hole in the roof, and then jumped down to the street, knowing that the old freak would follow her. To her shock, Akane was sitting at a nearby café, eating some popcorn, and drinking a soda.

"The breast prints of all the women of the world shall be mine!" Rakkyōsai cried as he exploded out the hole.

"Hey look! A bra!" Ranma cried, as Akane went "EEEP!'

Rakkyōsai flew toward her like a fly to honey. As he snatched at the bra, Ranma grabbed the ink out of his hands.

"I'll hang on to this for the safety of women around the world!" Ranma cried.

"Why you!!! Give me that back!!!" Rakkyōsai roared.

"Hiryű Shōten Ha!" Ranma cried, creating a large whirlwind that picked the lech up and began to spin him around and around and around.

"What a worthless battle," Ranma said, with a heavy sigh, as she watched the whirling wind of her Hiryű Shōten Ha spinning Rakkyōsai around and around.

"CURSE YOU!" the diminutive old man cried, "Don't think that this is over! The breast prints of all the women in the world! They shall be mine!!!!"

Ranma smirked and looked at the parchment in her hands. "You'll have to settle for this," she said, with a cocky grin, "I destroyed the 'Brocade Butterfly.' I wouldn't want it to get into the wrong hands, and you definitely are the wrong hands."

The bruised and battered old man snatched the paper out of her hands. He ran off, crying gaily, "Whoo Hoo, Ranma's breast prints! Don't know how to thank you, kiddo!"

Akane sighed as she said, "Hard to believe I thought that old coot was a little kid."

"I had to see it to believe it myself," Ranma said, "But I kept telling you there was something wrong about that little kid."

Akane sighed once more and said, "I know." She frowned and asked, "Is that okay, though? Giving him your breast prints?"

Ranma sighed and replied, "I should probably say something noble like 'It's okay as long as I only had to sacrifice my own,' but that really wouldn't be the truth."

Akane looked at her with a puzzled frown on her face.

Ranma giggled, and explained, "Right now, there's probably a shopkeeper trying to figure out why the tanuki statue outside his restaurant has ink all over its chest."

Akane couldn't help herself, she began to giggle. Then she frowned. "Why'd you steal my bra? And, how did you do it? I didn't even see you move!" she hissed.

"Needed something to distract the old pervert, and I wasn't wearing a bra," Ranma replied. She shrugged and said, "I figured you'd rather I borrow yours than take one from one of the other women passing by."

"True, but it was one of my favorites," Akane grumped. She said, "You still didn't say how you got it off me, though."

"Ah, give me some credit. I've taken your bra off you many times now. I just never used the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire technique doing it before," Ranma replied.

* * *

Soun dropped his paper in shock. "That young boy was really a friend of the Master!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, Daddy, he fell into the spring of drowned little boy," Akane replied, "and he was just as perverted as you always said Happosai was."

"What I don't understand is why he wanted to kill Ranma," Nabiki said, "If he was trying to get his revenge against Happosai for stealing the ink from him a hundred years ago, why would he even care about Ranma?"

"Who knows what was going on in his twisted brain," Akane replied.

Ranma said, "I think it was because I got in his way, and thwarted his wishes, actually. He was pretty much acting like a spoiled brat, when he was a little kid, but his behavior in his true form wasn't any better."

Soun looked at the young man with a thoughtful expression on his face. "The master was much like that, too," he said, "Always only interested in getting his own way, wanting to be waited on hand and foot, a petulant little old man."

"Then perhaps something in the training that they both seemed to have in common was the cause," Akane said.

Ranma frowned in thought and then said, "I think it was simply they just perverted the martial arts for their own benefit, and after many years it was just something that they expected. That they would always get their own way, and when they didn't, they would revert back to their childish behavior."

"We know that the way Happosai trained our fathers tended to amplify their weaknesses," Nabiki said.

"We do?" Soun asked, "Wait a minute, what weaknesses?" He didn't understand why they looked at each other and then vanished out the door, without even making any excuses. "What weaknesses?" he cried.

* * *

Kurumi opened the door to her home in response to the knock on the door and squealed with delight. "Big Brother!" she cried, and gave Ranma a hug of doom, nearly staggering him with the force.

Akane looked on fondly, and then blanched as she also received the same hug.

"I guess Mom didn't tell you we were coming over for dinner," Ranma said, chuckling.

"No she didn't," Natsume replied, with quiet dignity, from the door, "Hello, my brother. Hello, Akane, I greet you and welcome you to our home."

Ranma smiled, and said, "Good evening to you, also, my sister." 'If she wants formal, she can get formal,' he thought.

"Er, we did have a reason for coming, besides wanting to spend time with the other half of our family," Akane said.

"And what reason would that be?" Natsume asked.

"Well I did just want to spend time with Mom, but we wanted to find out how you two were settling in also, what with going to a new school and everything," Ranma replied, as they entered the house. Ranma and Akane paused long enough to toe off their shoes, and then followed the two girls into the kitchen.

"Ranma! Akane!" Nodoka exclaimed, as she pulled them both into a brief hug.

"Hi, Mom, what's for dinner?" Ranma asked.

"Clear soup, salad, rice, fresh vegetables and I'm about to grill some ahi tuna," Nodoka replied.

"Do you need a hand?" Akane asked, eagerly.

"I think we have everything under control," Nodoka said, "Though, Ranma, you could keep an eye on the grill outside. I don't quite trust your father not to overcook the tuna. It needs to be medium rare at best. And he still has quite a bit to do left in the garden, so don't let him slack off."

Ranma nodded his head and handed her a small cooler. "We brought some gyozas and some pork shaomai," he said, "They'll need to be steamed, of course."

"That reminds me, I need to put the vegetables in the wok to steam them," Nodoka said.

"Give me the steaks, Mom, I'll toss them on the hibachi," Ranma said.

Nodoka handed him the stainless steel platter that held the tuna steaks, and gave him a set of long tongs. "Remember, just to medium rare," she said.

"There's also a couple of bottles of Asahi in the cooler," Akane said, "They're a present from Daddy for Mr. Saotome."

Nodoka blushed and said, "That was kind of you, but he doesn't drink any more."

"Pop doesn't drink? Since when?" Ranma asked, as he face-faulted.

"Since Mom told him that was a condition of him ever getting into her bed," Kurumi replied, as Nodoka blushed even more.

"That definitely falls into the category of too much information," Ranma said, as he made his escape to the back yard, while Natsume began to berate Kurumi quietly for her lack of tact, and Akane hid a careful smile.

* * *

Ranma slid the door open with his hip, and entered the kitchen, bringing the grilled fish to the table.

"Good timing," Akane said, as she set the steamed gyoza and shaomai down on the table, stealing a kiss as she did so.

"Eeeew!" Kurumi teased, "Mom, they're kissing!!"

Natsume grinned as she set the chopsticks and spoons around the table.

Nodoka laughed gaily, as she brought the last of the meal and set it down next to the large rice cooker that occupied one corner of the table. "They're young and in love," she said.

Genma padded in, and plopped gracelessly to the floor next to his wife. "It took me a bit longer to get cleaned up than I planned," he said, apologetically.

"How is the garden?" Nodoka asked.

"I've got all of the weeds pulled, and in the compost pile," Genma replied, "And I tilled the ground where you asked me to."

"Good, I've been wanting to grow my own herbs for quite some time," Nodoka said, "And that spot will be just about the right size."

"The takinogawa is growing well, and looks about ready to harvest, and the spinach looks ready," Genma replied, "Not sure about the ginger root, though."

"I didn't realize you were growing your own vegetables," Akane said.

"Yes, for quite some time. I didn't have a large garden for vegetables before, but now that we have a few more mouths to feed, I thought I would expand it just a little. Some zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, tomato plants and Daikon radishes, at least for now" Nodoka said. She busied herself for a moment, handing out bowls of rice to everyone, though Ranma was slightly surprised to see that Genma did not get any.

"Your father is on a bit of a diet," Nodoka explained, "So we're reducing the amount of carbohydrates he gets, and making him eat more of the green leafy vegetables."

"A diet? Pop? That's a surprise," Ranma said.

"That young doctor, what does he know? Said I was overweight, and needed to drop several kilograms. That there was too much wear and tear on my heart because of the excess weight he claims I have," Genma muttered, "There's no fat on me, it's all muscle. And everyone knows muscle weighs more than fat."

"If Tofu says that you weigh too much, he knows what he is talking about," Akane said, sternly.

"She's right. You aren't much of a Pop, Pop, but you're the only one I have. And besides, you still have to train my sisters," Ranma said, "So you do need to take better care of yourself."

"I agreed to go on a diet," Genma grumbled, "Though I still say I was tricked."

"Yes, my husband, I want you around for many more years. You were gone for so long, it would be a great disappointment to me if you were gone," Nodoka said.

"Please, Father, we just found you," Natsume said, sternly, "You must take better care of yourself, for our sakes, if for no other reason."

"Please, Daddy," Kurumi begged, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes look.

"I think they have you outnumbered, Pop" Ranma said, with a grin.

"Did we have to come back to Tokyo?" Genma grumbled, eying the bottles of Asahi Super Dry beer sitting on the counter in the kitchen wistfully.

"Well, as I remember it, you were pretty insistent that we come here. Of course, you made a brief stop in Hokkaido, and Ukyo had to bail you out of jail and drag you here," Ranma said, "And I'm happy that I came." He glanced over and gently squeezed his wife's hand, as she blushed prettily. "Definitely happy I came," he repeated.

"Father, why were you in jail? That doesn't sound very honourable," Natsume asked.

Genma poured his glass of water over his head, and suddenly there was a panda outside in the yard lying on its back, playing with a beach ball.

Ranma shook his head, while Nodoka's mouth drew up into a thin line of disapproval. "Pop traveled around Japan with his master, Happosai, who was quite perverted. One of the many tasks he set his disciples was stealing women's underwear, helping his master peep in the woman's bath, things like that," he said, after a moment of thought, "All under the guise that he was training them in his arts. That sometimes got Pop in trouble with the authorities, but they always left the area before they could get caught. Unfortunately for Pop, he made a mistake coming back from China, and took us through Noboribestu, and the police chief remembered him from twenty years ago."

"I never did understand why you came through Hokkaido," Akane said, "Wasn't Jusenkyo in Qinghai province? That's going quite a ways out of the direct path to Nerima."

"True, but it's the shortest distance to swim," Ranma replied, "So we walked from Qinghai province, through Gansu, Nei Mongol, and finally left China from the coast of Jilin Province, so our closest landfall was Hokkaido."

"That actually made sense, aside from the whole swimming from China thing," Kurumi said.

"Pop doesn't like spending money when he doesn't have to," Ranma replied, "You'll find that out soon enough, I suppose."

"Actually, he's been rather generous with the girls," Nodoka interjected.

"Yes, Father has repainted our bedrooms, and gotten us nice furniture," Natsume said, "And Mother has taken us shopping for new clothing, which we did need badly."

"Where is he getting the money to do that?" Ranma asked.

"From the job he took. He works as a handyman, doing home repairs, that kind of thing," Nodoka said.

"He is pretty good at that. It's one of the ways we picked up cash during our traveling," Ranma said. He looked impressed at the thought that Genma was actually trying to do right by the two girls he had taken into his family.

* * *

Ranma leaned back against the roof over his bedroom, and stared up into the darkening sky, a troubled expression on his face.

Akane leaned out the window of their room, and spotted her husband. He had been uncharacteristically quiet all the way home from his parents' house, and had disappeared shortly after their arrival. With a sigh, she pulled herself up to the roof and walked over to her husband and plopped down onto the blanket he had spread out over the tiles.

"Do you think he really means it?" Ranma asked abruptly.

"Is that what has you all wound up?" Akane responded.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It's hard to believe after all these years that he could change his ways. So I don't know what to think about it."

"Obviously you know Genma better than any of us, including Mom, so I'm not sure what I can say about it that would make any sense," Akane said, sighing, "But, I do think that he is honestly trying to do the right thing with Natsume and Kurumi."

"Though I'm not really sure that he knows what the right thing is," Ranma groused, "He sure didn't raise me in the best way."

"He had a different agenda with you," Akane said, gently, knowing that it was a sore subject with him, "He was trying to fulfill his oath to your mother to make you a man among men, and the best martial artist of our generation. He doesn't have those reasons to train the girls. So he won't treat them the same way he treated you, because of that. No stupid training techniques, none of that. And I think the way he thinks about women will temper what he tries, anyway."

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

Akane smirked at him and replied, "His own prejudices will work against him, I think. He could nearly torture you because you're a guy."

"And aren't you glad that I am," Ranma said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Only some of the time," Akane sniped back, with a grin. She sobered and continued, "But he won't treat women the same way, so he'll attempt to teach them in a more traditional manner. And since he knows how badly they react to his insults, I think those will stop also."

"I just wish I could trust him, you know," Ranma said, a bit wistfully, "Instead of believing that he'll revert back to the way he was before."

* * *

Author's Notes: The next installment of the story for your enjoyment. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and encouraged. 


	82. The Glowing Girl

Chapter 82 The Glowing Girl

The classroom was quiet as the students pored over their papers, their brushes scratching furiously as they wrote down the answers. Finally Akane placed her pen back in her case and capped her ink, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She glanced over at her husband, to see the corner of his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated on the test, his brows furrowed with thought.

Miss Morisato looked up at the clock on the wall, and said, "Okay class, time is up." Half the class groaned in dismay, though Akane was pleased to see that Ranma wasn't one of them. "Make sure that your name is on the answer sheet," the teacher added as she stood up from where she had been leaning against her desk and began collecting the papers.

Outside, the skies were threatening rain, with dark clouds and the rumble of thunder off in the distance. "Those of you who have cleanup duty, make sure you stay behind after the bell rings," the teacher added as the clock ticked toward the end of the school day.

Finally the bell rang, and the room emptied, except for Ranma, Akane, Yuka and Sayuri. "You don't have cleanup duty, Ranma," Akane said.

"Oh, I know, but I didn't see any reason not to hang around and help," Ranma said, gallantly.

Miss Morisato opened her briefcase and placed the tests, and her books, into the case. "I'll see you tomorrow, have a nice evening," she said.

"Good Night, Miss Morisato," the students said, all bowing politely, before separating, with Ranma sweeping the floor, while Akane and Sayuri washed the windows. Yuka busied herself cleaning the chalkboards, though with the rain threatening, she didn't have to take the erasers outside to clean them.

"How'd you do on the test, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Pretty good. I was able to have an answer for each question, at least," Ranma replied, as he finished stacking the desks in one corner so he could start sweeping, "How about you?"

"I'm pretty sure I got most of them right," Akane said, "All that extra studying we did last week I think payed off."

Sayuri added, "I think so. It seemed pretty easy to me, though I didn't have the same incentive to learn that you and Ranma did."

"Um, do I really want to know what that incentive was?" Yuka teased gently.

"Nothing much, just if one of us got the answer right during the review, they earned a kiss," Sayuri replied, watching as the young couple's ears pinked.

"Gee, that's the same incentive that Daisuke and I use," Yuka said, smirking.

"Does it work for you?" Sayuri asked a bit wistfully.

"Seemed to," Yuka said, "At least for me. I don't know how well Daisuke did on the test, of course, since he had to leave immediately after class. His parents needed him home as soon as he could get there. His grandparents are coming, and they wanted to get the house spotless for them." She frowned slightly, and then added, "We're supposed to meet them tonight, my parents and me."

Sayuri sighed heavily and said, "You four are so lucky, finding each other as young as you did."

"I thought you were happy with Hiroshi," Akane said.

"Oh, I am, I'm just not sure he's the one, you know," Sayuri said, "The kissing is nice, and we have a lot of fun together. But, you and Daisuke, or Ranma and Akane, seem to have so much more. I think I love him, but I'm just so unsure, sometimes."

Ranma said thoughtfully, "You can't really force love, Sayuri. It either is or it isn't. But, when it is, you know it. That probably doesn't help much, I suppose. Hmm, take Akane and me. I knew as soon as I met her that she was special to me, and that only grew over the months I lived with her. Finally, I knew that I couldn't see being with any one else."

"That was pretty much the same with me," Akane added.

Yuka chuckled and said, "Maybe you should find the legendary 'Umbrella of Love.' Then you would know for sure."

"The 'Umbrella of Love?' What's that?" Akane asked.

"Every school has its wonders," Yuka said, taking on the mien of a storyteller, though where she got the shawl she draped over her shoulders was a mystery, ""Even Furinkan High School. They say it is one of the seven wonders. At the start of every rainy season, loaner umbrellas are placed in a box by the main door to the school." Her voice took on an eerie cadence as she added, "Sometimes, hidden among them, is one very odd umbrella. They say that the two people who **use** the umbrella together always fall in love. Isn't that so romantice?" She gave a girlish squeal.

Ranma frowned and said, "I don't know that I think that is particularly romantic. Being forced to fall in love with someone because of magic strikes me as a bad thing." A faint guilty expression flashed unnoticed across his face as he remembered when he did exactly that. 'Hypocrite,' he thought to himself, 'but she was in love with him, at least. It was the easy way to make things work out for Madame St. Paul and it got him out of our way.' In a voice that sounded suspiciously like Akane, he heard, 'Since when did you do what was easy, instead of what was right?' He frowned briefly at the tarnish on his honour and silently swore to himself.

Sayuri sighed and said, "I'd have to agree with Ranma. If Hiroshi is the one for me, I want that to happen naturally, not because of some cursed object."

Akane nodded her head vigorously. "I have to agree with them, that doesn't strike me as romantic at all. Taking away someone's will."

Quickly, the four friends finished cleaning the room, though Ranma did stay as far away from the buckets of water as he could, though as he glanced out the window he realized that it wasn't going to matter, since the clouds were letting go their burden, as the rain began to pour.

They headed out the door of the classroom, and down the long hallway to the central stairs, and then down the flights of stairs to the ground floor. The main door was open, and they could see the rain gently falling.

"Damn, I didn't bring an umbrella," Sayuri hissed as Ranma opened up his large umbrella to share with Akane, and Yuka opened up her small umbrella.

Yuka pointed and said, "You're in luck. There's one left in the box."

Sayuri looked where Yuka was pointing and smiled. "You're right. I'll borrow that one," she said, suiting her actions to her words, and opening the umbrella. To their surprise, it had the word Love written on it and was decorated with little valentines.

Hiroshi raced around the corner and said, "Hey Sayuri, great timing. We can share the umbrella."

"Hiroshi!" Sayuri exclaimed, "You waited for me?"

"Of course, I did," her boyfriend said, as he started to join her, only to have Sayuri push him away.

"Wait!" Sayuri exclaimed.

Hiroshi stood there with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Be glad!" Yuka explained, "You were in **grave danger** of falling in love with Sayuri."

"What are you talking about?" Hiroshi responded.

Sayuri closed the umbrella quickly and looked at it. "Could this really be the legendary Umbrella of Love?" she asked in wonder.

"Oh, pleeease!" Nabiki exclaimed from where she was coming down the stairs from her classroom, "Don't tell me they are still telling that fairy tale? How could there even **be **an Umbrella of Love! It's foolishness if you ask me."

"Um, brother-in-law that turns into your sister-in-law talking to you. All sorts of strange things seem to happen around here," Ranma said, hesitantly.

"Well then, let's test it out," Nabiki said coolly, as she grabbed the umbrella out of the startled Sayuri's hand, "Get over here Ranma."

Ranma danced back and shook his head furiously. "No way, I'm quite happy being in love with Akane. And I really don't want that to change," he protested.

"Hey leave him out of this sis," Akane warned.

"Come on people, this is ridiculous," Nabiki said. She opened the umbrella, and held it over her head, but was standing close enough to Sayuri still that the younger girl was also beneath its shelter. They turned to look at each other, and Sayuri blushed, as a golden light seemed to surround them.

Sayuri stammered, "Nabiki, I never realized how beautiful you are." Her heart pounded in her chest, the sound echoing off the walls.

"Oh, Sayuri," Nabiki said, her face pinking up, "You are so pretty. How could I have been so blind for so long?"

"OH NO!" Akane exclaimed, "If we don't do something, they'll be trapped together."

"We've got to get them out from under that umbrella!" Ranma exclaimed.

Nabiki sighed, leaning in, and asked, "Tell me, what can I do to show you my love?"

"Oh Nabiki," Sayuri sighed, as she leaned closer, licking her lips slightly to moisten them.

Ranma and Akane rushed over, with Akane grabbing Sayuri and pulling her away from the influence of the umbrella, while Ranma wrestled it away from Nabiki and closed it quickly.

Nabiki gasped. "What was I doing?" she asked, hiding her face. Sayuri looked ill.

"Just be glad Souta didn't see that," Akane said, dryly, "I think it might be a bit hard to explain."

"I hate to say I told you so," Ranma said, then he stopped, and a wicked grin appeared on his face. "Actually, I don't hate that. I told you so," he said.

Nabiki made a face at him, and then chuckled. "I shouldn't have doubted you. It is frightenly effective," she groaned.

"Th-there's no doubt about it. That **is** the legendary Umbrella of Love!" Yuka exclaimed.

A wizened old man appeared out of nowhere, and snatched the umbrella out of Ranma's hand. He quickly opened it, springing toward Akane, and cried, "Let's love one another, Akane Tendo!" He landed on the floor, and spread the umbrella over himself and his companion. "Oh my beloved!" he cried as he nuzzled up against the tanuki statue that had appeared in Akane's place.

"Whoa! The 'Body Switch' technique!" Yuka cried.

"I'll take that!" Ranma exclaimed as he snatched the umbrella away from the diminutive pervert, slamming his head hard against the stone statue, knocking him out.

"Rakkyōsai!" Akane cried as she tossed him out the door, watching him transform as the rainwater soaked him. The little boy bounced twice before coming to a stop in a conveniently placed mud puddle.

"Damn, I thought we'd seen the last of him," Ranma groaned.

"That umbrella can cause nothing but harm," Akane said, "It would be better to destroy it!"

"Nooooo!" Rakkyōsai cried as he rushed back in, but as wet and slippery as he was, all he succeeded in doing was pushing Akane toward Ranma, who instinctively caught her with one arm, drawing her against his chest, where they both stood beneath the umbrella. The same golden light shown down over them, causing their faces to glow.

The onlookers heard the sound of Akane's heart beating, and watched as they both blushed.

"It's a good thing we're already in love," Ranma stammered.

"True," Akane said, as she pulled his head forward and kissed him.

Ranma moaned into her mouth, and then reluctantly pulled away, starry-eyed, hoping Akane hadn't felt his reaction. He whimpered slightly as she pushed her body against him.

"Destroy it," Akane whispered.

Ranma gazed adoringly into her eyes and then sputtered as a bucket of cold water brought him, or rather her, to her senses. She slammed the umbrella against the wooden floor, snapping the ribs of the umbrella into dozens of pieces, and tearing the fabric apart.

Akane glared at Rakkyōsai and said, "By the way, Elder Cologne of the Joketsuzoku is looking for you. It seems that they have long memories back in her village."

"Cologne is here? Sweet beautiful Cologne," the little boy said, rubbing his hands with glee, "I haven't seen her in ages."

"Oh, I don't think she wants to reminisce about old times," Ranma said, dryly, as she toweled off using the towel that Nabiki had tossed her, "Something about making you pay for the crimes you committed."

"Oh, look at the time, I have to run. You know how it is, too many places to see, too many women to do," the perverted little boy said, as he vanished out the door.

"Do you think we've seen the last of him, finally?" Akane asked.

Ranma shook her head and replied, "I honestly don't know." She looked out the door and chuckled. "Wouldn't you know it? The rain has stopped," she said, with a grin.

Hiroshi had a small trickle of blood flowing from one nostril as he stared transfixed at the sight in front of him, since Ranma was straining her very wet shirt, two dark patches showing through her cream-coloured shirt, making her interest in her wife quite obvious.

"Pervert!" Sayuri hissed, as she punched her boyfriend hard in the arm.

Hiroshi blinked for a moment and then a frown appeared on his face. Grabbing her gently by the arm, he pulled her away. "We need to talk," he said suddenly.

A scared look appeared on her face, as she knew he was about to break up with her.

"We'll catch up with you guys later," Akane said, pulling Ranma out the door with her, while Yuka and Nabiki hustled after them, to go their separate ways.

Hiroshi waited until they were along and then leaned back against the lockers, his arms folded across his chest. "I'm sorry for reacting like that to Ranma, but he wasn't wearing a bra and well, his nipples were showing through his shirt, er, her shirt, whatever," he said.

Sayuri began to giggle.

"Huh?" Hiroshi asked, completely befuddled by that reaction.

Through her laughter she choked out, "Did you hear what you said? What was so twisted about it?"

"Why do you think I'm nearly tossing my cookies right now?" Hiroshi said, "But it's not my fault he turns into a knockout. And guys react strongly to visual stimuli, at least that's what the sex ed book said."

"You're still a pervert," Sayuri said, fondly, "But you're my pervert."

"Why didn't you want me to share that umbrella?" Hiroshi asked.

"You saw what happened with Nabiki and I," Sayuri replied.

Hiroshi smirked and said, "Yeah, it was kinda hot."

Sayuri punched his shoulder, and exclaimed, "Jerk!"

"Ow!!!" Hiroshi exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot, "Damn, woman, that training you're taking is making you violent!"

"Then stop making perverted remarks," Sayuri said.

Hiroshi sobered and said, "Okay, but you didn't answer my question. What would be so wrong with us being in love?"

"Nothing, if we fell in love on our own," Sayuri said, "But this would have been artificial, and I want the real deal when it happens."

"You don't love me?" Hiroshi asked, surprised.

"I don't know. Maybe I do, I think I do at least. And I know I'm very fond of you, and enjoy being with you. But, I'm not like our friends; I know I'm too young to get serious about a relationship. I want to get my degree, and get my career started. Mom had so many dreams when she was a girl, that she never got to fulfil because she got married too young, and her husband wouldn't let her follow those dreams," Sayuri said, an unusually serious note in her voice, "I know I'm overreacting because of that, and I hope I haven't ruined what we have because of my fears. But, that's how I feel."

"I'm not your father, and you aren't your mother, and these are the nineties, so things are a lot different, but I can understand where you're coming from," Hiroshi said, "And I'm not really ready for a fiancée, much less a wife, right now, myself." He blushed slightly, and added, "I don't even turn seventeen until October, and you're a month younger than I am."

"Not ready for a fiancée?" Sayuri asked, arching an eyebrow.

Hiroshi reddened more and admitted, sheepishly, "Well, I was thinking of maybe giving you a promise ring on your birthday."

Sayuri squealed and then moistened her lips before crashing those selfsame lips down on the surprised young man's lips.

Hiroshi stiffened in surprise and then relaxed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her. Finally, they parted. "I guess you like that idea," he said, cheekily.

Sayuri nodded.

"Good, cause I'm so worried about you when you go to university. I know that you can pass the entrance exam at Todai, but mine won't be good enough, so I'll end up somewhere else, I expect," Hiroshi said.

"I do need to go to Todai if I can get in. There are so many advantages to going there; the networking alone would give me a tremendous edge. But, maybe if you work hard, you can do good enough on the entrance exam to join me," Sayuri said.

"I'm not as smart as you are," Hiroshi said.

"I'm not dating someone who's stupid," Sayuri spat, "You certainly aren't stupid, just lackadasical. If you have the proper motivation, I bet you do as well as I do. You may not believe in you, but I do."

Hiroshi chuckled, and said, "Well, maybe we should study together."

"Yes, we should. You've seen how much Ranma's grades have improved since we've started the study group at home, so if you join us, then your grades will get better. Then cram school before we take the exams, and we should be in," Sayuri said, fiercely.

Hiroshi looked at her, admiration in his gaze, as she glared at him, her chest heaving with her heavy breathing. "Wow!!" he exclaimed in wonder, "NO ONE has ever believed in me like that, not even my parents."

"Well I do!" Sayuri shot back. An odd expression crossed her face, and then she giggled.

"WHAT NOW!" Hiroshi said.

Sayuri blushed heavily, and replied, "I realized something." She hesitated and then took the plunge. "I DO love you, Hiroshi, that's what struck me," she said.

Hiroshi grinned and said, "And I love you too, you crazy woman."

"Still won't get you past second base, though," Sayuri teased.

"That's all right. Just so long as I get to visit second base often," Hiroshi shot back. He glanced at his watch and blistered the paint on the walls with his curse. He kissed her quickly and said, "I'm sorry, love, I promised Mum I would be home ten minutes from now. I gotta run so I'm only twenty minutes late."

She returned the kiss and said, "Get going. I'll talk to Ranma and Akane and let them know that you'll be joining us in our study sessions."

Hiroshi took off out the door like a shot from a cannon. "I'm late, I'm late!" he cried as he vanished through the gates of the school courtyard.

Sayuri brought her hands to her chest in a prayerful gesture as she watched her boyfriend run off. Once he was out of earshot, she squealed happily. "He didn't break up with me!!!!" she exclaimed, and danced a jig around the hallway.

* * *

Genma groaned wearily as he staggered up the immaculately kept walk to his wife's home, idly wondering when it would be his home as well. He made it to the front door, and began to open it, only to be greeted by the smiling countenance of his youngest daughter. 

"Daddy!" Kurumi squealed, and then she frowned, "Oh my, you look exhausted." She called, "Natsume, come quickly!" as she took a portion of his weight by snuggling up under one arm and helped him into the entry hall.

Natsume walked quickly yet gracefully down the long wooden floor and joined her sister and her father, a look of concern in her eyes. She knelt down, and helped the tired old man take off his shoes.

"Hot bath?" Kurumi asked.

"I think so," Natsume replied, as they literally dragged their father to the furo.

"Go soak, Daddy," Kurumi said, "I'll be in to scrub your back in a moment."

Natsume added, "I'll tell Mother that you are here, so she'll have dinner waiting for you when you feel a bit better."

"Thank you, my daughters," Genma said gravely, moved more than he wanted to admit, "It was a hard day of work. Don't think for a moment that I'll go easy on training tonight though."

"Excellent!" Natsume exclaimed, "I am looking forward to a intensive workout."

"Go Daddy, you stink," Kurumi said, shoving her father through the door.

Genma chuckled as he entered the changing room, and closed the door behind him, perfectly content to be ruled by his girls, something that he had never expected when he set down this path.

* * *

Nodoka tossed a piece of scallion into her wok to check the temperature of the oil. The small piece of onion sizzled quickly, showing that the oil was ready. She placed a kilogram of fresh, cleaned, shrimp into the oil and then said, "Natsume, would you let your father know that dinner is nearly ready. It won't take me long to stir-fry the shrimp and the vegetables, and everything else is basically ready."

"Yes, Mother," Natsume said, as she set the tea service down on the table. She left the kitchen, missing the slightly hurt look on Nodoka's face.

Kurumi frowned slightly as she finished slicing the broccoli, water chestnuts, and shitake mushrooms. "Mom, what's wrong?" the young girl asked quietly.

"Oh nothing, really, dear," Nodoka replied, "It's just my imagination, I'm sure."

Kurumi persisted, "That expression didn't come from nowhere, Mommy."

Nodoka sighed and said, "Natsume doesn't seem to like me very much. Or at least that's what her manner seems to indicate to me. Or, I could just be a foolish old woman."

"You're neither foolish or old, Mommy. Natsume has always been more formal in her bearing than me, so that's all you're seeing," Kurumi said, "She cares for you a great deal, you can believe it. She's told me that herself." She looked at her mother thoughtfully and added, "To be honest, she is very much your daughter in her personality. And I'm much more Ranma's sister in mine."

A small tear escaped from Nodoka's eye as she sniffed.

Kurumi brought the vegetables over and poured them into the wok, while Nodoka blended in some teriyaki sauce that she had made up, continuing to stir the mixture while the flavours blended together. The young girl said, "While we will always love our mother, Mommy, never doubt that we have come to love you as much. You didn't have to welcome us into your home, into your family, but you did."

Nodoka let the tears flow freely as she said, huskily, "I always wanted a large family, with both sons and daughters. When Genma took Ranma off on his training trip, that dream died. But, now, I have the dream is restored. It isn't quite what I imagined, I admit. But, oddly enough, I'm not sure I would change a thing. You girls are what I imagined daughters of my body would be like, and I have two wonderful sons, more or less."

"More or less?" Kurumi asked, arching an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Well, Ranma does turn into a girl, and Konatsu dresses as a woman," Nodoka said, chuckling lightly.

Kurumi joined her, her laughter sounding nearly bell-like.

* * *

Genma looked at the empty plate in front of him with a mournful expression on his face. Then he looked over at his wife, who was sitting next to the rice cooker, which still had some rice left in it. "Could I possibly have some more rice?" he asked, hopefully. 

Nodoka frowned slightly, glancing over at her two daughters. Natsume was eating daintily, while Kurumi was eating like a buzzsaw, her chopsticks flashing almost too fast to see as the food went from the plate to her mouth in a nigh continuous stream.

"This will be plenty for me, Mother," Natsume said, glancing down at her half full plate and mostly full bowl of soup, "And unless I lost count, that's fifths for Kurumi, so she doesn't need any more."

Kurumi said something garbled through her mouth filled with food. At Natsume's glare, her sister swallowed and said, "Sevenths, actually, but I am almost full. Give Daddy the rest of the rice, and I'll just have a snack later on before I go to bed."

Natsume rolled her eyes, and said, "And a late night snack, a midnight snack, and maybe a three A.M. snack. One of these days your metabolism is going to slow down."

"I'm a martial artist! I need all that food to keep me going," her sister protested.

Natsume shook her head and retorted, "Actually I think that there must be some bear in you somewhere, and you're planning on hibernating for the winter. Getting a real early start on loading up on food though."

Kurumi maturely stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Nodoka grinned as she handed a full bowl of rice to her husband, as well as the remaining pickled vegetables. However, she placed the last of the teriyaki shrimp on her plate. "You look like you've lost a bit more weight, husband," she said.

"A couple of kilos, I guess. Though to be honest, it may be water weight. I was up on that temple roof all day, baking in the sun, while I replaced most of a section of shakes," Genma replied, almost indifferently, "That's why I'm a bit sorer than normal. It's been a while since I did quite that much bending and stooping." He looked a bit sheepish and added, "And I did fall through once when I accidentally transformed when my water bucket overturned."

"Oh Daddy!" Kurumi exclaimed, "Are you okay? You didn't say a word about it."

"I am a martial artist, so that fall only jarred me a bit, though I did land a little awkwardly, so my right knee took most of the impact," Genma said, dismissively, "The soak in the furo put me to rights."

Kurumi looked down at her empty dishes, and finished her tea. "It was very good, Mommy," she said, "May I be excused? I need to get to work on my homework."

"Of course," Nodoka replied, fondly.

Kurumi bounded up from her kneeling position. She picked up her dishes, and carried them toward the kitchen, as Nodoka gazed at the boisterous girl fondly.

Natsume finished her last bite and asked, "Mother, as always, you prepared an excellent meal. I also have some homework to finish. May I be excused?"

"Of course dear," Nodoka replied.

Natsume rose gracefully from her knees, and bowed politely to her parents. Gathering her dishes, she also vanished into the kitchen, presumably to join her sister in the room they had arranged as a small study.

Nodoka looked down at the table for a long moment, her fingers pressed together in a nervous gesture. Finally she sighed and asked, almost bitterly, "My bed is very lonely at night, and though it is something I have gotten used to over the last eleven years, I could use the company. Would you care to join me?"

Genma's jaw dropped to the table and then gathering his wits, he replied, "I would be honoured, my wife."

* * *

Kurumi waited until her sister had tossed her biology book aside, before she decided to say anything. "Sister," she said, hesitantly, "There was something that I needed to ask you."

Natsume chuckled dryly and said, "Ask away. Anything would be better than this foolish book. It doesn't even address the chakra points!"

"Mommy is very hurt by the way you act toward her," Kurumi said, quickly, "Why must you be so cool towards her?"

Natsume looked away for a moment, her eyes sad, while she pondered how best to answer her sister. With a weary sigh, she turned around to face her and replied, "We searched for our father for so long, I had nearly given up hope of ever seeing him again. Even the memory of what he looked like disappeared, blended with the images of all of the men we traced, following false leads. I had dreams of us finding him, such vivid dreams, all of which merged together into a mishmash. Now, I cannot even separate the truth from the fantasy. But, this, this is even better than my wildest imaginings." She bit her lip and then continued in a softer tone, "I'm so scared that this is all a dream, and that one day I'll wake up to find that we really didn't find our beloved father."

"That doesn't explain why you treat our family so coolly, though, Natsume," her sister said, frowning heavily.

"I'm afraid of letting them into my heart, because I'm scared that they'll disappear, like Father did, like Mother did, leaving us behind," Natsume replied, starting to shake slightly, as tears began to flow from her eyes, startling the younger girl.

Kurumi sprang to her feet and rushed over to hug her sister, reversing the normal roles of who took care of whom, and allowed the older girl to cry on her shoulder. She made soothing noises, and gently rubbed Natsume's back. "We're home now," she whispered, "Daddy has claimed us as his own. Mommy treats us as her daughters, in spite of the pain it must cause her, knowing Daddy was unfaithful, and has welcomed us into her heart."

"I'm just so tired, Kurumi. I've been hiding behind this mask that I displayed to the rest of the world for so long, what happens when I stop hiding?" Natsume cried, "I don't want my heart broken again."

"You were there for me, when our real mommy died," Kurumi said, "Let me be the strong one for a while."

"Oh my dears," a wavering voice said from the doorway, where Nodoka was standing with a small tray filled with cookies. She set the tray down, and joined her girls, hugging them both.

Natsume froze for a second and then relaxed into Nodoka's arms.

"Natsume, this is your home, we are your family," Nodoka said, a gentle expression full of love on her face, "Never doubt that. And while I know I can't replace your birth mother, I do want to be the best mother to you that I can be. All I ask is that you let me in."

Natsume looked up and nodded. "I'll try," she said softly, "But it's a hard habit to break, being the strong one, taking care of my baby sister while we were on the road."

"You can still be strong," Nodoka said, "But you have others that will help you now. You don't have to be on your own any more."

"Thank you, Mot, Mommy," Natsume whispered.

Nodoka bent down and kissed her forehead. "Welcome home, dear," she said softly.

Kurumi asked, "Can we have the cookies now?"

Nodoka and Natsume traded a look, and then began giggling. "Where does she put it all?" Nodoka asked.

"I gave up a long time ago trying to figure her out," Natsume said, grinning broadly.

* * *

Miss Morisato dusted off her hands and turned to face the class. "The literature homework is due in one week, and the essays do need to be a minimum of five pages long," she said, "Anything less will be an automatic failure. And these essays will count ten percent of the grade. I want to see what you have learned in our English Literature class, so don't let me down. On a happier note, however, I am proud to say that the grades on yesterdays quiz where excellent. You exceeded my expectations." She opened her briefcase, and pulled out a sheaf of papers and began handing them out. As she handed Ranma his paper, she said, "Very good work, Saotome, you had the highest grade in the class."

Ranma turned his test over to see a perfect score. With trembling hands, he handed his test to his wife, and whispered, "Thanks, love. I owe this to you. Without your tutoring, I would never have done this well."

"And I plan on collecting, tonight," Akane said, huskily.

Ranma grinned and replied, "It will definitely be my pleasure."

Suddenly Sayuri exclaimed, "What's that flash of light?"

Ranma and Akane rushed to the window to see what Sayuri had seen. There, high above the middle of Nerima, they spotted the large flash of light and then in the distance, a somewhat familiar figure fluttering down to the ground.

"Isn't that Taro?" Akane asked.

Ranma shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. It looks like him, but what about those tentacles? I don't remember those."

"That's true, Taro doesn't have tentacles!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma frowned in thought and then snapped his fingers as a vagrant memory flashed forward. "It is him," he muttered, "The idiot got splashed by some water from the spring of drowned octopus the last time. I thought he had avoided that this time. Guess it just happened late."

They watched as Taro and the bright light separated, both of them going in different directions. "If this is what I think it is, you need to follow the light. Looks like it is heading for the park," Ranma whispered, "While I find Taro."

"Why?" Akane asked.

"Trust me, you'd rather I didn't track it down," Ranma said, with a knowing smirk, "And I'd just as soon you not see Taro in all his glory, either."

Akane wrinkled up her nose in disgust and said, "Eeeeew! That's a mental image that I really didn't need."

"I'll meet you at the clinic," Ranma said, as he leapt through the window.

* * *

Akane raced through the entrance to the park following the glowing light as it descended rapidly, and watched as it crashed into the center of the large fountain, which quickly began to bubble, a cloud of steam rising from the water as it heated quickly. She approached the fountain, only to back away as she felt the heat rising. "Wow! The fountain's boiling!" she exclaimed, "Whatever that was, it must have been superhot to have done that so quickly." She waited until the cloud of steam dissipated, and then gasped as she saw a nude female cowering in the water, her arms crossing her chest. She was wearing gold wristbands and armbands, with a matching gold necklace around her neck. "A girl!" Akane exclaimed.

The strange girl looked at her and moaned. Then her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she collapsed against the fountain wall.

Akane ran over and checked the girl's pulse, which was thready. "Oh my, she's hurt!" she exclaimed, as she pulled a large towel out of her case, wrapping it around the girl. With a grimace, she picked the girl up, and began running toward the clinic, glad that it wasn't too far away.

* * *

Tofu looked up from his desk where he had been reading the latest issue of Shiatsu Monthly when he heard the outer door to his clinic crash open, nearly jerking the bell over the door off, and the sound of someone staggering inside. He rose quickly, and opened his office door, just as he heard the sound of Akane calling, "Doc! Need some help here!" He stopped, stunned for just a second at the sight of his sister-in-law carrying an obviously naked girl in her arms, dripping water over the floor of the clinic. "Let's get her into Exam 2," he said, calmly, rushing over to help her out.

"Careful Doc, she's heavier than she looks," Akane wheezed out, as he took most of the burden off her. They carried her into the exam room, where Tofu held the girl erect long enough for Akane to wrap a gown around the girl, before they placed her on the exam table.

Tofu checked her out quickly and sighed. "She's just exhausted, the poor thing," he said, "Where did you find her?"

"There was a blazing light that fell from the sky and landed in the fountain in the park, turning the water hot. When the steam cleared, I saw her. She looked so scared, but then she fainted, so I brought her here," Akane replied.

"What was she doing in the fountain?" Tofu asked.

"The backstroke," Akane replied, with a straight face, earning a snort from the doctor. "Sorry, I always wanted to use that line," she replied, "Actually, I think she was in the bright light, maybe even the cause."

Tofu looked at her, the light glinting off his glances, as he turned over what she had said in his mind. "I'm not sure how that could be possible," he finally replied, "But since I wasn't there, I'm not going to say that you're wrong."

"I think she was fighting Taro. At least that's what it looked like from the school," Akane said, "Ranma went off to look for him."

"I'll put her on the bed, and let her rest," Tofu said, "You could make some tea, and then check in my old apartment upstairs. I think there's some clothing that Kasumi left here in case she needed a change."

"And why exactly would my sister be needing a change of clothing here, Doc?" Akane asked, archly, before she vanished through the door, leaving a blushing doctor behind.

* * *

Ranma sped across the sunlit rooftops of Nerima, heading toward where he thought Taro had likely landed. His eyes widened as he spotted ahead of him, a roof with a large hole in the middle of it, as if something had fallen through it. As he neared, he began to chuckle, as he saw the sign splashed across the front of the building. "What are the odds?" he asked, as he reached the hole, "That he would be lucky enough to fall into one of the public baths?" Suddenly from the hole, he heard the sounds of women screaming. "Uh oh, must be the women's side," he said, "I guess there's all kinds of luck." He jumped down to the street, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he glanced around looking for a source of cold water, and sighing when he saw nothing. "Figures, when I want to change, no cold water in sight," he grumbled, until he finally spotted an ice cream parlour a few doors down.

* * *

The bath attendant looked up and hastily hid his magazine under his desk, as an attractive red-haired girl pushed the door open and entered, carrying a small bucket in her hand. He took a deep breath, sticking his chest out, and replied, "I don't think I've seen you here before."

"No, I just moved into the area, and my apartment doesn't have its water turned on yet. There was a foulup at the water department," the girl said, batting her eyes at him.

The pimpled-faced young man said, "You came to the right place for a nice bath."

"What's the price?" the girl asked.

The attendant pointed at the board behind him, and then said, "But for you, honey, I'll give you half-off."

The girl ran her eyes up and down his body and said, "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your boss." She handed him the appropriate amount of yen, and waved bye, as she opened the inner door that led to the baths, ignoring the fact that the young man was openly leering at her as she walked away from him. 'Pervert,' the girl thought. As she neared the door leading to the baths, it slid open, and women flooded out.

"Don't go in there, dearie!" an elderly woman said, grabbing her arm, "There's a pervert in there!"

"A pervert! Don't worry Granny, I'm a martial artist, I'll take care of him," the girl said, "You just get your friends to safety!"

The old woman looked at her for a moment, and then a fierce grin appeared on her face. "Make him pay," she said, releasing her arm, and watching with admiration as the young girl entered the bath against the flow of traffic, carefully closing the door behind her.

Ranma entered the bath warily, her eyes glancing around as she realised that she was the only person in the bathing area, though the signs of hasty departure were evident. Towels, bathing supplies, even some clothing were scattered around, showing that the women that had been bathing before they had been so rudely interrupted had dressed quickly and left. In the large bath, she saw Taro, unconscious, but fortunately floating face up by the edge of the pool. She grinned and said, "Awesome, huh? Don't really think so," as she saw him in all his glory, "Poor Perfume, she's a bit, um, shortchanged." As she neared him though, her face changed. "Man, he's been beaten to a pulp," she said, as she carefully pulled him out of the water.

* * *

Tofu stepped into the front room as the front door to his clinic crashed open and a familiar red-haired girl staggered in carrying a barely clad Taro, who was lolling unconscious over one shoulder. "I see you found him," the doctor said.

"Yeah, I sure did," Ranma said, with an uncharacteristic giggle, "He had fallen into the women's side of a public bath about five kilometers from here. Not sure whether he was beaten up by whatever he was fighting, or whether the women in the bath got to him."

Tofu grinned and said, "Go ahead and put him in room 1. Akane's with a patient in room 2."

"Oh good, she found his opponent," Ranma said, as she stepped into the first room, and dumped her burden unceremoniously onto the exam table, allowing the large towel that was wrapped around Taro in toga form to flop open.

Tofu followed them in, and started his exam. "Hmm, hard to believe. Countless bruises, contusions, burns. He's not in the best of shape. I wonder what could possibly do this to the most savage of beasts."

Ranma rubbed her chin and said, "Don't know Doc, but I suspect we'll find out soon. I'm gonna change, and then call the old woman. He is part of her clan now."

"Sure, I've got some water heating up for tea in the office, right now," Tofu said, absently, as Ranma suited her actions to her words.

Ranma ran into Akane as the two girls entered the main room at the same time. "I thought I heard your voice," Akane said, as she briefly hugged the other girl, "I guess that means you found Taro."

"Yeah, I did. I was on my way to call Cologne and let her know that Taro is here," Ranma said.

"I'll do that, while you go change," Akane said.

"Thanks, Akane," Ranma said, kissing her lightly in passing, and headed toward the office, while Akane went to the phone.

* * *

Tofu, Ranma and Akane were talking in the office, when the door opened and the young woman walked in dressed in the clothing that Akane had found.

"Please, Miss, come in. We were just having some tea," Tofu said, "I'm Doctor Tofu Ono, and this is Ranma and Akane Saotome. Akane is the young woman that found you in the fountain."

"My name is Rouge," the girl said, pulling a cordless microphone from some where, she continued to speak, "Resident of Qinghai province, a Virgo, blood type A, just a shy, and beautiful young girl."

"Modest too," Akane muttered.

Rouge bowed her head and said, "Just today, my terrible ordeal began. I was bathing in a hot spring, when suddenly I heard something rustling in the bushes that screened the pool. I cried out, and turned, when I saw. It was horrible."

"What was horrible?" Ranma asked.

The girl hid her face.

Akane reached out and pulled her hands down. "Tell us, please," she asked, gently.

"**Spying** on me was a vile pervert, with the gaze of a venomous **snake,**" Rouge said.

"The gaze of a venomous snake?" Ranma asked.

"A venomous snake! I'll show you a venomous snake," an angry voice roared from the door.

Rouge turned and shrieked, "YOU!!!"

"I'll teach you!" Taro said, punching one fist into the palm of the other hand.

Ranma and Tofu stood between the two as Taro moved to hit Rouge. They both hit Taro, and knocked him to the ground.

"How dare you?" Tofu exclaimed.

"What kind of punk attacks a girl?" Ranma asked. "Oh, that's right, you don't have any scruples about that."

"Hye, I'm the victim here," Taro said, his words muffled by the floor.

"Wait, please," Rouge said, hesitantly, "Dusty man, I will forgive your dreadful behavior, vile pervert."

"Vile pervert?" Taro protested.

A dry voice asked, "Yes, why is he a vile pervert?"

"Wondered when you would ask," Ranma said, "You two have been trying to hide your auras ever since you got here."

"I would like to know why this girl considers my husband a vile pervert," a younger voice asked, as Cologne and Perfume appeared.

"Apparently he stumbled across Rouge here while she was bathing," Tofu explained.

Perfume grabbed Taro by the ear, and dragged him to his feet.

"Please do not be hard on him. I will forgive him if he only returns what he stole from me," Rouge said, quickly.

"You **stole** from her?" Akane asked, the temperature of the room rising.

"It's a lie!" Taro exclaimed.

"You were about to hit her, sonny boy," Cologne said, dryly, "But I would like to hear your side of the story."

"But not here!" Taro said, jerking away from his wife, and running out the door.

"Wait!" Rouge cried, as she rushed after, only to collapse as she entered the front room.

"Oh my!" Perfume cried, torn.

"Go after him, girl!" Cologne said, "She's not injured, merely exhausted." Perfume gave her a startled look, and then ran after her husband.

"We'll keep her here overnight," Tofu said, "I'll stay and keep an eye on her."

"I'll stay with you, after talking to that idiot, if that's all right," Cologne said.

Ranma bent down and cradled Rouge in his arms and carried her off.

"That might be wise. If indeed that ball of light was Rouge, then she was the one who injured Taro so grievously," Tofu said.

"But Rouge doesn't seem powerful at all," Akane said.

"I admit, it is a great puzzle," Cologne said, "Which is why I am curious about her."

"I'll have Kasumi bring you two something for dinner, then," Akane said, "And let her know that you'll be staying here overnight."

"I'll give her a call," Tofu said, "She should hear it from me, but thank you."

Ranma re-entered the room, and said, "She's still out cold." He gave Cologne a puzzled look and asked, "I thought Taro and Perfume had gone back to China because of the baby."

"She's merely pregnant, sonny boy, not an invalid, so she decided to come back for a short visit early last week," Cologne replied, dryly, "And dragged Taro with her of course. He's besotted with her. However, I had asked him to go back to the village for some special herbs and spices that I was running low on. He left yesterday, and was planning on coming back today, as he did." She grimaced and added, "Well, perhaps not exactly as he did."

Ranma said, "Oh, well that's good. Perfume's a nice woman, in fact she's probably too good for Taro."

"That possibly could be said about you and Akane," Cologne said, with a shark-like grin.

"Oh, I'm quite sure I don't deserve her," Ranma said, causing Akane to blush. He took pity on her and added, "We should head home, Akane, we do have students waiting for us."

"Not to mention a lot of homework," Akane said.

Ranma groaned and said, "You did have to remind me of that."

* * *

Cologne whacked Taro on the head and repeated her question. "I'm not really interested in your excuses. I want to know what happened. You were supposed to go to the village to pick up those supplies that I had ordered, a simple task that should have been well within your abilities. Instead, you're here, without my supplies," she said, coldly.

Taro tossed her something and said, "Look at this."

Cologne instinctively caught the object and then asked, "A dumbbell?" 'Hmm, a badly damaged dumbbell,' she thought.

"Yes, I was training near the banks of a hot spring," Taro said, "While the Elders finished packing up the supplies, when suddenly I was attacked. Something hit the dumbbell. I looked around and didn't see anyone, so I pushed my way through the brush to see a girl bathing in the spring. All I asked was, 'Who did that?' She attacked me, throwing rocks and her bathing supplies. When she was done, I got up from the ground and tried to leave. Before I could, she accused me of stealing something from her."

"Looking at this dumbbell, something obviously did attack you," Cologne said, "But I sensed no duplicity in the girl, either. So somehow you must have taken something from her, or more likely, she believes that you did."

"I never touched her, nor did I go near her belongings," Taro said, "So I don't see how I could have taken anything from her."

"I believe you, sonny boy," Cologne said.

"So do I," Perfume said, "Though I am not too happy about you seeing another woman naked."

"Honestly, Perfume, I never intended to. It was completely accidental, not that you have anything to worry about. You are much more beautiful than whatever her name is," Taro said.

"Excellent save," Cologne said, "And I am glad that you are visiting me, Perfume. I did miss you."

"Thank you, Elder. I do wish we could stay longer, but they are reluctant to let me get too far from the village for too long," Perfume said, "You know how the Elders can be sometimes."

"Oh, most definitely. What a bunch of biddies," Cologne cackled, "Now, off to bed, you two. I need to head back to the clinic to watch over that young woman."

* * *

All the lights in the clinic were off, except for a reading light in the office, where Cologne was perusing some of Tofu's medical journals. Tofu and Kasumi had retired to the small apartment that he had used before he got married, after Cologne had assured him that she would wake him if anything untoward occurred with his patient. Between that assurance, the fact that there was a monitor circuit in the clinic that would set off his alarm, and the looks Kasumi had been giving him, he had eagerly agreed. The young couple had disappeared up the stairs with almost indecent speed, causing Cologne to chuckle, and hope that the floors weren't too thin.

Meanwhile, in the small exam room, her charge slumbered on, oblivious to all around her. Sitting on the windowsill above her, a small vase provided a bit of colour in the otherwise sterile room.

Suddenly, a diminutive figure appeared in the open window, rubbing its hands with glee. Unfortunately, the figure bumped the vase, causing it to spill its contents over the slumbering girl.

An eerie light filled the room, as suddenly several slender arms rose out of the blankets covering the young woman.

Cologne heard a loud crash and raced out of the office, flipping the light on as she did so, and barely missed stumbling over a battered person lying on the floor. She screeched to a stop as the young woman posed in the doorway, but not the gentle young woman that had fainted not so long ago. Instead, she had transformed into a six-armed, three-faced woman.

"VILE PERVERT," the girl proclaimed, "I SHALL TEAR HIM LIMB FROM LIMB!"

Tofu came tumbling down the stairs, only to have Cologne screech at him, "Stay back. You can't handle this!"

"WHERE IS HE?" the figure cried, "WHERE IS THAT MAN?" Her arms began to move sinuously and an eerie hot wind arose around her. "I WILL HUNT HIM DOWN AND TAKE BACK THE SOURCE OF MY POWERS!" she intoned, each head finishing one of the phrases, as she pressed her front hands together. The hot wind swirled around her and she shot out of the building, soaring into the night sky.

Cologne and Tofu raced to the door, to see a bright light soaring into the sky. They could hear the heads arguing as they discussed which way to go, and the light jinked in all directions as one head after another forced the common body in the direction that she had chosen.

"Was that Rouge?" Tofu asked.

A low moan caught Cologne's attention and she suddenly remembered the small figure that she had nearly tripped over. She glanced back and her eyes went cold. "Well, hello Rakkyōsai," she hissed, "It's been a long time since I saw you last."

The old man looked at her, a dazed expression on his battered face.

"Oh yes, I think it is time that you meet Amazon justice for your crimes," the old woman said.

Tofu grabbed her arm, and asked, "What about Taro? Remember what Rouge accused him of."

Cologne looked torn and then said, "Call the café and let him know that Rouge is likely looking for him. I've got to take care of this old man before he can escape." She tapped several shiatsu points on the old man's back and chest, while Tofu sprang to the phone.

Kasumi stepped out from the stairs, wearing a rather daring nightgown. "Oh my!" she cried, "What happened here? Why is that perverted old man doing here? Did he do something perverted to Rouge?"

"Looks like Rouge beat him up, after transforming into some six-armed, three-faced monster, with one of the faces at least having a fanged mouth," Cologne replied, "As to your other questions, I don't know. I take it that you've met Rakkyōsai, before?"

"Oh yes, we've met. I thought he left town though when he found out that you were here," Kasumi replied, pulling her gown closer around her.

"I called as you requested," Tofu said, walking over to join his wife, "Shampoo was a bit miffed at getting a call in the middle of the night, though. She said she'd pass on the warning."

"She shouldn't be upset at being awakened by that kind of call," Cologne snapped, "This is much more important than her losing a bit of sleep."

Tofu chuckled and said, "She wasn't asleep when I called. Though it did take several rings before she answered."

Kasumi frowned slightly and said, softly, "We weren't exactly asleep, either."

"I imagine the excitement is over for the moment here. I'll take Rakkyōsai with me to the café, and you two can get back to your amusements," Cologne said, with a toothless grin, "Aw to be young once more."

Tofu slowly blushed while Kasumi smiled prettily. "I'll take your advice, Elder Cologne," she said, as she pulled her husband back up the stairs, while he attempted to regain some dignity.

"Source of power? What could Taro have taken from her?" Cologne muttered, as she took her captive out the door.

* * *

Akane slowly woke to find that she was alone in her bed, though the warmth in the depression next to her where her husband had been told her that he hadn't been gone too long.

"Morning, sleepyhead," a cheerful voice called from the door, as her missing husband walked into their room carrying a tray.

"What's this?" Akane asked, sitting up in their bed, the comforter and sheets slipping down around her waist, baring her chest.

Ranma grinned as he closed the door. "I decided you needed a little pampering," he replied, "So I brought you breakfast in bed."

Akane's nose twitched as she took in the aroma rising from the tray nearing her. "What did you make for me?" she asked, eagerly, as her stomach echoed her enthusiasm, by growling in anticipation, causing her to redden in embarrassment.

Ranma replied, "I felt like something different. So I dragged out Kasumi's old waffle maker, and made Belgian waffles, grilled a ham steak, and also made an omelet." He set the tray across her lap, and whisked off the covers from the plates.

Akane crinkled up her nose cutely and said, "This is fantastic. And everything looks so good. I can hardly wait to try all of it."

"Well, let me scoot back in, and then we can eat," Ranma said, "You don't know how hard it was not to eat this before I brought it up." He slid under the covers, next to his wife. "Though, I'm feeling just a bit distracted by the view," he leered.

"Pervert," Akane said, fondly.

"Eat up, you need your strength, especially after last night," Ranma said.

Akane blushed and said, "We did go a bit all out, didn't we?" Using her fork, she took a bite of her omelet. "Yummmy, this is great," she squealed.

"I'm not complaining, you were fantastic," Ranma said, spearing a piece of the ham that he had cut up.

"You weren't bad yourself," Akane said, coyly, "Pretty much wore me out."

Ranma chuckled and said, "I did warn you about that last ki blast."

"I wasn't talking about our sparring," Akane said.

Ranma smirked and said, "Neither was I."

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of Nerima, a second couple was having a less peaceful morning. Taro and Perfume had been rudely awakened earlier by an unhappy Cologne, a sight that Perfume had never wanted to see again, as it brought back sad memories of her training under the fiersome old woman.

"That girl thinks you took something from her," Cologne said, for probably the fortysecond time since she had dragged him out of bed.

"I'm telling you again, old woman, I never took anything from her. She attacked me!" Taro snapped, his temper flaring, earning him a severe beating on the head from the old woman's cane.

"Don't take that tone with me, sonny boy," Cologne said, briskly, "I never said I doubted you. But it's not me you have to convince. Perception is reality, and her perception is that you stole something, her source of power."

"Source of power, huh?" Taro repeated, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"I don't like that look, sonny boy," Cologne said, gazing coldly at the young man.

"Great grandmother," Shampoo said from the doorway of the kitchen.

"What is it girl?" Cologne snarled.

"I called the guide at Jusenkyo," Shampoo said, "And asked him about a three-headed, six-armed woman. He told me of sad sad story of an Asura that drowned in a spring four thousand years ago."

"An Asura? What's that?" Taro asked.

"In ancient India, the Asura were demons, powerful, incurably warlike enemies of the gods," Cologne said.

"Of course, it has to be. Cold water is what made her transform, which means that Rouge once must have fallen into that spring," Cologne said.

At that moment, their attention was drawn to outside the restaurant as a large crash occurred in the street outside. Shampoo glanced out the window and cried, "Aiyeee! A monster!"

"Get out there boy, and talk to her," Cologne said.

"Why me?" Taro asked.

"Because I don't want her in here wrecking this place," Cologne said. She frowned at him and then said, "And come to think about it, I don't want you to wreck it, either."

Taro stood up and strutted arrogantly across the wooden floor to the outside door.

"Wait!" Perfume cried as she ran across to join him. She pulled him into a fierce kiss, and said, "You must be careful. I want my daughter to know her father."

"I can take care of myself," Taro said, his eyes softening, "I'll be fine." He gazed at her for a long moment.

"If this gets any more saccharine, I think I'll be sick," an old voice said from the corner.

"I don't remember anyone asking your opinion, you old pervert," Perfume snarled at Rakkyōsai, where he was trussed up in the corner. She pulled her husband in for one more kiss, and then pulled away, refusing to cry, as she watched him pull open the door and stride outside.

The transformed Rouge stood in a small crater in the middle of the street, which was fortunately empty at this time of the morning. All six of her eyes were glowing with an evil light as she spotted her prey. "YOU'LL NEVER ESCAPE ME NOW, VILE PERVERT!!" she cried, while the other two faces cackled wickedly.

"So you've returned!" Taro exclaimed. He glanced worriedly at the door where his wife was standing and his face firmed. "Well if it's a fight you want, you'll have to catch me first," he said, as he darted down the street away from the café and the precious contents.

Rouge roared and sprang into the air to keep him in sight. "COME BACK VILE PERVERT!!!" she cried as she darted after him.

Perfume stood at the open door, her heart in her throat as she watched her husband, the father of her child lure the monster away.

* * *

Taro raced frantically down the street, dodging the occasional blast of fire coming from the demon chasing him, as she flew after him. His eyes darted from side to side looking for a source of water to allow him to transform and stand a chance against his foe. With a glad cry, he spotted a fountain in the middle of the neighbourhood park, and with a burst of speed dove for his life into the water, changing instantly into his cursed form. The minotaur lifted his head from the water, his beady eyes searching for his prey. 

The glowing ball of light neared him. An evil laugh echoed from the light, and like a voice of doom, he heard, "FOOL! YOU WON'T TRANSFORM THAT EASILY!!" and a blast of fire came down, instantly turning the cold water into hot, and changing him back.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" the nude boy cried.

"IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, GIVE ME BACK MY POWERS!!!" the second head cried, while the first continued her heat blast.

Taro dove around to the other side of the marble statue, shielding him from the heat, and cried, "I keep telling you, I don't know what you are talking about! What do you think I took?"

The demon merely laughed, the sound echoing around the park, as the few occupants vanished. "NOW AT LAST!" she cried, moving her six arms in a sinuous pattern, only for her arms to start throbbing. "ARGGGGGGHHHH!" came the odd cry, and the demon soared away, her last words fading behind her as she exclaimed, "NOT NOW!!!"

Taro peered around the statue, and then leapt from the fountain, and strutted around arrogantly. "Damn she escaped, and I had her right where I wanted her," he said.

A dry voice said, "It didn't look like that from where I was standing, sonny boy. You just got lucky somehow. She fled for a reason."

"But why?" Taro asked as he turned to face the wrinkled old crone.

"Who knows?" Cologne replied, "But I suspect that for some reason she can only retain her powers naturally for a short time without whatever this source of power is. She was using a lot of energy flying after you, and then those blasts of heat had to have taken a lot out of her. She likely left to recharge herself."

* * *

Nabiki idly nibbled on her pen as she jotted down a few notes from the business report being broadcast on the television, only to curse as her favourite part of the show was interrupted by a special bulletin. 

The picture changed to show a restaurant in the heart of Nerima, and the voice over said, "This is a special report. I'm Mamoru Inoue, reporting live from just outside this restaurant, where it has been invaded by a strange being. We're going to try to get a closeup, so follow me, Saori, and keep the camera in close." A tall, well dressed man appeared in the picture and started moving toward the window of the restaurant. A large hole in the roof appeared as they neared. The camera moved closer to the window and then zoomed in. A three-headed, six-armed woman, with fanged mouths, was sitting in the middle of the now vacant restaurant, feeding herself as quickly as she could, shoving whatever she could reach into her mouths.

Tofu exclaimed, "That's Rouge!!"

A boom microphone appeared in the picture and moved in. The figure could be heard saying, "SECONDS! THIRDS!! FOURTHS!!! I WILL STAY HERE UNTIL I VANQUISH THE PERVERT!!!!!" In one corner, they could see someone cowering in the corner. "Who's going to pay for all this?" he cried. The figure looked up and then a bright light appeared. When the light was gone, the figure had disappeared, and over next to the owner was a cowering young woman.

The reporter exclaimed, "Where did that creature disappear to?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Taro sat in the bedroom he was sharing with his wife, finally taking the time to examine the dumbbell that had been destroyed. He found several small black objects embedded in the iron that made up the weight. Prying them out, he cried, triumphantly, "So this is her source of power!!!" 

Cologne entered the room and said, "Rouge has been located. She's somewhere in downtown Nerima, eating at a restaurant there. You'll probably be able to find it, because of the large hole in its roof."

* * *

The slightly damp young girl helped the restaurant owner to his feet. "I am so sorry, sir," she said, bowing, "Let me assist you in repairing your roof." 

The middle-aged man looked up at the hole in the roof, and started to cry.

A young man rushed in, followed by a very attractive young woman carrying a small movie camera. "Where did that creature disappear to?" the man asked.

"I don't know. I was blinded by the light," the owner replied.

"Miss, did you see anything?" the man asked.

"No, I didn't see anything," the girl replied, "I am so sorry for the trouble that has been caused."

"Inoue, let's help them fix this place up," the young woman suggested, "They sure could use a hand."

"I don't know, Saori I'd really like to follow up and see if there are anymore sightings," Inoue replied, looking a bit torn.

"We can talk while we work, and I can tell you what happened here," the older man said, before frowning, "I'm sorry, where are my manners. I am Okina."

"Mamoru Inoue," the young man said, bowing slightly.

The young woman said, flustered, "Saori Shiba."

"I am called Rouge," the teen said.

"Come, let us get busy," the reporter said, taking off his jacket and hanging it on one of the chairs.

* * *

Several hours later, the restaurant was nearly restored. Inoue was up on the roof, laying the final piece of tile, while everyone else finished up inside. "Sheesh, this place was falling apart," Inoue muttered. 

Rouge looked pensieve and said, "It is strange that ever since I arrived here, this place has been visited by such inexplicable misfortune. Oh mischevious, mysterious fate!!!"

"Odd girl," Saori said, quietly, and then said, "Please, Rouge just hand me the board so I can finish patching the ceiling."

Okina walked into the dining room, carrying a tray of food. "You all have been working so hard, you deserve a lunch," the kindly old man said.

"So looks a lot better, don't you think?" Saori asked.

The old man smiled and said, "Yes, I think it does. I can't thank you enough for helping me put it back together."

The front door opened, and a young couple walked in. "There you are, Rouge," the young man said, "We've been looking for you. Doc wanted to make sure that you were fine."

Rouge looked at the young couple with a puzzled expression on her face, before exclaiming, "Oh, the young woman who helped me yesterday. Akane Saotome, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's right, Rouge," Akane said, "And this is my husband Ranma. You met him briefly."

The pleasant moment was broken however as a large, winged minotaur, with tentacles flailing around on his back, and a backpack held by his tail, crashed through the the large plate glass window that faced the street.

Okina's face crumpled while Rouge finished her meal.

The minotaur grabbed the pot of tea from the table, and poured it over his head. To the reporter's surprise, there now stood a young man, who lifted his head and laughed.

"Um, Pantyhose, I mean, Awesome, I think you are forgetting something," Ranma said, while Akane whirled quickly, blushing furiously at what she had just seen.

'Poor Perfume,' Akane thought, 'I'm glad Ranma lives up to his name. Awesome isn't quite so awesome.'

"Oh, the pervert!" Rouge cried, staring at the naked man in front of her, who suddenly reddened as a draft crawled up his backside, making him realise exactly what he had forgotten. Quickly he pulled his clothing out of the bag, and dressed himself. "Listen, glowing girl," he said, pointing at Rouge.

Rouge sniffed disdainfully and said, "My name is Rouge, Vile Pervert!"

Taro held out his hand and asked, "Your 'source of power.' Is this it?" He opened his hand to show her something.

Inoue looked confused.

Rouge gasped, clasping her hands together, as she recognized what was in the pervert's hand. Quick as a flash, she darted forward, only to have the pervert close his hand, and move the precious cargo away from her. "Give it back!" she cried.

"Not so fast," Taro said, "You beat me to a pulp, accused me of stealing, called me a pervert."

"Well if the sandal fits," Ranma muttered.

Taro glared at him and then finished, "So as punishment."

"I understand," Rouge said, looking at him soulfully, "As much as the thought repulses me, I will go out with you." She muttered, "Oh poor, innocent maiden."

"Who's asking to go out with you? Besides, I'm a happily married man, about to become a father," Taro exclaimed. He shuddered thinking about the revenge that Perfume would extract if she ever heard about this. "NO, you're going to show me how to use this 'source of power' of yours," he declaimed.

"But, but," Rouge sputtered.

'Pantyhose Taro with the power of Rouge,' Akane thought, 'Not good!'

"I must not bring further misfortune upon this place," Rouge said.

"So?" Akane asked.

Rouge quickly grabbed a bucket of cold water and prepared to pour it over herself. "I'll take it back by force!!" she cried, upending the bucket. Just as she did so, Ranma grabbed her and threw her outside.

Akane likewise tossed Taro outside, startling the young man. Then she and Ranma stood just at the door to guard it.

Inoue, Saori and Okina looked stunned to see a redhaired girl standing at the doorway, instead of the young man that had been there.

Taro cried, "Curse You!!!" as he turned to see an enraged demon coming at him.

With an evil grin, Ranma sprayed Taro with the contents of a bucket she had grabbed, transforming Taro into his cursed form.

"Why did you do that?" Akane asked, ignoring the civilians who were gasping in shock at seeing a flying minotaur and a three headed, six armed demon facing off in the street. In fact, Okina had fainted, though to her credit, Saori had her camera running, filming what was going on in front of her through what remained of the large plate glass window that had been shattered when Taro had flown through it.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Don't much like Taro. He's an arrogant arse, so I'm kind of looking forward to him being taken done a peg or two. Rouge can't really hurt him much, but it should be nicely humiliating to him."

"That's mean," Akane said sternly before she broke down giggling.

"FOOL! IT IS A SOURCE OF POWER ONLY TO ASURA!" the transformed girl cried, her voice echoing loudly off the buildings crowding the street.

Taro flew toward her, his eyes red with rage, and bellowed in anger.

The asura's arms once more began their sinous gestures, and then she cried, "ASURA FLASH!!" and a brilliant, blazing light, that rivaled the sun, appeared, casting the surroundings in stark relief, and briefly blinding her opponent.

Ranma had pulled Akane around into his chest and closed his eyes as he spotted the attack.

Saori cried out, and staggered back from the window, her camera held in one trembling hand.

"What's wrong, Saori?" Inoue asked, rushing to her.

"B-blinded!" she sobbed.

Then they heard a cry of "ASURA FLAME!" and a blast of heat drove all the moisture out of the air, and blistered the paint on the building. The asura laughed evilly, a chilling sound.

"Taro can't even get close," Ranma said.

"But, Asura's at a disadvantage, too," Akane replied, "Her 'source of power' is in Taro's grip."

"ARRGGH!" Rouge cried, wincing in pain, darting away as she began to wobble.

"What's wrong with her? Why is she slowing down?" Akane asked, aghast as the transformed girl began to back away from the oncoming minotaur.

"Without her 'source of power,' she runs out of energy quickly," Ranma replied, a knowing smirk on his face.

A massive fist came hurtling toward the glowing girl, only to have her dart back, crying, "NO FAIR!"

A light rain began to fall, but as it began to near the girl, a cloud formed around her.

"What!" Akane exclaimed.

"Steam, her heat energy turned the rain water into steam," Ranma replied, "Now's she's in real trouble!" She started running toward the cloud, which dissipated and the girl they knew as Rouge was falling headfirst, no longer in her transformed state.

"She's falling!" Akane cried.

The girl neared the ground, only to be snatched from disaster by the outstretched hand of the minotaur. "The pervert!" Rouge exclaimed, "So there is some decency in your vile heart."

The hand slowly closed around her, squeezing her slightly. "Stop please, I will tell you how to use the 'source of power.' However, if I am harmed, I cannot tell you," Rouge said, quickly, turning her face away.

The rain returned, harder now, and suddenly the onlookers saw a flash of light from the minotaur's fist. It opened and the stench of scorched meat rose from the palm. The asura's hands flashed quickly placing objects on her body, as she cried, "IT'S MINE!" She sprang away, and gloated, "YOU FOOL! WHEN YOU SAVED ME WITH THE SAME HAND THAT HAD THE 'SOURCE OF POWER,' YOU SEALED YOUR DOOM! THE POWER IS MINE!!!!"

"She put it on her back," Akane whispered.

"AS YOUR REWARD FOR SAVING ME, YOU SHALL FEEL THE FULL WRATH OF ASURA!" she cried.

"Oooh, she's nasty!" Saori exclaimed, as she peered past the spots that were still in her eyes.

"HE's not much better," Inoue retorted.

"I just wish they wouldn't fight over my restaurant," the shopkeeper moaned.

Ranma's eyes lit up, and she raced into the kitchen, returning quickly with a large, cast iron skillet, which he threw high up into the air. "Hey, Taro, catch!" he cried.

The minotaur looked startled for a moment, and then caught the skillet, just in time to block a blast from the asura.

Ranma leaned back against the restaurant wall, and grinned.

"Enjoying yourself, sonny boy," a familiar voice asked.

"Certainly am, Cologne," Ranma replied, "I haven't had this much fun standing up in a long time."

Cologne chuckled and said, "So how long are you going to let this continue?"

"Oh, this is such a rare opportunity for a martial artist," Ranma replied, her grin threatening to split her face, "To witness a **true demon** of combat!"

"Where on earth did you hear that tripe?" Cologne asked.

"Stop channeling my father," Akane added, a matching grin on her face, "That sounds exactly like something he would have said."

"Yep, he sure did," Ranma said, with a smug look on her face.

"So you do know what her 'source of power' is?" Cologne asked.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Of course I do. But it's not exactly what you think. And Taro definitely can't use it. She's right about that."

"HEY, HEY, HEY, PERVERT," Asura boomed, "THIS TIME I'LL STRIKE YOU DOWN FOR SURE!!!"

"She's taken back her 'source of power,' so just how powerful is she?" Akane asked.

"Watch and learn," Ranma replied.

They watched the titanic struggle going on overhead, with Taro dodging each attack.

"Astounding! He dodged them all," Cologne exclaimed.

"He's so agile!" Akane added.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!" Asura cried, as Taro blocked the next attack with the iron skillet, as he neared her, only to feel the impact of something against the skillet, which formed large dents in the metal.

The minotaur widened his eyes and then they went feral as he realized that he had stolen her 'source of power' once more.

"ASURA ULTIMATE ATTACK!!! FLAMES OF THE STORM!!" Asura roared, as the sky rent asunder with a barrage of flames, each eager tongue of fire reaching toward the minotaur. The release of power upset the delicate balance in the atmosphere, charging the clouds overhead with, and then with a loud crack, a bolt of lightning shot out of the ominous mass, and struck the skillet, forcing a massive electrical charge through the minotaur's body, shocking him into unconsciousness.

"It struck the frying pan!" Akane exclaimed.

"The idiot!" Cologne said, coldly.

"HEH, HEH, NOW IT ENDS PERVERT!" Asura gloated as the minotaur plummeted down headfirst to the ground, creating a large crater in the middle of the street.

"He brought it on himself," Ranma said, sadly, "In his greed for the 'source of power,' he wouldn't let go of the frying pan."

Asura's gloating was cut short as her power died, and she too began to descend as the force of gravity overcame her. Soon, a matching crater appeared in the street.

* * *

Rouge slowly woke up to discover that she was on the floor of the restaurant. She slowly dragged herself erect, her body sore from the fight and then the crash into the ground. "My 'source of power,' where is it?" she asked. 

"I'm sorry, Rouge, it was destroyed by that lightning bolt," Akane said, kindly.

"It's gone! Such a tragedy," Rouge sobbed, tears flowing copiously from her face, "My 'source of power,' reduced to dust along with that frying pan." Her face hardened and she snarled, "And it all happened because of that pervert!" She staggered over to where Taro was unconscious on the floor and started kicking him. "Take that, and that, and that!" she cried. She reached behind her and grabbed a metal folding chair and began beating him around the head and shoulders with that. "Vile pervert. Take that and that and that!" she continued, finding the strength from somewhere, until the chair was a twisted mass of metal. Grabbing a heavy trestle table, she began hitting Taro with that.

Taro rose and exclaimed, "Won't someone stop her!!"

Ranma shrugged and said, "Well, as amusing as this has been, I guess it is time to be over. Stop it Rouge."

Rouge looked at him puzzled.

"Come on, let's go," Ranma said.

"Huh?" Akane asked, intelligently.

"What? Where?" Rouge echoed.

"Where do you think? To buy more of your 'source of power,' of course," Ranma replied, "The drugstore is just down the street."

Akane looked startled, and exclaimed, "What!"

Rouge looked as if she couldn't belive her ears. "You can buy them?" she asked, her eyes glowing. She ran over and grabbed Ranma by the hand, practically pulling him vertically as she raced out of the restaurant, followed closely by Akane, Cologne, and a battered Taro.

They soon found themselves in a small drugstore, where Ranma lead Rouge unerringly to a dusty display, filled with several boxes. He reached down and handed one to Rouge.

"Here you go. Guaranteed to relieve tension and improve your circulation," Ranma said.

"The 'source of magic' is a stick-on magnet!" Akane exclaimed.

Rouge said, as she grabbed the entire stock from the display, and headed to the checkout counter, "When you have six arms, your shoulders just get so tired."

* * *

Ranma stood by the store window, with Akane snuggled up next to him, as they watched Rouge disappear down the street, a large sack slung over her shoulder. "Do you think we'll ever see her again?" she asked. 

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "She said she would keep in touch, but I'm not sure whether she can be of any help. She's more of a loose cannon than Taro."

Akane said, "I'm still not sure why those magnets had anything to do with giving her any power."

"They don't really," Ranma replied, "But, just think, what she does is use those arm motions of hers to focus her demonic powers. The price for that is her muscles start getting cramps in her shoulders because they can't handle the strain. The magnets reduce that strain, and let her move freely without pain again."

Akane glanced over her shoulder at where a shirtless Taro was plastering his back with the contents of the one box that Rouge was unable to buy do to a shortage of money.

Taro posed dramatically, and declaimed, "Now world domination is no mere fantasy!" He laughed maniacally.

"He still doesn't get it, does he?" Cologne sighed.

"No, doesn't look like he does," Akane replied, with a grin.

* * *

Author's Notes: I know this chapter is a little later than normal, Gentle Readers, but in compensation, it is a little longer. Don't know if it is any better. VBG. Also, there are little nods to two other manga/anime in this chapter. Points to those who can catch them. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. Until next time. 


	83. The White Lily

Author's Note: Warning. There is a mild lime scene later on in this chapter.

Chapter 83 The White Lily

Cologne grabbed Ranma by the ear, and dragged him into the storeroom of the shop, which was a cute trick considering she was several feet shorter than he was. The shopkeeper opened his mouth to protest only to stop at a glare from Akane who was following them into the room.

"Owwww, why'ja do that for?" Ranma whined as she released his ear, and he promptly began rubbing it.

"Because I'm not happy that you were hiding things that you know from me, things that could be dangerous if I don't know about them," Cologne snarled, letting her anger go for once.

"Honestly, Ranma, what were you thinking? Letting those two battle in the streets of Nerima, innocent people could have gotten hurt," Akane added, "I thought you were going to share what you remembered?"

"I do, mostly," Ranma said, quickly, "But I don't remember everything that happened before, or at least not until something happens to remind me." He looked apologetically at Cologne and added, "That's what happened with Rakkyōsai. He didn't make a big impact on me before, so I didn't remember him. And I never knew that the Amazons cared about him, one way or another. Now, Rouge, I admit I remember her. But, from what I remembered, she wasn't really a big problem."

"With her powers, you didn't consider her a big problem?" Akane asked, in exasperation, "Then what would you call a tsunami? A little bit of wind?"

"Okay, I admit, I wasn't really thinking," Ranma replied, defensively, "But I don't like Taro, never have and likely never will, so getting him beat up struck me as funny. I suppose that makes me a bit petty, but there it is."

Cologne glowered at him and said, "I thought we had an agreement to let me know everything that happened to you."

"I did tell you everything that I remembered, at least the most important parts," Ranma replied, "And I am reluctant to change things anymore." He grabbed Akane's hand and said, "I've got what I need, and I don't what to risk things changing."

"I understand, but if the Amazons are to help you effectively in your battle with Saffron, I need to know what you know," Cologne said, stiffly.

"I've told you everything that I remember about that time," Ranma said, trying hard not to glance at Akane when he said that.

Cologne frowned and glanced at Akane. She looked as unhappy with Ranma as the elderly woman was. "I'll leave him to you, Akane Saotome. Straighten him out, for all our sakes," she said.

"Don't worry, I will," Akane promised, with a look that caused Ranma to wince.

* * *

Perfume smiled in relief as her husband followed Cologne into the restaurant, looking relatively undamaged, except for a large knot rising on his forehead, literally purpling as she watched. She rushed over and hugged him. "That looks painful," she said. 

"I still don't know why you had to hit me!" Taro whined.

"Because you weren't listening," Cologne explained, "Those magnets won't do a thing for you. They were relaxing her cramping muscles, that's all."

"Oh," Taro said, crestfallen, his dreams of world domination fading like the morning mist once the sun has risen.

Perfume released her husband and said, "Elder, I regret to inform you that we have failed our mission."

Cologne frowned and then her face went impassive. "Perfume, report," she barked.

Perfume said, her face frozen, "Somehow, while you were gone, the prisoner escaped."

"Who was keeping an eye on him?" Cologne asked.

"I was," Perfume replied, a bit miserably, "Shampoo was tracking down her husband before he wandered off too far and got lost. Mousse had not yet arrived, as his wife had need of him. Unfortunately, I was unable to remain constantly on guard, and during my few minutes of absence, the pervert escaped."

"Why did you have to leave the room?" Colgone said, as Taro stood next to his wife, hovering protectively.

"Um, well," Perfume stammered, blushing profusely as she glanced down at her large belly, "I had a bit of an emergency."

"Ah, I understand," Cologne said, clinically, "The baby was putting some pressure where you didn't need it."

Perfume nodded, her face miserable.

"Don't worry, child. You aren't in trouble. Rakkyosai will turn up again, I'm sure of it, and we'll get him then," Cologne said, kindly, surprising the young couple, "Besides, a pregnant woman really shouldn't be expected to stand guard for long periods of time anyway." Then her face went colder, and she added, "Now, Shampoo on the other hand, won't like what happens to her."

* * *

The gaggle of friends had gathered for lunch, sitting under the shelter of the tree that had somehow become known as the Saotome clan tree, well except for Shampoo who had been oddly absent from class. 

Ukyo started preparing her lunch, the aroma of the cooking okonomiyaki wafting through the area, causing Kurumi's eyes to glaze over in anticipation.

Hiroshi asked, "Does anyone know what's wrong with Shampoo? I don't remember her ever being ill, and missing class."

Akane frowned and said, "I agree. This isn't like her. Kodachi, did Mousse tell you anything?"

"Just a little. Shampoo is in a bit of trouble, something went wrong at the café while she wasn't there," Kodachi replied, "But that's all he could tell me. Cologne had ordered him not to say any more than that."

"Must be Amazon business then," Ranma said, "I suppose I could ask her, but I guess if she wanted me to know she would have told me."

Yuka asked, hesitantly, "Um, did you guys see the flyer that was posted about the flower festival that they are having in the park?"

Kodachi replied, "I saw it. I thought it might be fun to visit and see the new varieties. We could go after class on Saturday."

Ukyo sighed and said, "I have to work, or else I would go."

"That sounds like it would be interesting," Sayuri added, "What do you think, Akane? We could make it a girls' night out or something."

"I don't know if I can. I have so much to do at home," Akane replied, doubtfully.

"Come on Akane, we haven't had one of those in a long time," Yuka insisted.

"Well, I really don't know," Akane said, her resistance crumbling.

"Naw, why don't you go?" Ranma suggested, "You haven't really had a chance to hang out with just the girls since we got together. It'd be good for you."

"Well in that case, you could come too," Akane said, quickly, "If it's a girls' night out, you could fit in."

Ranma watched as Nabiki shook her head. He smiled wryly, and said, "That's true. But, I suspect that you girls will talk about us guys, and I'd just as soon not hear what you say about us. Probably scar me for life if I did."

Akane shrugged and said, "Okay, it does sound like it would be fun."

"Could I come too?" Natsume asked.

"Sure, the more the merrier," Yuka replied.

Kurumi asked, "Natsume, did you forget that Daddy was going to take us on a training trip this weekend?"

Natsume frowned and then slapped her forehead lightly. "Yes, I did forget," she groaned.

"How about you, Nabiki?" Akane asked.

"Souta and I already have some plans," Nabiki replied, "But thanks for the invite."

"Maybe some other time, then," Akane suggested.

Ranma looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Actually, I think you ought to plan for an occasional girls' night out, maybe once a month or so."

"That would be so cool!" Yuka squealed.

Akane looked at him for a second and then smiled prettily, the smile that had first caused him to fall in love with her, even if he had denied it to himself for so long that first time through.

* * *

Saturday afternoon found the four girls entering the park, and heading toward the area by the lake, which was the site of the flower festival. When they arrived, the festival was in full swing, with a veritable horde of people wandering around the various displays. 

"Where do you want to start?" Akane asked.

Kodachi smirked and replied, "Well, I vote for the roses, myself."

Sayuri snickered and said, "Somehow I knew that's what you would say."

"What can I say? I like roses," Kodachi retorted, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

"You do? I never knew that about you," Akane teased, lightly, as all four girls began to giggle.

"This is nice, just hanging out by ourselves," Yuka said, "It's good being with Daisuke, but sometimes I need to get away and not be half of Yuka and Daisuke. Did that make any sense?"

"I think so," Kodachi replied, thoughtfully, "Mse Tsu is wonderful, but I do enjoy the occasional escape."

"We are lucky with our guys," Sayuri said, "But they are men, after all."

Akane couldn't resist. She said, "Except for when mine's a woman."

Kodachi smiled knowingly and surprised Akane with a brief hug. "Or when mine's a duck," she said, sadly, "I do wish he was free of his curse because I know how much he now despises it. But, I love him in spite of that."

"Ranma has managed to come to terms with his curse, though I know he would be happier if it were gone," Akane said, gently, "As for me, he is Ranma, whatever gender he is. He makes me happy and that is all that matters."

"Well said," Kodachi said. They headed toward the first booth, which coincidently was filled with roses.

As they neared the booth, an odd mist began flowing around the area, obscuring their vision.

"What's this?" Yuka asked, fearfully as she and Sayuri instinctively moved closer to each other, while Akane and Kodachi frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't know," Kodachi replied, "But I don't like it."

Akane heard a sound from the mist and whispered, "Shh. Something is coming." As they fell quiet, they heard the sound of hoofbeats as something shod moved closer to them down the cobblestone path.

Through the mist they spotted something coming toward them. Kodachi lifted up her hand and caught the object, a white flower.

"A white lily!" Yuka exclaimed, quickly recognizing the blossom in her friend's hand.

"Get away!" Kodachi cried, as she tossed the lily away.

A few seconds later, a brief explosion was heard, and a flash of light appeared in the mist. A shadowy figure appeared, and moved toward them, and then out of the mist, a very refined woman was sitting sidesaddle on a palomino. She was dressed elegantly all in white, a spray of white lilies behind her on the horse. She laughed, delicately, and said, "Greetings, Miss Kodachi Kuno."

"Whoa, is she highclass or what?" some man said from the crowd that was gathering.

"And what's with all of the white lilies?" a second asked.

The woman slid down from the horse and walked toward them, revealing the fact that the lilies were tied to her back.

"Friend of yours, Kodachi?" Akane asked.

"Not that I can recall," Kodachi replied.

"You don't remember me?" the woman asked, "I'm hurt."

"No, can't say that I," Kodachi began, only to stumble to a stop. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped. "Could it be, that you are that little girl?" she asked.

"Ah, it comes back to you. Then, remember our promise," the mysterious woman said.

"Yes, I do remember you now, Asuka Saginomiya!" Kodachi replied, a wicked grin appearing on hre face, "and I remember the promise we made."

"What promise is that Kodachi?" Yuka asked.

"Later my friends. For now, I must depart and seek my husband," Kodachi cried gaily, as she sprang away.

"Husband?" Asuka gasped, her face paling. She ran off, muttering, "This is bad. This is very bad."

"She ran off!" Sayuri exclaimed.

"What is going on?" Akane asked, completely at sea.

* * *

Mousse looked up startled, as the door to his bedchamber crashed open and his wife raced in, and then into the closet, where a veritable whirlwind of clothes came flying out. 

"Not that! Or that! Kami, what was I thinking when I bought that?" Kodachi muttered as she sorted through her closet looking for the perfect outfit.

"You're back much sooner than I expected," Mousse said.

A shriek of triumph was his only answer, as his wife danced back out of the closet, carrying an extremely delicate and very colourful kimono and a blinding white tuxedo. "Here, you need to put this on," she demanded, thrusting the plastic-wrapped suit toward him.

"What?" Mousse asked.

"Please, change into this, please, please," Kodachi begged.

"And why in the name of all that's, whatever, why would I wear that?" Mousse asked, eying the extremely white tuxedo with clear disdain.

"Because you're my husband, and you love me. And it's imperative that I be with Japan's most handsome man tonight," Kodachi pleaded, giving him her winsome look.

"You're kidding me, right?" Mousse asked, "What makes you think that a suit of clothing would make me any more handsome than I already am? Why gild the lily after all?"

"LILY!" Kodachi screeched.

"Darling Kodachi, can you tell me what is going on?" Mousse pleaded.

Kodachi whirled around, a microphone appearing in her hand, as she began to relate the story. "It was a long time ago, when I was but a loveable kindergartener, when we were told to find a partner during recess. I ended up with the most popular six year old, old whatever his name was, when suddenly; a white lily came flying at me. Instinctively I batted it away, where it exploded. In pranced this awful girl, Asuka Saginomiya, dragging some poor boy behind her, and sneering at the boy I was with. I remember her asking if he really was so special, and said her boyfriend was way better. Well, one thing led to another, and we nearly destroyed the playground in our fighting. Of course, I ending up winning, but Asuka challenged me to meet her ten years later and show her my boyfriend. I accepted the challenge gladly, and now those ten years have passed."

Mousse gave a loud long-suffering sigh, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just finished some training," he said, "Let me shower first and then we can talk about this. I really hate wearing western garb. There's no place for me to hide all of my weapons." He turned and strode toward the western style bath.

"But Mse Tse, darling!" Kodachi cried.

"Later!" Mousse responded a little irritated.

"But that's not what I was," Kodachi began, only to be interrupted by the sounds of metal crashing together. As Mousse raised his foot to find it encased in a bear trap, she finished weakly, "about to say."

As Mousse tugged on his foot, a suit of heavy plate armour came crashing down, landing on top of him.

"Oh Mse Tse!" Kodachi exclaimed, rushing over to pull him out from under the armour. She called, "Sasuke!"

Immediately the diminutive ninja-garbed servant appeared before her. "Yes Mistress Kodachi," he began, only to stop as he assisted her in freeing Mousse. "What happened here, Mistress?" he asked.

"Only one person on earth would lay such a fiendish trap," Kodachi replied, as a painting leaning against the wall caught her eyes. She screeched as she pointed, "NO IT'S ASUKA SAGINOMIYA! AND THERE SHE IS!!"

"Um, Mistress, that's a painting that arrived today," Sasuke pointed out, only to hear laughter coming from the direction of the painting. "Hey, the picture laughed!" he exclaimed as he moved to protect his mistress.

Asuka stood up, carrying the ornate picture frame that had surrounded her. "I have come to see for myself," she said.

"See what?" Kodachi asked.

"Well, I've seen enough," Asuka said, with a snicker as she saw the battered form, and heavily damaged face of Mousse lying on the floor. She sighed, "It is such a tragedy. For ten years, to bring Miss Kuno to her knees, I have given my life to finding the ultimate boyfriend, only to discover that she has been satisfied with such trash." She smiled broadly and declared, "Why, I've already won! And what was the value of all my efforts? As I said, a great tragedy." She laughed hysterically.

"Who are you calling trash?" a voice asked from behind her.

Asuka whirled to see Mousse standing up, his face amazingly restored. He smiled thinly, and added, "Sasuke, I believe we have an uninvited guest. Would you see her off the premises, please?"

"Of course, Master," the ninja replied.

"And for your information," Mousse said, pleasantly, "If you have spent your life looking for the ultimate boyfriend, then that is your foolishness. I wasn't looking for a wife when I came here, but I found the one who was right for me."

Kodachi smiled at him fondly and added, "And why should I look for the ultimate boyfriend. I have found the ultimate husband, and that is so much better. So, Asuka, you have already lost, not that I am particularly interested in the competition anyway. I'm not that same little lost girl, not anymore, anyway."

"Miss, if you would be so good as to follow me," Sasuke suggested.

"Well I never," Asuka said as she flounced away, following the servant out of the room, still carrying her rococo wooden picture frame.

"I can certainly believe that," Kodachi said, with a smirk.

"Believe what?" Mousse asked.

"Never did this," Kodachi murmured as she flowed into his arms and proceded to kiss him senseless.

* * *

Asuka glanced around the gazebo, looking for anything out of place, and nodded her head in satisfaction. The table was set for four, the fountain in the middle providing a soothing music as the water splashed down around the figurine, the silent servants waiting behind the buffet table, while the sushi chef checked his ingredients. The only thing missing was her guests. She laughed wickedly as she sipped daintily from a glass of white wine. "Now comes the moment that I have waited for," she proclaimed, "At last the table is set, Kodachi Kuno and her gaijin trash will bow before my ultimate boyfriend."

* * *

Mousse continued to grumble as he walked with Kodachi away from their home. He was dressed to the nines in a burgundy tuxedo, a black rose boutonnière pinned to his jacket. "Hmmmmph," he said, under his breath, "Why should I be compared to any other guy? Aren't I obviously perfect?" 

"Oh don't worry," Kodachi said, "Just try to understand that I'm proud to be your wife and I want to show you off."

Mousse chuckled and replied, "Well, I'm equally proud to be your husband, my love."

A flurry of white lilies descended upon them. "White lilies!" Kodachi exclaimed, "Be careful. She is not above cheating." They jumped back just as the lilies exploded.

Suddenly, they heard the thunder of hooves coming down a side street, and then the sound of bulls mooing as they turned the corner and spilled into the street they were on. Asuka was riding sidesaddle on the last Brahma bull. Just as it appeared that they were to be run over, a gigantic pig appeared, with Akari on its back, tossing its tusks menacingly as it filled the street. Its eyes glowed redly as it saw the oncoming herd and it started running forward, the tusks glinting in the sunlight. The bulls took one look at the behemoth coming toward them, and literally screeched to a stop, their buttocks hitting the street, before they managed to turn and run in the opposite direction.

"Asuka!" Kodachi growled as Mousse waved his thanks to his all but sister-in-law, as she blushed.

"I do wonder how Akari knew to be here," Mousse said, as they continued up the street avoiding the reminders that cattle had been in the street, missing the person hiding in the shadows.

* * *

The young married couple entered the Hall of Flowers, which was the location of the date established so long ago. They headed up the cobblestone path, arm in arm, as they ascended to the Grecian influenced gazebo with crowned the hill. Finally, they neared to find Asuka standing at the entrance. 

"Finally," the White Lily huffed.

"I'm sorry we're late, but my husband insisted on ravishing me in the bedroom, and then the bathroom," Kodachi said, nary a blush on her cheeks.

"Um, you forgot the dining room and the parlour," Mousse said, helpfully.

"Anyway, it took us a bit longer than I expected to get dressed," Kodachi said.

Asuka looked ill.

"Did you have any problems avoiding those bulls?" Mousse asked politely, as they entered the gazebo. Mousse frowned when he spotted a suit of armour standing in an alcove at the opposite end of the building.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Asuka replied, dismissively, as she led them to the table situated in the middle of the building.

Mousse glared at her for a moment, and then asked, "Okay, Asuka the White Lily, lets see this boyfriend of yours, shall we?"

"Prepare yourself. I wouldn't want you to be blinded by his beauty," Asuka sneered as she walked over to the suit of armour. "Reveal yourself," she said.

Whoever was in the armour lifted its arms slowly and then pulled the helmet off.

"Sweetoooo!" Rakkyōsai cried as he dropped the helmet and lunged toward Asuka, sliding out of the plate armor and latching onto her breasts.

Asuka shrieked and batted at the pervert nuzzling her and ran off, leaving the bemused couple behind, while Rakkyōsai stayed attached like a leech to her chest.

"I think you won," Mousse said, as he led his wife away.

Ranma stepped out of the shadows, an evil smirk on his face as he watched Rakkyōsai chase Asuka. "Not this time bitch," he growled, "Not this time." He smiled in satisfaction as the young man he had rescued found his date. 'It was worth letting him sneak a peek at me in my girl form,' he thought, as he headed back home.

* * *

The weary Amazon woman stopped walking as she recognized the clearing in the forest that she had just entered. "Ryoga, we've been in this clearing five times already. Why are we walking in circles?" Shampoo asked. 

Ryoga dropped his heavy backpack to the ground. "I could have sworn that the path led to civilization, it's not far, I can just sense it," he said, apologetically.

"It's getting dark," Shampoo said, "We need to set up camp and find something to eat."

"But it's been three days since we entered this forest, and we're all out of food," Ryoga protested half-heartedly, as he began to pitch his dome tent.

"Just set up the tent, and get a fire going," Shampoo said, "I'll find something."

"Don't go too far, I don't want you getting lost," Ryoga said, as he watched Shampoo moving toward the small streamlet that bordered the glade

* * *

Shampoo returned to the glade to find a small campfire blazing in a circle of stone, the turf that had once been in the fire ring piled neatly to one side. Ryoga squatted by the fire watching a pot of water boil. 

"Any luck?" he asked, as he acknowledged his wife's presence.

"I found some greens growing by the stream, a few new potatoes, some nuts and berries, and managed to catch a nice fat hare," Shampoo replied, "So we can make a stew, or roast the rabbit."

"I found a couple of mushrooms," Ryoga said, "So maybe a roast."

"I field cleaned it, so it's ready to cook," Shampoo said.

"Let me set up the tripods, and build a nice bed of coals, while you skewer the meat. We can boil the greens, the mushrooms and the nuts while it cooks," Ryoga suggested.

"I think I have some herbs we can put on the rabbit in that pouch," Shampoo said.

The pair performed their domestic tasks smoothly, with the precision that came from a long time practicing together as they prepared their meal. Soon the smell of roasting rabbit, and stewing vegetables, wafted through the clearing, while Ryoga and Shampoo cuddled together.

Finally the meal was ready, not a moment too soon, as the aromas had reminded them of how long it had been since they had last eaten, so they quickly divided the meal between then and began to eat. Soon, there was nothing left but bones as they devoured the meal.

Just as they finished, a strange man ran into the clearing and cried, "Don't eat that!"

"Don't eat what?" Shampoo asked.

"The mushrooms in this forest," the man replied.

"Why not? They weren't toadstools," Ryoga asked, "I know the difference."

"Well, they aren't poisonous," the man said.

"What?" Shampoo asked, impatiently.

"But still," the man sighed, turning away.

"What's this about?" Ryoga asked.

"I mean, you won't die or anything, but if you eat the mushrooms of this forest, first your heart goes thump," the man said, just as the young couple's hearts went kathump. The man sighed, and added, "And then swish!"

* * *

Mousse swept out the dining area, wondering idly when Shampoo and Ryoga were planning on returning from their brief vacation, while Kodachi wiped down the tables. Cologne was still in the back, cleaning up from the lunch rush, and preparing the ingredients for the evening crowd. 

The front door opened, causing the spring-loaded bell to chime, and a woman in her late twenties to early thirties backed in, a sleeping toddler drooling on her shoulder as she dragged a large backpack into the restaurant.

"Miss, we're closed at the moment, and won't be open for a couple more hours," Kodachi said.

The woman turned around, and said, "I know that, Kodachi."

"You know my name?" the other girl asked, surprised that this strange woman knew her name.

Mousse put his broom down and turned around, and then his eyes widened in astonishment as he recognized the outfit the woman was wearing. Putting that together, and the familiar hue of her hair, he gasped, "Shampoo!"

Kodachi swayed, and grabbed onto a table to hold herself up. "Shampoo, is that really you? And that looks like a baby Ryoga in your arms. What happened to you two?" she choked out.

"I got older," Shampoo replied, tartly, "and Ryoga got a lot younger." She sighed as she walked to a chair and collapsed. "Fortunately, I didn't get too much taller, but I did have to alter my clothing just a bit. Seems my breasts got a bit larger," she added, "Making something small enough for Ryoga to wear was a bit more challenging."

Mousse dashed into the back, calling, "Elder!"

Kodachi knelt down next to her friend, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Shampoo smiled sadly, and replied, "Aside from being at least ten years older than I should be, getting some back pain because of what I'm carrying on top, and having a baby for a husband, you mean? I'm exhausted, and I'm sore, to be honest. Carrying that backpack all this way, having a mostly helpless little child to take care of. Now I know how it feels to be a parent. Sure don't know how my parents did it."

Cologne pogoed in and for the first time that Shampoo could remember, the elderly Amazon face-faulted. "My god, child, what happened to you?" she asked.

"We were wandering lost in a forest some few kilometers from Nerima, and stopped to eat. Unfortunately, one of the things that we ate were some magic mushrooms, the mushrooms of time," Shampoo replied.

"The mushrooms of time?" Kodachi said, "I don't understand."

"After we ate the mushrooms, we were told that they will make you change age in proportion to the size of the mushroom," Shampoo said, "In other words, if you eat a mushroom that is five centimeters in height, you turn five years old. Ten centimeters and you become ten. In my case, however, I ate a rather large mushroom, nearly thirty centimeters tall, so I aged instead of getting younger."

"Then all you needed to do was find some mushrooms that were seventeen centimeters and you would have been fine," Cologne said.

"I thought of that, but Ryoga had no idea where he found them," Shampoo said bitterly, "Between his now short attention span, and his poor sense of direction, and the fact that I couldn't leave him to search for myself, I gave it up as a bad job and came here."

Cologne frowned thoughtfully, causing even more wrinkles to form on her forehead. She commented, "I think those mushrooms did more than just change your age, Shampoo. Your Japanese is nearly perfect and you seem to be acting like a mature woman of the village."

"That's probably accurate enough," Shampoo agreed tiredly, "I've noticed that myself. And I'm not the only one that has been affected. Ryoga is acting his age too; unfortunately it's the terrible twos. And, because he's a mere child, his feelings for me have confused him. For now, he thinks I'm his mother. I'm just glad he didn't eat a mushroom even smaller." She glanced down at her chest, and sighed, "And these things wouldn't have done him any good if he were an infant, since they wouldn't likely lactate for him. Poor man, he was being a gentleman and giving me the larger portions, and look how things turned out."

"Can we do anything for you?" Kodachi asked.

"Yes, I really need a bath, a meal and a chance to sleep later on," Shampoo replied. She looked down at the child sleeping on her shoulder, sighed, and added, "So I'll need someone to keep an eye on my baby."

"I'll do that," Kodachi volunteered.

Shampoo looked at her gratefully, and allowed her to take Ryoga from her shoulder. The toddler protested sleepily for a moment, and then settled back down as Kodachi held him to her shoulder.

"I'll look in my scrolls to see if there is anything in there about this," Cologne said, "And Kodachi, when Mousse gets back from the errand I just sent him on, have him close up the restaurant. We won't open today. This is more important than earning a few thousand yen."

Shampoo rose carefully, favouring her sore back, and walking unsteadily, she headed for the stairs leading to the upstairs apartments.

* * *

Shampoo entered the kitchen, wearing a bathrobe, her hair still damp from her bath, but looking a lot better than she had a half hour ago. Kodachi was sitting at the small table that they normally used to do their accounting, watching as Ryoga fed himself from a small plate of finger foods. 

Ryoga's face lit up when he saw her and he crowed, "Mommy! Auntie Ko-chan is feeding me. Come join us!"

Shampoo sighed a little as her face fell, and then she forced a smile. Sitting down next to him, she asked, "Were you a good boy for Kodachi?"

"Yes, Mommy," Ryoga replied.

Kodachi's eyes teared up when she saw the pain in her friend's eyes, even though Shampoo replied evenly, not a trace of that pain showing in her voice, "That's good, Ryoga. I'm very proud of you."

Cologne watched impassively from her perch next to the stove, though inwardly her heart was breaking for her great-granddaughter and her husband. "You can start on the soup, while I finish up the rest of your dinner, Shampoo," she merely said, as she placed a large bowl of chicken velvet with corn soup in front of her, along with a pair of spring rolls.

"Thank you, great grandmother," Shampoo said, before diving into her soup.

Ryoga asked, "Mommy, I'm done. Can I go play?"

"I'll watch him for you," Kodachi said.

"Jut for a little bit, then you need a bath too, young man," Shampoo replied.

Kodachi rose from her chair, and crossed behind her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly, before holding her other hand out to the toddler. "Come on, Ryoga, let's see what we can find to play with while your Mommy eats dinner," she suggested.

"Okay, Auntie Ko-chan," Ryoga lisped as he slid down from his seat, and placed his small hand in hers. "Bye Mommy!" he called as he went with Kodachi into the main part of the restaurant.

"That bath seemed to help," Cologne observed, as she placed a platter of Hunan Triple Crown on the table, along with a pot of Gunpowder green tea.

"Some," Shampoo said, agreeably enough, as she poured them cups of tea, and then spooned a large helping of the meal onto her plate, "This will help more, and then if I can get a full night of uninterrupted sleep I'll be physically fine."

"How about mentally and emotionally?" Cologne asked gently.

"Not so good," Shampoo admitted with a shrug, "This has been very hard on me, as you can probably imagine. And since you haven't said anything, I suppose you didn't find anything in your scrolls, either."

"No, but I have barely scratched the surface," Cologne admitted, "I wouldn't give up hope, not just yet."

"Oh, I haven't," Shampoo admitted, "And there's still one last thing I can do to be with the man I love. There was another mushroom only two millimeters tall that I managed to salvage from the stew. I can always eat that and wait for us to grow up together."

Cologne gasped, and then grew stern. "I hope that would be only as a last resort. And it may backfire on you," she warned, "You may not fall in love if you grow up together."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Ryoga still loves me," Shampoo stated, "I know that. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. He just doesn't understand how he loves me, so he thinks of me as his mother. Now, if I'm his same age, he won't love me like that."

"But what if he decides to love you like a sister?" Cologne asked, "Or you confuse your feelings and come to love him like a brother?"

"There is that risk, of course. But you were the one who taught me to fight for the ones I love, so I will not be parted from my husband by anything, if I can at all help it. I would walk through fire for him, so going through puberty once more would be worth it if I were with him," Shampoo said proudly, "But, as you say, I would only do it as a last resort. I have faith in you and I know that somewhere there is a way to correct this."

Cologne hid her pride in her great granddaughter and said, softly, "I too believe there is something that can be done. Never give up hope."

"Why should I? I am an Amazon warrior from a long line of Amazon warriors," Shampoo stated simply, "We don't know the meaning of the word surrender."

Their conversation was interrupted as Ryoga ran into the room as fast as his short legs could move, laughing uproariously as Kodachi chased him. "Mommy!" he squealed, as she swept him up, "Are you done yet?"

"Yes I am, dear Ryoga," Shampoo replied, as indeed she had cleaned the platter in front of her while she had been talking to Cologne.

"Can we play some more?" Ryoga wheedled.

"Fraid not, you need a bath, and then it'll be time for bed," Shampoo replied, her voice even, though her heart was breaking, "I'm exhausted from our travels."

Ryoga pouted for a moment and then said, "Okay Mommy, I am a little sleepy myself." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and then wriggled free, sliding to the ground.

Shampoo led him out of the room, while Kodachi finally let the tears she had been suppressing all evening flow freely.

"I agree my sister," Cologne said, no longer hiding her sniffles, as the two women shared the moment.

After a few minutes, Kodachi wiped her eyes and she threw her shoulders back, raising her head defiantly. "We will find a cure," she vowed.

* * *

Akane was chatting with Sayuri while Ranma read a few more pages in his manga as they waited for class to start. She stopped in mid-word as Kodachi and Mousse walked in, looking much the worse for wear. The normally impeccably turned out couple was looking moderately frazzled, with an air of sadness rising from them. As they slid into their desks, she asked, softly, "Kodachi, what's wrong?" 

"It's Shampoo and Ryoga," Kodachi answered, "Something went terribly wrong on their training trip this last weekend."

"She did miss class yesterday," Ranma observed, as he pulled his attention away from the further adventures inside the manga, "and she didn't come with you to class today. Are they okay?"

"Depends on your definition of okay," Mousse said, tiredly, "They're both alive and well."

"More or less," Kodachi added, ominously.

"I don't quite like the sound of that," Sayuri said, "You're scaring me."

"What she said," Yuka added.

Kodachi smiled sadly and said, "They got lost in the forest while they were on their training trip, over the weekend. Or more accurately, Ryoga got lost and Shampoo followed him around. Any way, they ran short of food, and had to gather what they could. And apparently they ate some mushrooms that they shouldn't have."

"They aren't ill, are they?" Akane asked, her face paling.

"No, worse. They were the magic mushrooms of time," Mousse replied.

Ranma looked up sharply at that, and asked, "Mushrooms of time? What happened to them?"

"It seems that eating the mushrooms will cause you to change to an age equivalent to the size of the mushroom," Mousse said, wearily, "Ryoga ate one about two centimeters tall, while Shampoo had one about thirty centimeters."

"So Ryoga is a toddler, and thinks of Shampoo as his mother," Kodachi said, with a heartfelt sigh, "I feel so sorry for her. I can't imagine how she is handling things."

Akane wiped her eye quickly and said, "We need to visit them, Ranma."

"Of course," Ranma said, "That's what friends are for. And maybe we can help."

"How?" Kodachi asked, "Cologne is reading through her library, and has sent a message back to her village to see if they have anything there. But, how could you help?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Ranma replied.

"Maybe we could go back to that forest, and search for some of the mushrooms," Ukyo suggested.

"That's certainly something we could do," Ranma said, agreeably enough, "So long as we aren't dumb enough to eat any of the mushrooms. Though finding some that are seventeen centimeters tall might be tough."

"So find some that are smaller and let them grow," Sayuri suggested.

Ranma looked at Akane for a moment and then said, "Well, that makes me feel a bit foolish. Of course we can do that, assuming we can find them in the first place."

"At least it's a plan of action," Mousse said.

"Then what are we doing here, wasting time?" Kodachi asked.

"Going to class?" Daisuke replied.

"I think that helping Shampoo and Ryoga take priority over school," Sayuri snapped.

Ranma said, "Okay, then, those of us that are going to hunt for the mushrooms, go home, pack a few changes of clothing in a sturdy backpack, and make sure you bring some food for several days. If any of you have a good tent and groundcloth, bring that. Akane and I can take care of the cooking utensils, I have a good set."

"I can bring quite a bit as well," Ukyo volunteered.

"We'll meet at the Nekohaten at noon, eat a good lunch, and find out from Shampoo where this forest is," Akane added.

"I'll take care of the travel arrangements," Kodachi said, "I'll have a limo at the café waiting for us."

The rest of the class looked on as the extended family all rose from their desks and left the class, nearly bowling over their teacher as they did so. "We'll explain later," Akane said over her shoulder, "But there's a family emergency that we need to take care of."

* * *

Hinako stood with her friends outside on the practice field, waiting for the teacher to show up and tell them what to do for their physical education class. Rumors had run wild that morning as the word spread that there was a new instructor to replace the harridan that had been teaching before. 

"They say he's an awesome teacher," one of her friends said, excitedly.

"But I liked the old sensei," Hinako said, with a pout.

"She was too old," a second friend objected, "I here this one is cute."

"I hear that he is very dangerous," a third one said.

"Someone said that his name is Higuma Torajiro," someone in the crowd added.

"His name means Brown Bear!" Hinako groaned, "Gimme a break!"

"I heard that every school he teaches at, the students have a riot," someone else said.

"That could be good or bad, I guess," someone said, doubtfully.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and an expectant hush fell over the crowd. A tall young man, dressed in a green shirt with purple stripes and white shorts bounded out from the gym, carrying an American football. With a large grin, he landed in front of the gathered students.

The schoolgirls squealed at the sight of the handsome new teacher, and Hinako was not immune from the affect of his glittering smile, and his heavily muscled arms.

"What does youth mean to you?" the young man cried as he tossed his football up into the air, "I was born with the name of Higuma Torajiro, but I'd rather you called me coach!"

"What a hunk!" several of the girls squealed, bright little spots appearing on their cheeks.

"Are you with me!" he exclaimed.

The girls in the class started running toward him, leaving the boys behind, shaking their heads. "Let's run!" the coach called, as he started off at a brisk pace.

* * *

Shortly before noon, the Saotome horde arrived at the Nekohaten, and entered the café to find Daisuke and Yuka sitting at one of the large family tables with Mousse and Kodachi. 

Ranma and Akane quickly shed their backpacks, motioning to Sayuri to do likewise. She slid hers off with a quickly hidden sigh of relief.

Hiroshi entered before they could sit down, and he placed his pack next to his girlfriend's, and then they shared a quick kiss.

"Missed you," Hiroshi said softly.

"Me too," Sayuri said.

"The limo will be here in a bit less than an hour," Kodachi said, "That should give us enough time to eat, and to talk to Shampoo and find out where this forest is."

Ukyo and Konatsu walked in, and joined them, as they all found places around the large circular table.

The now very adult Shampoo entered the room, carrying a large tray filled with several tureens of soup. One was hot and sour, a second was Chicken Velvet, a third was egg drop, and the fourth was miso. The bowls and plates were already on the table, along with the various spoons and chopsticks needed for the meal.

Kodachi added, "I took the liberty of ordering a variety of entrees, in order to save time."

Shampoo placed the tureens onto the large turntable that formed the center of the table, and then said, "Kodachi and Mousse told me what you are planning. I really want to thank you for coming to our aid."

Akane said, "You're part of the family, Shampoo. Family sticks together. Though, I have to say, if this is what you look like when you really turn thirty, you are looking pretty good."

"Thanks, but you should have seen me yesterday," Shampoo replied, smiling weakly, "I looked like something the cat dragged in." She motioned towards the soup and added, "Eat up, the rest of the meal will be out shortly."

Ranma reached out and grabbed her hand. "Seriously, sister, how are you doing?" he asked.

The mask cracked for a moment and then Shampoo smiled wanly. "I"ve been better," she replied, "But we are bred to be strong."

"Don't go all Stoic on me," Ranma growled, "You have to be hurting."

"Would you prefer me to rant and rage about it?" Shampoo asked, "Yes, it hurts more than I can express. The man I love is a little boy, how do you think I feel about that?" Suddenly she whirled and hid her face, as tears started streaming from her eyes.

Cologne suddenly appeared and said, "Finally." She gathered her great granddaughter up and led her upstairs, but not before she shot a grateful look at Ranma.

Kodachi rose gracefully, pulling her husband up. She leaned over and lightly kissed Ranma on the cheek and said, "Thank you, we've been hoping something like that would happen. Now maybe she can start to heal."

"You don't think we'll find a cure, do you?" Akane asked, bluntly.

"Elder Cologne has exhausted her resources in finding a cure," Mousse replied, sadly, "And found nothing. The only hope we have is to find those blasted mushrooms to restore them to the proper age, and I don't know whether that is a forlorn hope of not."

Ranma frowned slightly and said, "I'm pretty sure we can find them, Mousse. Now whether they'll be the correct size or not, that's a different question."

Kodachi smiled wanly and said, "We'll take care of the kitchen. Please, don't wait on ceremony, and eat the soup before it gets cold."

Mousse added, "Just leave some of the Chicken Velvet, that's my favourite." He followed his wife into the kitchen.

Akane said, "You heard them. Let's eat. We have a long day in front of us." She traded looks with her husband as the now subdued group began to fill their bowls.

* * *

Ranma shook his head as he watched the long black limousine drive away, and then chuckled. He turned away from the highway bordering the dark forest and stared down the lone path into the wilderness that hopefully held the cure for his clanmates. 

"What's so funny?" Akane asked, as she shouldered her backpack.

"Just thinking that this is the easiest trip I have ever taken. And how Pop would tell me I am getting soft by riding in such luxury," Ranma replied.

"Oh yes, the path of a martial artist is filled with struggle, or some nonsense like that," Akane said.

Ranma slid his arms through the straps of his pack, and shrugged it into place, the worn leather feeling like an old friend. "Something like that," he said.

"So how do you want to do this?" Hiroshi asked.

Ranma thought for a moment and then replied, "We should probably pair up and then spread out roughly five meters apart once we enter the forest. Hopefully it won't be too overgrown that we'll have trouble forcing our way. Look for damp places since that's where mushrooms like to grow. If you find some, call out, but remember don't eat any of them."

"In fact, I wouldn't trust anything in this forest," Akane said.

"Okay, let's get going," Sayuri said, as she grabbed Ranma and pulled him toward the path.

Ukyo giggled and linked arms with Mousse and dragged him toward the menacing forest.

Kodachi blinked, and then a slow smile appeared on her face as she sauntered sexily over to Daisuke and wrapped her arm around his waist and headed toward the entrance to the forest to begin her search.

Konastu grinned and bowed to Akane. "My lady, we seem to be without partners. I would be honoured to go with you," he said.

"My pleasure," Akane said, bowing equally as deeply, before she began to grin, as they linked arms and headed after their friends.

Yuka looked askance at Hiroshi, who shrugged his shoulders. "Don't ask me," he said, "I have no idea what just happened."

"Me either, but I do think we'd better get going," Yuka said, as she headed toward the forest.

Hiroshi cried, "Wait for me!"

As Hiroshi entered the cathedral-like woods, the smaller trees and bushes forming the fringe of the wilderness gave way to forest giants, soaring high into the air, the lush canopy blocking much of the light from reaching the ground, and a hush broken only by the occasional call of a bird. Finally, he reached his friends, who had separated back into the correct pairings.

"Stay in touch with the couples on either side, and don't get out of eyesight as much as possible," Ranma said, glancing around the woods.

"It's not too overgrown, so we shouldn't have too much trouble," Kodachi said.

"Then let's do this," Akane said, as they started their hunt for the magic mushrooms of time.

* * *

Several hours later, the search party had covered perhaps one fourth of the forest, and found nothing. Ranma glanced at his watch and said, "It's about six, Akane, and we're starting to lose the light." 

"We should call it a day then, set up camp, and then start fresh in the morning," his wife replied.

"I agree, we could all use a good meal," Ranma said, "And there's a couple of people with us that could really use the rest." He called, "When we find the next large clearing, we should stop for the night. Make some sort of mark where you stopped the search when you hear the call, and then join us."

Sayuri called, "We're in a clearing right now."

"You heard her, every one converge on Sayuri and Hiroshi," Akane yelled.

Ranma built a small cairn of rocks, and then placed a small branch pointing in the direction they had been traveling. After several minutes of walking, they entered a large clearing that had been created when one of the forest giants had crashed to the ground, taking several of its neighbors down with it. The trunks were lying at one end of the clearing, providing a large quantity of well-seasoned firewood. At the other end, they could hear a brook babbling in the near distance, behind a low rise that sometimes appears in forests for no apparent reason.

* * *

While the others bustled around the clearing setting up the tents that the various couples had brought, Ranma carefully constructed a large firepit using all of the camping skills he had learned the hard way during his years of traveling with his father. First, he removed all of the sod in a three-meter circle, piling it loosely to one side, and then dug down several more centimeters to form the basic outline of the pit. He then lined it with several large stones, after first examining each stone carefully to ensure that it would not explode when subjected to heat. 

By the time the light had begun to fail, the campsite was set up, with several tents surrounding the fire pit. The tents ranged in size from the modest two person tents that Ranma and Daisuke had brought to the large six-person pavilion that Kodachi had been carrying. They had also erected a small dining fly off to one side of the firepit.

Daisuke and Hiroshi broke up some of the smaller branches from the deadfall and brought them over, while Konatsu and Mousse used a lumberman's saw that Mousse had dragged out of somewhere to cut the trunk and the large branches into something that could be used in the fire, while Ranma started a small fire using some tinder, and the twigs that had been scattered around the ground. Once the fire was going, he fed it carefully with the smaller branches that Daisuke and Hiroshi had brought, and then the larger pieces that Konatsu and Mousse had provided, until he had a rather nice blaze going in the middle of the firepit.

"Ranma, Mousse, could you get several pots of water?" Akane asked, "We need some to cook with, and then some to clean up the dishes afterwards. We'll finish setting up the rest of the campsite."

Ranma rolled his eyes and muttered, "Right, let's send the two that have curses to get water." Sighing, he rose to his feet and grabbed a couple of large aluminum pots.

"We'll help too," Konatsu said, as he picked up a pot, motioning to Daisuke and Hiroshi.

* * *

Kodachi looked up from where she was dicing up the ingredients for the dish she was preparing when she heard the sound of an angry duck quacking furiously as it neared the campsite. 

A soprano voice exclaimed, "Mousse, I don't know why you're mad at me. I didn't push you into the water!"

"Ranma's right, it was my fault," Hiroshi said, "I tripped in the dark. Stupid lantern didn't give me enough light to miss that branch, and it rolled under my foot."

"Besides, as soon as we get this water hot, you can change back," Konatsu said, reasonably, though there was a sense of laughter bubbling under his otherwise even tones.

"It was still funny though," Daisuke added, not bothering to hide the note of amusement in his voice.

"Actually, I think you were hoping to catch sight of my breasts again, Hiroshi," Ranma said, "What would Sayuri think if she caught you ogling me?"

"That at least you're safe," Sayuri shouted as she finished peeling the carrots she was going to use in her salad.

The lighting in the clearing increased as the men, or three men, one annoyed duck, and a damp redhaired girl, entered with their oil lantern and their pots of water. The duck flew over to Kodachi.

"I have your thermos in the tent," Kodachi said, "Let's get you changed back." She looked apologetically at Ranma and said, "I only have the one."

"That's okay, Kodachi," Ranma said, with a wry grin, "Here, I fished out his clothing." She handed her a wet bundle of clothes, nearly driving Kodachi to her feet because of the weight.

"What does he have in there?" Kodachi wondered as she staggered into her tent, followed by the duck.

"Here's your water," Ranma said, rather anticlimactically, as they set the pots near the firepit.

"Thanks, Ranma," Akane said, with a wry smile, "Actually, I thought this might happen, so I have a teakettle ready. Take it and change out of that wet stuff. I left a towel out on the bedroll for you."

Ranma picked up the teapot and flashed a smile, "Sorry to disappoint you, Hiroshi, but I'm going into my tent to change." She vanished into her tent.

Hiroshi groaned and said, "I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

Sayuri swatted his arm and replied, gently, "That's what you get for being such a pervert."

* * *

Hinako rushed into her home, and slipped her shoes off, and placed them neatly in her ornately decorated box. "I'm home!" she cried as she skipped down the hall toward the family room. 

"Welcome home, Hinako," Kasumi replied as she left the kitchen, wiping her hands on her everpresent apron.

"Where is everyone?" Hinako asked, noticing that the house and dojo seemed to be quiet.

"Father is at the council meeting still, Nabiki is upstairs working on her homework, I believe. Tofu is running late at the clinic, and Yumi is resting. She has a bad migraine, I'm afraid, so we need to be quiet. Everyone else left on some sort of adventure, but I really didn't get the details about what they are searching for," Kasumi replied, "So it'll be only the six of us for dinner."

"Oh, then do you need some help in the kitchen?" Hinako asked, setting her bookcase down.

"Sure, and you can tell me all about your day," Kasumi replied, kindly.

"We have a new teacher," Hinako said, blushing slightly.

"What do you think of him?" Kasumi asked.

"He's very enthusiastic, and very dreamy," Hinako replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Oh my," Kasumi teased, "Do I sense the beginnings of a crush?"

"Yes, me and every other girl in school," Hinako admitted.

"Just don't let it go to far, he's much too old for you," Kasumi said, not unkindly.

Hinako sighed and said, "I know. And there's no way he'd be interested in a thirteen-year-old girl. One of the downsides of what I did, I guess."

"You'll grow up soon enough," Kasumi said, "Don't be in such a hurry to grow older this time."

Hinako pouted prettily and said, "I suppose you're right. But even though I didn't grow up exactly normally before, don't forget that I'm some sort of odd amalgamation of a young teenage girl, and a woman in her mid-twenties, and I remember what those urges felt like, not that I ever had the opportunity to act on any of those urges, damn the luck."

Kasumi gave a very unladylike, uncharacteristic, snort, and then giggled.

Hinako smiled wryly at her.

* * *

The dedicated young coach worked diligently grading the papers that his classes had handed in. From the lack of sounds in the building, it was obvious that he was the only one left, at least on this floor. He reached for the next paper to grade, and smiled, slightly when he saw the signature at the top, 'Hinako Ninomayi,' it read in bold characters. "Excellent student, very good in martial arts, friendly demeanor, and everyone seems to like her," he mused out loud. A polite cough from the doorway gained his attention, and he glanced over to the door, to see a tall, well-built brunette, dressed in a short skirt, and tight low-cut blouse, showing plenty of her well-endowed form. "Excuse me, can I help you?" the teacher asked, running a finger around his suddenly tight collar. 

The woman sauntered over to the desk, and leaned forward, placing her palms on the desktop to brace herself. "You are Higuma Torajiro?" she asked.

The young man stared at the view he was seeing, and replied, "Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Hinako Ninomiya," the woman replied, "You have my niece in your class, I believe."

"Yes, in fact, I was just about to grade her report," Higuma replied, glancing down at the paper, "But, you still haven't told me your name." With a great effort, he pulled his eyes up to see her face.

"Ah, but I did. I'm also Hinako Ninomiya. My brother was terribly fond of me as a child, so he named his daughter after me," the woman said, with a musical laugh, "Little Hinako and I are very close."

"I see, or rather I don't see," Higuma said, a clearly puzzled expression on his face, as he once more dipped his eyes down to sneak a peak at her freely offered cleavage.

Hinako smirked and said, "She told me that you were very handsome. She was certainly right about that. She didn't say how muscular you were though." She walked around the desk, and perched on it, sitting very close to the beginning to be overwhelmed young man, especially when she lightly ran her hand up and down his arm, feeling his musclelature. She breathed in his ear, saying, "My, what big muscles you have here." She crossed her legs, allowing him to see that unless she was wearing a thong, she was the only thing under her skirt, and he already knew that she was braless.

Higuma stammered, "How can I help you, Miss Ninomayi?"

"Please, call me Hi-chan," Hinako said, huskily, "I just know that we are going to be **good** friends."

The young man gulped as she leaned forward once more, and he couldn't help but stare down her blouse, catching a hint of brown. His pants suddenly were very tight, tighter than his collar. "Very well, Hi-chan," he stuttered.

"Good," she cooed, a sound that made the remainder of his blood flow south. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and suddenly slid into his lap, with a thump. "Oooh, for me," she cooed, "You shouldn't have!" She wrapped herself around him, pressing her body firmly against his muscled chest, and then kissed him, hard.

After a startled moment, he tried to push her away, but she tightened her grip, and intensified her kiss. He shrugged and decided to go with the flow, and returned her ardor, deepening the kiss, as she ground her shapely bottom in his lap. He pulled her around so that she was straddling his lap, and he reached down to discover that indeed she was the only thing under her skirt, as he caressed her bum.

Hinako's breath speeded up, and warmth exploded from her core, as he continued to gently caress her. She began to pant, and then,

"BRAAAAP!! BRAAAAP!! BRAAAAP!!"

Hinako shot up in her bed, glaring at the alarm that had just rung, rousing her from her slumber. Panting heavily, she realized she was soaking wet, and she blushed as she recalled the fleeting remnants of her dream. 'I never had one of those before,' she thought.

* * *

Ranma slowly opened his eyes as the sun began to make its presence known. The dim light filtering through the canvas made it just barely bright enough to see. Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from the warm embrace of the woman sharing his sleeping bag, and pulled himself out of the tender cocoon. 

Akane protested sleepily at his absence, but her eyes remained closed.

Bending down, he lightly kissed her nose, and then pulled out a change of clothing from their backpack, as he was beginning to feel the cool air against his boxer-clad body. He slid into his slacks, and pushed his way through the tent flap, finding Ukyo already working at the firepit, feeding the fire that was blazing nicely, a large pot sitting to one side.

"Morning, Ranchan," Ukyo said cheerily, her voice loud in the stillness, and eliciting no small amount of mild complaints from the occupants of the tents surrounding her, who were not quite ready to greet the dawn, "If you need to wash up, I have a pot of water on to heat up." A faint tinge of pink dusted her cheeks as she stared somewhat hungrily at the shirtless man standing in front of her, before she sighed.

"What?" Ranma asked, cluelessly.

"Just thinking of what might have been, sugar," Ukyo said, turning away from the tempting view.

"Sorry, wasn't thinking that anyone would be up," Ranma said, blushing, as he pulled his shirt over his head. He chuckled, and added, "Besides, you've seen me without a shirt before."

"Only when you were a girl," Ukyo teased, "And that just doesn't do anything for me."

"Something that I am sure Konastu is eternally grateful for," Ranma said, firing back. He grinned hugely and added, "The walls of your tent were a little thin last night. I'm surprised that you're awake."

Ukyo blushed and said, "Hush you. You don't have much room to talk." She shook her spatula at him playfully.

"I think I'll take your suggestion and go wash up," Ranma said, quickly.

* * *

Cologne hid in the shadows of the café, her normally impassive face weeping silent tears as she watched her great granddaughter sitting quietly in one of the booths, feeding her infant husband. 'I hope that they can find those mushrooms,' she thought, 'None of the Amazon lore had a cure for this. I know she is strong, but this might break her.' 

Ryoga turned his face away from the spoon, and Shampoo sighed. "Full, dear?" she asked.

The toddler nodded his head.

"You've been such a good boy," Shampoo said, "Why don't you play with some of your toys while I help great grandmother?"

Ryoga nodded quickly, and slid out of the booth. He waddled over to a small box sitting discretely by the private entrance to their apartments, and pulled out a wooden pig on wheels and began pulling it around the room.

Shampoo watched him for a moment, and then she turned away to hide the tears as they began to flow.

'Ranma, I have faith in you. Do not let us down,' Colgone thought as she watched her great granddaughter quietly fall apart in front of her eyes.

"Has there been any word?" Shampoo asked, as she wiped her eyes, furious at herself for shedding those tears.

"Not since Kodachi called to say that they had arrived at the forest," Cologne replied, "Remember, she thought the coverage would be very spotty and she might not be able to use her phone until she got back to the main road. They'll be back tomorrow, in any case."

* * *

The front door of the café slid open, and a pair of road-weary figures walked in, carrying a small box between them. Kodachi and Mousse walked over and placed the box on one of the tables, before sinking gratefully into two of the chairs at the table. 

Cologne hopped into the main room from the kitchen, summoned by the chiming of the small bell over the door. "We're clo-," she began to say, and then stopped in surprise. "Oh, you're back," she finished, her face lighting up. She called, "Shampoo, Mousse and Kodachi are back!"

Shampoo rushed into the room, carrying a sleeping Ryoga wearing only a long shirt in her arms, and asked, excitedly, "Did you find the mushrooms?"

Kodachi replied, hesitantly, "Well, yes and no."

"We found them all right, but none of them were of the right size," Mousse added quickly as he saw their faces fall in dismay. He nodded to the box, and continued, "We brought back several, but biggest we found were only 13 centimeters tall."

"And we don't know how long it will take for them to grow bigger," Kodachi finished.

Cologne frowned for a moment and then said, "We need to find a dark, damp place to allow them to continue growing."

"There's a place in my greenhouse that would be perfect for that," Kodachi replied, "I grew toadstools once upon a time, and had a place built especially for them."

"How many mushrooms do you have?" Shampoo asked, her eyes blazing.

"Quite a few, actually," Kodachi replied, "I wanted to make sure we have a good crop so that we could restore the two of you. There are only two that are thirteen centimeters tall, but there are several that are twelve."

"Leave two of those, then," Shampoo said, "I need him as close to normal as I can. I can't handle him being a toddler much more."

Kodachi nodded and plucked out two large mushrooms from the box and handed them to Shampoo. "We'll head on home and put these away," she said, "Then, I'm taking a long hot soak in the furo."

"We'll see you tomorrow then," Cologne said, as the young couple headed out the door.

"It's good to have friends like that," Shampoo said. She set the mushrooms down on the table after washing them in the glass of water sitting on the table, and then sat down. She gently shook Ryoga, and the little boy slowly opened his eyes.

"What is it, Mommy?" Ryoga asked sleepily.

"I need you to eat something for me, sweetheart," Shampoo replied.

Ryoga's eyes opened completely and he said, "But I'm not hungry. I ate a big dinner, remember, Mommy?"

"I know you did, but this is something special," Shampoo promised.

"Candy?" the little boy asked, hopefully.

"No, it's not candy," Shampoo replied, "I have a mushroom for you to eat."

"Nooooooo!" Ryoga screamed, screwing his eyes up tightly, "I don't wanna eat a mushroom. Mushrooms are baaaaaaad!" He closed his mouth tightly and gave her a defiant look.

"Please, dear, do it for me!" Shampoo pleaded, a note of desperation creeping into her voice.

"NO! I DON'T WANNA!" he insisted.

"It'll help you grow up to be big and strong," Shampoo begged, "Don't you want to do that? I promise you'll like it."

"Pinkie promise?" Ryoga asked.

Shampoo looked confused for a moment, and then she nodded. "Pinkie promise it is," she said.

Ryoga opened his eyes and gazed at her doubtfully for a moment, and then said, "Okie dokie, Mommy. I'll eat your mushroom for you. But I don't think I'm gonna like it."

Shampoo picked up one of the mushrooms and handed it to the little boy. Screwing his face up, he bit off a piece of the mushroom and chewed it slowly, before swallowing it. He made short work of the mushroom, and then said, "Mommy, I feel funny!"

"That's okay, sweetheart," Shampoo said, as she picked up her mushroom and ate it in several quick bites.

Cologne watched in surprise as Ryoga suddenly changed in front of her eyes into a younger version of the man she was happy to call son-in-law, though his shirt didn't survive the transformation. Fortunately for his modesty, what remained of the shirt stayed in his lap. Shampoo soon changed as well, looking a bit ridiculous, as her tunic no longer fit her considerably smaller chest.

Shampoo glanced down at her barely visible breasts and sighed. "Well, at least I won't have back pains anymore," she said.

Ryoga glanced around as if he had awoken from an odd dream. "Shampoo, what happened to us? The last thing I remember is being lost in that forest," he asked, his voice breaking as it transitioned back and forth, his face reddening as he realized he was naked.

"We ate some mushrooms that we shouldn't have," Shampoo replied, "And it turned you into a two year old, and me nearly thirty. Our friends found these, so at least we are closer to the correct age."

* * *

Sayuri walked slowly into the house, and gratefully dumped her pack by the door. She winced slightly as she slipped off her shoes, since the long ride back in the limo had been just long enough for her muscles to tighten up after all of the walking that they had done. She looked up almost resentfully as Ranma and Akane entered, obviously in good shape, though somehow in the short walk from where the limo to the house, he had gotten splashed with water, and was currently a girl. She groaned slightly catching their attention. 

"What's wrong, Sayuri?" Akane asked.

"My legs are cramping," she replied.

Ranma frowned slightly and suggested, hesitantly, "Um, I can probably work most of the knots out with a massage, and then you should soak in the furo to rid of the rest."

"Let's get her out of the entrance then," Akane said, "Then we'll have to get her out of those jeans."

"Huh?" Sayuri asked.

"Works better if I have bare skin to work with," Ranma replied, as she slipped out of her backpack, and then swept Sayuri off her feet and headed toward the changing room. Akane picked up the two backpacks and followed them down the long L-shaped hall, around the kitchen, and then into the changing room, where she dumped the pack she was wearing and placed them to one side of the room.

"Go ahead and take your jeans off," Ranma said, as she set Sayuri down, and then partially turned around to make a small pallet of towels on the floor.

Sayuri blushed, but did as she was directed, though she was glad that Ranma had turned away when the tight jeans took her panties partially with them, before she could pull them back up.

"Lay face down on the pallet," Ranma said, as she reached into her backpack for a small box. Opening the box, she took a small plastic bottle from the box, and then knelt down next to Sayuri. She poured a small amount of oil into her hands, allowing it to warm up, before gently kneading Sayuri's legs, starting up as high as she could on the other girl's hip, and proceding firmly as she felt the knots slowly began to loosen. She whistled tunelessly, as Akane watched for a second, before taking the soiled clothing from the three packs and sorting them into the baskets for the wash.

Sayuri groaned slightly as Ranma switched to the other leg, and said, "You do have magic fingers, Ranma."

"Yes, she does," Akane purred, as she started to unbutton her blouse so she could enter the bathing chamber after Ranma finished with Sayuri.

"There," Ranma said, a note of satisfaction in her voice, "That should do it. Rinse off a couple of times with lukewarm water and soap to make sure you get all of the oil off before you go in the furo, though." She rose, wiping her hands off on one of the towels and turned to leave.

"Thanks, Ranma," Sayuri said gratefully, though she was trying to decide how she was going to stand up now that her legs felt like nothing more than limp noodles.

"I'll see you two in a little bit," Ranma said, closing the door behind her, and heading off to the kitchen.

* * *

Hinako looked up from the kitchen table where she was slicing vegetables in companionable silence with Yumi and Kasumi who were working on their own contributions for the next meal. She squealed happily as Ranma entered the room, "You're back!!!" catching the other's attention. They turned and smiled in greeting, as Ranma smiled tiredly at them. 

"Yes, we are," Ranma said, as she opened one of the cupboards, rummaging around for a glass. She filled the glass with some cold water before leaning against the counter.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Kasumi asked.

"Sort of," Ranma replied, after taking a sip of water, "We did find some of the magic mushrooms, but they aren't quite big enough."

"Magic mushrooms, what are those?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, I guess we didn't take the time to tell the story the other day, did we?" Ranma said, blushing slightly, "We were in too much of a hurry to get packed and leave." She sipped her water once more and then said, "Ryoga and Shampoo ate some mushrooms that they shouldn't have. If you eat one, say one that is five centimeters tall, you turn that age. Ryoga turned into a toddler while Shampoo turned nearly thirty."

A speculative look flashed across Hinako's eyes for a moment as the red-haired girl continued the story. "We found some mushrooms, but they weren't quite tall enough," she said, "So we need to let them grow taller to completely cure them."

"So where are the mushrooms?" Hinako asked.

"Kodachi and Mousse took them to the Nekohaten," Ranma replied, "Even though the biggest was only thirteen centimeters."

"I'll put some water on to heat up, Ranma," Kasumi said.

"No, that's okay. I'll stay like this until I get my turn in the furo," Ranma replied, "That's where Akane and Sayuri are, by the way, soaking off the trip back. Sayuri was a little sore after the ride home."

"Can you take over for me, then?" Hinako asked. "I'd like to join them. I need some girl talk."

"Sure, little sis, not a problem," Ranma said. She smiled kindly as the younger girl nearly ran out of the kitchen, then over to the table. "So what am I making?" she asked.

Yumi replied, "Prepare them for shrimp stir-fry." She held up one of the large prawns that she was cleaning to show what she was talking about.

"You can prepare the shiitake for hot and sour soup. There's some tuna steaks marinating in the refrigerator," Kasumi added, "Daddy is going to grill them. That's where he and Tofu are, cleaning up the hibachi, and getting it ready to use."

"That's all that will be here tonight, Nabiki already left on a date with Souta," Yumi added.

"We left some dirty clothes to wash, Kasumi, but Akane said she'd take care of that," Ranma said, idly, as she expertly cut the scallions, broccoli, water chestnuts, button mushrooms, Japanese red chili, bean pods, and carrots into the correct size for stir-fry, simply enjoying the comfortable feeling of family that surrounded her.

* * *

Author's Note: Another instalment in this epic. I hope everyone enjoys reading this one. As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcomed and encouraged. I do try to reply to all non-anonymous reviews. 


	84. An Octopus is After Me

Chapter 84 An Octopus is after me

Sayuri leaned back in the furo, letting the warm water ease the remainder of her aches, though Ranma's magic fingers had done much of the work already. "You're sooooo lucky," she moaned, causing Akane to look at her oddly.

"Hmmm?" Akane asked, as she finished rinsing off and joined her in the large tub.

"Ranma, those wonderful hands," Sayuri sighed happily.

"True, they are rather nice, so strong and yet so gentle," Akane agreed, her eyes going out of focus for a moment.

The door slid open and Hinako walked in, and asked, "Can I join you?"

"Sure, sis," Akane said, "There's plenty of room."

Hinako sat down on the rinsing stool, and began lathering up her body. "Ranma told me about your trip to find those magic mushrooms," she began, carefully, "I wish I could have gone. Shampoo is my friend too."

"We didn't want to wait for you to get out of school," Akane said, while Hinako rinsed off the soap with several buckets of water, the suds slowing entering the drain set in the middle of the floor.

"Shampoo was so torn up, we didn't have the heart to waste any more time," Sayuri added.

"Can we visit them tomorrow?" Hinako asked, as she joined them in the tub, jostling the other girls slightly until she was settled.

"Sure, after school we can see how they are doing," Akane replied. She thought for a moment and added, "We'll meet you at your school, and then we can all walk to the Nekohaten together."

"Ranma said you were able to find some," Hinako said.

"Yes, we did, though they weren't the right size yet. I think the biggest we found was 12, maybe 13, centimeters, though we did find several of them. We brought back all we could find," Akane said, "Then they can just wait until they grow big enough to change them to the right age."

"I hope they keep them in a safe place," Hinako warned, "I would hate for something to go wrong for Shampoo and Ryoga."

"I imagine that Kodachi will take them to her greenhouse," Sayuri said, "After all, they need to be kept warm, moist and in the dark"

"That's good, then, they should be safe there," Hinako said.

"Anything new happen while we were gone?" Sayuri asked.

"Well, we got a new sensei for our physical education course. Higuma Torajiro is his name, and he's very handsome and very enthusiastic about youth," Hinako gushed, as her cheeks reddened.

Akane frowned slightly as if she vaguely remembered something and then shook her head. "That name sounds familiar for some reason," she muttered, "I wonder why?"

"Handsome, huh, does little Hinako have a crush?" Sayuri teased.

"Maybe," Hinako admitted, ducking her head around to hide.

"Don't start on her, Sayuri," Akane chided, "Or we'll have to start talking about your crushes. Remember Noboru in elementary school, and then there was…."

"Tofu!" Sayuri shot back, causing Akane to stop in mid syllable.

"You had a crush on Doc?" Hinako asked.

"Yes, I did. But it went away after I realized how he felt about Kasumi and how she felt about him," Akane admitted, hiding her face in embarrassment.

"I hope I can find someone like you two did," Hinako said.

"I'm sure you will. I remember what you look like as an adult," Akane said, reassuredly, only to look on in surprise as Hinako scowled.

"I want someone to love me for my insides, not my outsides," the younger girl nearly growled, "I had entirely too much of the other kind of attention, thank you very much. Not that anything came of it because of my curse." She giggled for a moment, hesitated and added, "Don't tell Nabiki, but I had the biggest crush on her."

"NABIKI!" Akane exclaimed, her eyes big with surprise.

Hinako shrugged and said, "She had to be pretty intimate with me to give me my cure. She loves me, and I love her. And for a while I was confused about what that meant. Then she started dating Souta, and I really got confused. Did she ever tell you that I was the one that tried to break them up?"

"No, she didn't," Akane said, still in a bit of shock.

Hinako nodded, unsurprised. "Still not sure whether I was crushing on her or him at the time," she said.

Akane sat there, her mouth agape.

Sayuri reached over and pushed Akane's jaw up. "I think you broke her," she said, with a chuckle.

Hinako grinned and said, "I'm surprised. After all she's the one married to a guy that is also a girl."

"And exactly how much of that was the truth, and how much was you pulling her leg?" Sayuri asked.

Hinako replied, "Pretty much all of it was pulling her leg, though I **was** a little confused about what I was feeling for a while." She grew pensive, and added, "My childhood and teen years weren't easy for me at all. What with changing back and forth from a little girl to whatever age I currently was at the time, that messed me up pretty good emotionally, and behaviorally. And I never really was able to have any friends. My parents loved me as best they could, but there was still that little feeling of disquiet whenever I was around them. Then I met Ranma and the Tendos, and they took me in. Nabiki helped me get rid of my affliction, and we grew very close because of that. Hard not too, when she had to touch my ki points in several intimate places for an entire month."

Sayuri stared at her, mouth agape, as she had never heard the younger girl be so open about her prior life.

"And so when she started dating Souta, I guess I was a bit jealous that he was stealing her away from me," Hinako finished, "Silly of me, I guess. But, I was still very childish then."

"No, not really silly. Childish, yes, it would be, but it's really understandable," Sayuri replied, "You were afraid that you were going to be set aside and not be a part of her life anymore."

"You and Nabiki!!! I thought that was just playing," Akane exclaimed.

"Welcome back," Sayuri said.

"I was just teasing you, Akane," Hinako added with a smirk. She slid over, her eyes heavy lidded and added, "You're the one that I want."

"Whoa, wait a minute, I don't like girls that way," Akane sputtered. Hinako mock pouted as Sayuri did a double take.

"Says the girl married to Ranma," Sayuri teased.

"That's different," Akane said quickly.

Sayuri arched an eyebrow, and asked, "How exactly is that different? I know you've kissed him when he was a she."

"But I know it's Ranma, and he's really a guy," Akane protested, a bit weakly.

"I think we've teased poor Akane enough, Sayuri," Hinako said as she saw that Akane was clearly uncomfortable with the whole topic.

"I'm sooo glad you're having fun at my expense," Akane added.

* * *

Ranma set his brush back into the pencase, and pushed away from the desk with a relieved sigh. "There, it's done," he said, with a grin. 

Akane closed the manga that she was reading and set it next to her in the bed. "Good, I was beginning to think you'd be at that essay all evening," she said.

"Just had to rewrite the conclusion a few times," Ranma replied, "It wasn't working for some reason." He rose from his chair, and turned around, and then groaned at the look on his wife's face.

"What's wrong now?" Akane asked, "Is there something on my face?"

"No, I just recognize that look," Ranma replied, "It's the 'We have to talk' look."

"Well, we do," Akane admitted, "I've been putting this off ever since Rouge left, since the time never seemed to work out."

Ranma sighed, and sat on the bed next to her. "Okay, I'm listening," he said.

"Cologne was right, you really do need to tell her about things that are going to affect her, or her people," Akane began, "Especially if you want them to continue to help you train to defeat Saffron, and to even come with you when you face him."

"I've pretty much told her everything that I remember, at least that impacted her. Or at least I think I have. I honestly didn't remember about Rouge before she came crashing in, but once she did it all came back to me. I knew that she wasn't a real problem. She didn't cause much damage before, and I had no reason to think that she would cause any more this time, and I was right. Besides, I wanted to see Taro get his arse kicked, at least by someone besides me," Ranma replied.

"But what if you had been wrong, and she had actually gone on a rampage? She did have a set of impressive powers, after all," Akane asked, accusingly.

"Well, I knew that so long as she didn't have her magnets, she couldn't use them for long," Ranma replied, a tad defensively, "And it turned out okay in the end, didn't it?"

"That's not really the point, Ranma," Akane said, gently, "If you really want Cologne to trust you and be her ally, you have to show her the same trust. Remember what's important here. If you really do have to face Saffron again, we need to make sure that we're ready to do that. No heroics, not this time. I don't want to risk dying, I have too much to live for, and the same goes for you. The only way we can manage that is to get as much training as possible."

"Honestly, I think I've told her everything now," Ranma said, abashed.

"What about the mushrooms?" Akane retorted.

"Well, yes, that happened the last time, but what could I say? I really had no reason to believe he would find them this time. And I didn't know where he found them, so how could I warn him not to eat them? 'Hey, Ryoga, don't eat any mushrooms that you find in odd forests.' Yeah, that would work, wouldn't it? This time, he was with Shampoo, so at least she was able to tell us where they had been, and we could go find them. I just wish that we had found some the correct size so that they could have changed back to normal," Ranma replied, reasonably.

"I suppose that almost makes a twisted sort of sense," Akane admitted, "And I agree with you about not really being able to warn him realistically without raising questions that would be difficult to answer. But you still should have told me about them."

Ranma gave her a wry smile, and said, "True enough, I should have told you about it. But, it basically wouldn't have changed anything."

"I guess so," Akane replied, "But are you sure you've told me everything that happened?"

"Well, I think so. I mean, the only really big thing that happened before we fought Saffron was the battle douji, and then the Doll Inn, and neither of those should happen this time," Ranma said.

"That's true enough," Akane agreed, "Now that I know how you really feel, and since I'm closer to my true potential, the douji won't be an issue between us. And since you know about the cursed doll, you won't be likely to insult the poor thing."

"Assuming Soun decides to take us there in the first place," Ranma said. "And I didn't think I needed to talk about what happened after we returned to Nerima after you almost died. Those years between then and the time I died aren't going to happen now, since I've changed things so much."

"That's true enough," Akane said.

"Uh huh, since this time I'm doing well enough in my studies that I'll be able to graduate with you, instead of having to repeat my last year," Ranma said, "You really resented not being able to go away to school, because your father refused to allow you to leave. I was honestly afraid that you would blame me for it, but you didn't. Instead you pitched in and really helped me with my studies. That's when I truly began to believe that you and I would finally find the courage to tell each other what we felt. I just waited too long."

"Well, that won't happen this time, because you're going to pass with decent grades," Akane said, giving him a stern look.

Ranma pretended to quail, only to relax as he saw her grin fondly at him. "And yes, I am doing much better. I may not be the stellar student that you or Nabiki are, but I know now how important my studies are, in spite of what the old man always told me," he said, "And we both need our degrees if we are going to make this dojo a serious place to study martial arts."

"True enough. It's not like it was in the old days, when all you needed was a reputation. Now you need to know how to balance the books, pay bills, and all sorts of other things," Akane said, with a grimace.

"It'll work out, you'll see," Ranma said, optimistically.

"I hope so," Akane sighed, "But I'm scared. We're so young."

Ranma sighed as well and replied, "I know, this wasn't exactly what either of us planned on two years ago, but we're making ends meet right now. We may never be rich, but that's not what either of us need. At least not money wise. We're rich in other things."

"True enough," Akane said after a moment, "And I guess that's what's really important." She frowned for a moment, and bit her lip. Finally, she sighed and said, "The girls were asking about how far we had gone with you as a girl when I was bathing with them."

"What did you tell them?" Ranma asked, his voice neutral.

"Nothing, actually. Hinako changed the subject before I answered," Akane said.

Ranma sighed. He said, "There's really nothing to be ashamed of, you know. After all, it was more in the nature of an experiment, so I would know better where you wanted to be touched, and why. It's sort of like ice cream, things are just different when you're a girl."

"I was afraid you'd be angry," Akane said, softly.

"Why?" Ranma asked, "I know you love me for who I am, not for the body I wear. That's all that really matters."

"I don't know, I guess," Akane replied, "It bothered me for some reason."

"Don't let it. What we do in the privacy of our own room, is our business," Ranma said, "But, while I enjoyed what we did, and am glad we did it so I could understand how you feel when I touch you places, I'm not too interested in making love with you as a girl. I much prefer it as a guy, and I know that you felt a little uncomfortable about it too."

"Maybe a little," Akane admitted. She blushed and added, "Not that I didn't enjoy it. It was just different."

"That it was," Ranma said. He frowned briefly as he looked at her for a moment, and then changed the subject. "I'd rather talk about something else, " he said, "After we get out of college and things are going well, I'd like to start our family."

"So how many children do you want?" Akane asked.

"Well, I'd like a daughter to spoil, and a son to carry on the name, since I think I've made it something to be proud of, or at least will have by then, but other than that, it's sort of up to you," Ranma replied, "After all, most of the hard work will be yours."

"I think a boy and a girl would be about right," Akane said, "I'd like a daughter, but I won't let you spoil her."

"Oh, I don't know. Daddy's little girl, trained to be one of the best martial artists of her generation," Ranma said, with a smirk, "Wouldn't that irk Pop off to no end?"

They grinned at each other for a moment. "Well, I'm not quite ready to be a mother yet, but what would you say to a little practice on how to become one?" Akane asked, her eyes dancing.

"I'm always up for a little practice," Ranma said, grinning, as he reached for her, only to have her meet him halfway.

* * *

Ryoga glanced down ruefully at his now twelve-year-old body, and sighed. "It could be worse," he said, as his voice wandered around several different registers, with the occasional squeak thrown in for good measure, as he apparently was getting to go through puberty again. Wincing at a particularly loud squeak, he slid into the large tub. He looked up in shock as the door to the bathroom slid open, and Shampoo walked in. 

"Good the water is already in the tub and I could use someone to scrub my back," the twelve-year-old girl said, as she quickly stripped out of her oversized dress. She frowned slightly at the small mounds on her chest.

"Wait a minute!" Ryoga sputtered as he whirled in the tub, placing his back to the now nude girl, and slamming his eyes closed.

"Ryoga, don't start that!" Shampoo exclaimed in frustration.

"But, you're a girl!" Ryoga exclaimed.

"And I'm also your wife," Shampoo said, "You are my husband! I missed you terribly while you were two, and I need you to be with me."

Ryoga asked, suspiciously, "What do you mean, be with you? It's not like the plumbing is working that way yet."

"I don't mean that!" Shampoo said, as she slid into the tub next to him, "I know we can't do that, not yet. Look at me, I barely have any breasts, and you're still qualified to sing soprano because nothings dropped yet. And while girls in my village can marry at twelve and have children, I'm not ready for that. I don't know how long it will take those mushrooms to grow big enough to get us to the right age, so we can make love, but until then, you can hold me, and kiss me, and cuddle with me." Slow tears began to flow down her cheeks, as she wailed, "I need you, my husband!"

"I'm sorry I did this to you," Ryoga said, finally turning around, and gingerly placing one arm around her waist.

"You couldn't have known about those cursed mushrooms," Shampoo said, gently, as she leaned her head on his shoulder, her tears stopping as if by magic.

"At least I don't think you're my mommy any more," Ryoga said, blushing slightly.

"I think your mind regressed to a two year old mind, and though you knew you loved me, you didn't understand," Shampoo said, "And I didn't mind. I knew the important thing."

"That's odd," Ryoga said, suddenly.

"What's odd?" Shampoo asked.

"Before we went on the trip, you still spoke a bit of pidgin Japanese, but now, that's gone," her husband said, wondering.

"Apparently, when I aged to twenty-eight or so, I developed the ability to speak Japanese without even the accent I had," Shampoo said, "And I guess I'm getting to keep that for some reason. Probably the same reason that your vocabulary as a two-year-old was better than it really should have been."

"Still a bit odd," Ryoga said, a distant look in his eyes as his mind raced.

"What do you expect? They were magic mushrooms, after all," Shampoo shrugged, causing her body to rub up against him.

"I think you said something about needing your back scrubbed?" Ryoga asked, two spots of red appearing on his cheeks.

* * *

Cologne performed her nightly routine of checking all of the doors and windows to ensure that they had been secured on the ground floor, both physically, and with alarm wards of her own design. Then gathering up her cup of Darjeeling, and the large tome on ancient herbal remedies that young Tofu had given her as a gift, she slowly made her way up the narrow stairs to the first floor apartments, feeling most of her years. 'The episode with Ryoga and Shampoo must have taken more out of me than I realized,' she thought as she headed down the hall, pausing at the door to the aforementioned couple's room. The light appeared to be out in the room, and she thought she distinctly heard her great granddaughter giggle. 

"I told you that you would like that," Shampoo whispered, but still loud enough for the old woman to hear her through the flimsly door. A low moan answered her.

Cologne raised her eyebrows at that, and slowly opened the door, to find Ryoga laying face down on the bed, with a topless Shampoo straddling his legs, giving his back a firm massage.

"Good night, Great Grandmother," Shampoo said firmly turning her head to look over her shoulder.

"Take good care of your husband," Cologne said, with a thin smile.

"I certainly intend to," the young girl retorted, making shooing motions with her hands, "You're undoing all of my good work. I had just gotten him to start to relax when you opened the door."

"I'm just happy that you are getting him well-trained at such a young age," Cologne said, with a chuckle, earning a groan from the young teens. She shut the door behind her and cackled all the way down the hall to her room.

* * *

Ranma sprawled across the bed, in sweaty afterglow, next to an equally satiated Akane. 

They heard a low giggle coming from the direction of the stairs. "Stop that," a female voice said, throatily, amusement clear in her voice.

"But you enjoy it," a male voice said.

"That I do," the female said, "In fact, I'm beginning to enjoy it entirely too much!"

"That's Nabiki," Akane hissed.

Then they heard the sound of someone being gently pressed against the wall next to their door, and the faint rustle of clothing being disturbed, and another giggle from Nabiki.

"Really, Souta," Nabiki said softly, "Don't! Stop! Don't! Stop!" She began to moan, and then the emphasis changed, "Don't stop! Don't stop!"

Suddenly their door crashed open, and Nabiki and Souta fell to the floor, as Akane quickly pulled her sheets up to her shoulders, and Ranma's eyes opened wide in surprise.

The young couple in the bed traded astonished looks, and then began to laugh. Slowly, Nabiki and Souta sat up, their heads slowly rising over the top of the bed to show redfaced embarrassment.

Ranma blushed and closed his eyes. "Um, Nabiki, that's a bit more of you than I'm used to seeing," he said, quickly.

Nabiki glanced down and reddened even more as she realized that she had slipped out of her bra somewhere during the last few minutes, and was flashing him through her unbuttoned blouse. She shielded herself with her arms, and groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" she asked, her face blazing.

"Where's a camera when you need one?" Akane asked, chuckling.

"I'd ask what you two were doing, but it's pretty obvious," Ranma said, a smirk on his face.

"Umm, Souta was seeing me home," Nabiki ventured.

Akane smirked and said, "That normally just means to the front door, not into the bedroom."

"They didn't quite make it, though, did they?" Ranma asked, grinning wider, "Unless they got confused about which one was hers."

"It's a good thing they waited a few minutes though," Akane added.

"Oh, I don't know. Not that I'm up to performing in public, but they might have learned something," Ranma said.

Souta chuckled and rose from the floor, tucking his shirt back into his pant, and then extended a hand to help Nabiki up. "I think I'll take what's left of my dignity and go home," he said, "This has effectively killed the mood, anyway."

"Good night, Souta," Akane said, in a sing-song voice.

The other couple fled quickly through the door.

"Make sure you close the door behind you," Ranma added.

Souta stuck his head in for a moment, made a rude gesture and then closed the door behind him, leaving Ranma and Akane to burst into laughter once more.

* * *

Hinako woke from another restless night, filled with dreams that she barely rememebered, to find herself once more drenched in sweat. Sighing, she threw back the sheet that was the only thing covering her, as her blanket had slid to the floor in the night, and rolled out of her bed, to stand on wobbly legs. "What's wrong with me?" she cried, softly, as she made her way to her dresser to find a change of clothing, and to grab her robe, so she could make her way to the furo. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she said, "Well, at least Kasumi should be the only one up right now." Shaking her head at the mess that she had made of her bed, she opened her door and slipped quietly down the hall to the stairs to make her descent to the floor below.

* * *

Kasumi turned away from the saucepan long enough to reach for the cutting board containing the shiitake mushrooms that she had cut up. She froze as she saw a very bedraggled Hinako shuffle by, looking like she had hardly gotten a wink of sleep, her hair hanging limply around her face. Zombie-like, the young girl continued her journey, without registering the fact that she had been spotted. 

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, torn for a moment, and then she turned decisively to the stove and turned the burner off. She wiped her hands on her apron, and then headed out of the kitchen to track down her older but youngest sister.

Hinako opened the door to the furoba, and stepped in, only to be surprised as Kasumi joined her.

"You look like hell," Kasumi said, bluntly, shocking them both with her words.

"I feel like it," Hinako admitted as she took her bathrobe off and hung it on one of the conveniently located hooks, "I have no idea how much sleep I got last night, but I know I tossed and turned for most of it. And my bed is a hopeless mess."

"What's wrong?" Kasumi asked as she took her apron off, and began to unbutton her dress.

"Hell if I know," Hinako muttered, though the flush in her cheeks told Kasumi that the other girl was dissembling.

Kasumi took off her dress, and hung it up on one of the hooks, and then finished disrobing, neatly folding her underthings and placing them on a shelf.

"What about breakfast?" Hinako protested as the older girl finished undressing her.

"Breakfast can wait, you need someone to talk to," Kasumi said, simply, pulling the smaller girl into the inner chamber and placing her unceremoniously on the bathing stool. Then she filled the bucket with cold water from the tap and poured it over her victim, whistling tunelessly as she worked, something she had done innumerable times before as her sisters grew up.

"That's cold!" Hinako shrieked, waking fully up, and rising partway from the stool only to meet the firm hands of her tormentor who pushed her down.

"You needed that," Kasumi said, implacably, as she began to scrub her back with a lathered up bathing sponge.

"Maybe, but it's still cold," Hinako groused.

"Here, I'll let you do your chest," Kasumi said, as she handed the sponge to the other girl, "Then you can do my back."

Hinako sighed and took the sponge, rubbing it hard across her chest, and then down her legs to remove the last of the dried perspiration, while Kasumi sat daintily on the other bathing stool, and began to wash herself.

"My turn," Kasumi said, brightly.

Hinako left her stool, and repeated the favour, scrubbing down the other girl's back with her sponge. Then she poured a bucket of water over Kasumi's head, making sure that it was as cold as she could make it, only to be disappointed in the mild reaction from the other girl.

"Warm water removes the soap better," Kasumi chided gently, as she reached for a bucket and filled it with warm water from the tap, and poured it over her body.

Hinako sighed as she gazed for a moment at the older girl's body and then compared it quickly with her own, finding it wanting.

Kasumi frowned slightly, and then said, "That will change in time, Hinako. Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. Have a normal adolescence this time."

"It's the damn hormones," Hinako said, rinsing herself off, and then stepping into the warm waters of the furo, "I'm not prepared for them. I kept bouncing back and forth between ages before, so they really never turned on properly. Now that I'm staying at one age, I didn't realise how much they would affect me."

"Oh dear, the teenage years will be rough on you, won't they?" Kasumi asked as she joined the other girl.

"And you're what? Twenty now, oh fount of wisdom?" Hinako groused.

"True enough, and yes, I'm not that far removed from what you are feeling," Kasumi said, serenely.

"Not far removed at all, you just have Doc to scratch those itches now," Hinako spat, surprising both of them.

Kasumi thought for a moment and then replied, "True enough. Would you like to talk about it? We're sisters in all that matters, and I'd like to help if you'd let me."

"I just had a bad night, I think. Another erotic dream, maybe more, I guess. For whatever reason, I keep dreaming of that new teacher at school, and well, basically, jumping him." Hinako replied, blushing furiously.

"Oh, well, that's not unusual," Kasumi said, not batting an eye, "I used to have those same kind of dreams about Tofu."

"You did!" Hinako nearly squealed.

"Well, of course. I fell for him a long time ago, and was waiting for him to make a move. Of course, if Ranma and Akane hadn't pushed him, I might still be waiting," Kasumi replied, "So of course I had those kinds of dreams. It happens to all of us at one point or another, and is usually pretty healthy. And yes, it was, um, frustrating not to be able to do something about it."

"So what did you do about it?" Hinako asked.

"Suffered in silence, basically, and poured myself into the housework," Kasumi replied.

"You never dated any one else?" Hinako asked.

Kasumi answered, with a wry smile, "No, I never did. I was waiting for Mr. Right to come to his senses, and wasn't about to settle for Mr. Right Now."

"When did you decide that Doc was the man for you?" Hinako asked, enjoying the odd openness they were sharing.

Kasumi tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment, and then replied, "I'm not quite sure, to tell you the truth. It was some time after he had set up his practice here obviously, and I had begun my practice of borrowing his books and reading them, because I had always dreamed of being a healer of some kind. I must have been about sixteen, I suppose. Something like that anyway. I know that's when I started being a bit more elaborate in the thank you gifts I brought him for allowing me to borrow his texts." She made a brief moue, and added, "Oddly enough that's when Tofu began acting so strange when he saw me."

Hinako smiled and said, "I think he may have discovered that you had feelings for him then, and decided that you were too young for him, and develepod that as a defensive mechanism. Especially if he had developed feelings for you also."

"Ah, that's certainly a valid theory," Kasumi mused, "If he had feelings for me, but was afraid to act on them because of my age at the time, it could have caused all sorts of internal conflicts, and forced his manic acts. Certainly it would have become an ingrained behavior over time." She glanced over at Hinako and asked, "Are you feeling a bit better about things?"

"A little," Hinako replied, "But mostly the bath is making me realize how little sleep I must have gotten."

"In that case, why don't you stay home from school this morning and catch up," Kasumi suggested, "After all, it won't do you much good to go to class if all you do is fall asleep once you're there."

"And I really hate holding those buckets of water in the hallway as punishment," Hinako said, "I think I'll do that, though I'll need a fresh set of bed linens. I got the ones I was using pretty musty." She stifled a yawn, and rose from the hot water. "In fact, I think I'll get out now before I fall asleep in the tub," she added, suiting her actions to her words.

"And I'll get back to making breakfast," Kasumi said, "Though this respite was nice. Thanks for the company." She stood, and sluiced off much of the water with her hands before stepping out and reaching for a towel.

"I should be thanking you," Hinako said, as she toweled off her body, "You've given me a lot to think about." On that note, she entered the changing room, closing the door behind her.

"Oh my, I wonder what that could be about?" Kasumi asked. Shrugging, she continued to dry herself off, before finding her clothing.

* * *

Yumi finished drying the last bowl and placed it in the cupboard where it belonged. "Is there anything that I need to get from market while I'm shopping with Nodoka today?' she asked Kasumi. 

The younger woman thought for a moment, and then examined her small spice rack. "I'm almost out of Shichimi, and Sansho powder, it looks like. And we used the last of the fresh ginger for dinner. If you can find some fresh daikon, and green onion, get that. Oh, and I was thinking of doing shrimp stir-fry for dinner, so whatever fresh vegetables you can find, and enough shrimp to feed all of us," Kasumi replied.

"That sounds good, and I can fix yakatori and salad to go with that," Yumi suggested.

"You'll need to pick up the chicken then, and the greens for the salad," Kasumi said, after another moment of thought as she recalled the contents of the refrigerator."

Yumi mentally tallied the list and nodded. She glanced over at the clock and added, "I need to hurry, it's nearly time for me to meet Nodoka at the tea shop."

"Have fun," Kasumi said, "I'm just going to check on Hinako and then I have to get across town to school, myself." She left the kitchen and made her way down the hall, only to run into her father as he stepped out of the family room.

"I'll be back later though I don't know when," Soun said, dodging back, "There's no telling how long this meeting will last, and then we're supposed to tour the proposed site for that new office building. The owners are asking for a waiver of the height restriction, and we wanted to see what problems that might cause before we consider the request."

"You will be home for dinner though, won't you?" Kasumi asked.

"I certainly hope so," her father replied, "It just depends on how long some of those windbags on the council decide to talk. Some of them like the sound of their own voice entirely too much for my liking."

"Behave Daddy," Kasumi said, barely hiding a smile, as she headed up the stairs, and then to Hinako's room. She opened the door, and found the young girl fast asleep, an angelic expression on her face. The older girl smiled briefly at the sight, and then wrote out a note reminding the young girl that Yumi was going shopping with Nodoka, her father was out on council business, and that she was leaving for class, leaving Hinako alone in the house. She stuck the note to the inside of the door, where the young girl was sure to see it, and then quietly closed the door, and stole away. 'Good, it looks like she's feeling better about things,' she thought as she went to her room to get her bookbag.

* * *

Akane bounded into the house, and called, "We're home!!" 

Hinako rushed around the corner, looking much better than she had that morning, a sparkle in her eye that had been missing for several days, and a rosy tint to her cheeks. "Are you ready to go see Shampoo?" she asked, eagerly.

"You're terribly excited about something," Sayuri teased.

"Well, after I woke up, I found out that I was all by myself. Everyone had gone somewhere," Hinako said.

"That's right, Mon said something about going shopping with Auntie Nodoka," Sayuri said, "and your dad had that council stuff.'

"So anyway, after I finished all of my homework, there wasn't anything else for me to do, so I got bored," Hinako added, "I've kind of been bouncing off the walls looking to get out of here."

"Let us get rid of our books, and change, then we can go," Akane decided.

"Where's Ranma?" Hinako asked.

"He got stuck with cleanup duty, and told us to go on over and visit Shampoo and Ryoga. He said he'll catch up with us there," Akane replied.

* * *

Shampoo surveyed the battlefield for a moment, noting the position of all of her enemies. Twirling her child-size bonborris, she leapt among the foes, shattering the heads of her enemies, their precious fluids spraying out, near blinding her as she continued her attack. Finally, she stood alone on the field, all of her foes lying at the feet, dark patches of moisture soaking into the thirsty ground. 

"Well done, child," Cologne cackled from where she had watched her great granddaughter slaughter a dozen clay jugs, knocking them off of the poles that had been sent dancing by the ropes that Ryoga had been pulling, simulating motion.

"That did look like a fun training exercise," a soft voice said from the rear door of the café, as Hinako stepped out, followed closely by Akane and Sayuri. The young girl grinned and said, "Well, it looks like I'm not the youngest anymore, little Shampoo."

Shampoo mock-scowled at her as she wiped away the last of the water that had sprayed out of the jugs. "Ha, ha, once the mushrooms get to the right size, I'll show you who is little," she teased.

"It's good to see you more or less normal, Ryoga," Akane said, "And Shampoo, you look in so much better spirits today."

"Nothing like sleeping with your husband to make things better," the Amazon replied.

Hinako gasped, "But you're only twelve!"

"We shared a bed, and cuddled, nothing else," Shampoo replied, "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"We'll have to wait until the mushrooms are the right size before we can do anything more than that," Ryoga squeaked. He frowned at the reminder that he was just on the cusp of puberty, as Hinako giggled.

"Don't laugh, it's not that funny," Akane chastised her.

"No, actually I can sort of empathize with them," Hinako said, suddenly sober, "You remember my curse and what it did to me. Changing from adult to child and back again."

Shampoo and Ryoga looked confused for a moment, while Cologne snarled, "Happosai."

Mousse raced into the courtyard and gasped, "Elder, many of the mushrooms have vanished, including all of the tallest ones."

Shampoo gasped, while Ryoga cursed under his breath.

"Who would have done that?" Cologne demanded.

"I don't know, Elder," Mousse replied, formally, "They were there when we left for class this morning, but when Kodachi checked on them when we got back, roughly half were gone."

"Could some of her servants have taken them by mistake?" Akane asked, "Because that would be very bad."

"That is what my dearest Kodachi is checking on right now, but she had stressed the importance of leaving them alone when she spoke to them last night," Mousse replied, "So I am sure that they did not take them. And there's no survelliance cameras in that par tof the grounds, unfortunately, since no one thought that the greenhouses would be something someone would break into. A lack that Tatewaki is correcting even as we speak."

Shampoo swayed briefly, causing Ryoga to rush over and hold her. "It just means we'll be this age for a little longer, that's all," he said, attempting to console her.

"I'm just afraid that someone took them to cause mischief," Cologne said, "Could you imagine the damage if someone like Happosai had gotten them?"

"Gotten what?" another female voice asked, as a soaking wet Ranma joined them.

"What happened to you?" Akane asked, amused.

"A cat knocked over a vase sitting on a balcony just as I was under it," Ranma growled.

"You haven't changed accidentally in several days," Akane said, "I guess you were just due."

"Anyway, what were you talking about, and why is Shampoo looking so pale?" her husband asked.

"Someone took the mushrooms," Mousse replied.

Ranma looked at Cologne and asked, "You don't think Rakkyōsai found out about them, do you?"

Cologne replied, "That's what I'm afraid of. And there's no telling what harm could come from that. While he's not quite as perverted as Happosai was, he's bad enough."

Kodachi joined them and bowed to Shampoo and Ryoga. "I have failed you," she said, once she rose back up, "But none of the servants took them. We found a pair of small footprints in a muddy spot just inside the greenhouse, but that's the only evidence we have of who could have stolen them. I have locked the greenhouse, to save the ones that we have left, but I am afraid that is a case of too little too late."

"Some of the mushrooms were left," Ranma repeated, "That doesn't make any sense. If someone wanted the mushrooms to cause trouble, they would have taken all of them."

"You have a point there," Cologne agreed, "Rakkyōsai, if it were he, would have taken all of them. That just makes me more confused instead of less, though. It's like someone wanted to change his own age, perhaps."

"But only the ones here and the ones who went on the expedition with us, knew about the mushrooms," Akane said.

"That we know of," Sayuri said, "No one said not to say anything about it, so it's possible that one of us accidently said something and the wrong person overheard."

"How would they know that the mushrooms were at the estate?" Kodachi asked.

"That's what has me stumped," Ranma admitted.

"If you could get younger, wouldn't you be tempted, Elder Cologne?" Sayuri asked.

Cologne looked startled for a moment and then replied, "No girl, I wouldn't be. If for no other reason than I worked hard to become an Elder of the Amazon tribe, and I'd lose that if I de-aged. I earned every one of these wrinkles, and wear them proudly. Sure, occasionally, when my joints ache, I wouldn't mind being as limber as I was in my youth, but that's the only real drawback."

"Sorry, I was just curious," Sayuri said, quickly, "I meant no discourtesy."

"I know that, and I didn't take your question as discourteous," Cologne said.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Hinako said to the young couple, "I'm sure that you'll be back to normal soon."

"Maybe she's right!" Ranma exclaimed. She turned to Kodachi and asked, "You're the closest thing we have to an expert in botany. What would happen if you watered the mushrooms, say with warm water, wouldn't they grow faster?"

Kodachi's eyes grew wide and she replied, eagerly, "Yes, the moister they are, the bigger they would get. That's brilliant!"

"You'd have to be careful, and check them often," Cologne warned, "Otherwise they might grow too tall. You wouldn't want to be older than me."

Shampoo and Ryoga shuddered at that.

"I'll return home, and begin the test immediately," Kodachi said.

"We'll come too," Shampoo cried as she pulled her husband after the already departing gymnast.

"I guess that means we should return home," Akane said.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "Makes sense to me. Cologne probably needs to get back to the café, Perfume can only do so much."

"Tell Ryoga and Shampoo we'll stop by tomorrow to see how things went," Hinako said, "I hope it works out for them, I really do."

"I'll be sure to tell them, Hinako. You're such a sweet girl to care so much about what happened to them," Cologne said, smiling kindly.

* * *

Ukyo was working feverishly at the grill in her café, attempting to keep up with the hungry crowd that had invaded her restaurant, in numbers that were keeping Natsume, Kurumi and Konatsu hopping. All of the tables were full, and they were lined up two deep at the bar surrounding the grill. 

The bell over the door rang once more as it opened, and Ukyo called, never taking her eyes off of the batter bubbling on her grill, "Welcome to Ucchan's. Someone will be with you soon."

"I came as soon as I could, daughter," a female voice replied, "I'll be in the back."

Ukyo looked up as she recognized the voice. "Thank you, Mother Nodoka, while I like the business, I hate keeping the customers waiting," she replied, gaily. She glanced back down at her okonomiyakis, and judged that they were ready for the ingredients to be added. She poured a generous dollop of her okonomiyaki sauce onto the middle of each circle, and then with a quick flip of one of her small spatulas, she tossed ingredients from one of the innumerable pots sitting in front of her onto each of the pancakes. Then, using a spatula in each hand, she flipped the completed entrée onto the plates of the three men sitting in front of her, calling out, "Pork Balls! Squid! Modern-yaki!" as she directed the appropriate item to the correct person.

The three men applauded politely as they acknowledged her skill and she bowed, her cheeks flushed at their praise.

One of the men started to eat his food, only to stop, with a puzzled expression on his face. "Heh! What the hell!" he cried.

"What!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"There's something weird about my okonomiyaki!" the man exclaimed, holding it up so she could see that there was a plastic mask buried inside.

"A mask!" Ukyo gasped.

Suddenly, one of the other two men cursed, a curse vile enough to strip paint off a battleship, and added, "Mine too. What's going on here?"

"Mine as well," a cultured voice said, as the third man set his plate down.

"The same mask!" Ukyo gasped, "What's going on here?"

Konatsu rushed over, and asked, "What's wrong, dear?"

"Industrial sabotage," Ukyo replied.

'What?" Konatsu exclaimed.

Ukyo pointed to the three masks that she had just discovered.

"Oh, those," Konatsu said, "They started showing up around mid afternoon. I must have thrown a hundred of them away already. But I don't know how they were getting into the food."

"All these, in just one day?" Ukyo asked, "Who could do such a thing?"

"I don't know," Konatsu replied, "But to slip something like this past the eyes of a genius kunoichi such as myself, he must be superhuman!"

A faint rustle attracted Ukyo's attention and she sprang into action, her spatulas flying at her target. "There you are!" she cried as her weapons bracketed the target scurrying across the floor.

"An octopus!" Konatsu cried, "How amazing!"

Sure enough, one of the eight tentacles was holding the self-same plastic mask.

They froze for a moment and then began to chase the octopus as it hurried out the door, and down the street.

"Stop!" Ukyo cried.

"I should have guessed," Konatsu muttered in disgust, as the two of them followed as quickly as they could, only to finally lose their prey in a vacant lot on the far side of Nerima from the café.

Suddenly, his ninja senses tingling, Konatsu cried, "Look out!" He grabbed his wife's battle spatula from her hands, and turned, as they heard someone cry, "800 strikes of the octopus king!" He threw up the spatula in the nick of time, as they heard the sounds of missiles striking the finely tempered steel blade.

Ukyo's eyes narrowed as her well-honed cooking talent identified the missiles. "Takoyaki!" she cried.

"Octopus dumplings?" Konatsu said in surprise.

A dark figure landed in the shadows near them, and to their surprise the small octopus suddenly scurried out from behind a rock, and sprang to its master.

"Who are you?" Konastu demanded.

The figure ignored them for the moment and cradled his pet. "Ah, Patorashu, the trouble I've caused you," a muffled male voice said.

"Patorashu?" Ukyo repeated.

"Are you the owner of that octopus?" Konatsu asked, loudly, "The one that has been ruining all of our meals."

"You must have experienced great terror," the voice replied, "Ukyo Kuonji." He strayed into the light, and they recoiled, as a mask, with a long snout covered his visage.

"A mask!" Konatsu exclaimed.

"Yeah, but couldn't he have picked a better one, that thing is ridiculous," Ukyo said in an aside. She spoke louder, asking, "Who are you? And why should I have experienced great terror?"

"And she's not Ukyo Kuonji, either," Konatsu snarled, surprising them both, "It's Saotome, now, thank you very much!"

"I ask again, who are you?" Ukyo demanded.

The man snarled back, "I refuse to believe you've forgotten. Not after searching for you for six long years."

"Friend of yours, Ukyo?" Konatsu asked, "Something that you forgot to mention?"

"Never saw this loser before in my life," Ukyo replied, "At least I've never seen this stupid mask." She snatched her spatula back, whirling it in a threatening manner, and said, "Take that thing off, and show me who you are!"

The man staggered back in dismay. "H-how can you say such a thing," he stammered.

"Huh?" Ukyo said, in confusion, as the figure sprang away. She shook her head and then a forgotten memory swam to the surface. "Could it be? Hayato? Was that really him? Is he still holding a grudge against me?" she asked.

"Um Ucchan, I think you'd better explain," Konastu said, his demeaner a bit frosty, "How do you know this, this, person?"

"Well, if it's the same guy, I met him when I was ten years old. Which means, that he can't count, either, unless he didn't start searching for me right away," Ukyo began, "Anyway, I began a journey of training, for I was at a loss. Without hope. For my darling Ranchan had cast me aside. He had even stolen my food cart!"

"Okay, enough with the melodrama. Just give me the facts. Just the facts," Konatsu interrupted, rolling his eyes, "And for the record, it was Genma that stole the cart, Ranma was an innocent bystander. And besides, that happened four years before this story."

"Hey, this is my story and I'll tell it the way I want to," Ukyo sniffed.

Konatsu gave a long-suffering sigh, and wisely kept silent.

Ukyo looked at him for a moment, her eyes challenging, and then she said, "Hayato Myojin was also in training, learning how to make takoyaki. I never developed a taste for them, for some reason. Anyway, we were bitter rivals. I still remember our last fight as if it were yesterday. He felt that takoyaki was stronger. But I proved him wrong. Okonomiyaki is stronger."

"Um, shouldn't that have been, it tastes better?" Konatsu asked.

"We were both kids, what did we know?" Ukyo responded in a defensive tone, that told Konatsu he'd better be careful, or he'd find out exactly how uncomfortable the couch would be.

"Anyway, I won hands down. Of course, okonomiyaki has an advantage. Much bigger surface area than a tiny dumbling," Ukyo said. She sighed, dramatically, and added, "His parting words to me were, 'Remember this, because someday I'll do the same to you.' And my response, Yeah, I'll remember your stupid face."

Konatsu growled, angrily, "So he's here to take his vengeance on you. Ha, he'll have to get past me first." He shook his head and asked, "But why would he hide his face?"

"That's the mystery," Ukyo replied, with a faint frown on her face.

* * *

Hinako had started off following her family home from the Nekohaten, but she was soon lost in her thoughts about the unnecessary pain that Shampoo and Ryoga were going through. The only bright spot in the situation was the suggestion that Ranma had made, and that Kodachi had quickly pounced upon, that there might be a way to stimulate the growth of the mushrooms in order to end their torment sooner, an experiment that she resolved to test herself at her earliest opportunity. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she considered the possibilities upon reaching her majority sooner. She looked up once to discover that she had lagged behind, only partially paying attention to her journey, as she essentially was nearing home on autopilot. A heavy sigh left her throat, as she considered the problems that would arise if she followed through on her desires, and wondered if it truly was the correct thing to do. She had nearly reached the gate when her attention was gained by quiet sobs coming from around the side of the family estate, close to the challenge gate in the back of the property. Curious, she snuck around the corner to find a young man hunched down by the gate, his back to her, crying copiously, a plastic mask held loosely in one hand. 

The boy cried, "Oh cruel, CRUEL UKYO KUONJI!"

Hinako stepped back startled as he cried.

The boy spun around, his mask already in place, and he cried, "Who's there!" sending an array of missiles at her.

Hinako silently blessed her training, and shorter stature, as she was able to duck and then roll out of the way. Continuing her roll, she flattened her assailant with a kick to his stomach, knocking him awkwardly against the gate. "This is my home, you idiot!" she snarled.

The commotion brought Ranma and Akane hopping over the fence to land next to her. Akane pulled her to her feet, while Ranma glared down at the masked figure.

"Are you okay, Hinako?" Akane asked.

"Yes, he missed me," Hinako replied.

"All right, who are you and why did you attack Hinako?" Ranma demanded, looming menacingly over the still boy.

"And what's with that stupid mask?" Akane asked.

"He sure whipped it on quickly when he saw me," Hinako added.

Akane asked, "What is the secret of his face? Is he so horribly disfigured that he would scar people for life?"

"Who really cares about that mask?" Ranma asked, "I want to know why he attacked an innocent like Hinako!"

"She startled me, and I attacked by reflex," the boy said, crawling to his knees bowing. "I humbly apologize, young lady, for my attack," he added, "And now, I must be off." The boy sprang to his feet, and raced away, leaving the other three to shake their head in amazed disbelief.

"He was saying something about Ukyo being cruel," Hinako said, "When I arrived here he was crying about something and then he added that."

"I'll call her tonight and find out what is going on," Akane said, as a look of dawning recognition appeared on her husband's face, before it quickly disappeared.

"We need to get back to our workout, I'm sure the students are wondering where we are," Ranma said.

"I'll join you as soon as I change," Hinako said.

"We'll go the express route," Ranma said, with a chuckle as he swept her off her feet, and then leapt to the top of the wall.

* * *

Akane snuggled up next to her husband, her bare breasts pressed firmly against his back, and whispered, "So who was that guy, and why does he wear a mask?" 

"Hayato something or other, I forget exactly," Ranma replied after a moment, "Someone Ukyo met during her travels looking for me. And he wears a mask because he lost a fight with her."

"Why would him losing a fight make him wear a mask?" Akane asked, puzzled.

"He was learning to be a master of takoyaki, while she of course was learning to be a master of okonomiyaki. They became bitter rivals, arguing about which was the stronger technique, and they finally squared off against each other in a fierce battle. He swore that if he lost he would wear the mask of an octopus for the rest of his life, while she promised to wear a happy clown mask if she lost. He obviously lost, and now is looking for her, probably for revenge."

"That's the reason he wears a mask!" she exclaimed incredulously, "That's absurd."

"People do strange things when honour is involved," Ranma pointed out, "I should know. Remember some of the stories that I told you about some of my actions because of my sense of honour."

"No hideous disfigurement, nothing," Akane said, clearly disappointed.

"Nope, just a perfectly uninteresting face, as I recall," Ranma replied, hiding a yawn.

"Tired?" she asked, with a smirk on her face.

"Yes, dear, as a matter of fact, I am. You wore me out tonight," he replied, chuckling.

* * *

Hinako slid into the crawl space below the Tendo house, and stared at the bed of mushrooms that she had transplanted that morning, wondering not for the first time why she was here. 'Is this really worth it?' she thought, 'What will my friends think if I grow up overnight? And they'll know that I'm the one who stole the mushrooms in the first place. They'll hate me for doing that to Ryoga and Shampoo.' She sighed heavily as she examined the height of the mushrooms against the meter stick that was stuck in the ground next to them. 'The tallest is still only fourteen centimeters,' she thought, 'I could do what Ranma suggested, but that would make it too obvious. I guess I should let them grow naturally. Maybe once Ryoga and Shampoo have returned to their proper age, I can pretend to find these. That might work. But is Torajiro-san worth potentially ruining my relationship with my adopted family? Sure, he's handsome, but he's a little too enthusiastic about being young. Should I really be in a hurry to grow up? Maybe Kasumi is right about me going through my teenage years in a normal fashion. Kami knows I didn't before, jumping back and forth from age to age. Arrrgghhh! What should I do?' She grabbed some of her long hair and pulled it in her frustration.

* * *

Hayato moved stealthily through the darkened streets of Nerima, avoiding the pools of light around the streetlights, as he neared his destination. He smiled coldly as he set his pet down on the pavement next to the darkened café and pointed toward the door. The octopus looked at him for a moment, its luminous eyes thoughtful, and then scurried toward the entrance to the building, though it was already searching for an alternate entrance.

"That truly isn't wise," a male voice said coldly from the doorway, causing both Hayato and the octopus to freeze in their tracks, "Leave this place and never darken our doorstep again."

"I will have my revenge!" Hayato demanded.

The voice asked, "Why do you seek vengeance on my wife?"

"Because she ruined my life six long, horrific, years ago," Hayato replied.

"Why because she fought you and won?" the voice scoffed.

"I can remember that day so clearly, as if it were yesterday," Hayato said, ignoring the comment, "How she claimed okonomiyaki was stronger than tatoyaki. I swore in the name of takoyako that if I lost I would wear this mask to my dying day. And Ukyo swore that if she lost she would wear a happy girl mask, like this one." He whipped out a different mask, one of a dark-haired girl, with a laughing face. He sighed, and continued his story, "And because of that bitter defeat, my days of hell began. For some reason, in the eyes of society, I became an outcast, a pariah. I, who had so faithfully kept his promise. The girls that rejected me were as innumerable as the grains of sand on a beach, or the stars in the sky. But for all of that, I knew no greater pain than the day a mosquito flew into my mask. And yet it seems she has forgotten me. Who am I then, who has worn this mask through days of wind and rain?"

"A moron," the voice answered him, "That's what. Now take that stupid mask off, and behave like a normal person."

"No, I will not. I am bound to keep this mask on until I defeat Ukyo," Hayato replied.

"Then you'll be wearing that mask til your dying day. Of course, that'll be very soon if you come after Ukyo again," the voice said, "Because you'll have to go through me to get to her, and that'll be the last mistake you'll ever make."

"Was that a threat?" Hayato asked.

"No, more of a statement of fact," the voice said, "Now I would suggest you take that foolish mask off, and go live your life somewhere else."

Hayato retorted, "I have my honour to uphold. And I have no true face to show to the likes of you."

"As you wish," the voice cried, and something in the darkness moved.

Suddenly, the mask disappeared from Hayato's face, and a darkly dressed ninja stood in front of him, holding it. "Pah, such a boring face. Now I see why you hid it behind a mask," Konatsu said, tossing the mask aside.

Hayato whipped out a pot of batter and quickly stirred it. Then he attempted to toss a ladle of batter at Konatsu, only to see the ninja dodge it.

"You want to play, I see," Konatsu said, with a grin, as he faded from view.

Hayato poured some of the batter into the mask in his hand, and lunged forward, only to watch in horror as his strike was blocked in such a manner that the mask ended up on his own face. "Do you know what you have done?" he screeched, "This mask is glued on with the most powerful takoyaki batter!"

"Not really my problem, is it?" a disembodied voice hissed from the shadows, "Now take your pet and leave!"

The octopus came flying toward Hayato, who reflexively caught it. "I 'll be back!" was the last thing Konatsu heard as his opponent fled.

"You really don't have to fight my battles," Ukyo said, quietly, as she pulled her nightgown closed against the cool night air.

"It's not so much a matter of have to. It's more a matter of want to," Konatsu replied, as she pulled him into a hug, "I WILL protect you, end of discussion."

Ukyo sighed and then said, "I doubt we've seen the last of him. And unless you let me face him, he'll never go away. And you're no killer. Now let's get to bed. I'm cold, and I need you to warm me up."

"That sounds like a good plan," Konatsu said, "And I don't suppose he'll try anything again tonight, anyway."

"No, I'm sure you've given him something to worry about," Ukyo replied warmly, as she began to drag her husband back inside.

* * *

Ukyo glanced nervously at the clock above the sensei's head, silently willing the minute hand to move faster. The school day had been interminable, each subject seeming to last two or three hours, as she awaited the confrontation that she knew was coming. 'There's no way that Myojin would back down and leave,' she thought, 'Now that he's found me, I'll have to face him. The question is, should I defeat him, or allow him his victory? Hmmm, perhaps a Pyrrhic victory.' An evil grin appeared upon her face. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and she sprang out of her chair, and jumped out the second floor window to the ground below. A wry grin appeared on her face as she saw her husband standing by the gate, leaning against the wall, a bastard sword strapped conspicuously across his back. She walked over to him, and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Then she released him, and slugged him hard in his solar plexus. "I appreciate the sentiment, but this is MY fight," she hissed.

Konatsu gasped, "Well, I'm glad that you aren't mad."

"I have to face him, or he'll be a constant irritant," Ukyo said softly.

Konatsu straightened up and looked at his wife uncertainly for a moment. Then with a heavy sigh, he nodded. "Very well, if you're going to insist, there's not much I can do about it except be there at the end to pick up the pieces."

"Thank you, I hoped you'd understand," Ukyo said.

"By the way, he's here," Konatsu said, softly.

Ukyou sighed, and hugged him. "I know. I may not be in Ranchan's class, or yours, but I can still sense auras," she said, equally as soft.

The sky grew dark as a Hayato approached. "This ends now," the masked figure said.

"I agree, we need to settle this once and for all," Ukyo replied.

"Fight me, Ukyo," Hayato demanded.

"If you insist, I'll beat you again," Ukyo retorted, coolly, "But not here, I don't want to endanger innocents."

"Then follow me," Hayato cried as he ran down the street.

Ukyo raced off after him, followed closely by her worried husband.

'If you hurt her, they won't find enough of you to bury,' Konatsu swore to himself.

Soon, they found themselves entering a construction zone, where a multi-story office building was being built, though at the moment it consisted merely of steel girders, and the catwalks for the workers.

"What the hell?" Ukyo asked, "Why'd he bring me here?" She watched for a moment as he sped up the open metal stairs to the third level, and waited for her.

"I don't like the looks of this," Konatsu said, "You be careful up there."

"I will, but first a kiss for luck," Ukyo promised. She leaned in and kissed him, a kiss that caused serious blood flow issues in her husband. She giggled for a moment, and then said, huskily, "Hold that thought. I'll take care of it later."

"I'll hold you to that," Konatsu breathed.

Ukyo grinned at him, and then unbuttoned the top four buttons of her blouse, exposing a good portion of her cleavage. "Trust me, I'm a Saotome now, and remember our school is Anything Goes Martial arts," she said, at his astonished look. She ran up the metal stairs, her leather soles gripping the treads tightly as she silently made her way up.

"You finally decided to join me," Hayato said.

"Needed a good luck kiss," Ukyo replied pertly, as she hid a smile, since there was a trickle of blood coming out of the nostril holes of the mask.

Hayato laughed maniacally, and said, "We won't be disturbed here."

"Well let's get to it, then, I left my husband rather aroused, and I'd like to take advantage of that," Ukyo said.

Hayato stared at her for a moment and then hissed, "Woman, have you no shame?"

"Why should I? I'm a happily married woman, and I don't really care who knows it," Ukyo replied.

"Whatever," Hayato said. He seemed oblivious to the continuous stream of blood as he gazed at the bra-covered flesh in front of his eyes. Finally he shook his head, and cried, "Now you shall see the results of my takoyaki training!!!" He flung his hands out, and cried louder, "800 Strikes of the Octopus King!!!"

Ukyo swung her battle spatula out and with a loud clang, blocked the large number of takoyakis that Hayato had sent her way. She grunted with the effort, and then shot back a barrage of okonomiyakis, crying "Okonomi Counter Attack!" She watched in mild dismay as her opponent ducked behind one of the massive vertical supports, and saw her attack splatter harmlessly against the steel beam.

Hayato sent another barrage of takoyakis at her, only to see her gracefully roll away from them, her blouse gaping wider as she did so, giving him an even better view of the creamy flesh. The stream of blood flowing from his nose increased, as more perverted thoughts entered his brain.

Ukyo rolled to her feet, and cried, "Binding Yakisoba Noodles!" and sent a large rope of her glutinous noodles his way.

For one fatal moment, Hayato stared at her nearly exposed chest, and then ducked away as the mass of noodles almost snared him. Angered beyond belief, he lunged at her with a large senmaidoushi. The metal skewer nearly got to Ukyo, only to be blocked by the shaft of her battle spatula. He cried, "Takoyaki Flip" and tossed her up into the air, and over the edge of the platform.

Ukyo spun around and threw several of her smaller, razor sharp, spatulas at him, only to see them blocked by the wire mesh screens that made up the interior floors of the building.

Hayato sent his much smaller takoyaki missiles through the screen, crying, "Takoyaki Screen Pass!" as he did so.

Ukyo blocked the attack, and cursed, "Damn, a construction site full of obstacles. So the takoyaki, which is smaller, and can be used in tight spaces, has the advantage." She snared one of the beams with a rope of yakisoba, and swung gracefully back to the platform and dropped in front of her masked foe. She sneered, "I was holding back because I felt sorry for your foolish masked existence, but I won't take any more of this!"

"You should take this fight more seriously, Ukyo Kuonji. Don't take this fight lightly," Hayato replied, "Because remember, if you lose, you have to wear this mask forever!" He held up the happy clown face, only to be slammed to the cold metal platform by Ukyo's spatula.

"What kind of gibberish are you spouting?" Ukyo cried, "I'll never wear that mask, and my name is SAOTOME!"

"That's totally unfair," Hayato mumbled as he pulled himself back up, "Why should I be the only one to remember our promise?"

"Arrrrgggggggggghhhhhh!" Ukyo screamed, "We were stupid kids! Do you plan on ruining your entire life because of something you did as a child?" She took a deep breath and said, "This ends now!!!"

"Bring it on!" Hayato cried.

Ukyo declared, "I'll end it, like this!" Grabbing a large acetylene torch, she quickly heated up one of the mesh screens. Once it was red hot, she poured out a large dollop of okonomiyaki batter. It cooked quickly on the superheated surface, and crying, "Take that! Okonomiyaki, extra large!" she used her battle spatula to flip it towards him.

Hayato exclaimed, "Wow!!!" and leapt up toward the descending pancake. Using his skewer, he began to spin the pancake. He screamed, "Okonomiyaki to Takoyaki – Transform!" as he reshaped the pancake into a hollow takoyaki sphere. Just as he was about to release it, however, a mass of yakisoba noodles pinned him to the ball of cooked dough.

Ukyo jumped out of his way, as Hayato plunged to the ground, to land with a large splat. She flew down the stairs to find Konatsu standing next to the ball, with Hayato pinned below it.

Hayato groaned as Konatsu rolled the concoction off his body, pulling his mask off in the process, and looked at them through bleary eyes.

"It's over, Hayato. You lost," Ukyo said, "It was a foolish fight, and I release you from your oath. You don't need to continue to ruin your life by wearing that mask. And you certainly don't need to ruin it anymore over a misplaced desire for revenge. I know all about how much of a waste that can be. I wasn't truly happy until I forgot about pursuing any vengeance on Genma or Ranma."

"For now though, lets get him over to the clinic and let Doc take a look at him," Konatsu said, "That was a pretty good distance he fell."

Hayato struggled to his feet, and said, "I'm fine. Just a little sore is all. A good night's sleep and I'll be set to rights."

Ukyo looked at him for a moment, and said, hesitantly, "If you're sure." The little octopus joining them interrupted her.

Hayato smiled and crooned, "Patora-shu, there you are. Come, it is time for us to leave this place." He bowed slightly to Ukyo and said, "Until we meet again, Ukyo Saotome." He walked stiffly away, his back rigid, leaving his mask behind.

Konatsu mumbled, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope we never see his face again."

Ukyo groaned as she replied, "That was horrible, Ko-chan. Simply horrible. I can't believe you said that."

"I believe that there was something said about taking care of my problem," Konatsu said, cheekily.

"I do remember saying that," Ukyo replied, with a laugh, "So let's go home, so I can."

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry for the longer than usual delay in posting this chapter. Real life has cut into the amount of time I had available for writing, and I had a bit of writer's block or something. Anyway I rewrote parts of this chapter three or four times before I was happy. Hope my Gentle Readers enjoy this offering. I would like to remind everyone that I don't own these characters, and am merely borrowing them for my own amusement. Some of the dialogue is from the Viz Second Edition of the manga and they own those rights. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged, as some of the ideas have made it into this tale. 


	85. The Chosen One

Chapter 85 The Chosen One

Hinako bit her lip, as she stood at the intersection. Ahead of her, she saw the welcoming comfort of the Tendo compound, but if she turned to her left, a few short blocks away was the Nekohaten. 'I have to find out how they are,' she thought, as she turned with a groan and headed quickly down the narrow street. Sooner than she wished, she found herself at the door to the restaurant. Garnering her courage, she opened the door, to find Cologne working alone.

"Afternoon, Hinako," Cologne cackled, "You must have come here directly from school."

"I was worried about Shampoo and Ryoga," Hinako blurted, "Are they back to normal?"

"Depends on how you define normal, I suppose," Cologne replied, with a scary smirk on her face, "They stumbled in first thing this morning after spending the night at the Kuno mansion. I guess they fell asleep waiting for the mushrooms to grow. Anyway, they are back to their correct age, but I've only seen them once since then, when they came down and ate something at midday."

Hinako heard a loud thump from above her head, and started. "What was that?" she asked.

Cologne cackled and replied, "Didn't say I didn't hear them, now did I?"

A low blush began to creep up Hinako's face.

"From the sounds of it, they are making up for lost time," Cologne added, to the young girl's dismay, "All that stamina developed from martial arts standing them in good stead."

A low moan slowly came from the upstairs bedroom. Hinako blurted, "WelltellthemI'mgladtheyarebacktonormal." In a blink of an eye, she vanished, the door sliding closed behind her, as she fled, her face flaming.

* * *

Yumi walked into the family room and announced, "Dinner is nearly ready. Sayuri, will you run upstairs and tell Nabiki and Hinako."

"Sure, Mom," Sayuri replied, gratefully putting her homework away neatly in her bag.

"You'll still have to finish that tonight," her mother warned as Sayuri headed upstairs. Yumi then called outside, "Ranma, Akane, you have just enough time to wash up before dinner. You two, Natsume and Kurumi!"

"Thanks, Yumi," Ranma replied, from where he and Akane were snuggled up on one of the rocks surrounding the koi pond, enjoying the pleasant breeze whipping around the grounds.

"Do we have to go in?" Akane whined, "I'm pretty comfortable right now."

Ranma chuckled and replied, "Mom came over special to cook, and it's the whole family. We have to go in."

"So that's why all of the teens were chased out," Akane mused.

"Yeah, besides, with Kasumi, Yumi and Mom all in the kitchen, there really isn't room for anybody else."

"At least, Dad has someone to play shogi with," Akane said with a sigh.

"We'd better get there before Pop eats all of the food," Ranma added, as he sprang to his feet, and pulled her up. He stole a kiss, and then the two of them headed into the house, just barely avoiding being trampled by Kurumi as she slid to the table.

Soon, the table was surrounded by most of the Saotome-Tendo clan, as only Ukyo and Konatsu had been unable to take off from running their restaurant in order to come. Souta, however, was there, squeezed in next to Nabiki.

A brief procession came into the family room, led by Nodoka, as the three women with the able assistance of Ranma and Akane, who had been drafted as they came back from the furoba, carried in several trays of food, and placed them on the table.

Genma gasped at the veritable feast laid out in front of him, from shrimp tempura, salmon teriyaki stirfry, a large tureen of miso soup, skewers of chicken yakatori, a large plate of gyozas, chicken cutlets, sushi and sashimi of various types, vegetables galore, and finally several large bottles of rice wine, and of course, the rice cooker sitting next to Kasumi's usual place.

Kurumi blinked her eyes and began to salivate at the food in front of her. Only her sister's firm grip on her arm prevented her from attacking the large plate of chicken cutlets that had had the misfortune to be placed in front of her.

"This is a feast fit for the emperor," Soun exclaimed, "What is the occasion?"

Nodoka smiled mysteriously and replied, "Nothing special. Yumi and I wanted to prepare a special meal for all of our family, that's all."

Soun cleared his throat and suggested, "Shall we give thanks for this meal?"

"Itadakimasu!" everyone said in unison.

Kasumi handed around bowls of rice to everyone, and they proceded to share the large common meal.

After a few moments, Soun cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I have recently discovered that there is a legendary suit of armour hidden away in the mountains. After reading about it, I have developed a desire to see this armour, and propose that Genma and I, as well as anyone else, come with us to find it. The legends surrounding it are fascinating."

Ranma and Akane traded looks, while Natsume asked, "When did you plan on leaving?"

Genma replied, "As soon as tomorrow, if possible. The mind boggles at the potential, if legends are correct."

"Gee, that's a shame, Akane and I can't go. We have a major test tomorrow, and can't miss it," Ranma said.

Genma growled, "What's so important about school? This is martial arts!"

Ranma retorted, "No, it's just an excuse to get out of Nerima and spend some time in the wilderness. And school is important, I need to keep my grades up so I can get into college somewhere."

Soun glanced around and sighed, "I guess it'll just be us, Saotome old friend."

Nodoka and Yumi quickly traded looks, and almost as if they had communicated telepathically, they both said, "We'll come with you. It'll be fun."

"But Yumi, it will be a long hike through some dangerous territory," Soun began, only to quail as her lip quivered.

"Y-you don't want me to come?" Yumi pouted.

"No, I was just thinking of you," Soun stammered, "If you want to come, of course you can."

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Ranma whispered to Akane.

* * *

Hinako wiped her hands on the dishtowel, and folded it neatly on the countertop, nodding to herself in satisfaction at the spotless condition. The countertops gleamed in the last rays of sunlight, before the sun sank below the horizon. Smiling to herself for a job well done, she returned to the family room, which was oddly vacant. 'Hmmm, wonder where Mr. Saotome and Mr. Tendo are?' she wondered, 'usually they would be cheating at shogi about now.' Shrugging her shoulders, she sat down in front of the television, and retrieved a large cloth bag from the cabinet. She pulled out the beginnings of some knitted something, a large ball of red yarn, and her knitting needles, and began to knit, her brow furrowed in concentration, loosing all track of time as she buried herself in her task, the quiet of the room only broken by the slight clattering of her needles..

"Whatcha making?" Kurumi asked.

"What!" Hinako exclaimed, "When did you come in?"

"Oh, about ten minutes ago," Kurumi replied, "I sat and watched you for a while, since I don't know how to knit."

"Oh, I was concentrating so hard, I didn't see you sitting there," Hinako said, blushing. She held up her work, and said, "It's a scarf."

"Um, are you sure?" Kurumi asked, a doubtful look on her face, as there appeared to be a couple of arms on that scarf..

* * *

Soun stood in the doorway to his bedroom, aghast at the devastation he saw. Half the room was covered in piles of clothing, both his and hers, as Yumi couldn't decide exactly what to pack. He called, "Yumi!" to no avail as she continued to pack and unpack the large suitcase on the bed. Finally, he stepped to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Yumi, we're only gone for a couple of days at most. And we won't be able to carry a suitcase, instead we'll have backpacks," Soun said, gently chiding her, "So we just need a couple of changes of clothing, something reasonably rugged to hike in, and some good, sturdy shoes that will protect your ankles."

Yumi blushed prettily, and said, "I was hoping we could stay for several days, have a little vacation of sorts."

"Oh," Soun said, flustered for a moment, "I didn't think of that. Perhaps we should have some time away from our children." A grin appeared on his face and he continued, "Actually, that's a pretty good idea. Of course, it won't be just us, since Saotome and his wife will be with us, but we can still find some time to spend just the two of us."

"That's why I was so flustered," Yumi admitted, "I was hoping we could be gone for a week or so. And this is the first time that it would be just you and me, so I wanted things to be perfect."

"At the risk of sounding overly sappy, it will be perfect just being with you," Soun said, with a grin.

Yumi laughed and said, "You're right. That was a bit over the top."

Soun smiled wryly, and said, "I was afraid it might have been. I'm still pretty rusty at all of this."

"You're doing fine, dear, for someone who thinks he us rusty. Now, shoo," Yumi said, "You need to call the Saotomes and let them know that we plan on being gone longer than they might have planned on. I know Nodoka will appreciate having several changes of clothing."

"And I think we'd all appreciate it if Saotome had more than two changes of clothing," Soun said. They shared a brief kiss, and then he left to find the telephone.

* * *

Hinako sat quietly in the furoba, staring at the precious cargo that she had so carefully retrieved nearly an hour ago. Creeping silently through the darkened house, she had fetched the mushrooms from the crawl space, and now gazed at them, as one had grown to nearly 25 centimeters. With a quiet sob, she stood up, and deliberately shrugged off her nightgown, leaving her dressed only in her panties. She stared hard at herself in the large mirror, seeing her barely developed chest, and whispered sadly, "He would never take notice of me like this." Her eyes hardened and she plucked the large mushroom from the container, rinsed the dirt off in the sink, and then started chewing the raw fungus. Finally, she swallowed the last bit, and waited. After several seconds of nothing happening, suddenly her heart went 'THUMP', and then, swish, she suddenly began to age, growing in height, her hair lengthening until it reached the small of her back, and her breasts and hips grew until she had regained her adult figure; stretching the fabric of her panties near to the breaking point. Peeling out of the tight garment, she stood at the mirror, nude, and smiled. "Yes, this would definitely get his attention," she said, remembering all of the men and boys who had shown their interest in her before she was cured. As those memories returned, her smile began to twist. 'But they were only interested in what I looked like,' she thought, 'they never wanted to find out who I was or what I was like. Not that any of them wanted to do anything but ogle me.'

She sank down to the floor, and pulled her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs, as she continued to think about the past. Finally, several tears slipped from her eyes as she began to cry. "The whole reason I decided to return to my youth was so I could have a better time at school, and have a chance to make friends," she sobbed, "And I've done that. I have good friends and family now. But he's so handsome, and that smile. I'd do almost anything to have him smile at me like that."

She stopped and heard what she had just said, and shivered. "No, I couldn't do anything. He's handsome, gregarious, energetic, most of what I think I want in a man. So, I could attract his attention, that I am sure, especially looking like this," she sobbed, "But at too high a cost. My friends, my family, my self-respect. No man is worth that, no matter how cute he is, or how he sets my pulse to racing with his smile." Smiling through her tears, she reached for another mushroom, and repeated the process. "I'll see that body again soon enough," she said, as she waited for the mushroom to take affect.

* * *

Kasumi woke before the alarm went off as usual, and slipped out of bed to start her morning routine. She smiled fondly as her husband rolled over to the center of the bed and pulled her pillow toward him to retain her presence. She pulled her robe on, and headed out the door, only to stop at the sight of a note slipped under the door, with her name written on it. She stooped down, and picked up the slip of paper, and read, 'Kasumi, I need your help. Something odd happened last night, Hinako.' 'Oh my, we've wonder what that could mean,' she mused, 'I can't imagine what it could be, since she's already had her feast of red beans and rice.' Shrugging her shoulders, she headed down the hall to Hinako's room, and knocked gently on the door. "Hinako, it's Kasumi," she said softly, since it was far too early for Nabiki to be awake, and she didn't want to disturb her earlier than she needed to.

The door opened just wide enough for Kasumi to slip in, and then it closed behind her.

Kasumi turned, and there stood Hinako, but a changed Hinako, she was taller, fuller of figure, and obviously worried.

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, "What happened to you?"

Hinako smiled weakly and wailed, "I don't know. I went to bed feeling a bit odd, and when I woke up I was like this. Some sort of weird growth spurt, I guess."

"I wonder if it's a bizarre side effect of that treatment that Happosai gave you when you were younger," Kasumi mused.

Hinako shrugged her shoulders, and said, "I suppose that's possible. All I know is that I'm about ten centimeters taller, and at least two sizes bigger on top. And none of my clothes fit anymore!!"

Kasumi pursed her lips in thought. She walked around the younger girl, taking inventory. "Well, there's no help for it," she said, after several long moments, "You're closest in height to Ranma-chan, so one of her skirts will do, as well as her panties. But, her blouses would be too loose, so you'll need to borrow something from Akane, and one of her old bras. I haven't had a chance to bring up all of the clean clothes from the furoba, so I'll run down and get you a change of clothing."

"Thanks, sis," Hinako said, heartfelt, "I really appreciate the help. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle things this morning, though."

"Family will pull together, dear," Kasumi said, "They'll be surprised at what has happened to you, and worry a lot, but you're one of us now, and that's all that really matters."

Hinako threw herself at Kasumi, and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "Oh it's so wonderful to have my family," she wailed, tears of happiness streaming down her face.

"Hush, sis," Kasumi said, tearing up just a bit herself, "Let's get you something to wear, and since Daddy, Yumi and the Saotomes changed their minds and left last night, you can help me cook breakfast."

* * *

Nabiki wandered into the kitchen, her eyes still half-shut, and sank down at the kitchen table, waiting for the glorious elixir that should be showing up on the table in front of her at any moment.

Soon, a sturdy cup was slipped into her hands, and a strange voice said, "Here's your coffee, Nabiki. Just like you like it, hot, dark and sweet."

Gratefully, Nabiki closed her hands around the cup, and bent down, not trusting herself to lift the cup too high, and took a sip. "Aaaah," she sighed, as she felt the hot liquid burn down her throat, heavily laden with the caffeine she needed to come completely awake.

"What happened to you!" Akane screeched from the kitchen doorway, causing Nabiki to snarl a curse as she sloshed her hot coffee and scalded her hand.

"Would you believe a growth spurt?" the same strange voice replied.

Nabiki pryed her eyes opene for a second to see what had startled her younger sister, only for them to widen of their own volition as her jaw dropped and nearly hit the table when she saw the young woman standing anxiously in front of her.

Ranma drawled from behind his wife, "R-r-right, a growth spurt, Hi-chan?"

"I'm not aware of any growth spurt that would cause someone to literally grow overnight like this," Akane added.

"Are you sure Rakkyōsai didn't come by last night and feed you one of those magic mushrooms?" Nabiki asked.

Kasumi replied, "Well since all of the rest of us appear to be the same, and I checked on Sayuri as we came down, and she didn't look any different, I don't think it was him."

"Besides, now that I stop to think about it, that doesn't strike me as something that he would have done," Nabiki added, after a moment of thought, "Only aging her for a couple of years sounds a little beneath him, that is if I've read his character correctly. He's a perverted old man, true enough, but if he had invaded our house, we would have found most of our underwear missing, or him snuggled up to one of us."

"You do have a point there," Ranma agreed, "Happosai might have done it. According to what Pop and your father said about him, he could be extremely petty and do something like that in a moment of spite, but I didn't get that impression about Rakkyōsai."

"In any case, regardless of how or why it happened," Kasumi said, sternly, well sternly for her, "I want Tofu to examine you to make sure that you are fine."

"Yes, Kasumi," Hinako replied, almost meekly.

"Everyone but Hinako, out of my kitchen," Kasumi ordered, the faint note of amusement in her voice evident to them all, "Hinako and I need to prepare the rest of the meal, and we can't do that with you underfoot."

Ranma groaned, and clutched his stomach, theatrically, and said, "Definitely don't want to get in the way of you two fixing our meal. Come on, Akane, we were heading for the furoba to wash up, remember?"

The kitchen quickly cleared as Ranma dragged a mildly protesting Akane down the hall, while Nabiki took her coffee and her thoughts into the family room.

* * *

Hinako rushed into the house, barely stopping long enough to take her shoes off and toss them to one side, before she stormed up the stairs to her room. She slammed her door shut and flung herself onto her bed, where she finally allowed the tears to flow.

There was a knock on her door, and a gentle voice asked, "May I come in?"

Wiping her eyes, Hinako quavered, "I guess so."

The door opened, and Kasumi walked in, still in the clothes she wore to college. She took one look at the forlorn face looking back at her, and her countenance changed. She rushed over, and sat down on the bed next to Hinako and asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Nothing," Hinako essayed.

Kasumi frowned slightly and said, "This doesn't look like nothing. This looks like something to me."

"I had a rough day at school," Hinako finally replied, "All of the boys were being perverts around me, and the girls acted jealous, even my friends."

"What do you mean, the boys were being perverts?" Kasumi asked.

Hinako sobbed, "None of the boys really noticed me before, but now that I've got these, all they wanted to do was slobber over my chest. It was disgusting." She slowly sat up, and Kasumi gathered her into a tight hug. "And all of the girls that I thought were my friends, they glared at me because of all of the attention I was getting," she cried, "Tofu said I had the body of a sixteen year old, maybe I'd be better off transferring to Furinkan."

"It would be difficult to do that, since Nabiki had you registered as a thirteen year old when you started Junior High," Kasumi said, "But we could ask her. You'd probably fit in better there, but it would mean starting over with a whole new set of students."

"But I would know so many people there already," Hinako replied, "It would solve all sorts of problems."

"If you really want to do that, I'll talk to her tonight," Kasumi said.

Hinako hugged her hard in thanks, and cried, "Thank you, thank you."

Kasumi gasped, "I need my ribs in one piece, sis."

Hinako asked shyly, "Could she register me as Hinako Tendo? I'd like that, if it's okay with everyone."

Kasumi smiled and said, "I don't know why not, you're as much a Tendo as the rest of us by now. And I know Daddy thinks of you as one of us."

* * *

The sun slowly rose over the foothills surrounding Mount Koya, in the region of Kansai. The light slowly filtered through the dense canopy, and made its way to the ground far below, where a scene of domestic tranquility awaited. Two small tents were pitched, with a firepit between them. A wisp of smoke rose from the fire and ascended through the trees, as the wood of the fire slowly reduced itself to a pile of blazing coals, just right for cooking. Two women were kneeling by the fire, rapidly preparing the ingredients for the meal, while off to one side a large panda was sleeping in the shade.

Soon, a figure emerged through the trees, carrying a large pot of water. "Sorry it took me so long," Soun said, as he slid the pot onto the coals, "The stream was farther away than I realised, and then I had to find a clear spot once Saotome fell in."

"That's okay, dear," Yumi replied absently, as she finished cutting up the last of the vegetables, dumping them into a small pot, and adding some of the water, "I didn't need the water until now, anyway."

Nodoka finished skewering the several fish that her husband had brought back, though he had managed to fall in the stream at least once, as evidenced by his current condition, and placed the skewers on the forked branches she had driven into the ground on either side of the fire. "We just need to make the tea when the water gets hot enough," she added, filling a small battered teakettle with water and placing it on the fire next to her fish.

"While I'm not really complaining, I was wondering why we didn't spend the night in Koyasan," Yumi said.

"A couple of reasons, I suppose. One, the temple we are heading for isn't actually one of the temples on Mount Koya, but instead is on a lesser peak, locally called Monkey Mountain, and two, Saotome apparently has a reputation here," Soun replied.

"What has my husband done, now?" Nodoka asked, resignedly.

Soun replied, "He and Ranma stayed here for a few weeks, learning in the temples, and a few treasures managed to disappear while they were here. Saotome swears he didn't take them, but the head priests didn't believe him them, and I'm not so sure about it myself."

Nodoka frowned slightly, and her eyes grew cold.

"You never did tell us what was so special about this armor," Yumi said, deliberately changing the subject.

"The legend has it that the armor draws out power from the wearer, and they say that it has been safeguarded for centuries in the temple on Monkey Mountain," Soun replied.

"The armor will make you stronger?" Nodoka asked.

Soun shrugged, and replied, "I believe that is what the legend means. Perhaps we'll find out more when we arrive at the temple and visit with the head priest."

* * *

The sun began to set, as the intrepid travelers climbed the last of the several hundred steps leading up to the temple courtyard, listening to the cacophony of the innumerable monkeys perched in the trees, chattering about the invaders of their sanctuary. A spry old man walked down the steps of the temple to greet them. "Welcome, my friends," the old man said, "I am Hiro, head priest of this temple. What brings you to our remote temple?"

Soun bowed deeply in respect and replied, "My name is Soun Tendo, and my friends and I have heard tales of the armor that your temple guards."

"And you came all this way to find out for yourself if these tales are true?" the priest asked, "The ancient battle douji! How curious that the old legend still lives on. We have had no visitors in many years, so we had assumed that our temple had fallen into obscurity."

Genma added, "My friend and I are martial artists of some skill, so the story about the battle douji caught our interest."

"You and your wives are welcome to view the armor. It is on display in our temple," Hiro said, "Please walk this way." He led them up the steps of the temple, and then into the large wood structure, where they paused long enough to trade their shoes for slippers to protect the highly polished surface. Then, he showed them to a large wood box, where an outfit made of some sort of cloth lay in state. A fabric belt girded the clothing, a large metal buckle the only adornment on the somewhat gaudy print.

"So this is the legendary battle armor," Soun said.

"It's a pretty color," Yumi added, reaching toward it, only to stop.

"I feel stronger just seeing it," Genma said.

The old man sank down to the floor in thought. Finally, he spoke, saying, "To journey so far into the mountains for something like this. Amazing. It speaks highly of your spirit. I admire you for that. As reward, please, take it back with you."

"What!" Soun exclaimed, "Surely it is extremely valuable."

"It's worth a fortune," the old man said, agreeably enough, "But wait, on top of that, if you take it with you now, I'll throw in this nifty swiveling chair as a free bonus!"

Nodoka frowned slightly, and muttered to Yumi, "There's something fishy going on here."

"I agree,"Yumi said, as she turned to the priest. "What's wrong with this armor that you are so eager to part with it?" she asked.

The old man stammered, "Wr-wrong! Nothing! Nothing at all." He jumped to his feet, leaving the swivel chair behind, and tore at his beard. "Do you think I would try to unload some junk on you?" the old man asked.

"With you acting so non-guilty, you mean?" Nodoka asked.

"Yumi, I'm sure that there is nothing wrong with the armor, though I don't feel right about taking it away from here," Soun said.

The old man looked at him shrewdly and merely said, "It is far too late for you to leave and make your way to the valley below. You and your wives are welcome to stay for the night, and also join us for our humble repast."

Genma glanced out over his shoulder and bowed. "We accept your hospitality," he said, "We would be honored to spend the night in your temple."

* * *

The freshman homeroom teacher walked into the classroom, and clapped his hands. "Students, we have a new student joining us today, Hinako Tendo," he said, motioning the young girl standing at the door to walk in, "Tell us about yourself, Miss Tendo."

"Er, I'm Hinako Tendo, the youngest daughter of Soun Tendo, and sister to Akane Saotome, Nabiki Tendo, and Kasumi Ono," the young girl said, "I'm studying to be a martial artist under my sensei Ranma Saotome, and am friends with Kurumi Saotome in this class." She waved at her friend, who smiled back at her, with a puzzled expression on her face.

"In that case, take the seat next to Miss Saotome," the teacher said, "But, I run a tight classroom, so no talking during class, and no passing notes to her."

"Yes, sensei," Hinako said, as she tugged nervously at the uniform she was wearing, and went to sit down next to Kurumi.

* * *

Hinako followed Kurumi out of the building, not that she had any significant choice, considering the death grip that the slightly older girl had on her arm as she was dragged to the clan tree, where the rest of the extended family and friends had already congregated.

Ukyo cursed as she dropped the okonomiyaki she was flipping onto the ground. Shampoo, Mousse, and Kodachi narrowed their eyes, while the others asked variations of "What happened to you?"

Ranma replied, "We're not really sure, to be honest. Hinako went to bed and woke up this way."

"We don't know if it is some weird aftereffect of her curse, or whether Rakkyōsai fed her a mushroom, or what happened," Akane added.

In a little voice, Hinako said, "I'm still me, though, just older."

Daisuke said, "This actually is one of the more normal things to have happened around here."

Akane chuckled and said, after sharing a look with Ranma, "True enough."

"In that case, welcome to Furinkan," Yuka said, "You should fit in well with the rest of the crazies."

"But he called you Tendo," Kurumi sputtered.

"And what of it?" Nabiki asked, "She's a Tendo if we say she is!"

"What she said," Akane added, a frown appearing on her face.

"Lighten up, Kurumi," Ranma said, "She's been family for a long time now, this just makes it official."

"Welcome to our clan, sister," Natsume said, with a grin.

Yuka and Daisuke traded looks and chuckled. "Looks like we're the only ones here not related in some way," Yuka said.

"Ah, we consider you honorary Tendo-Saotomes," Ranma said with a smirk, "After all, you're crazy enough to hang around with us."

"Besides, you are members of the dojo, so that's good enough for us," Akane added, firmly.

"You are counted as friends of the Amazons, that make you family," Shampoo added, with Mousse nodding firmly in agreement.

"Welcome, sister, brother," Kodachi affirmed.

"Oh, Kami, does that mean weird things will start happening to us now?" Daisuke asked with a grin.

Sayuri smirked and said, "Too late, they already have. You got engaged, after all, and I count that as weird."

"Um, pot, meet kettle," Yuka said, glancing pointedly at Hiroshi, and the ring on her friend's finger.

* * *

Ranma stopped suddenly at the entrance to the family room, his face paling. Akane walked into his back, and bounced off, and then she too paled.

Sayuri continued on into the family room, where she saw Kasumi spinning girlishly around on some sort of odd chair.

"What's with the spinning chair?" Nabiki asked, dropping her bookbag by the doorway.

"Oh, someone gave it to Daddy," Kasumi replied.

"They're back?" Ranma gasped.

"Yes, they came back early for some reason," Kasumi replied, "They are in the dojo right now."

"Akane, training trip," Ranma stammered quickly.

"Definitely, training trip, good idea," Akane said, as they quickly fled out of the room.

"I wonder what got into them," Hinako said, "They looked like they'd seen a ghost or something."

Nabiki looked startled for a second and then she also vanished from the room.

"Oh my, was it something I said?" Kasumi asked, plaintively.

* * *

The door to their room opened, and Nabiki ghosted in, to find Ranma and Akane busily packing what looked like two weeks worth of clothing into a pair of backpacks.

"What on earth is going on here?" Nabiki asked, startling the young couple.

"They must have brought that douji back with them," Akane replied.

"And we refuse to go through what happened again," Ranma added.

Nabiki closed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Neither of you two are going anywhere until I find out what is going on," she said, fiercely.

Ranma smirked and asked, "Do you honestly think you can stop us from leaving?"

"Oh, tell her, but be quick about it, I want to be out of here in ten minutes," Akane said.

"Okay, real briefly, the armor picked Akane to be its wearer, and she and I went through hell because of it. Though I did tell her how I really felt about her, not that she believed me," Ranma said.

"Because Daddy couldn't keep his mouth shut about what he thought Ranma was doing," Akane added, "I just thought Ranma was jealous of the armor, and was saying things to make me give it up."

"Finally, we fought a lot over it, and it eventually got destroyed, but it set our relationship back months," Ranma said.

"And we don't want to risk going through that again," they both said.

"I'm finished, how about you?" Akane asked.

"Yes," Ranma said, thrusting his arms through the straps, and letting the pack ride on his back, "Ready?"

"We aren't done here," Nabiki said, crossing her arms.

Akane said, "Oh yes we are," as they jumped out the window to the ground below.

Nabiki rushed to the window just fast enough to see them disappear over the compound wall. "Damn," she said, "If that armor scared them, what chance do we have?"

* * *

The four adults sat around the box in the middle of the dojo, gazing at the contents of the box.

"So what are we really going to do with this thing?" Nodoka asked.

"Actually, according to the priest, the armor chooses the one that will wear it," Soun replied, wearily, "Only he whom the armor deems worthy to be its master will have the power to put it on."

"I wonder how the armor decides who is worthy," Yumi said, "Perhaps you should try it on, dear. You are a great martial artist, surely it would deem you worthy."

"It's worth a shot, Tendo," Genma urged.

"You must be a true warrior among warriors," Nodoka warned.

"I don't know about this," Soun said, as he took the douji out of the box, "If I can get my arms through this." He attempted to slide his arm through one sleeve of the armor, only to have the armor knock him into the wall, in the process dumping the cold beer that Genma was drinking onto him, transforming him into a panda.

'Give it here' the panda's sign said, only to have the sign snatched out of his hand by the armor, which scribbled, 'Drop some lard, tubbo!' before whacking the hapless beast on the side of the head.

The panda and Soun jumped on the armor, and began to force it back into the box, only to be tossed aside by the armor once more.

The armor moved toward Nodoka, and then froze as her blade came whistling out in front of her.

"I think not," Nodoka said, as she stood between the quivering suit and Yumi, her sword steady as a rock, "I have no idea what it is you are doing, but you will leave us alone."

Soun dove at the armor and once more the dance began, as Soun, Genma and the armor fought.

* * *

Soun kept glancing out the open doors across the engawa at the dojo, his eyes darting nervously back and forth.

"Give it a rest, Tendo," Genma growled, "The damned thing is back in its box."

"What if it gets back out?" Yumi asked, "It took all of your strength to get it in there."

Soun shook his head and replied, "I don't know. We'd probably need Ranma and Akane to help."

"Um, Daddy, in case you hadn't noticed, neither of them are here," Nabiki pointed out.

"And what exactly are you talking about in the first place?" Sayuri asked.

"Where is my son?" Nodoka asked, frostily.

"They said something about going on a training trip, and disappeared shortly after coming home from school. Didn't even want to wait for dinner," Kasumi replied.

A loud wailing cry came from the direction of the dojo.

"What's that?" Hinako exclaimed.

"Really, what's going on? All that noise. The fighting this afternoon in the dojo, and now this," Kurumi asked.

"Seriously, Father, I agree with them. What are you four hiding?" Natsume added, "Kasumi telling us that we couldn't use the dojo to practice in, and now that horrible wailing. There's something very strange going on around here."

Nabiki said, icily, "Yes, Daddy. What **is** going on? I haven't seen you this nervous since you got the postcard saying that the Saotomes were coming."

"It's that blasted armor," Nodoka spat.

"Armor? What armor?" Natsume asked.

Soun looked at the array of women staring at him impassively, and shuddered.

"We brought back that ancient armor that your father had gotten so interested in," Yumi replied for him.

"The old monk mentioned that the armor might cry through the night, yearning for a master who could wear it," Soun said, sheepishly.

"He told you that, and you still allowed him to give it to you?" Nodoka asked in sheer disbelief.

"WAIT! Take a look at this!" Soun exclaimed, pulling something from his back pocket, "He said that if I agreed to take it right now, I'd not only get the swiveling chair, but also this 'Seven Lucky Gods' wallet, FREE!"

"Oh Daddy," Nabiki sighed, "You should have at least held out for the Ginsu knives."

"Still, even knowing this, I must say," Soun exclaimed, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!"

"Let's just tie it up and throw it in the canal," Genma suggested.

Suddenly, silence fell, as the wailing stopped from the dojo, and then, CRASHHHH! A cacophony of sound erupted, as the door to the dojo burst open, and the armor sprang out.

Soun paled, and said, rather redundantly, "It's free!!!!"

Genma stood up quickly, his face grim. "Come Tendo, let us do our duty," he said, ponderously, "A martial artist's life is never dull."

Soun's face firmed and he rose to stand with his friend. "Well said, Saotome. Never let it be said that we shirk our duty," he proclaimed as the two of them marched out to face their destiny.

The rest of the family followed the two martial artists out onto the engawa, and watched as they prepared for combat, only to have the armor spring over the Soun and Genma and fly toward them.

"Watch out! That armor is crazy!" Genma exclaimed.

Nodoka once more pulled her blade out and stood ready to defend them, while Natsume and Kurumi spread out on either side of her, still giving her plenty of room for her bladework.

A bolt of light came from the armor and struck Kurumi, shredding her clothing instantly. She shrieked and covered herself up, only to have the armor flow over her, encasing her in itself.

Kurumi glanced down at herself, and exclaimed, "What! I feel so strange, so powerful."

A faint cry of glee seemed to be coming from the armor.

"I don't understand," Genma growled, "The only martial artist that the armor found worthy enough to wear it is Kurumi?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurumi asked, suspiciously, while her sister glared at their father.

A loud splash was their only answer as Genma jumped into the koi pond, disturbing the poor fish, and then reappeared over by the wall, on his back, playing with a large beach ball. A sign was held in one hand, reading, 'Don't mind me, I'm just a cute panda!'

Soun frowned unhappily and replied, "This is a special armor, that makes you stronger, and allows you to show your true potential as a martial artist. The armor chooses its wearer; someone that the armor itself believes is worthy to wear it."

Kurumi blinked her eyes in astonishment, and then a slow grin appeared on her face. She turned to her sister and said, "Come on, let's spar! Come on, please!!"

Natsume gave a matching grin and retorted, "So you want to use me as your guinea pig, huh? Why not? You haven't managed to beat me yet, but this should be more challenging."

"Here or in the dojo?" Kurumi asked.

Natsune shrugged. "It matters not to me, I'll crush you wherever we spar."

Kurumi only smiled, and said, "We'll see."

"Then come at me from wherever you want," Natsume said, as the two girls moved down into the yard.

The sounds of glee got stronger as the two girls cirled around the yard, watching each other warily.

Suddenly, Kurumi moved, and she appeared next to her sister, her fists blurring as she struck.

Natsume was hard-pressed, but her arms blocked all of the blows, though to her chagrin, she was unable to counter. Finally, one last blow got through her defenses, and she felt herself flying backwards. "Not bad, little sister, not bad at all," she said, as she set herself once more.

* * *

Akane held up her hand in the universal sign, and Ranma stopped. "I'm exhausted," she said, wearily, as she sank to the ground.

"Okay," Ranma said, as she sat next to her wife, "We've been working out for hours, so it's probably time to rest."

"I'm going to need those hot springs tonight," Akane sighed, "I have aches in places that I didn't know existed."

Ranma chuckled and said, "I did work you pretty hard, but you were up to it. You've come a long way in a reasonably short time. Pretty soon, I won't have to hold back. You'll be able to handle it."

"You think so?" Akane asked, her eyes wide with happiness.

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't," Ranma replied, "Of course, I knew you had it in you. After all, I saw your potential when you had the douji, remember?"

"Well, sort of, I know what you told me, and then the dreams I had from wherever, that showed what we went through," Akane replied, "But it really wasn't real to me, you know?"

"I can see that, I suppose," Ranma said, agreeably, "And I'm really glad that I wasn't an idiot this time and worked on your training." She sighed, and added, "I tried to protect you so many times before, but I'm so scared that I can't be there all the time. So I decided the next best thing is to have you trained up well enough that you can take care of yourself. Course, it took me dieing and coming back to figure that out."

Akane wrapped an arm around Ranma's waist, and leaned her head against her shoulder. "This was a good idea, though," she said, "I didn't want to get involved with that cursed armor. Daddy, as much as I hate to say it, is a fool to have brought that home with him."

Ranma sighed heavily, and replied, "I had hoped that Mom and Yumi might have had an influence on them, but I guess I was wrong."

"Since I'm not there, who do you think the douji picked?" Akane asked.

"Don't have a clue. I didn't know what criteria the douji used to make its choice when it picked you," Ranma replied, carelessly.

Akane narrowed her eyes and asked, in chilly tones, "Exactly what did you mean by that?"

"Whoa, Akane, all I meant was I'm not sure what the douji was looking for to determine who was worthy to wear it, that's all. I wasn't meaning anything more than that," Ranma replied rapidly.

Akane eyed her suspiciously and then decided that she was in too good a mood to ruin. "Okay, sorry, I guess I jumped to a conclusion," she said, softly.

Ranma grinned and said, "That's okay. I was afraid the Saotome foot in mouth disease had struck again."

"You ready to work on that Trig homework?" Akane asked, as she pulled her textbook from her backpack.

Ranma sighed, and nodded his head. "We did promise our teachers that we wouldn't miss any of the schoolwork when we told them we had to leave for a little while."

"I still can't believe they let us go with that lame excuse you came up with," Akane said, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Ranma said, "And I'll head over to the school tonight to put our homework on Miss Morisato's desk so she can find it in the morning."

* * *

Natsume grunted with her efforts, but she was unable to break the hold that Kurumi had on her. Finally, she relaxed, and said, "You win, little sister."

Kurumi gasped and said, "I won! I won against Natsume!" She stood, freeing her sister, and strutted around the yard, and boasted, "So this power was there all along!"

Natsume struggled to her feet and bowed to her sister. "You did much better than I expected, sister. I look forward to our next encounter."

"I wonder how Ranma or Akane might have fared against her," Soun mused, "Kurumi won that match rather easily."

"Oh, I'm sure my boy would beat her," Genma boasted, "After all I trained him to be the best."

"And such a good job you did," Nabiki said, sarcastically, though her inflection went over the sometime panda's head.

"Why thank you, Nabiki," Genma said.

"Though I don't know how well Akane would fare," Genma added, "She still has much to learn."

"Still, she has developed quite well in a surprisingly short amount of time," Soun objected mildly, "A tribute both to her desire to learn, and Ranma's ability to teach, I'd say. The dojo is in good hands."

* * *

Kurumi came into the family room, dressed in her usual attire, and knelt down at the table.

Nodoka came in carrying a teapot and several empty cups. "Oh my, I was about to have some tea," her mother asked, "Would you like some?"

"Yes, please," Kurumi replied, politely, "That match took a bit more out of me than I realized."

"I have some cookies, as well," Nodoka said, as she knelt down, revealing the small plate of cookies hiding behind the teapot. She poured two cups of tea and handed one to Kurumi.

Kurumi gratefully took the cup of tea from Nodoka, and two of the cookies from the plate. "Thank you, I really need this," she said.

The suit of armor crawled over to Kurumi and began to rub her thigh.

Kurumi frowned slightly and said, "I told you that I was done for the evening."

The douji began to whine.

"Oh stop that," Kurumi said, blushing.

"Oh my, it's gotten so attached to you," Nodoka said.

Kurumi shrugged, and replied, "Armie's kind of cute, in a way, but just a little annoying. It doesn't seem to want to leave me alone, at least not for very long, anyway."

"Armie?" her mother asked.

"Well, I had to give the poor thing some sort of name, now didn't I?" Kurumi replied, a little defensively. She finished her tea, and added, "Thanks, Mommy. I'm going to go soak in the furo for a little while, before I start in on my schoolwork."

"I'll bring up a snack in an hour or so, then," Nodoka said.

* * *

While Kurumi soaked in the tub, the douji crawled out of the clothes hamper where she had placed it and made its way to the inner door.

A foot came out of nowhere and pinned the armor to the wall. "What do you think you're doing? Sneaking around like that and trying to spy on my sister?" Natsume demanded. She grabbed the armor, and added, as she quickly finished undressing, "Let's see how you like being wrapped around this." She pulled the armor on, and stood up, exclaiming, "Yeah, that's more like it." She tried to move, and groaned, "It's way too tight at the top, and terribly loose around the waist."

The armor spat Natsume out.

Natsume landed gracefully on her feet and turned around to face the armor, a disappointed look on her face. "It rejected me!" she exclaimed, her pride stung quite a bit, "That means its looking for a certain figure, a flat-chested, thick-waisted girl. It's not how good a martial artist you are, that's for sure." Sighing, she grabbed her towel, and carefully eased the door open so she could join her sister in the furo. Slipping inside, and barring the door, she muttered, "That armor is trying to sneak in here to see you."

"That's going to get real old in a hurry," Kurumi sighed.

Natsume smirked at her and said, "Well, you can always get rid of the douji, you know."

"You're just jealous that it picked me over you," Kurumi accused.

Natsume shrugged, and said, "A little, I suppose. On the other hand, I know that it's my own abilities that I am using, and not the suit."

Kurumi's face reddened and she hissed, "So now you're saying that it wasn't me that defeated you today, it was the suit."

"No, I'm not saying that," Natsume replied, wearily, "I meant that up until now, we both have trained ourselves, and honed the abilities that we have with that training. The suit may have brought out your potential, but it seems to me to be a shortcut for the real thing. Besides, what happens if it finds someone else that it decides is a better wearer? If you've come to rely on the suit, where will you be, then?"

"Oh, that's something I hadn't thought of," Kurumi admitted, "And you do have a good point there."

"There's something else you should know, something Father told me," Natsume said, "Something else the old priest told them while they were on the mountain. Apparently, the armor gets extremely jealous and possessive of its wearer. So, if the armor's chosen wearer ever loses her heart to someone, the armor will abandon her forever."

Kurumi giggled for a moment and said, "Well, since there's no guy that's caught my attention, I think I'm safe from that, at least for awhile."

Natsume grinned at her, and said, "I agree, the best ones are already taken, and we're related to one of them, anyway." She sobered and added, "There's also a hidden weakness. That buckle, it's actually a release mechanism. If something hits it, the armor will fall apart."

"That could be a problem," Kurumi said, thoughtfully.

"I agree," Natsume said, "If that happens, you'd be at a bit of a disadvantage."

"Not to mention naked," Kurumi said, blushing slightly.

Natsume giggled and said, "There is that."

Kurumi stepped out of the furo and began toweling herself dry. "I need to get started on my schoolwork, I swear that my homeroom teacher is a tyrant, all of the work he piled up on us today," she said, half grumbling.

Natsume slid into the furo, and retorted, "You think you have it hard. Just wait until you get into the next level. Then you'll know the meaning of the word homework. And then there's senior year, where we not only have classwork, but we have to cram for the college entrance exams. That's going to be sheer torture."

Kurumi frowned at that, and then left the chamber, presumably to dress.

* * *

Kurumi leapt from roof to roof, a huge grin on her face. "My body feels so light! This armor is incredible!" she exclaimed as she neared her home. She jumped down and landed in her yard, where she found her sister performing a kata. "That looks new," Kurumi said, an oddly arrogant note in her voice.

"It is, Father just taught it to me," Natsume replied, "I've been working on it ever since I got home from school today."

"I wonder why he didn't show it to me," Kurumi whined petulantly, "After all, I'm the real martial artist in the family."

Natsume rolled her eyes and ignored the remark, something her sister had started saying ever since the armor had picked her. "I suppose because you weren't here. You rushed off after changing into the douji," she replied simply.

"Well, I'm here now, so I guess he can show it to me. It looks pretty easy, I should pick it up quickly," Kurumi boasted.

"He's not here, he went out for a meeting with Tendo-san," Natsume said, "Though I think it really was an excuse to go out drinking. At least that was Mother's opinion after he left. She's in the kitchen cooking, so dinner for the three of us will be ready soon."

"Well then, you can show me," Kurumi suggested.

Natsume finished the last movement in the kata, and bowed to no one in particular. "I think not, I need to go inside and wash up for dinner, and then get started on my schoolwork," she said, suiting her actions to her words, and leaving her sister staring at her open-mouthed.

* * *

Hinako smiled at her friends as she joined them for lunch beneath the outstretched branches of their tree. Everyone greeted her, and pointedly ignored Kurumi who had sat down with her, something that had become standard over the past week, as the young girl had become more and more unpleasant to be around, as her ego had expanded horribly.

"Hey, sugar, do you want an okonomiyaki? I have a seafood special with your name on it," Ukyo asked, as she expertly worked her portable grill.

"Sounds good to me," Hinako replied, as she opened up her bento to find what Kasumi and Yumi had packed for her lunch.

"Are you fitting in with your class, sis?" Nabiki asked.

Hinako smiled and replied, "Yes, things are going well, and I really like my homeroom teacher. He's an excellent instructor."

"I don't like him much, he gives out too much homework," Kurumi added.

"When do you think Ranma and Akane will return?" Yuka asked.

Nabiki sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, though somehow they are turning in the homework assignments."

"Why'd they leave, anyway?" Sayuri asked, "They didn't say anything about a training trip until they saw that odd chair in the family room."

"I don't know. They just decided they needed some time away, I guess," Hinako replied.

Nabiki gazed down at the leaf-covered ground in front of her and said nothing.

* * *

Natsume staggered into the front hallway, assisted by Hinako, only to be met by Kasumi, who was wringing her hands in dismay. "Help me with her, she's hurt a bit," the young girl exclaimed.

"Let's get her into the kitchen where I can take a look at her," Kasumi said, allowing her training to come to the fore. She rushed to the other side of the injured girl and the three of them made their way into the kitchen, the two newcomers not bothering to remove their shoes as they did so.

Gratefully, Natsume sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, while Hinako knelt to remove her shoes.

"What happened to you?" Kasumi asked as she reached for the small but well-stocked medical kit that she and her husband had put together after watching a few of the more strenuous workouts that the youth of the house went through.

Natsume merely blushed, and hid her face.

"Don't tell me you fought Kurumi again," Kasumi said.

"Okay, I won't tell you," Natsume replied, cheekily, earning what passed for a glare from Kasumi.

"That's the fifth time you've tried to defeat her since she started wearing that blasted armor," Nabiki said, startling all of them, as they hadn't heard her enter the kitchen.

Natsume groaned slightly as she shifted in the chair to find a more comfortable position. She replied, "I'm painfully aware of that, thank you very much. Even my bruises have bruises."

"Then why do you keep doing it?" Kasumi asked, clearly puzzled, "Surely it isn't your pride that's driving this."

"No, it's not that. It's actually that I love my sister that I keep trying to beat her," Natsume replied.

"Huh?" Hinako asked.

"I don't like the person my sister has turned into," Natsume explained, "I'm trying to save her from herself. She's grown arrogant and just a bit insolent. Mother is beside herself, and even Father is beginning to grow tired of it. He's refused to teach her anymore since she won't listen to his critique. She thinks she's so good now she doesn't need to learn from him, I guess."

"And she was such a sweet girl before," Kasumi said, sadly.

"That **is** the saddest part of the whole shameful story," Natsume said softly, "Her friends at school are starting to shun her, and she doesn't seem to realize it is because of her strutting around as if she is better than they, and boasting about her prowess as a true martial artist."

"All of the clan at school has started ignoring her when she joins us for lunch," Hinako said, sadly, "I miss my best friend and want her back."

"We all do," Nabiki said, "Perhaps Ranma and Akane can help."

"Yeah, when they return from wherever," Hinako said.

"Oh, they came back from the mountains this afternoon," Kasumi said.

"Good, we need to ask them to help," Natsume said.

"Help do what?" a female voice asked.

"Oh Ranma, there you are," Kasumi said placidly, "Help with Kurumi. Daddy brought that armor back from the temple where it was on display, and well, apparently it picked little Kurumi as its wearer."

"That could be a problem," Ranma said tiredly, her face set in a frown, "How much stronger is she?"

"She's mostly just faster," Natsume replied, "A little stronger than I am now, I suppose."

"But the fact that she's now a better martial artist than Natsume has gone to her head," Hinako said, sadly, "And it's turned her into an arrogant little bitch."

"Hinako!" Kasumi gasped, "That wasn't a nice thing to say about her."

"Decent description, though," Nabiki said.

"Someone should talk to her, maybe that would bring her to her senses," Ranma said.

"I've tried several times to no avail," Natsume said, "But she simply won't listen to me anymore."

"No offense, but she probably questions your motives," Nabiki interjected.

Natsume sighed heavily and merely nodded.

Ranma thought for a moment and then said, "Perhaps Kasumi should talk to her first."

"I've tried," Kasumi said, tiredly, a rare frown on her face, "None of us seem to be able to get through to her. She's just not listening to anyone."

"I just want my sister back!" Natsume wailed suddenly.

Akane looked at Ranma and said, "It's worth a try, don't you think?"

"I guess. I'll try to talk to her tomorrow before class," Ranma replied, doubtfully, "Though if Mom and Pop have given up on her, and Kasumi can't get through to her, I'm not sure she'll listen to me, either."

As the conversation continued, each of them telling about how bad things had gotten, no one heard the quiet sobs coming from beyond the open kitchen window, where an unseen onlooker had heard every word.

* * *

Later that afternoon, while they finished the last of their schoolwork, Akane put down her pen and sighed. She asked, "Did we do the right thing, running off like we did?"

Ranma turned troubled eyes toward her and echoed her sigh. "I thought so at the time, but now, I think it was a mistake," he replied, "Though there's no guarantee the douji would have picked you instead."

A weary look appeared on her beautiful face, and Akane nodded. "I suppose, things are a lot different this time, so maybe you're right," she said sadly, "But if it did, we would have handled things better. For one thing, you trained with me this time, so I wouldn't have needed to challenge you the way I did. And I would have understood you wanting me to get rid of the armor."

"We did screw up badly, didn't we? And now Kurumi is suffering the consequences of our mistake," Ranma said, miserably.

"So we need to fix it somehow," Akane said, firmly.

Ranma looked at her and nodded his head. "Tomorrow, we'll do whatever it takes. Natsume needs her sister back," he said.

Akane looked at him and nodded. "I agree, whatever it takes," she vowed.

* * *

Kasumi moved around the kitchen, humming a pop song she had heard on the radio the night before, as she prepared the morning meal, and watching a gorgeous sunrise as the sun finally made its appearance.

"Good morning, Kasumi," Sayuri said, stifling a yawn, as she shuffled into the kitchen wearing her bathrobe.

"Good morning, Sayuri," Kasumi replied, "Isn't it a lovely morning?"

Sayuri glanced out the window at the sunrise and replied, "Yes, it is indeed. Where's Mom?"

"She's still in bed asleep after coming in so late last night with Daddy," Kasumi replied, "When she and I talked before they went out, I mentioned to her that I would be staying on campus until near dinner working on my project, so she volunteered to fix the meal. I told her to catch up on her sleep this morning then, since I rather expected them to come in very late. Especially when I found out that they were going out dancing, as much as your mother enjoys it."

"I'll give you a hand then," Sayuri said, "After I visit the furoba, and turn on the heater so the water will be warm for Ranma and Akane when they finish their morning training."

"Oh good, you can fix the bentos for lunch. We'll need an extra one for Tofu, since I won't be home to fix him anything," Kasumi said, gratefully.

"I'll be back in just a moment," Sayuri said, and left the kitchen.

Kasumi continued to work on breakfast, until her concentration was broken by the sound of someone knocking, rather loudly, on the front door. "Oh my, I wonder who that could be this early in the morning," she said, as she dusted her hands off on her apron, glad that she had not yet started anything other than the rice cooker, and made her way to the front door. She opened the door to find Kurumi waiting patiently on the engawa, a large box under one arm, and dressed quite nicely in a red kimono, a very serious look on her face.

"May I come in?" Kurumi asked.

"Of course, welcome to our house," Kasumi replied, moving out of the way.

The young woman entered the house, and slid out of her shoes. "Is your Father up?" she asked.

"No, it's too early for him to be out of bed, He and Yumi were out late last night" Kasumi replied, "Which reminds me, why are you here so near dawn?"

"I have something I need to do," Kurumi said, her eyes downcast.

Kasumi gazed at her for a moment, and then said, decisively, "Come, you can wait for him in the kitchen. I already have tea, so you may have a cup while you wait."

"NO!" Kurumi exclaimed, "I need to see him! Before I lose my resolve." As she spoke, the package in her hand thumped as if something was trying to get out.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, wringing her hands for a moment. She gazed at Kurumi for what seemed like forever, as if she was trying to peer into her soul, and then asked, "Are you sure it's important enough to wake him?"

"I need to do this while I still can," Kurumi begged.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, "Well, then, if I must, I must. You can wait in the family room, while I go get him."

Kurumi smiled in gratitude as she entered the family room, kneeling quickly by the table. She placed the wooden box, a heavy steel hasp securing the lid down, on the table in front of her and eyed it balefully, as if it were the source of all evilness in the world. Soon, she heard the sound of someone approaching.

A bleary-eyed, stubble-faced man stumbled into the family room, dressed in a tattered bathrobe, which had clearly seen better days.

"I am truly sorry for disturbing you so early, Tendo-san," Kurumi said, bowing deeply enough that her forehead touched the floor.

Soun sank gingerly to the floor beside her. "Oh don't worry. It's quite all right. I had to get up to answer the door, anyway," he said, yawning as he did so.

Kurumi slid the box over to him and said, "I am not worthy of this honour. So I must return the battle douji to its proper custodian."

The contents of the box began to wail, a sound strangely echoed by Soun, as his face paled. "No!" he wailed, tears flying from his eyes in a torrent, especially as he contemplated the onrushing disaster.

"I must!" Kurumi exclaimed, "It's for the best!"

"But why?" Soun begged, "Don't you wish to fulfill your potential as a martial artist?"

"Yes, I do. But I need to do so by the training I undergo, not through the use of a crutch," Kurumi replied firmly.

The box began to shake.

"Stop it, Armie!" Kurumi said sternly, "I can not be your wearer anymore. I have to choose what is right over what is easy, and you are the easy way out. I can't face myself in the mirror anymore because of what I have become."

Soun trembled as Kurumi rose to her feet, bowing once more.

"Thank you for seeing me," the young girl said, taking one last look at the box, and then fleeing down the hall.

Soun stared in horror at the box, as the douji began to cry in earnest now that it had truly been abandoned by the person it had deemed worthy, something that had never happened to it before.

* * *

Nodoka hurried quickly down the stairs of her home, in close to a panic, as she was extremely late to begin her preparations for the morning meal. For some reason, her alarm had not rung, and it wasn't until the sunlight had made its way through the heavy curtains that she had roused. She nearly flew to the kitchen, only to screech to a stop, as she smelled something cooking and heard the clatter of utensils. She slowly entered the room to find her youngest daughter, wearing her best apron over a new kimono, cooking breakfast. "What is going on here?" she demanded.

Kurumi stopped her stirring, and turned, leaving the spoon in the soup. She replied, in a childlike voice, "Fixing breakfast, Mommy." She hesitated for a moment, and then bowed deeply. "Mother," she said, formally, "I apologize for my behavior the past two weeks. I was an arrogant bitch, and I am truly sorry for my actions. You have brought me into your home and into your family without a complaint, and I have treated you badly. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive this wayward child."

Nodoka hastily wiped a tear away, and replied, "Of course, dear girl, I can forgive you."

Kurumi straightened up, just in time to receive a hug from the woman she was honoured to call mother. She whimpered slightly, and said, "Mommy, I promise to never do anything to make you unhappy with me."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, dear. We all make mistakes. That is how we gain experience, after all," Nodoka said, fondly, no longer bothering to hide the tears that she was shedding, "You'll do foolish things again, that is the nature of youth." She chuckled for a moment, and added, "And we adults aren't immune to that, either. Now, why don't I finish up, since I expect you have some other apologies to make."

Kurumi smiled a bit wryly and replied, "Oh my Goddess, yes. More than I wish to admit to, to be honest, but I'll start with those that are here."

"I'd start with your sister. She's probably waking about now. Genma, I'd wait until he has some food in his belly," Nodoka suggested.

"True, he usually is in a better mood when he is stuffed to the gills," Kurumi replied, impishly.

"As are you, my daughter," Nodoka replied, a gentle smile removing the sting from the words.

* * *

Ranma watched with narrowed eyes as his opponent began her attack. Dodging or blocking each of her blows, he grinned and teased, "Getting better, Akane! You almost got me that time!"

Akane grinned back at him, and increased her speed, which made it a bit harder for her husband to avoid her attack, and also made it obvious that she was the only thing under the loose top she had chosen to spar in.

A particularly energetic bounce caught Ranma's attention, and that was all the distraction that Akane needed, as she connected with his chest with her foot. Off-balance, he fell backwards and landed in the koi pond, instantly transforming into the redhaired girl.

"Nice one, Akane," Ranma said, with a grin, "Liked the show, too."

Akane glanced down, and saw that she was exposing her chest. "Oh well, it is Anything Goes," she said, with a wry grin, fixing her shirt.

"Yes it is," Ranma said, as she started to chuckle.

Akane reached out a hand, with the obvious intention of helping her husband out of the pond, only to get pulled into the water. "Ranma!" she shrieked as she surfaced, wiping her wet hair from her face.

"I thought we agreed that it was Anything Goes," Ranma replied with a smirk as she dodged the wave of water coming her direction. She clambered onto one of the rocks, and pulled her wife up with her.

Akane took in the bedraggled appearance of her companion. "We look like a pair of drowned rats," she said, bursting into laughter.

Ranma made a face at her and then began to laugh as well. "We'd better get inside soon," she said, as she rose quickly to her feet.

The two soaking wet girls slid open the sliding door that separated the family room from the engawa. "Kasumi!" the redhaired girl called, "Could you bring us a couple of towels? We're sorta soaked to the skin."

"I still can't believe you pulled me into the pond," Akane said.

"Never watched any of those old romantic movies from the 60's then did you?" Ranma snickered.

"Oh my!" Sayuri exclaimed as she joined them, carrying two large fluffy towels.

"What's the matter Sayuri?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, obviously you heard we were wet," Ranma added.

"Um, I didn't expect to be the judge in a wet t-shirt contest when I got up this morning, that's all," Sayuri replied, "You two are in white, and very very wet."

Akane glanced down, and blushed as her top was essentially translucent. She grabbed her towel, and wrapped herself in it quickly. "Ranma, get your towel," she hissed.

Ranma did as she was told, and wrapped the towel around her body, covering her prominent assets. She finally noticed that her father-in-law was sitting in the room, and she blushed, until she realized he hadn't even noticed that they were there, so intently was he staring at a large, padlocked box, wrapped in heavy chain.

"Why Kurumi? Why?" the older man began to wail, rocking back and forth.

Akane asked, "What happened to Kurumi?"

Sayuri replied, "Nothing, as far as I know. She was here earlier, said she wanted to talk to Mr. Tendo, and then left this box behind when she went home. He's been like this ever since."

"You don't think it's," Akane began.

Ranma nodded her her as she began to back away. "I certainly do think it is the battle douji," she said.

"Daddy, why didn't you get rid of that thing?" Akane asked, as she joined her husband, keeping a wary eye on the box, which had started moving.

The lid flew off from the box, and the battle douji soared out, looking for the person it was sensing. Making a happy noise, a bright white light shot out heading toward Akane, only for Ranma to leap in front of her at the last moment, blocking the light from hitting her wife.

"RANMA!" Akane exclaimed, as the girl in front of her stiffened in shock. Her clothing, and the towel shredded, leaving her bare to the world for just a moment, until the armor flowed over the red-haired girl, adjusting to fit snugly.

"This could be a little awkward," Ranma said nervously, waiting for the armor to spit her out like it did 'before.' 'Though, it actually fits me,' she thought, 'not like then.'

Akane asked, breathlessly, "Ranma, are you okay?"

"Never felt better," she replied, turning to her wife, with a wry smile on her face.

"You know you didn't have to jump in front of me," Akane said, "I'm a martial artist also, you know."

"Sorry, it's just a reflex, I don't want to see you get hurt," Ranma replied, hurriedly, as she ducked her head.

The armor continued to make happy, yet confused noises, as it realized it had accepted someone other than the person she had found worthy.

"It sounds so happy," Akane said, tenderly, "I hate what we're going to do."

"I'm not too thrilled about it either," Ranma admitted, "You have a pretty hard punch."

"I'm not going to hit you, silly," Akane said, with a cocky grin.

"Then what are, mmmmmpppph," Ranma said, only to be silenced as Akane's lips met hers, and they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Get a room!" Sayuri teased, as she pretended to fan herself.

Soun gazed at the two girls kissing in shock, while the douji began to whimper.

After what seemed an eternity, the young couple parted, panting heavily, both of them very excited and flustered. "I love you, Akane Saotome," Ranma said, huskily.

"And I love you too, Ranma," Akane echoed, her eyes shining brightly.

The douji suddenly chuckled, and flowed around them both, stretching around them somehow to encase them. A bright light, blinding everyone around them with its intensity, surrounded them. When the glow finally faded, the douji was gone, though somehow Ranma had regained her clothing.

"WOW!" Akane breathed, "That was amazing!" Her chest was heaving, as she tried to regain her composure.

Ranma panted, "Need hot water, now!"

"Oh my, yes," Akane said, her cheeks still flushed.

"Tell Kasumi that we'll be late for breakfast," Ranma said, as the two girls sprinted toward the furoba and hot water.

* * *

Author's Note: At last, the next instalment of this epic. I must apologize Gentle Readers for the delay, but once again Real Life has conspired to limit the amount of time I can write. Hopefully things will get better soon, and the updates will return to a more reasonable schedule. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. Also, the next chapter will have a plot bunny inspired by RanmoonBoy. Hopefully it will meet with everyone's approval. 


	86. Intermezzo

Chapter 86 Intermezzo

Kurumi knocked on the door to her sister's room and waited anxiously.

"Who is it?" Natsume asked, drowsily.

"It's me," Kurumi replied, "Can I come in, please?"

"Why? So you can gloat some more?" Natsume shot back.

Kurumi slid the door open and dropped to her knees, bowing so deeply that her forehead touched the cold wooden floor. "No, I came to beg for your forgiveness, elder sister," she said, a touch of sadness in her voice, "I have wronged you greatly, and turned into someone I despise. An arrogant bitch, not worthy to be your sister."

Natsume knelt on the floor next to her and gently raised her up. "I agree, you did turn into an arrogant bitch, and it broke my heart to see that," she said, somberly, "But what caused this epiphany?"

"I looked at myself in the mirror, and realized that I didn't like what I was seeing," Kurumi replied, her eyes still downcast so that she wouldn't see the disappointment that she was sure was in her sister's eyes. A heavy, heartfelt sigh escaped her and she added, "And I overheard what was said at the Tendo's yesterday afternoon when I, no when the dougi defeated you."

"I thought I heard something outside," Natsume said.

Kurumi finally lifted her head, and said, brokenly, "That was me, sister. And to hear how all of the people I called friends saw how I was behaving gave me a wake-up call. And then I saw that it wasn't me who was defeating you; it was that accursed armor. I returned it to Mr. Tendo. If I want to have any respect as a martial artist, I need to not rely on a crutch, but instead rely on my strength, my skills, and my training. Things that the suit would not allow me to learn."

Natsume smiled then, and hugged her sister. "Then I forgive you, not that there is truly anything to forgive. You have learned a hard lesson, one that will be with you always, and make you a better person, so all of the pain I experienced was worth it," she said.

"But I hurt you so many times," Kurumi protested.

Natsume chided her gently, "Am I not a martial artist? Yes, I had bruises, but bruises fade with time. And Father provided a salve for me that helped immensely even there. He was proud of my actions, my attempts to show you where you had strayed. And he will be even prouder of you for resisting the siren's call, and finally doing the right thing."

"Do you believe so? I was so disrespectful of him," Kurumi asked, her eyes bleak with despair.

"No little sister, I know so. He knows that we are still learning, and will stumble occasionally," Natsume said, "The disrespect, well that will be a bit more difficult for him to overlook, though neither of our brothers seem to show him much respect."

"Well, Ranma is the grand master, so that seems reasonable, and Konatsu is Konatsu," Kurumi said.

At that moment, they heard Nodoka calling them down for breakfast, and all thoughts of philosophy, or what passed for philosophy for them, vanished in an instant, as Kurumi raced downstairs, while Natsume threw on her robe and followed at a more sedate pace.

* * *

Akane threw the bedcovers off of her, and gently removed Ranma's arm from around her waist, and slid out of the bed as she heard her sister call from the other side of the door. Grabbing her robe, she slid it over her nude body and walked over to the door, and slid it open just enough to talk.

"Breakfast is ready, Akane," Hinako said, blushing heavily.

"Tell Kasumi we might be a bit late, and to just save us something," Akane said, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Hinako sighed wistfully and nodded, "Hai, I'll tell her." She turned away and added, impishly, "I'll make sure she saves at least a double portion of everything. I'm sure that the two of you have worked up quite an appetite."

Akane chuckled and replied, "Yes, we did have quite the workout this morning." She slid the door closed and then allowed her robe to slide off her shoulders, exposing her finely chiseled body.

"What a perfect arse," Ranma said, as he sat up in the bed, allowing the bedcovers to fall to his lap.

"When you're a girl, yours is better," Akane retorted.

Ranma smiled and replied, a bit dryly, "I wouldn't know. I've only ever seen it in a mirror, but wouldn't it be a bit perverted for me to think so?"

"Good point," Akane said, her eyes dancing with suppressed mirth. She turned to face him, placing her hands on her hips, an impish look on her face.

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "I know that look," he said, his grin even broader, "but we've already done it three times. Not sure I've recovered enough for another round."

Akane's smile widened as she strutted toward him, especially when she saw the tent that was forming in the bedding. "Oh, I'm not so sure about that, something appears to be interested," she said, a little breathlessly as she quickly joined him in bed.

* * *

Nodoka frowned slightly as she watched her family eat. Her husband was eating at his normal pace, as if he hadn't been fed for a month, food crumbs flying all over the place. In contrast, Natsume was eating daintily, savoring each bite. Kurumi, on the other hand, was barely eating, picking at her food with her chopsticks, her normal healthy appetite apparently missing. "Are you indisposed, daughter?" she finally asked.

Kurumi shook her head and replied, "A bit of a nervous stomach is all, Mommy."

"Then have some of the tea, it should help settle things," Nodoka suggested.

The young girl dutifully obeyed and sipped some of her tea, her eyes never leaving her father as she watched him carefully.

Genma's meal was soon in his stomach, and he cast covetous eyes at his daughter's nearly untouched food. "Are you going to eat that?" he asked.

Kurumi sighed and answered, "Eventually, I guess." Then she surprised him by moving away from the table, and bowing deeply. "Father," she said, in a formal tone, "I have wronged you greatly with my disrespectful attitude. I have become arrogant, overly proud of my abilities, and unwilling to learn from you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me of those things that I have said and done since I accepted the dougi. I know now that that was a mistake. It was not truly my abilities, or at least not any that I had legitimately developed."

Genma glanced over at his wife to see her reaction, but Nodoka was looking back at him impassively. Sighing, he replied, "Of course daughter, I forgive you. I know how easy it is to fall prey to a temptation like the dougi. But learning martial arts is not something that you can cheat your way through. It is something that you must gain by your blood, your sweat and your tears, as you practice, and strive to become the best."

Kurumi's face beamed and she whispered, "Thank you, Daddy."

"What did you do with the armor?" Nodoka asked, as suddenly it seemed her daughter's appetite had returned since she was attacking her food with great vigor.

"I took it back to the Tendo's and gave it to Tendo-san. I secured it very well," Kurumi replied, between mouthfuls.

"That's probably for the best," Genma growled, "That armor was nothing but trouble."

"But what if it breaks free again?" Natsume asked.

Kurumi shrugged and replied, "I told Armie I couldn't wear her anymore. That I had to choose what was right, and not take shortcuts. She didn't like hearing that at all, but that's when she stopped fighting and let me put her in the box. She did cry all the way over to the Tendos. It was a good thing I was roof-hopping, I imagine I would have gotten some very strange looks if I had walked down the street."

"I don't know," Nodoka said, slowly, "This is Nerima, after all, and we're starting to get used to odd things happening."

* * *

Kasumi hid a grin as Ranma and Akane finally made their appearance in the family room, which was currently empty except for her kneeling at the table, sipping a cup of tea, a wisp of steam rising from the cup. She said, "I saved breakfast for you, but it's back in the kitchen keeping warm. I'll get it after I finish my tea."

Ranma shook his head and replied, "That's okay, Kasumi. I'll get it; you enjoy your tea in comfort. It's the least I can do for making you do a bit of extra work."

"Oh I don't mind," Kasumi said, "It wasn't that hard to save you two something. Now, on the other hand, if your father had been here, it might have been a little harder."

"True enough," Ranma said, chuckling as he headed out the door to make his way to the kitchen.

"Not that I'm prying, or anything, but what set you two off this morning? Was it something the armor did to you? And what was that odd light?" Kasumi asked.

"Channeling Nabiki just a bit there, sis," Akane reproved gently, though her eyes were dancing with mirth.

"Oh dear, I suppose I am," Kasumi said, giggling.

Akane joined in for a moment and then replied, "The armor didn't cause us to get excited. Well, not directly, anyway. Even though, when it enveloped me, my clothing vanished as well, leaving us pressed together with nothing between us. I'm not sure how long we were in the armor, because to us it seemed like we kissed for a very long time after it did. And I guess that kiss really turned me on and Ranma too. Of course, according to Ranma, just seeing me breathe gets him in the mood." She paused for a moment, and giggled. "Of course, seeing him after a good workout, all sweaty and glowing like he does, that makes me want to jump him," she added.

"Akane!" Kasumi exclaimed, "How improper!"

"Like you haven't wanted to do that with Doc," Ranma said, dryly, as he walked in carrying a heavy tray. Part of the load was a large pitcher of ice water, and a pair of glasses. He carefully set the tray on the table and sat down next to his wife.

"What's with the water, Ranma?" she asked, quickly changing the subject, only her faint blush showing that she had reacted to his comment.

Ranma replied, with a straight face, "For some reason, I'm feeling rather drained at the moment."

"Can't imagine why that would be," Akane added, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, then who was it that managed to get eight syllables out of Ranma's name a few minutes ago?" Kasumi asked, glad she could get her revenge.

"You heard me?" Akane gasped.

"I think most of Tokyo heard you," Kasumi replied, before she broke down giggling.

"Naw, not possible," Ranma said, "Tokyo is entirely too large. Now, Nerima prefect, maybe."

Akane hid her face for a second, and then asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Well, Tofu had to go to the clinic to see an emergency patient, Yumi and Daddy went grocery shopping, Nabiki headed over to meet with Souta for a picnic and boating on the lake. Hinako and Sayuri are in the dojo, practicing their katas, and I've been doing a little cleaning," Kasumi replied.

"We should join them after we eat," Akane observed as she served herself some of the soup and rice from the tray.

"I agree," Ranma said, as he placed several small fish and pickled vegetables on a plate and placed it in front of her, "You need to keep up your strength."

"Thanks, Ranchan, I am a bit hungry," Akane admitted, as she stole a few more vegetables, and doubled her serving of rice.

Kasumi's eyes grew wide as she watched her sister and brother-in-law devour the food, their chopsticks flashing, almost in a blur. In mere moments, all of the food was gone, except for one last pickle, which they were dueling over. "Oh my, are you two still hungry?" she asked, breaking Akane's concentration, and allowing Ranma to steal the last pickle and place it in his mouth.

Akane frowned slightly and then replied, "Actually, I am, for some reason."

"I could do with a bit more, myself," Ranma admitted, sheepishly.

Kasumi frowned and said, "That was three helpings for each of you. I can't believe that you still want more."

"It is a bit odd, now that I stop to think about it," Akane said, the frown deepening for a moment.

"Don't worry about it, Kasumi," Ranma said, "Just make a bit extra for lunch. We should get to the dojo and check on Hinako and Sayuri, anyway."

* * *

Ranma leaned against the wall of the dojo, his eyes slightly unfocused as he watched Akane go through a particularly difficult exercise, indeed a kata that she had had trouble performing. As he watched, his frown grew, as he saw that something had indeed changed in his wife.

Sayuri and Hinako had stopped what they were doing and watched in awe as their friend and sister performed, moving gracefully from one position to the next, soaring into the air on several of the moves, her speed greater than she had ever shown before.

Ranma said, gently, "Stop."

Akane paused and turned toward her husband, breathing evenly, a perplexed look on her face. "Did I make a mistake?" she asked.

"Spar with me," he replied, his frown still apparent. He glanced around the dojo, and then added, "Outside, I think."

"Ranma, you're beginning to scare me. Is there something wrong?" Akane asked.

"Something odd, and in Nerima that could be dangerous," Ranma replied as he slid the door open and motioned for her to leave.

Akane bit her lip anxiously and then walked outside onto the verdant grass.

"A bit further away," Ranma suggested as he followed her out, "I'd like to restrict the damage to the buildings as much as possible."

"You're scaring me, Ranma," Akane said, as she did what he asked and backed off to the middle of the large yard, her eyes never leaving her grim-faced husband.

Ranma joined her, keeping a few feet between them. A faint smile appeared on his face, as he said, echoing a much earlier conversation, "Fight me for real, Akane."

Akane looked at him uncertainly and then bowed. "As you wish, sensei," she said, an odd tremor in her voice.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then in a sudden blur, Akane moved.

* * *

Sayuri and Hinako huddled on the broad step and watched; their jaws dropping in disbelief as Ranma and Akane battled on the lawn, on the roof, on the wall, even once incredibly on the clothesline, bounding from place to place, each blow flickering faster than the one before.

"She's never fought like this before," Hinako gasped, holding onto Sayuri.

"And he's picked up his pace as well. Look at him, blocking each blow with ease," Sayuri said, shivering, "What's happened to them? Or have they been holding back on us?"

"Oooh, that'll leave a bruise," Hinako said, as one of Akane's strikes managed to slip past Ranma's defenses and catch him brutally in the side.

Sayuri shook her head and said, "I don't think so, she pulled back just before it landed."

"Oh my," Kasumi breathed as she stepped outside with a basket of laundry to see them battling in a blur of moving figures.

* * *

Ranma jumped back and shouted, "HOLD!"

Akane's fist whistled past as he ducked away, and then she froze. "What the hell just happened?" she asked.

"Honestly, Acchan, I don't know," Ranma replied, wearily, "Nothing bad, I think."

"I've never fought like that, moved so quickly," Akane said, "And I didn't even break a sweat."

Ranma frowned and said, "I've come close, but only when I was sparring with Pop. Our fights were nearly like that." He paled as he suddenly remembered one other time he had moved like that. He moved closer to her and turned so that his back was toward everyone else.

"What's wrong?" Akane asked.

"There was one other time I fought like that," Ranma replied quietly so no one else could hear, "When I fought Saffron to save you. I had to move about as fast this time with you as I did against him."

"This is a good thing, then, isn't it?" Akane asked, shutting out the rest of the world.

"I think so," Ranma replied, "Something's changed us. I'm where I would have been after another year of practicing, and you've become more, oh I don't have the words." His voice softened even more as he whispered, "I knew you had potential. The dougi showed me before." Suddenly he stopped as he slapped his forehead. "We need to talk to Doc and Cologne," he said.

Akane blinked and asked, "Huh?"

"The dougi. It did something. We need to talk to her; she's the closest thing we have to an expert on strange artifacts. And he knows more about ki than anyone, even her," Ranma said, impatiently.

Akane looked at him blankly for a moment and then frowned. "You're right. And I just remembered, the last thing Armie said before the flash of light and it vanished, was 'I'm Free!' That has to mean something as well," she said.

"I going to call the Nekohaten, and ask Cologne to meet us at the clinic in an hour," Ranma said.

"Ranma, Akane," Kasumi called, "What is going on?"

Ranma turned from where he and Akane had ended their match over by the challenge gate, and walked over to join her, his eyes troubled. Once he was close enough to talk, he replied, "Not really quite sure, Kasumi. But, we'll find out soon, I hope. Akane and I are going to go to the clinic and have Doc take a look at us, and then talk to Cologne. Between the two of them, I'm sure we'll find out."

"The armor did something to us," Akane said, "At least, that's the only explanation that we can come up with."

"The way you were moving, both of you, that was amazing," Hinako exclaimed as she ran over from the dojo, "How did you learn to do that?"

Ranma shrugged and answered, "Don't know, Hi-chan, I don't really know." He hugged Akane briefly and said, "I'm going to go make that call if you want to work with the girls until we need to leave."

Akane frowned at him for a moment, and then nodded. "I do have the new kata that we worked up to show them," she said, clearly troubled by something she thought she saw in her husband's face.

* * *

Cologne looked around the orderly kitchen, nodding her head in satisfaction at the sight of everyone working hard to ready the restaurant for the noon rush. Since school was closed due to it being a festival holiday, Shampoo was able to stay much longer than normal to help with the preparations, and the young Saotome girls had also arrived to help, so the ingredients for the various meals were nearly ready. In fact, Natsume had already started several of the large pots full of water on to boil for the various ramens that they would be making, while Shampoo was humming a Chinese lullaby as she stirred the first of many soup pots. Kurumi was rolling out dough for the dumplings that would soon be filled with chicken, or bean paste. 'They have learned well,' the old woman thought, as Kodachi entered the kitchen, with Mousse in tow.

"The tables are all set, Grandmother," Kodachi said, bowing slightly, "And Mousse darling and I are ready to help in here. What can I do?"

"Mousse can carry in several cases of beer to put in the refrigerator. And if you could help Shampoo with the soups, that would be wonderful. She's got some miso going, but I don't think she's gotten to the green onion soup yet," Cologne replied.

"No not yet, Grandmother," Shampoo said, as she tasted her soup. A brief frown appeared on her face and she murmured, "Hmmm, tastes off just a bit, what is missing?"

The old woman noticed the frown and hopped over to her. "What's wrong, granddaughter?"

"It doesn't taste quite right," Shampoo replied, "But I know I followed the recipe perfectly, and I've made this soup hundreds of times by now."

"Let me have a taste," Cologne said, as she ducked a spoon in and slowly sipped. "Ahh, it needs a pinch more salt, and more of the fungus, I think. About fifty milliliters, I would say. Then, try it again after it has simmered for ten minutes for the flavours to blend," the old woman suggested.

The phone rang at that moment, shattering the normal buzz of the kitchen. Kodachi reached for the instrument, and answered, "Nekohaten, Kodachi speaking, how may I help you?" She listened for a moment and then said, "Elder, it is Ranma. He's like to talk to you."

"Did he say what it was about?" Cologne asked as she made her way across the kitchen.

"No, but he does sound a bit shaken up about something," she replied, handing the handset to the old woman.

"Hello, sonny boy, what can I do for you?" Cologne asked. To her surprise, she was answered by the young man in Chinese, indicating some attempt at discretion was being made. Frowning, Cologne narrowed her eyes, and replied, "Yes, I'll meet you at the clinic. It will take me some time to get there, but this sounds important. A hour will be fine, I can finish what needs doing, and there are a few scrolls and books that I want to research in before seeing you anyway."

"Is something wrong with big brother Ranma?" Kurumi asked, her eyes wide with fright.

"No, not necessarily," Cologne replied, "Shampoo, you and Kodachi are in charge until I get back. If I haven't returned by the time we need to open, one of you run the front with Mousse, and the other keep the kitchen humming. I expect the rest of you to do your best and listen to them."

A chorus of "Yes, Grandmother," was her answer, not that she seriously expected anything different, as she hopped out the door and climbed the stairs to her study to find the aforementioned scrolls and books that she kept locked away to prevent idle hands from finding them and misusing the dangerous information contained within them, for the clan secrets were not something to be left laying around for anyone to stumble across.

* * *

Nearly 45 minutes later, Ranma stuck his head in the dojo and rescued Sayuri and Hinako from the strenuous workout that they were going through. "Akane, it's time for us to meet with Doc and Cologne," he said, earning smiles from the two girls who were dripping with sweat, while Akane looked as fresh as a daisy.

"You heard the man," Akane said, "We're done, so go get cleaned up. When we get back, what do you say we dress up and go to the festival down at the park?"

"It's another flower festival, isn't it?" Ranma asked.

"Well, yes, what's wrong with that?" Akane asked.

Ranma replied, "Nothing, really, just double-checking. And it'll give you a chance to wear that kimono of your mother's that you've been looking for an excuse to wear."

"I was going to meet Hiroshi there around six," Sayuri said, "And Yuka and Daisuke were coming around then as well."

"What about you, little sister? Are you coming?" Akane asked.

Hinako frowned and asked, "I won't be getting in the way, not having a boyfriend or anything, will I?"

"Of course not," Ranma replied, "Besides, maybe you'll meet someone there."

"Yeah, right," Hinako scoffed, "Like that'll happen." A wistful smile appeared on her face, however, one that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of them.

"Stranger things than that have happened around here," Akane said, trading amused glances with her husband, who somehow without either of them noticing, was now a rather moist redhead.

"Sorry, Ranma," Kasumi called, as she smiled apologetically from where she was standing with the water hose, "When I turned it on, it got away from me for a moment."

Ranma glanced down at herself, and smiled, a bit ruefully. "Don't worry about it, sis. I was going to change anyway so Doc could examine me like this," she said, "Though I had intended on doing it in his office."

"We'd better dash, you don't have time to change back, or even dry off," Akane said.

* * *

The young couple opened the door to the clinic and stepped on through, a small bell chiming as they did so. They replaced their shoes with the house slippers that were sitting by the door, though avoiding the ones in the gold box that were reserved for Kasumi, and had been for as long as Akane could recall.

The reception area was empty, though the sound of the chime soon had Tofu opening the door to his office. "Akane, Ranma, there you are, come on in. Cologne said you wanted to meet with us," he said, smiling in greeting.

"Oh good, she's already here then?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, I had just finished with my last patient when she came in and told me about the meeting," Tofu replied, as they followed him into the small, but painfully organized office, and sat on the two chairs in front of his desk, while Cologne gazed at them with intent eyes from her perch on her staff, sipping from a delicate porcelain teacup. Quickly, two similar cups were in front of the couple, a jasmine fragrance wafting toward them.

"So what's this all about, sonny boy?" Cologne asked, "You said it was pretty important."

"Doc, Elder Cologne, you know more about ki than anyone else I know," Ranma began.

"And, Elder, you're also the closest thing to an expert on ancient artifacts that we know," Akane added, nervously, as she continued to hold Ranma's hand.

"Okay," Cologne said, slowly, a worried look on her face, "Just what did you run into this morning?"

"I'd like the two of you to sense our ki, and tell me what you see," Ranma said.

"As a boy or a girl?" Tofu asked.

"In my case, of course, as a girl," Akane replied, with a smirk.

Ranma rolled her eyes and added, "In both forms, for me, not that I expect it to matter."

"You'll need to separate for us to get readings that are accurate," Cologne said.

Ranma nodded as she rose. "Do I need to leave the room, or will the wall be far enough away for you to read Akane?" she asked.

"Should be," Cologne replied, so the redhaired girl walked over by one of the large bookcases the lined the office wall, and gazed out the small window over the desk at the bonsai garden that was in the back, only to have her attention returned as Cologne exclaimed, "By the blood of my ancestors, what happened to you, girl?" She turned to Tofu, to see him take off his glasses and rub his eyes for a moment.

"I've never seen channels that large," Tofu whispered, his face pale.

"Try looking at mine," Ranma said, tiredly.

Cologne and Tofu looked almost fearfully at her at those words. Tofu's eyes went slightly out of focus, and then he gasped.

"They're larger than hers, aren't they?" Ranma asked.

"Nearly a third again," Cologne replied, as Tofu walked over with a cup of hot water.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Tofu said, before pouring the water over Ranma's head, and watched as the transformation occurred.

Cologne's face went impassive, as she saw the change increase the amount of ki in the figure in front of her.

"Perhaps a sixth more, this time," Tofu said.

"How does it compare to the Elder?" Ranma asked.

"I'll have to resort to old age and treachery from now on to defeat you, sonny boy. That always beats youth and enthusiasm," Cologne joked.

"How's it stand up to youth and treachery, though?" Ranma asked, with a knowing smirk. They grinned at each other for several moments, before they all broke out laughing.

Cologne sobered, and added, "Your level of ki is greater than mine, now, even though I've had some four hundred years to develop it. In fact, the only one that I know that comes close would have been Happosai in his prime. And Akane's is only slightly less than mine."

"How could this have happened?" Tofu asked, still somewhat in shock.

"I rather expect to hear a fascinating story," Cologne replied.

Ranma returned to his seat, while Akane began to recount some of the events of the past week, starting with their parents trip to the Temple on Monkey Mountain, and ending with the events of this morning, Ranma chiming in as appropriate.

"That still doesn't explain what happened, though," Tofu said, when they had finished.

"That's because we weren't quite done, and we haven't told anyone what happened while the battle armor surrounded both of us," Ranma said, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. Akane's face reddened as well.

"Oh ho," the old woman chortled, "This looks like it's going to be good."

"Why the blushing? Was it something that the armor made you do?" Tofu asked in concern, "After all, I was there at home this morning, so I know where you were."

"No, that was just a side effect," Akane said, averting her eyes.

"Ummm, well," Ranma said, "As she said, once Akane kissed me, the armor flowed around her as well, pulling us together. Somewhere in that process, Akane lost her clothing, also, so it was just us pressed up against each other."

"That explains why you were in such a hurry to change back," Tofu smirked.

"Would you like to crack cheap jokes, or listen to the story," Akane snarled, causing him to take a step back.

"No, like she said, it was an unintended side effect. What the armor did was examine our feelings toward each other, but in the process it formed a linkage between all three of us," Ranma explained.

"Three of you?" Cologne asked.

"The armor wasn't just a piece of clothing, Elder, it had some sort of sentience," Akane replied, "And as Ranma said, she linked us together, so that she was feeling what we were feeling about each other, as if she was looking for something. At first she was upset, but then, I started feeling what Ranma felt about me, and the same happened to, well, her at the time. Some sort of feedback loop started, and then it just got more intense, both physically and emotionally, the longer we kissed, until finally, we started feeling our bodies changing."

"Well, changing isn't the right word," Ranma said, slowly, "It was more like a sudden flow of energy, I thought. And then, the armor cried in triumph."

"Something like, my aeons of torment are at an end. Your love for each other has set me free. You have my blessing," Akane said.

"Then it cried, I'm free, once more, and the light blazed around us, blinding us both for a moment. When we could see again, we were both fully clothed, and the armor had vanished," Ranma finished.

"And because of everything we had experienced, well, if we'd been inside, I would have jumped Ranma right there and then," Akane muttered blushing.

"Didn't have the right set of plumbing for what I wanted to do," Ranma added.

"Hence the need for hot water, immediately afterwards," Tofu said.

Cologne's eyes narrowed and she asked, "Can you describe the armor any better?"

"I can do better," Akane said, pulling a colour photograph from her pocket and handing it to the old woman.

Tofu walked over to stand behind Cologne and examined the picture carefully.

"Yessss," Cologne hissed, "I have seen this armor somewhere. Now which book was it in?" She glanced warily at the young man behind her and then sighed. "I am going to trust you greatly, young man," she said, "It will take me too long to search all of them by myself. Some of the things in these books are not to be disclosed lightly to outsiders. But, you can be considered nearclan, which may be good enough."

"Nearclan?" Tofu asked.

"I am considered an Amazon, Doc, as is Akane since she is my shield-sister. You are our brother-in-law, and that is close enough for the clan to consider you nearclan," Ranma said.

"Shield-sister?" Tofu echoed with an odd expression on his face.

"Ranma, or rather Sho Mei, is female in our eyes. While marriage between two woman is not allowed in our clan, it was not uncommon, especially early in our history, when men were rare, for two warriors to love one another enough to declare themselves shield-sisters, since truly they would die to protect the other," Cologne said, pulling several dusty tomes out of the bag she had brought, treating each of them with great care and tenderness as she layed them on the desk, until there were at least fifty books on the table.

Ranma groaned theatrically, as he gingerly reached for one of the large books. "This will take forever to research," he said, as he opened to the first page.

However, some kami must have taken pity on them, for it was only thirty minutes before Tofu found the answer in the third book that he had opened. "Cologne, I think I found it, at least the illustration looks the same," he said.

"Well, what does the book say?" Cologne snapped.

Tofu glared at her and replied, "How would I know? It's in some very obscure writing, and knowing how paranoid the Amazons are, it probably has nearly a dozen hexes on it, besides."

Cologne pulled the book away from him and cackled. "It's not obscure, just ancient," she said, "Ancient Sarmatian, as a matter of fact," she said.

"And you expect me to read Ancient Sarmatian, when I don't even know who they are?" Tofu asked in amazement.

"A fierce warrior nation, that vanished about 15 centuries ago," Akane replied, shocking them, "and provided knights for the Roman Empire. They were even stationed in the British Isles. Some scholars believe them to be the source behind the legend of King Arthur."

"Now why do you know that?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, when I was younger my mother told me the story of King Arthur and the Round Table," Akane replied, "And it caught my imagination. So I got a bit carried away and read everything I could get my hands on about them, and that got mentioned. Not quite sure how I managed to remember it though."

"Well, this is from a time long before that," Cologne said, "But it is a story of magic, of love, and betrayal, none the less."

"Well, what is the story?" Tofu asked, impatiently.

The old woman settled herself comfortably on the top of her staff, and took on the cadence of a storyteller. "Once, long ago, in a land, far, far away, there was a great warrior princess, fierce in battle, mighty in war. Her prowess was known through all of the land, but her close friend and boon companion, who loved her greatly, perhaps only in a platonic sense, or perhaps there was more between them, history does not say, was the only one who knew her softer side. All else knew this princess only as the warrior. Only this bard knew better. They rode the land, righting wrongs, and destroying evil, until one day they returned home, to rest from their battles, and recuperate, and regain their strengths. Unbeknowst to them, however, evil was waiting for them there," she began, painting a mythic picture. She paused for a moment to see that her audience was hanging onto her every word. She continued, "For the warrior princess had a rival, one who had come in the guise of a friend, but one who had conceived an unholy lust for both power and for the bard, and knew that the only way that she could have both was to destroy the princess. So by day, she pretended to be a friend to both the princess and the bard, but at night, searched for a way to achieve her nefarious goals. Finally, at the risk to her immortal soul, she found an evil sorcerer, steeped in the darkest of arts, who also hated the warrior princess, and wished to destroy her."

Akane sighed.

"So what happened?" Ranma demanded.

"Really, let's speed this up just a bit," Tofu added.

"Peasants," Akane spat.

Cologne said, "The two evildoers developed a plan to bring down the warrior princess, one the sorcerer had despaired of being able to do since he could not obtain the components that he needed from the princess. But the false friend, the betrayer, she could get close to the princess, and get the things that they needed. And so she did, and they performed their hideous black magic, on the night of the new moon, but not just any new moon, but on a night where the boundaries between this world and the next are thinned. The princess was asleep in the lap of her bard, blissfully unaware of her fate, as the spell was cast, dressed in her battle armor. The bard was strumming her lute, singing lullabies, and gazing fondly down on her friend, when to her horror, the princess began to wither, her essence being drawn into her armor. The bard looked on helplessly as the empty suit lay in her lap, and in that moment she knew that they had been betrayed. In her sorrow, she swore her vengeance, but then to her amazement, the armor flowed around her and her friend caressed her and comforted her. The bard, though a doughty warrior in her own right, was transformed. She confronted the false friend and the evil sorcerer, and in righteous anger slew them both."

"Good!" Akane spat.

"The bard removed theblood-splashed armor, and looked out upon the two she had slain, as well as the many dead minions that had blocked her way to the two who lay before her, and wept for her loss. For even in her rage, she had heard the sorcerer's dying words, as he taunted her, telling her that she had doomed her friend's soul for eternity, for only if the armor could find a pair who loved as much as the bard and the princess had loved, then she would be set free, or otherwise remain trapped in the armor," Cologne said, "She carefully cleansed the armor of the blood of the slain, and took it to the altar of a nearby temple, where she swore by the gods of her ancestors to wait for her friend. Then the mortal blow that she had received during the battle, claimed her. The legend grew, as the armor seemed to look for female warriors worthy to wear it, bringing out their full potential, but never finding what it was looking for."

"Wow!" Akane exclaimed.

"And you think that's the armor that we were wearing?" Ranma asked.

"I think so, and if so, the love you two share, has freed not one but two souls," Cologne said, soberly, "And in thanks, it must have enhanced you both."

"But it seems to have developed Akane more than it did Ranma," Tofu said, "Shouldn't they have received an equal share?"

"No," Ranma said, softly, "No, the armor found my one weakness, and strove to shore it up."

"What weakness would that be?" Akane asked, though she already knew the answer.

"The fear that I could not protect you. That I would do anything, even die, to keep you safe," Ranma whispered, "The armor, it found that fear, and that resolve, and it recognized it. Oh yes it recognized it, for it knew the same fears, and the same resolve. And it did what it could to make her safer. Not by making me a better warrior, but by bringing out much of Akane's potential, so I would worry less about someone harming her, and allowing me to concentrate on what I needed to do." He smiled wryly and said, "Oh and one thing more. Your history can be corrected. She loved her bard, with a passion that spanned the ages, and her bard loved her, and not platonically, either of them."

"Oh my yes," Akane breathed, "I felt that too, the yearning, and then the realization that the spirit of the armor could find her soulmate, for such was the bard. The emotions that I felt were almost too painful, but then the joy as the spirit freed itself."

"What can we do to help?" Cologne asked.

"The new potential that we have," Ranma began.

Akane added, "We'll need help in learning how to use it, how to control the amount of ki we now seem to have."

"We're both of us faster, stronger, with more stamina, than before," Ranma said.

Cologne nodded, and said, "Yes, we need to get you out of here for a while, someplace where you can really cut loose without worrying about damaging the area."

"Wouldn't hurt to have a doctor around just in case, either," Tofu suggested.

A look of relief appeared on Ranma's face, as he sagged in his chair. "I was hoping that the two of you would say that," he said.

"Is there any problem with leaving this afternoon? That would give us all day tomorrow and Sunday to train," Cologne asked.

"Only that we had tentatively agreed to go to the festival tonight," Ranma replied, "But this is more important."

"I don't have any patients scheduled after this. In fact, the only reason I was still here was I had a few journals that I wanted to read, that I just couldn't find the time otherwise," Tofu said.

"Then I guess we should all head home, pack, and then meet," Ranma suggested.

"The train station at 3," Cologne said, "If I remember correctly, there's a 3:30 train out of Nerima that goes back toward the mountains on the east coast."

"What about where we stayed last week, Ranma? Wouldn't that work?" Akane asked.

"Yes it would. It's still reasonably remote, with some room, plus it's a lot closer," Ranma said, agreeably enough, "Not to mention easier to get to."

"We still could take the train, though, to get to the outskirts of the city," Akane pointed out.

Ranma thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, the train stops at a small town below the hills that protect the valley," he said, "And I can find the trail from there."

"Then 3:00 it is," Tofu said, suddenly moving with speed as he began to gather up the cups and the teapot, "You two head home, and I'll meet you there after I clean this up."

* * *

Sayuri brushed an imaginary piece of lint off of her kimono, and then leaned up against her boyfriend, as they waited for Yuka and Daisuke to arrive. Hinako glanced around, her eyes wide with excitement as she took in the crowd going from one display to the next, the air fragrant with the scent of the many flowers being displayed.

Hiroshi suddenly waved his hand in the air, and cried, "Over here!" as he spotted the other couple.

Soon, Yuka and Daisuke joined them, and they began to move casually around the area, visiting the displays.

After a few minutes, Yuka asked, "I thought Ranma and Akane were going to come. Where are they?"

"For some reason, Ranma decided to go on a training trip this weekend, at the last moment," Sayuri replied.

"That's a shame, I know Akane was looking forward to the festival, and getting a chance to dress up," Yuka said, frowning, "Honestly, how can he be so insensitive about her feelings?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't think it was his idea," Hinako said, hesitantlyt, "Doc seemed to be the one driving things this afternoon."

"Well, it's still a shame that she's missing the festival," Yuka said, "I'm sure wherever she is, she's probably miserable and wishing she was anywhere but where she was."

* * *

Akane sighed contently as she leaned back against her husband as they soaked in the hot springs, and then almost purred as he kissed the top of her head.

"Happy?" Ranma asked.

"Very," Akane replied, "You know that."

"Well, this really wasn't what you had planned for the day," Ranma said, a faint note of doubt in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

"I thought you were looking forward to dressing up and going to the festival this evening," Ranma replied, "And instead I dragged you off on another training trip. Not the classiest of dates, I guess."

Akane smiled fondly, and replied, "Oh I would have enjoyed the festival. After all, I usually do. And it would be nice to dress formally on occasion."

Ranma chuckled and said, "As opposed to the informal attire you're in now."

"Complaining?" Akane asked, archly.

"Not really, I think you wear your birthday suit quite well," Ranma replied.

"Didn't think you were, considering what I'm feeling behind me," Akane said, "Anyway, to get this conversation out of the gutter, we've had many dates where I've had the opportunity to dress nicely, and we've gone on several training trips together. Both of those activities are fun, but the reason they are is because we're doing them together."

"How's the arm?" Ranma asked.

"Better," Akane replied, "Between your salve, and whatever Cologne and Doc did, most of the bruising is gone already. Ribs are still a little sore, though."

"That's good. You scared me a lot when that backblast got you," Ranma said.

"You were scared? Damn thing hit me, remember! Though, I guess it taught me to pay attention to my control," Akane said, an unseen smile on her lips, "Which I guess means it wasn't that bad a thing to have happen."

"Other than the fact that there's a brand new clearing in the woods, you mean?" Ranma asked.

"Trees are overrated," Akane smirked.

A gentle cough caught their attention, and they glanced over at the bank.

"Kasumi sent me to tell you dinner is about ready," Tofu said, with a grin.

"Thanks, Doc," Ranma said, cheerily.

"Good workout today, we made some progress in getting things back where they belong," the young doctor said, before wheeling around and heading back through the trees to the campsite.

* * *

Hinako sighed to herself as she followed the two couples, feeling like the fifth wheel she knew she was. She allowed them to pull further ahead of her as she deliberately slowed her pace, glancing around at the other people in the area, all of them seemingly in couples, making her feel even lonelier than before. A feeling that she was not unfamiliar with, based on how she had grown up after obtaining the supposed 'cure' from Happosai. Sighing heavily, she sat down gracefully on one of the wood and wrought iron benches scattered down the path. Opening her bag, she pulled out the now-finished scarf that she had been working on for several weeks, and smiled at the thought of giving to its intended recipient. Feeling better about things, she rose to her feet to return to her friends, only to pause in shock as she saw Higuma Torajiro, the person she had just been thinking about standing hand-in-hand with a woman she recognized as one of the teachers from her middle school. A slow tear fell from her eye as he bent down and lightly kissed his date, and then she blindly fled in the direction that the other four had gone, a leaden feeling in her chest, the scarf dragging behind her on the ground.

* * *

Sayuri suddenly stopped, and turned. "Where's Hinako?" she asked.

Hiroshi bit off a curse, and replied, "I don't know. I could have sworn she was right there behind us."

"We'll find her," Daisuke said, "We just need to retrace our steps."

"And she is sixteen," Yuka added, "So it's not like she's a little girl, any more."

"That's beside the point, she's still my little sister in all the ways that matter, and Mommy made me promise to keep an eye on her," Sayuri shot back, her voice unsteady.

"Or on the other hand, we could just stand here and wait for her to run into us," Hiroshi said, as his eyes caught a disturbance in the crowd, "Man! She's upset about something!" With reflexes he didn't know he possessed, he snagged the younger girl, just before she was about to slam into him, and held her tight.

"Hi-chan!" Sayuri exclaimed, as she joined her fiancé'in the hug, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Hinako replied, as she continued to cry.

"Oh honey, I don't think any of us believe that," Yuka said, softly, pulling a tissue from her pocket and handing it to her young friend. She glanced over at Sayuri and said, "Ice cream?"

"Yeah, I think so," Sayuri replied, turning to Hiroshi. She said, "You two find something else to do for a while. It's time for a little girl talk."

"Fair enough, I'm pretty clueless about what to do with a crying girl anyway," he replied, with a grin, "Dai and I will head over to the arcade, and waste some yen saving the universe from the evil aliens."

Sayuri gave him a chaste kiss, and said, "We'll meet you as soon as we have this sorted."

* * *

Hiroshi sighed as once more the machine flashed, "GAME OVER!" "You know, it wouldn't be quite so bad if they got rid of the laughter when I lose," he grumbled, digging into his pocket to see if there was another token.

"Well, at least we know what career not to go for," Daisuke quipped, "Defenders of the universe, we aren't."

"At least I found someone worse than I am," Hiroshi said, snarkily, then his face lit up.

"Hey, the girls are back," Daisuke said, as he spotted what was making his friend happier.

"No Hinako, though," Hiroshi noted, as Sayuri and Yuka joined them.

"Where's Hinako?" Daisuke asked.

Sayuri replied, "She decided that she'd had enough looking at flowers and decided to go home."

"Did you ever find out what was wrong with her?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yes, though it took a couple of sundaes, and agreeing with her that all men were pigs, before she would talk," Yuka said.

"Present company excepted, of course, I hope?" Hiroshi asked, with a grin.

"Why would I do that?" Sayuri teased, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Seriously, she had a major crush on that gym teacher at her middle school, Torajiro, or whatever his name was, and had spent the last few weeks knitting him a scarf as a present," Yuka interjected.

"Does he even know she exists?" Daisuke asked.

Sayuri sighed and shook her head. "Other than as a girl that was in his class, probably not. And now, she's not even that, so I doubt he's ever given her a second thought. She was feeling a little lonely, walking around with us, and seeing nothing but couples, so I think she had halfway convinced herself that giving him that scarf would make him see her as someone to date."

"He's ten years older than she is, if he's the guy I'm thinking about," Daisuke said, in protest, "With just a bit of a reputation as a player. Not someone she should get involved with."

"Doesn't matter, anymore. She spotted him here with some teacher from the school, and they were pretty cuddly," Yuka said.

"Poor girl's hopes were dashed pretty badly then," Sayuri added, "We got her cheered up a bit, so she decided to head on home. We offered to get you guys and go with her, but she told us that she didn't want to ruin the rest of the evening."

"Did you eat too much ice cream, or are you ready to head out and find someplace to eat?" Hiroshi asked.

"I'd like to finish the rest of the exhibits, and that'll walk off what we ate," Yuka replied.

"Okay, works for me. Just so long as I don't have to blast another space ship," Hiroshi said.

* * *

Hinako sat down on a set of stone steps, next to a small shrine, and sighed. "My heart is freezing. All of my friends have someone who loves them, but there is no one for me," she said, softly. She glanced down at the soiled scarf that she had spent so many hours lovingly working on and sighed once more.

The wind howled down the street, as the weather took an unseasonable turn. The temperature dropped and she shivered. Glancing to her right, she saw the statue in the shrine. "Bodhisattva, you must be cold, too. I can't give this soiled gift to Torajiro-san, so," she said, wrapping the scarf around the neck of the statue. With a wistful glance at what might have been, she began the long, lonely trek to her home.

* * *

Akane finished her second plate of food, and was contemplating asking for another, before blushing at the look of amazement on her sister's face.

"Before you get started, sis," Ranma said, with a grin, "Akane used up a lot of her reserves today working out." He idly caressed his wife's cheek, and added, "And that's why I always seem to eat a lot."

"Ranma's right, love," Tofu said, "But I imagine once she figures out how to control her new abilities, her appetite will decrease a little bit."

"Actually, she probably ought to eat about as much as she has tonight," Cologne replied, thoughtfully, "It will help support the musculature she is developing."

"I don't want to end up fat, though," Akane grumbled.

"If what I think we're about to go through is accurate, I don't think you need to worry about it," Ranma said, dryly, "Today was probably a cake walk compared to the wringer the old woman is fixing to run us through."

"Got that right, sonny boy," Cologne cackled.

Tofu quirked a grin and added, "We don't really have the time we need to train you slowly. That new clearing down the river a bit shows that. So I'm afraid that we're going to run you both pretty ragged the next few days until you can handle the potential that you have been handed."

"And while we aren't going to do any more physical work tonight, we're going to do something much harder after we clean up," Cologne said, "We're going to meditate for the next hour or so."

"Oh joy," Ranma groaned, "I hate gazing at my metaphorical navel."

"Yeah, you'd rather gaze at my real navel," Akane quipped.

Ranma snorted a laugh and replied, "Well, that's true enough."

"It won't take me long to wash the few dishes that need cleaning," Kasumi said, "Besides, the rinse water hasn't come to a boil yet, if you four would rather get started on the next set of exercises, instead of waiting on that."

"We'll want some tea after we're done, Kasumi," Cologne said, "Though, if you would, I have a herbal tea that I would like Ranma and Akane to drink. It's one of the things my ancestors developed that helps with this kind of strenuous exercise."

Ranma glanced down at the empty plates, and said, "Then I guess now's a good a time to start as any."

"There's a nice grassy spot over by the pond that should be reasonably comfortable," Tofu said, "No point in distracting you from finding your inner self by having a rock sitting under your hip."

The quartet made their way to the grassy area, and Akane and Ranma spent several moments making sure that they were comfortable, lying on their back, staring up at the star-filled sky.

"Okay, the first thing you should do is concentrate on your breathing," Tofu said in a calm, soothing, monotone voice, "Take long, slow, deep breaths, fulling exhaling each time." He waited for a moment as the two youths did as he asked, their eyes closed, only their chests moving showing that they were alive. "Okay, inhale, and tense your left foot, and then on the exhalation, relax it," he added, in that same voice. He slowly continued, moving up the left leg, tensing and relaxing each muscle in turn, then switched to the right leg and repeated the process. Then he had them move up the torso, down the arms, and then the hardest, the neck. He continued talking in that soft monotone voice, until the two youths were laid out limp on the ground.

Cologne made a soft noise, and then she nearly stopped breathing. 'Oh my ancestors,' she thought, 'I'm not sure I can do this.' She hopped over to Ranma and then lightly pressed several ki points that seemed to be blazing dimmer to her inner eye, and watched in satisfaction as her ritual seemed to fix the choke points that she was seeing. Feeling most of her years, she moved over to Akane and repeated the process, and then keeled over onto the verdant grass.

Tofu gazed over in panic at Kasumi, who rushed over from where she had been watching. He continued to speak softly, while his wife examined the old Amazon.

Kasumi mouthed, "She's okay, the poor thing is just exhausted." She cradled the old woman in her arms and lifted her straight up, and carried her over to the campfire where she fussed quietly over Cologne, who continued to nap throughout.

After nearly an hour, Tofu said, harshly, his voice gone, "It's time to wake up now."

Akane blinked her eyes and slowly sat up, feeling more rested than she had felt for years, lines of care that she hadn't realized that she had gone.

"It work, Doc?" Ranma asked, in a raspy voice.

"We'll need to wait for Elder Cologne to tell us, but I think so," Tofu replied, "How do you feel? That's the important question."

"I feel great!" Akane exclaimed, "Even my bruised ribs have stopped hurting!"

Ranma added, "Like I've had the best night's sleep I've ever had."

"Ranma, Akane? Elder Cologne would like to talk to you," Kasumi called lightly from where they were sipping cups of tea, while Cologne was also eating a bowl of ramen.

Ranma jumped up and helped Akane to her feet, then followed Tofu over to the campfire.

"Are you feeling better, Cologne?" Tofu asked, "That collapse worried me."

"I'm not as young as I used to be," Cologne replied, "And the working I did took more out of me that I was ready for. Nothing a spot of herbal tea, and the spices in this ramen won't cure, however."

"That's good to hear," Akane said, gratefully, "We'd hate to see something bad happen to you while you were helping us."

"Um, what exactly did you do to us?" Ranma asked.

Cologne let her eyes unfocus for a moment as she concentrated on the ki paths in the young couple. "When I examined you before, I noticed some nodal points that hadn't expanded enough to take into consideration the increase in ki that you two had obtained. The blockage would have eventually caused you to fail to reach your full potential, in fact, may have made things worse," she said, "So I used some of the ancient Amazon lore to remove that blockage by helping those points grow to accommodate the new ki channels."

Tofu added, "And removing those choke points also will help you control your use of ki better."

Akane looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, and then concentrated. A tiny glowing ball appeared on the palm of her left hand, which she then proceded to juggle, adding several more small balls as her confidence grew.

Ranma grinned at his wife and then stood up, walking over to where several large tree trunks had been left, ready to be chopped up into firewood. Ignoring the axe that was sunk into a tree stump that they were using for a chopping block, he made a slashing motion with both hands. To his satisfaction, the ki claws that he now had the ability to use, cut the trunks into several pieces, which then fell away. Then he held out his hands and, still without actually touching the wood, used the claws to scoop up the firewood. With a grin, he carried the bundle, looking like he was levitating the wood in front of him, until he gently set it down next to the firepit.

"I wonder how many bricks I can break now," Akane said, as she continued to juggle her little balls of ki.

Tofu looked at her for a moment and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, we figured out a while back that she infuses her hand with ki when she is smashing bricks," Ranma replied, "In fact, I'm pretty sure that she doesn't actually touch the bricks with the blade of her hand, instead there's a small shield of ki that does the damage."

"The Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken should be interesting," Akane added thoughtfully.

"All of your ki attacks and abilities will be much more powerful," Cologne said.

"Well, we've got the rest of the weekend to work on all of that," Akane said.

"I've got that tea ready for them, Cologne," Kasumi said, "And some more soup and I grilled some vegetables."

"Good, once they finish eating and we get the campsite cleaned up, it will be nearly dark," Cologne said.

"The sun does set pretty early in this valley, doesn't it?" Kasumi asked, "Because I'm not real sleepy."

"Yes, the mountains to the west, as well as the tall trees, block the sun sooner than it does back home," Tofu said, "But, I brought several oil lanterns that we can light, if you want to stay up longer."

"Ranma and I do have some schoolwork to finish," Akane said, "So we'll need to stay up for a couple of more hours."

"And I want to continue to do more research. There are a few techniques that I haven't taught Ranma yet, that I need to refresh my memory on," Cologne added.

"What about you, dear?" Tofu asked.

"Well, I was thinking about that hot spring, now that Akane and Ranma are out of it," Kasumi suggested, "That is, if you don't mind staying up."

Tofu smirked and said, "I guess I'll need those lanterns, then. But then again, I never mind staying up with you."

* * *

Yumi jerked upright as she heard the front door slam open. Pulling herself reluctantly away from her fiancé, and straightened up her blouse, fastening the many buttons that seemed to have found a way to become undone, and stood up.

Soun sat up, and restored his gi, tightening his obi around his waist. "I guess one of us should see what that is all about," he said, with a sigh.

"Since it has to be one of the girls, I'd better go," Yumi said, "Then, when I get back, we can get back to what we were doing." She headed toward the door, and then turned. "Do I look okay, my hair in place?" she asked, suddenly.

"You look fine," Soun said.

"Not mussed up at all?" Yumi asked, "Then you need to do better." She smiled a mysterious smile, and then headed out the family room door, in time to hear the front door slam shut, and to see Hinako burst around the corner, tears streaming from her face.

Hinako stopped when she saw Yumi standing there, a look of concern on her face, and angrily dashed away the tears.

"What's wrong, dear?" Yumi asked.

"N-n-nothing," Hinako blubbered.

"Child, I've been a mother for a very long time, do you really expect me to believe that?" Yumi asked, a faint smile on her face, as she stepped forward, and pulled the youngest Tendo girl into a firm embrace.

Hinako smiled sheepishly and replied, "No, I guess not, Yumi."

"Now, why don't we go into the kitchen and you can tell me all about it," Yumi suggested

"I suppose," Hinako said, a bit reluctantly, but went with her anyway. Though the fact that Yumi had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and was pulling her that was was perhaps a large part of it.

They soon entered the spotless kitchen, and Yumi pushed the young woman into one of the chairs, and then went to the oven, which she turned on. "You can talk to me while I work," the kind woman said, as she turned to the icebox, and reached in, pulling out a large bowl.

"Men are scum!" Hinako burst out.

"Some are," Yumi said, agreeably enough, as she greased a cookie sheet, and then began placing dollops of dough onto the sheet, using a large spoon, "I was married to one like that, so I'd be the last one to argue that you completely wrong."

That wasn't exactly the response that Hinako was expecting to hear, so she sat there dumbfounded as she continued to listen to Yumi.

"But, on the other hand, there are good men. Probaly the majority of them, as it happens. Do you think Ranma is scum, or Tofu-san? What about Soun?" Yumi asked, quietly.

"Well, no," Hinako admitted.

"So why do you think some men are scum?" Yumi asked, and then listened as she heard a familiar tale of heartbreak from the young woman. Sometime during the long diatribe, the cookies had entered the oven, and eventually had been retrieved, now golden brown. Finally, Hinako wound down, though not without eating half of the cookies, and now sported a bit of a chocolate ring around her mouth, with a few crumbs on her upper lip.

"Can I ask you something?" Yumi asked, gently, "Did this teacher, Torajiro, know how you felt about him?'

"No," Hinako admitted.

"So why is he scum, then? He didn't know, so is it his fault that he found someone his age to date?" Yumi asked.

"It's not fair to bring logic into this," Hinako groused, ducking her head down for a moment. Then she sighed, and said, "No, it's not his fault that I have an unrequited crush on him. I guess it was just a lot of wishful thinking on my part, fueled by a lot of loneliness, since I don't have anybody."

Yumi sighed and said, "I wouldn't be in that much of a hurry. When I realised that I no longer cared for my husband, I was sure that I was also doomed to a life of disappointment and misery. And I certainly didn't come here looking for love. Soun was the same way. When his wife died, he was sure that he too would be lonely the rest of his life. Neither of us would have predicted a year ago that we would be together, and planning a wedding. Love happens for reasons that we cannot explain, at a time of its own choosing. There's bound to be someone out there for you, someone you may even already know, but just haven't started to think about that way. Or perhaps someone you'll meet in years to come. And meanwhile, you have us, your friends, your family, all of us love you. So don't think you don't have someone, because you do."

"Thanks, mom," Hinako said, "That helps, at least a little bit."

"Okay, scoot. Go tidy yourself up, and maybe soak in the furo for a while. That sometimes seems to help," Yumi suggested.

Hinako stood up, and hugged her adoptive mother-to-be, and then said, "And you can go back to whatever you were doing with Daddy," as she disappeared out the door, feeling a whole lot better about things.

* * *

Hinako tossed and turned in her bed, trying to find a comfortable position, her eyes drooping in sleep. Outside, the wind began to howl, whipping the leaves from the trees, and the temperature began to drop as an unseasonable front blew in from the ocean.

A faint creak from outside her room slowly roused the half-asleep young girl. As she turned to face the doorway, her door slowly opened and a tall figure entered the room, lit from behind by the dim light of the moon entering the hall window.

"Higuma-san," Hinako gasped.

* * *

Author's Note: Once more, an apology for the delay in this chapter. Between building a house and my job, I wasn't able to spend the time I wanted to work on this story. As an aside, the portion of the chapter dealing with Hinako is a result of a suggestion from Ranmoonboy. If you enjoyed what I wrote on that piece, he gets the credit. If not, blame it on my faulty execution of his suggestion. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. 


	87. Payback's A Saint

Chapter 87 Payback's a Saint

Yumi hummed tunelessly as she moved gracefully around the kitchen, preparing the morning meal.

Her daughter glanced over at her and giggled. "Mom, I think you're positively glowing," she said, as she started the rice cooker.

"Just very happy, dear," Yumi replied, not stopping in her movements, though a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

Sayuri smirked, and retorted, "Well, I haven't seen you this 'happy' for a long time."

Yumi turned and raised an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to imply?" she asked.

"You know exactly what that was supposed to imply," Sayuri shot back, as she moved to the refrigerator to get the pickled vegetables out.

Yumi grinned wickedly and asked, "What? Can't I have a love life? Do you want to hear the details about what he does to me?"

"Mom!!!" Sayuri exclaimed, "Eeeeeew, I don't want to hear about it, not listening, no, blab, blab, blab."

"Then you shouldn't have started, daughter of mine," Yumi said with an evil glint in her eyes, "Or I might start asking about your sex life."

Sayuri snorted and said, "Well, we'd exhaust that topic in about five seconds. Since it is pretty much non-existent. You know that we're waiting until we get married before anything like that happens."

"Yes, I know what you said you were doing, but there are things short of intercourse," Yumi teased.

Sayuri did the adult thing then and made an eye at her mother.

At that moment, Hinako wandered into the kitchen, zombie-like, performing a flawless imitation of Nabiki in the morning, as she sat at the table, her eyes half-shut.

"Good morning, Hinako!" Yumi exclaimed brightly.

Hinako mumbled something, as she rested her head on the table.

Sayuri stared at her friend in astonishment for a moment, since she usually was an energetic girl first thing in the morning. Then shaking her head, she poured a cup of coffee from the coffeepot, putting several spoonsful of sugar in and stirring briskly, before waving the cup in front of her friend's face.

Hinako opened her eyes, and pulled herself upright. With two trembling hands, she reached out for the cup, and slowly took a sip. "A bit too sweet," she muttered, tiredly, though they noticed that it didn't stop her from finishing the cup, and handing it back to Sayuri, with a gesture for more.

"Let's try again. Good morning, Hinako!" Yumi said.

"Morning, Yumi," Hinako replied, taking a sip of the fresh cup of coffee that she had been given.

"Did you not sleep well?" Sayuri asked.

Hinako ducked her head slightly, and replied, "No, I slept fine. I'm just sleepy for some reason this morning, that's all."

"Are you feeling better about things?" Sayuri asked.

"Things?" Hinako asked.

"You know, what had you so upset last night," Sayuri replied.

Hinako smiled a little dreamily, and answered, "Oh Kami, yes, I feel so much better."

"I'm glad our little talk helped, then," Yumi said, fondly.

"Yes, that's what did the trick," Hinako replied, a little too quickly.

Yumi's eyes narrowed in suspicion for a moment, a brief frown flashing across her face, as she recognized that something seemed a bit off in the young girl, at least based on her experience as a mother. Before she could pursue the topic any further, the normal zombie made her shambling appearance, clutching gratefully at the cup of coffee that Sayuri had pressed into her hands.

* * *

Ranma stood shivering outside her tent in the cool morning breeze, water dripping down her face, her clothes soaking wet. "Why'd you go and do that for, old woman?" she sputtered, while her wife stood next to her, equally damp since the large bucket of water had gotten them both. 

"You need to train both forms," Cologne said calmly.

Ranma rolled her eyes, and said, "You could have asked, politely, you know. And you didn't need to get Akane wet." She sighed, and added, "We'll be right back. We need to get out of these wet things before we catch cold."

"She should have ducked," Cologne retorted.

Ranma gave her a rude gesture, and pulled her wife into the tent. After a few minutes, they came back out, dressed in dry clothing. It was also obvious that Ranma had added an element of clothing that she usually didn't wear, as she was much less bouncy than normal

"A sports bra?" Cologne asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ranma shrugged, and replied, "After what you put us through yesterday, I didn't think it would be a good idea not to wear one."

Cologne cackled.

Once more Ranma rolled her eyes, this time joined by Akane, who growled, "So what torture are you going to put us through today?"

"Same as yesterday," Cologne replied, as she turned to head away from the campsite.

"Oh joy," Akane muttered as they fell in behind her, "What fun!"

"You wanted to be a martial artist, remember?" Ranma said.

Akane groaned and asked, "Tell me why I agreed to this, Ranma?"

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and replied, "You wanted to be the best you could be, that's why. You know what they say, 'no pain, no gain.' This is the pain."

Akane sighed, and said, "I know. And I suppose next you'll tell me that if it were easy, anyone could do it, right?"

"Yeah, and I know a bunch more stupid sayings like that. After all, I was trained by Pop. I'm sure I've heard them all," Ranma said, with a wry grin. They traded grins, and then leapt to the trees to play Follow the Leader.

* * *

Sayuri worried her lower lip as she pinned the pillowcase to the clothesline, and then bent down to the basket at her feet to retrieve the next, taking a brief glance at the young woman by her side who was assisting her. Hinako was smiling hugely, her eyes bright, perhaps too bright, and possibly just a little out of focus, and it was beginning to scare her. 

Hinako began to hum a popular idol song, as she danced between the basket and the clothesline, pinning the bed linens up against the gentle breeze and warmth of the midmorning sun.

Nabiki wandered by, dressed in a daring bikini, carrying a lawn chair under one arm, and a glass of water in the other. "Yumi said to tell you that she and Dad were going to market, and wouldn't be back for a couple of hours," she said, as she passed. She set her glass down on one of the flatter rocks by the koi pond, and opened up her lawn chair, then lay down upon it.

'Damn, there's no one to talk to about this,' Sayuri thought. Sighing, she said, "You're pretty chipper today, considering how tired you looked at breakfast."

"I am, aren't I?" Hinako said, brightly, "I'm actually feeling on top of the world right now."

"How come? You were feeling pretty blue last night, if I remember correctly," Sayuri asked.

"Oh, after I thought about it for a while, I started feeling better about things," Hinako replied. She glanced at her watch, and exclaimed, "Oh dear, I'm going to be late. Can't miss this date. Don't wait up for me."

"Wait, what, it's only just now four in the afternoon," Sayuri sputtered.

"No time to talk! Gotta dash. Bai-bai!" Hinako exclaimed. She took off back into the house.

"What was that all about?" Sayuri exclaimed in wonder, "Date? Who could she be dating? And so quickly?" She ran over to Nabiki and asked, "Did you know Hinako is going on a date?"

Nabiki took off her sunglasses, and frowned at her. "No, I didn't. And that seems odd. If she had a boyfriend, I think she would have told me," she replied.

"And when would she have had a chance to meet someone? Last night she came home all unhappy about that teacher at the middle school she had a crush on, and she hasn't gotten any phone call," Sayuri said, her forehead furrowed with worry.

"Those are all interesting points. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the answers," Nabiki said.

"This can't be good," Sayuri said, softly.

Nabiki nodded slowly. "I agree, but I don't know what we can do about it."

"Just watch her for now, I guess, and see how she behaves," Sayuri suggested.

"And we should talk to your mother and ask her to keep an eye on her, I suppose, and do the same thing with the others when they get back from the training trip," Nabiki added.

"Assuming they come back any time soon," Sayuri muttered, "It may be up to us to figure it out."

Nabiki shivered as the sun went behind a cloud that hadn't been there moments before, and the temperature suddenly dropped several degrees. "What happened to my sunny August afternoon?" she muttered as she grabbed her towel, and wrapped it around her.

"I don't remember hearing anything this morning about a cold front moving in," Sayuri said, "In fact, I thought the forecast was for a normal 30 degree day."

"Me, either," Nabiki groused as she headed back to the house, "But it certainly is putting a damper on my plans for the afternoon."

* * *

The sun beat down without mercy upon the isolated clearing in the forest girding the mountains forming the spine of the island. The two women in the midst of the clearing ignored their discomfort as they continued to perform their exercises under the watchful eye of a withered crone, perched like a vulture atop an ornate staff. The only sign that the sun had affected either of them was the fact that both of them had shed their t-shirts, leaving them dressed in shorts and a sports bra, which were now stained with dark patches. A fourth person stood in the shadows of the trees surrounding the clearing, his arms folded across his chest as he gazed dispassionately at the two martial artists. 

"How many repetitions has it been?" Akane gasped as they came to a stop, neither of them missing a step in the elaborate kata that Cologne had shown them once the previous day.

"Today? That was the 99th runthrough," Ranma said, her breathing even, though the slight tremor in her legs indicated that she also was showing the impact of the heavy workout.

"And you'll do it one more time before I am satisfied," Cologne snapped.

Akane wiped the sweat from her brow, and set herself into the starting position once more. "Can you tell me why we are doing these over and over again?" she asked.

"One, so that they are completely engrained in you so that you can perform them without thought," Cologne replied, "Two, to teach you control over your ki, since you are using it as part of the the kata, and finally, most importantly, because I said so."

"That's what I like about you, old woman, you're so modest and unassuming," Ranma quipped, as she set herself in the starting position.

* * *

Sayuri slowly returned to her starting position, and opened her eyes. The training that she had received from Ranma and Akane over the last several months had reminded her of the half-forgotten meditative techniques she had learned as a child. With the house being empty aside from Nabiki, she had taken the opportunity to walk through several of the exercises that she had remembered, the practice rough at first, until the steps slowly began to return to her. Finally, she slowed her breathing down, and entered a meditative step and slowly moved through the several positions, and now that she was finished, she felt refreshed. 

"Not bad," a familiar voice said from behind her, "I see you remember the Tai Chi that you insisted on learning. I still remember how you begged to learn it after watching a documentary on television."

Sayuri turned to see her mother leaning back against the wall of the dojo, looking pleased with herself. "Morning, Mom, did you have a good time shopping with Mr. Tendo?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," her mother replied, a gentle smile appearing on her face, "A very good time indeed. But then, I always enjoy spending time with Soun."

"Good, I'm glad," Sayuri said, "And I know I've told you this before, but it bears repeating. You look so much younger now, almost your real age, instead of how you looked when you were with Sato."

Her mother grinned at her and said, "Well, some of that is the lack of grey in my hair now, I suppose. Not that I'll admit to why that is gone."

"Well, partly. But your expression is always happier, and that makes you look younger," Sayuri said.

"Anyway, I came out to tell you that the meal is ready," her mother said.

"Oh, you should have come and had me help," Sayuri said, as she grabbed her towel and water bottle.

"I glanced in but you looked like you were busy, and since it is just the four of us, it wasn't that much trouble," her mother said, as her daughter stepped next to her. She frowned and asked, "That reminds me, where is Hinako?"

"I don't know. She left about mid-morning, saying something about a date, and I haven't seen her since," Sayuri replied.

"A date!" Yumi exclaimed.

Sayuri shrugged her shoulders and said, "That's what she said when she left. Not that it made a lot of sense to me, either."

"I don't understand, last night she came home all distraught about that what's his name, thinking all men were scum. Then this morning she was exhausted, as if she had spent all night up doing something, and now she's off on some sort of date!" Yumi said, scowling, "It doesn't make any sense to me at all. How could that be!"

"I don't know, Mom, but I' m worried about her," Sayuri said.

Yumi sighed, and said, "I'm concerned about her too. I'll talk to her when she returns from wherever she went, and see what she says."

Sayuri said, "That might work, if you keep it light. Try not to play the parent card too heavily though."

"Parent card?" Yumi asked, slightly amused.

Sayuri grinned at her and replied, "You know what I mean. Where parents do the whole I'm older than you so I know better routine. You only did that a few times with me, and it never really worked well then."

"Well, ultimately the last time it worked out, though not quite the way either of us intended, I guess," Yumi reminded her.

"That's true enough, but do you really want to go through the pain we went through again?" Sayuri asked, "And there's no reason to believe things would work out that well. What if she decided to run off?"

"I suppose you do have a point," Yumi replied, "Though hopefully I've learned a bit so I wouldn't be quite so overbearing."

"You were never really overbearing, just a bit pushy," Sayuri said, "And that's changed since you joined us here at the Tendos."

"Well, I **did** learn something from you leaving home," Yumi said, "Besides, I know why I was acting the way I did, and it truly had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with your father and I. Once I was able to banish those ghosts, I could be free to be who I once was, and not who I turned into to please your father."

"I know, and I love the fact that we've gotten closer since then. I honestly think I can share things with you that I couldn't before, and I can't begin to tell how much that means to me. I know that you'll always think of me as your little girl, but you've managed to treat me as the adult I'm becoming," Sayuri said, a beautiful smile on her face.

"A part of me will always see you as my little girl, that's true, but I'm proud of the woman that you are becoming," Yumi said, surprising her daughter by bowing as if to an equal.

"Thanks, Mom," Sayuri said, blushing at the compliment, "And I guess that's why I want you to move carefully with Hinako. She trusts you, and looks to you to be her mother. I'm just worried that we'll hurt that relationship if we're not careful."

"I'm concerned about that, but I think we can show that our concern for her is based on the love we have for her. If she sees that, I'm sure she'll understand," Yumi replied, serenely.

Sayuri frowned and hoped that her mother was right.

* * *

Akane sighed blissfully as she felt Ranma's warm hands massaging the curative lotion into her skin, the long fingers pressing strongly yet gently as they moved across the various bruises that she had picked up during the day's strenuous workout, while avoiding the several sensitive spots that always caused her to jump when touched. 

"It was a good workout," Ranma said, husklily as she worked in the privacy of their tent, neither of them wearing any clothing, since Akane would return the favour soon, and massage away the handful of bruises that the currently female Ranma had obtained.

"Yes, it was," Akane said, and then moaned as the fingers found another tight spot and eased the tension, "Though Cologne didn't seem too happy with how you were doing."

"No, she wasn't, and I think I know why. The flow of ki through my body still feels off, sort of like it did yesterday before our meditation exercise, though not quite as bad, maybe. I'm guessing that because I'm female right now, the work she did yesterday adjusting everything needs to be fine-tuned. After all, women and men aren't exactly built the same, and the ki points are located just a little differently because of that. And on top of that, I wonder if the Neko-Ken added any complications," Ranma said.

"Ooooooh," Akane replied, "Yea-aaaaah, right there." She nearly lifted off of the sleeping bag as her husband dug into the spot she had found. Finally, she added, "So that's why you stayed female instead of changing back once we were done."

"Yeah, no point in it, and besides, we can still soak in the hot spring after she's finished with us, and we've eaten dinner," Ranma replied, "I'll change back then." She swatted her wife's towel-covered bottom, and added, "My turn. I think I've covered everywhere that you needed."

Akane purred, and said, "Not quite everywhere, but you have the wrong plumbing at the moment to give me an internal massage." She sighed, and pushed herself over onto her back and then sat up. "Okay, I'll do you. Lie down and let me have my way with you," she ordered.

Ranma smirked as she lay down on her stomach across the sleeping bag. "I like the sound of that," she said.

"Pervert," Akane retorted with a snicker.

* * *

Hinako slowly eased the front door open, and snuck inside. Slipping out of her shoes, she made her way down the dimly lit hall toward the stairs, only to stop as the door to the family room opened, flooding the area with light. 

"Hello, dear, you're home rather late," Yumi said calmly as she stepped into the light.

"I lost track of time," Hinako muttered, a faint blush on her face.

Yumi smiled disarmingly at her and asked, "Did you get a chance to eat while you were out?"

"Um, actually no, now that you mention it," Hinako replied.

"It's a good thing I saved some dinner for you then," Yumi said, "Why don't you keep me company while I warm it up? We can talk about choices."

Hinako eyed her warily, and asked, "Choices? What do you mean by that?"

"We'll talk about that in a bit. Right now, I need to get you fed," Yumi replied, gently herding the young girl down the hall to the kitchen.

"I'm really pretty tired," Hinako protested, emphasizing the fact by a heavy yawn.

Yumi said, a little forcefully, "It won't take long, and I refuse to let you go to sleep on an empty stomach." She asked, "Besides, what kind of a mother would I be, if I let you do that?"

Hinako smiled weakly at her and sat down at the small kitchen table, as Yumi lit one of the burners on the stove, and placed a small pot above it.

"There's a decent amount of miso soup left, and some rice warming in the rice cooker," Yumi said, "There's salad in the refrigerator, and some gyoza that I can heat up." She poured a cup of tea from the ever-present teapot, and handed it to the young girl. "It's your favourite," she said, in passing, as she turned to stir the soup.

Hinako took an appreciative sip of her tea, allowing it to warm her after the unseasonably cool night. "Thanks, Mom, I was a bit cold," she said, gratefully.

Yumi said, "Sayuri told me something this morning when I came back from shopping. Something that surprised me."

Hinako frowned slightly, but said nothing.

"Imagine my surprise when she told me that you were out on a date," Yumi continued, "After what we had shared last night, especially."

"Yes, so what? I went on a date," Hinako replied, defiantly, "And I plan on a lot more."

"I'm just concerned about you sweetheart. You were so despondent last night. I don't want you to do something that you might regret. You are on the rebound from the crush you had on that teacher," Yumi said, gently, as she dished up a large bowl of soup, handing it to Hinako, and then followed that up with a bowl of salad, and another of rice.

Hinako hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Thank you for the food." After taking a few sips of the soup, at least enough to get the immediate edge off her hunger, she added, "I'm not on any sort of rebound, and I can take care of myself. After all, I'm really twenty-something."

"Twenty-something?" Yumi asked, clearly amused.

"I forgot how old I am," Hinako admitted, "Bouncing back and forth between ages like I did for so long, I lost track. I'm somewhere in my late twenties, though, at least as far as I can remember."

"Putting that aside, though, you're the one who told me that you didn't grow up properly the first time, and wanted to do it right," Yumi said, "And part of that means getting mothered, whether you want it or not."

Hinako yawned once more, and said, "Honestly, I don't mind that at all. In fact, I enjoy it." She bent down and her chopsticks began to fly as she started eating the rest of her food.

Yumi smiled evilly, and said, "Oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that."

Hinako glanced up and asked, "Oh, and why is that?"

"Well, it seems to me that there is a conversation we need to have, especially now that you are beginning to date," Yumi said, "Especially as I'm the closest thing that you have to a mother here."

Hinako began to look a little worried. "What kind of conversation is that?" she asked.

"Why, THE TALK, of course," Yumi replied.

"The talk? What's that?" Hinako asked, innocently, not knowing of the horrors she was about to experience.

"It's time that someone taught you about the facts of life," Yumi replied, delicately.

* * *

An hour later, a red-faced young girl raced into her room, and closed the door behind her. She whirled as she heard someone giggling from her bed, to find Sayuri curled up against her pillow. "What are you doing in here?" she hissed, "Haven't you done enough for one day?"

Sayuri grinned at her and replied, "I came in here to find out about your date, of course."

"Well, there's nothing to tell, and I'm upset with you for telling mom about my date," Hinako snapped.

"I''m sorry that you're upset with me about that, but she wanted to know where you were since you weren't here when she got back from shopping. Common politeness, if nothing else," Sayuri replied, evenly, "You should have told her yourself."

"You could have told her that I was just out with friends," Hinako insisted.

"I'm not going to lie to Mom about something like that. Besides, what harm was there in telling her?" Sayuri asked.

"I just had the worst hour of my life," Hinako replied, "And it's your fault."

"Ah, she gave you the TALK. Oh dear, no wonder you're mad at me," Sayuri said, an answering blush appearing on her face, as she remembered her experience several years ago.

"Yes, she told me all about intercourse, and everything. And pictures! Why'd she have to have pictures?" Hinako groaned.

"Unless they've changed, they weren't as bad as the ones they showed in Hygiene," Sayuri said.

"I didn't take Hygiene when I was in school before, and I skipped it this time," Hinako groaned, "It should have been my last term in middle school, remember?"

"Well then, it's a good thing she talked to you, isn't it? If you didn't learn it in school, where did you think you were going to pick it up?" Sayuri teased.

Hinako shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. I guess I wasn't thinking."

"And that may be why Mom sat you down," Sayuri said, "As far as she's concerned, you're the second daughter she never got around to having, so she feels responsible."

"I know," Hinako sighed, "But I really objected to the anatomically correct dolls she pulled out. Did she have to do that?"

Sayuri pulled her 'sister' into a hug, and said, "I'm afraid she did. I didn't know until this year, but Mom got pregnant sooner than she wanted, and it changed her life in ways that she didn't expect. That's why she was so upset with me earlier this year, and that's why she's worried about you. I guess she wants to make sure neither of us let our passions run ahead of us." She sighed, and added, "Not that she really needs to worry about me. My fiancée is being entirely too much the gentleman."

"Um, actually, I think he's afraid of the wrath of Kasumi," Hinako said, "After you got engaged, she sat Hiroshi down and told him what body parts she would remove if you got pregnant before you were married. And since she never raised her voice at all, it was extremely chilling. Of course, the large butcher knife she was sharpening while she talked to him might have had an affect as well."

"And let me guess, just in case he didn't get he message, Ranma was hovering in the background, wasn't he?" Sayuri groaned.

"Oh my, yes, not that he was really needed," Hinako replied.

"Kami help protect me from my overprotective family," Sayuri sighed.

"Amen, sister," Hinako added, "And I seem to have one more person being overprotective than you. anyway."

"Oh, who is that?" Sayuri asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you should look in the mirror and figure it out," Hinako replied.

Sayuri blushed heavily, and said, "Good point." After a moment, she grinned and said, "Now that we've got that out of the way, tell me about your date. Who is he? Where did you meet him? Is he handsome? Did he take you any place special?"

Hinako blinked at the questions coming at her at a rapid pace, faster than she could think of the reply, much less answer. 'Wow, all of that without pausing for a breath,' she thought. "I'd really rather not talk about things like that," she said, coolly, "I've never asked you about how things were going with Hiroshi, so I'd appreciate it if you would return the favour."

Sayuri stared at her, slackjawed in amazement, and then her eyes narrowed as she recovered her composure. Slowly, she slid out of the bed, and made her way to the door. "If that's how you want to be about it, then fine," she spat, "Good night." She stormed out of the room, and vanished down the hall.

* * *

Cologne knelt on the ground outside her tent, her eyes closed as she pondered the events of the day. She was feeling every one of her years as the young couple had stretched her to the utmost of her abilities, and she had been forced on more than one occasion to dip into the enormous reserves she had developed over the centuries, knowing full well that at some point she would end up paying the price.

A kindly voice interrupted her meditation by saying, "I brought you some herbal tea, Elder."

Cologne opened her eyes to find Kasumi looming over her, a large mug of tea steaming away in her hand, and an extremely concerned look on her face. She reached out with a pair of trembling hands and gingerly took the cup, taking an appreciative sniff of the contents.

"You don't look well, Elder," Kasumi said quietly.

Cologne chuckled dryly, which soon turned into a wheezing cough. She took a sip of the tea, and then rasped, "I'm merely feeling most of my years, child. It happens sometimes when I overdo things. But don't you worry; I'm not nearly ready to meet my ancestors. There's too much for me to do."

"Perhaps, but maybe someone else can carry some of the load," Kasumi suggested.

Cologne frowned slightly and asked, "Who can show Ranma and Akane what they need to know besides myself?"

Kasumi knelt down beside her, and replied, "That I don't know. Perhaps you can tell Tofu or myself. Or maybe merely telling Ranma what you need him to know will work. What I do know is that you are burning yourself out, and if you don't figure something out, soon there won't be anything left. And that would be a sad day for all of us."

"I swore an oath," Cologne replied calmly, as if that would explain everything.

Kasumi frowned slightly, and then nodded in grudging acceptance. "Then I guess I'll just have to ensure that you have the strength you need to carry on," she said, "Which means that I'm going to see to it that you eat right, and get plenty of sleep."

Cologne smiled wryly and said, "That's another sign of old age, I suppose. Instead of me taking care of people, now it's my turn to be taken care of."

Kasumi shrugged and retorted, "There are things that only you can do. The things that someone else can take care of should be done by them. It's a reasonable division of labour. Tofu and I can pick up a lot of the things that you are trying to show Ranma and Akane, at least as far as controlling ki is concerned."

"Tofu I can agree with, but you?" Cologne asked.

Kasumi smiled a Mona-Lisa smile, and suddenly several small blue balls danced on her palm. She turned away, tossing the balls over her shoulder, where they disappeared before they hit the ground.

Cologne chuckled and murmured, "I seem to have underestimated you, child."

"Akane is the acknowledged heir to the family art, but that doesn't mean that I am untrained," Kasumi replied, "And just because no one sees me practice, doesn't mean that I don't. Also, remember Tofu and I are trained in the healing arts, part of which requires us to be knowledgable of the proper ki paths." She turned a wintry smile in the direction of the old woman for a moment.

The warmth of the afternoon soon disappeared with the setting of the sun, and the clouds skidding across the moonlit sky promised cooler weather for the next several days, but that didn't account for the chill that fell across the campsite.

* * *

Akane pushed her bowl away and sighed happily. "That was excellent, sis," she said.

"I agree," Ranma said, as she finished her last bite of the succulent fish that Kasumi had broiled over the fire.

"Where did the fish come from? That's what I wanted to know," Cologne asked, sipping daintily at the herbal tea in her cup.

"I had to do something while the four of you were busy," Kasumi said, "So I went fishing in the stream. There's a deep spot where the fish were congregating, so once I found it, that was all I needed."

"Honestly, sis, is there anything that you can't do?" Akane asked.

Kasumi grinned and replied, "You forget, our parents used to take us camping when we were young. You and Nabiki were too young to do much around the campsite, but I was old enough to be some help. Daddy enjoyed fishing, and while Mommy looked after you two, he taught me. I was quite the tomboy, then."

"Is that when he taught you martial arts?" Cologne asked.

"Kami no," Kasumi replied with a laugh, "He started that when I was very young. I think I learned my first kata when I was just barely able to walk. My parents used to practice together in the dojo, and I remember watching them for the longest time. Akane was the same way, she watched and watched for so long when she was a baby, and then when she started taking her first steps, she wanted to do martial arts. It was amazing watching you and Mommy then. I think that was when Daddy decided to make you his heir. Even then, I think he saw something special with you, a spark that I didn't really have. I enjoyed it, that's true, but you lived it, I think."

"I never knew that," Akane breathed.

"You were very young," Kasumi said, gently, "Mommy was also a healer, and I was attracted to that as well. I enjoyed that even more than I enjoyed the art, and so I concentrated on learning that from her, while she and Daddy taught you the family katas. Nabiki only tolerated them both, even then she was more interested in acquiring money. She learned the basics of the art, both the physical arts that you were learning, and me to a lesser extent, and the esoteric and healing arts that I was fascinated by."

"That explains why you kept coming around and borrowing my books," Tofu said, "You wanted to learn more about healing."

"No, you silly man," Kasumi chided, "I was hoping you would notice me."

"Gee Doc, even I knew that," Ranma teased.

"Of course, he had that pesky Y chromosome keeping him from figuring things out," Cologne chimed in.

Tofu said, with as much dignity as he could muster, "I rather think that Kasumi is very happy I have that pesky Y chromosome as you call it, and everything that it brings along."

"Oooooh, you can't imagine," Kasumi purred.

Akane blushed prettily and said, "I think that just fell into the category of Too Much Information."

"Well, since I currently don't have that pesky Y chromosome right now, I think its time to check my ki paths," Ranma said, changing the subject.

"So you noticed something was off, also?" Cologne asked in surprise.

Ranma smirked at her and replied, "Of course I did. After all, it is my body, and I could tell things were still not quite right. Better than they were yesterday before you tweaked things, but still not where the paths need to be."

"We ought to check Akane out one more time, also," Tofu said.

"Same drill as yesterday?" Ranma asked, springing to her feet, and then bending down to help Akane up.

Cologne started to speak, only to be interrupted by Kasumi. "Not exactly," the younger woman said, an uncommonly stern note in her voice, "Tofu and I will be working with you." The look she shot the Amazon Elder stopped any further questions, if the tone alone had not been sufficient.

"I trust that you'll allow me to do the dishes?" Cologne asked dryly.

A thin smile flashed across Kasumi's face, and she bowed her head slightly. "Of course, Elder. Though I had intended you to supervise our efforts, assuming that you wished to be involved," she retorted.

* * *

Sayuri woke with a start, sitting straight up in her bed. She glanced around the moonlit room, wondering what had roused her from her sleep, and worse yet interrupting the very nice dream she had been having about her and Hiroshi, a can of whipping cream, and a cherry. Then she heard it! The creak of the stairs as someone passed down them! Quickly tossing on the clothing she had removed the evening before, she rushed over to her door, just barely opening it and peered out only to see Hinako ghosting by, heading toward the front door, dressed to go out for the evening. 'Aha!' she thought, as she placed a cloth over her hair, and tied it just below her nose, 'It's none of my business! Ha!' She waited until Hinako had closed the door behind her, and then went down the short hallway to put her shoes on, only to squeak in surprise as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled to find Nabiki standing there, ready to go, also wearing a sneaking mask.

The two girls grinned at each other's appearance, and quickly donned their shoes. Opening the door, they saw Hinako nearing the main gate of the compound, and quickly followed her, keeping to the shadows to prevent them being seen as they followed her out the gate and down the street.

"I can't believe she doesn't know we're here," Sayuri said, softly.

"As tired as she's been, I'm not sure I'm surprised. After all, this is the second time in three nights that she has snuck out," Nabiki retorted, as they watched their prey turn the corner and then join a man standing in the shadows between the glow cast by the streetlights. The man said something, but they were too far away to make out the words.

"Who's that?" Nabiki asked.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like that teacher she had a crush on," Sayuri replied, "At least I think it is. I only saw him the one time at the park when she pointed him out to me."

"I thought he had a girlfriend," Nabiki said, perplexed, "Isn't that why she was so upset the other night?"

"Yes, that's what she said," Sayuri replied. She shook her head, and added, "I don't understand any of this!"

"Hush, they're heading off," Nabiki said.

"Do we follow them?" Sayuri asked.

Nabiki nodded, and said, "I think we should. If Torajiro really is dating Hinako behind that other teacher's back, something may be wrong. Who knows what he may try to get her to do, and I don't know that I trust Hinako's judgement."

"She'll get really really mad if she catches us," Sayuri cautioned.

"And we'll be very very apologetic," Nabiki retorted, "So the simple answer is not to get caught."

* * *

The moon was shining high into the night sky when Hinako returned home, still oblivious to her unseen followers, who watched in disgust as the young girl they had followed around the streets of Nerima simply hugged her companion, before disappearing down the street to the gate of the compound. Her companion stood quietly watching for a moment, and then vanished as the moon slid behind a cloud, casting the street into momentary darkness.

"What a waste of time that was!" Sayuri exclaimed, barely hiding a yawn behind one delicate hand.

"And what a lousy date!" Nabiki sputtered, "What a cheapskate! He didn't buy her anything, or take her anywhere. All they did was wander around the park for a while, and then around the rest of downtown."

"What on earth could she see in him!" Sayuri added, as they made their way home, to hopefully get a few hours of sleep before they had to return to school.

"Honestly, I don't know," Nabiki replied, taking her shoes off, "But there's still some mystery here, I can tell. I just can't put my finger on it."

"I think so too. Did you notice, he was mostly in the shadows, so no one could get a good look at him?" Sayuri asked.

"That's what it was, that's what's so strange about things. It was like he didn't want anyone to get a real good look at him," Nabiki breathed.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Sayuri said, yawning deeply.

"In the morning, though," Nabiki agreed, "Kami, it'll be hard to get up."

"Especially for you," Sayuri said, as she followed her down the hall to the stairs.

* * *

Yumi frowned as the other three female members of the household dragged themselves into the kitchen, barely awake. Even as she watched, her daughter collapsed into a chair, folding her arms on the table as a cradle for her head and promptly closed her eyes.

"Morning," Nabiki croaked as she placed one hand on the counter for support.

Yumi handed out cups of coffee to the two girls who appeared to be awake, and placed a third next to her daughter's head. She folded her arms over her chest, and waited, a fierce look in her eyes.

Nabiki was the first to finish her cup, the caffeine quickly providing a jolt to her system, and her eyes swam into alertness. A grimace appeared on her face as she saw the older woman waiting, obviously looking for some sort of explanation.

Hinako was the second to come fully awake, while Sayuri continued to slumber on, oblivious to the frown on her mother's face.

"Well?" Yumi said, finally, as she nudged her daughter awake.

"Well?" Hinako echoed.

"I'm waiting for an explanation for why the three of you look like something the cat dragged in," Yumi replied, "I know someone left last night and came home early in the morning." Her face grew even sterner as she demanded, "Which one of you three was it?"

Hinako sighed and bowed her head. "It was me," she admitted, missing the look of relief that flashed across Sayuri's face.

Yumi smiled thinly and said, "It's nice of you to admit it, but I know that my daughter was missing."

Sayuri raised her head and sighed. "Hinako woke me as she walked past my room. I followed her outside," she said, "As she went to be with her boyfriend."

"You were spying on me!" Hinako spat, "I thought you were my friend!"

"I AM your friend, and I'm worried about you," Sayuri shot back, "And I think I have good reason to be. You're dating that teacher! How could you? Knowing that he is with another woman!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Hinako screamed.

"What don't I understand? That you have a crush on a guy, and he's leading you on! Which part of that don't I understand?" Sayuri shot back, her eyes suspiciously damp.

"Um, I think we're letting things get out of hand. Why don't you two back off before you say something that you'll both regret," Nabiki said.

"I agree," Yumi said, softly, "Sayuri, I'm disappointed in you for following her last night, but Hinako, I'm disappointed in you as well. Sneaking out in the middle of the night after you promised me you wouldn't. I trusted you and you violated that trust."

Hinako hung her head in shame, all of her anger gone. "I'm sorry, Mom. I did promise, and I broke that promise," she sighed, "I won't do it again."

"I know you won't, but I'll still have to punish you," Yumi said, regretfully.

Hinako winced and said, softly, "I know."

Yumi sighed and said, "You need to come straight home after school all this week, and you'll be staying home this weekend. Aside from doing the chores that I assign you, you'll stay in your room except for meals. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mom," Hinako replied, not looking at her.

"That goes for you as well, Sayuri," Yumi said.

Sayuri sighed and nodded her head. "I rather expected that it did," she muttered.

"Good!" Yumi said, "Then it's all taken care of. " She turned back to the stove and gave one of the pots a quick stir, and asked, over her shoulder, "Was the date at least worth being punished for?"

Hinako grew starry-eyed, as a blush crept up her cheeks. "Yes, Mom," she breathed, "It was wonderful. Higuma-san is so sweet and caring. We walked all over, and then stopped at this fantastic tea shop. They had the most exquisite tea, so subtle in flavour."

Nabiki and Sayuri traded puzzled looks. "A tea shop?" Nabiki finally managed to ask.

"That sounds lovely," Yumi said, "Which tea shop was it?"

"I'm not sure," Hinako replied, "I remember it being next to a shrine, but the name escapes me for some reason." She pushed herself away from the table and stood up. "I'm going to take my bath now, so it'll be out of the way. Are you two coming?" she announced.

"I'm going to have another cup of coffee," Nabiki replied, "Then I'll join you."

"Me too," Sayuri echoed.

Hinako shrugged and left the kitchen.

Sayuri waited until Hinako was out of hearing, and exploded. "TEA SHOP!" she exclaimed.

"Calm down, Sayuri, not so loud!" Nabiki urged, "She might could hear you still. Just because she's in the furoba, the walls aren't very thick between us and her."

"But," Sayuri began, only to be silenced by an angry glare from the older girl.

"I know," Nabiki said. She closed her eyes and listened intently, relaxing as she heard the sound of the water running from the furoba. "Okay, she can't hear us now," the older girl said.

"You know as well as I do that she didn't stop at any tea shop," Sayuri exclaimed.

Nabiki rolled her eyes and sighed. "I know, but did you have to say that," she muttered, as Yumi scowled at her.

"So you snuck off as well," Yumi said coldly.

"Yes, but that's not important right now. What's important is that the only place they stopped and got anything to drink was as this odd well," Nabiki retorted.

"She was drinking out of the pail," Sayuri added, "and the well was located by a Bodhisattva shrine."

"So why did she think she was drinking tea?" Yumi asked.

"I'm not sure," Nabiki replied, "But I wonder if he has her under some sort of spell, or something."

"Now you're beginning to scare me," Yumi said, "I definitely think it is for the best that she stay away from him. Hopefully, being grounded for this week will help her snap out of whatever this is."

"She can't speak to him, or anything," Nabiki said.

Yumi's face grew forbidding and she nodded. "I'll see to that while she's home, but you'll have to keep an eye on her when she is at school," she said.

A grim silence fell as the three women nodded. Nabiki finished off the last of her coffee, and said, "We'd better join her in the furoba then, if we don't want to be late for class."

"Don't worry Mom, we'll take good care of her," Sayuri added in parting as the two girls headed out of the kitchen, Yumi staring after them vacantly as she wondered how she was going to do what she had said.

* * *

Yumi smiled in satisfaction as she glanced around the spotless kitchen, and then picked up the tray of snacks. The aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies rose from the plate as she headed out the kitchen and down the hall to her daughter's bedroom. As she neared the door, however, she heard the sound of someone knocking on the front door. With a sigh, she set the tray on the newel post, and made her way to the door. She opened the door, and found a strange young man standing there, his hand raised to knock once more. "May I help you?" she asked, politely.

"Is Hinako available?" the young man asked.

"I'm afraid not. She's upstairs working on her school work, and it is far too late for her to entertain strange men on a school night," Yumi replied.

"But, surely you can't mean that," the man began.

"Certainly not, it wouldn't be proper," Yumi said firmly.

"Problem, Yumi?" a voice said from behind them.

Yumi glanced up to see Ranma and crew standing there.

"Not really, Ranma," Yumi replied, "I was just explaining to this young man that it was too late for him to see Hinako."

"Surely it is not too late, it is not even evening yet," the man protested once more.

Yumi sighed and said, "Not that it is really any of your concern, but she is grounded for the remainder of the week, and forbidden to leave home except to attend school."

The man bristled at that.

Akane frowned and reached out and grabbed the man's arm to pull him back, only to find the man immovable.

"Oh dear, why is she grounded Yumi?" Kasumi asked.

"Because she snuck out last night, presumably to be with this young man, and she knew that it was wrong," Yumi replied.

"Does she accept this punishment then?" the man asked, suddenly calm.

"Yes she accepted it willingly enough," Yumi replied.

The man bowed and said, "In that case, I apologize for my part in her misdeed. I honestly do not wish her to come to any grief. She is a nice girl, and I enjoy her company."

"I think it is probably best that you leave now, however," Ranma said, "But we'll be sure to tell her that you called."

"That is, if you give us your name," Akane added, with a frown.

"I am Jizo, and I merely wish to repay her the kindness of this scarf," Jizo said.

"That isn't possible right now, as I said. But I will tell her that you came by," Yumi said firmly.

Jizo bowed and said, "In that case, I shall leave. Thank you for your courtesy." He bowed to the other four in turn, and then departed down the pathway to the front gate.

"That was odd," Tofu said.

"Oh my, yes it was," Kasumi added.

Ranma said, grimly, "Odder than you think, I'm afraid."

"Certainly was," Akane said, "His arm felt hard as a rock. How could he have a muscle structure like that?"

"Well hopefully we have nipped that in the bud," Yumi said, "Come, I'm sure you must be hungry. Let me take these snacks up to the girls, and then I'll fix something while you four get cleaned up."

"That sounds like a plan," Akane said.

Yumi sighed heavily and added, "I'm glad you all are back. I was just about at my wit's end with Hinako and her crush. I'm afraid it may be inappropriate."

"OH?" Kasumi exclaimed.

"It can wait a few minutes longer," Akane said, plaintively, "I really could use a bath."

"We both could," Kasumi admitted.

"Then soonest started, soonest done," Tofu said, as he pulled his wife into the hallway.

* * *

Yumi glanced around the family room in satisfaction, as her family was once more at home. The travelers had refreshed themselves in the furo, and changed out of their travel-stained clothing, and had nearly finished devouring the small dinner that she had prepared for them.

"Are you ready to talk about the crisis with Hinako now?" Kasumi asked, as she set her teacup daintily down on the table in front of her.

"Yes, what is so inappropriate about her relationship?" Tofu asked.

"I'm not sure where to begin," Yumi dithered, wringing her hands together nervously.

Akane grinned mirthlessly and suggested, "Perhaps at the beginning."

Yumi nodded as she knelt down to join them, pouring herself a cup of tea to delay the recitation. Finally, she said, "It started shortly after you left on your trip. Hinako went with Sayuri and Yuka to the flower festival last weekend. Sayuri and Yuka of course were joined by Hiroshi and Daisuke as their escorts, so Hinako was sort of tagging along as a fifth wheel, and I suppose that is what started things off. Apparently, she's developed a crush on the physical education teacher at her old middle school, a Higuma Torajiro."

"That by itself would not be a matter of concern. I'm sure we all had crushes on older men," Akane said, carefully not looking at her brother-in-law.

"It's okay, Akane, I knew," Kasumi said, gently, "And I suppose it started as a crush for me, too."

"That may be so, but if that's all it was, then Yumi wouldn't be that concerned," Ranma said.

"She came back from the festival in tears, after seeing Torajiro with an older woman. I thought she was heartbroken about that, and we talked for a while, and she seemed to settle down," Yumi said, "What I didn't know is that she snuck out of the house that evening to be with him."

Kasumi gasped, "Oh my, that is bad!"

"I didn't know it was him, or I would have said something. She's gone out a few times this week, always letting us know that she would be gone. Then I found out that she had snuck out again last night, after promising that she would stay home. I only found out about it this morning, when Sayuri told on her, and that's when I found out that she was seeing this Torajiro character," Yumi said.

"Higuma Torajiro," Ranma repeated, "That name is vaguely familiar for some reason."

"But that wasn't the name of the man who stopped by today. Didn't he say his name was Jizo?" Tofu interjected, "Who is he?"

Ranma nodded, and said, "There's something here that we're missing.

"I agree, something just doesn't add up here," Akane said, frowning.

"There's a little more. Hinako said something about stopping by a tea shop next to a shrine, but Sayuri and Nabiki both said that the only place the couple stopped was at a well for a drink of water," Yumi finished.

"That's really odd. Sayuri and Nabiki wouldn't miss something like that," Kasumi said.

"Then somehow, Hinako was tricked into thinking she was seeing something that wasn't real," Ranma said, "But how?"

"A glamour of some sort, maybe?" Akane replied, a bit uncertainly.

"But where does Jizo come in?" Kasumi asked.

Tofu replied, grimly, "Where indeed."

"I think we need to learn more about him, somehow," Ranma added.

"I think I'll visit this Torajiro, and find out what is going on between him and my little sister," Kasumi said.

"I'll go with you," Akane said, looking at her husband as if to dare him to tell her different.

"Do I look that foolish?" Ranma asked with a grin.

"Do you really want an answer?" Tofu retorted.

"Walked into that one, did't I?" Ranma asked, his grin widening.

Akane kissed him on the cheek and said, "Fraid so."

* * *

Kasumi entered the small apartment building that Nabiki had directed them to with a sense of fitness. While small, the public areas were immaculate, the sign of a good place to live, one that satisfied her sense of righteousness. She knocked on the door to the apartment where her quarry lived, and got her first surprise, as a stunning brunette woman, slightly older than herself, soon opened the door.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" the woman asked.

"Yes, my sister and I were hoping to see Mr. Torajiro. We understood that this was his apartment," Akane said, as Kasumi stood there in shock.

"Yes, he lives here. Let me get my husband," the woman said, closing the door.

Soon a flustered young man came to the door, and said, "I'm Higuma Torajiro. How can I help you?"

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure, now," Kasumi replied, "However, do you remember a student by the name of Hinako Ninomiya? She would have been in one of your classes at the middle school."

"Vaguely," Torajiro replied, "As I remember, she left school after a brief period. I never did understand what happened to her."

"Hinako is our sister, oh my, where are my manners? I am Kasumi Ono, and this is my youngest sister, Akane Saotome," Kasumi said.

"Saotome, kin to Ranma Saotome?" Torajiro asked.

"My husband," Akane replied, "But how do you know of him?"

"When I first decided to come to Nerima to teach, I checked out the area. For some reason his name came up as someone to be wary of. That all sorts of odd things happen around him, like he was a nexus of chaos," Torajiro replied, "But, I wanted to teach in the same area as my wife, so it was either come here, or try to get her to move elsewhere, and that wasn't going to happen. But what does that have to do with your sister?"

"This is going to sound very strange, I'm afraid," Kasumi began.

Akane sighed, and said, "Hinako developed a crush on you, I'm afraid."

Torajiro sighed heavily and said, "Not another one."

"Oh?" Kasumi asked.

"Listen, I'm not going to give you any false modesty. I know that I am a handsome young man, and worse yet, I teach sports, so I have to dress appropriately for that, which shows off my body. It was bad enough when I was teaching high school, some of the girls there were entirely too obvious in their attraction to me. Even though I wasn't returning their attention, it still caused me no end of problems. Problems that I hoped would disappear if I transferred to a middle school," Torajiro replied, "and I was partially correct. The young girls aren't as, shall we say, ardent in their pursuit of me at this age. Which is a great relief for both my wife and myself."

"Oh dear, then this makes things worse," Kasumi said, "Because for some reason, my sister believes that she is dating you."

"WHAT!" Torajiro exclaimed, his eyes frantic. "Believe me, there's nothing going on between your sister and myself," he said, quickly, "Even if I weren't married, I would never date a girl that wasn't of age. It would be the end of my career if I were to do something so dishonourable."

"I believe you, Torajiro-san," Kasumi said.

"Unfortunately, I believe Hinako as well," Akane added, "Which perhaps explains the mystery of Jizo."

Kasumi nodded, and said, "Someone is pretending to be Torajiro, you mean, and managed to fool Hinako."

"Exactly," Akane said.

"I need to put a stop to that," Torajiro said, firmly, "If someone is pretending to be me, that is an insult to my honour."

"I was hoping that you would feel that way," Akane said, "Now, if you and your wife would help, perhaps we can settle this."

"Anything you ask," Torajiro said.

* * *

Yumi looked over at Kasumi uncertainly, tapping her fingers together in a nervous gesture, and then glanced back over at Hinako busily working away in the kitchen.

Kasumi frowned slightly and looked pointedly at the young girl.

Yumi sighed and said, "Hinako, you had a visitor last night. A young man named Jizo came by to see you."

"Jizo, who's he? I don't think I know anyone by that name," Hinako replied as she rolled out the dough with her water-filled rolling pin.

"He seems to know you," Yumi said, "But enough about that. I was thinking that perhaps you should go meet your young man, if only to let him know that you are unavailable for the rest of the week. It would be the proper thing to do, I suppose."

"I can?" Hinako asked, dumbfounded.

"Of course," Yumi replied, "I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise."

"If it's all right with you, though, I'd like to go with you. I'd like to meet the man who thinks he is worthy of my little sister," Kasumi said, with a gentle smile.

"Let me finish these gyozas and then I can go," Hinako said.

"No dear, I'll take care of them. You should go before it gets too much later," Yumi urged.

Hinako dithered for just a second, and then slipped off her apron and handed it to her mother. "Do I look okay?" she asked.

"A little flour where you might not want it," Kasumi said, "Go freshen up, and I'll wait for you by the front door."

* * *

Kasumi followed Hinako down the street, secretly amused at the buoyant girl. "So where did you meet him?" she asked, quietly.

"At school of course," Hinako replied gaily.

"No silly, I met romantically," Kasumi said.

"Oh, well, actually, he came to our house that evening after the festival and we went out then," Hinako replied artlessly, not seeing the slight frown on the older woman's face.

Kasumi caught a bare glimpse of Akane leaping to the roof beside her and immediately felt a bit better knowing that she wouldn't be facing this stalker, no matter how polite, alone. "Hmm, I'm not sure I like the idea of him forcing his way into our house at night," she said, "That doesn't sound terribly polite."

"He did apologize for entering, but he wanted to see me so badly that he felt that he had no choice," Hinako said, "And we have met outside ever since. I did insist on that."

"That does make me feel a bit better, I suppose," Kasumi said, "How much longer until we meet him?"

"He usually meets me by now. But, once I didn't find him until we got to this shrine by the park," Hinako said, "He's probably there."

* * *

A few minutes later, the two women found themselves nearing the aforementioned shrine. Hinako shrieked and raced forward toward a figure standing in the shadows, calling, "Higuma!"

The figure thundered to her, calling, "Hinako!" The two merged into a fierce hug, while four other people descended the stairs from the street above.

Ranma and Akane led Higuma Torajiro and his wife to the shrine and stopped.

"Hinako!" Kasumi called, as she neared the pair, "Look over there!"

Hinako separated from her companion and gasped, "Two Higumas! What!!! How can this be?"

Higuma stepped forward and asked, angrily, "WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY ARE YOU PRETENDING TO BE ME?"

The other figure stepped forward into the light, to show that he was Jizo, a much smaller man. "I am Jizo, I wish but to repay this mortal for the kindness of her scarf," he said.

"But who are you then, Jizo?" Hinako asked, a tear showing at the corner of her eye.

"I am the guardian of this shrine, the one you so kindly gave this scarf to," Jizo replied.

"I wrapped it around the neck of a statue," Hinako gasped.

Jizo bowed and said, "And I am that statue."

"I've been dating a statue, and thinking it was a real person!" Hinako cried.

Kasumi moved toward Hinako and pulled her into a hug.

"And now we know the truth," Akane said, sadly.

Hinako looked up, tears streaming down her face. "It was all a lie, every bit of it," she wailed.

Jizo's face crumpled. "I merely meant to make you happy," he said.

"But you aren't real," Hinako sobbed. She straightened up, dashing the tears from her eyes. "We cannot meet any more, Jizo. I know you meant only kindness, and I thank you for that, but I cannot get over my heartbreak with a lie. Please, do not seek me out again. I consider your debt to me to be payed in full, and you have no further obligation due to the gift of my scarf."

"Are you sure, Hinako? You were happy, I could tell," Jizo asked.

Hinako smiled tremulously and replied, "It is better this way, I enjoyed your company, but now that I know the truth, I must let the fantasy go."

"I will honour your wish then, but know that I will always think kindly toward you," Jizo said, as he entered his shrine, and turned to stone.

"Take me home, Kasumi," Hinako said.

Kasumi led the young girl away.

"Will she be okay?" Torajiro asked.

"She's strong. So yes, she'll be fine, eventually," Ranma said.

"She doesn't look like any middle school student that I remember," Mrs. Torajiro said.

"Ah, that's a different story. But, not really mine to tell. She doesn't go to middle school any longer, though," Akane replied, "I thank you both for coming to help us show Hinako that truth."

"But I am sure that you would rather return home," Ranma added, "It is still unseasonally cool for some reason."

"My honour was at stake," Torajiro replied, "But you are correct. I would hate for my lovely wife to catch cold. Until we meet again." He bowed, and led his wife away up the stairs, toward the warmth of their apartment.

"Odd night," Akane said, as she wrapped her arm around her husband, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yes it was. Let's get out of here before something else weird happens," Ranma said, with a smirk.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, I am alive. Sorry for the long delayed chapter. Suffice it to say, Real Life struck with a vengeance since the last posting. Between moving into our new home, and getting it ready for the holidays, illness, and work, there have been more things getting in the way of writing than I want to think about. And just when I thought it was safe, the writer's block from Hell descended upon me and cost me several weeks before I could get this chapter somewhere where I wanted it. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. 


	88. The Doll of Vengeance

Chapter 88 The Doll of Vengeance

Hinako hugged her stuffed Crumpled Horned Snorkack to her chest as she sat rocking back and forth on her bed, wondering when the next invasion would occur. Since she had returned home, Yumi, Sayuri, Akane and Kasumi had all made an appearance to see how she was doing, and since it had been at least ten minutes since the last visitor, she was sure that she was now due.

A gentle tap at her door surprised her not at all. "Yes," she called.

To her surprise, Ranma answered, "You got a moment or two Hinako?"

"Sure, why not, the nervous breakdown isn't scheduled for another twenty minutes," Hinako replied, "Come on in."

The door opened, and Ranma glanced in. "That was a joke, wasn't it?" the redhaired girl asked.

"Mostly," Hinako replied, with a wry smile.

"Good, but I am glad you could squeeze me in before it happens," Ranma said, with her trademark smirk on her face.

"So what brings you to my humble abode?" Hinako asked lightly.

Ranma shrugged, and replied, "Well, I thought you might have had enough women invade you tonight to see how you were doing, and might want to have a guy drop by." She shouldered the door the rest of the way open.

"Um, since right now, you have a pair of breasts bigger than mine, I'm not sure what you're talking about," Hinako retorted, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Don't confuse the outward appearance with the inside," Ranma said, as she entered her hands behind her back, "Besides, I am here, bearing gifts."

"OH?" Hinako asked.

"Yes," Ranma said, bringing one hand forward, showing a bowl, "Chocolate ice cream, with chocolate chips, and since you can't get too much chocolate, chocolate sauce. For vitamin C, there's a cherry on top." She moved to the bed, and handed the bowl to her sister in all but blood.

"And what's behind door number 2?" Hinako asked.

Ranma giggled and said, "My bowl, of course," as she sat down Indian-style on the bed, and whipped out a bowl of ice cream for herself.

"Ah, so that's why you're female," Hinako teased.

"Of course, chocolate ice cream is almost as good as sex," Ranma said, with a grin, "At least when I'm like this. All those endorphorins."

Hinako giggled and said, "I wouldn't know about that. I'll have to take your word for it."

"Fair enough," Ranma said, with a grin, "Don't let it melt."

Hinako saluted her with her spoon and dug into the ice cream with relish. After a few moments of silence, while the two girls began to reduce the mountain of ice cream in their respective bowls, Hinako whined, "What's wrong with me?"

"Honestly, nothing. Look at you, you're pretty now, and we both know that you turn into a knockout when you get to be an adult," Ranma replied, after a moment of thought.

"Then why don't I have a boyfriend?" Hinako asked, her cheeks slightly red.

"Okay, let's think about this logically. Before your age burst, and by the way, I won't tell you my suspicions about that, you were in middle school for a term. You made friends with a few of the girls, but the guys really didn't seem too interested," Ranma said, "But then again, the oldest of them was what, thirteen, maybe fourteen at best. And while some of them may have been interested in girls, most of them probably were more interested in their scores and their clubs. And the ones that were interested in girls, probably already had a girlfriend before you showed up."

Hinako thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "That's certainly true enough. And most of the kids had been together since primary, so I was an outsider," she said.

"And then you've been in high school all of week or so," Ranma said, "So what guy has had a chance to get to know you. I'm not surprised you don't have a boyfriend, not yet. And besides, somebody you start dating in high school might not be the guy you want to end up with, anyway."

"You did," Hinako growled.

"Yes, I did, but I got lucky," Ranma said, affably, "And I do know that several of our friends have gotten together as well. But have you ever stopped to think about them?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Hinako admitted.

"Well, let's start with Ukyo and Konatsu. That was an arranged marriage pure and simple, because Pop and Ukyo's father had agreed that she would marry a Saotome. Fortunately for me, Mom and Dad adopted Konatsu, or things could have gotten a bit difficult since I'm the only other Saotome, and I was head over heels in love with Akane. It helped that Konatsu was in love with Ukyo. I think that Ukyo has managed to fall in love with him, and any way she's happy enough," Ranma said, "Shampoo and Ryoga aren't really married according to Japanese law, though I don't think they care. But that was still essentially an arranged marriage because of some wierd Amazon law. Kuno and Akari, she's with him because he defeated her pig. Is that really a basis for a marriage? And Kodachi and Mousse, well I think that was a match made in a pharmacy, to be honest. Kasumi and Tofu getting together, that was something I hoped for. You could tell that they loved each other a great deal. So out of those six couples, only two of them are what I would consider a normal marriage."

"What about Daisuke and Yuka, or Hiroshi and Sayuri?" Hinako asked, almost accusingly.

"What about them? They've known each other for years, since primary school, and have been friends for much of that time," Ranma replied, "I imagine the only real question was who would end up with whom. I admit, Akane and I getting married most likely got them thinking about it, so the engagements may be our fault. Now, Souta and Nabiki came out of left field as far as I'm concerned, but they are working out. And Mr. Tendo and Yumi, well, some of that was probably loneliness, and some was the fact that they genuinely like each other."

Hinako looked at her thoughtfully, and said, "I've never really thought about it that way."

"Didn't think that you had," Ranma replied, "So I really wouldn't worry about it. While I haven't a clue when you'll run into him, I'm sure there's someone out there for you. You're too nice a person not to have someone fall for you. It's just a matter of time."

"It's a shame that you're taken," Hinako teased.

Ranma grinned and replied, "Probably couldn't handle you."

"No probably about it," Hinako shot back, finally with a real smile.

"Well, the ice cream's gone, you're smiling, looks like my job here is done," Ranma said, rising gracefully from the bed.

"Thanks big brother," Hinako said.

Ranma chuckled and headed out the door, leaving a much happier girl behind.

* * *

The next day, at the evening meal, Soun finished his meal, and carefully placed his chopsticks down. "Another wonderful meal, ladies," he said, "And if I could have everyone's attention, there are some things that we need to discuss." He waited patiently until everyone was looking at him. Reaching out, he clasped Yumi's hand and announced, "As all of you know, I have asked Yumi to do me the honour of becoming my wife, and we were merely waiting the requisite year to formalize our union. Well, we've decided that is a foolish thing for us to do, and we were only hurting ourselves by waiting."

"What your father is attempting to say is that we went down to the City Hall and registered this afternoon. We are now married," Yumi said, holding up her left hand to show the plain gold band on her finger. Then she sat back and waited.

Ranma merely grinned while Akane squealed happily, bouncing up and down like a hyperactive Chihuahua.

Kasumi caught Sayuri as she fainted, and her husband reached over and slapped Soun on the back. "Good for you," he said, "It's about time, if you ask me."

Nabiki gazed at them, a smile on her face, while Hinako wrapped an arm around Yumi and hugged her tightly.

"Daddy, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't tell me sooner," Kasumi chided, "I would have liked to prepare something special for dinner tonight in celebration."

"I know, and I appreciate that," her father replied, "but it was somewhat a spur of the moment thing."

Yumi added, "We were talking about why we were waiting, and realized that trying to protect the honour of my former husband was a poor reason to wait."

"And the only ones who should care about my honour are already in this room," Soun said, firmly.

"We plan on having a small reception in a few weeks," Yumi said.

"That will give me enough time to get things ready, then," Kasumi said happily, with a sigh of relief.

Soun smiled kindly and shook his head. "That won't be necessary, daughter. A good friend of mine has recently reopened his family inn, and has invited all of us there for several days. We, that is Yumi and I, decided to have the reception there with us and the Saotomes, and then spend the remainder of the week as our honeymoon period once the rest of you return here," he said.

"It seems to be very nice, especially the hot springs, at least according to the brochure that we saw," Yumi added.

Ranma asked, "Where is this inn?"

"It's named The Doll Inn, because of a famous doll that is there, and is located near Noboribetsu on the island of Hokkaido," Soun said, "We'll take the night train to Sapporo since that's considerably cheaper than the bullet train, though it will take a few hours longer. There's a local over to the Noboribetsu where my friend will have a bus to take us to the onsen."

"Sayuri, Nabiki, you can invite your fiancés to come, and we've already invited your parents, Ranma," Yumi added.

"When did you intend to go? I'll need to check my appointment calendar to make sure it is clear," Tofu asked.

"I believe there is a school holiday coming up in three weeks, that will give them a long four-day weekend. Something about a pineapple festival," Soun replied.

"Yes, even though Kuno is not the principal any longer, they didn't change the schedule he had pushed through," Nabiki said.

"That should give me plenty of time to rearrange any appointments then," Tofu said, "Then we can close the clinic for that long."

"I'll take care of that for you tomorrow," Kasumi replied, "There's only a few scheduled that far out, anyway, if I remember correctly."

"I love it when a plan comes together," Soun said.

"I do think we should have a toast to the newlyweds, though," Kasumi said, "I have a bottle of Junmai Ginjo that I was saving for this occasion."

* * *

Kasumi put her textbook down, and took a sip of her tea. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced over at the clock on the family room wall, and sighed heavily as she saw that it was nearly midnight. "That's enough studying for tonight," she said, softly, "If I don't know the material for the anatomy test tomorrow by now, I'll never get it." Placing a bookmark on the open page, she reverently closed the book and placed it on the table, and then gracefully rose to her feet and headed toward the stairs, and her ever patient and understanding husband, though she suspected that he had finally succumbed to the comfortable bed and was asleep. As she neared the foot of the stairs, she heard her younger sister's voice through the front door, and changed her path, curious as to what was going on.

"Stop that," Nabiki said, laughing, "That feels a little too good, if you know what I mean."

There was a brief rumble, and then Nabiki replied, "Remember our promise. We swore we wouldn't do that until we were wed, and I intend to keep that promise."

Again, there was a brief rumble. Nabiki giggled and said, firmly, "Goodnight, Souta. Tell your family I said Hi, and don't forget about the trip." A few moments later, the door opened, and Nabiki slipped inside, her face flushed, her lips very puffy, and several of the buttons on her blouse undone. Her eyes widened as she realised her sister was standing there, an amused expression on her face.

"Hello, sister, you look a little flushed. Are you feeling okay?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki sighed, and asked, "No, not really. Do you have a moment to talk? I'm a little confused at the moment."

"Oh, is that what they are calling it nowadays?" Kasumi asked, archly, as she headed back to the family room.

The two girls sat down and Nabiki asked, "How did you and Akane manage? I swear I want to jump his bones, but the two of you managed to wait until you were married."

Kasumi replied, "I can't speak for Akane, though I know she and Ranma didn't do anything inappropriate, but for me, well, I took a lot of cold showers."

"Oh dear," Nabiki squeaked, "Does it get any easier?"

"I'm afraid not," Kasumi replied, "In fact, it gets harder."

Nabiki giggled, and said, "It couldn't get any harder, based on what I was feeling against my belly a moment ago."

Kasumi smiled knowingly, and said, "That's not what I meant and you know it. But if it's starting to be a problem, there's nothing that says you can't move the wedding up. You can get married as soon as you graduate at the end of the year. You two decided to wait until after your first term in college."

Nabiki sighed heavily, and said, "I know that. I guess it was my insecurities causing me a problem. I know he loves me, but still there's that niggling doubt about whether I deserve him."

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, "Of course you do. You can see it in his eyes when he looks at you; he's almost as crazy about you as Tofu was about me. And you are a good person, you deserve some happiness. Embrace it, Nabchan."

Nabiki sighed, and said, "Sometimes I wish I hadn't made that promise to Mommy, especially when my hormones start to race."

"Promise?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki grimaced and said, "When she knew that she was dying, she called me to her bed and asked me to promise her three things. One, to always look after the family; two, to stay in school and get a good education, and three, to wait until I was married to, well, have sex. I've done the best that I can with the first two, though sometimes, it may not have appeared that way. And now, I'm trying to keep the last promise and it's turning out to be the most difficult of them all."

Kasumi laughed and said, "Sounds similar to the promise she had me make. To always look after the family, to finish school, and to wait until Tofu and I were married. And yes, she knew how I felt about him and how badly I wanted him even as young as I was then."

"Oh my!" Nabiki exclaimed, "And you managed to last that long! How did you do it?"

"Lots of willpower and cold showers, like I said before," Kasumi said.

"But I was thinking about months, not years," Nabiki said, looking at her sister with a great deal of respect.

"Speaking of cold showers, I expect you probably need one after what I overheard," Kasumi teased gently.

* * *

Kasumi sighed happily as she slid into the warm waters of the spring fed pool, and leaned back against the well-worn boulders forming the wall separating the male side of the bathing pool from theirs.

"Feels nice, doesn't it sis?" Akane asked from her perch on one of the boulders forming small seats in the water.

"Yes it does," Kasumi moaned, "I hadn't realized that I was that sore."

Hinako grinned and asked, "And exactly why are you so sore, big sister?"

"Never you mind," Kasumi retorted.

Hinako smirked and said, "Should I remind you that the walls between your room and Nabiki's and mine is pretty thin, and it was pretty obvious that you were, um, up late last night."

Akane teased, "Was the futon not comfortable enough? It did seem that it took you and Doc a long time to get to sleep last night."

Kasumi asked, primly, "Do I tease you about you and Ranma and how you go at it?"

Akane pretended to think about it and then said, "Yes, as a matter of fact you do tease us."

Kasumi smiled and said, "We weren't the only ones up late last night."

"Ranma and I had to finish our katas," Akane replied innocently.

"I'm not buying that for a moment," Hinako said with a grin.

"Ranma is so manly," Kasumi teased.

"Sis, you're scaring me now. Don't start channeling Mother Saotome," Akane retorted.

"So where's Nabiki?" Kasumi asked.

Hinako shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm not sure, she may have waited for Souta. He was having some issues with his laptop and getting a connection, so he was talking to the front desk."

"What was with that doll we walked by?" Kasumi asked.

"Doll?" Hinako asked.

Akane grinned and said, "Didn't you see that old doll in the hallway as we walked from our rooms to the bath? It's supposedly a vengeance doll."

"What?" Hinako exclaimed as she recoiled.

Akane shrugged, and said, "They say that it has been handed down for generations with a soul trapped inside."

Hinako shuddered.

"So if you say or do anything bad to it, the doll will remember and then get even," Akane said, in her spookiest voice.

"Get even?" Kasumi asked, "Oh my!"

"But how?" Hinako asked.

Akane shrugged once more and replied, "Who knows!"

"You're just telling us a ghost story, right?" Sayuri asked, shivering despite herself in the hot water.

Akane grinned at her, and then nodded a greeting as Nodoka and Yumi joined them in the water.

* * *

Ranma pulled himself from the hot water and wrapped himself up in his towel. Then he walked over to a small icebox tucked against one wall, and opened it. Pulling out a frosty glass of milk, he said, "This will sure taste good after spending all that time in the hot water."

Genma flung on his robe, and rushed over, and stole the glass from his son. "You're right, a glass of cold milk, there's nothing like it after a hot bath," he cackled as he rushed out of the changing room.

"But Pop, you senile old thief," Ranma protested, to no avail, as the door closed behind the corpulent thief. The young man shook his head and reached back into the icebox, pulling out a second glass of milk.

Tofu pulled on his robe and asked, "Is there another one in there for me?"

Ranma grinned and said, "Of course. I asked the staff to put several in here before we came." He handed Doc the glass he held in his hand and pulled out still another glass of milk, taking a deep sip of this one.

"I assume Genma didn't know?" Tofu asked.

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Didn't see the need to tell him, to be honest. Besides, it was funny to see him run out of here thinking he had pulled something off."

* * *

Soun led the way down the hall, hiding a grin, as Souta and Hiroshi bickered lightly about baseball. Souta was touting the merits of the Yumiuri Giants, while Hiroshi countered with the other Tokyo team, the Yakult Swallows. They neared the exterior door that opened onto the path for the baths, and just as he reached for the door to open it, it flew open and a Genma ran in, looking behind him, and carrying a glass of milk. The overweight man slammed into Soun, who then bounced back into Souta and Hiroshi, which resulted in the three of them landing in a tangled heap, after colliding with the small table sitting to one side. Genma didn't even register the collision, and continued running down the hall, disappearing through the opening at the other end.

"SAOTOME!" Soun roared, as he struggled to get up, while Souta and Hiroshi climbed to their feet and dusted themselves off.

"What was that all about?" Souta asked, as they pulled the older man to his feet.

Soun muttered a few choice words under his breath, and said, "I have no idea. But, now I really could use a good soak."

The three of them continued on their journey to the hot springs, closing the door behind them, without a backward glance, and without realizing that in their struggles they had upset the table enough for the doll that presided upon it in pride to fall to the floor in disarray.

* * *

Ranma left the changing room to find Akane waiting for him, wearing her robe, an impish smile on her face. "I know that look," he said, "Someone is planning something."

"Not really, I just thought we could walk around the grounds for a while," Akane said. She walked over and slid her arm through his, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"A walk? That would be nice," Ranma replied, a silly grin on his face. The young couple headed down the path, away from the hot springs until it turned at the small stream the flowed through the grounds, and began to follow the stream. They continued to follow the path, until it ended in a secluded glade, as the stream flowed into a large pond, surrounded by a grassy sward. A small stone bench overlooked the pond, providing an ideal spot for a young couple to cuddle. Which is in fact, what Ranma and Akane promptly decided to do.

"Alone at last," Akane whispered, as she sat wrapped in Ranma's arms.

"Yeah, this is nice," Ranma replied, softly, his breath blowing lightly against her neck, causing her to shiver. "Cold?" he asked.

Akane smiled, and said, "Not really." She turned to face him on the bench, and said, "Close your eyes."

"Why would I want to do that?" Ranma asked, "I kinda like what I'm looking at."

"Trust me," Akane said.

Ranma grinned, and closed his eyes. He felt Akane stand up and then the rustle of cloth.

"You can open them now," Akane said.

Ranma slowly opened his eyes, to see Akane dressed only in her skin, her robe spread out on the ground, his body reacting instantly to the sight.

The young girl quirked one eyebrow as she knelt on her robe, arching her back and asked, "Well? Are you going to join me? Or will I have to start without you?"

"Decisions, decisions," Ranma teased, as he almost tore off his clothing and joined her on the ground.

* * *

Ranma and Akane laughed their way up the path from the hot springs, their arms wrapped around each other's waist, their hair slightly damp still from their quick ablutions in the spring after their rather strenuous but fun-filled hour-long activities. "That was a very good idea," Ranma said, feeling quite relaxed.

"All my ideas are good," Akane boasted playfully.

"Not sure I'd go that far," Ranma retorted. He opened the door to the inn, and allowed Akane to enter, following her close behind, only to stop in dismay.

"What is it, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"The doll," Ranma replied, "Look it's missing from the display table."

Akane gasped, "Then that means somebody is possessed by the spirit of the doll."

Ranma nodded and replied, grimly, "I'm afraid so. That's what happened last time."

"What can we do?" Akane asked.

"Honestly, I don't have a clue, other than to keep an eye on our family to see if someone is acting odd," Ranma replied. He glanced at her thoughtfully for a second and then asked, "Do you remember anything about what happened? Like where you were, that kind of thing, from the dream or vision or whatever the hell it was?"

Akane replied, "Not a lot, really, just the bare story. Wandering around looking for you, finding my body nude in front of you, and then us fleeing, falling into the pond and then coming out of the water in my body."

"Then I guess we are stuck with only watching to see who is acting strange," Ranma said, with a sigh.

"Not much of a plan," Akane said, wincing.

"Yeah, I know," Ranma agreed, ruefully.

* * *

Genma reached one hand out to steal a spring roll from the table in front of him, only to draw his hand back quickly as Hinako slapped her hand in front of his reaching finger.

"You will wait until everyone is here, Mr. Saotome," she said, a glare in her eyes that he decided not to challenge.

"Geez, what's taking her so long? Everyone else is here," Genma whined.

"Where could Nabiki have gone?" Soun asked.

"Let's just eat," Genma suggested.

Akane shook her head warningly and said, "Not yet. Souta just left to go look for her."

At that moment, the delinquent Nabiki walked in, wearing of all things a yukata.

"What have you been doing, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked.

Soun asked, "And, why are you wearing a yukata?"

Nabiki asked, "Where is that stupid boy?"

Kasumi asked, "You mean Souta, right?"

Nabiki turned on her heel and walked out, muttering, "I'll find him."

Akane and Ranma traded looks and said, "We'll look for him too." Quickly springing to their feet, they raced after Nabiki.

* * *

Meanwhile Souta was racing through the inn, looking for Nabiki. "Where could she have gotten off too?" he wondered. He glanced over as he ran by the lavatory, and spotted something odd in the wastebasket below the sink. Walking over, he pulled a doll out of the bin. "Humm, this doll, it looks like the same one that was in the hall leading to the springs," he said.

"Souta!" a familiar voice cried.

Souta turned around, all thoughts of the doll leaving his mind, as he allowed it to fall to the floor. "Nabiki! Where have you been?" he asked.

"You were supposed to meet me outside!" Nabiki exclaimed.

"I was?" Souta asked, befuddled.

"Yes, you were!" Nabiki growled as she prowled closer to her fiancé, a fiery look in her eyes.

"Um, just how was I supposed to know, umphh?" Souta asked, just as Nabiki closed the distance between them, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

Ranma and Akane snuck closer, creeping quietly down the hall to watch.

Finally, Nabiki pulled back, her lips puffy.

"What brought that on?" Souta asked.

"I'm tired of waiting," Nabiki said, huskily, "What would you say if I told you I was the only thing under this yukata?"

"Please, I already knew that, you were showing a very pointed interest in me while you were kissing me," Souta said, with a smirk, "But why?"

"I want you," Nabiki said, simply.

Souta sighed, stiffening his resolve and said, "Love, I swore on my honour that I would not accept the gift of your virginity until our wedding night. You told me the promise you made to your mother, and I intend to help you honour that promise."

"I don't want to wait that long, not any more, Souta," Nabiki admitted.

"Then you know what the solution is, love," Souta said, "There's nothing stopping us from going to the city hall and registering. I have my mother's permission in writing, and I doubt that you would have any trouble getting your father's. Waiting until we were at Todai was just a wish, and I'd rather be looking for married housing, anyway. Though, I'd like to wait until summer vacation starts, if that's all right with you?"

"Why?" Nabiki asked.

"I need to work for that long so I can have enough money to buy us bands, and have a little bit to start out with," Souta replied, "And we'd need to decide where we were going to live."

"We could stay at my home, or yours, either one, doesn't really matter to me," Nabiki replied, "But you're right about the money, though I have quite a bit saved up in my college fund."

"So do I, but that's what it's for, college," Souta said, "And I want to try to reserve it for that."

"It's not her," Ranma said, quietly.

"No, it's not," Akane whispered back, "We should leave, I feel like a voyeur."

"Tell me about it," Ranma hissed, pulling her down the hall.

"Everyone is waiting for us in the common, they'd like to eat," Souta said.

"Then we should join them," Nabiki said. She glanced down and frowned. "Why is that doll on the floor?" she asked.

"It was odd, I found it in the trash," Souta replied, bending down to grab the doll, "Poor little doll, how about I put you back."

"Sure, we can swing by that hall before going back to eat," Nabiki said, wrapping an arm through his.

* * *

Tofu stood on the balcony outside the common room, enjoying the sights as he began to fold the towel that he had used earlier. 'Hmm, maybe I'll go take another dip in the baths,' he thought as he turned away from the railing, just as his wife lunged forward. Her momentum caused her to fall over the railing, flailing her arms and legs. With cat-like reflexes, Tofu snagged her foot just as it went by, and with strength that few knew he had, pulled her up and over the railing. "Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, setting her down on the tiled floor.

"Just here," Kasumi said, holding out her hand, where he could see a small scrape.

"Good thing I brought my bag," Tofu said, "Wait here, I'll go get it." He rose up, and headed back into the room, returning swiftly with a little black bag. Opening the bag, he rummaged around for a moment, before finding a bandage. He tore open the sterile wrapping and applied it to the back of his wife's hand, covering the scrape. He grinned playfully and said, "You're such a klutz. Falling from the second floor like that."

"I tripped over something," Kasumi retorted.

Tofu glanced around and said, "I don't see anything."

"Be careful, dear, or you'll be sleeping on the couch," Kasumi chided gently.

Akane and Ranma traded looks from where they had been watching.

Nodoka returned to the common room from the room she was sharing with her husband, dressed in a yukata. "Husband, I would like to take a stroll around the grounds," she said, in a slightly odd voice.

Akane whispered, "Is your mother acting a little strange?"

Ranma replied, in a hushed voice, "It's hard to say."

Genma glanced up from the interminable game of shogi, and said, "Actually, I could use some exercise. I think I actually ate too much."

Ranma snickered behind his hand. "He ate enough for three people," he whispered.

"Ooh, then he must be cutting back," Akane said, softly, with a smirk.

"Since it isn't Kasumi, you stay here and keep an eye on Yumi, Hinako and Sayuri. I'll follow Mom and Pop using the Umi-Sen-Ken," Ranma said.

"When are you going to teach me that?" Akane asked.

"Soon, you almost have reached that point," Ranma replied. He watched as his father scrambled up and led his wife out of the room. "Gotta run," he said, as he moved over to the balcony, and vanished.

* * *

Genma stumbled through the entry, finally finding his pair of clogs next to the entry door where he had dropped them. He hopped on one foot putting one shoe on, and then hopped on the other to finish donning his shoes. "Hmmm, felt like I stepped on something, or maybe not," he said, as he strode through the outer door.

Nodoka reached down and picked up the doll. "Little doll, until I enact my revenge, stay out of my way," she hissed, her face screwed up with anger. She walked outside, and stuck the doll beneath a flowerpot, trapping the doll. Then she scurried after.

Genma turned, and asked, annoyed, "What took you so long? It was your idea to take a walk. I could have had another cup of saké in the time it took you to get here."

Nodoka merely took his arm, and hugged him.

"Nodoka, you've really been acting strange this evening. What's gotten into you?" Genma asked.

"Silly? I just wanted some time with you," Nodoka replied, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Unknowingly, they began to trace the same path that Akane and Ranma had taken that afternoon.

* * *

Ranma snuck around the corner of the building and sighed with relief as he spotted the doll. "Hey," he said, squatting down as he watched the doll attempting to squirm free, "Looks like you could use some help." He picked up the ornamental pot long enough for the doll to wriggle free.

The doll stood up, and bowed, hoping that Ranma could read the expression on her face.

"Now to find out if you're who I think you are," Ranma said.

The doll's expression changed as her eyes widened.

"Mom, is that you?" Ranma asked.

The doll nodded her head frantically.

"Did you see which way they went?" Ranma asked.

The doll nodded, and pointed toward the bath.

"Then we'd better go stop whatever she has planned, don't you think?" Ranma asked, rhetorically.

* * *

Nodoka stopped as they reached the small stream flowing across the property.

Genma said with a smirk, "We're all alone out here."

"Genma, close your eyes," Nodoka said, demurely.

"Why?" Genma growled, huskily.

Nodoka looked at him, her lips parted slightly, allowing the tip of her tongue to protrude, her eyes blazing with passion. "Do I really need to say any thing more?" she asked.

"Okay, my eyes are closed," Genma said, rather liking where he thought this was going to end up.

Nodoka spent the next several moments suspending a large stone statue as a pendulum, using a large tree branch as the centre of rotation. She let go of the rope holding the statue, allowing it to swing toward Genma.

Unfortunately for the successful completion of her attack, Genma heard the sound of something rustling in the underbrush and bent in that direction. The statue passed by with a whoosh, and then returned, slamming into Nodoka, and hurling her several meters away, where she landed with a loud thump.

Genma whirled at the sound; his eyes wide as he spotted his wife sprawled out on the ground. He rushed over, and cried, "Nodoka, are you okay?"

His wife looked at him, a dazed expression on her face, so he carefully pulled her to her feet, and held her until she shook off the effect of the blow.

"Let's just stay like this for a while," Nodoka whispered.

* * *

Ranma sat the doll on his shoulder and let her ride there. "I bet you're wondering what's happened? I mean, aside from finding yourself in the doll," he said. He felt the doll nod, and he continued, "That's the Doll of Vengeance, and she seeks some sort of revenge for anything bad that happens to it, or even is said to it. Akane was supposed to warn all of you about it, but I guess you didn't hear her."

The doll shook her head, a sad frown on her face, as she waved her hands.

"What happened? I imagine, since we're following Pop, that he did or said something that the spirit of the doll took offense to, and you were the unlucky person she chose to dispossess," Ranma replied.

The doll waved her hands frantically.

"You know this would go easier if you could talk," Ranma said, "But I think you were asking what the spirit is going to do with your body."

The doll nodded furiously.

"Well, I'm guessing she's going to try to lure Pop away somewhere so she can take her vengeance, luring him with a promise of sex," Ranma replied.

The doll grimaced, and slumped her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Mom, we'll find him before he gets into trouble," Ranma said, soothingly, crossing his fingers behind his back.

They soon reached a small cliff, and they spotted Genma a few meters below them, holding onto his mother's body.

Ranma started to clamber down, only to have the doll shake her head, and put her finger to her lips. "You want to see what happens?" he asked.

The doll nodded, a sad smile on her face.

"To see if Pop figures out that it isn't you in there?" Ranma asked.

The doll nodded once more.

"Okay, but I'm not sure this is a good idea," Ranma said, slowly.

* * *

Nodoka sighed happily and said, "Let's find a more secluded place."

Genma looked down at her, and smirked. "That's sounds like an excellent idea, Nochan." He took her by the hand and followed the path, until it ended in a secluded glade, as the stream flowed into a large pond, surrounded by a grassy sward, with a small stone bench overlooking the pond. Wisps of steam rose from the water, showing that a hot spring was a source of some of the water.

"This is a wonderful spot," Nodoka breathed.

"Yes, it is," Genma said, slouching down onto the bench, pulling Nodoka onto his lap.

"Bit eager tonight, aren't you?" Nodoka asked, with a laugh.

"It's been a while, Nodoka, but I do remember what a hot spring does to you," Genma growled, "How excited it makes you."

"Then why should we wait any longer," Nodoka said, standing up. With a quick flip of her fingers, the belt of her yukata went flying away, and then the cloth fell from her shoulders, baring her to the moonlit glade.

Genma froze, drool rolling down from his mouth, and a faint tinge of red showing from his nose.

Ranma gasped from where he was hiding in the bushes, and closed his eyes quickly. "I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to see my mother's naked body," he whispered.

"NOW! Vengeance!" Nodoka cried, as she pulled her belt back from where she had wrapped it around a stone block, and swung the block at the unresisting Genma.

The doll sprang forward, just as the block was about to slam into Genma, possibly turning him into a red paste on the ground, or perhaps only bouncing off the hard skull concealed by his dirty bandana. In either case, the momentum of the doll pushed Genma back far enough that the stone missed. Then the doll flew at the spirit-possessed woman, a look of hate on its face.

Nodoka swung her hand, and slapped the doll back to where it landed on top of Genma's head. "Get out of my way," she snarled.

"Nodoka, what are you doing?" Genma asked, backing away, as he allowed the doll to fall into his hands.

The yukata fell off completely, leaving Nodoka unclad, except for the scabbard over one shoulder. With a snarl of rage, she reached up, and pulled the katana out of the sheath, and began waving it menacingly in their direction.

Genma, one who always believed that discretion was the better part of valour, whirled quickly, and started running, Nodoka following as fast as she could, the sword looming ominously in front of her. With a burst of speed that was surprising, he vanished from sight.

Once they were out of earshot, Ranma opened his eyes, and raced after, stopping long enough to grab the yukata that the spirit-possessed woman had discarded.

* * *

Genma panted heavily as he laid hiding on the branch of a large tree overlooking the pond. He was too exhausted to even consider going into the Umi-Ken-Sen. 'Whew, what a shock,' he thought, using his grimy bandana to wipe the sweat from his face. He glanced down at the doll sitting primly on the branch next to him, a disapproving look on its face. 'What a bizarre doll,' he thought, 'It certainly seemed like it was attempting to save me. I wonder how it could move. Maybe I could sell it to someone. Naw, look at it, it's so dirty.' He rubbed some of the dirt off the face, and then frowned. "It looks like Nodoka," he breathed.

The doll nodded, tears flowing down its face, leaving tracks in the dirt.

"TEARS!" Genma exclaimed, forgetting for the moment that he was in hiding. Suddenly, he heard a branch break from somewhere above him, and then a nude body fell onto him, knocking all three of them off the branch, and plummeting to the water far below.

"You fool, you could hurt yourself," Genma exclaimed, when he realised the armful he was holding was his naked wife.

"WHO CARES! I'M ONLY BORROWING THIS BODY!" Nodoka shrieked.

"Huh?" Genma responded, just as they plunged into the water, breaking them apart, with the doll floating on the surface of the water, and the other two sinking deeper into the warm water, the impact with the surface stunning them both.

Ranma looked on horror-struck for a moment, and then dove from where he had been watching, knifing into the water with a perfect dive. With several strong strokes, he drove down to where his father and mother were floating. He swam below his father and with a massive shove, pushed him toward the surface. Then he grabbed his mother by the arm, and swam quickly to the shore of the pond.

Genma breached the surface of the water like a sounding whale, while Ranma dragged his mother to the shore. Then, casting a despairing look at the unconscious form of his mother, blushing slightly at her uncovered state, he dove back into the water and pulled both the doll and his father to safety.

Genma coughed up a few liters of water and then breathed heavily, his eyes opening to a slit.

Sighing, Ranma turned to his mother, and breathed a bit easier as he saw her chest move up and down as she drew breath. "Mom, are you hurt?" he asked.

Nodoka opened her eyes, and gasped. "I'm back!" she cried, "Ranma, I was so scared."

"I know, mom," Ranma said, wishing there was some way he could comfort her, but there was no way he was going to hug her in her current state. Blushing heavily, he rose to his feet and walked over to where he had flung her yukata prior to his desparate dive. "Here, mom, please, um, put this on," he begged, before turning his back on her.

Nodoka sat up slowly, and took the robe from his hand. "Genma," she said, imperiously, "Look at me."

Genma groaned and sat up, opening his eyes wide as he saw his nude wife sitting on the ground in front of their son. "Woman, have you no shame! Cover yourself," he roared.

"Take a good look," Nodoka said, icily, "You won't be seeing this for a very, very, very long time!" She slid into her robe, and held it closed with her hand.

"But! But, in the glade," Genma sputtered.

"THAT WASN'T ME!" Nodoka exploded, thanking the gods that her son had found her katana, and was holding it away from her.

"What do you mean? Of course it was you," Genma sputtered.

"Pop, you're a real piece of work," Ranma said, with a wry grin, "You were about to cheat on Mom."

"I would know Nodoka anywhere, and that was her," Genma said.

"No, her spirit was trapped in the doll there," Ranma replied.

"You expect me to believe that fairy tale," Genma sneered.

"Doesn't matter if you do," Nodoka snapped, "Believe me, you are sleeping in the guest room again, and it will be a cold day in hell before I invite you back into mine."

"Mom, that's sort of crossing over into the too much information category," Ranma whined.

* * *

Ranma gently placed the doll back on the table at the inn, taking great pains that it was in perfect condition. "I can't disagree with your sentiment, doll spirit, but I couldn't let you hurt Pop. Granted, he's not much of a Pop, but he's the only one I've got. And Mom would have been in so much trouble if you'd manage to kill him. Couldn't let you do that to her, either," he said.

"Come on, Ranma, we have to leave," Akane said, grabbing him by the arm, and pulling him toward the entry.

A twisted smile appeared on the face of the doll.

* * *

The honeymooners waved as the rest of the family headed away from the inn.

"So did we ever find out what angered the doll?" Akane asked.

"No, not really," Ranma replied, as he grinned at the lumps on his father's head, lumps placed there by the flat of his mother's blade, "But, obviously it was something stupid that Pop did."

Genma growled, "I liked you better the other way."

A bucket of cold water splashed over him, transforming him into the panda. "Oh shut up, Saotome," Nabiki snarled, "It could have been any of us that got possessed by that doll because of you. And I don't know about the rest of them, but I really don't want to hear any of your excuses.

"Maybe Auntie Nodoka should consider wreaking vengeance," Kasumi said, mildly.

"Looks like Mom already has," Ranma said, with a smirk, as she whacked the panda once again with the shinai in her hand.

Souta pulled Nabiki to him, and asked, "Did you talk to your father?"

"Briefly," Nabiki replied, "And he didn't have any problem with pulling the wedding up from what we had talked about."

Kasumi's ears perked up at that and she asked, "What was that, little sister?"

"Nothing much, Kasumi, except that Souta and I are tired of waiting. We have decided to get married during the summer break," Nabiki replied.

"What brought that on?" Nodoka asked.

"Teenage hormones, probably," Hinako replied, with a smirk.

Nabiki blushed at that, while Souta choked back a laugh.

"In a way, I suppose," Nabiki finally was able to say, "We talked for a while this weekend, and pretty much decided that it was foolish to wait until we were in college to get married, that we should just go ahead and do it, and then when we go to Todai, we can get married students housing."

"Besides she's getting tired of hearing the two of you through the wall of your bedroom, Kasumi," Sayuri quipped.

Tofu reddened, while Kasumi simply gave her a serene smile.

* * *

Ranma slapped the gate of the compound, just ahead of Akane, and smirked at her. "Still just a touch slow," he crowed, "But not bad, not bad at all."

Akane glared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Let's get our bags inside, then you and I can workout in the dojo. I still need to work on that new kata you showed me on the trip," she suggested.

"That's a good idea, but we should air out the house first, since it'll be some time before everyone else gets here," Ranma said, "Remember, Kasumi and Tofu were going to stop by the clinic, Nabiki and Souta got off the train near his house, and Hinako was going with Sayuri and Hiroshi."

"Okay, why don't you run these up, and I'll open up the panels on the ground floor," Akane said.

"Sounds like a plan," Ranma said, adding her backpack to his load, and bounding off.

"Showoff," Akane said, fondly, as she followed a bit more sedately. The train ride had been long, and crowded, and while the race home had loosened up her leg muscles, the rest of her was still a bit knotted up.

* * *

Akane walked gingerly into her home, with Ranma following close behind. "I warned you that you needed to stretch before we started," he said, "Now look at you."

"It's nothing a massage and a soak in the furo won't fix," Akane said, "And I definitely need a bath, I'm just a bit ripe."

Ranma pretended to sniff the air, and said, "Yes, I can't argue with you there." He followed her down the hall to the furoba, only to stop at the 'Out of Order' sign on the door.

Kasumi rushed to join them, wringing her hands. "I'm afraid you'll have to use the public baths today. The hot water heater for the furo seems to have a bit of a problem. Tofu took a look at it, but I'm afraid he's a much better doctor than he is a plumber," she said.

"A public bath? What about Ranma's curse?" Akane asked.

Ranma chuckled, and said, "Don't worry about it. I'll just rinse off with warm water."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Akane said.

Then Ranma grinned and said, "Actually, now that I think about it, I have something better. The waterproof soap that we got from Cologne as a wedding present, I can use that."

* * *

Ranma sat on his stool in the men's side of the public bath, soaping himself down before rinsing off, when he felt a change in the room. Quickly rinsing off, he glanced around, and frowned. Something did not feel right. Then he spotted a breathing tube sticking out of the water of the large heated pool, heading toward the half wall that separated the men's side of the bath from the woman's side. Wondering not for the first time the intelligence of the designer of this bath for not making the wall meet the ceiling, he dashed toward the pool, and snapped his towel around the reed, and pulled it toward him. As he did so, he saw Rakkyōsai rise to the top.

"What do you think you are doing?" Rakkyōsai asked, angrily.

"What **are** you doing, heading towards the women's bath?" Ranma retorted.

"Ranma," Rakkyōsai whined, loudly, "I just wanted to see some pretties."

"Hey Ranma, keep an eye on him, I don't want him to see anything he shouldn't," a familiar voice said.

"NABIKI!" Ranma exclaimed, as he whirled around, glad that he had his towel securely knotted around his waist. "What are you doing here?" he asked, as he spotted her leaning over the wall that separated the baths. Then his eyes widened and he blushed bright red, as he strangled out, "Um, Nabiki, you're showing a bit more than you should."

Rakkyōsai smirked and said, "Nabiki was it, so good to see so much of you!"

Nabiki glanced down and blushed; sliding down a bit so only her head was above the wall. She replied, "When I got back from Souta's, Kasumi told me that you and Akane were here, and well, I needed a bath. I just didn't expect to find him here."

"Let me go see! Let me go see!" Rakkyōsai cried, as Ranma pulled him bodily from the water.

"I don't think so, Rakkyōsai," Ranma growled, "On second thought, go ahead. I'm pretty sure I saw Cologne enter the changing room just in front of Akane."

"C-cologne," Rakkyōsai stammered, "Maybe I'll wait until later."

Ranma dragged him back to his stool, and dumped him on the tiled floor. "You stay there," he growled, "I need to finish."

Rakkyōsai sulked on the floor next to Ranma, watching as the young man took his towel off to continue washing.

Ranma soaped up once more, ensuring he got every part of his body, and then started rinsing off with warm water.

"I'm bored," Rakkyōsai whined. Suddenly, he perked up. "Hey Ranma, let me wash your back!" he exclaimed grabbing a bucket of cold water. He whirled to throw it over Ranma, only to see the bucket shatter in his hands as Ranma hit it with his towel.

"Like I want you behind my back," Ranma retorted.

"Well, how about your front!" Rakkyōsai cried triumphantly, as he hit the spigot controlling the spray head in front of Ranma, instantly sending a spray of cold water at them both. Rakkyōsai changed into his childlike form, but to his dismay, Ranma remained unchanged.

"What!" Rakkyōsai screeched in a little boy voice.

Ranma turned toward the now little boy, and smirked. "Were you expecting something else?" he asked. He knotted his towel around him and rose to his feet, with a feeling of déjà vu all over again. 'Well, at least this time it's Rakkyōsai,' he thought.

"You didn't change!" Rakkyōsai said, backing away, "How? Did you find a cure?"

"No, there's no cure to the curse," Ranma said, "But something I got from the Amazons can prevent it from happening for a short time."

"The Amazons!" Rakkyōsai exclaimed, paling.

Ranma smirked and said, "Yes, the Amazons. Remember Cologne? She's the one who gave me it. Maybe you can get some from her."

"I don't think so," Rakkyōsai muttered.

"Oh, that's right. You're on her list just like old Happosai was," Ranma said.

The old man turned little boy teared up.

"Oh stop that," Ranma said, in disgust.

"Well, if you aren't going to change, then I need to get over to the other side and see some real women," Rakkyōsai said, "So I can get some more Butterfly Brocades."

"Pervert!" Ranma exclaimed, "But you can forget about trying to sneak any peeks. I'm not going to let you go there."

"How are you going to stop me?" Rakkyōsai asked, with a sneer.

Ranma grinned, and replied, "I don't see that being a problem."

Rakkyōsai smiled toothily and said, "That sounds like a challenge to me."

"Naw, just a statement of fact," Ranma replied easily, his eyes never leaving the person in front of him.

The little boy blurred into action, and suddenly the wooden buckets that were scattered around the bathing chamber were flying at Ranma. With a cheeky grin, he started dodging them, watching intently, so he wasn't surprised when Rakkyōsai vanished, just as the last bucket came sailing toward him. Ranma caught that bucket, and flipped it over, and smirked when he spotted Rakkyōsai inside, holding onto the bucket with his hands and feet.

"Going somewhere, Rakkyōsai?" Ranma asked, as he skipped the bucket across the floor, and toward the exit door.

The bucket slammed into the wall next to the door, and splintered, freeing the young boy. "RANMA!" Rakkyōsai roared, pushing out his battle ki until it appeared like a dark nimbus surrounding him.

"What do you want, you old pervert?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"You'll pay for this outrage!" Rakkyōsai exclaimed, "Keeping me from those women like this."

"Bring it on, old man, bring it on," Ranma sneered, though his eyes never left his constant scan of his opponent, waiting for the tell. Then he saw it, a slight twitch of one pinky, as Rakkyōsai sprang into action.

The little boy leapt to his feet, and dove toward a bar of soap, sending it careening down the floor toward the wary Ranma. Unfortunately, one of the other patrons, having more curiousity than commen sense, chose that moment to stand up just as the bar slid by, and his foot landed on it, flipping him up into the air, and landing the unfortunate man in the large hot water pool. The enormous splash sent the water all over the area and drew the attention of the large bathroom attendant who had been observing the pool.

Ranma suddenly appeared next to Rakkyōsai, an angry look on his face. "You call yourself a martial artist?" he hissed, "Endangering someone like that! You could have severely hurt him!"

"It's not my fault!!" Rakkyōsai whined.

"Of course it's your fault. You should have been paying attention!" Ranma berated him. He shook his head, and said, "Get your clothes on and get out of here."

Rakkyōsai growled, "I don't think so! I'm going to see those women and there's absolutely nothing that you can do about it."

"I think we've already had this conversation, and it's getting a bit boring," Ranma said, insultingly, "So show me your best shot!'

The little boy sulked for a few more minutes, and then suddenly sprang into action, bouncing off the walls and breaking off the nozzles of the rinse stations, causing a spray of cold water to envelop his foe.

Ranma stood in the cold water, laughing at Rakkyōsai as the cold water billowed around him.

Rakkyōsai waited patiently, as he watched the shadowy figure through the spray, until suddenly the timbre of the laughter changed several octaves, and suddenly stop.

A slender arm came out of the spray, and grabbed a towel from one of the bystanders. After a few moments, Ranma walked out of the spray, the new towel securely knotted in front of her, hiding her impressive breasts, her red hair hanging limp around her face. She tugged at the knot at her hip, making sure it was tight, and then approached Rakkyōsai like leviathan seeking her prey. "Oh Rakkyōsai," she called sweetly, "You'd better run!"

The onlookers quickly grabbed towels, or whatever and hid themselves away, as they watched the approach of the young woman. "What is she doing here?" one asked.

"More importantly, how did she get in here past the attendant?" a second asked.

"And what happened to the young man that had been standing there?" asked another.

"Ooooh, Akane!" Ranma called, "Incoming pervert!"

Akane's head popped up over the wall and she spotted her husband snatch Rakkyōsai by the neck and through him toward her. With a grin, she grabbed the bench next to her and swung it like a bat, slamming the oncoming pervert away from her, with a swing that would normally get a ball to the stands.

Rakkyōsai hit the far wall, and splatted, sticking to the wall above the exit door for a moment, and then fluttered down to the floor. In an instant, Ranma was there, tying him securely with several wet towels. Then she stuffed him in one of the empty lockers, and slammed the door, closing it securely, and breaking off the lock to prevent it from opening. She opened her locker and grabbed her clothing, just as the attendant arrived.

"What are you doing in here, Miss?" the attendant squeaked.

Ranma glanced over at the behemoth next to her and said, unsuccessfully hiding a grin, "This isn't what it looks like."

"I don't care what it looks like, you shouldn't be in here," the man said, grabbing her carefully by the arm, and taking her out the door to the men's bathing chamber, and shoving her forcefully into the woman's chamber, and closed the door securely behind her.

Ranma sighed, and turned toward the chamber, and froze. She saw her wife standing there, wrapped in a towel, tapping her foot. "This isn't exactly my idea," the red-haired girl said, focusing only on her wife.

"Then let's get you dressed and out of here," Akane hissed.

Ranma nodded her head feverishly and headed toward the changing room.

Akane hissed angrily.

Ranma grinned at her, and said, softly, "Akane, it doesn't matter what if anything I see in there. I only have eyes for you."

Akane's eyes softened, and she stepped out of the way. "Just don't ogle Nabiki too much, she's in there changing," she said.

Ranma shrugged and said, "She doesn't have anything that you don't have in better proportions. Don't be such a jealous baka." She entered the room, followed by Akane, and they quickly changed into clothes, with Ranma focusing only on the task at hand, and ignoring the display in the room.

As the young couple left the room, Nabiki joined them. She said, "That was a lot of fun. I'm glad we came. It might get a bit old over the next few days, though."

Akane glanced at her with an odd look.

"Didn't Kasumi tell you? Just before we left, she got a call from the repairman. He said that it would take about a week to fix the furo. Of course, he added, that if he'd been called before someone tried to fix it, it would have only taken a couple of hours," Nabiki said.

"So we'll have to keep using the public bath?" Ranma asked, a look of horror on her face.

"Afraid so. But, just think of it as training," Nabiki replied, with a smirk.

"Training? For what?" Ranma asked.

"Martial Arts Bathing, what else," Akane quipped.

"Just so long as I don't have to deal with Rakkyōsai again," Ranma retorted.

* * *

The men's changing room was nearly emptied when one of the lockers exploded and a diminutive figure appeared in the debris. A furious expression was on his face until he realised that Ranma was no longer there. He suddenly smirked evilly, and said, "No one to keep me from seeing the lovelies and getting more butterfly brocades." He raced over to the wall separating the two bathing areas and jumped over, to find an empty bathing chamber. Only the sound of two women talking in the rinse area kept him from despair as he crept on silent feet across the tile floor to peek around the door into the chamber. His smirk collapsed as he saw two wizened old women.

"Oh my, the old rheumatism has been something lately," one crone cackled.

"You think you're bad off, let me tell you dearie," the second crone began.

Rakkyōsai fled, racing around the bath, only to sink to his knees. "There has to be one lovely young lady here," he wailed. Suddenly he felt a presence near him. He looked up and flinched as he spotted the two old women standing in front of him, naked as the day they were born.

"Well, look at what we have here," the first old crone said.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rakkyōsai cried, as the two old women threw themselves at him, an amorous look in their eyes.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, Gentle Readers, another installment in our story. Sorry for the delay, it seems the muse got hijacked. Fortunately, it returned from wherever it went on vacation. It's pretty sad when the muse has a better vacation. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged. Until later


	89. Mirror, Mirror

* * *

Chapter 89 Mirror, Mirror

When Ranma and Akane returned from school, Kasumi greeted them in the entryway, and said, "Ranma, Auntie Nodoka called and asked if you and Akane would join her for dinner tonight."

Ranma scowled for a moment and then sighed. "Sure, I guess we can, if that's okay with you, Akane."

"We've only got a little schoolwork to do, and we can practise our katas at her house just as easily as here," Akane replied, after a moment, "And there's nothing that says the girls can't work on their own for one night."

"You two go on upstairs and work on your homework then, and I'll ring her up," Kasumi said.

Ranma and Akane slipped off their shoes and placed them in the little box by the door, then grabbed their bags and headed up the stairs. Once they had reached the safety of their room, Akane asked, "You don't sound too thrilled about going. How come?"

"I've just got a bad feeling about this," Ranma admitted, "I just know it'll be awkward, what with Pop being in the doghouse and all."

"I'm sure it will blow over soon," Akane said, "It's not like he really was cheating on her, after all, since he was sure it was her."

"Any reasonable person would agree with that," Ranma said, leadenly, "But this is Mom we're talking about. I'm not sure reasonable is a good description for her."

Akane considered that for a moment, and then blanched.

* * *

Kurumi opened the door, and smiled happily. "Big brother, you are here! I missed you while you were gone!" she exclaimed.

"Were you a good girl for Elder Cologne?" Ranma asked, as she entered followed by Akane.

"Of course she was," Natsume said, with a smile as she handed the redhaired girl a cup of warm water, "I saw the rain coming down, so I though you might need this."

Ranma chuckled and said, "Thanks, little sister." She poured the water over her head and changed back.

"Now that you are here, you can tell us what happened on the trip? Why is Mom so mad at Father?" Natsume asked.

"Yes, and they had been so happy together," Kurumi said, sighing, "At least now I don't need my earplugs when I sleep."

"Something happened that caused Mom to believe her husband betrayed her," Akane said, carefully.

"She's overreacting, in my opinion, but there's little we can do about it," Ranma added.

"Who was at the door, Kurumi?" their mother called from the kitchen.

Ranma replied, "Akane and me, Mom." He quickly slipped out of his shoes, and placed them next to the wall, as Akane copied his actions. He laced his fingers through her hand and the two of the walked down the short hall to find the older woman. They entered the kitchen to find Nodoka busily working at the cooktop.

"Ranma, Akane, thank you for coming. Dinner will be ready shortly," Nodoka said, as she spotted them coming in.

"Do you need any help, Mom?" Ranma asked.

"No, you go on through to the family room, I've got everything under control," Nodoka replied.

Ranma glanced around the normally immaculate kitchen, and frowned for a moment as he spotted signs that disagreed with what his mother had said. "If you're sure," he said, hesitantly.

Nodoka waved the ladle she was using to stir the soup in his direction, scattering droplets everywhere. "I'm sure," she said, adamantly, "Now go join the rest in the family room."

Akane grabbed Ranma by the hand, and pulled him out of the kitchen. "Boy, she is sooo upset," she hissed once they were back in the hall.

* * *

Konatsu shifted uneasily at the table as he sensed the wa of the house was unsettled. Glancing around the room, he could tell that he was not the only on to have realised something was amiss as both of his sisters kept glancing at their father, their normal smiles absent completely, while Ranma was actually scowling. As Nodoka entered the room, carrying a tray full of bowls, the tension rose to almost palpable levels.

Akane and Ukyo followed their mother-in-law into the family room, both of them also laden with trays. They carefully placed their burden in the middle of the table and then found their place next to their respective husband, kneeling gracefully on the highly polished wood floor.

Nodoka knelt down next to the large rice cooker, and began ladling the sticky rice into the bowls that were stacked next to her, passing them to her right as she filled each one up. "Everyone help yourself to a bowl of the udon soup," she said cheerfully, "As well as some of the grilled fish, vegetables and pickles."

Everyone obeyed her quickly, as the food rapidly vanished from the trays in the middle of the table, though Natsume had the presence of mind to save some for her mother, although it was much easier than usual, since Ranma, Kurumi and Genma had not attacked the food with their normal vigor, a sure sign that something was wrong for anyone who was paying attention.

* * *

Genma walked tentatively into the back yard and watched as Ranma sparred with Konatsu, while the girls took notes. "Boy," he croaked, "Could I have a word with you?"

Ranma glanced over at his father, and sighed. "Sure, Pop, let me finish this and then we can find somewhere to talk while Akane and Konatsu run the girls through this kata," he said.

Genma grunted an acknowledgement and sat stoically on the engawa with the rest as the two young men continued their movements, trading blows for several minutes. With a flourish, they finished as Ranma's hand knifed down against Konatsu's neck and the two men froze. After a brief posing moment, they then bowed to each other.

"Good workout, brother," Ranma said, "You've been holding back on me, haven't you?"

"Of course," Konatsu said, with a grin, "Have to do something to wipe off that cocky grin of yours. And I am a genius ninja, remember?"

Ranma smirked at him, and grabbed a convenient towel, wiping off the faint sheen of perspiration on his face. Then he headed over to his father, and said, "Let's walk for a bit."

The older man slowly stood up, and they headed around the house to the front gate in silence. Once they reached the privacy of the street however, Genma asked, "Ranma, what did I do that was so wrong to your mother? She won't tell me, and I can't make amends if I don't know what it was."

"Pop, honestly, she's gone a bit overboard in my opinion," Ranma said, slowly, "For whatever reason, she feels that you betrayed her by not realising that it wasn't her all that time, and that you allowed yourself to nearly be seduced to your doom."

"That's so unfair," Genma whined, "How was I supposed to know it wasn't her? It was her body, and the spirit of the doll was pretty convincing."

"Who said life was supposed to be fair? Mine certainly hasn't been," Ranma said, a bit cynically, "And why would you think I would know why she thinks the way she does?"

"Because you turn into a girl, I thought, maybe you'd have some insight," Genma replied, a bit ruefully.

"Pop, how I think and who I am is unaffected by the curse. You of all people should understand that," Ranma said, "I'm just as clueless as any man as to how or why a woman thinks the way she does."

"Damn, then what am I supposed to do?" Genma swore.

"I'm trying to stay out of the middle of this, but I'll talk to her, see if I can calm her down just a little," Ranma said, "But you did cause the problem in the first place."

"What do you mean by that?" Genma growled.

"You're the one who insulted the doll. That's why it was seeking revenge on you," Ranma replied.

"I didn't do anything to that doll. And I certainly never said anything to it," Genma sputtered angrily.

"No, you didn't say anything to it. But you caused it to fall off the table and get damaged when you raced through that hallway," Ranma said, "You pushed Soun, Souta and Hiroshi down when you ran into them, and they fell against the table. The doll was smart enough to realise that you were the one that caused that to happen."

"So why is it my fault, then?" Genma asked, causing Ranma to roll his eyes in exasperation, "They should be good enough martial artists to keep their balance. The fact that they didn't is proof of their guilt in this matter."

"Typical Pop, nothing is ever your fault. When will you ever learn!" Ranma said, disgustedly. He shook his head and added, "That's it, Pop. I'm done talking. I've got a lesson to give. You made your futon, you can damn well lay down in it." He bounded to a nearby roof, and headed back toward his mother's home.

* * *

Ranma watched his mother as she moved around the kitchen, going through the motions of cleaning up, and sighed heavily. Silently he walked over and began to wash the dishes in the sink.

"What are you doing?" Nodoka asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

"Doing the dishes," Ranma replied, evenly, "Since it looked like you could use the help."

"I don't need any help," Nodoka snapped.

Ranma said, coolly, "You could have fooled me. The kitchen is a mess, way below your normal standards of cleanliness. The dinner was okay, but not your normal excellent cooking. Almost everyone could tell that you were upset. Natsume and Kurumi are probably crying in the dojo, worried that their family is falling apart. Konatsu is most likely right there with them, feeling much the same way. The only one who didn't pick up on it was Ukyo because if it doesn't have anything to do with okonomiyaki, it isn't important to her." He frowned and added, "I don't want to get into the middle of this, and I for sure don't think you would take any advice from me, if I was foolish enough to give it."

"Good, then don't," his mother snapped.

"However, I want to say a couple things. You aren't just hurting Pop by the way you are treating him, you are hurting yourself, as well as the rest of the family. And second, Pop doesn't even know why you are angry with him," Ranma said, "Is that fair to punish him for something that he doesn't know he did wrong? It was your body, and the doll was playing you reasonably well."

"He should have known it wasn't me!" Nodoka exclaimed, her eyes blazing.

"Why?" Ranma asked in return, "As far as I know, he didn't know anything about the doll, or any of the legend. Why should he have thought that the woman he was with was possessed by the doll?"

Nodoka repeated, brokenly, "He should have known. He just should have." She sank down in a chair, and her shoulders slumped.

Ranma returned to the dishes, and added one final comment. "Don't let your pride cause to you to do something that you can't take back," he said softly.

Nodoka started weeping, and Ranma turned to go to her, only to have his wife brush him back as she reached around and hugged the older woman.

"Come on Mom, let's get you into bed," Akane suggested, "We can take care of this for you."

Nodoka struggled to her feet, and with Akane supporting her, made her way out of the kitchen.

* * *

The first class of the day had barely started before there was the sound of someone knocking on the door. The teacher paused in taking attendance, and said, "Enter."

The door opened, and the principal's secretary strode in. "Sensei, I need the Saotomes to come with me to the office, an emergency has arisen that requires their attention," she said.

"Very well, Ranma, Akane, Natsume and Ukyo Saotome, please go with Miss Takagumi," the teacher said, "But I hold you responsible for obtaining your assignments if you are unable to return."

"Yes, sensei," the four students said, as they gathered up their bookbags, and traded looks before following the flustered woman out the door and down the hall to the principal's office on the ground floor. Waiting for them, to their surprise, was Nodoka, frantically pacing back and forth.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ranma asked.

"Your father, he's disappeared," Nodoka said, "I need you to go find him."

"But," Ukyo said, only to be interrupted.

"Mom, I told you to talk to him," Ranma said.

"But," Ukyo tried again.

Nodoka cried, "I couldn't. I stood in the door to his room for several minutes and the words just didn't come."

"Hey," Ukyo exclaimed, only to be ignored once more.

"Where could he have gone?" Akane asked.

WHANNNNGGGGG. The room echoed with the sound of Ukyo's battle spatula slamming against the doorway.

The other four froze and turned to look at the furious girl. "Now that I've got your attention, Father Saotome is at Ucchan's. He turned up this morning looking for a place to stay for a while. I thought you knew," she said.

"Why didn't you speak up?" Nodoka asked.

"ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!" Ukyo cried, as she ran out the room to go find something to destroy.

"What's wrong with her?" Akane asked.

"I don't know," Natsume replied, "She's usually so calm and level-headed."

Ranma sighed, and said, "This is just like Pop, always running away from his problems. Mom, now that you know where he is, talk to him before this destroys you. Come on, Akane, sis, let's go back to class"

"But," Nodoka began, only to stop as her son walked away without a backward glance. Akane smiled weakly, and followed, not knowing what else to do. Natsume gave her an encouraging look, and took up the end of the procession.

* * *

Konatsu shook his head in resignation as he watched the panda finish sweeping out the front room of the café. His father had simply ignored the brief rainshower that had moved through the area just as he was setting the banner out signifying that the restaurant had opened, and returned to his sweeping. "Genma, there's a kettle on in back, if you want it," he said.

The panda simply shrugged its shoulders and continued its work, only to freeze as the door to the café opened, and his wife stepped through, though without her usual blanket-wrapped bundle.

"Change back, we need to talk," Nodoka said, her eyes flashing.

"Mum, take him upstairs, I am open," Konatsu said, nervously, "And I'd hate to scare the customers away."

Nodoka flashed him a wintry smile, and nodded to her son, who was dressed in one of his wife's okonomiyaki seller's uniforms, instead of his more feminine kimono. She waited until her husband returned from the kitchen; his head wet, and followed him up the stairs to her children's living quarters.

Nodoka closed the door behind her and asked, coolly, "What exactly were you thinking when you vanished?"

"I was thinking that I was doing what you wanted, since you so plainly didn't want me around," Genma replied, sinking down onto the low couch in the family room.

"What I wanted? How did you come to that conclusion?" Nodoka asked.

Genma stared at her in disbelief. "How can you possibly ask that?" he retorted, "You banned me from YOUR bedroom, treated me as a pariah in front of our children. How could I have come to any other conclusion?" He sighed heavily and whined, "I know you are angry with me for what happened at the hot springs, but what I don't understand is why."

"How could you not know!" Nodoka exclaimed in disbelief.

"Because you damn well haven't told me what I did wrong!" Genma shot back.

Nodoka sat down heavily in a chair on the far side of the room, and shook her head. "I knew that you weren't the sharpest knife in the drawer when I married you, but that is ridiculous. You want to know what you did wrong? I'll spell it out for you. You betrayed me, in front of our son. How could you do that to me, to him?"

"I thought it was you, damn it," Genma replied, heatedly.

"Why would you have thought that? I would never have come on to you like that," Nodoka said.

"You once did," Genma replied, flatly, "Though not since I returned. The only sex we've had is when I initiated it, not like when we were younger. I hoped that what happened at the Doll Inn was you returning to the woman I married." He slumped his shoulders and sighed, "Obviously, I was wrong."

Nodoka asked, "Have I really been that way?"

"Do you have to ask? It hasn't been that long since I was allowed the privilege of sharing your bed," Genma nearly sneered.

Nodoka sighed heavily. "Mother would be so disappointed in me," she said softly.

"What?" Genma asked.

Nodoka blushed and replied, "Nevermind." She stood up suddenly and paced across the small room, and said, "Genma, over the years that you were gone, my greatest fear was to discover that you had betrayed our marriage with other women, since I wasn't with you to keep you honest."

Genma reddened and said, "You should know the answer to that. Obviously I did, otherwise how would you explain my daughters?"

Nodoka laughed gaily, surprising him. "Please, Genma, don't insult my intelligence like that. I know full well that Natsume and Kurumi are no more your biological daughters than they are mine. The fact that you claimed them, to keep Tendo from ruining his relationship with Yumi, was a heroic gesture. Even though anyone with a lick of sense would know that Tendo couldn't be the father either."

Genma stared at her in shock, his mouth agape. When he finally regained his composure, he asked, "Then why did you accept them if you knew the truth?"

"How could I have turned them away? They had no where to go, no family to call their own," Nodoka replied, "And I always wanted a big family. Your running off with Ranma ended that dream, I thought, but instead, I have what I wanted."

"Oh," Genma said, wrinkling his brow in thought. "I can say on my honour as a martial artist, I have never betrayed our marriage. That much I was able to withstand our master's perverted training," he said, ponderously, "I swore an oath to that, when we banished him so long ago. And I can state that I have maintained that oath. I'll not deny being tempted, you wouldn't believe me if I did, but I never succumbed. And you must believe me, if I had known that wasn't you attempting to seduce me, I wouldn't have gone with her."

Nodoka stopped in front of him, and stared at him as if to read his soul. Finally, she said, wryly, "Then, I misjudged you. And our son said as much. He told me that you didn't know of the legend of the doll."

"Not until he told me after the fact," Genma said, "When he blamed me for what happened."

"You were the one that caused the doll to fall off the table, ultimately," Nodoka said.

"It was Ranma's fault for chasing me," Genma said, still attempting to shift responsibility for the events of the past weekend.

Nodoka snorted, and said, severely, "Ranma didn't chase you. He had several glasses of milk in that icebox. You were running from your own fears, nothing more."

"Um, well," Genma said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "Perhaps I do bear some small portion of blame for the incident occurring. I must consider that carefully."

* * *

Ranma grumbled goodnaturedly as Akane added one more package to the load he was already carrying.

"Oh stop that complaining," Akane said, grinning, "Your backpack always weighs more than this."

"True, but my backpack is more manageable," Ranma retorted, "And besides, you've pretty much blocked my eyes with that last one. How am I supposed to see where I'm going?" He silently swore an oath never to go shopping with them again, even though they were the three most important women in his life.

The four of them left the store, only to stop as Kasumi made a sound of disapproval. "Oh my, look at that girl, how shameless, dressed like that, and flirting with those men," she said, disparagingly.

"And doing so badly at it at that," Nodoka noted in passing.

"Odd, she looks somewhat familiar," Akane said, "What do you think, Ranma?"

"I think I can barely see one meter in front of me, that's what I think," Ranma replied.

"Honestly," Akane huffed, taking several of the packages from his arms. "Stop whining like a baby, and tell me what you think," she demanded.

Ranma glanced across the street to see a pink-tinged blonde girl accosting the men, ignoring that they were already taken, bouncing from one to the next as her cheesy pickup lines failed. Even from here, he could hear her say, "You're cute! Don't run! What's your name?" He snorted in amusement and replied, "That looks like Prince Herb in his cursed form, but there's no way that he'd act that way."

"You're right, that is who she reminds me of, and isn't that Mint and Lime trying to force their way through the crowd?" Akane said.

"Yes it is," Ranma replied.

"Well, I don't know who this Prince Herb is," Kasumi said, "But she's a disgrace to women everywhere. Ranma, Akane, take these packages home. Auntie and I will get to the bottom of this."

"But," Ranma began, only to quell at a look from the normally mild-mannered woman.

"We can take care of this," Nodoka added, "Besides, don't you have your hands full?"

"Come on Ranma, what could go wrong?" Akane asked.

Ranma rolled his eyes at that, but at the death glare from his mother, kept silent. He turned and followed his wife as she led him down the street.

* * *

Akane brought the tray out to where her husband was relaxing on one of the large boulders surrounding the koi pond, ostensibly watching the brightly coloured fish swimming lazily in the clear water, occasionally breeching the surface just long enough to snatch an unwary insect for a snack. As she neared him, she started grinning, as she could now tell that he wasn't as calm as he appeared. In fact, if he had been a cat, she would have clearly seen his tail twitching, and even now she could hear the faint scritch of something like claws scraping the hard stone, as her husband flexed his hands. "Er, Ranma," she began, only to see him start in surprise, and losing his balance, fall into the koi pond, scattering the poor fish, and transforming.

Dragging her wet hair out of her face, Ranma glared at her wife, who had somehow had the presence of mind to place her tray on the ground before breaking out in a rip-roaring laugh. Shaking her head, Ranma grinned sheepishly at her, and pulled herself out of the water, her wet shirt moulding itself to her body.

After catching her breath, Akane smirked at her husband and asked the red-haired girl, "Worried about your mother and Kasumi?"

"Yeah," Ranma said, as she sat back down on the stone, "They should have been home by now. I knew it was a bad idea to let them try to handle whoever that was, not to mention Lime and Mint. There's no telling what those two perverts would get up to, and as much as I love them, neither Mom nor Kasumi could stand up to them."

"I.m sure they will be fine," Akane said, though her face belied her confident words, "Mint and Lime are mostly harmless."

"Harmless?" Ranma exclaimed, "I'd hardly consider them harmless. You remember what they were like the last time they were in Nerima."

"Of course I do," Akane said, with a faint grimace, "And yes, I agree that they are perverts, but that's all they are. Ogling is all they ever did, you know that."

Ranma shook her head in disbelief, and retorted, "I can't believe that you are so calm about them. This is your sister Kasumi we're talking about, and Mint and Lime."

"And do you honestly think that either of them would do anything to her? Especially if they know that she is my sister, and I know that is the first thing that she would tell them, in way of introduction," Akane replied.

Ranma replied, softly, "It's just that there are so few people that could beat them head to head here in Nerima. Cologne could defeat them both, as could I. Ryoga and Mousse could battle them to a standstill, but only one of them. Shampoo could take one of them on also." She paused then in thought.

"What about me? How would you rate my chances?" Akane asked.

Ranma squirmed uncomfortably for a few moments, and the silence was almost an answer. Finally, she grimaced and replied, "I know you'd rather me tell you the truth instead of make you feel good. So the answer is not yet. You're close, I think, but you'd have to get lucky to defeat either of them. And you know better than to rely on luck."

Akane sighed heavily and her shoulders slumped. "Damn, I thought I was making progress," she moaned.

"You are," Ranma said, encouragingly, "But you need to remember where you were starting from. Your father had basically stopped training you for several years, and you were on your own. Mint and Lime have been training since birth practically, and the Musk are a warrior culture on top of that. Don't feel bad that you aren't to their level yet. Hell, the only reason that I am is because Pop was basically insane about the training he gave me, and I was further along when Cologne started with me. You may never get as good as me." She smirked then, posing outrageously, and added, "After all, I am the best."

Akane giggled then, her momentary bout of pity dispelled by the red-haired girl's antics.

Fortunately for Ranma's peace of mind, the gate to the Tendo compound slammed open, as the heavily laden Mint walked in. A giggling female Herb lookalike walked in next, arm-in-arm with Kasumi, followed closely by a grinning Nodoka, while Lime finished off the parade, also heavily laden with bags from several high-end clothing stores.

Ranma and Akane jumped and intercepted the procession just as it reached the front door. Mint carefully placed his packages down on the front porch and bowed deeply. "Ranma-dono, Akane-dono," he said, closely echoed by Lime, who had also placed his bags on the porch and bowed respectfully.

The young couple traded looks, and Ranma whispered, "Dono?"

"Very old-style, centuries out of date even, but it was used as a term of respect from a servant or lower class person to one of much higher class," Akane whispered back.

"Ranma, Akane, let me introduce you to our new friend," Kasumi said, "This is the Lady Thyme."

The young woman bowed slightly and said, in a husky voice, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ranma grinned and asked, "Is this the same person that we saw while shopping?"

Thyme blushed faintly, as Nodoka nodded. "We discussed proper behavior while we were shopping with her," the older woman said, "She was a **most** attentive student."

Akane asked, "But who is she? She looks exactly like Prince Herb when he is in his cursed form. Is she his sister?"

Mint traded looks with Lime and muttered, "Not exactly."

Lime grimaced and said, "Well, it's a long story."

"In that case, let's go inside and get comfortable," Nodoka suggested.

Mint sighed heavily and picked up his packages, nudging Lime in the process, who was ogling Ranma's impressive attributes that were straining the muscle shirt that she was wearing.

Kasumi glided into the house, and headed for the kitchen, muttering something about preparing tea.

"And Ranma, perhaps you might consider changing," Nodoka added with a sigh as she followed the two young women into the house, stopping to remove their shoes and replace them with the cloth slippers located next to the door. Then she led the three guests into the family room.

Ranma glanced down at the display she was giving and sighed. She headed upstairs to her room.

Akane dithered for a moment, and then grimaced. 'It's my house, I should be hostess,' she thought as she followed Nodoka into the family room. "Welcome to our home," she said, bowing to Thyme.

The attractive Chinese woman returned the bow, and then sank gracefully to her knees around the low table. "It is a lovely place," she said, "And I am glad to be here. I have spent entirely too long being cooped up in that mirror."

Akane looked at her in confusion, only to have Mint come to her rescue. "That is part of the story, Akane-dono," he said, as he gratefully placed his load of bags down against one wall.

"I was meaning to ask you about that," Akane said, blushing, "Why that honourific?"

"Ah, Master Herb has stated that he considers you and Ranma-dono his equals, and therefore it is required that we must show you the same respect that we would show the rest of the Musk Dynasty. He had us look up in the palace library books of decorum as well as discuss the situation with his master of Ptotocol. According to what he stated and what we read, that is the correct honourific for someone of your station from servants like us," Lime replied.

"Are we using it correctly, Akane-dono?" Mint asked anxiously.

"Um, yeah, I suppose," Akane replied, "Though, that honourific is a bit out-dated. I don't know that it has really been used since before the Meiji Restoration."

"Oh, well, what should we use then?" Lime whined.

Akane looked at Nodoka, an obvious plea in her eyes. "For now, Lime-kun, stay with what Prince Herb told you to do," the older woman said.

Ranma entered the family room, still female, though she had taken the opportunity to change into a less revealing top, and took her place next to her wife, shaking her head slightly at the question she saw in her mother's eye.

Kasumi entered next, carrying a large tray with several teacups and set it down in the center of the low table. The next few minutes were spent in enjoying the hot drink, as the three guests enjoyed the hospitality of the extended family.

After everyone had refreshed their drinks from the teapot, Akane took the opportunity to ask, "So what's the story? What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, it all happened a few days ago," Mint began, "We were returning to our home after a brief visit to your government."

"Why was Herb visiting our government?" Ranma asked.

Lime looked at Mint who shrugged. "We didn't have the need to know," Lime replied, "After all, we're just supposed to be bodyguards for Master Herb."

"Anyway, as I was saying, we were heading home on foot," Mint continued.

"And it was a dark and stormy night," Lime added.

Everyone looked at him, and he blushed. "I always wanted to say that," he said.

"And it was true enough, except that it was daylight. It was threatening rain all day, and finally the skies opened, and the rain came pouring down," Mint said.

"A deluge of biblical proportions, raining cats and dogs," Lime interjected, "I nearly stepped into a poodle."

Mint groaned and asked, "Must you do that?"

"Do what?" Lime asked innocently.

"Interupt the story with bad puns," Mint replied.

"You're just mad that you didn't think of it yourself," Lime retorted.

"Am not," Mint sneered.

"Am too," Lime shot back.

"Am not!" Mint repeated.

A large mallet came slamming down between them. "ENOUGH!" Thyme roared.

Ranma squirmed uneasily as she noticed that both Kasumi and Akane had a strange glint in their eyes after seeing the appearance of the mallet.

"Yes, Lady Thyme," the two Musk warriors said in unison.

"Anyway, we were lost, deep in the forest, when we stumbled across an old inn, sleeping quietly amid the primeval trees. It is known as the Mirror Mansion," Lime said.

Flashback

_Herb wiped the rain from her face, pulling her sodden hair out of her eyes, and said, "Excellent, a place to stay and dry out from the rain."_

"Master, we're saved," Lime said, as he rushed towards the old building, and across entry to the front door.

_Herb followed slowly, maintaining her dignity, while Mint brought up the rear, sneaking looks at his Master's shapely figure, when he thought he could get away with it._

_Herb sighed heavily, and said, "Mint, I know what you're doing. Now stop that!"_

_"Yes, Master Herb," Mint said, as he moved to join his partner at the door. He knocked loudly on the ornate door, attempting to summon someone to their assistance._

_Finally, the door creaked open, and an old man stood in the door, dressed in an old-fashioned English bulter's attire, carrying a large candelabrum in one hand to light the way._

_"Sorry to trouble you, but we seem to have lost our way," Herb said._

_"Don't worry young lady," the old man said, "Lost your way? Quite a pickle! Well, we can certainly put you up for the night. There's plenty of room." He moved out of the doorway, and allowed them to enter the building. They soon found themselves in a large, ornate foyer, a single stair providing access to the rest of the floors. A small table holding a large bowl of fruit was in the middle of the foyer, and one end of the hall was covered by a large curtain, the word "Forbidden" written on it in several languages._

_Mint and Lime took one look at the bowl of fruit and immediately went for it. Grabbing the same banana, the two began pushing and shoving the other. Herb sighed and headed toward his two lackeys to separate them, ignoring the prattle of the old man as he stopped at the curtain. "Morons!" she hissed, "There's plenty of food in that bowl."_

_"That's my banana," Mint sneered._

_"I saw it first," Lime insisted, as the remnants of the banana squirted out of their clutches and landed in front of Herb, who was unable to stop in time and was launched facefirst towards the curtain._

_"One word of caution. Remember to be careful. You never know when you may slip on a banana peel," the old man continued, oblivious to the small tussle going on behind him, "And fly towards the forbidden curtain up ahead._

_Herb crashed into the curtain, even as the man spoke, and her desperate grab of the material caused it to tear, revealing an ornate mirror hidden behind the curtain._

_"And glimpse the terrible secret beneath!" the old man finished in a quavering voice, "If that should happen." The old man paused in shock, and screamed as he realised that what he had warned against had actually happened._

_Herb looked up groggily and stared at the reflection in the mirror._

_"What have you done?" the butler exclaimed._

_"Master!" Lime said, rushing forward, only to tbe stopped in his tracks by Mint._

_"It's just a mirror," Herb said, rising to her feet, her actions mimicked by the reflection. She reached out and touched the glass surface, and added, "Is there something odd about it?" To her surprise, her hand was gripped and her reflection stepped out of the mirror._

_"Such a lovely girl, I am so fortunate," the duplicate said, in a husky voice._

_Herb growled, "What just happened?"_

_The old man sighed, and said, "It is a long, sad, story, and my bones grow cold." He turned to the large fireplace, and poked the smouldering logs, causing a bright flame to spring up. He then fed the fire several smaller pieces of wood, and waited until they too had caught fire from the large bed of embers. Taking his seat next to the fire, he bundled himself up into a large afghan and said, "Please, all of you. Take a seat, and I will tell you the sad story."_

_Lime sat down next on the hearth, and soon steam began to rise from his leathers, while Mint made his way slowly to join them, his face covered in fruit juice from the several apples that he had devoured._

_Herb helped her duplicate to sit down next to the old man, feeling an odd connection with the young woman, and then sat down next to her, scowling slightly at the leers her two retainers were giving the young woman._

_"The mirror was fashioned over a century ago, and it is said that it belonged to the young lady of the Monkey family," the old man said, falling easily into the singsong cadence of a professional storyteller, "So beautiful was that maiden, that she would gazed into the mirror for days on end, seeing only herself. Then years after spending her days in this manner, she fell ill to a terrible sickness, and left this world tortured with regret. In fact, the story has it that her final words were, 'Shoot, I should have gotten a boyfriend.' Perhaps her spirit possessed the mirror, for ever since then, the mirror steals the appearance of whoever gazes into it, and proceeds to hit on anything that moves."_

_Herb sighed as she turned to look for the young woman, only to find her sitting in Mint's lap, caressing the warrior's stunned face._

_"This means that no man is safe from her," the old man finished._

_"Mint!" Herb said, causing him to stand up quickly, and young woman to fall to the floor. She quickly moved to sit on the young woman's back, keeping her from moving._

_"Yes, Master," Mint said._

_"Mint, Lime, you shall treat this young woman as if she were myself," Herb said, sternly, "In fact, consider her my sister. And we shall call her, let's see."_

_"Thyme?" Lime suggested diffidently._

_"I like it," the young woman said, sounding out the name in her mind._

_"Then Lady Thyme, please leave my bodyguards alone. They are not worthy of you," Herb said._

_"But, they are men," Thyme protested._

_"True, they are men, but as I said, they are only warriors. You are the image of myself, and therefore should not settle for such as they," Herb said._

_"But he's too old, and there is no one else here!" Thyme whined, "And he's going to shove me back in that nasty old mirror as soon as he can have a new drape made."_

_Herb sighed heavily._

_End Flashback_

The room fell silent as Mint finished the tale, the occupants stunned by the bizarre story. Finally, it was broken by a familiar "Oh my," from the kind-hearted Kasumi.

"That is the oddest story I think I have ever heard," Nodoka said, "It seems almost too strange to be true."

"Mom, this is Nerima, the epi-centre of weird," Ranma said, "Boy turns into girl, just add water. Mousse turns into a duck, again just add water. Chinese Amazons. This isn't odd. It's normal for around here."

"Good point," Nodoka said.

"And I can assure you that it is indeed true," Thyme said, with an odd dignity, "For I remember each of my visits to this world since I possessed the mirror."

"That doesn't explain what you were doing in Nerima, though," Akane said.

"I was looking for a man, what else?" Thyme said, "I don't know how long I have before I am forced to return, and I have so much to do before that happens. So much to experience that I never did when I was alive because of my foolish vanity."

"And Master Herb sent us here since this is the only city that we have any real familiarity with," Lime added, "Though we were attempting to find the Amazon Matriarch to ask for her assistance before Lady Thyme got so impatient."

"That's not exactly true," Thyme interjected, "I snuck away from them while they were being chastised by the girl they were with for allowing me to escape from the mirror due to their clumsiness. I thought I had managed to escape completely until they caught up with me as I entered this area."

"Oh all right then," Lime mumbled, "That's true, though Master Herb did tell us to find the Amazon Matriarch once we found Lady Thyme."

"Cologne, why ask her for help?" Akane asked.

"What do Mint and I know about how women should go about finding a man?" Lime asked in return, "We had never even seen such a creature until our first visit to this place, and I am sure you can recall our behavior then."

"However, the Lady Saotome and the Lady Ono have graciously offered their assistance in teaching me proper methods to attract a young man," Thyme said, "An offer that I was most pleased to accept."

"Mom, you're actually serious about helping her find a boyfriend?" Ranma asked, in shock.

"Perhaps not that exactly, but you saw how she was acting. It was an embarrassment to women everywhere," Nodoka said, primly, "It won't be any different than the training that I am giving your sisters, anyway."

"Oh my," Akane said, faintly.

"Now, Thyme, you'll have to share a room with Sayuri, and Mint and Lime, I'm afraid you'll have to bed down in the dojo," Kasumi said.

"They're staying here?" Akane asked, shaking her head, "Good thing Daddy is still on his honeymoon."

"Oh dear, I suppose I should have asked you two, since actually this is your home," Kasumi said, suddenly.

Akane replied quickly, "Daddy may have put the house in our name, but it is still your home, for as long as you and Tofu want to stay."

"What she said," Ranma added, hurriedly, "And the three of you are more than welcome to stay."

"Good thing Nabiki isn't here right now though," Akane said, with a grin.

"Oh, Master Herb gave us more than enough money to pay for our way," Mint said.

"Though we did spend quite a bit on the new clothing that the Lady Saotome and the Lady Ono suggested for Lady Thyme," Lime added, "However, now that we have managed to find the Lady Thyme, one of us will need to return to tell him that."

"I'll do it," Mint said.

"No, I'll do it," Lime retorted.

They might have continued to argue, if there had not been an interruption. Ranma said, her right eye twitching, "You both will go, we will watch over Thyme. That is, if she promises to behave."

"Of course," Thyme said quickly as Mint and Lime cowered under the expression on the angry red-haired girl's face.

The family room clock began to chime the hours, causing Nodoka to look at the clock and realise the time. "I hadn't noticed that it had gotten this late. I need to get home and supervise the girls cooking dinner," she said, "But I will be here first thing in the morning to continue our lessons, Thyme."

Ranma asked, "Can you spend the day here? We do have class tomorrow, and Doc does have to go to the clinic."

"I have class as well," Kasumi said, quietly, "But only in the morning. I will be back after lunch."

Nodoka rose gracefully from her knees and said, "Yes, I should be able to do that. Genma has that roofing job to keep him busy, and they provide the noon meal, so I will be free all day. Until tomorrow, then." She flowed out the door of the family room and vanished.

"Akane, could you show Thyme where she will be sleeping, and Ranma, could you show the boys?" Kasumi asked sweetly.

"I don't see why not," Ranma replied, agreeably enough.

"We should take her packages to her room, though," Lime said with a sigh.

* * *

Thyme knelt primly at the table, a demure expression on her face. Her attendants sat on either side of her, waiting for their hosts to join them for the evening meal.

Akane walked in, followed closely by her currently female husband, and they knelt down next to Lime, a faint smirk on Ranma's face. Nabiki quickly joined them, frowning slightly at the strangers at the table, though her face quickly went impassive. The remaining female members of the family entered carrying trays of food, Kasumi with an uncharacteristic frown on her face, as her husband had yet to arrive from the clinic. With an almost unconscious grace, Hinako, Sayuri and Kasumi placed their burdens on the table and found their places.

As the eldest Tendo daughter began to dish out the rice from where she was kneeling at the table, she heard the sound of the front door opening, and her frown disappeared as she realised that her husband was home and all was now right in her world.

Thyme suddenly looked up, her eyes bright, as an attractive young man entered the family room, a man with a kind expression on his tired face, and she sprang into action. Before the newcomer could react, she had reached him, and leapt into his arms. "Where have you been all of my life, handsome?" she purred, running her hands appreciatively over the strong arms that had reflexively grabbed her as the young man staggered against the wall. Then she pulled his face down and kissed him.

Kasumi's right eye began to twitch, as her guest assaulted her husband. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, and Nabiki actually shivered from the cold.

Tofu pulled himself away from the young woman, a slightly dazed look on his face, and then spotted his wife. His face paled for a moment, and then he set Thyme down and pushed her gently away. "Um," he began, as a sweat drop formed on his forehead, "If that had been my wife greeting me like that, and I wasn't so tired from the clinic, then what just happened would have been a good thing. However, since you aren't my wife, and since she's kneeling there with an unhappy expression on her face, this is definitely a bad thing."

"Lady Thyme," Mint asked, deferentially, "What did Lady Ono and Lady Saotome tell you about chasing after married men?"

"That it would give me a bad reputation, and I shouldn't do it," Thyme replied, a cute pout on her face.

"Please, take your place, husband," Kasumi said, icily.

Tofu winced slightly and meekly walked over to sit next to her.

Akane grimaced and said, "It wasn't." She stopped at the look on her sister's face, and shut up.

"Were you saying something?" Kasumi asked.

"Um, nothing important," Akane said quickly as she loosened the suddenly tight collar of her blouse.

* * *

Ranma leapt back to avoid the blow from his wife's hand, a grin on his face. "Not bad, you almost got me with that one," he said, his hands flashing up to grab her arm. He fell backwards to the ground and launched her over his tumbling body.

Akane finished her spin in the air, and landed lightly on the grass, settling into a defensive posture. "Maybe you'll take me serious, then," she said, an identical smirk on her face, as suddenly she attacked again, her hands blurring as she moved, crying, "Kachű Tenshin Amaguriken!"

Ranma grin grew as he echoed her, his hands moving to block each strike until they sprang apart.

Akane brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and watched her husband warily.

"My turn," Ranma said, with a grin as he sprung into action.

Akane gulped as she backed away quickly.

Neither of them saw the curtains twitch in the guest room window, as they continued their morning exercises.

* * *

Akane entered the family room, and knelt slowly in her place as she favoured her right hip.

Nodoka narrowed her eyes slightly as Ranma entered, and spat, "What did you do to your wife?"

Before Ranma could answer, Thyme entered wearing an apron with a heart-shaped top. She glomped him, reminding him of an octopus as she wrapped her arms around him. He reflexively held her, his hands on the small of her back, for just a split second, and then he sprang away, as he realised he had touched nothing but bare skin.

Akane's eye began to twitch and her hands curled as she quickly counted to one hundred, and then repeated the count when her anger hadn't receded.

Thyme licked her finger and then wet her top and then Ranma's shirt with the slightly damp finger. "Why don't we go somewhere and get out of these wet clothes?" she asked suggestively.

Ranma gulped.

"Man, even her pickup lines are lame!" Sayuri snorted.

"Ranma!" Akane growled.

Ranma gulped once more, then suddenly he had his wife in his arms. She nearly bruised his lips with the intensity of her kiss as she made her possession of him painfully clear.

Pulling back, Akane turned slightly and snarled, "Back off, he's MINE!"

Ranma smiled weakly and said, "Um, like she said, I'm taken. Sorry."

"I'm so sorry," Thyme said, bowing deeply and showing that she was the only thing under her apron.

Akane snarled, her hands twitching once more as if to reach for something.

"That's okay, I guess. You didn't know that I was married. It's probably our fault for not telling you," Ranma said.

Thyme frowned slightly. "Why are all of the cute ones taken?" she whined.

"Thyme, what did we tell you about going up to strange men?" Kasumi asked, sternly, well, sternly for her.

"That it wasn't proper for ladies to do that," Thyme replied, blushing slightly.

Thyme wiped away a tear and turned away, exposing herself to the occupants of the room.

"Oh my!" Kasumi said.

"Only wearing an apron and nothing else!" Sayuri sputtered.

"This girl is playing for keeps," Nabiki added.

Akane scoffed, and said, "She doesn't have anything that I don't have."

Ranma glanced briefly at the taut behind of the girl as she left, flouncing away.

Kasumi frowned slightly and intercepted their guest, nearly pushing the younger girl in the direction of the guest room, obviously intending to have Thyme dressed in something.

"Ranma!" Akane warned.

Ranma merely said, "Nice muscles. Obviously Herb has been working out, and it carried over to his female side." He leaned over and whispered, "Anyway, I like yours better."

Akane blushed furiously, and lightly punched his shoulder.

"Well I do," Ranma whispered, as they found their place at the table, waiting for Kasumi to bring in breakfast.

* * *

Akane opened the door to her home, and slipped out of her shoes, placing them in their spot next to the door. She called out, "I'm home!" and headed toward the stairs, intending to go upstairs to change into her gi, only to be intercepted by her annoying houseguest.

"Where is that handsome hunk?" Thyme asked brightly.

Akane's right eye began to twitch slightly and she said, shortly, "Not that it is any of your real business but he had cleanup duty at school today."

"A hunk like that, I can't believe that you would trust him out of your sight," Thyme said, "Some other girl could snatch him up, just like that!"

Akane smiled serenely and replied, "He loves me, and promised on his honour to be faithful when we married."

Thyme sighed. "You're so lucky to be loved by hin," she said sadly. She sighed once more as Akane blushed. Then Thyme added, "But why does he love you? Of course, that's it. He must like barrel bodies!" She clenched her fists, tears streaming down her face, and finished, "If only I had a barrel body like you!!"

Akane's eye twitched even harder and she growled, "I DON'T HAVE A BARREL BODY!" She stepped forward, a look of doom on her fac.

Thyme suddenly realised her peril and ran through the family room and out the sliding doors to the engawa, Akane close behind.

As the irate girl left the family room, she grabbed her father's shoji board and slung it like a discus toward Thyme.

With a mighty crash, the board slammed into Thyme and sent her flying toward the koi pond, intercepting Ranma, who had the misfortune to cross the lawn at that moment. The two of them landed in the pond with a mighty splash, transforming Ranma instantly, and knocking Thyme out when she hit her head against the bottom of the pond.

Ranma glared at her wife as she pulled Thyme out of the pond. "What was that all about?" she asked, dropping her burden onto the lawn.

By that time, Akane had picked up a heavy pot and stormed over to the unconscious girl. "DEATH BLOW!!" she roared, only to have Ranma grab her, forcing her to drop the pot to one side. The red-haired girl threw her over her shoulder and headed inside, stopping just long enough to kick her shoes off as she headed up the stairs to their room.

Ranma carried Akane into their room, tossed her on the bed and then closed the door, preventing her from leaving. 'Man, she's so hot when she's angry,' she thought.

"Barrel body!" Akane shrieked, "Let me out, I'll kill her!!" and jumped off the bed.

"Akane," Ranma said, "Ignore her. You know that she's trying to upset you."

Akane glared at her for a moment, and then her shoulders slumped. "But I don't have a figure like hers," she said softly.

Ranma said firmly, "Don't be so hard on yourself. Your body is fine. And that's not really Thyme's body either; she's just borrowing Herb in his female form, so it does absolutely nothing for me." She smiled seductively and added, "Now you on the other hand, you got me with your smile."

"Oh I did, did I?" Akane replied, blushing. She sprang at Ranma, and pulled her into a passionate kiss, which sent both of their hearts to race.

Reluctantly, Ranma pulled herself out of the embrace, and said, huskily, "Why don't I go find some hot water, and then we can continue this discussion."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Akane purred.

Ranma vanished out their door in a flash.

* * *

Ranma and Akane entered the family room holding hands, with a cat-who-got-the-canary smile gracing Akane's face as they took their places at the dinner table.

Nabiki asked, with a smirk, "Did you two have a good time?"

Akane ignored her, while a blush crept up Ranma's face. He stammered, "I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about."

"Please don't tease my son," Nodoka said, as she brought a tray into the room, "They are married, and I was happy to hear how manly my son was being."

"MOM!" Ranma exclaimed, as his face flushed even redder in embarrassment.

"I was impressed by the number of syllables that Akane was putting in his name," Nabiki added.

"Definitely need to soundproof our walls," Akane muttered, while Ranma turned even redder.

Thyme walked in, demurely dressed, and placed a tray on the table, and then knelt next to Ranma.

Akane frowned imperceptibly, but held her peace as Thyme bowed slightly and said, "I apologize for my words this afternoon, Akane-sama. That was most improper of me to have said what I said. Please accept my humble apologies."

Kasumi finished bringing in the remainder of the meal, as the rest of the family gathered.

"Of course, I can't blame Thyme for finding my son attractive, he is **so** manly after all," Nodoka said, ignoring the storm clouds assembling on her son's face.

"**Mom**!" Ranma exclaimed, "You aren't helping here."

Thyme pushed closer to Ranma, her thigh brushing his leg and said, softly, "You are truly so manly, as your mother said. Too much man for one woman to handle. Especially since she will not give you any children. Please allow me to be that other woman."

"That's my boy, I almost envy you. That was a magnificent offer," Genma said, proudly, earning him a death glare from his daughter-in-law, as well as most of the other women at the table.

Ranma glared at him, and said, "Pop, you've done just about everything you can do to possibly screw up my life. Now that I've finally got things more or less the way they should be, why would I want to ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me and hurt my wife's feelings?"

Nodoka turned to her husband, one eyebrow arched and asked, her voice steely, "Did you say something dear?"

"I was, um, just, um, well," Genma sputtered, turning pale.

"Not that it is really any one's business, but Akane is **quite** capable of handling me, so I'll be declining your less than appropriate offer, Thyme. And the reason that Akane and I do not have any children is because we jointly decided to wait until we had made the dojo a going concern, which means it will be several years before that occurs," Ranma said, coldly, "And Pop, if you don't want to start losing body parts, I suggest you not say anything else." He rose, and bowed slightly to Kasumi, and added, "I'm afraid that I seem to have lost my appetite, Kasumi." In a flash, he vanished out of the family room.

Akane turned to Thyme and added, in a voice even colder, "Thyme, you are a guest in my home. Please do not abuse our hospitality any further. Kasumi, Mother, please control her, or I'll not be liable for the consequences. Mr. Saotome, your behaviour was unacceptable, you are no longer welcome at our home." She rose gracefully, and left the room.

"Oh my," Kasumi.

Nodoka frowned, and said, "Thyme, it appears that we need to talk further. You seem to have forgotten what we had spoken about."

* * *

Ranma sighed heavily as he leaned back against the cool tiles of the roof, his eyes closed, attempting to recover from the disastrous dinner that he had just escaped from. A faint scrape caught his attention and he opened one eye to see Thyme pulling herself onto the roof, though she had somehow managed to shed her blouse since dinner, and was shamelessly flaunting herself.

Ranma closed his eye again, and groaned, "Put your boobs away, Thyme. They won't work on me."

Thyme huffed slightly, causing her breasts to move in interesting ways, not that Ranma was paying any attention, since his eyes were closed. "Why? Don't you find them attractive?" she asked, pouting slightly.

"I've seen better," Ranma said. He shrugged, and said, softly, "I've got better."

"How can you say that?" Thyme shrieked in outrage, "How can your heart not be moved by such perfect proportions?"

"Thyme, you are attractive, I won't deny that. Any male with a pulse would agree," Ranma said, with a sigh, "But when it's all said and done, you're merely a copy of Herb's body. No matter how cute you might be, I wouldn't be able to get past that, even if I wasn't married."

"Say it isn't so!" Thyme cried, "I've finally met the perfect man." She stared at him for a moment, and saw that he was still lying there with his eyes closed, ignoring her. She paused in thought and then accused, "Unless your preferences are different!"

"What exactly are you implying?" Ranma asked.

Thyme sneered, and said, ignoring him, "Of course, how could I not see it? You like stocky, macho, muscle-bound girls!"

"Actually I don't," Ranma spat angrily. He breathed deeply, and said, in a softer tone, "I don't just like Akane, I love her. And that isn't an accurate description of her at all.. I will admit that she's a tomboy, but that's one of the things that I love about her."

"What does she have that I don't have?" Thyme asked, plaintively.

Ranma sighed heavily and replied, "Well, as trite as it sounds, she has my heart. And I would never do anything to ever harm her. So it wouldn't matter how you looked, or what you did, you could never take me away from her. And before you ask, she would never share. And neither would I be willing to take a mistress."

"But your father is accepting of the situation," Thyme protested.

"My father does not control my life. I swore on my honour to love only Akane, and I will never go back on that word. He had no right to say what she said, and we will have a **discussion** about that, one that will be extremely painful for him," Ranma said, "Now, please leave me alone. I will have nothing further to do with you."

Thyme let out a sob then, and jumped down from the roof to the ground below.

Ranma sighed and asked, "Did I pass, Akane?"

Akane came over the peak of the roof and joined him. "When did you know that I was there?" she asked.

"From the beginning," Ranma said, "Not that I would have said anything differently if you hadn't been there."

"I know," Akane said, simply, "And thank you."

"What for?" Ranma asked. "I said nothing that wasn't the truth."

"She is prettier that I am," Akane said, sadly.

"Bullshit," Ranma said simply, "Not to me. She's a cheap copy of Herb, with nothing in the way of a personality. You on the other hand are everything that I want and need in a woman." He smirked and added, "As I thought I had shown this afternoon. Do I need to provide additional proof?"

Akane sat down slowly and flashed him a smile. She replied, "Not really, I suppose. On the other hand, what are we going to do about your father?"

Ranma sighed heavily. After a moment, he said, "Honestly Akane, I don't know. I have no idea where that came from. I thought he was satisfied with our decision. This came completely out of the blue."

"I told him that he was no longer welcome here," Akane admitted.

"I don't disagree, what he was saying was totally out of line," Ranma said, sadly, "I just wish I knew where it was coming from. Unless there's something else out there that he did that he hasn't told us about. Some other reason that he needs me to be a father."

Akane frowned and said, "I suppose that's possible. After all, he had no reluctance to engage you to both Ukyo and myself. I suppose there's something out there that's worse. Or perhaaps, it's just his age. Maybe he just wants to make sure Nodoka has the grandchildren she so obviously desires."

"I suppose that's possible," Ranma said, after a moment of thought, "But, frankly, neither of them is that old. And they'll have grandchildren soon enough. But, now, we just aren't ready to be parents. Not until school is over and we've got at least some of college finished. Then, maybe we'll be ready."

"Are you sure?" Akane asked,"This was your father after all."

"Positive. We've talked about this several times, and I haven't changed my mind. I know I'm not ready to be a parent yet, not after the wonderful example I've had. And I know you don't feel like you are ready for that either, so why should we let them pressure us into something we aren't ready for," Ranma said, honestly, "And the only woman who's going to bear my children is you, so if any one has any idea differently, they'll be sadly disappointed."

"What are you going to do about Thyme? I honestly don't think she's going to quit," Akane asked.

Ranma grinned and asked, "How do you feel about sharing your room with a girl for a while? If I'm female, she'll not have any interest in me."

Akane chuckled, and replied, "That sounds familiar. You'll have to change back when we go to class, I suppose."

"Why bother?" Ranma said, indiffernetly, "It's only for the rest of the week. After that, she'll go back into that mirror, and we'll be rid of her. Besides, our class is used to me in either form by now."

"I suppose that's true enough, but I was just worried about you. You put up with pretending to be a girl for the longest time because of me, and I didn't want you to ever have to do that again," Akane said, sadly.

"It was always my choice, Akane," Ranma said, gently, "And it worked out in the end, after all, didn't it?"

Akane giggled and replied, "Well, when you put it that way, yes it did."

"Then let me change, and then see if Kasumi managed to save anything from dinner," Ranma suggested.

"There should be plenty, remember I tossed your father out on his ear," Akane said.

"True, she would have planned on a lot of food when she found out he was coming," Ranma said, chuckling.

* * *

"Come on, Tomboy, you're getting slow," Ranma teased, as she jumped to the next roof.

Akane gritted her teeth, swearing under her breath, as she followed. "You are in so much trouble when we get home," she said, her words lost in their passage.

Ranma stopped just before she reached home and waited for her wife. Akane joined her, and panted for breath for a moment before she recovered. "Best time yet, Akane," Ranma said, with a hint of pride in her voice, "You did good."

"I'm still going to kill you," Akane threatened, trying not to laugh.

"Heard that before," Ranma said, with a smirk.

Akane grinned at her and said, "Don't know where and I don't know when, but you are still going to get it. Slapping my arse in public and crying that I was 'it' like that. What were you thinking?"

"Worked didn't it?" Ranma replied, "You didn't pay any attention to where you were as we jumped from roof to roof coming home. It beats the hell out of what Pop used to do to get me to follow him like that. I figured you'd like my method a whole lot better than what he did to 'encourage' me."

"Do I really want to know?" Akane asked.

"Not really, at least you got to keep your clothes on, and let's leave it at that," Ranma said, "At least I was only seven or so."

Akane shook her head at the foolishness of her father-in-law and his so-called training methods, only to have her attention grabbed by spotting Mint and Lime racing down the street, being followed by Thyme. Though, for some reason, Thyme wasn't wearing the clothes she had bought in Nerima but rather a hooded outfit.

Soon, the three had reached them.

"Mint, Lime, I thought you were looking for Prince Herb!" Akane exclaimed as she jumped down in front of them, her hands planted on her hips as she glared at the wayward Musk.

"Um, Akane," Ranma said, as she hopped down, "I suspect they did. Hi, Prince Herb, you're looking rather girlish today."

"I could say the same thing about you Ranma," the young woman said, her eyes flashing with mirth.

"Discretion is the better part of valour, after all," Ranma replied with a smirk.

"Ah, you thought better of letting Thyme find out about you, I suppose," Herb said.

"Unfortunately not before she found out what I looked like as a male," Ranma said, ruefully, "At least so far, she hasn't made the connection that the girl Ranma and the guy Ranma are one and the same. Hopefully you are here to take her back to the mirror so we can get back on with our lives."

"Actually I'm not," Herb said, "Instead I came to join her here for the next few days, after returning from a quick trip home."

Ranma looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face, and said, "That's a bit of a distance to go and then return."

"I did travel by air," Herb said, "So my trip was quite short." She grinned at her friend and said, "I am after all the heir of my clan, and while my people do live rather rustic lives, we are aware of the modern world. We just prefer to live at a slower pace."

Akane said, "There are times when I wished things moved slower here as well. But, we have to live the life we have."

Herb chuckled for a moment and then replied, "True enough. Now as to our presence here, there are things that I have set in motion that must occur before we can leave and take her with us. Until they have completed, well, we must remain here in Nihon. And I was hoping to ask for your hospitality."

"Hmm, that sounds like you have plans that don't necessarily include Thyme returning to the mirror," Akane suggested.

Herb shrugged her shoulders and said, "That struck me as a waste. Surely Ranma, you could sense that she has much of my power. Why would I not take her back with us to join my people?"

"I thought I was sensing something familiar about her, but I didn't make the connection," Ranma said, abashed, mentally kicking herself.

"However, I did bring something from the old man that could be of some help if she gets unbearable," Herb said, "But that can wait until we meet with Lady Thyme."

"And if you don't mind sharing the dojo with your, well, retainers, there is no reason why you cannot stay here," Akane said.

"I am a martial artist, not just a prince," Herb said, with a grin, "I suspect that the floor of your dojo will be much more comfortable than some of the places we have stayed in our travels."

"You are more than welcome to stay there then," Akane said graciously, as she led them through the gate and down the walk to the house itself.

* * *

Akane opened the front door, and walked in, where she slipped out of her school shoes and set them in her cubby. She then said, "Welcome to our home," as Herb glided in.

"It's a nice little house," Herb said, as she slipped out of her shoes.

Mint and Lime entered, followed by Ranma. "I like it," Ranma said, just a little defensively.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by that. I actually prefer this to my father's palace. All that massive stone construction, but it snows in the corridors in the winter, and I can rarely stay warm unless I am in my suite," Herb said, "This looks like a home, is all that I meant."

"Oh, sorry then," Ranma said, sheepishly.

"I'll need to let Kasumi know that we have more guests, and fire up the furo," Akane said, "Ranma can show you around to the dojo where you can put your things while the water heats up."

"Now that will be nice," Herb said, "I would like to get rid of this road dirt, since we did travel by foot."

"Just make sure you remember the cold water rinse once you are done. Don't want to blow your cover," Ranma warned.

"Good point, thanks for the reminder," Herb said, as she followed Ranma around the house to the dojo.

* * *

After a refreshing bath in the furo, a much happier Herb headed to the family room, only to stop before she entered at the sound of a raised voice. She moved to the doorway, and found a furious Ranma, now wet, and male, being glomped by Thyme, while a middle-aged man was cowering in fear as Akane was standing over him with her father's sword against his neck.

Akane hissed, "Why are you here? You were banned from our house."

Nodoka said soothingly, "My husband came to apologise, Akane, and wished to speak to our son."

"Did it ever occur to either of you that there was a reason I was in my other form?" Ranma asked coldly, biting off each word.

"Hiding from Thyme in your female form is not particularly manly," Nodoka chastised, which would have worked rather better if somehow during the conversation, Genma had not managed to change.

The panda was kneeling, a sign in its hand, reading, 'I'm just a innocent panda.'

"Why were you hiding from me, cutie?" Thyme was cooing.

"To prevent this," Ranma said, as he pried himself loose from the octopus-like grip she had of him, and dropped her unceremoniously to the floor.

"BUT WHY!" Thyme wailed.

"Akane, put the sword away," Ranma said, in disgust, "You aren't really going to use it on him anyway."

Akane glared at the panda and retorted, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, it would make too much of a mess on the wood floor, and Kasumi would never be able to get the stain out unless she sanded it down to bare wood," Ranma said, "And you know how unhappy that would make her."

His wife sighed heavily and returned the sword to the stand from which she had snatched it when her idiot of a father-in-law had thrown the hot tea on Ranma. Then she pulled Ranma to her, as they sat down at the table.

"Thyme," Herb said, as she joined them, staring at the young woman who was still lying on the floor, copious tears pouring from her eyes, "If you don't behave, I will have no choice but to use this." She pulled a silvery object from her pocket and placed it on the table.

"A compact?" Akane asked.

"Yes," Herb said, "At first glance, this appears to be an ordinary compact."

The panda picked up the compact and opened it up, holding up a sign that read, 'I see.'

"The old man told me to never carelessly open the compact and look into it," Herb continued, unaware of what was going on behind her back. Suddenly, with a whoosh, the panda disappeared as it was drawn into the compact, which then fell to the table with a large clunk.

"Pop!" Ranma exclaimed.

"What just happened?" Akane asked.

"Well, if the idiot had waited until I finished the explanation," Herb said, shaking her head in disgust, "If you look into the mirror, you are imprisoned in it." She picked up the compact and said, "Merely, shake it upside down like this, and whatever is in the mirror will fall out." She performed those actions, which caused the panda to fall out. .

"So in other words, that compact is like a snare," Ranma said.

"Yes, that is what I understand," Herb said, as she pocketed the compact.

"No, don't put me in that prison," Thyme begged, "I promise to be good."

Herb stared at her for a long time and then said, "Don't make me regret this decision. But I will only use it if you continue to bother people like you were doing."

"But I want a boyfriend, and I'm getting desparate," Thyme said, as she knelt on the floor, her forehead touching the wood as she bowed, "I'm sure that the curtain is nearly repaired, and then I will be banished once more."

"That is not my intention," Herb said.

Thyme raised her head and asked, "What?"

"You mentioned that before, saying it would be a waste," Akane said.

"Let me show you," Herb said, as she rose to her feet, "Come, Lady Thyme, spar with me."

"But I'm not a martial artist," Thyme protested as she rose to her feet.

"Humour me," Herb said, smirking.

Thyme followed her out of the sliding doors and down into the grass near the koi pond.

Suddenly, Herb began an attack, only to watch as Thyme jumped into the air away from the attack.

Ranma and Akane watched in amazement as the two of them traded blows, with both of them using the moves that they had only seen Herb use before. While obviously not an expert in any of them, it appeared that Thyme's body at least, was remembering the training that Herb had received in the past.

"Herb's attacks!" Ranma exclaimed.

"That's quite a copy," Akane added, "And now it makes sense why Herb wants to take her back."

"Really, a close duplicate, with his attacks, the mind boggles," Genma said, obviously taking the opportunity to change back.

Finally, the sparring couple stopped, and returned to earth, where they bowed to each other, Thyme's face a picture of surprise.

"Now that was not something I expected," Thyme said.

"Yet it was something that I did," Herb said, "My men told me that you had led them a merry chase, staying in front of them, and always dodging their attempts to capture you. With their stamina, and prowess, no normal person could have done that."

"S-so what does this mean?" Thyme asked, shyly.

"I have made arrangements for you to be accepted into my clan," Herb said, "My father has agreed to accept you as his daughter, which will make you a princess of our people. I will not lie to you; it will be difficult for you. Our people have long segregated the genders, keeping them apart until they are to be wed, which has caused some issues."

"But to live again!" Thyme marveled, "A chance to make up for my foolish mistake, and find a boyfriend!" A tear dripped from her eye, and she said, softly, "If only he was the one."

Herb grinned toothily and said, "Ranma my friend, I have a favour to ask of you."

* * *

Ranma gazed at the young couple sitting by themselves on the engawa, and shuddered.

"I have never seen such a cute girl in all my life," the male copy of Ranma said, holding Thyme's hands tenderly.

"You too," Thyme sighed, swooning, "You are the most handsome guy in the world."

The two of them began to gently argue as to which of them was more attractive.

"What's wrong?" Prince Herb said, in her husky voice.

Ranma turned to her and said, "That just looks so wrong to me. I can't believe you talked me into that."

"I think they make a cute couple," Kasumi said, sighing as she joined her brother-in-law and his currently female guest.

"You do realise that is a male clone of me, and a female clone of Herb, don't you Kasumi?" Ranma asked, his face paling quickly.

"Yes, so, what of it?" Kasumi asked, as Herb's face began to turn green.

"You may have a point there, Ranma. This may have been a mistake," Herb said, her voice sick, picturing the two of them in that position.

"I suppose it could be worse," Akane said, smirking.

"How could it be worse?" Ranma and Herb asked in an eerie duet.

"Picture that tableau with a female Ranma with the male Ranma, or a male Herb with Thyme instead," Akane replied, simply.

Ranma turned to his wife with a look of horror on his face, and whispered, "That would be worse. Now excuse me, I need to find something to get that image out of my brain." He raced out of the family room, and vanished. After a few moments, the sound of someone being violently ill could be heard.

"When are you leaving, Prince Herb?" Akane asked.

"Their flight leaves this evening, while I have a later flight," the young woman replied, "And I will be glad to change back once she is gone."

"I'm surprised you managed this long," Akane said.

"Seeing how she tried to get to Ranma while we were in the manor, this is a small price to pay for my safety," Herb said, simply.

Ranma returned, still shaky, and said, "You do know that that isn't really me. You don't do a thing for me, not one bit."

Herb smirked and said, "And you don't know how happy that makes me."

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, Gentle Readers, I am still here, even if it seemed that I had vanished from the face of the Internet. Hmm, does the Internet have a face? Anyway, I apologise for the delay in this chapter, several things came up to keep it from being ready. In the interest of getting this out, it is going out without a beta read, so there is a chance that it will be replaced once I have a chance to get that done. On the good side, I have been attacked by a plot bunny spawned by a comment by Mzephyr on his journal that will result in a short story. Well, a short story for me, in any case. While I actually haven't written anything on it, I have several scenes well in hand and ready to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. Unfortunately, fighting that plot bunny kept me from concentrating on this story. Also, work has been, to be blunt, hell, with little sign of getting better, and that has cut into my writing time. As always, comments, suggestions, constructive criticisms, are welcomed, and encouraged.

Later, Kayemsi


	90. Sins of the Father

Chapter 90 Sins of the Father

The Tendo patriarch sat at his table, puffing on his cigarette, and idly blowing smoke rings, which slowly drifted up and joined the haze floating just below the ceiling of the run-down bar that he was sitting in. After a few minutes, waiting for his old friend to arrive, the cigarette had burned down, and he crushed out the butt in the ashtray, where it joined several of its brethren. He was about to take a sip of his draft beer, when the man he had been waiting on entered the bar. "Saotome!" he called, raising his hand to get the other man's attention.

Genma Saotome spotted his friend Soun and headed over, causing several of the patrons to wrinkle up their noses as he swept by, the distinct aroma rising from his gi, an oddly unpleasant mixture of wet bear, sweat, and saké. "Tendo!" he exclaimed as he crashed his bulk down in the chair opposite his old friend, "Thank you for inviting me. Unfortunately, I had to come here straight from work."

"You have a job! What are you doing?" Tendo asked in surprise.

"Hmm, I thought you knew, Nodoka got me a job in construction, so I've been roofing all day," Saotome said, snagging the other glass on the table, and gulping half of it down.

"As much as you dislike working, why did you agree to get a job?" Soun asked.

"Nodoka made it clear that she wasn't going to finance any of my so-called 'bad habits' and that if I wanted to go out drinking, I wouldn't be using her money," Genma said, with a shrug, "And I do have the girls to take care of now as well, so I need to earn enough to keep food on the table for them." He hesitated and asked, "Did you talk to the children?"

"I talked to Ranma and Akane, and they are adamant about your banishment," Tendo said, apologetically, "And, well, since it is their property, there isn't much I can do about it. I'm afraid you've really put your foot into it this time."

Genma sighed, and looked mournfully at his long-time companion and said, "All this over a stupid joke."

"Joke? That's not how either of them described it," Soun said, "And I must admit that even if it were meant as a joke, suggesting that Ranma take a mistress in front of his wife, my daughter, was in particularly poor taste."

"I suppose that's true," Genma said, insincerely.

"And it has caused both of them to wonder if there isn't some other reason you wanted Ranma to father a child," Soun said, his eyes cool, "Something in your past that you still haven't told them about."

"Of course there's nothing out there," Genma said, quickly, "It's just that Nodoka keeps harping on wanting grandchildren before she's too old to enjoy them."

"I see, just looking out for your wife, like a good husband would do," Soun said.

"It looks like the shogi table came open," Genma said, "Are you up for a game?"

"I'm always ready to show you who's the best player," Soun said.

"Ha!" Genma said, as the two of them rose from their table, taking their beers with them and headed over to one of the now vacant game tables.

* * *

Genma growled angrily as he watched his old friend Tendo disappear down the busy street. While the couple of hours that they had spent cheating each other at shogi while knocking back several beers had been enjoyable, his mood had soured when he realised that Tendo actually expected him to pay for his share of the tab. And to add insult to injury, Tendo had then announced that the reason he had cut the evening so short was so he could rush home to join his family for dinner. He glanced up at the sky wondering which Kame he had displeased, before he headed in the opposite direction to the house that he and his wife shared.

"Look out below!" was the only warning before the middle-aged man was drenched, a metal bucket bouncing off the shoulder of the soaking wet panda, before clattering loudly on the sidewalk. The sudden appearance of a panda on the busy Nerima street for some reason caused none of the quickly moving shoppers any alarm, though they did move aside a little further to bypass the animal.

The panda growled, finally causing some of the crowd to shy away, before it bounded up to one of the lower rooftops. 'Damn that ungrateful boy, and double damn that harridan he married,' the now enraged panda thought, jumping from one roof to the next, 'So much for my well-earned retirement; my plans to laze around the Tendo compound, playing shogi and drinking Tendo's beer and saké while the boy supported us both. All my clever plans, ruined by that girl!'

Then a loud clap of thunder startled the panda, as an unseasonal rain suddenly began to fall.

* * *

Yumi smiled lovingly at her husband as he joined her at the dinner table after his afternoon out on the town. A smile that rapidly turned into a frown as he leaned over to kiss her cheek, a maneuver she dodged, causing a faint look of anxiety to appear on Soun's face.

"Looks like the honeymoon is over," Nabiki quipped from her place opposite of them, her clever eyes missing nothing.

"No, nothing like that," Yumi snapped, scowling at her new daughter, who gave her an unrepentant smirk. She turned to her husband and asked in a sickly-sweet tone, that raised the hackles on all of the other men present, "How many drinks did you have with Saotome?"

"Um, just four beers," Soun admitted. At the look in his wife's eyes, he added, defensively, "They were spread out over two hours."

"And why do I smell cigarette smoke? You do know what I think of the habit," Yumi asked, her narrowed eyes at odds with the lightness of her tone.

Soun replied, evasively, "I was at a bar. People were lighting up all around me."

"I can certainly tell the difference between second-hand smoke and cigarette breath," Yumi said, "Surely you don't think I cannot tell the difference between secondhand smoke and you smoking one of those cigarettes. Your breath reeks with tobacco. Don't treat me like a fool, and definitely don't try to lie to me."

Soun took one final look at his wife, and suddenly burst into tears. "Waaaa! My wife is angry with me!" he wailed, as the audience rolled their eyes as one.

"Man, I thought he'd gotten better," Ranma moaned, as he moved out of the way of the flood of tears

"Oh my, Daddy," Kasumi sighed, "You are only embarrassing yourself doing that."

Souta traded looks with his fiancée and shifted uncomfortably in embarrassment at such a public display of emotion.

"You promised to quit smoking," Yumi continued, ignoring the interruptions from the 'children', in a decidedly cool voice, "My husband, I am disappointed in you."

Soun sighed, his tears stopping and his shoulders slumped.

"If I were a vindictive person you would be sleeping on the couch tonight, but one of the things my mother taught me was never to use sex as a weapon," Yumi said, "Since nothing good ever comes of that".

Akane whimpered for a moment while Kasumi paled. "Yumi-chan," the older sister said, "Um, that may fall into the category of way too much information. While I'm sure all of us would understand that you have that kind of relationship, it's just not something we think should be discussed at the dinner table."

Sayuri shuddered and nodded her agreement.

"Mom, it's not entirely Daddy's fault, either," Akane said, after she had regained her composure, "After all he was with some pretty reprehensible company."

"The old man sure does resemble that remark," Ranma said in an aside.

"Akane does make a good point," Sayuri added in, "Bad company and all of that."

Yumi shook her head, and replied, "My husband is the only responsible for his actions. No one forced him to have four beers, and no one forced him to smoke."

"I am trying to keep my promise, dear, but it is harder than I thought it would be," he said, "If it helps, I only had the two, which finished that pack, and I have not bought any since." He pulled an empty package of cigarettes out of his gi, and handed it to his wife, who looked at him with sad eyes.

"And knowing Pop, that's not completely true about the drinks either," Ranma said carefully, "I'm sure that he was the one that kept ordering refills. And I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have twice as many as your husband."

"And I certainly hope that Saotome paid for his drinks," Yumi said in a dangerous sounding voice.

Soun gave a dry chuckle and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. Somewhat reluctantly, I will admit, so I'm sure that he thought I was going to pick up the whole tab."

"Well, that's something at least," Yumi said, finally unbending, "But NO kisses until you've done something about that breath."

Soun grinned sheepishly at his wife, and nodded his head quickly, glad that he had managed to escape her wrath reasonably unscathed.

"Why were you meeting that man in a bar anyway, Daddy?" Akane asked, a touch frostily at his perceived betrayal, causing Soun to realise that perhaps he had relaxed a bit too soon.

"He asked to meet me there," Soun replied, calmly, "Said he needed to talk to me. And in spite of everything that's happened, he still is an old friend. I couldn't just turn him away."

Akane sighed unhappily, as Ranma reached out to clasp her hand in support. "I guess that's true," she said, reluctantly, "But after his slur on our honour, I thought you would have picked family over friendship."

Soun grimaced as he replied, "I was trying to find out why he said what he did, that's all."

Yumi had a confused expression on her face. "What did Saotome do? Someone needs to explain what's been happening while we were gone. All anyone has told me is that Saotome is no longer welcome here. And now I'm hearing that he made some sort of disparaging remark about our family!"

Ranma glanced over at his wife and saw her nod. "As you know, Akane and I have jointly decided that we aren't ready to become parents," he began.

"Of course you aren't, aside from being entirely too young, both of you have made perfectly clear your intentions to get a college degree," Tofu answered for them all.

"Yes, I'm thinking of a double, one in business, and education, while Ranma is planning on one in physical education," Akane replied.

"Well, anyway, the old man as usual managed to put his paw in his mouth. I guess, for some reason, probably because he only hears what he wants to hear, he thought that AKANE alone was unwilling to bear children," Ranma said.

"And as you were told, we had a female house guest named Thyme, one who was blatant in her interest in Ranma. In his usual manner, Saotome suggested that Ranma solve his problem about children by taking her as his mistress and getting her with child, since I had refused to do my wifely duties," Akane said, her eyes blazing angrily.

Ranma squeezed her hand tighter, and finished the tale, "And to make things even 'better' all around, he made the suggestion in front of Akane, making the insult even worse."

"And you merely banned him from the house!" Yumi exploded, taking everyone by surprise, "Why is he even whole?"

Sayuri hung her head as it was obvious that her mother still had a sore spot because of her former husband's behavior, even after all the time that had elapsed.

"Because for some reason that no one can figure out, Auntie Nodoka still wants him," Kasumi replied.

"And I didn't want to cause any more housework," Akane said, "After all, it is so hard to get bloodstains out of the floor once it soaks in." A moment later, she added in very cold tones, "Otherwise, I would have used a very dull knife on him."

"Oh my, you shouldn't have let that stop you," Kasumi said, "It wouldn't have been that much trouble to clean up, after all."

Oddly enough, no one in the room thought that either of the two women was joking.

"What did the old man say when you talked to him?" Ranma asked.

"He said he only meant it as a joke, and that he wasn't really serious," Soun replied, "And that the only reason he even mentioned it was because Nodoka harps about wanting grandchildren to spoil before she gets too much older."

"And you believed him?" Akane asked, venomously.

"I allowed him to think so," her father replied, carefully, "I'm not quite as gullible as I once was with respect to Saotome. He has not impressed me with his truthfulness since he has joined us in Nerima." He hesitated for a moment, and then added, "And he asked if he was to be allowed to return here."

Akane retorted, "Not going to happen. Not in this lifetime, anyway."

"He is Ranma's only father," Soun said, "And what happens when you have his grandchildren?"

"We'll send pictures," Ranma replied, flatly, "Mom is welcome anytime she wants to come, as well as the girls, but if I see him anywhere near our house, well, he won't like what happens. Implying that I should cheat on Akane. I swore an oath to only be with her, and while Pop may forget promises like that, I never shall."

"If I see him again, he won't like the consequences," a quiet voice said firmly. Everyone looked surprised when they realised that it had actually been spoken by both Kasumi and Yumi, who sat there with a firm expression on their faces.

"Enough with the display of testosterone," Nabiki said, calmly, "Saotome's comments are disquieting. There must be something else out there, or else he wouldn't have made that kind of suggestion."

"I'm not sure, Nabiki. I suppose it's possible that the old man was just kidding around," Ranma said, "On the other hand, knowing him the way I do, it also wouldn't be terribly surprising if he made someone somewhere a promise about his grandchildren. After all, he wasn't shy about doing it to me." He glanced over at Akane and winked, adding, "Of course, one of those promises led me here, so that wasn't bad."

"Maybe it's as simple as you are supposed to get some sort of inheritance which you would receive when you become a father," Sayuri suggested playfully.

Nabiki scoffed, "That only happens in fairy tales. But I will look into things; after all I do have a few contacts. Perhaps they can turn up something."

"Do you really think your father would do something like that?" Yumi asked.

Ranma snorted in disgust and replied, "Pop? Sure, after all, he did engage me to a second girl, even though he had promised that I would wed a Tendo, all for the price of a yattai. Who knows what else he may have done? If nothing else, to save his sorry hide from something he did. No, as much as it pains me, he could easily have done almost anything."

Yumi turned to her husband and 'suggested,' strongly, "I think it would be an excellent idea for you to distance yourself from this man. I will miss Nodoka, however."

"As we said, Mom, the girls, Ukyo and Konatsu aren't affected, and are of course welcome here," Akane said, "Only Saotome himself is being punished for his actions."

"But wouldn't Nodoka stay away from here out of loyalty to her husband?" Yumi asked, perplexed.

"Actually, she seemed to be as taken aback by his crude suggestion," Tofu said, "And would instead think of coming here without him as more punishment. Things are still a little cool between them."

"Twisting the knife as it were," Ranma added, "Besides while Pop is training the girls as is proper, they are still coming here for the lessons that he can't teach."

"After all, if we are to make the dojo a going concern, Ranma and I will need more instructors than just the two of us," Akane said, "And who better than our family to provide them."

"We can talk about those plans once we've finished dinner," Tofu suggested, causing them to realise that sometime in the last few minutes, Kasumi had vanished, and returned, followed by Sayuri and Hinako, all three laden with the evening meal.

* * *

Natsume frowned in concentration as she swept the front sidewalk clean, pushing the debris through the front gate and into the street, where the street cleaner would finish the job. As she re-entered the yard, her frown deepened as her father, in his cursed form, rushed past, several leaves falling from his coat as he brushed past her, and dropping onto the once pristine walk, which was now covered with muddy paw-prints. She glared at the retreating back of the panda, which was as usual oblivious to what it had done. With a heavy sigh, she returned to her chore.

Kurumi stepped back as the front door flew open just before she reached it, and a bedraggled, soaking wet panda rushed in, stopping only long enough to brush its hind paws on the doormat, in a vain attempt to dry them off, before storming down the hall. The young girl looked at the once highly polished floor, and sighed heavily at the damage that had been done, negating several hours of hard work that she had just finished. She knelt back down, and using her cloth began to clean up the dirt left behind where the panda had trod.

Meanwhile, Nodoka was creating magic in the kitchen, as she prepared the evening meal. She grimaced slightly as she heard her husband plodding down the hallway towards the furoba. The heaviness of his step as well as a slight clattering sound told her that he was once again in his cursed form. Moving over to the stove with a heavy sigh, she retrieved the teakettle, filled it with water, and then returned it to the stove. She lit the burner beneath the kettle, and then tasted the miso soup simmering in the large stockpot next to it. With a slight moue, she tossed another pinch of freshly ground pepper into the soup, and then glanced over at the rice cooker as it gave a slight click. 'Rice is done, the soup is ready,' she thought, turning toward the large wok heating up on the front burner. She quickly cubed up a brick of tofu, and tossed the pieces into the wok to join the vegetables already stir-frying. After a few minutes, she added the reserved chicken that she had already cooked. With practised ease, she tossed the contents of the wok with her wooden spatula while pouring in the contents of a small mixing bowl, ensuring that every morsel was suitably coated with her homemade teriyaki sauce.

"Woof!" came the sound from behind her, and Nodoka turned to see an irate panda, dripping muddy water over her once pristine floor. She sighed and turned the burner off beneath the wok.

"I told you this morning that the water heater was broken," Nodoka said, her eyes narrowing, "And the plumber has been and gone. He'll have to replace the whole thing since the coils are shot. He also found the reason why the furo drained so slowly."

'Why is that?' the panda's sign asked.

"He found fur clogging the drain," Nodoka growled. "I've told you to change back before you get in the tub, but do you listen? No, obviously you don't! Now get out of my kitchen, I have no desire for your fur to end up in our food. It's not hygienic at all!"

'I need hot water,' the sign read.

"Later, I need to finish cooking this before it is ruined," Nodoka said, coldly.

The panda stared at her in defeat for a moment, and then made its way out of the kitchen.

Nodoka sighed heavily at the mess in her kitchen, and wondering exactly how much of her hard work had just been undone in a matter of mere moments. Sighing once more, she returned to her wok, and finished cooking the meal, her once happy mood now ruined.

* * *

The evening meal was quiet except for the sounds of the four people eating their dinner. Even the normal loud chewing sounds that normally came from the large man sitting at one of the table were absent.

No one would ever accuse Genma Saotome of being the smartest person in the world, nor would anyone ever consider him to be the most considerate of husbands, but he hadn't lived as long as he had to have failed to notice when he was in danger. The temperature of the room had plummeted as he entered, after finally being allowed to change forms and to actually dry off and change into clean clothes, as all three of the women present had sent cold glares at him. A sense of near panic arose in his chest as the meal drew to its uncomfortable close.

"Dinner tonight was very go-," he began, only to screech to a stop in mid-word at the expression on his wife's face.

"I spent much of the day cleaning the house, with the girls joining me once they returned from school. WE will be going to the public bath tonight to relax, while YOU clean up the mess that you have made," Nodoka said, chillingly.

"But Nodoka-chan," Genma began.

"Don't Nodoka-chan me," Nodoka spat, "You can't charm your way out of the dog-house. I have yet to forgive you for what you said to Ranma, or the damage you could have caused to their marriage by your inconsiderate words."

"But," Genma tried again.

"But nothing," Nodoka said, "I don't understand how you just can't keeping from doing such foolish things." She rose from the table, followed quickly by the two girls, and they swept out of the family room carrying their dishes into the kitchen.

Genma hung his head and sighed.

* * *

Yumi hummed to herself as she swept the floor with her broom, heading down the hallway towards the front door. As she reached it, she swept her collection of debris into a dustpan and then opened the door without looking up. She swung her broom to start sweeping the front porch, only to have it collide with an obstacle, an obstacle that cried, "Ouch!" She looked up, and blushed deeply, as she saw a strange man with long, brown hair, standing in front of her, hopping on one foot, while clutching his other leg with both hands.

"I hope that isn't the way you greet all of your visitors," the man said through clenched teeth.

"I'm so sorry," Yumi replied, quickly bowing, "I was not looking."

The man finally settled down and said, grimacing slightly, "Well, there's no real harm done, I suppose. And I really should have been able to dodge the blow." He bowed slightly to her and continued, "My name is Inoichi Yamanaka. I understand that Genma and Ranma Saotome may be found here."

"I am Yumi Tendo, and yes, Ranma does live here with us. His father, however, lives with his wife and two daughters at their home a few kilometers away from here," Yumi replied.

"Hm, that seems a bit odd, but no matter," Yamanaka said, "My daughter Ino and I have a matter of honour with young Saotome. May we speak with him?" He moved slightly, and revealed an attractive young woman standing behind him, of perhaps sixteen years of age, with long, blond hair, pulled back into a loose ponytail with two long bangs framing her elfin face.

"I will let him know that you are here," Yumi said, "He is in the dojo currently teaching his class, so you may wait for him in the family room." She moved backwards and added, "Welcome to our home."

The Yamanakas entered the house, stopping just long enough to remove their footwear, and then followed the kindly woman of the house into the depths of the large home. Soon they were shown into the family room, which was currently unoccupied.

"Please, make yourself comfortable while I find Ranma," Yumi said, bowing once more, before leaving the room.

The nicely dressed father and daughter spent the next several minutes gazing around the very traditional-styled room, from the almost obligatory picture of sakura trees in bloom, to the equally obligatory picture of Mount Fuji. Ino glanced out the open shoji doors and commented, "This a very nice house, and they even have a pond." To her delight, one of the fish chose that moment to leap out of the water in hunt of a flying insect and then land with a gentle splash back into the pond.

Yamanaka nodded his head, and replied, "I do find it curious that young Saotome lives here instead of with his parents. I was under the impression that he was only slighter older than you, so he can't possibly be of age yet."

"I do hope the he isn't an older man, Father. I find older men to be uninteresting. It would be horrible if he were," Ino said, pouting.

"But you would still do your duty," Yamanaka said, not quite sternly.

"Of course. I would honour our clan," Ino said, firmly, "I was just expressing my hope, that's all." To her relief, at that very moment, a handsome, well-built young man, dressed in loose black slacks, and a blue Chinese-style shirt entered the room. It was all she could do to not drool at the sight.

"Hello, Mister Yamanaka, Miss Yamanaka," the young man said, "I am Ranma Saotome." He bowed politely first to the older man and then to the young girl. He continued, "Yumi said that you wished to speak to me. Have me met? Neither of you are at all familiar to me."

Yamanaka replied, "No, Saotome-kun, we have not had that pleasure. I am acquainted with your father, however, and he has spoken of you on more than one occasion over the last several years."

Ranma wore a puzzled expression on his face. "When did he have a chance to meet with you? There weren't that many times that he left me behind somewhere, at least for very many days," he asked.

"They were never very long visits," Yamanaka replied, "And he did mention that he had left you to train by yourself. That is also when he met my beautiful daughter."

"Daddy!" Ino exclaimed, ducking her suddenly reddened face in embarrassment.

Ranma groaned and said, almost accusingly, "And let me guess, Pop made some sort of agreement with you."

"Yes, he did," Yamanaka replied.

Ino looked through her long eyelashes at him and said, "And that is why we are here. To fulfill the agreement between your father and mine."

Ranma shook his head in dismay, and asked, hoarsely, "He didn't, not another one, he couldn't! You aren't another fiancée, are you?"

"Another fiancée?" Yamanaka asked, his eyes suddenly cold.

"Yes, if indeed your daughter is one, that makes three agreements that I now know of," Ranma replied.

Yamanaka frowned and said, "Yes, your father promised that you would wed my daughter on her seventeenth birthday. A promise he made on his honour as a martial artist."

Ranma sighed heavily, and said, "I'm sure you would make a fine wife, Ino-san, but I can't marry you."

"Why not? Have you no honour?" Yamanaka asked.

Ranma replied, sadly, "Because I am already wed, to one of those other fiancées, that's why. The one that I was promised to earliest. That was the best that I could do to straighten out the mess my old man made. Fortunately for me, Akane and I managed to fall in love with each other." His eyes narrowed suddenly and he asked, "Pop didn't receive anything for the betrothal agreement, did he?"

"Nothing monetary, though he was much interested in the dowry that I was willing to bestow on her when Ino wed," Yamanaka replied, "Though he was allowed to copy several of my books on martial arts, so I suppose he did gain something." He sighed, and said, "At least you did what you could, by wedding one of the women your father engaged you to. We have no grievance with you, therefore, especially since you seem to have honoured the earliest agreement. Your father, however, is a different story."

"I'd be more than happy to provide you with my parents' address," Ranma said.

Ino sauntered over to Ranma, and before he could react, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Ranma finally pulled away, and hissed, "Why did you go and do that for?"

"So you'd know what you were missing," Ino replied calmly. With a sigh, she added, "Your wife is a lucky woman."

"Actually, I'm the lucky one," Ranma replied, backing away.

"Daddy, it's time to go," Ino said, "There's nothing for us here."

"You're an interesting woman, Ino Yamanaka," Ranma said, as he led them to the front door, "And it was a pleasure to meet you." He handed Yamanaka a small card that had his father's address on it.

"I assure you, the pleasure was all mine," Ino purred. She smirked at him then and added, "I've always wanted to use that line."

Ranma chuckled as the Yamanakas bowed to him and he returned their bow.

"Farewell, Ranma Saotome," Yamanaka said, before turning on his heel and walking steadily down the path to the main gate, closely followed by his daughter, who turned to gaze wistfully back.

Ranma waited until they had left the compound, closed the door, and then headed back toward the back door. As he approached the kitchen, he nearly ran into Yumi as she was leaving, a tray carrying several teacups in her hands.

"Oh my," Yumi said, "Did our visitors leave already?"

"There was nothing for them here," Ranma replied, "So, yes, they have left."

"They seemed very nice, but I am surprised they left so soon if there was a matter of honour to discuss," Yumi said.

"She was another fiancée that the old man promised me to," Ranma said, somewhat bitterly.

"Oh my," Yumi repeated.

"You've been hanging around Kasumi entirely too much," Ranma said, smirking, "You're starting to channel her."

Yumi grinned at him and repeated, "Oh my."

Ranma chuckled, shook his head, and went back outside.

* * *

The city coach screeched to a stop, and two people wearily exited the bus. The helpful coach driver pointed toward the intersection, and said, "The street you want is the next block down, and the house should be a left turn. And remember, the next coach will be here at 10 to the hour until midnight."

Yamanaka nodded his thanks and he and his daughter trudged down the side street, exhausted from their second coach trip of the day, until they reached the next intersection. They made the suggested turn, and continued about a half a block before they reached the address on the note that the Saotome scion had given them before showing them politely out of his home. They stopped in front of a modest, but well-maintained two-story home. The house was surrounded by a low white-washed stone wall, and was situated on a small lot. While the grounds were small, they were immaculately groomed, with flowering plants bordering the pebbled walkway that led from the front gate up to the house.

"Shall we daughter?" Yamanaka asked.

"I suppose, daddy, but I don't really see the point," Ino said, unenthusiastically, "After all, the boy's married already."

"It's a matter of pride, if nothing else," Inoichi said, "I want to see that bastard face to face and let him know what I think of him."

"He's a martial artist, and you've mostly been running the flower shop for the last several years," Ino said, "I'm sure he'll be trembling in his boots."

Yamanaka pushed the gate open, and waited for his daughter to enter, before following her up that path to the front door. She rang the doorbell, neither of them noticing the twitching of a curtain on one of the ground floor windows. After a few minutes, the door opened and the Yamanakas recoiled in surprise as a large panda, dressed incongruously in a flowered apron, and a maid's cap perched precariously on its head and a broom clutched in one paw, appeared.

The panda woofed at them, in obvious inquiry.

"I feel ridiculous, but is Genma Saotome here?" Inoichi asked.

A large sign appeared in the panda's paw which read, 'There's no one here' FLIP 'But me, and I'm' FLIP 'Just a cute panda.'

"How on earth is it doing that?" Ino hissed.

"I don't know," her father replied. He straightened up and asked, "Do you know when he will be back?"

'He is on an extended,' FLIP 'Training trip, and won't be' FLIP 'Back for a long time,' the sign read.

"Come on daddy, this is pointless," Ino said, grabbing her father's arm, "I'm tired and hungry. Let's find our hotel, and we can come back tomorrow. Maybe there'll be someone here we can talk to then."

"I suppose you are correct," her father said. "Thank you Mister Panda."

The panda bowed stiffly and closed the door.

"Now that was one of the oddest experiences of my life," Inoichi said, as he was pulled toward the street.

* * *

Nodoka opened the door to find a strange man and girl standing on her doorstep. "May I help you?" she asked, politely.

The man replied, "I am Inoichi Yamanaka, and this is my daughter Ino. We are here to talk to Genma Saotome about a matter of honour."

"I am Nodoka Saotome, the wife of Genma, but I am afraid he is not here," Nodoka responded, "But perhaps I can help. Please, welcome to my home." She stepped back to allow the pair to enter.

The Yamanakas entered the house, stopping briefly to remove their shoes, their eyes glancing around the neat but austere entry hall. They followed the traditionally dressed woman down the hall to the first opening. Upon entering, they found themselves in an Occidental style living room, an ornate fireplace dominating the room, with a rack of three blades displayed above the mantel.

"Please, make yourself comfortable. I was just making some tea," Nodoka said. She waited for a moment, and then took her leave, heading for the large kitchen.

After a few minutes, the Yamanakas seated themselves on the low couch, leaving the large, overstuffed chair for their hostess upon her return.

Nodoka bustled in, carrying a simple wooden tray, which was laden with an ornate tea set. Placing the tray on the table between the couch and chair, she picked up the teapot and poured tea into the three delicate cups. Handing a cup to the couple in front of her, she took the last and sat gracefully into her chair. Taking a brief sip, she waited for her guests to follow her action. Once they had done so, satisfying the bonds of hospitality, she asked, "You are here about a matter of honour. Could I enquire what that matter concerns?"

Inoichi nodded, placing his cup on the table in front of him, and lacing his fingers together. "Yes, of course you may," he said, pleasantly, "Some number of years ago, I became acquainted with your husband during his travels. We became friends of a sort, since we shared common interests. Good food, good drinks and martial arts. Though the latter is mostly academic for me now, since I am mostly concentrating on my flower shop and growing that business. Anyway, during my youth, I had acquired many scrolls, filled with techniques, some of which I shared with your husband, in exchange for his oath that his son would wed my only daughter once she turned sixteen."

Nodoka closed her eyes briefly, as she felt a sense of betrayal, before sighing unhappily. She said almost too quietly to hear, "He swore on our marriage that it was only the Tendos and the Kuonjis that he had sold my son to." A moment passed and then she raised her head, her face calm, and looked Yamanaka in the eye. "I am afraid that there is no way that our family can honour that promise, Yamanaka-san," she said, "Both of my sons are wed."

"We know already about Ranma," Ino said, "We met him yesterday, and found that out."

"Though we did not know of a second son," her father added.

"Konatsu is adopted, but I care for him as if I had borne him," Nodoka said proudly, "However, as I said, he is also wed. In fact, he did so to fulfill the promise my husband made to the Kuonji family."

"Let me set your fears at rest, Nodoka-san," Inoichi said, "I have no intention of coming between either of your sons' marriages. Especially since it seems that they, and you, have done the best that you can do with the situation that you have found yourself in."

"That is a relief, especially since both couples have managed to find a love match," Nodoka said, "Ranma and Akane actually fell in love with each other, while Konatsu had developed feelings for Ukyo before she decided to ask him to marry her, in spite of her feelings toward Ranma."

"After meeting Ranma, this Ukyo must be an impressive woman," Ino said, "He is quite handsome, and a very good catch, one I'm not sure that I could force myself to give up on."

"Ukyo was good friends with both Akane and Ranma, and after she realised how much they loved each other, she chose not to break their hearts by trying to come between them. I am honoured to be her mother-in-law, and no less honoured by having Akane as my daughter-in-law," Nodoka said, "But then, that begs the question as to why you are here?"

"To satisfy my curiosity, I suppose," Inoichi replied smoothly, "I had hoped to meet your husband and have him explain his actions."

"Well that also explains why he left in such a hurry this morning," Nodoka said.

"This morning?" Ino asked, "We were told that he had already left when we came by last night."

"Last night? The only one here would have been Genma, since the girls and I had gone to the public baths for some pampering and girl talk," Nodoka said.

"We met your panda, with its amazing signs," Inoichi said.

Nodoka sighed and said, "That is my husband in his cursed form. And he was obviously using it to hide from you."

"Cursed form? What do you mean by that?" Ino asked.

"During his training trip, my husband and son visited the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo, where he fell into the spring of drowned panda. Now, whenever he gets hit with cold water, he changes into a panda," Nodoka replied.

"Perhaps the fates have punished him for his actions, then," Inoichi said, straight-faced, while Ino was not even bother to hide her amusement.

"That thought has occurred to me on more than one occasion," Nodoka admitted.

"I'm sure that it has," Inoichi said, "Come daughter, I believe we are done here. Though you may inform your husband the next time that you see him, that he should avoid running into me in the future. While I may not be that martial artist that I once was, he would find himself in a world of hurt."

The Yamanakas rose from the couch, as Nodoka joined them. They bowed to her, and he said, "Thank you for your hospitality. And if it is not too forward, you have my sympathies. It cannot be easy for you."

Nodoka sighed, and said, "It has often been a disappointment for me, that is true." She led them down the hall to the front door, and waited for them to don their shoes. "I am truly sorry that you found yourself mixed up with my husband," she said, "He was not always this way. I cannot excuse his actions, however, and you may be assured that he and I will be having a discussion when he returns."

"It was a pleasure meeting both you and your son," Inoichi said.

"Yes, he was quite a pleasure," Ino quipped. They bowed once more, and then left the house.

Nodoka closed the door behind them and sighed unhappily.

* * *

Genma almost growled in anger as he watched his ungrateful son performing woman's work, helping Nodoka bring in the meal into the seldom-used dining area. 'At least he is still male, and not wearing an apron,' the part-time panda thought with a smirk, as the dishes were placed on the table.

With a quiet chorus of "Itadakimasu," the quartet began to eat in silence, though it appeared that Nodoka had finally broken her husband of his attempts to steal from the plates of others, as they went unmolested.

Finally, the silence was broken when Ranma spoke, saying, "Mom, Pop, I really appreciate you agreeing to our request to have a meal with just the four of us. There are some things that need to be fixed before we will be able to function as a family, and I hope that perhaps tonight we can begin the road to recovery."

Nodoka nodded and said, "That is my hope as well."

"Pop, I know we've been estranged for a few weeks," Ranma began carefully, "But what you suggested about Thyme really hurt Akane a great deal."

"Dear, your father has attempted to apologise for his poor excuse for humour several times, but Akane didn't want to accept that," Nodoka said defensively.

"I know, Mother Saotome, but I have a bit of a temper," Akane said, ignoring the snort of amusement from her husband, "And it took me some time to calm down."

"Well, I'm certainly magnanimous enough to accept that," Genma said, causing a massive face-fault from the other three.

"Well, the subject of your joke was in quite poor taste, considering that it really is our decision on when we want to have children," Akane said.

"Not that it matters much any more," Ranma said, causing Nodoka to glance up quickly.

"What?" Nodoka exclaimed, "Is it true?"

"Yeah, Mom, the rabbit died," Ranma said.

A huge smile crept across his mother's face at that news, while Genma looked on in bewilderment.

Ranma traded glances with his wife, glad that he had taken a few minutes in the kitchen to talk to his mother before springing this news on her.

Flashback

_Ranma followed his mother into the kitchen, after mentioning in passing that he would help with serving the meal. He said, softly, "Mom, you are about to hear a few things from Akane and me at dinner tonight. None of it will be true, because we've found out something else that Pop is trying to do, and we're spinning him a story to see how far he'll take things."_

"_What kind of story?" Nodoka asked, tensing up as her son spoke of telling untruths._

"_I'd rather not tell you, since I want you to react properly to the 'news' we're bringing," Ranma replied, "Please, go with us on this, Mom."_

"_I'm not sure how honourable this is," Nodoka said, uneasily._

_Ranma sighed heavily, and replied, carefully, "I'll admit it is a little grey, maybe even a lot grey. On the other hand, we're using his methods against him, so there is an element of poetic justice involved. And what we've discovered he thinks he is doing is pretty bad."_

_Nodoka frowned slightly, and then her expression changed into an evil grin. "I'll go along with it for now, but I expect an explanation when you can," she said._

"_Of course, Mom," Ranma said, letting loose of the bit of tension he hadn't realised he had, "Now why don't I do what I said I was coming in here for, and help you carry the meal to the table."_

End Flashback

"I don't understand?" Genma whined.

"That problem that you were teasing us about has been solved," Akane said, "I am pregnant."

"Are you sure?" Genma asked, hiding his excitement.

"Well the obstetrician that Doctor Tofu recommended is certainly sure," Ranma said.

"How far along are you?" Nodoka asked.

Akane blushed and replied, "About six weeks."

"So you were pregnant when we had that argument!" Genma exclaimed.

Akane's blush deepened, and she merely nodded. "I didn't realise at the time, I thought I was just a little late. That happens to me sometimes when I don't eat enough when I exercise a lot."

"Well, this calls for a celebration, don't you think Nodoka?" Genma boomed.

"Of course, dear," Nodoka agreed, rising from where she was kneeling. "I'll get the saké, though none for you, I'm afraid, Akane."

"Of course Mother Saotome, I wouldn't want to cause any harm to the baby, now would I?" Akane replied, agreeably enough.

"You'll need to excuse me for a moment," Genma said, also rising, "I have something that I need to take care of that I just remembered."

"Sure Pop, go right ahead," Ranma said, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

* * *

A few days later, Nodoka once again opened her front door to find her biological son and his wife standing on the front porch. She smiled happily at the young couple and said, "Son, it's good to see once again so soon."

Ranma entered the house and traded his shoes for a pair of slippers with his name inked on it. "Mom, you are always welcome in our house, you know that," he said, kindly.

"My husband is correct," Akane said, following her husband into the front hall, and slipping her shoes off. A faint frown appeared on her face that disappeared as quickly as it appeared as it seemed her slippers had vanished.

"How are you feeling, Akane dear?" Nodoka asked.

Akane chuckled and replied, "Same as the last time you asked, Mother Saotome. Besides, as I'm quite sure you replied when you were asked the same question, I'm expecting, not ill."

Nodoka grinned in acknowledgement at her daughter-in-law and led them into the family room, where Genma and an elderly gentleman, wearing an expensive, hand-tailored suit, were already waiting.

"Son, daughter-in-law, this is Watanabe-san," Genma said, ponderously, missing the wince from the other four in the room, "Watanabe-san, this is my son Ranma and his wife Akane."

Ranma and Akane bowed deeply to the elderly gentleman, showing him the respect due to both his age, and his obvious station.

"Please have a seat," Nodoka said, moving to the low table, where her finest, most elegant, tea-set was sitting ready for use.

The quartet sat down as Nodoka poured the tea into the delicate porcelain, a delicate hint of jasmine wafting from the lightly tinted liquid. She passed around the cups, taking pains to ensure that their honoured guest received the first cup, while Ranma and Akane received the next two.

"Thank you for coming to this meeting," Genma began, only to subside at a glare from his wife as he once more ignored the proprieties. Even though this wasn't a formal tea ceremony, there were still certain rites that must be observed.

"Nice blend of flavours," Watanabe said, as the honoured guest sipped his tea in appreciation of the bouquet and taste.

"Thank you Watanabe-san, this is a particular tea that I like quite a bit, though it is a little hard to come by in the local markets," Nodoka replied.

The old man sipped once more and said, "I think I recognise this blend. If I'm correct, I'll have some shipped to you."

"You do me great honour, Watanabe-san," Nodoka said, demurely.

"Please, I would be honoured if you called me Hideo," the old man said easily.

"Only if you call me Nodoka," Nodoka replied.

Genma glared at the two flirting with each other, and huffed angrily, while Ranma and Akane barely kept their amusement from showing. "Watanabe-san, please can we get to the purpose for this meeting?" he asked, moderately rudely.

"Pop, that wasn't terribly polite," Ranma chided, "And while this is far from a formal tea ceremony, there are still the rites of hospitality to observe."

"Well spoken, young Saotome," Hideo said. He sipped his tea once more and observed, "You must be very proud of your son, Nodoka, having one who is so knowledgeable of the proprieties in spite of the obvious difficulties he would have needed to overcome."

"I wish I could take the credit, Hideo, but my son and I have only been re-united for a relatively short time," Nodoka said.

Ranma chuckled and added, "Most of the credit would have to go to Kasumi-chan, Akane's eldest sister. She rather patiently brow-beat me into understanding how to behave."

Akane shook her head and said, "Kasumi, brow-beat someone? You have got to be kidding me?"

"Oh, and don't tell me you've never seen 'THE LOOK', because I won't believe you," Ranma retorted.

"Which look is that?" Nodoka asked.

"The one that shows how disappointed she is in your behavior," Akane replied, with a slightly guilty expression.

"Enough chit-chat!" Genma exclaimed, "Hideo----" He stopped at the stern look on the elder man's face and began again, "Watanabe-san is here on important business."

"Impatient as always, husband," Nodoka murmured.

"Saotome does have a point, however badly he made it," Hideo allowed, "And while I have enjoyed the conversation, I do need to get to the reason why I am here. And it directly affects young Saotome here."

"Me?" Ranma asked, and then he looked accusingly at his father, and asked, "What trouble have you gotten me into now? Another engagement, perhaps? Or worse?"

"You wrong me, ungrateful child!" Genma growled.

"No, I know you, old man," Ranma retorted. Akane reached out and placed her hand on his arm, and he sighed.

"Actually young Saotome, this should come as good news to you," Hideo said, smoothly, "I am the executor of your grandfather's estate, and it gives me great pleasure to finally be able to tell you of the bequest he left you."

"Bequest? From the little I know of the Saotome family, none of them had enough yen to leave anything behind," Ranma said, "Hell, anything that they might have once had that had any value was probably pawned for enough money for a couple of bottles of poor saké ages ago."

Genma actually had the audacity to look affronted.

"Then it's a good thing that I am talking about your maternal grandfather," Hideo replied, "He set up a bequest some time before you were born that you would be eligible to inherit under a set of specific circumstances. My presence here is to determine if you meet those conditions."

"My son surely has met any conditions that my father would have set for him," Nodoka said, proudly.

"Perhaps," Hideo demurred, "However, from the information that I have received from Saotome, your son has indeed met the first two conditions. One, that he has married, and two, that he is now considered a legal adult." He paused, for a moment, as Ranma and Akane traded grins. The old man sighed and said, "However, there is a third condition that I must determine if your son has met."

"What condition would that be?" Ranma asked.

Hideo hesitated for a moment and then replied, "Your grandfather was most upset at the fact that your mother and father had you at a very young age, even though they were married for some number of months at the time. He felt it reflected poorly on the family image, therefore, the final condition was that you could not receive the full inheritance before you were twenty-one."

"That's okay, then, we really don't need a lot of money until we graduate from college and begin re-establishing the dojo," Ranma said.

"And you must not have a child before then, either," Hideo added.

Akane started anxiously at that comment, while Ranma's face grew stony.

"Therefore, I need to ascertain as to whether the rumour of you becoming a father is correct or not," the old man finished.

"And if it was?" Ranma asked, an odd note in his voice.

"Don't worry, my boy, the money would then come to me," his father boasted.

"Oh, well, that's okay then," Ranma said, neutrally, "I know you would never try to cheat me out of what I had inherited." He carefully schooled his face to keep from rolling his eyes, while Akane had to bite her knuckle to keep from laughing out loud at that statement.

"Ranma is indeed a father-to-be," Nodoka said.

"Um, Saotome, I don't know why you believe my client would have left you the money in that eventuality. He never trusted you at all," Hideo said, his kindly mein disappearing, as he continued, "Indeed, the money would instead go to an orphanage in his home town."

Genma started, and said, "Wait a minute, that's not what I understood frm the paperwork I read."

"As executor, I can assure that is what the will stated," Hideo replied.

"But, that only happens if Ranma has a child before he turns twenty-one," Genma said, "So if somehow—" A loud SHWING was heard and in a blink of an eye, the pointy end of a blade was pressed against Genma's mouth.

"I would be very careful about the next words that roll off that tongue and leave your mouth, because if they are what I think they are, then your tongue will be right behind them," Nodoka hissed, her arm holding her sword completely rigid.

"But, No-chan," Genma began, sweat trickling down his brow as he felt the sharp point of the blade presing against his throat.

"Don't No-chan me," Nodoka spat as the temperature of the room dropped precipitously.

Genma gulped as the blade moved, creating a small scratch across his throat, as his life began to flash across his eyes, like a poor B-grade movie.

"Think of all that yen!" Genma essayed once more, "What we could do with it! I was only thinking of the family!"

"You know, I think my bullshit sensor just went off," Akane said, in a loud aside.

"Pop, have you ever heard the old saying that it is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt? I think that you've managed to prove that adage correct," Ranma said, disgustedly. The glare he then gave his father could have melted steel as he continued, "We've finally found out why you were so anxious for me to have a child, since you believed that you would then somehow obtain my trust fund. Now see what your greed has cost this family!"

Genma was reduced to a quivering pile of blubbering goo.

Nodoka sagged suddenly, the arm holding the sword dropping down and away from her husband. She sobbed, "How could you do that to your own child? And to even consider, no I can't even say the words. You aren't the man that I thought I married."

"Have we punished him enough?" Akane asked, in an aside.

Ranma pondered the question for a long time, but ultimately the anguish on his mother's face made it an easy decision. "I suppose so," he said, with a heartfelt sigh, "Though this is the final straw, I guess. I had so hoped that he had changed for Mom's sake, but this betrayal is unforgiveable. If only he hadn't shown what we now see as his true colours."

"What do you mean by that?" Nodoka asked, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Mom, Akane and I wanted to see just how far your husband was willing to go to obtain the trust fund that your father had left for me," Ranma replied, "After all, this is not the first time that Watanabe-san and I have met, is it sir?"

"No, as a matter of fact, it is not. I have already enjoyed the hospitality of the your home," Hideo replied, "And it was only a little over a week ago that I managed to track him down."

Flashback

_Nabiki stopped in mid sentence, and froze in her tracks, causing Ranma and Akane, who had merely been allowing her voice to wash over them, to glance up. To their surprise, on the street in front of their house stood a long, black, stretch limousine, which did nothing but scream MONEY at them. They then glance over at Nabiki, and gaped as she stood there, her eyes heavy-lidded, her breathing heavy, and the fact that she had omitted a bra in her wardrobe for the day blatantly obvious. A faint musky scent was coming from her direction._

_Akane glanced back and forth between her sister and the expensive car and muttered, "That's really pretty disturbing."_

"_I know she's always had a thing for money, but yeah, that's not something that I needed to see. Brain bleach, quick," Ranma added. After a second he said, "Of course, I'd also like to know why someone who has a vehicle like that would be parked outside our house."_

"_Well, we won't find out watching my sister," Akane groused, as she grabbed her sister by the arm, and forcibly dragged her around the corner and down the side street toward the challenge gate to the compound. As soon as she had turned the corner and the car was out of her sister's view, Nabiki shuddered._

"_I-I'm okay now," Nabiki stuttered, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment._

"_What brought that on? I know you have a fondness for money, but that was a bit extreme," Akane asked, glad that Ranma had chosen to go through the main entrance, allowing Nabiki some limited privacy._

"_I honestly don't know," Nabiki said, "Can we just drop the subject?"_

"_Sure, we can," Akane said, jumping over the wall and opening the gate from the inside to allow her sister to enter._

"_Why'd you jump over the wall?" Nabiki asked._

"_There's no latch on the outside," Akane said, "This gate can only be opened from the inside of the compound. That's how daddy set it up all those years ago when he opened the dojo and was accepting challenges."_

_The two sisters entered the house through the kitchen door and after taking their shoes off, headed to the family room, where they joined Ranma, Yumi, and a well-dressed elderly gentleman._

"_Mr. Watanabe, this is my wife Akane, and her sister Nabiki," Ranma said, "Akane, Nabiki, this is Mr. Watanabe. He was just about to tell us why he was here when you walked in."_

"_It is a pleasure to meet you lovely young ladies," the elderly gentleman said, bowing to them slightly._

"_Please, make yourself comfortable, while I see to the tea," Yumi said._

"_That would be nice," Watanabe said, "It was a long drive from Matsuyama."_

_Yumi smiled uncertainly, and bustled out of the family room._

"_You drove to Nerima from Matsuyama? That is a long trip," Nabiki asked._

"_Yes, I absolutely loath flying, and the train is not much better in my opinion," the old man said, as he sat down._

"_It must be something important to have caused you to take this much trouble," Akane said, as she knelt next to her husband._

"_Yes, it is. I have the honour of being the senior partner at the law firm that represented your grandfather, and thus am the executor of his will," Watanabe said._

_Ranma asked, "Executor?"_

"_The person who is charged with making sure that the provisions of a will are performed correctly," Akane answered, frowning slightly._

"_I can't imagine that the Saotome family had anything of value that would need a will," Ranma said._

"_Nor can I, from what I know of your father's family," Watanabe replied, "I am referring to your mother's family, of course."_

_Nabiki's eyes lit up, almost as if the pupils had turned into yen symbols, as she asked, "So they were wealthy?"_

"_Well, moderately well-to-do, I suppose," the old man replied._

"_Mom hasn't really talked about her family since we've been reunited. When did my grandfather join our ancestors?" Ranma asked, as Yumi scurried in with the tea. The next several minutes were spent in serving the tea, and then waiting for everyone to drink some._

_Watanabe replied, "Some number of years ago, actually. Fortunately, I knew where your mother was living so I was able to give her access to her small trust fund, but she didn't know where you were at the time. It was only after one of my legal assistants recognised your name in a list of people who had gotten married that we were able to track you down, since we now had the name of Soun Tendo and Akane Tendo to search for as well."_

"_I see, that actually makes some sense," Ranma said slowly._

"_So what is his inheritance?" Nabiki asked._

"_Actually, Miss Tendo, he has a small trust fund set up in his name, from which he can now draw the interest. He is not allowed to touch the principal however, unless he meets certain conditions," the old man replied._

"_What conditions are those?" Ranma asked._

"_First of all, you must be married, so obviously you meet that condition," the old man replied. "I must ask, however, are you pregnant, Mrs. Saotome?"_

"_Um, no, I'm not, but that's a pretty personal question," Akane replied, shortly._

"_I'm an old man, with not a lot of time left. I'm allowed to be rude," the old man retorted, a genial smile on his face._

"_Actually, we want to finish high school, and at least get some of our university studies completed before we even consider raising a family," Ranma said, "So that won't happen for several years if all goes as we plan."_

"_That isn't a condition of the will, is it? That we have a child, that is," Akane asked._

"_No, actually that would disqualify you from inheriting," Watanabe replied, "Your grandfather set up the trust in his will shortly after he found out his daughter was with child. However, he was upset with her for both marrying so young and having a child as soon as she did, that he wanted to ensure that his money would not go to another under-age couple with a child."_

"_Did my father know about the trust?" Ranma asked, "Because if he did, then there's something odd going on."_

"_Well, from what I understand, he did find out about the trust fund, and the provision about being of age before you were a father," Watanabe replied, "Though he believes that if you do have a child before then, he gains control of the fund."_

"_And why would he believe that?" Nabiki asked._

"_Because that is what Yusaku-san told Saotome," Watanabe replied._

_Ranma traded a puzzled glance with his wife and asked, "Why would he do that?"_

"_He did not trust your father farther than he could throw him," Watanabe replied, "That's why your mother's trust is set up so that only she can receive income from it, and that's why the bulk of his money to you is set up so that you have to be of age to receive it. But he was afraid that you would take up after your father, and therefore he told your father what he did."_

"_Huh?" Ranma asked._

"_If you were like Saotome, you would be a creature of your appetites, and wouldn't take the time to make sure that everything was taken care of before engaging in them," the old man said._

_Akane leaned over and whispered, "Contraception," in her husband's ear._

"_Well, aside from liking to eat, I'm pretty much nothing like the old man," Ranma said._

"_So what would happen if Akane did get pregnant before Ranma was twenty-one?" Nabiki asked._

"_Oh, the money would be given away to a local orphanage to help take care of the children there," Watanabe replied._

"_Explains why he is so eager for me to have a kid, then, doesn't it?" Ranma asked._

_Akane nodded her head, and replied, "And gives us a good reason for us not to. It would be nice to have a small nest egg as we try to get the dojo back into being a going concern."_

"_What will you study in college?" the old man asked._

"_Well, since we want to run the dojo, I plan on majoring in Physical Education, with a Business minor," Ranma replied._

"_And I will do the reverse, and major in Business, most likely with a Marketing emphasis, and add an Education minor," Akane added, "That way we will have the skill sets we need to run a business between the two of us."_

"_Not that we wouldn't mind you helping, Nabiki, but we figured that you would rather try your wings out in big business," Ranma added as he spotted the shocked expression on the girl's face._

"_True, since I want to go into Finance, it would be better for me if I didn't have to help you guys out. But, that's only when I start ascending the corporate ladder," Nabiki replied, "I can help at least a little until then."_

_Watanabe growled, "I must be getting senile. I nearly forgot about the college money."_

"_What?" Ranma asked._

"_Your grandfather set aside another fund dedicated as a college fund for you," the old man replied, "And I completely forgot about it."_

"_Is it enough for both Akane and I? I have to admit, I was worried about paying for an education," Ranma asked._

"_Well, not for something like Todai," Watanabe replied, "But for one of the less expensive schools, more than likely it would cover the tuition for both of your for several years. Room and board, on the other hand, you'd have to figure out a way to cover that."_

"_Well, since we were thinking of the local college, that shouldn't be an issue. We own this house, and have enough money coming in to feed everyone that lives here," Akane said._

"_Excellent," Watanabe said, pulling an expensive pocket-watch from his fob pocket and checking the time. Snapping the cover shut, he opened his briefcase and pulled out a large manila envelope with the kanji for "Ranma Saotome" written in heavy ink, and said, "Here are the particulars on the two funds. I will make arrangements for the interest payments to be sent to you on a monthly basis, and when you get ready to start college, forward the monies for that to you as well. Now, unfortunately, I have another appointment in an hour, so I must be off."_

"_This certainly was an unexpected surprise," Ranma said, as he rose gracefully from the floor, an action that was repeated by the elderly gentleman, much to everyone else's surprise._

"_I'm old, not infirm," Watanabe said, a bit acidly._

"_Two of the best martial artists that I have met were quite old," Ranma said, mildly, "Much older than you, in fact, so I certainly try not to underestimate anyone because of their age."_

"_Wise of you," Watanabe replied, as he made his way toward the front door, followed by the young couple. When they reached the front door, they waited politely for the old man to put his shoes on and then they bowed him out the door._

"_Again, it was a pleasure to meet you and your family," Watanabe said._

_Akane replied, "It was an honour to meet you as well."_

"_Yes, what she said," Ranma echoed awkwardly._

"_Need to work on those social graces, young man," Watanabe said, with a grin._

_Akane rolled her eyes and said, "You have no idea how far he's come since he moved in here."_

"_I wasn't that bad," Ranma retorted, then looked worried and asked, "Was I?"_

_Akane and Watanabe chuckled and the old man made his way down the walk to the main gate._

"_Well, that was an interesting afternoon," Akane said._

"_Yes it was," Ranma said, cracking his knuckles. He smiled evilly and asked, "Gee, I wonder where Pop is? I feel like I need a good punching bag right about now, and he's a perfect candidate for that. First, the Yamanakas, and now this. He's got a lot to answer for."_

"_He's run off somewhere, remember. Your mom called all upset about the visit that the Yamanakas made, and she mentioned that he had 'gone off on a training trip,' the evening before," Akane replied._

"_I know, I was on the other line," Ranma replied, "It was sort of a rhetorical question. How many more ways can he manage to try to screw up my life, anyways?"_

"_Do you really want an answer to that?" Akane shot back, with a smirk._

_Ranma replied, a rueful smile on his face, "Probably not."_

_The young couple chuckled at that and then returned to the family room, where they found Yumi rapidly fanning Nabiki who was sitting with a dazed expression on her face, with the contents of the manila envelope littering the floor around her._

"_What's wrong with her?" Akane asked._

"_She couldn't resist opening the envelope to find out how much your inheritance was," Yumi replied, a smirk on her face, "And well, she was shocked at what she found."_

"_Shouldn't read other people's mail," Akane snarked as she picked up the papers, and glancing through them to find what the bottom line was. "Oh dear," she said, simply, as she collapsed onto the floor, "He certainly has a different definition of a little inheritance."_

"_Oh?" Ranma asked._

_Nabiki slowly regained control of herself and asked, "Hey sis, you want to trade grooms?"_

"_No, I'm rather fond of my husband," Akane said, "I think I'll keep him and __**his**__ money, thank you very much."_

"_Okay, how much is my little inheritance?" Ranma asked._

_Akane handed him the package and replied, "It was established when you were born, in the amount of thirty million."_

"_But, with the passage of time, and reinvestment of the returns, it's nearly tripled in value," Nabiki added._

"_Oh dear," Ranma said, swaying slightly at the amount, "That's a lot of yen, isn't it?"_

"_Oh yes, it is," Yumi replied, "You certainly have the nest egg you need to bring the dojo back to the school it once was."_

"_I can't believe your father would try to steal this from you," Akane said._

"_Excuse me; we are talking abou the same old fat, balding man, aren't we? He's a liar, a cheat and a thief, and those are his good qualities," Nabiki said, in disbelief._

"_That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Yumi asked._

_Ranma sighed and answered, "No, it's accurate enough. I've long since lost any respect I had for him, other than that of his skills as a martial artist, but she's right. Even the techniques that he created that make up the Umi-senken were developed to help burglars steal things without being detected. And don't forget, he stole the Kuonjis' yattai, back when I was six."_

"_It's just that I thought he was getting better, trying to really work things out so Nodoka would be proud of him once more," Akane said, with a sigh, "She's going to be so disappointed when she finds out."_

"_We aren't going to tell her quite yet," Nabiki said, a twisted grin on her face, "I have a plan. But we'll need Watanabe-san's help to pull it of, though we'll have to wait for your father to return before we can start."_

_Ranma shook his head and said, "I'm not sure what you have in mind, but from the look on your face, I'm not sure I want to."_

"_We are going to prank your father, that's what we are going to do," Nabiki replied, "And you and Akane have the starring roles."_

"_Now I'm really worried," Ranma said, with a shudder._

End Flashback

"So all of this was only a ruse to trap your father?" Nodoak asked, testily.

Akane smiled an evil smile, and replied, "Yes, with Watanabe-san's able assistance we wanted to find out exactly what kind of man your husband was, and precisely how far he would go in his greed."

Ranma added, sorrowfully, "And to no one's great surprise, he was able to lower himself to the occasion." He took a deep breath, and clasped his wife's hand, and said, "As you have probably determined from what we have said, Akane and I are not actually expecting a child, nor are we intending on having one until I turn at least twenty-one, as we have already planned."

"Not that his trust fund really has anything to do with that decision," Akane said, hastily, "Other than perhaps reinforce it as the correct decision."

"Thank you for your assistance, Watanabe-san," Ranma said, rising to his feet and bowing deeply to the elderly gentleman.

"It was an honour to do so," Hideo replied, "And I am happy to see that you take after your mother's father, and not your own. I will take my leave, and allow you to take whatever measures are required, as this is obviously a family issue now, and not one that concerns any outsiders." He rose, and bowed deeply to Nodoka, murmuring, "I am sorry for you that your father was indeed correct in his assessment of your husband. If you ever need my assistance, please do not hesitate to get in contact with my office."

Nodoka sighed as she rose from her knees, and placed her blade back on the display stand from which she had snatched it. She then bowed in response. "It was indeed an honour to meet you again after all of these years, and let me thank you again for all of the assistance you gave me when Genma and Ranma left all those years ago. However, as to my husband, well, I swore an oath," she said.

"I understand," Hideo said, his face impassive. He bowed to Ranma and Akane and repeated, "If you also ever have need, please don't hesitate. It is the least that I can do for my old friend's grandchild, and his lovely wife." He then made his way out of the family room, quickly followed by Nodoka.

"Well Pop, looks like you 've managed to put your foot in it again," Ranma said, "When will you ever actually realise the consequences of your actions? You get some preconceived notion about something, and run with it, not understanding that your beliefs are wrong, and in the process someone, usually me, gets hurt. Do me a favour, and just stay the hell away from me and mine from now on. Akane already told you that you were no longer welcome in our home, let me reiterate, they will be issuing iceskates in the Hell of the Christians before you are allowed there." He sighed, and pulled Akane to her feet. "Let's go home," he said, "I feel unclean."

Genma rose to his feet and said, "You ungrateful child. After all of the sacrifices that I made, this is how you treat me, your father?"

Ranma's eye twitched as he turned. "You never ever learn do you Saotome," he hissed, "You stopped being my father a long time ago, instead all you are to me is a sperm donor to my mother. You had better damn well hope that Konatsu has children, because if he doesn't your family name dies with you."

"What do you mean, Ranma?" Akane asked, suddenly pale.

"Any of our children will be Tendos," Ranma replied, "If it weren't for the hassle, I'd change our surname as well."

"I see, in that case, maybe after I scrub the stench of your father off of you, we could practise on making those children," Akane said, archly, as she pulled her husband down the hall and away from the sputtering old man. They met Nodoka at the front door, who looked at them sadly.

"Mom, I don't want to get into now," Ranma said, quickly before she could say anything, "He's betrayed me for the last time, and I won't put up with it any longer. He's your husband, and that's the end of it as far as I'm concerned." A 'gentle' nudge in his ribs had him rapidly correct that to, "As far as we're concerned."

"You and the rest of the family are always welcome, just leave the panda at home," Akane added, as the young couple swept out the front door, leaving an extremely pensive woman behind her. They walked silently down the street, holding hands to give the other one some modicum of comfort while they processed what had occured.

Finally, Akane asked, "How much of that are you going to go through with, Ranma? I mean, I don't mind our children taking on the Tendo name, but that's a big step to take from a cultural standpoint."

Ranma reached up with his free hand and ran it through his hair, in a nervous gesture. "Honestly, I don't know. I am so furious with him that I can't really think straight. You do know what he was about to suggest, don't you?"

"Yes, that I get rid of our child," Akane said, flatly, "And if Mother Saotome hadn't gotten to him first, I would have killed him for even thinking of such a horrid thought. And on top of that, it wouldn't have worked anyway, the stupid arse. The condition on the trust wasn't you having a child, it was getting a girl pregnant."

"That's right, it was, wasn't it?" Ranma exclaimed, "Then he really doesn't ever really pay attention to anything that he reads. He only hears or reads what he wants to, and ignores anything that doesn't match his desires."

"I know, and like you, usually that ends up you getting screwed in some way," Akane said, a bit more crudely than she usually spoke. She sighed, and pulled him into a brief hug, and then asked, "I noticed you really avoided the question though. What are you going to do when we start having children?"

Ranma grimaced and replied, "Well, since that's at a minimum of three years away, maybe by then Pop will have learned to behave." He chuckled at the expression on his wife's face and said, "Well, I can dream, can't I?"

"I suppose, though based on his track record I don't hold out much hope," Akane said, "Now, let's hurry home, remember we have a long soak in the furo, and then some quality time."

"Looking forward to the practise, I see?" Ranma teased.

Akane grinned and replied, "Don't hear you complaining."

"Wasn't a complaint, merely a comment," Ranma said.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Saotome home, things were not going terribly well for the part-time panda as his wife entered the family room before he could escape. "You do know that you have just lost a son, don't you?" Nodoka hissed angrily.

"The boy is just overreacting," Genma said, not even convincing himself, "All this will blow over in a few days."

Nodoka sneered at him and retorted, "Surely you aren't stupid enough to believe that. Your greed has destroyed any possibility of a relationship with Ranma, and I don't think he will ever forgive you for what you tried to do." She sighed and added, "And that doesn't even consider what it does for our alleged relationship. I've overlooked much of your flaws in an attempt to keep our marriage, but this is the final straw. We are finished. The only thing that is letting you stay here is the girls. They would be devastated if you left. So thank whatever gods that you worship for them, otherwise you would be out on the street right now."

"But, No-chan," Genma foolishly began.

"You have lost that privilege, Saotome," Nodoka said, "Now get out of my sight, and make sure all of your things are back in the guest room."

Genma blustered, "You are blowing things way out of proportion."

Nodoka's eyes narrowed and she exploded, "Out of proportion! You attempted to steal my son's inheritance from my father, and then had the audacity to begin to suggest that Akane not keep her child. Even though I suspected that her being pregnant was not true, it was still wrong of you to even think that." She glanced over at her blade for a moment, a gesture that was not lost on Genma, as he paled. "Now, get before I lose what little patience I have," she said, moving toward the display stand.

Genma vanished before she neared the blade, only the faint beads of sweat he left behind showing that he had been present.

* * *

Author's Note: First of all, welcome to the New Year, with a small present for you. Once more Gentle Readers, I trust that you have enjoyed this next installment of my story. As always, guest appearances are still the property of the original owners, and I am merely borrowing them for my own amusement, and hopefully yours. Reviews and constructive criticism is encouraged and welcomed. This chapter took several tries to get it the way I wanted it, trying to walk a tightrope between making Genma too wicked. Until later

Kayemsi


	91. Attempts at Atonement

Chapter 91 Attempts at Atonement

Kasumi shared a worried look with Yumi as they stood in the kitchen working on the evening meal. The roiling in the spirit of the house was intense, perhaps even intense enough that the insensitives in the house could feel it.

"Ranma!" Kasumi gasped as she felt the owner of the home step onto the property and recognised that he was the source of the disturbance.

"No, not him alone, Akane is furious," Yumi corrected, as they both felt Akane storm through the gate.

Kasumi exclaimed, "Oh my!" as they felt the young couple bypass the house itself, and immediately enter the dojo, which was quickly followed by the ejection of everyone else who had been present. While gentle, the ejection had been firm, and the closing of the dojo door, and the ominous sound of large crashes coming from the interior did little to encourage anyone to approach. Instead, Nabiki, Hinako and Sayuri traded astonished looks before taking the prudent course and heading back toward the house.

"I think I've done enough sparring for the afternoon," Hinako said, her voice carrying through the open window and into the kitchen where the matriarchs of the household were listening intently.

"Yes, and I still have that set of financial reports to go through that I've been putting off," Nabiki added.

"Mom said something about hemming my dress, I suppose I should go get that for her," Sayuri finished as the three girls fled the area.

Soun came storming into the kitchen, dressed in Samurai garb and carrying his large spear. "What danger is that I feel?" he cried as he stopped in his tracks to see no obvious threat.

"Ranma and Akane have returned from his parents, and they do not appear to be happy about something," Yumi explained quickly.

"And I'm pretty sure you don't need your armour," Kasumi added, "Besides, it is so hard to get it clean."

"Well, then, I guess I'll um, well," Soun said, deflating visibly as he turned to leave.

"Yumi, why don't you help Daddy with that," Kasumi said, "I suspect dinner needs to be delayed for a bit anyway, so I'll have plenty of time to finish by myself."

Yumi glanced over at her daughter for a moment, and saw the flash of mischief in the younger woman's face. "Sure, though since I really don't like the smell of leather and sweat, he'll need to soak in the furo for a little while," she said, impishly.

"Just make sure the sign is out, wouldn't want to shock the children," Kasumi retorted, causing Yumi to blush while Soun looked on cluelessly, until she pulled him out of the kitchen. Kasumi giggled for a few moments, and then sighed, suddenly missing her husband, even though he would be home in just a little while.

Akane and Ranma staggered out of the dojo, both of them covered in white powder streaked with sweat. "Feeling better, Ranma?" she asked.

"A little bit," Ranma admitted, "Nothing like breaking a few dozen cinderblocks to get rid of some anger, is there?"

Akane grinned sheepishly and replied, "It always seems to work for me. I figured it was worth a shot, and I'd rather you take your anger out on some defenseless blocks than me."

Ranma chuckled rustily and retorted, "You know I would never do that. Your temper is worse than mine, and I would hate to set that off."

Akane swatted him gently on the shoulder and smirked. "I'm not **that** violent," she said.

The two of them shared a look and then burst out laughing at the absurdity of that statement.

Kasumi glanced back out the window when she felt the change in the spirit, and smiled sadly. Whatever had been bothering her sister and brother was at least under control, though the underlying sense of sadness permeating the house would be troublesome for the next several days.

Natsume slid open the door to the engawa and spotted her father leaning against the back fence, surrounded by several empty bottles. She called, "Father, Mother wanted me to tell you that dinner was ready."

Genma looked at her and then with a sigh heaved himself up. "I'll clean up these dead soldiers after dinner," he said, walking slowly toward her across the otherwise immaculate lawn.

Natsume stepped back into the family room, and took her place at the table.

Genma walked in and stopped in his tracks. Instead of the meal he was expecting, a large pile of bamboo shoots had been placed on the table at the spot where he normally sat. With a sigh, he disappeared for a moment, only to return in his cursed form and plop down gracelessly at the table.

Nodoka entered the family room, carrying a tray, which she carefully set down on the table. She then knelt gracefully, and began serving the meal to her daughters, ignoring the panda sitting at the far end of the table from her.

The panda sniffed the air in appreciation of the food being passed around, and then with a defeated air, began chomping noisily on the tender shoots.

The mood around the dinner table was grim. Natsume had sensed something was wrong when she had called her father in for the evening meal, an impression that was only being reinforced by the wrongness now literally screaming in her ear. Her mother was hiding a fierce anger behind a silent mask of indifference, while her father, who usually seemed larger than life with his boisterous behaviour, now appeared old and defeated, even in his cursed form. Her sister, who was normally oblivious to what went on around her, especially if there was food on the table, had actually managed to pick up on the mood, and was unusually quiet, and indeed seemed to have little appetite, since she had only had four servings of food.

In fact, at that very moment, a subdued Kurumi asked, "Mother, I seem to be done. May I be excused?"

"Of course, dear," Nodoka replied, "Though I believe it is your turn to do the dishes."

"Yes, it is," Kurumi replied, as she rose gracefully from her knees. Carefully balancing her dirty dishes, she headed towards the kitchen.

The panda finished its bamboo, a look of disgust on its face, and held up a sign that read, 'Could I have some hot water?'

Natsume replied, "I'll bring you some, Father, as I too am finished." She rose and gathered her dishes, and left the room, returning shortly with a pot of water.

The panda took the pot from her, and began to lift it over its head, only to stop at the glare it was receiving from both women in the room. It bowed its head slightly and rose from the table, and then padded out through the door into the backyard.

Natsume waited until her father had left the room, and then asked, "Mother, I can tell something is wrong. What has happened?"

Nodoka frowned slightly and replied, "Your father has angered your brother and his wife, and indeed has acted dishonourably toward them. How we can get past that is unknown to me at this time. Because of his actions, he has lost our son, who no longer acknowledges him."

Natsume sighed heavily. "That is not good, not good at all," she said.

"A major understatement there, my daughter," Nodoka said, "But do not let this affect your relationship with my husband."

"How can I not?" Natsume asked, quietly, before sadly leaving the room.

Nodoka sighed heavily once more and then took a final sip of her tea, before gazing at the uncommon sight of a table with uneaten food in the serving dishes.

Her husband entered the room, a towel wrapped around his neck, carrying the pot that was filled with empty bottles that once contained Kirin Ichiban. He sat down at the table and placed the pot in front of him, before grimacing in pain.

"What's wrong?" Nodoka asked, as he quickly grabbed his glass of water and poured it over himself, returning him to his cursed form.

'I changed back too soon' FLIP 'after eating all of those bamboo shoots' FLIP 'and it wasn't sitting right in my stomach' FLIP 'after I changed.' FLIP 'Remind me not to do that again!' the panda's sign read in rapid succession.

"Humans aren't really set up to digest raw bamboo shoot, which is why we boil them first, I suppose to break down the cellulose fibers," Nodoka admitted.

'No wonder it was sitting heavy' FLIP 'in my stomach,' the sign read. After a moment, the panda showed another sign 'I really don't like the taste of' FLIP 'raw bamboo shoot, plus it leaves' FLIP 'splinters in my teeth.' FLIP 'How long is this going to last?'

"Until I'm no longer angry with you," Nodoka replied calmly.

'Then I guess I'd better' FLIP 'learn to like the taste,' read the sign. The panda sighed heavily and held up another sign, 'I wanted to talk,' FLIP 'but this takes too long. Perhaps later tonight?'

"I'm looking forward to it," Nodoka said, an almost feral grin on her face as she rose gracefully from her knees and began gathering the dishes from the table.

The panda clambered to its feet and padded silently out into the backyard, where it sat down on the engawa, a morose expression on its face.

* * *

Genma stuck his head into the family room, and spotted his wife sitting by the table, reading a book and sipping daintily from her cup of tea. His daughter Natsume was sitting next to her, working on what appeared to be schoolwork. When she spotted him, she silently gathered up all of her books and papers, and left the room. Sighing heavily, he walked into the room, and sat by his wife. "Can we talk, now?" he asked, quietly.

Nodoka carefully marked her place with a bookmark, and closed the book. "I suppose we can," she replied.

Genma gazed at her, a pensive look on his face, and then said, a little harshly, "You certainly were friendly with Watanabe the other day."

Nodoka blushed prettily and retorted, "Uncle Hideo is in his late sixties, perhaps early seventies. If he wants to flirt a bit, well, he's mostly harmless."

"Uncle Hideo, is it?" Genma asked.

Nodoka replied, "I've known him most of my life, Genma. In fact, one of my earliest memories is he bouncing me on his knee when I was just a toddler. And at one time, he could have been my father-in-law, since his youngest son and I were good friends growing up. But we considered each other brother and sister, so our parents took that into consideration. And then, you came along, and the rest is history."

"I didn't know that," Genma admitted.

Nodoka looked at him and said, "I'm sure that's not what you wanted to talk to me about, though, my relationship with Uncle Hideo."

"No, it's not, but I am having difficulty coming up with the words," Genma admitted.

"Well, perhaps you could answer me some questions, then," Nodoka suggested.

Genma scowled, but nodded his head. "I suspect you have a few," he replied.

"Did you really care for me, or were you just after the money you expected my father to give us?" Nodoka asked.

Genma replied, "I didn't even know that your family was reasonably well-off when I met you. So, my feelings for you were real then, and are just as real now." He shrugged and added, "The money just would have been something extra." After a moment, he continued, bitterly, "Of course, since your father set things up so neither of us could access your trust fund directly, it didn't change anything for us financially. After all, not even this house is really ours. It belongs to your family and they just let you live here after I went on the training trip with Ranma, and the trust fund pays for the utilities and maintenance."

"I don't think father really trusted you," Nodoka admitted, "And I did force him to accept you in spite of his doubts."

"You should have listened to him, most likely. I haven't been the best of husbands, and obviously a worse father on top of that," Genma said.

Nodoka shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Perhaps, but then I wouldn't have Ranma as my son. And that makes up for some of what you have done. And we did have a few good years together."

"Yes, we did, at least until I let my foolish pride ruin things," Genma replied.

"Pride?" Nodoka asked.

Genma sighed heavily and then replied, "Yes, I wasn't earning a lot of money as a martial artist during our early years, just barely enough to make ends meet, so it seemed to me that I was failing in my duties as a husband and father. That's one of the reasons why I finally decided to leave you and take Ranma on that training trip, and that's a large part of the reason why I stayed away for so long." He stared at the floor for a long time and then admitted, "And that's why I was so willing to take our son's inheritance from him, since I had convinced myself that it was rightfully mine. After all, wasn't I training him to be the best martial artist of his generation, and shouldn't I receive something for those labours?"

Nodoka frowned in disappointment, and said, "That's horrible, Genma. How could you justify that, even to yourself?"

Genma replied, ponderously, "Neither Tendo or I escaped from the Master's clutches unscathed, Nodoka. Part of his training techniques focused on our greatest flaws, making them even worse, perhaps in an attempt to turn them into strengths, somehow. Or knowing Happosai, just to give him some jollies. I am far from perfect, I admit that, and easily two of my biggest flaws are my laziness, and not to put too fine a point on it, my greed. Even though we managed to get away from him, the damage was done after spending as many years with him as we had done. I knew that I could never be his match, but I saw something in Ranma that led me to believe that he could be the one to defeat Happosai. That was why I was so adamant about his training, and why I decided that I needed to take him on that trip to toughen him. But, the damage the Master had done perverted even that. So on those dark, lonely nights, my doubts began to erode my somewhat noble intentions, and the thought of all that money awaiting him, began to destroy me. I suppose, subconsciously, that is why I promised him to so many girls, hoping that he would succumb. But fortunately, he is made of stronger stuff than I, and refused to yield to temptation."

"He is likely to never forgive you, and I know Akane never will. You have lost any chance of having a relationship with them, and if you have cost me the chance of being with their children, you won't live to regret it," Nodoka said, coldly.

Genma replied, "I'm aware of that. Indeed, I intend on concentrating on our girls, training them to be the best that they can be. They also have a great deal of potential, and could be an asset to Ranma's school when he decides to bring it back to life. As to the other, Ranma and Akane both care for you. They will never shut you out, so long as you don't side with me in any fashion. I'm already the villain in this tale, so vilify me as much as you need to with them. Just help me with Natsume and Kurumi, so that they continue to look up to me."

"Natsume is already aware that there are issues," Nodoka admitted.

Genma sighed heavily and said, "That may complicate things." He clambered ponderously to his feet and added, "No matter, all I can do is move forward now. What's past is past, and I can do nothing to change it now." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, "Wait here, please." He left the family room, and then returned shortly, several battered volumes in his hands. "I'd like you to read these," he said, placing them next to her.

"What are they?" Nodoka asked, picking up the topmost book.

"They are the journals I kept, from the time I began to train with Tendo and the Master, until I finally returned to you here," Genma replied, "I don't know whether this will salvage our relationship or not, but perhaps you will discover why I did the things I did. Much in there I am ashamed of, but remember, I did succeed in developing Ranma into the best martial artist there is. At any rate, it can't make things any worse than they are, I suppose." He gazed down at the woman he still loved, and feared, then with a sigh, vanished once more to leave her alone, for better or for worse.

Nodoka stared down at the book, and opened it with trembling hands. Slowly, she began to read the barely legible script.

* * *

Natsume closed her textbook and set it aside. She stretched for a moment, and then glanced over at her clock. 'Not too late,' she thought, 'and Mother did say there was some ice cream in the freezer.' Rising from her desk, she left her room, and headed toward the kitchen, only to stop for a moment as a shriek of rage came from downstairs. She sprinted down the stairs and burst into the family room, where she found her mother breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face, a bottle of plum wine on the table in front of her, with a partially emptied glass next to it. "Mother, what is wrong?" she asked, rushing to the distraught woman.

"Where is he, that bastard? I'll castrate him with a rusty knife!" Nodoka suddenly shrieked, "How could he do that to my son?"

Genma had just stuck his head around the door when he heard that, and promptly paled. And just as quickly, vanished as if he had never been.

"Mother, who did what to Ranma?" Natsume asked, as Kurumi burst into the room, a heaping bowl of ice cream in her hand, and a suspicious chocolate stain around her mouth.

Nodoka gulped half her glass of wine, and slammed the wineglass down on the table. Breathing deeply, she slowly regained control of her emotions, and she replied, "I am sorry, my daughters, for scaring you like that."

The icy tone of the woman in front of her was even scarier than before. Natsume tried once more and asked, "What has upset you so badly, Mother?"

"Your father gave me his journals to read," Nodoka replied, the temperature of the room dropping as she spoke, "And it described the insane methods he used to train my son."

"I see," Natsume replied, "But, not to defend Father's actions, did he not turn Brother into one of the finest martial artists around?"

Nodoka sighed and answered, "Yes, he did manage to do that, though I am reasonably sure tying fish around my son and tossing him into a pit of starving cats was not a proper method of instruction. Especially since it only partially worked. And that is one of the sanest methods he used!"

Natsume gasped and then her eyes narrowed. "Mother, I believe our father, your husband, is not worthy of that honour," she finally said.

"I am not totally without blame in this," Nodoka said, softly, "After all, I acquiesced in allowing him to take my son, your brother, on the training trip."

"But you could not know what that man would do," Kurumi said, "So you have nothing to blame yourself for."

"IF only that were true," Nodoka replied, bitterly. She bowed her head for a moment, and then gazed upon the two girls who she had come to love. "I have much to atone for as well, my dear girls, but I know some of what I must do," she said, "I have much work ahead of me."

"What can we do to help?" Natsume asked, while her sister nodded her agreement, "He is our brother, after all."

Nodoka gazed at them thoughtfully for a moment and then nodded decisively. "Yes, the two of you should be involved, since what your father did affected you two as well," she said.

* * *

Kurumi flowed around her opponent's blow, and realising that Natsume had overextended, attempted to attack her, only to discover to her dismay that her older sister had been expecting that, and counterattacked with a snap kick. That blow managed to connect and knocked the smaller girl back against the stone wall surrounding the Saotome home. Panting heavily, Kurumi raised a hand to concede the point.

Natsume stepped back and tossed her a water bottle, before taking a long pull on another. Brushing her damp hair off of her forehead, she said, "I thought you would miss that feint."

"Yeah, I really thought you had overcommitted. I should have known better," Kurumi replied, ruefully, as she slid down the wall to sit on the grass.

"You still managed to get a few points," Natsume said, cheerfully, as she sank down on the grass as well. She pulled her damp top away from her torso and allowed the mild breeze to slowly dry her off.

"Not enough, though," her sister said, before sipping from her bottle.

After a few minutes resting, Natsume clambered to her feet. "Ready for round two?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready to kick your butt this time," Kurumi replied, rising from the ground and getting into her stance.

"You and what army?" Natsume jeered.

Suddenly, Genma stepped out of the house and said, "Good, you two are warmed up, and ready to train."

"I'm sorry, Father, but we've just finished," Natsume said coldly, "Come sister, we should clean up and then help Mother by doing our chores."

"Of course, sister," Kurumi said, picking up her water bottle, and then followed her into the house, ignoring their father's crestfallen expression.

* * *

Ranma and Akane followed the attendant down the short hallway, a puzzled expression on their faces, until the elegantly dressed woman stopped at one of the sliding doors. "This is where I leave you," the woman said, softly, before bowing to them.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ranma slid the shoji open, to expose a small anteroom, with his sisters kneeling on the wooden floor, Natsume dressed in a gorgeous blue kimono, with a flowery pattern cascading across her shoulder and down her body, while Kurumi was in a matching kimono, only in red. Each of them had an ewer in their hands, with a matching basin on the floor in front of them. Ranma and Akane traded looks, realising that they were here for a formal tea ceremony, though they were both wondering why Nodoka wished to do so. They entered the room, and slid the door shut.

"There are clothes for you to change into, hanging on the wall there," Natsume said, in greeting.

Ranma and Akane glanced over and saw two old-fashioned kimonos hanging over a ornate wooden screen that formed a small, discrete, dressing area. The kimonos were obviously heirlooms.

"They are kimonos that have been handed down in Mother's family for several generations," Kurumi added, "They are used only on rare occasion."

"Mother Saotome does me great honour," Akane whispered, as she moved behind the screen and carefully reached out one trembling hand toward the garments, only to pull it back. "That silk looks so fragile, I'm actually afraid to touch it," she said, softly.

Ranma joined her behind the screen and gazed at the five family crests adorning his black kimono. "Formal indeed," he said, glancing over at his wife.

Akane looked at the pile of clothing set aside of her and said, breathlessly, "This has all of the pieces. I don't think I can put all of this on by myself."

Ranma frowned slightly and said, "I don't think I can help you. Why don't I get dressed in my kimono, since I don't seem to have the same number of pieces as yours."

"Brother, are you going to need help?" Kurumi asked.

"I'm not, at least I don't think so, but Akane will," Ranma replied, "Hopefully Mom taught you two how to put everything together."

"This is our mother you are speaking of," Natsume said, frostily.

"Ah, right, of course she did," Ranma said, quickly.

* * *

Ranma gingerly set the delicate tea cup on the floor in front of him, and waited while his companions finished the final parts of the ritual.

His mother picked up all of the bowls and placed them on the tray next to her, and bowed to him. "My son," she said, softly, "I have come to beg for your forgiveness for the wrongs I have committed against you."

"Mom, I'm unsure of what wrongs you think you have committed," Ranma replied, hesitantly.

"Ah, of course, your heart is so large that you don't even know where I have wronged you," Nodoka breathed. She bowed her head for a moment, and then explained, "I wronged you greatly when I allowed that man to take you away from me for so long, and to let him do the horrid things to you that he did."

Ranma glanced over at Akane, and mouthed, "Help!"

"Um, Mother Saotome, are you perhaps refering to the training trip your husband took Ranma on?" Akane asked.

"Precisely that," Nodoka replied.

"Um, I don't see why you need my forgiveness for that," Ranma blurted.

"He did so many terrible things to you, all in the name of training, that I allowed to happen," Nodoka said.

"I'm not sure I understand," Ranma said, after a long moment.

"Mother read our father's journals," Natsume amplified.

Ranma looked at his mother thoughtfully and then said, slowly, "While he used many insane training techniques, most of which I would be unwilling to subject anyone else to, he did succeed in his objective, to turn me into the best martial artist that I could be, a true man among men."

"I have agreed that he did so," Nodoka said.

"And yes, there are several things that I regret about the training trip, however I have also done some crazy things in my own quest for additional training, so I cannot fault him for what he did in that respect," Ranma said, looking his mother proudly in the eye, "I do regret that I came to the Tendo home with many rough edges, especially considering what I had to have subjected Kasumi and Akane to, and even more do I regret that he did not encourage me to learn anything other than martial arts. And I definitely could have lived without going to Jusenkyo."

"But the Neko-ken, it has crippled you," Nodoka protested, "Causing you to fear cats, to the extent that you lose your identity and go feral."

"Actually, Mother Saotome, that is not true," Akane interjected, proudly, "Or more accurately, is no longer true."

Ranma smiled at her fondly, and added, "With my wife's help, I have completed the Neko-ken training that he botched so badly. So again, I fail to see where **you** need forgiveness for his actions during the training trip. Nor can I hold you responsible for him promising me in marriage to so many women, nor for his failed attempt to steal my inheritance from your father. So, Mother, what exactly should I forgive you of?"

Natsume and Kurumi gasped at that point.

"I still believe that I have failed you as a mother for allowing these things to have happened," Nodoka said.

Ranma smiled thinly and said, "I can not do anything for your beliefs. However, if it helps you to sleep better, I forgive you for whatever wrongs you think you may have committed against me."

Nodoka relaxed slightly and pulled out a small scroll from an ornate case. "I have one more thing to bring before you," she said, handing the scroll to her son.

Ranma unrolled the scroll, and quickly scanned the contents. When he reached the end, he glanced up, his face pale. "This declares that I am the head of the Saotome clan, or at least will be once I turn twenty-one, with you as trustee until that time," he said, "How is that possible, with your husband being alive?"

Akane gasped. "You didn't?" she asked.

"Saotome is still alive and more or less well," Nodoka replied, "However, with a little coercion, he gracefully agreed to step down as the head of the clan, since his honour was so badly compromised."

"Though he's going to be eating a lot of bamboo shoots for a very long time once he returns," Kurumi snickered.

"Why are you doing this?" Ranma asked.

"I believed that what my husband attempted to do so dishonoured him so much that he could not be allowed to head the family any longer. And while seppuku may have been the proper thing for him to do, I am unsure that he even deserves that way to remove the stain on his honour," Nodoka said.

Ranma sighed and said, "While I certainly desire to have nothing further to do with him, I do not wish his death. I can not think of any way that he can redeem himself to gain my forgiveness, but I do know that he must be alive to even have the chance."

"And there are still things he must teach his daughters," Akane said, surprisingly, "There is much that they can still learn from him. Though, if he suggests going to China, or talks about cats, then I suggest you run away."

Ranma grinned at that sally, and added, "And the whatever we're going to call the school will need them as instructors once we open it up to the public."

"Where **is** your husband?" Akane asked, "Since Kurumi alluded that he is away."

"He is away from Tokyo at the moment, on some sort of pilgrimage, at least that is what he said," Nodoka replied.

"Pilgrimage?" Ranma asked.

"Something about retrieving part of your heritage, is what he said," Nodoka replied, "As well as a part of his soul."

"In that case, Natsume, Kurumi, perhaps you should rejoin our classes at the dojo, as your schedule permits," Ranma said, "Since it appears that you have once again lost your teacher."

"Mom?" Kurumi asked.

"It's certainly fine with me, so long as you continue to get your schoolwork finished, and do your chores," Nodoka said.

Akane suggested, "It would be easier if you came over for dinner, as well, Mother Saotome, that way we could practise right after school, and then when dinner was over, you and the girls could then go home."

"If it isn't too much of a burden on your family, dear, that would be acceptable. Of course, I would insist on helping in the kitchen," Nodoka replied.

"Sounds like a plan coming together," Ranma said. He bowed to his mother and added, "Thank you for the tea ceremony. It was a great honour that you did this for us."

"You are my son, and my daughter-in-law," Nodoka said, simply, "I wanted to do something for you after what that man did to both of you."

"Did the journals tell you anything else, any more schemes that Saotome may have had in the works? Any more fiancées out there for me to worry about?" Ranma asked.

"The three that we know about seem to be the only ones that he promised you to," Nodoka replied, "And there does not appear to be anything else that he had planned. In many cases, he set forth why he did some of the things that he did to you. And I did find that he regretted the Neko-ken training, at least once he realised what it had done to you."

"Yeah, though I rather suspect the first time he felt my claws may have had something to do with that," Ranma said with a snort.

"And he definitely rued going to Jusenkyo, though once again, after the fact," Nodoka added, "Getting cursed was not in his plans at all."

"Though he doesn't really seem to object to sitting around as a panda," Akane observed.

"I'm afraid that it suits his nature, unfortunately," Nodoka said, sadly, "Since he isn't the most energetic person around."

"That's not totally correct," Ranma responded thooughtfully, "When he is trying to train someone in the arts, he can work as hard as anyone. It's just that when he isn't training, he wants to eat, drink, and be lazy."

Nodoka sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, he is the man that I married, so I suppose that will be my penance," she said, ruefully.

"Perhaps you should go on a ten year training trip," Akane quipped.

Nodoka smiled thinly and said, "That would teach him, perhaps. But, no, I have missed too many years of my son's life already. And I have two dutiful daughters to raise, at least for a few more years. And then, **one day**, one of my children will give me the grandchildren that I can spoil." She arched her eyebrow at her son with that statement.

"You know our thoughts on that, Mom," Ranma warned.

"I know dear, and I really wasn't implying anything. I was mostly teasing," Nodoka said, hurridly, "I am well content to wait for you and Akane to get the dojo up and running before starting your family. Same with Ukyo and Konatsu, she needs to finish her education, or at least as much as she wants before she can take any time off raising a child. And I'm in no hurry for these two either."

"That's good to hear, Mother," Kurumi said, "Since I'm holding out for finding a man as wonderful as big brother Ranma."

"I'm afraid they broke the mold when they made my son," Nodoka said, proudly.

"Yeah, with him in it," Akane said with a snicker.

"Nice to know that I'm loved so much," Ranma retorted with a pout.

* * *

Silently, the panda trudged up the incline, as it followed the road through the low mountain pass, ignoring the beauty of the snow-capped mountains rising high around it, its thick fur impervious to the icy wind that roared through the pass even this late into summer. Finally, it crested the pass, to find a sign, reading, 'Kokowa Hot Springs, the Village of Encounters,' and gazed down at the quaint village below. Shouldering a heavy pack, the panda continued down the road, anxious to find one of the hot springs the town was famous for, so it could change back.

The clerk manning the desk at the onsen started in fright as the door banged open, and a large panda stormed in. To her surprise, the panda held out a sign that read, 'How much for a soak?' She stammered, "We don't allow animals in the hot springs."

The panda bared its teeth at her and she swallowed, adding, "However, for you, 500 for thirty minutes. But don't leave any fur behind."

The panda slapped down a few coins and followed the signs to the bath.

The clerk sighed in relief, and then quickly dialled Security to report the incident. "Let them deal with it," she said, once she had hung up the phone, "This job doesn't pay me enough to deal with wildlife."

A few minutes later, several uniformed men arrived and rushed in. "Where is this so-called panda?" the leader asked.

"In the hot springs," the hapless clerk replied.

The security detail rushed past her, and headed through the men's changing room, only to skid to a halt as the only occupant of the pool looked at them owlishly.

"Is there a problem?" the middle-aged man asked, obsequiously.

"Have you seen a panda?" one of the officers asked.

The middle-aged bather gaped at them in surprise and replied, "Um, a panda, really, here? What would it be doing, the backstroke?" His face fell, as his joke fell rather flat, and replied, hurriedly, "I can't say that I saw one, that's for sure," as he scratched his bandana-clad head.

"How long have you been in here?" a second officer asked, his hand on his truncheon.

"A little while," the man replied, politely, "Maybe five minutes or so."

"And no panda entered while you were here?" the third asked.

"I can honestly say that I never saw a panda enter the hot springs," the man replied.

"Sorry to have trouble you," the last officer said, sketching a polite salute.

The squad traded looks and then left the bathing area.

"Oh well, that poor clerk," the man said, with an unrepentant grin, as he sank deeper into the water. After a few minutes of soaking, he said, "This is a nice place; Nodoka would have liked it here." Then he sat up quickly, and added, "Come to think of it, she did enjoy it here. This is where we spent our honeymoon, how could I have forgotten that? No wonder it felt familiar." He sighed and moved over to the edge of the hot spring, and pulled himself out of the water, revealing a sight too horrific to describe, before wrapping his body in a large, fluffy, terrycloth towel. Thirty minutes later, found the former Saotome patriarch dressed, and trudging his way up one of the steep slopes, to find a large tree in the middle of the forested area.

"Yes, there it is," Saotome said, as he gazed at the tree trunk and spotted the carving he had done so many years before, his name, and his wife's name carved into the bark, underneath the representation of an umbrella, with the words 'Eternal Love' next to the symbol. "That brings back such fond memories," he said, with a sigh, "Where did it go so wrong? Or perhaps, more accurately, where did I go so wrong?"

Genma sat amidst the woods, staring at the tree, until some unknown time later, some of the snow melt from the cliff behind the tree managed to land on him, transforming him back into his cursed form. The panda glared up at the sky and raised its sign, which read, 'I'm beginning to think' FLIP 'Someone up there doesn't like me.'

* * *

Sayuri and Hiroshi ambled through the park, their hands entwined, as they took in the pretty flowers growing on either side of the cobblestone path. Or more accurately, Sakuri enjoyed the flowers, while Hiroshi enjoyed looking at her. 'If my fiancée wants to look at flowers, then we are going to look at flowers,' he thought with a grin, 'Besides, it's a nice day, the sun is shining, and there's a nice breeze. And it's a good excuse to be with her. Maybe we can find a nice secluded bench somewhere and make out just a little.'

Sayuri watched her fiancé out of the corner of her eye, and smirked as his thoughts were terribly transparent. 'I sure know what's on his mind. Not that I wouldn't object to a bit of kissing,' she thought, 'and perhaps just a little bit more.'

The young couple continued to wander down the path, which had become lined with large shrubs, hiding the rest of the park from view. Finally they reached a small trail that pierced the bordering shrubs and led off away from the main trail. Trading small grins, they promptly turned down the trail, missing the knowing grins from the matrons that had been following behind them. Soon they reached a bend in the trail, only to stop as they heard the sounds of someone sobbing around the bend. Their curiosity piqued, they peeked around the bush and found to their amazement their friends Yuka and Daisuke, with Yuka crying on her fiancés' shoulder.

"I don't like the looks of that," Hiroshi whispered.

Sayuri frowned and started forward, only to have him hold her back.

"Are you sure we should interrupt them?" Hiroshi asked.

"They are our friends," Sayuri replied simply. Unfortunately, the decision was removed from their hands, as Yuka finally pulled herself free and raced down the trail, her head down, only to bump into Hiroshi, who caught her before she fell down.

"What's wrong, Yuka?" Sayuri asked, as Daisuke quickly joined them.

He answered, "Her father just got a large promotion at his company."

"That's wonderful," Hiroshi said, "He's worked so hard for them. All those long hours finally paid off."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as Daisuke swore bitterly, and Yuka began wailing in dismay.

"Ordinarily, I would agree with you," Daisuke finally replied, as he pulled his fiancée back into his arms, "But, it requires him to transfer to another part of the company. Which again wouldn't be too bad, except it's a position in the branch headquatered in San Fransisco, California, for at least five or six years."

"Shit," Hiroshi spat.

"Language, dear," Sayuri shot back, "So when does he leave?"

"He has to go in two weeks," Yuka said, between her sobs, "And then he wants Mom and me to join him at winter break, since that would be the easiest way for me to continue with school. And that means I won't see Dai until I graduate from high school, at the earliest!"

"So there's no problem with the engagement, then?" Sayuri asked.

"No, Mom and Dad are all for that still, thankfully," Yuka replied, "He just wants his family with him in America, and I can't blame him for that. He just hasn't thought about what he is doing to me though."

"She's convinced that I'll find someone else, and forget all about her," Daisuke said, "Not that that **will ever** happen."

"But I don't want to go!" Yuka wailed, once more trailing off into a crying mess, burying her head in his chest.

"Shit," Sayuri swore, eliciting a snort from Daisuke.

"Language, dear," Hiroshi said, in the exact same tone she had used earlier, eliciting a small giggle out of Yuka. He frowned and then said, "So, the problem is the rest of this school year, and then our final year."

"**We** can't solve this," Sayuri said, "We need to bring in the adults."

"Why don't they just get married?" Hiroshi asked, "After all, they are older than Ranma and Akane were when they wed."

Daisuke groaned as his fiancée began to wail even louder.

"Because they can't, not anymore," Sayuri replied, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks, "Boys have to be eighteen to get married with parental permission, though girls just need to be sixteen, again with parental permission. Not that I was looking into that or anything."

That last statement caused Daisuke and Yuka to roll their eyes in disbelief, while Hiroshi was clueless.

"Not that that matters, since I'm not eighteen yet, and my parents, even though they are in favour of our betrothal, do wish us to wait until I'm at least twenty to wed," Daisuke added.

"Then how did Ranma and Akane get married?" Hiroshi asked, clearly puzzled.

"Because they just recently changed the law, and Ranma and Akane got married before that happened. And nobody knows how old Mousse is, since he's Chinese, so I suspect Kodachi just lied to the clerk, or gave him a hefty 'tip' to ignore that," Daisuke replied.

"We need to talk to Mom, Dad, Ranma and Akane," Sayuri said, "And I mean, right now!"

"I thought we were going to, well you know," Hiroshi protested.

Sayuri looked at him as if he had suddenly grown two heads, which since this **was** Nerima, was certainly not beyond the realm of possibility, before she said, heatedly, "This is much more important. Our friends' future happiness is at stake here, we can certainly put off our plans for a later date."

Not being a complete idiot, Hiroshi quickly agreed, so the four youths quickly headed toward the exit.

* * *

A weary, middle-aged man, wearing a soiled gi, trudged down the beach, the blazing sun beating down on his kerchiefed head, until he found the path that led up the mountainside to the cemetary perched precariously above the fine strand bordering the ocean. The man climbed up the path, nearly reaching the wall surrounding the tombs, before he paused, red-faced, to rest on one of the large boulders bordering the path. Panting heavily, sweat beading down from his forehead, and large, dark stains, appearing under his arms, he rested, gazing across the azure waters far below. 'Ranma, my son, I should have brought you here for a Saotome-style grave visit,' the man thought, 'So that you could show our ancestors how powerful you are. Alas, my foolishness as led me to this. I only pray that I am up to the task.' Drinking the last of the bottled water he had brought, he tossed the bottle aside, and entered the sacred grounds, searching for the family shrine. After several hours, he finally found the modest shrine marked with his family name. Bowing to the shrine, he said, "My father taught me that this was the obligation of the males of this family, and that this is how our family pays its respects. If I was misinformed, please forgive any sacrilege that I may cause." He bowed once more, and slammed his fist against the vertical stone with the family name engraved upon it, only to trigger the traps that his ancestors had prepared. The spring-loaded stones surround the gravestone all slammed into him, knocking him to the ground, with the gravestone itself providing the coup de grâce as it landed upon his prone figure, knocking him out.

The sun rose higher in the uncaring sky, blazing down with complete indifference.

Hours later, Genma roused with a groan, and pulled himself to his feet. He stared at the now damaged shrine and growled, "Right Father, just hit the shrine, and the family treasure will be revealed to me." He sighed heavily and said, "And I would have done the same with my son if I had brought him here. The apple obviously didn't fall too far from the tree, did it Father?" Grunting with the effort, he slowly rebuilt the shrine, placing each stone back where it belonged, compressing the springs beneath their respective burden. He shook his head in honest pride, "My ancestors are truly to be feared, protecting the family treasure in such a way." Then his eyes narrowed as he spotted a small hole in one of the stones. Bending down, he realised that it seemed to be a keyhole, one that oddly matched the key that his wife had handed him before he left on his journey of discovery and retrospection. Blushing, he pulled the key from one pocket of his dirty gi, and inserted it into the hole. He slowly turned the key, and a drawer slid out from the block, a small wood box, tied with a once bright string, appeared. Trembling, he carefully reached in and pulled out the box. "The Saotome family treasure, passed down through the generations, from one male to the next," he said, reverently, "And now it is mine to hand down to my son." A wry smile appeared on his face, as he added, "Though once I would have kept it for myself, or worse yet, pawn it for whatever I could get for it." Then he grimaced as he finally felt the sunburn he had obtained while laying under the blazing sun while unconscious.

* * *

Kasumi bowed politely to the older couple, and said, "Welcome to our home, Mister and Missus Amiya, please come in." She waited for them to remove their shoes, and put on a pair of slippers and added, "Thank you for accepting our invitation. I am Kasumi Ono, eldest daughter of Soun Tendo. He and his wife, Yumi, are waiting for you in the family room."

"I must admit I am somewhat puzzled why we were invited here," Yuka's mother said, "Though I am happy to be here, since this is a very attractive property."

"Thank you, we are very proud of it, ourselves, especially now that we are better able to maintain it properly," Kasumi replied, leading them toward the family room, and then stepping aside to allow them entry.

The Amiyas stopped for a moment as they entered, surprised to see their daughter, her friend Akane, and a young man that could only be her husband, and Daisuke awaiting them, not just the Tendo patriarch and his wife.

"I'll be back in just a moment with tea, and some things to nibble on while I finish cooking dinner," Kasumi said, as she disappeared toward the kitchen.

"Please, come and join us," Soun said, with a smile, "We have much to talk about after we share the meal."

"Please, join us, Kyoko, Godai," Yumi urged.

The couple traded looks, and then joined them around the table. Kasumi joining them laden with a small tray. After passing around cups of tea, the party sipped the delicate blend for a moment, while Kasumi disappeared once more into the kitchen, though she returned shortly, followed by Hinako, both of them carrying trays of food which they placed in the middle of the table.

"Come, our guests, please join us in our meal," Ranma said, somewhat formally.

Kasumi passed out the food, everyone said, "Itadakimasu," showing their appreciation for the meal. The next half hour was spent in pleasantries, while everyone ate their fill.

Finally replete, the group sat back from the table while the women cleared the table, again the men idly chatting about nothing in particular, until they were rejoined by Akane, Yumi, Sayuri and Kasumi.

Soun traded looks with his wife, and then began, "As we said before the meal, we have much to discuss."

"I'm confused, why would we have anything to discuss?" Yuka's father asked.

"My daughter came to me with a request this afternoon," Soun replied.

"What is this all about, Yumi?" Kyoko asked.

"Sayuri found about your promotion, Godai," Yumi replied, "Congratulations on that by the way."

"I'm confused, I thought you said your daughter came to you with a request, Tendo-san," Godai said, clearly puzzled.

"Sayuri may not be my daughter biologically, but I consider her as much my daughter as any of the other four girls that live here," Soun replied, "And please, I am merely Soun, Amiya-san."

"Then I am Godai," the other man replied.

"So what was the request?" Kyoka asked.

"She and her fiancé, Hiroshi, stumbled across your daughter and Daisuke at one of the parks this afternoon. Yuka was clearly unhappy about something, as she was bitterly crying on his shoulder," Soun replied.

"Daughter, why were you crying?" Godai asked.

"Dad, I am so proud of you getting this promotion, honestly you deserve it based on all of your hard work, but the thought of not seeing Daisuke for so long is more than I could handle," Yuka replied.

"You never said anything," Kyoko interjected.

"How could I, Mom? I couldn't stand to ruin this for Dad," Yuka said, "But it was tearing me up inside."

"Anyway, Sayuri came to us with a proposal to place before you," Soun interrupted smoothly, "which was to suggest that Yuka stay with us during the school year, while joining you during the school holidays."

"However, what she had forgotten, was that we really didn't have the authority to make that offer," Yumi said.

"However, we do," Ranma said, "And we would really like to help Yuka and Daisuke out."

"They were even considering getting married, before they found out that it was no longer possible since the Diet changed the laws about the age of consent," Akane added.

"Do you have the room? I know this is a relatively large house, but my understanding from our daughter is that your family is also large," Kyoko asked.

"Sayuri is staying in the downstairs guest room, and she is more than willing to share that space with Yuka," Yumi replied, "And we have enough room for whatever privacy we need."

"Mom, Dad, please, I love both of you, but I can't be away from Daisuke. I would literally die!" Yuka exclaimed, dramatically.

Godai sighed, and said, "Yuka, you know I am very much in favour of your marriage with Daisuke. I have never seen you happier than since the two of you finally realised your feelings and began to date. And I would never want to cause you any unhappiness, I hope you know that. But, I have to admit a certain amount of uneasiness about having my daughter the distance of the Pacific Ocean apart."

Daisuke straightened up, his eyes blazing. "Why is that? Do you think that I would force Yuka to do something improper?" he spat, " If that is the case, she and I could find a local love hotel to take care of that little detail. After all, she and I are betrothed, right? The width of the Pacific be damned. We were intending to wait until marriage, based on the examples of our friends, but if that is how little you think of us, why should we bother?"

"NO!" Godai exclaimed, "I trust both of you reasonably well, although I also remember teenage hormones, and how easy it is to cross certain lines. I was merely refering to the fact that we would be so far away if something were to happen to either Yuka or ourselves. And that is all I meant by that statement. I certainly did not mean to impugn your honour or our daughter's for that matter."

"We would take on the role of parents, at least as much as we could," Yumi said.

"That would make things simpler," Kyoko admitted, "Let us think about it for a few days, before we make a decision."

"That is certainly a reasonable request," Akane said smoothly, "But I do want to reiterate that she is welcome to stay here as our honourary sister. And I think you know me well enough to recognise my sense of honour, so I would be willing to ensure that nothing too improper went on between them."

"As would I," Ranma added, quickly echoed by Kasumi.

"That would certainly weigh heavily on our decision," Godai said, "Though I would like a definition of what you would consider too improper."

Kasumi smiled serenely and replied, "Nothing beyound what they have likely already done."

Godai turned to his daughter and chuckled at the blushing face that she now wore. "Do I want to ask how far that has been?" he asked.

"I believe a wise man once said never ask a question that you really don't want the answer for," Soun said.

Yuka grinned wickedly and replied, "Well, I'm sure I haven't gone near as far as Mom did at my age, considering how old she is and how old I am."

Kyoko smiled serenely at her daughter, refusing to rise to the bait, and said, "That is certainly good to know, since I really don't want to be a grandmother any time soon, not at my tender age."

"Thank you for both your offer and your hospitality," Godai said, quickly, desiring to head of that line of conversation, "And we will get back with you soon with our decision."

"You are most welcome," Akane said, rising gracefully to her feet to show them out, "And please, while you two remain in Nerima, don't hesitate to come by."

"Yuka, are you going home with us, or staying?" Kyoko asked.

"We have some schoolwork to finish for tomorrow, so we thought we would do that here with Ranma and Akane since they have the same assignment, that is, if that is okay with you two?" Yuka replied.

"Of course it is, just don't be out too late," Godai said.

"Yes, Dad," Yuka agreed.

Godai and Kyoko bowed politely to the rest of the group, who all rose to their feet and responded.

Akane led them out the family room, and to the front door, where she waited for them to replace their shoes. "Please consider our offer carefully," she said, "She is one of my best friends, and it would be hard to see her go away for a long span of time."

"We will, Akane," Kyoko said, warmly, "I know how much your friendship has meant for her as well, and while her anguish over leaving is mostly because of Daisuke, some part of it also involves leaving her friends here."

Godai bowed once more to her and added, "And we really do appreciate what you are willing to do, and it is a wonderful sign of your friendship and nature that allows you to do so. And I am very impressed how your family has managed to blend together so well."

"We do our best," Akane said, with a laugh, blushing at the praise.

"And that best is very good indeed," Godai replied, before he opened the door, and allowed his wife to precede him down the path.

Akane stood at the door, and waited until they reached the gate and disappeared down the street before returning inside.

* * *

Yuka moved gracefully through the dimly lit house, wondering where her parents were, since they were not in the front room waiting for her, as she had halfway expected them to be.

"Is that you, Yuka?" her mother's voice called.

"Yes, Mom, where are you?" Yuka replied.

"Your father and I are sitting in the back yard," Kyoko replied, "We'd like to talk to you before you get ready for bed."

"I thought you might," Yuka said, softly, as she moved through the family room, and out the opened door onto the engawa, where her parents were sitting, their legs hanging down over the edge of the wood porch.

"How come you didn't come to us?" Kyoko asked, gently.

Yuka sighed as she sat down next to her mother, who drew her into a light hug. "When Dad first told us about the promotion and the move last week, I was so excited about it," she said, after a moment to collect her thoughts, "And at first, that was all I thought about. But then, after the surprise had worn off, I realised what moving to America really meant, and I started missing my friends, and was scared that I would lose Daisuke to someone else if I wasn't here. Which I completely realise isn't fair to him, but I'm still that insecure little girl that didn't think any guy would ever want me. And then, I could tell how happy it had made both of you. All the hard work and sacrifices that both of you had gone through over the last I don't know how many years had finally paid off. How could I really talk to you about how I was feeling? I was so confused, and then when Dai and I were in the park this afternoon after school, I completely fell apart." She smiled sadly then, and added, "He was so understanding when I told him about the move and everything, and then I cried all over his new shirt. I bet I soaked it through completely."

"You hadn't told him already?" Godai asked.

"No, I hadn't, Dad," Yuka replied, "I was still trying to come to grips with it myself, and I didn't want to let him know about it until then. Of course, that decision just gave me a lot of sleepless nights, and he demanded that I tell him what was wrong today, so I finally broke down and told him." She shook her head and added, "He was actually relieved for a moment, because he was afraid that he had done something wrong and that I was mad at him about something."

"Silly girl," Kyoko chided, "If you were upset all week, no matter how well you thought you were hiding it, he would most definitely have picked up on it. After all, he does know you that well by now, and of course would have been afraid that he had somehow done something wrong. I'm just upset that I hadn't seen it myself, because I should of."

"Well, honestly Mom, you shouldn't have. I was sort of avoiding you, so you only saw me a few minutes in the morning before school, and then just at dinner, since I was spending so much of my time in my room 'working on schoolwork' that I really didn't have," Yuka admitted.

"Well, that really doesn't make me feel a whole lot better about things," Kyoko replied, "But, I hope you know that you can always talk to me."

"Us," Godai interjected, "I **am** sitting right here you know."

"Well, there are a few things that girls would rather talk to their mother about," Yuka said, cheekily, "But, yes, I do know that I can talk to both of you. But for some reason, this was different and I didn't think I could, and before I knew it, my mind just ran in circles, and I got more upset the more I thought about it. I honestly think I had a nervous breakdown when I told Dai this afternoon. I really really scared him, I could tell. The poor dear was shivering when he was holding me in his arms."

"Well of course he was frightened, the woman he loves, the one he is engaged to, was falling apart in his arms," Godai said, "If Kyoko was in that shape, I would have been scared to death as well, though I would have done my best not to show it and be the strong, supportive person she needed."

"Which Dai did as well," Kyoko said, "If I understand everything correctly."

Yuka nodded her head and replied, "He was wonderful, and kept saying all of the right things. I just wasn't ready to hear any of them. All I could think of was that I was going to move away from him and never see him again, or worst yet, lose him to another woman. I was that distraught that I couldn't think straight, since I trust him more that I trust anyone else, so I know that would never happen, but still, there remains that little girl that doesn't believe she is worthy of his love."

"Well, regardless of what we decide about the offer that the Saotome-Tendo's made tonight, you will be seeing Daisuke again, that I can assure you," her father said.

"And we will consider all of the pros and cons of that offer and make a decision as soon as we can," Kyoko added, "That we can also promise you. We do have your best interest at heart."

"Mom, Dad, I know that, you've always been there for me, and I have the best parents I could ever hope for," Yuka said, "I apologise for worrying you so much, and not coming to you when I first started my downward spiral."

"Hush, you did nothing wrong, I promise you," Kyoko said, "Now, head on off to bed, morning is not coming any later tomorrow."

* * *

Kurumi set her empty bowl on the table, and sighed.

"What's wrong, little sister?" Natsume asked then daintily set her chopsticks across her bowl.

"Even though you and Mom are mad at Daddy, I still miss him," Kurumi replied, "Why did he have to leave?"

Nodoka frowned slightly and then replied, "I'm not mad at your father. I am angry about his actions, there is a difference. And he felt that it would be best for all of us if he left for a little while until some of the emotions are a bit less raw."

"That doesn't make any sense," Kurumi spat.

"Of course it does. Mom is upset with what he attempted to do to big brother Ranma, big brother Ranma is upset with him, in fact just about the whole family is upset with him," Natsume replied, patiently, "In fact, when we were at their home this afternoon, I saw Father Tendo sharpening the blade on his spear, muttering nasty things about Father. So, it's definitely a good idea that he stay away for a few days."

"So what do you think he is doing?" Kurumi asked, plaintively.

"He said he wanted to go on a journey of rediscovery, a pilgrimage to his roots," Nodoka replied.

"So I am sure that he is in a shrine somewhere, pondering his past sins, and asking for a path forward," Kurumi replied, happily.

* * *

In a small, rundown tavern somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, Genma sneezed. "Hmmm, I hope I'm not coming down with something," he said. Glancing at the bottle of happoshu in his hand, he took a deep swag of the cheap beer, finishing the bottle. Shuddering slightly at the taste, he sighed, and added, "This is strictly medicinal, in that case." The bitter second class beer matched his mood perfectly as he gazed at the small box. With one final swallow, he finished the beer, and set the bottle down to join the rest of its comrades, completing the platoon. Thinking about the money in his wallet, he raised one finger to the blowsy waitress showing her less than attractive charms leaning against the bar, signaling another round.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope, Gentle Readers, that you enjoyed this next installment of this little tale. As always, comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated. Note, I reloaded this chapter with some minor corrections on 3/20, based on some suggestions by MZephyr. Thanks for the comments.

Until later,

Kayemsi


	92. Rites of Redemption

Chapter 92 Rites of Redemption

Author's Note. There is a flashback later in this chapter. It will be in italics.

The store clerk slowly browsed his magazine, finally turning it sideways, and unfolded the foldout to examine carefully the picture displayed there, only to curse to himself as the little bell attached to the front door tinkled, signalling that someone had entered the store. His jaw dropped as he spotted a panda entering the building, and the magazine dropped to the floor in front of the counter, landing face up, displaying Miss August in all her glory.

The panda approached the cringing clerk, whose hand was near the panick button that would alert store security. A sign suddenly appeared in the fearsome beast's paw, which read, 'Nice Picture' FLIP 'She'll never drown'

To the clerk's surprise, the other paw held out a pawn ticket. Trembling, the clerk reached out his hand, and took the ticket. Glancing down at it, he said, "Um, this ticket is pretty old."

The panda woofed at him, showing plenty of sharp teeth, and the claws on one paw seemed to grow sharper. 'It hasn't been that long' FLIP 'So I hope that for your sake' FLIP 'The item is still here.'

The clerk gulped and quickly searched the number up using the terminal on the counter in front of him. Sweat beaded up on the pimply-faced young man's forehead, until he finally found the reference. "You're in luck. It seems that no one has ever wanted that item," the clerk said, "I assume you are here to redeem it?"

The panda merely nodded its head, the beady eyes never leaving the frightened clerk's face.

"It'll be five thousand," the clerk said, starting in surprise as the panda opened up a wallet that it had pulled from 'somewhere' and counted out the necessary cash. The clerk reached for the money only to snatch his hand back as the panda shook its head.

'Let's see the goods, first,' read the sign.

"How are you doing that?" the clerk stammered, as he sent the message to the back room.

The panda shrugged its shoulders and waited impassively until an older man entered the room, carrying a pasteboard box. The man slowly approached, making sure he stayed behind the heavy counter. He set the box down on the counter, and removed the lid. The panda nodded and pushed the money over to the first clerk. It closed the lid back down on the box, and tucked it under one arm.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the clerk stammered, as the panda stumped back to the door, and exited the building. He turned to the older man, and said, "You have some of the strangest customers."

"Never saw that panda before in my life," the other man retorted.

"Where does a panda come up with money, anyway?" the clerk wondered out loud.

"Don't know, don't care. It still spends, regardless of where it got it from. Of course, who's going to argue with a panda if it wants to take your wallet," the other man said, straightfaced.

* * *

Ranma grumbled goodnaturedly, "I can't believe you talked me into this, Akane."

Akane grinned at her husband in his formal attire. "All I had to do was bat my eyes at you," she snickered.

"At least we clean up well," Ranma said, "You look amazing in that kimono."

"Why thank you, Ranma," Akane said, as they entered the area where the tanabata festival was being held, "That was almost a real compliment."

"It was a real compliment," Ranma said, his playful mood gone for the moment, "You about took my breath away when you came down the stairs. Damn near took you right back up them just to show you how much I appreciated the way you looked."

Akane blushed prettily, then replied, "It's not too late to go home, I suppose." She waited a beat, and added, "No, we really can't disappoint the girls, so I guess you'll just have to hold that thought for later."

Ranma sighed exaggeratedly and replied, "I suppose that will have to do."

"What's going on?" Nabiki asked, gazing in surprise at the crowd, "The crowd is huge!"

"And it appears that it is mainly couples," Souta said.

"That's not too much of a surprise, I guess. After all, look at our group, aside from Hinako, Kurumi and Natsume, we're all coupled up," Akane said.

"I do wish that Kasumi and Tofu had managed to come," Sayuri said, "But she said they had made other plans for the weekend."

"I'm more surprised that big brother Ranma let us out of practise to come," Kurumi said, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"Don't do that unless you are planning on sharing," Hinako teased.

As they neared one of the booths, they heard the busker cry, "Don't push, don't push," to the several couples crowding the counter. One girl looked lovingly at the bamboo leaves in her hands, with two slips of paper stuck to the leaves. She sighed, "We'll always be together, Mr. Tiger."

Her companion took her hand and said, "Forever, Miss Boar."

The other couples said much the same endearments, causing Ranma to snicker quietly to himself.

Unfortunately the man behind the counter heard him and said, "Don't laugh, young man. These are 'Love Knots' sold only on the night of the Tanabata, the Star Festival. It is said that the couples who write their names on the cards will be bound together eternally."

Akane said, "Let's sign the cards, Ranma, after all, it is for a good cause, half the proceeds go to the local orphanage, remember."

Ranma rolled his eyes and the two of them signed cards, and the man stuck them to a sheaf of bamboo leaves, after Ranma handed him several coins.

"That's so romantic," Sayuri said, starry-eyed, with Yuka nodding in agreement. Not being complete idiots, their respective fiancés joined them in scribing their names and forking over the cash.

"That's so stupid," Nabiki said.

"As if leaves had anything to do with love," Souta added.

"That's what they say at first," the man warned, "But be careful, for if these cards are taken off or placed on another bamboo, a terrible curse will befall you."

"What curse?" Natsume asked.

"If the detached card lands on another bamboo, one is enslaved to a love that can never be fulfilled," the man replied, "Also, beware, for if the card is lost or destroyed, the two will never be joined."

"I wish you'd said that before we bought these cards," Sayuri said.

"But isn't love worth a little danger?" the man asked.

Ranma pulled Akane away from the booth, and began to stroll down the arcade, taking in the sights. He grinned at her and said, "Well, if he's right, you and I are stuck together forever."

"That was mostly hype, I suspect," Akane said, with a matching grin, "But I do like the sentiment."

Ranma replied, "Oh, I know it was all just his sales pitch, but just in case." He brandished a pair of paperclips, and fastened the slips of paper securely to the bamboo leaves with them.

"Wise move," Akane murmured.

"I do have my moments," Ranma replied.

Sayuri leaned into Hiroshi, allowing him to wrap his arm around her waist as they walked behind Ranma and Akane. "You don't really believe all that, do you?" he asked, quietly.

"No, not really, it is just a silly peasant superstition," Sayuri replied, "But, there's nothing wrong in going along with it."

Meanwhile, in front of them, Ranma and Akane had stopped at another booth, which had several small plates distributed around the back of the booth. "Please, Ranma, win me a prize," Akane said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Ranma sighed, and said, "You know these things are rigged, don't you?"

"Well, of course they are," Akane said, "But you are a martial artist, can't you overcome that?"

Ranma sighed heavier, and replied, "So are you, why don't you try?"

"But it's more romantic if you win it for me," Akane retorted.

"Sheesh, the things I do for you," Ranma teased, pulling out three small coins from his pocket. Glancing over at the array of plates, most of them with coins already on them, he took a deep breath and held it for a few counts. With a confident smirk, he flipped the first coin, which landed in the centre of one of the plates. He then tossed the second coin, which landed on edge on top of the first one, spun around several times, and then fell over to lay across the first. The third coin was in the air before the second had finished spinning, and landed on top of it as it collapsed, thus winning a prize.

The barker had a sickly expression on his face, but pulled down a stuffed animal, a hot pink bunny rabbit, and handed it to Ranma, who quickly gave it to his wife.

"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said, with a grin, "Show off!"

"You know me, I'm the best!" Ranma retorted, as they moved away from the booth to see what else they could find.

"Yeah, a real man among men," Akane said, with a snicker, as Ranma strutted proudly down the arcade.

At that moment, the Nerima Chaos Factor struck, as an overly-cute girl, dressed in a lacy pink dress, burst through the crowd. "Angeliqué!" the girl cried, as she stole the bunny rabbit out of Akane's grasp, and started to run off, only to bump into Hiroshi, who then fell against a bystander carrying a large glass of water, knocking the plastic cup out of the girl's hand, while also causing the card with his name to fly off of the sheaf of bamboo Sayuri had been carrying, and flutter off in the breeze. The girl with the bunny rabbit vanished in the crowd, while Ranma sighed ruefully, water dripping down her face.

"What was that?" Yuka asked.

"Azusa Shiratori strikes again," Akane replied, "And she stole my toy!" She handed Ranma a cloth to dry herself off with, while Sayuri glanced around for the card with her fiancé's name.

"Oh no, the card!" Yuka exclaimed, "It landed on Hinako's bamboo! The curse!"

Sure enough, the card had landed on Hinako's bundle of bamboo leaves, which held her name on a card, as well as cards enscribed with the words, "pocky," "manga," and "toys."

"I don't care about any stupid curse," Hiroshi said, lunging for Hinako and pulling her into a firm embrace, "The love between Hinako and I is eternal!"

"Hiroshi!" Hinako sputtered, pushing him away, "What about Sayuri?"

"What do you think you are doing?" demanded Sayuri.

Yuka deftly pulled the card off of Hinako's bamboo leaves, but before she could do anything else, the wind picked up and blew it out of her hand and deposited it on Kurumi's bundle.

Hiroshi promptly dropped Hinako to the ground, and headed for Kurumi, only to have Ranma tackle him, while Kurumi handed the card back to Sayuri. Quickly Sayuri placed the card back on the bundle of bamboo leaves.

"What was I thinking?" Hiroshi asked, "What have I done?"

"I guess the curse really works," Akane said, in dismay.

Ranma stood up, and pulled Hiroshi to his feet. She then handed a set of paperclips to Sayuri and Yuka so that they could secure the cards onto the bamboo shoots, while Hiroshi stood there blushing furiously with an oddly sick look on his face, and very glad that he was wearing a loose robe over his clothing.

Daisuke sidled over to his friend and pulled him away from the group. "What's wrong with you?" he whispered to Hiroshi.

"Ranma doesn't wear a bra when he's a girl," Hiroshi whispered back, "And when she tackled me, I got full body contact, and well."

"You pervert," Daisuke whispered, "That's so wrong!"

"Tell me about it," Hiroshi replied.

"What are you two whispering about?" Ranma asked, coming over to join them.

"N-nothing," they stammered in unison.

"Well, come on then, we need to find Azusa, and get Akane's stuffed animal back," Ranma said. Then she said, quietly, "Not that I really want to see a hot pink bunny rabbit first thing when I wake up in the morning. UGH!"

"Don't worry," Hiroshi said.

"We won't mention that to Akane," Daisuke added.

"Male solidarity, after all," Hiroshi finished.

"R-right," Ranma drawled, glancing down at her jiggling bosom, "And you can stop perving on my chest, anytime, Hiroshi," causing his friend to stammer denials, that none of them believed.

Akane warned, "If Shiratori is around, then Sanzenin can't be too far away. And remember, he likes to steal kisses."

"He's welcome to try," Natsume said, steelily.

"Come on, let's find that bitch who stole Akane's bunny," Yuka said.

The group headed back down the arcade in the direction that the artificially-sweet girl had last been spotted. Though, to no one's real surprise, they suddenly ran into her skating partner, Mikado Sanzenin, flirting painfully with two girls, ignoring the fact that they were already with a pair of boys.

Sanzenin's face lit up as he spotted his next victim. Moving over to Natsume, he bowed slightly to her, and said, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Mikado Sanzenin, one half of the Golden Pair of Kolhoz High School, champion martial arts figure skaters."

"Boring," Natsume said, yawning slightly, "Can we go now, Ranma?"

"But no, a lovely such as you, I must bestow upon you the honour of my kiss," Mikado protested, as he bent down to kiss her, only to stop suddenly as he felt something pressing against his leg. Glancing down, he saw a tanto pressing hard where he really didn't want one. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow, as he backed away. "Perhaps another time," he murmured.

Natsume grinned wickedly as she slipped the blade back into its concealed sheath. "I don't this so," she said, pointedly.

"Sanzenin, I suggest you leave," Akane said, icily.

"Not until I bestow my kiss on this lovely," Mikado said, as he moved onto Kurumi, whose eyes grew big.

"I don't think so," Kurumi stammered, "Since my sister always taught me that a blade was a girl's best friend." The loud snick as she pulled a kodachi from somewhere, and aimed it where it would do the most good froze Sanzenin in his tracks.

"What about you, then, lovely lady?" Mikado asked, sidling over toward Hinako.

Hinako smiled prettily, and replied, "I'm afraid my girlfriend might object, you know the one with the extremely sharp short sword in her hand? Besides, I'd rather kiss her, if you don't mind." She moved toward Kurumi and placed her arm around her waist and leaned her head on her shoulder.

Mikado looked at the rest of the group, and scowled at the cold looks he was receiving from all of the girls. "What is it with you people?" he asked, plaintively, "No one has complained about my kisses before."

Ranma grinned and said, "I'm quite sure you know better than that, Sanzenin, after all I told you myself that there was one girl who swore off men after you kissed her."

"And besides, we have extremely high standards," Sayuri replied, "Now, if you don't mind, and for that matter, even if you do, we are looking for your kleptomaniac of a partner."

"What did she do this time?" Mikado asked, with a heavy sigh.

"Stole the stuffed animal that my husband had just won for me," Akane replied.

Mikado shook his head, and replied, "I'm sorry to hear that. If I see her, I'll see what I can do."

"Come on guys, let's keep looking," Ranma urged, as she made her way through the crowd, pulling Akane with her.

Akane's eyes lit up as she spotted something hot pink a few booths ahead of her, and started dragging Ranma in that direction.

"You know, I could just go win you another one," Ranma said.

"It's the principle of the thing," Akane replied, "Besides, I don't like her."

Hinako pulled Kurumi along, her arm still around the slightly taller girl's waist and whispered, "Where do you keep that blade, and how come I never knew you had it?"

Kurumi opened up a slit in her kimono, just enough to show some hip, and showed the scabbard riding against her leg. "With the travelling sister and I did, it was safer sometimes if we had obvious weapons, but I don't like fighting with them," she said, "It's too easy to seriously hurt someone with a blade." She paused for a moment and said, "That boy isn't looking any more."

"So?" Hinako asked, looking soulfully at Kurumi.

"You don't have to pretend to be my girlfriend," Kurumi replied.

"You're a girl, and you're my friend, right?" Hinako asked, innocently.

Kurumi smiled brightly and replied, "Well, yes, that's true enough. But that's not what you wanted him to think."

"I can't help what perverted thoughts ran through his mind," Hinako said with a smirk.

"Of course you can't," Kurumi said, giggling, though she made no move away from her friend.

Nabiki bumped Sanzenin slightly, and then apologised. "Sorry, Mikado, the ground was a little uneven, and I misstepped," she said.

"Don't worry, the pleasure was all mine," Mikado said, gallantly.

"I'm sure it was," Nabiki replied, batting her eyes. She paused for a moment, and then asked, "Actually, Mikado, there is something that I would like. I've started collecting autographs of famous people, and I would love to have yours. Would you mind signing this card, pretty please?" holding out a small pasteboard card, a brush and a bottle of ink.

"It would definitely be my pleasure, Nabiki," Mikado replied, "I'm always happy to oblige a fan." He took the card, and quickly scribed the characters for his name, waited a second for the ink to dry, and then handed them back to her.

"Oh thank you," Nabiki squealed, before leading Souta away. Once out of earshot of the delusional boy who thought he was God's gift to women, she began to gag.

Souta snickered for several moments, before Nabiki snapped, "What?"

"So what was that all about?" her fiancé asked.

"That would be telling, and spoil half my fun," Nabiki replied, her eyes lighting up as she also spotted the epitome of cuteness, otherwise known as Azusa Shiratori. "Oh goodie, now for her," she said, moving in to the kill, shoving Akane and Ranma out of the way with a hip move that they had never seen before. "Azusa, dear," Nabiki cooed, as if she had managed to lose half her brain cells that morning, "I'm so happy that I ran into you. Please, could I have your autograph for my collection? Pretty please, and where did you find that outfit? It's so you!"

Azusa squealed happily and set the bunny rabbit on the ground so she could accept the card that Nabiki was waving. "Of course you can have my autograph, I didn't realise you were a fan," she said.

"Oh, I've just adored watching the Golden Pair perform," Nabiki cooed, as she gave her the bottle of ink and a brush.

Azusa smiled prettily, a dimple, of course, appearing in her cheek, as she scratched out her name on the card. After a few moments, she handed everything back to Nabiki, who smiled happily.

"Thank you, oh thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me," Nabiki simpered, giving her best fangirl impression.

"You are so welcome," Azusa said, "After all, where would I be without my fans?"

"Oh, I so agree," Nabiki said, sighing.

"Nabiki, we do need to get going, there is still so much of the festival to see," Souta warned, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, of course dear," Nabiki replied, batting her eyelashes at him, "I'm so sorry, I must run."

"Who is this handsome young man?" Azusa asked, eyeing Souta as if he was a piece of meat, and she was extremely hungry.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Nabiki asked, brainlessly, "This if my fiancé, Souta Higurashi."

A brief flash of something crossed Azusa's face, and then she smiled. "I'm very glad to make your acquaintance, Higurashi-san," she simpered, batting her eyelashes at the young man.

"Miss Shiratori, it is a pleasure to meet you," Souta replied, politely, "But, I'm afraid we must cut this visit short, we do have friends waiting for us."

"Of course," Azusa said, a faint note of disappointment in her voice, "I do hope to meet you again."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll see us around," Souta replied, as he gently led Nabiki away to rejoin the rest of the group who had clustered around one of the other booths and watched in amazement at the act that Nabiki had put on. Azusa recovered her stolen stuffed animal and started walking off, not spotting who they rejoined through the crowd.

"What was that all about?" Ranma asked.

"Can I have a little bit of each of your bamboo leaves?" Nabiki asked, businesslike.

Ranma shrugged, and handed her a few of her leaves, while Sayuri and Yuka did also. Nabiki quickly bundled them up and then clipped the two cards that she had collected with her subterfuge to the leaves.

"You don't honestly think that is going to work, do you?" Souta asked in disbelief.

"Can't hurt, now can it?" Nabiki replied with a shrug. She turned to Ranma and said, "Now put this up someplace where those two can't find it."

Ranma's eyes lit up as she spotted the perfect spot. Quickly, she vanished, only to reappear a few moments later without the bamboo.

"Now what?" Akane snapped, "Why are you doing this?"

Nabiki said flatly, "Because I really don't like either of them. He's a class A jerk, and she's an annoying twit."

"That's still not getting my bunny back," Akane complained, "We should have just taken it from her."

"Wait for it," Nabiki retorted.

"Wait for what?" Sayuri asked, clearly confused.

At that moment, a commotion arose from either end of the row of booths. Shortly, they heard an alto voice crying, "Mikado, my darling, where are you?" A cry that was soon answered by a hoarse male shout, "I am coming, my belovéd."

Ranma began to giggle, as she had already figured out what was going to happen, while Nabiki looked smugly at her friends.

"I suggest we step back against the booths," Souta said, pushing them away from the middle of the promenade, and towards the safety of the sidelines, "I don't expect this to be pretty."

Soon, the crowds on either end of the promenade parted and Mikado and Azusa appeared. The two of them paused as they spotted each other, and then they began to run toward the middle of the area, calling out each other's name as they approached each other. Just as she was about to reach Mikado, Azusa tripped over the large stuffed animal she was carrying and careened headfirst into his stomach, sending them crashing to the ground. Mikado spat a curse as his head bounced off the stone path, while Azusa burst into tears at the thought of hurting her beloved.

"Mikey, are you okay?" she wailed, raining kisses all over his face.

"Head hurts like hell, and it messed up my hair," Mikado said, feelingly, as he tried to push her gently away.

"I'm so sorry, Mikey, it's all my fault," Azusa cried.

"It's okay, darling," Mikado said, soothingly, "It's not your fault you tripped over that animal."

"This stupid thing caused me to hurt you?" Azusa exploded, throwing the hot pink rabbit away from her, and into the startled arms of Akane.

Mikado bent down, wincing slightly, and lightly brushed his lips against Azusa's mouth, and then pulled back. "I'm so sorry that I've been blind for so long, when all along, the one that I was looking for was right by my side," he said in awe.

"Man, if this gets any more saccharine," Ranma muttered, only to freeze at the odd look in Nabiki's eyes, a look of fury mixed with satisfaction.

"Vengeance is indeed a dish best served cold," Nabiki whispered.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at that statement that only she seemed to have heard, only to have her eyebrows vanish entirely when the other girl added, "Steal my first kiss, you bastard!"

"Come on, I've got what I wanted, and this show is sickening," Akane said, breaking the spell, and pulled Ranma down the arcade away from the increasingly improper display of public affection in the middle of the promenade. The rest of the group followed quickly, with only Nabiki casting one last glance behind her, just in time to see the park police arrive in time before the first articles of clothing began to be shed.

* * *

Konatsu looked up from where he was ironing some clothing at the brief sound, and spotted his wife, where she was standing in the door from the bathroom, her face ashen. Carefully setting the iron upright, he rushed to his wife and gently eased her over to the low couch and sat her down. "What's wrong, Ukyo?" he asked, tenderly as he joined her on the sofa, "You were in there for a very long time."

"You remember how I mentioned that I had been feeling a bit off for the last several weeks," Ukyo replied.

"Yes, not to mention certain aromas seemed to make you queasy," Konatsu said.

Ukyo turned to him and buried her head on his shoulder. She said, weakly, "Well, it looks like the rabbit died."

Konatsu looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "I wasn't aware that we had a pet rabbit," he said.

Ukyo snorted and said, "No, silly, I meant that we're going to have a baby."

Konatsu looked at her and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Well, I tested myself several times, and they all came back positive," Ukyo answered, "So I'm about as sure as I can be until we see a doctor."

"Okay, so this is good news, right?" Konatsu asked carefully.

"I'm not sure," Ukyo wailed, finally allowing herself to fall apart, "I mean, I'm not even eighteen yet, not out of school, and don't know anything about being a mother."

"I don't know much about being a father, either," Konatsu said, gently, slowing rubbing her back, "But, then, before I met you, I didn't know much about being a man, much less a husband."

"Well, obviously you figured out how to be a man," Ukyo said, letting his gentle tones, and caresses, calm her down.

"I did think you were taking precautions," Konatsu said.

Ukyo replied, "I was, Cologne had provided us girls something that the Amazons used, but I guess I got careless one night or two and forget to use it." After a moment, she added, "And actually I think I remember when it must have been. Remember the morning a little over a month ago that Nodoka came over and told us about Genma and what he tried to pull, and the probable reason why he set us an engagement to so many women?"

_Nodoka lightly rapped on the still locked door to the café to get Konatsu's attention as he swept around the front room._

_Her son glanced over at the sound, reflexively saying, "We're closed," until he realised who was actually at the door. "Sorry, Mother," he said, as he moved to the door to unlock it and allow her to step inside before latching it again._

"_I need to talk to you and Ukyo for a few minutes," Nodoka said._

"_She's still upstairs, so we can join her there," Konatsu said, leading his mother through the beaded curtain that concealed the stairs to his home, "Her back was a little sore this morning, so she may be still recovering from the massage I gave her."_

"_Oh?" Nodoka asked archly, "Are you very good at that?"_

_Konatsu blushed slightly and replied, "I left her pretty limp when I was done."_

"_We are talking about the same kind of massage, aren't we?" Nodoka teased._

"_I don't ask about your sex life, now do I?" Konatsu shot back after a moment._

_Nodoka grinned and replied, "Not bad with the comeback, plus ten for the remark, but minus two for the delay."_

_Konatsu grinned back at her and opened the door to their apartment. "Ukyo, Mother is here," he called._

_After a moment, the door to the bedroom opened, and Ukyo walked out, in a short robe, that left most of her finely muscled leg bare, which raised a grin on her husband's face._

"_Mother Saotome, what a pleasant surprise," Ukyo exclaimed, heading toward the older woman and giving her a brief hug, "What brings you here for a visit so early?"_

"_Unfortunately, nothing good, I am afraid," Nodoka replied, "But as it affects all of the family, you two deserve to hear the story, especially as it may explain some of what happened to you in the past, daughter."_

"_That sounds rather ominous," Konatsu said, as he and his wife curled up together on the comfy sofa and allowed Nodoka to sit gracefully in the over-stuffed chair opposite._

"_Not ominous, I suppose, but I need to inform you of something that we just found out about a few days ago that impacts us as a family," Nodoka said, as she then proceded to describe the details of her husband's schemes for obtaining Ranma's inheritance from his mother's father._

"_Where is he now?" Ukyo asked, her voice cold, as she realised how much of a pawn she had been as well._

"_On a voyage of self-discovery," Nodoka replied._

"_In other words, he ran away to escape his punishment," Ukyo spat._

_Nodoka shook her head and replied, "No, he's aware that he has lost his family, at least until he's earned our forgiveness. And frankly, I don't know what he could do to do that. The girls miss him, at least Kurumi does. Natsume feels almost as betrayed as I and Ranma do. And his actions have tainted the family honour, so it impacts you two as well. Not to mention what his scheme to have you engaged to a Saotome also likely meant. I'm just glad that we were able to resolve the issue so well with you."_

_Ukyo glanced fondly at her husband, and said, "Yes, at least that went well. As much as I care for Ranma, I realise now how poor a pairing we would have made. I really live for my restaurant, and I can't see him being content with that, whereas Konatsu and I are well suited. Not to mention he treats me like a princess, how could I help but fall head over heels for him?"_

_Konatsu let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding at that statement._

"_Is that the first time I told you that?" Ukyo asked, astonished, "I thought you knew."_

"_Knowing isn't the same thing as hearing," Konatsu replied, warmly._

_Ukyo turned to face him, her eyes glowing with her feelings, and said, "I definitely made the right choice marrying you, sugar. I have absolutely no regrets about that decision whatsoever, and I had hoped my actions had shown that. But, while I may not have loved you when we wed, I have come to do so, and not only that, I am madly in love with you, and can't wait until we can afford to start the rest of our family."_

_Nodoka turned away, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "You do know you have a built-in babysitter when that happens," she said, trying to hide her sniffles._

"_Oh, but you would spoil them so rotten," Konatsu said, with a wide grin._

"_When do you become of age, Konatsu?" Nodoka suddenly asked._

_Konatsu looked at her as if to divine her thoughts, and replied, "You never actually asked how old I was before. I guess you must have assumed that I was the same age as Ranma or something, but actually, I turn twenty on my next birthday."_

"_Hmmm, that gives me something to think about," Nodoka said, as she rose from her chair, "Children, I have some calls to make, so I must go."_

_Konatsu rose with her and said, "Thank you for coming and telling us what was going on. I suspect I may have a few words to share with Father when next I see him." He then turned a smouldering look on his wife who promptly melted, and added, "And then I think I'll come back up here. Unfortunately, my wife may miss class this morning."_

"Yes, I remember how upset you were, and then when she left you nearly dislocated my should pulling me into the bedroom," Konatsu teased gently.

"I hadn't taken the potion yet that morning, and then, when she told us what he had done, I was so angry, I couldn't think straight, and then you pulled me into the bedroom, and after that I didn't think at all," Ukyo said, "So once more, Saotome has screwed up my life."

Konatsu stared at her for a long moment, and then asked, "How does this screw up your life? I thought you wanted children with me."

Ukyo gasped, and replied quickly, "Oh I do, I just hadn't planned on it being so soon. This will change our lives so much, in ways that I can't even begin to imagine. How can I run the restaurant when I'm further along, or even once the little one is here? I can't see being able to run this place, go to school, be a good wife and mother, all at the same time."

"We'll manage somehow," Konatsu said, firmly, "And the family will help, you know that. In fact, Mom will be over the moon, she'll be so happy."

Ukyo grinned at her husband and replied, "Yes, that's true enough, though she'll probably start leaning on Ranma and Akane when she hears the news. They won't like that much."

Konatsu shook his head and chuckled briefly. "No, I don't imagine they will. I'll call Doc in the morning to see if there is someone he would recommend you use, and then get an appointment," he added.

"Thanks, and if it is true, then I guess we'll break the news," Ukyo said.

"Now, let's congratulate each other," Konatsu said, as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against hers.

After several minutes, she pulled back and looked at him with a smirk. "You do know that's how we got in this situation in the first place," she said, "Kisses like that make me weak in the knees and my mind goes all fuzzy. In fact, they should be against the law."

* * *

The weary bartender swiped a grimy rag across the battered surface in front of her, wiping up the latest in another spill, while the mostly male patrons in the seedy tavern watched a barely clad twenty-something girl writhe suggestively around a metal pole on the stage opposite the bar. The raucous crowd hooted and hollered as the girl moved to a heavy metal beat, only the feather boa wrapped around her keeping her legal. The outer door banged open, and a large figure entered the dimly lit room, and paused in the doorway, apparently waiting for its eyes to adjust to the deliberate gloom. Finally the figure entered far enough into the space for the previous occupants to begin to recoil at the sight of a large panda carrying an enormous backpack slung across one shoulder. The almost tribal music that had filled the room screeched to a halt as, almost by magic, a path opened in front of the feral beast as it stalked toward a mostly empty table. Only the drunk passed out in one of the chairs, who still seemed to have all of his belongings, failed to move as the panda collapsed into one of the chairs, which promptly creaked loudly against the sudden strain.

One soul, either braver than the rest, or perhaps just deeper in his cups, approached the table. "What do we have here?" he slurred, his bottle clutched in one hand, "An escapee from the zoo? Since when do we serve animals in here?"

The panda glanced at him, its tiny eyes glittering in the dim light. The muzzle of the beast opened up in a wide yawn, showing its teeth, while one clawed paw held up a sign which read, 'Beer, lots of it.'

"Ah, lookie here, a trained panda," the man said, pressing forward, "I bet we could make a bundle taking you around the countryside and letting people watch you perform."

The panda woofed loudly, and the other paw swung around, and caught the man by his ragged shirt. 'Leave now,' the sign read suddenly, 'On your own feet, or headfirst through the door.' To emphasize the point, the panda dragged the man forward and yawned even wider in his face. A sudden reek revealed that the man had soiled himself. In disgust the panda slung the man toward the outer door, causing the audience to part once more. The man bounced with a sickening squelch, and then landed back on his feet somehow, and stumbled out the door. 'What's it take to get a beer in here?' the sign read. With an odd screech, the music started up again, and the crowd pretented to ignore what had just happened, especially as the dancer appeared to lose her last article of clothing, just before the spotlight went out.

A red-haired waitress, who apparently also doubled as one of the dancers, as she was barely wearing a dressing gown, loosely belted at the waist, and showing an amount of cleavage that if it had been natural would have been more impressive, sauntered suggestively over. "What can I get for you big boy?" she asked, batting eyelashes that had entirely too much mascara on them. 'A beer, and some hot water,' FLIP, 'Then you can tell me' FLIP 'what kind of food you can provide,' read several signs in succession.

"Are you as cuddly as you look?" the waitress asked, before sauntering off, swaying her hips which caused all sorts of things to move under the shear gown.

The panda stared at her in amazement, and shook its head. 'I guess it takes,' FLIP 'all sorts,' a sign flashed. Soon the young woman returned, carrying a tray with a large stein and a pot of water.

"You aren't really a panda, are you?" the girl asked, as she placed the tray on the table.

The panda rolled its eyes, and chugged the beer, and then poured the contents of the pot over itself. The waitress collapsed into a chair, as the panda transformed into a tired, middle-aged man, wearing a kerchief on his head, and a gi. "No, actually I'm not," the man replied, drily. He grinned at the young woman, who for some reason, reminded him of someone but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out.

"W-what?" the girl stammered.

"Long story short, picked up a curse that turns me into a panda when hit with cold water. Hot water changes me back," the man replied.

"Akemi," the waitress said.

"Huh?" the man asked.

The waitress said, "The name's Akemi. You looked like you've had a rough life, and maybe could use some company."

"Genma Saotome, but no thanks, I'm married," Genma replied.

Akemi smiled wryly and replied, "And so are at least three-fourths of the men in here."

Genma glanced around and said, "Underestimating, I think, but I get your point. However, while I've done a lot of things wrong in my marriage, there are a few things that I just won't betray."

"Fair enough, and while I'm not insulted about what you thought I was offering, considering where we are, I was really just offering a kindly ear, in case you needed someone to talk to," Akemi said.

Genma thought about that for a few moments, and then grinned. "Why not, but first, what kind of grub can we get here? It's been a long time since my last meal, and it's been a while for you too, I bet," he asked.

"Well, there's not much the cook can make, but what he can do is good and filling. How's miso soup, some yakatoris and okonomiyaki sound?" she asked.

"Some pickled vegetables, and a pitcher of beer in there somewhere?" Genma asked.

"Yeah, we can manage that," Akemi said, standing up, "Hang in there, sugar, things are about to get better." The waitress walked off, dropping her act, which oddly enough, made her a bit more interesting to the middle-aged man.

Genma chuckled for a moment, and then wrenched his thoughts away from the path that they had wandered. Sighing, he pulled a small box from his travel-worn gi and opened it, staring at the contents that were then revealed. "What a family," he muttered, before taking another pull on what was left of his beer, "Thieves, cheats, liars, what a legacy I've left my son." He shook his head in dismay, and then nodded. "But, he's a better man than I, he will overcome, I know he will," he added, a touch of pride still in his voice. After a few moments, he finished, bitterly, "He must, or I'm a failure." Finally, a tear rolled down the battered man's face, as the price of his actions finally began to sink in.

Two things then occurred in succession, a loud clatter as something was placed on the table, and then Genma was pulled into a gentle embrace. "Go ahead, sugar, let it out, that's what I'm here for," Akemi said, soothingly.

After a few minutes, Genma pushed her gently away, and said, softly, "Sorry about that. Got you all wet."

Akemi smirked for a moment and then teased, "Not yet you haven't, but I am available," giving him a sultry expression.

"You know what I meant," Genma protested, before his eyes glanced down at the table to see the large spread she had somehow managed to obtain, as well as the two sets of dishes.

Akemi grinned at him and retorted, "That was entirely too good a setup to not use, you have to admit."

Genma grinned ruefully at her. "Okay, you have me there. Now, since you've gone to all this trouble for me, let's eat."

Akemi passed around the various foodstuffs, as well as placed a large pitcher of beer in the centre of the table. "Like I said, it isn't fancy, but it will stick to your ribs," she said, pulling a pair of ivory chopsticks from the sleeve of her robe. After a few minutes watching the man eat, she sat back replete and daintily dabbed at her lips, while Genma finished the remainder of the repast.

Genma leaned back in his chair, and took a drink from his beer, and then set the glass down.

"So, what brings you here?" Akemi asked, "Especially in such a state."

"Isn't that usually the man's line? Like, what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Genma asked, in return.

"In my case, earning a living the best I can," Akemi replied, evenly, "Dancing mostly, the money's not bad, and I sometimes meet a nice guy and have a good time."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm sorry you have to work here," Genma said, after a moment.

"What did you mean by that?" Akemi asked.

"I've got daughters that aren't a lot younger than you," Genma replied, "And I could just see them ending up like this if I hadn't found them."

"That sounds like a story," Akemi said, "Are you willing to share?"

Genma took another gulp of his beer, and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Why the hell not?" he finally replied, "Sure, let's talk about the screwed up life I've led. I could use an uninvolved viewpoint."

* * *

Sayuri slid the door to her room open, her body silhouetted by the moonlight streaming through her window, and glared at the young couple who had attempted to slip past her room. "Are you two quite finished?" she growled, causing Ranma and Akane to come to a complete stop.

"What ever do you mean?" Ranma asked, blushing, as he pulled his yukata completely closed, though not before Sayuri had realised that he was the only thing under the robe.

The reddened cheeks on Akane's face had already reached the top of her somewhat exposed cleaveage, before she also yanked the ties on her robe tighter.

"Your bedroom is just above mine, Ranma," Sayuri growled, "And there's no soundproofing to speak of in the ceiling between us. And if that wasn't bad enough, something kept slamming into the wall. So, do you know how hard, I mean difficult, it is to get to sleep when that is going on?"

"You're just jealous," Akane said, a bit spitefully.

"Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I am. You know the promise we made," Sayuri spat, "So don't make it harder for me than it already is, please?"

"She has a point, Akane, we were overlooking her situation just a bit," Ranma said.

"We aren't going to stop," Akane snarled.

"Of course not," Ranma retorted quickly, "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be considerate of others. Kasumi hasn't said anything, but I imagine she's heard us before as well, since her bedroom shares a wall with ours." He glanced at the ceiling above him and then added, "But we can fix both of their problems easily, though it will cost some money to do so."

"Huh?" Akane asked.

"Talk to Kasumi, but I bet she knows someone who can get some insulation in between the floor joists relatively painlessly, the walls may be a little harder," Ranma replied, "And if it takes a few days, well, we can pitch a tent in the yard."

"I'll have her get some bids, and then we'll take care of it," Akane said.

"No, **we'll** get the bids," Ranma corrected, "This is our house now, and we are responsible for it. We've been leaning on Kasumi entirely too much to take care of things like that around here, and we need to quit."

"There's something that you aren't telling me," Akane warned.

"Well, there's something that I've sensed, but I don't know if I am right or not, so I didn't tell you about it," Ranma replied, "But if what I think I have seen and figured out is right, we'll see the results soon."

"Now that you two have that settled, go do whatever it is you were going to do so I can get some sleep," Sayuri ordered.

"You heard the lady, Ranma," Akane said, with a giggle, "Let's go find the furo."

Ranma nodded his head, and followed his wife down the hall toward the furoba, while Sayuri eased her door shut and climbed back into her lonely bed.

"I'm so not going to make it," Sayuri sighed as she closed her eyes once more in an attempt to get to sleep.

* * *

The sun slowly began to light up the tiny yet neat room, its rays making a path through the partially closed shades and across to the rumpled lump curled up on a small futon. With a groan, the figure slowly sat up, and stretched, and then glanced around the room in a wild panic.

An amused giggle rose from the door as Akemi sauntered in, dressed only in her panties, a cup with steam curling up from it in her hand. "That was quite an evening last night. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun," she said, sinking down onto the futon in front of her new bedmate, "Thank you, sugar, we'll have to do it again."

"What am I doing here?" Genma cried.

"I'm hurt that you don't remember," Akemi exclaimed overdrammatically, placing the back of one hand against her forehead, "Oh, I feel so used."

Genma scrambled out of the futon, only to dive back down once he realised that he was only in his boxers. He stared at her in horror, his mind racing as he tried to recall what had happened the night before, only to realise that it vanished into an alcholic daze. Once he understood that, his face changed, as his eyes took on a fatalistic stare. With a heavy sigh, he muttered, "Finally, the ultimate betrayal. Well, that's the last of it. I can sink no lower. There is no possibility of redemption now." Grimacing, he added, "Nor do I desire one."

"Genma, you're scaring me," Akemi said, wise beyound her years at reading the men she was with.

"I'm sorry for that, you have been nothing but kind to me," Genma said, his voice dead, "But I have a few final arrangements to make, a letter to write, that sort of thing."

"I don't understand!" Akemi cried, "Tell me what's wrong!"

"You heard my life story last night, as best as I can remember," Genma said, tonelessly, "And the one thing that I had never done before was betray my wife with another."

Akemi sighed heavily, and touched his arm. "And you still have not done that, Genma Saotome, all you did last night was sleep, I swear," she said, soothingly, "We talked so late last night, but hadn't finished the tale, that after the bar closed, you came here to finish regaling me with your story. You finally had a bit too much to drink, and passed out, so I managed to drag you in to the bedroom to allow you to sleep in off. While we did share a futon and cuddled a bit, that is all we did."

A bit of life returned to Genma's eyes, as he searched the woman's eyes for any hint of dishonesty.

"Go take a shower, that will make you feel a bit better, and there's hot coffee waiting in the other room once you are done," Akemi urged.

"Where are my clothes?" Genma asked.

"Your backpack is in the corner, and I'm washing what you were wearing last night," Akemi replied, "And there'll be some food waiting for you once you are clean."

"What time is it?" Genma said, as he headed toward the shower.

"It's a bit past noon," Akemi replied, "We were up late last night, so I let you sleep. And I thought we could talk a little about what you told me. I've maybe some insights that just might help you, I hope."

Genma waved an assent, as he closed the door behind him.

Akemi waited until she heard the sound of the water running before heading back into the rest of the small flat.

* * *

Nodoka opened the door to her house, a welcoming smile on her face when she saw her son and daughter-in-law standing nervously on the porch. "Konatsu, Ukyo, this is a pleasant surprise, I didn't know that you were coming over," she said, "Don't you need to get Ucchan's open for the afternoon crowd?"

"We had some news that we wanted to tell you, Mom, which we felt was more important," Konatsu replied nervously.

"Well, please come in and join me in the kitchen, I just started making some tea," Nodoka said. She stepped back from the door and allowed them to enter. After taking a moment to change into some house slippers, the young couple followed her into the antiseptic kitchen, where they sat down at the small table set against one wall.

Nodoka brought the tea over and set the tray on the table and joined them. After pouring the tea into the delicate cups, she waited patiently until they had sipped the brew and made the nearly ritualistic comments about the flavour. "What news is so important then?" she asked.

"We've just returned from seeing the doctor," Ukyo began.

Nodoka frowned and asked, "Are you ill, my daughter?"

"No, not exactly, though I have been feeling under the weather a bit," Ukyo replied.

Konatsu smiled at his wife and took her hand. "Mom, you're going to be a grandmother," he said.

Nodoka looked at him, and stammered, "A grandmother! My son is so manly," as she swayed back and forth in her seat, "Oh my, that is unexpected. I thought you two were going to wait."

"So did we," Ukyo replied drolly, "However, it seems that fate or something had other plans for us."

"How did it happen?" Nodoka asked.

"Well, when a man and a woman really love each other," Konatsu began, a smirk on his face as he couldn't resist.

"I know about the mechanics, obviously, son," Nodoka interrupted.

Konatsu chuckled, and answered, "We think we got careless the morning you came over to tell us about Saotome's disgrace."

Ukyo blushed and added, "I hadn't taken my potion yet, and I was so upset when you told me what that rat bastard had done, that I wasn't thinking clearly."

Konatsu blushed even more, and continued, "And I didn't help matters any by trying to comfort her the way I did. I was trained as a kunoichi, and I am very good at it, after all, so she was pretty much not thinking about anything once we got started."

"You know, I really think that might have fallen into the category of too much information," Nodoka said, after a moment. "When is the baby due?" she asked.

"A bit less than eight months from now, is the best answer the doctor would give us," Ukyo replied.

"But what is this going to do to your plans?" Nodoka asked, "Obviously having a child is a major impact to both your education and the restaurant."

"As you can imagine, we've been thinking about that ever since we realised the possibility that we were going to be parents," Konatsu replied, calmly, "But as of right now, we haven't come to any real conclusions."

"I really need to graduate from high school," Ukyo said, "Unfortunately, that means my last year in school I will also be a mother. On the other hand, I had little desire to continue on into college, since I full well intended to concentrate on the restaurant once I left school. Having a child will cause some difficulties with that, obviously, but we're hoping that we'll be able to pull it off."

"We're not too proud to ask for help, though, Mom," Konatsu said, "There will be a time span where Ukyo shouldn't work long hours, not to mention once the baby is born, there will be several demands on our schedule."

"It goes without saying that if you need a babysitter, I'm available," Nodoka said, "So that is one problem out of the way, and as to feeding the baby, there's always a breast pump with the milk stored for later use." She thought for a moment and then asked, "Did your obstretrician give you any instructions?"

"Did she!" Ukyo exclaimed.

Konatsu replied, "Quite a bit of information, especially about diet, exercise and rest. Not to mention the physical changes that are going to happen. That's one of the reasons why I know that it is going to be difficult toward the end. Especially trying to get her to get enough rest between school and the restaurant."

"And we can't afford to just shut the place down that last month or so, since we'll need the money," Ukyo added.

"I'm sure something can be worked out," Nodoka said, serenely.

* * *

Akemi smiled warmly as Genma joined her at the table.

"Not that I'm complaining, since I am enjoying the view, but why are you almost naked?" Genma asked, as he sat down on the floor next to the table.

"It's my flat, and this is what I normally wear when I am here," Akemi replied, "And obviously, since I am a stripper down at the bar, I'm not terribly body conscious. So I didn't really see any reason to change."

Genma smirked at her and said, "A reasonable explanation. And since you are a very attractive young lady, as I said, I'm not going to complain."

Akemi grinned at him, and said, "That's nice to hear. Now, eat up, again, while it's not fancy, what I fixed should stick to your ribs."

"No one has ever complained about my appetite," Genma retorted as he started eating.

Akemi watched him eat for a moment and then snickered. "You are allowed to taste it before swallowing, you know," she said, as she daintily ate a skewer of chicken.

"Too many years of speed training for my son, I'm afraid," Genma replied, sheepishly, "My wife has tried to retrain me, but it hasn't taken yet."

"You should make the effort," Akemi suggested, "I'm a decent cook, so what I make tastes good, and someone who really knows what they are doing deserves the proper attention."

He slowed down long enough to notice what he was eating. After a moment of thought, Genma asked, "Um, not that I want to be judgemental about your occupation or anything, but is being a waitress and stripper all you want to do in life?"

"Not really, but it does pay the bills," Akemi replied, "Why do you ask?"

Genma replied, "I was thinking that Konatsu and Ukyo could probably use some help in the kitchen, especially during the school day. She hasn't graduated from high school yet, so having someone else who could cook would help them. It likely wouldn't pay as well, but it would be somewhat more respectable."

"That's your adopted son and his wife who run an okonomiyaki restaurant, right?" Akemi asked.

"Yes, that's would be them," Genma replied.

Akemi asked, "Would they accept me knowing my background?"

Genma chuckled, causing her to glare at him. Finally, he managed to choke out, "Oh, yes, they would be very accepting of you. Konatsu was trained as a kunoichi."

"What?!" Akemi exclaimed.

He grinned at her and replied, "You heard what I said. Believe me, it was hard to believe that he was really a male when we found out."

Akemi shook her head in amazement for a moment and said, "You have a very interesting family."

"Oh you don't know the half of it," Genma said, chuckling, "So are you interested? I suspect you would get room and board out of it, as well."

"This isn't what I want to do forever, that is certainly true, especially since it will only last as long as my looks do," Akemi said, "Sure, why not, it would be a change." She sipped her tea thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, "Well, as I mentioned, I have some thoughts about what you told me."

"I could use an unbiased opinion," Genma admitted.

"Well, for starters, you've screwed up by the numbers with your son," Akemi said, "And I doubt you will ever get him to forgive you for what you tried to pull, not to mention the hell you put him through growing up. And that wife of his sounds like she'll hold a grudge forever, so don't look for any help there, either."

"Yes, I know all that," Genma said, a bit impatiently, waving his hand in a get on with it gesture.

"On the other hand, what you've done for Konatsu, Natsume and Kurumi tends to offset that to a limited extent. Especially the girls, that was a good thing you did for them, accepting them as your own," Akemi said, "If you admit to them that you wronged Ranma, and intend to change your ways, and become the father that the two girls deserve, then you'll likely bring them around, eventually." She sighed and then added, "And then there is your wife. I'm not sure how I can help you there."

Genma sighed heavily and said, "She'll probably forgive me, though she'll never forget what I did, or tried to do, to her son. But it will take a long time for that to occur. At least she's had the chance to read through the journals I kept, and find out the reasons I did what I did. And Ranma will admit that I did succeed in turning him into one of the best martial artists around, so hopefully that will count for something. Besides, it's not like he hasn't done some crazy training on his own."

"I doubt it was as dumb as tossing him into a pit of starving cats with some sort of fish tied to him, or getting him cursed to turn into a girl, though," Akemi chided.

"I can't really argue about that," Genma replied, ruefully, "Neither of those were my best moments, nor was getting him engaged to so many girls. At least I was wise enough not to engage his girl side to any guys."

Akemi snorted and asked, "Wise enough, or too afraid of his reaction, not to mention your wife's?"

"That did play a part in making that decision, I will admit," Genma replied, rolling his eyes.

"I rather thought it did," Akemi said, her eyes dancing.

"Well, it would be hard to consider him a man among men if he was engaged to one," Genma said, "On the other hand, having several women engaged to him does give him some credit about being a man among men."

Akemi sighed and shook her finger at him, which caused interesting things to happen to her upper body, things which had an immediate effect on Genma, who stiffened and turned away, glad that the table was solid wood.

"Oh, see something you like?" Akemi teased.

"Of course I do, I'm a guy and have a pulse after all," Genma growled goodnaturedly, "But I was able to ignore them at least until you drew my attention back to them. Which means that I have to ask."

"Don't bother, they are all mine, nothing artificial here, well, except for my hair colour, that does come out of a bottle," Akemi said, rolling her eyes, "Unfortunately, I was 'blessed' by the tit god. Sort of makes it hard to get anyone to take me serious. I suppose that's one reason why I dropped out of college. If I were an easy lay, I'd get an easy grade, and I wasn't about to do that."

"When can you leave here and return with me to Nerima?" Genma asked, returning to their original topic.

"I really ought to give notice at the bar, and I have to give a month's notice for the flat, I suppose, but I could head back with you today and meet everyone to see if they are interested in hiring me first," Akemi replied after a moment of thought.

"That's probably a wise idea," Genma agreed, "So clean up, get dressed and then head out, I guess."

Akemi smiled and said, "Sounds suspiciously like a plan."

* * *

Soun folded his paper and set it beside him, as Yumi and Hinako brought in the evening meal. Glancing at the full table, he started in surprise when he realised that two of his daughters were missing, as well as one son-in-law, and that they had apparently been replaced by Nodoka and her two daughters. At that point he discovered that he had become largely unnecessary to the running of the household, a feeling he quite enjoyed once he got by the initial shock. Of course if he had realised exactly how long ago he had become irrelevant, he might have felt somewhat less sanguine. However, as the notional patriarch of the clan, he did feel it obligatory to ask, "Where are Nabiki, Kasumi and Tofu?"

Yumi started to reply and then defered as Akane raised her eyebrow.

"Nabiki is having dinner with Souta and his family. They've felt a bit neglected for some reason," Akane replied, "And Kasumi called to say that she and Tofu had 'other plans' for the evening, and not to wait dinner for them."

"And I asked Mom to join us for dinner, since the girls came over to work out with us after school," Ranma added.

"Your mother and sisters are always welcome here, Ranma" Soun opined.

Ranma traded a glance with his wife and grinned. "I'm glad that you agree with us, Soun," he said, carefully keeping his tone even, though Yumi had to hide a smile.

"I thank you for your kind invitation, my son," Nodoka said, somewhat stiffly.

"As Daddy said, you are always welcome here, Mother Saotome," Akane said, "Especially in troubled times like these. Family should draw closer."

Nodoka smiled at her and said, "I could do with a bit less formality from my daughter-in-law, Akane. My name is Nodoka, I would be happy if you used it, please."

Akane blushed prettily and said, "Of course, Nodoka, I just was, well I don't know what I was trying to do."

While this brief conversation had taken place, Yumi and Hinako had divided the food and spread it around the table for all to enjoy. Soun then asked, "Akane, you said something that puzzled me, something about troubled times. What was that all about?"

"I was refering to her husband, and what she had learned about him," Akane replied, "I only wanted her to know that we are here for her for whatever support she and the girls need."

"My husband is still on his journey of self-discovery," Nodoka said, "Though part of his absence is also his well-honed sense of self-preservation. He knows that I am most unhappy with him, especially over his treatment of Ranma while on the training trip. But his attempt at stealing my son's inheritance is his worst sin, in my eyes."

"What?" Soun exclaimed.

"We hadn't told anyone else about that, Mom," Ranma said, shrugging his shoulders, "Since it failed."

"In that case, I will let it go," Soun said, "And rely on your judgement in the matter."

"Soun, the main reason I didn't tell you is that I didn't want to harm your relationship with Pop. He's going to need someone who will listen to him whenever he does return from his journey," Ranma said, "I've cut all ties to him, since I really don't see any way for me to forgive him for what he did. But if everyone he knows turns their back on him, then I'm concerned about what he might do."

"This way, at least, he'll still have someone he can talk to, Daddy," Akane added.

"I miss him," Kurumi said, sadly, "I really want my father back, we barely had any time to get to know him."

Ranma smiled at her and said, "And there's nothing wrong with you having a relationship with him, either of you. Once he accepted you into the family, he's treated you right, so there's no reason for you to feel like you should distance yourselves from him on my account."

"But he hurt you badly, Ranma," Natsume pointed out.

Akane nodded an emphatic agreement.

Ranma replied, "Yes, he did hurt me, and it appears that from the beginning he plotted to steal the money my grandfather wanted to leave me. But that's the point, his actions were against me, not you. And while I really appreciate the fact that you are upset on my behalf because of what he did, don't ruin your relationship with him just because of that. You two were alone for too long for you to just turn on him, at least that's what I think." He shrugged, and added, "Not quite sure where all this maturity is coming from."

That statement earned him a few giggles from Akane and her sisters. Ranma mock glared at them and added, "But ultimately that's your decision to make. Just make it because you feel that way, not because you think it's what I or anyone else may want."

"I think I see what you are telling me, Ranma," Natsume said, thoughtfully, "I will consider what you have said."

Ranma smiled at her and said, "That's all that I am asking of you, little sister. Both of you as a matter of fact."

"I see what you are saying as well, son," Soun said, "But in deference to your good opinion, I think that from now on I will be meeting my old friend somewhere other than here."

"And for that bastard's continued good health," Akane growled.

Ranma grinned at his mother, and said, "Mom, I won't even try to tell you what to do. He's still your husband, after all, so you have to decide what it is you want from him."

"Thank you, my son, for being so wise," Nodoka merely replied, "I have much left to think about, while he is off on his travels."

"If you need someone to talk to, I am available," Yumi said, softly, "Since I am still somewhat of an outsider, I can perhaps give a neutral ear."

"I will likely take you up on that, perhaps I can come over for tea one afternoon, or better yet, a morning for shopping," Nodoka agreed.

"And you aren't really an outsider, Yumi," Akane said, near angrily, "You are as much a part of this family as anyone. I may not have a mother any more, but I do have two moms that I care for and know care for me."

"I merely meant that I have had little interaction with Saotome," Yumi said, "So I can be more impartial than someone who has had more, such as yourself, or any of the other girls for that matter."

"And I thank you for the compliment, Akane," Nodoka said, wiping a faint tear from her eye, "I am honoured that you have accepted me in that role."

"Mom," Ranma chided, goodnaturedly, "You really don't have to be that formal all of the time. Loosen up the girdle that you don't wear and let your hair down occasionally."

Nodoka glared at her son for a moment, and then surprised him by pulling the pins from her hair, allowing it to fall free. Shaking her head briefly, she let her hair settle, where to her son's shock, it ended up just above the small of her back. "Yumi dear, you wouldn't happen to have a beer in the house, would you?" she asked.

"Actually, there's some Asahi Dark in the icebox," Yumi replied, "I'll get us a few." Rising smoothly to her feet, she left the room, returning quickly with several bottles. Handing two to Nodoka, she set a bottle of Sapporo Light in front of her husband, and then set two bottles in front of herself before kneeling down. Lifting one bottle up, she took a long pull of the ice-cold premium brew, which was quickly mimicked by the other two adults at the table.

"Um, I didn't mean literally," Ranma said, almost in shock.

Akane was barely keeping herself from rolling on the floor, laughing her head off, something that Natsume could relate to, while the less restrained Kurumi was doing that very thing.

* * *

Ukyo glanced up as the little bell over the door tinkled, and smiled at the young woman who had just entered. "Welcome to Ucchans," she said, as she turned her griddle back on, and headed over to the nicely endowed red-head.

"Thank you," the young woman purred, as she removed a pair of sunglasses and hooked one earpiece in her low-cut blouse, giving the apparent young man an appreciative look.

"Would you like a table, or to sit at the bar at the grill?" Ukyo asked.

"Honey, the bar is fine, the view will be much better there," the woman said, huskily.

Ukyo blushed and turned back toward the safety of the grill, only to blush harder at the wolf whistle coming from behind her. As she got to the security of the grill, with the quickly heating surface between her and the prowling woman, Ukyo managed to regain her composure and ask, "What would you like?"

"That depends, are you on the menu?" the young woman asked, with a smirk. She then began to giggle at the expression on the other person's face. Finally taking pity on her, the red-head said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Saotome, I'm just teasing you. You do make a very attractive morsel of a man, though."

"You have me at a disadvantage," Ukyo stammered.

"I know," the red-head smirking, "My name is Akemi Roppongi, and I am delighted to meet you. But to business, I would like a seafood special, and some tea. I understand you make one of the best around."

"That I do," Ukyo said proudly as she dropped some water on the hot surface and watched it dance around. Pouring just a dab of oil, she spread it with a small spatula and waited a moment. Then judging the time was right, she poured a dollop of batter from a small pitcher.

Akemi watched intently as the young chef prepared her meal, smiling with anticipation as the batter cooked.

Expertly, Ukyo flipped the half-cooked base over, the cooked side nicely browned. Then she began to ladle out the toppings from a set of containers, allowing the heat of the grill to cook the seafood slightly, while the handful of mixed vegetables steamed away. A twitch of her hand added a generous amount of sauce to the flat cake, allowing the sauce to warm up for a moment. With a deft hand she assembled the vegetables and the seafood onto the cake, and then slid it onto a plate, presenting the plate to her customer.

"And my tea?" Akemi asked, only to start as she realised that a small ornate teapot and one cup was at her elbow.

"Konatsu likes to impress," Ukyo said with a smile as she handed over a pair of chopsticks in a paper wrap.

"I am impressed," Akemi said, and then took a bite of her meal once she had separated the chopsticks, "This is indeed excellent."

"Thank you," Ukyo said, "But I do have to ask, why do you know about me?"

"Ah, I'd like to finish this excellent snack," Akemi replied, evasively.

Ukyo waited patiently for her as her customer slowly finished the meal, savouring each bite.

Finally Akemi said, "As I mentioned, my name is Akemi Roppongi, and I came here at the request of a certain someone. He took pity on my lifestyle. After extolling your ability, and your kindly nature, he suggested that I come here and seek employment."

"Now I am really confused," Ukyo admitted.

"Mrs. Saotome, for the last several years I have worked as an exotic dancer," Akemi began.

"Well, you have the figure for it," Ukyo replied, "Not quite sure where I can help you though."

Akemi grinned at the younger girl and said, demurely, "Thank you, but that was only for background. I also worked as a waitress in the same bar, so I can handle that chore. But what I was really hoping I could do was cook. I'm not in your class as far as making okonomiyaki is concerned, but soups, salads, stir-fries, that kind of thing are right down my alley. If you want, I can show you what I can do."

Ukyo moved away from the grill, and said, "Go ahead, knock my socks off."

"This isn't my forte," Akemi said, as she went to the grill and started preparing an okonomiyaki. Shortly, she slid a vegetable okonomikayi onto a plate and handed it to Ukyo.

Ukyo took a quick bite, and then nodded. "I'm better at this, but you make a good substitute," she said, "Sugar, you may be the right person at the right time." She pointed to the stool and sat down in the other one, and added, "I definitely could use someone to help in the kitchen quite soon."

"That's good to hear," Akemi said, "I am actually looking forward to a change in my life."

"I do have to ask, how did you hear of me? Did my father send you?" Ukyo asked.

"Um, actually no, and in fact, the man didn't think that his name would be much of a recommendation to you. But, in honesty, I really should tell you that it was Genma Saotome that suggested I seek you out," Akemi replied.

"That bastard sent you here!" Ukyo exclaimed, her eyes flashing in anger.

Konatsu asked, "What is he to you?"

"Not what you are thinking that's for sure," Akemi said, stiffly, "All I offered him was a place to sleep, and a shoulder to cry on. I gave him a few suggestions about how to straighten up his life, but nothing more than that."

"So you aren't his doxie?" Ukyo sneered, "How can I believe that?"

Akemi shrugged her shoulders. "You will believe what you want to believe, and nothing I can say will change that," she said. Sighing, she rose to her feet and asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"Please stay, Roppongi-san. I believe her, Ukyo," Konatsu said, "And remember, she didn't have to tell you that Saotome sent her."

"It's just that I am so tired of him fucking up my life, sugar," Ukyo said.

Konatsu hugged her from behind, and said, "I know that, but don't take your righteous anger out on this nice lady. She hasn't wronged you in any way."

Ukyo slumped against her husband and gazed at the older woman. With a heavy sigh, she bowed her head and said, "I'm sorry, Akemi. You just hit a raw spot through no fault of your own. I appreciate your honesty in revealing who suggested you come here."

"No apologies are necessary, Mrs. Saotome," Akemi said, "I can understand your reaction based on what all your father-in-law revealed to me. Now, let me settle my bill, and I will be out of your life."

"No charge, let's consider the meal your hire-in bonus. No matter why you are here, we need the help, and if you are as good as you say you are, you will be a godsend," Ukyo said, "The only thing we need to discuss is how much to pay you."

"Saotome also suggested that I might be able to get room and board," Akemi said.

"That might be a bit more problematic," Ukyo said, "There's just our flat above the restaurant, and it is going to be too small shortly."

"Actually, Ukyo, I have done some thinking about that, and spoke to the owners of the buildings next to us. The one to the south of us is willing to sell the property to us, since it has been vacant for some number of months," Konatsu said.

"How could we afford that?" Ukyo asked, "And why would we want to do that?"

"In reverse order, we could expand the seating area into the ground floor, and open up our flat into the first floor, as well as carve out a set of rooms for Roppongi-san," her husband replied, "And while we don't have the money to buy it outright, I think our cash flow would likely allow us to make a reasonable mortgage payment. Assuming my numbers are accurate that is."

"Remodeling isn't cheap, Konatsu," Ukyo said.

"You have some cheap labour though. Don't forget that Ranma would be willing to help, and he is good with his hands. And I am sure that the rest of the family would help," Konatsu said, gently.

"Um, if you would like to change the arrangements, I wouldn't mind investing some of the money that I have saved into the place, either," Akemi said, "Though, if I did that, I would need to have a piece of the business, instead of being just an employee."

"What are we talking about, in round figures?" Ukyo asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Three, maybe four, million," Akemi replied calmly.

"Tips were that good?" Konatsu asked, with a smile.

"I am very good," Akemi retorted, shimmying her chest. She grinned at the cross-dressing young man and added, "If we expanded the seating area, we could offer a more varied menu. Not that okonomiyaki isn't a good base, but we could add some of my specialties. Need to be careful though that we didn't get too elaborate."

"I was thinking that some of the space could be set aside for later expansion, or possibly private rooms," Konatsu admitted, "And we might need to hire more waitstaff. I'm not sure that the girls and I could handle all of the space if we get the customers I hope that we do."

"I think I am losing control of things," Ukyo admitted.

Konatsu said, "We should call a meeting of the family and talk about this then. And Roppongi-san should be involved."

"That is going to get old fast," Akemi said, "Please, just call me Akemi."

"In that case, I am Ukyo, not Mrs. Saotome," Ukyo said.

"And I am Konatsu," her husband added.

"So do we have the start of a partnership?" Akemi asked.

Ukyo asked, "Konatsu, do you really think we are ready to expand? In light of everything?"

Konastu said, "Honestly, we could start slowly. Just do the first floor changes, and then slowly open up the ground floor as we get more comfortable. But you have to admit we need the space. Our flat is fine for the two of us, but we need at least one more room soon."

"In that case, we'll need to work out the details, but I think we just gained a partner," Ukyo said, holding her hand out.

Akemi shook her hand, and said, "This will work out, I am sure of it. It'll take me a couple of weeks to get free of all of my committments, and I'll need to store my things somewhere until we can remodel the space next door, not to mention a place to stay."

"Why don't you wait until we close on the building to give notice, that way the transition might not be too hard, since we could concentrate on adding your rooms first," Konatsu suggested.

"That would work, I think," Akemi said, "I would like some input into what gets done though."

* * *

Nodoka halted her entrance into the kitchen as she spotted a package that had not been there the night before when she had closed the house up for the evening. Moving gingerly into the room, she approached the sloppily wrapped item, only to relax slightly as she spotted the small note attached to the package and recognised the unsightly hand of her husband. Taking the note, she read,

'My dear wife, assuming I may still address you as such, I hope this note finds you well. As for me, I am unable to return as of yet, though I wished to return to you something that you had made for our son, and ask that you return it to him in your name. I am sure he does not remember it, as I was _forced_ to pawn it during our journey. A practise that appears to be hereditary in my lineage, as I discovered when I retrieved the box containing the family treasure from my family shrine. Instead of the medal of bravery my ancestor received due to his exploits during the Meiji Restoration, there was a ticket from a pawnshop in Sapporo. I will go there next in the hopes that it remains there, but honestly believe it has been sold long since.

Also, during my journey, I have met a young lady who I wish to help because of both her kindness towards me, as well as the circumstance in which I met her. She is currently a waitress and stripper at a rather seedy bar, and I suspect you will believe the worst of me when you meet her. Although it was obvious that she was available in every way, I chose instead to once more remember our vows. In that at least, I may take pride. I have sent her to Ukyo and Konatsu, in the hope that she might find a job there. I suppose you are asking why I decided to help her, and in answer it was because she was in a situation that Kurumi and Natsume easily could have found themselves in, and while I have often given lip service to the martial artist's credo to always help the less fortunate, in this case I could not in good conscience leave her to the fate I foresaw for her. Yes, I actually wrote in good conscience. Her name is Akemi Roppongi. Please support me in this, I beg of you, not for myself, but for the sake of a girl who easily appears to be our daughter. You'll see what I mean when you meet her.

Your Wayward Husband

Genma'

With trembling hands, Nodoka tore the paper from the package to reveal the warm coat that she had made for her son so many years ago. A sob escaped from her throat as she pulled it out and hugged it to her, still feeling all of the love that she had poured into the making.

* * *

Ranma opened the door to the restaurant and allowed his wife to precede him, ignoring the smirk on her face as she passed by.

"I know the only reason you are being a gentleman is so you can look at my arse as I go by," Akane whispered.

"You say that like it's a **bad** thing," Ranma retorted, "Especially as I was admiring said arse not so long ago without all those pesky clothes in the way. And I don't seem to recall you complaining then."

That comment resulted in the expected blush, causing Ranma to think, 'G-o-a-l!'

"Hey sugar," Ukyo said, "Thanks for coming by."

"No problem, Konatsu made it sound pretty important," Ranma replied, "So what's going on?"

"Several things, actually," Ukyo replied, as she seated them at a booth, "For one, we have an opportunity that we wanted to talk to you about. I don't know if you noticed but the building next to us is vacant, and we're considering making the owner an offer to buy it so we can expand into the space. Since we share a common wall, it wouldn't be too difficult to join the buildings together, so long as we don't take out any of the support beams."

"Business in the restaurant is that good?" Akane asked.

"Well, we are always pretty full," Ukyo replied, "But that isn't the only reason we want the space."

"Our flat is going to be too small soon, and we need to add a few more rooms," Konatsu explained, "Remodel the bathroom to make it larger, and convert the rest of the first floor into a second flat, with perhaps some meeting rooms, or something if there is enough space. We can expand the kitchen area on the ground floor as well as convert the rest into dining."

"Why do you need more space? There's just the two of you," Ranma asked.

"Um, actually sugar, there will be an addition in several months," Ukyo replied.

"We're going to have a child," Konatsu added.

Ranma rubbed his ear as he was deafened by the loud "SQUEEEEEEEEE!" that came from his wife as she nearly lunged over the table to hug Ukyo. "Congratulations, you two," he said, grinning broadly, "But I sure hope you aren't going to be giving Mom any ideas."

After she settled back down into her seat, Akane said, "So what kind of money are we talking about for the building?"

"I've talked to the owner a little bit, and I think I can get it for about what I paid for this place," Ukyo replied.

"Mind letting Nabiki or Kasumi give it a try? I bet the two of them could get it for less," Ranma asked.

"Could we afford what Nabiki would charge?" Konatsu joked.

"We also have decided to expand the menu a little bit," Ukyo said.

Ranma raised an eyebrow and said, "I thought that you lived and died for okonomiyaki."

"Yes, that will still be the base of what we do, but we thought it would be good to add some variety," Ukyo said, defensively.

"How can you go to school, have a baby and expand the restaurant all at the same time? Isn't that a bit risky?" Akane asked.

"Um, that's the other surprise we have," Ukyo said, "We're adding a partner." She waved her hand and an attractive young red-haired woman entered the dining room from the kitchen carrying a tray of food.

Akane looked at the young woman and she began to giggle. Someone had taken the time to braid the girl's hair into a pigtail, similar to the one her husband wore, and dressed her in a red Chinese shirt, and black slacks, so she looked like an older female Ranma. "Do you have a missing older sister?" she asked.

Ukyo smirked as Konatsu up-ended a glass of water over Ranma, transforming him into his female form, and pulled the annoyed woman to her feet.

"Meet our new partner, Akemi Ropponogi," Ukyo said.

Ranma finally grinned at the joke and said, "Well, we aren't quite alike enough for me to use her as a mirror, and even **my** boobs aren't that big. Her face is a bit thinner, and so is her waist, but other than that, if I didn't know better, I'd swear she was related. She even looks a little bit like Mom does when she was about that age."

"Your father told me about the curse, and even though I saw him transform, it is still a surprise to see it," Akemi said, as she set the tray down on the table in front of them, the aroma from the stir-fry immediately rousing Ranma's interest. Her stomach rumbling made that perfectly clear.

Akane said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Ropponogi-san," as she rose to her feet in greeting.

"Please, I'm simply Akemi, Saotome-san," Akemi said, bowing slightly.

"Then it must be Akane," Akane said, returning the bow.

"And I am Ranma, and you must tell us about how you met the panda," Ranma added, "But if you are the one who prepared this food, I can see why Ukyo is interested in both bringing you onboard and expanding the selection."

"I am the one who made this," Akemi said.

"And with me being pregnant, she'll be a godsend to help keep the restaurant open once get into the later months, and even after I have the baby," Ukyo said, "Plus, we can stay open longer hours, since we won't have to wait on me to get home from school in the afternoon."

"Well, I need to get in touch with Watanabe, and have him run the numbers, but if you don't mind having another partner in us, I think we can swing a deal," Ranma said, "If he doesn't see any problems, then we'll be good."

"He'll want to see your books, though, Ukyo," Akane said.

Ukyo shrugged, and replied, "That only makes good business sense, so I don't have any problems with that. Cash flow has been pretty good, and we turn a modest profit every month."

"I guess that means we have a tentative partnership," Ranma said, "So now that we have that out of the way, let's eat while Akemi tells us how she met the old man."

They all squeezed into the booth, with Akemi ending up in a chair at the open end, and then began to eat the savory meal. Once the initial impetus had worn off, she said, "Well, it all started when a panda came into a bar."

"You know that sounds like the start of a bad joke," Akane interrupted.

Ranma snickered and added, "Though I'm not surprised his journey of self-discovery takes him from bar to bar."

"Any way, if I can continue," Akemi said, a smile on her face, "I work at that bar as an exotic dancer, waitress, and part-time cook."

Akane mouthed, "Stripper," when Ranma turned a puzzled look in her direction.

"I came over to see what a panda was doing in a bar, besides anything it wanted to," Akemi continued, "And found out that it was really your father. We got to talking, and eventually he spent the night at my place as he finished the tale. When we woke up the next morning, we continued talking, and I made some suggestions about how he might correct things, and he suggested I come here to see if Ukyo would like some help."

"Did he sleep with you?" Akane asked.

"In the sense that we shared a futon, then yes, but that's all that happened. It's important to him that that is the one thing that he hadn't betrayed," Akemi said.

"Shit!" Ranma spat, "Ukyo, Konatsu, forget you heard that, please."

"Seriously, it would really hurt Kurumi and Natsume if they found out that he wasn't actually their father," Akane added.

"I already knew," Konatsu said, "And I would never tell them. They have found a family now, much like I have, and I would do great harm to anyone who ruined that for them."

Ukyo grinned at her, and added, "Sugar, I'm not a fool, either. And while I dislike him, I have never been more impressed than by him swearing that he was their father, even though I knew that Tendo wasn't their father."

"When is this all going to come together?" Akane asked, waving her hand around the restaurant.

"I'll call Watanabe in the morning and have him start looking at things, while your sisters talk to the owner of next door to see what kind of price they can negotiate," Ranma said.

"I have to give a month's notice on my flat, and I should give them two weeks at the bar," Akemi said.

"Well, just in case, wait until we have a deal with the owner before you give notice," Ranma said.

"Um, actually, I don't think that her coming to work here is really contingent on getting the building," Ukyo said, "We're going to need the help, regardless."

"Finding her a space to stay might be a problem, there's not a lot of room in your flat, after all, and it'll only get worse when you have the baby," Akane said.

"Mom wanted us to move in with her, not that she has the space, either," Konatsu said, "We don't want to do that, but if we have to we can, and Akemi can take over our flat."

"I think we're buying a building, Ranma," Akane said.

Ranma looked at her for a moment, and determined the message she was sending. "You heard the lady, sounds like the expansion is a done deal. All's left is finishing up."

"In that case, I'll give the two weeks to bar as soon as I get back there, and the notice to the landlord. That'll give me a couple of weeks to move things here, and if I have to I can doss in the back," Akemi said, "Or if we have ownership of the building by then, I can take over a corner on the ground floor while they rearrange the first floor."

"I'd say this has the beginning of a beautiful partnership," Konatsu said.

* * *

Kasumi knocked on the doorframe of her father's room, stuck her head around the open door and asked, "Daddy, Yumi, do you have a moment?"

Yumi glanced up from where she was putting clothes away in the dresser, and replied, "Sure, I can do this while we talk."

Soun smiled at his daughter and put his book down on the reading table next to the chair he was sitting in and waved her in. To his surprise, Tofu followed her in, looking slightly nervous, which immediately began to worry him.

"Tofu and I need to talk to you about something," Kasumi began serenely.

Soun put two and two together and got twenty-two. "Oh, my baby girl is going to have a child, how wonderful!" he exclaimed, before breaking into tears of happiness.

An expression that might almost be called a frown, if had appeared on someone else's face, showed for a moment as Kasumi replied, quickly, "No father, that isn't it at all. I most certainly am not pregnant."

At those words, the spigot closed, and Soun's tears stopped immediately, showing a now very befuddled man.

Taking pity on him, Yumi asked, "If it isn't that, then what is the news that you two have for us?"

"We've been married for some time now," Tofu replied, "And while our time living here has been enjoyable, it is past time for us to find a new place to live."

"What?" Soun exclaimed, "My baby girl is abandoning me!" The spigot turned, and once more the tears flowed.

"Stop that, husband!" Yumi snapped, "That is most unseemly!" She glared at her husband for a moment, and then asked, "Why have you decided to move out?"

Kasumi replied, "Ever since Mom joined our ancestors, I have been the mistress of this home, doing everything to make life pleasant here for my family. However, things have changed, and I no longer have to fulfil that role, what with Akane and you more than ready to take over that position."

"I don't wish to push you out of your place in this home," Yumi said, worriedly.

"You aren't pushing me out of anything that I am not willing to relinquish," Kasumi replied, reassuringly, "But, I am married now, and my focus needs to be on my husband and our life together. Something that I can not really do if we remain here."

"But this is your home," Soun stated firmly.

"No, not really, Daddy. My home is with my husband, as it should be. This is Akane's home now, and to a lesser extent, Yumi's as well," Kasumi said, patiently.

"And it's not like we are moving far away and will never see you again," Tofu added.

Yumi grabbed that and asked, "So where are you planning on living?"

"As Soun may remember, there is a small flat on the top floor of the clinic," Tofu replied.

Kasumi added, "We've spent the last several weeks rearranging the rooms on that floor to expand the flat, fixing up the kitchen, and installing a Western-style bathroom and shower. As well as turning the balcony into a pleasant garden vista for the apartment."

"Plus, I've reinforced the roof structure above the apartment, and added a set of stairs to replace the ladder that allowed access," Tofu expanded, "So we've converted that area into additional outdoor living space, with bonsai trees, and some fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables."

"It sounds quite nice," Yumi said.

Kasumi smiled serenely, and replied, "It is. And ultimately, it will give us some room when we eventually decide to start our family."

"When do you plan to move out?" Soun asked, his voice trembling.

"Actually, we were thinking of starting today," Tofu replied, "Sort of move on an installment plan, by taking a few things over each day, and then this weekend we could bring over the bedroom furniture."

"So soon?" Soun asked, aghast.

"Daddy, you knew this day was going to come sooner or later," Kasumi stated.

Soun frowned and said, "That may be true, but I didn't think it would come this soon."

Kasumi shook her head, and said, "Daddy, it's time for you to let me go. And soon, sooner than you would like I'm sure, it will be time for you to let go of Nabiki and Akane. Nabiki will be moving away when she goes to university, and will someday wed Souta, while Akane will be going to college, and starting the dojo back up again. We aren't your little girls, any more."

"You'll always be my little girls," Soun said, sniffling.

Kasumi rolled her eyes, while Yumi chuckled. "That's probably true enough," the older woman said, "My mother thought of me as a little girl, even after I had Sayuri."

"In that case, it's time for this little girl to make her way into the world," Kasumi huffed, almost indignantly.

"I'm very happy for you," Yumi said, "I remember how big a step this was for me, to leave my parents' home and move into my first flat. You'll be luckier than I was, since you already know how to run a household. It was a real unknown for me."

"Be happy for me, Daddy," Kasumi said, "This is a step that we have to take. We can't spend all our lives living here. It wouldn't be fair to us, nor would it be fair for Akane and Ranma."

Tofu grinned and added, "Besides, it's not impossible for you to have another child, now is it?" causing Yumi and Soun both to blush furiously.

* * *

Author's Notes: Here is the latest installment, Gentle Readers, in the story. Again, I am merely borrowing the characters from the various mangas and animes, and make no claim to them. The story, I hope, is original. As always, I welcome any constructive comments, and suggestions. I hope that my readers continue to enjoy this diversion.

Until later

Kayemsi


	93. Facets of Forgiveness

Chapter 93 Facets of Forgiveness

Ranma opened the door to the lavishly furnished office in the heart of downtown Tokyo, and watched as his wife, his brother and his wife, entered, before joining them in front of the enormous mahogany desk situated in the center of the room.

The young woman manning the desk was as decorative as the room. "May I help you?" she asked, in polished tones, her eyes looking hungrily at Ranma as he approached.

"Yes, we are the Saotomes, we have an appointment with Watanabe-san," Ranma replied, courteously, quite glad that they had taken his mother's advice and dressed in their best.

"Of course, he has been expecting you," the receptionist replied, "He is set up in the conference room. If you would follow me, I'll show you the way." The attractive young woman rose from behind the desk, and led them down a short hallway. Stopping in front of a highly carved door, she opened it and showed them in. "I'll let Watanabe-san know that you are here. Could I get you anything? Anything at all," she almost purred, smiling brightly at Ranma.

"Some tea would be nice," Akane said, politely, though the ice in her eyes belied her pleasant tones.

"Please make yourself comfortable, I will return shortly with the tea," the young woman said, bowing politely, though her bow to Ranma was noticably deeper, allowing him an glance at her impressive cleavage. That is, if he had been so inclined.

Akane's eyes narrowed as she watched the receptionist sashay away, her hips moving in an exaggerated manner, until the door shut removing her from view.

"Someone was very impressed by you, Ranma," Konatsu said.

"Yes, with that 'Could I get you anything?' question, and she practically shoved her boobs into your face," Akane nearly snarled.

Ranma looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face, and he said, "Well, she might have been fishing, but I'm not interested in the bait she is using. She's attractive enough, but she isn't you. I was ignoring her come-ons, so why are you angry with me?"

Akane sighed, and answered, "I'm not, not really, I just, well, I don't, never mind."

Ukyo arched an eyebrow and said, "That answer didn't even make any sense. I suggest we sit down, and wait." Suiting her action to her words, she promptly sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs parked at the long, highly polished, cherry-finished table, and sank down several inches in the plush leather. "Ooh, these are nice," she sighed, "I want one."

"It wouldn't go with your furniture," Akane said, with a grin, as she and her husband sat down.

Konatsu sighed a long-suffering sigh as he sat next to his wife.

"What was that for?" Ukyo asked.

Fortunately for Konatsu, the door opened and the receptionist entered, pushing a small trolley. On the trolley were several dainty cups, as well as a matching teapot, all made from the finest porcelain. A wisp of steam rose from the spout of the teapot, and the delicate scent of jasmine filled the room. "Watanabe-san will join you shortly," she said, as she quietly closed the door behind her.

No sooner had the door to the hall shut, then a previously hidden door opened, and a familiar elderly gentleman entered the room.

The four youth began to rise from their chairs, only to subside at a gesture from the old man.

"Ah, Watanabe-san," Ranma said, "Thank you for rearranging your schedule so quickly and agreeing to meet with us. You've already met my wife, but may I introduce you to my brother Konatsu, and my other best friend, his wife Ukyo?"

Watanbe laughed a rusty laugh and said, "I'm always glad to be introduced to a lovely woman."

Ukyo blushed prettily, while her husband said, "It is indeed an honour to meet you, Watanabe-sama," bowing from his seat.

"Enough with the honourifics," Watanabe said, as he moved toward the trolley to pour himself a cup of tea.

Akane quickly joined him at the trolley and filled the five cups. To her surprise, the elderly attorney added a large dollop of honey to his tea before he sat down. She handed cups to her family, and taking the final cup, returned to her chair.

"When you get to my age, dear child, you'll discover that there are fewer pleasures in life. A little sweetness in my tea has become my weakness," Watanabe said, in grandfatherly tones. He sipped his tea, and then set his cup down. Suddenly the kindly old man disappeared, and in his place was a man that ancient samurai would have recognised as a kindred soul. "Shall we get down to business?" he asked.

"Of course," Ukyo replied. She opened a small valise that she had brought, and pulled out a large ledger. She slid that down the table to Watanabe. "I assumed you would want to see our books; that is everything from the day I opened the restaurant. When you examine them, you'll see that I've earned a profit in every month."

"Thank you, Mrs. Saotome, it's good to have this, but since I am very good at what I do, I have done my due diligence," Watanabe said, with a genial smile, "I agree, you are ready to expand, assuming, of course, that you can get a decent price for the property next to you."

"Nabiki was going to talk to the owner," Akane interjected.

"Miss Tendo is good, almost as good as she thinks she is," Watanabe said, "And I am sure that she will get you a good price."

"I am sensing a 'but' in there somewhere," Konatsu said.

"She is still very young," Watanbe said, "Perhaps one of my associates should assist her."

Akane bristled for a moment, but subsided as Ranma chuckled. "I think she would learn a few things. She has been a very large fish in an extremely small pond for many years, and when she leaves Nerima she is likely to be nothing more than a minnow in a very large pond," he said, "And since we want our family to prosper, it would be best if someone should take her under their wing, so to speak."

"Especially considering the unfortunate impact of her gender in our business world," Watanabe said, sadly, "Though things are slowly getting better. She will need a mentor who is respected by the men who are the titans in the industry, and even then she will have to work twice as hard to get any where near as far as she should based on the intelligience and talent that she has shown." He sighed and said, "Now that we have that settled, after hearing from young Ranma, and understanding the basis of what he wanted, I have to say that he won't be able to give you the money that you need for the expansion."

"Then why did you ask us to come?" Ukyo asked, crestfallen.

"Ranma can't access the money in his trust account, not fully enough to do what needs to be done," Watanabe replied, gently, "However, I am the trustee for his account, and it is my responsibility to see that it is invested wisely." He smiled at her then and added, "And I've noticed that his portfolio is not quite as diversified as it needs to be."

"Now I'm confused," Ranma said, though that was obvious from the expression on his face.

"It seems that I have managed to neglect building up the food service industry portion of your portfolio," Watanabe said, "And therefore I believe your account would best be served if it were to loan a small amount of money to the restaurant called Ucchan's for the purpose of expanding said business. One of the conditions of that loan would, of course, be that the trustee of your account, namely myself, would act as a silent partner for the business, with a certain percentage of the profit returning to the trust, as well as a modest repayment of the loan. Also, I would recommend that there be an option for your brother and his wife to buy out the trust's interest in the restaurant, after a suitable period of time."

"That sounds like a good plan, and lord knows, I really don't want to be in the restaurant business," Ranma said, with a grin, "I like eating in them but I wouldn't know the first thing about running one."

"When you say a small amount of money, exactly what did you mean by that?" Ukyo asked, cautiously.

"Certainly enough to buy the adjoining space, and help toward converting the combined space into a larger restaurant. I also understand that you wish to convert most of the second into a larger flat for your family, as well as a flat for a Miss Ropponogi, your other new partner, whilst leaving the ground floor for the expanded restaurant space," Watanabe said, smoothly, "And as for you, young Ranma, if you actually intend to run the combined dojo, you need to know how to run a business."

"I've been extensively trained on how to do that, Watanabe-san, at least as far as a dojo is concerned," Ranma said, not taking offense, "That was one of the things Pop was insistent on, though I still plan on getting some business courses once we get to college, as does Akane. Since I do know enough to know that what Pop concentrated me on is too narrowly focused to succeed as well as we would like. At least some real accounting, marketing, business management, that kind of thing."

"While we love Nabiki, we would prefer to keep our own books, for example, even if she gave us the family discount," Akane added drily.

"Not sure we could afford her," Ranma continued, with a grin, "But I also know my limits, and running a restaurant would be beyound them."

"I see that you have given some thought about the family business, good," Watanabe said, "And you can rely on me for help once you get ready to start it up again. Your mother's family name will still open some doors, even after her father's demise."

"And you aren't without some small amount of influence, either, right?" Konatsu asked, his eyes dancing.

"I do have a small amount, that would be true," Watanabe admitted lightly.

Akane grinned then, and said, "Well, then it sounds like Ukyo and Konatsu need to stay here and work out an agreement with Watanabe, and since Ranma and I can't really contribute anything to the conversation, we can leave."

"Leave?" Ranma asked, baffled.

"Yes, unless you really want to sit here for the next several hours while they talk about boring contract language, when instead there is something much more fun to do," Akane replied.

"What would that be?" Ranma asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Why shopping, of course," Akane answered, "I rarely get to this part of the city, and there are several nice shopping areas."

Ranma groaned, and asked, "Are you sure you don't need us here, Watanabe-san?"

"Quite sure, young Ranma," Watanabe replied, grinning, "But if it will help, I will loan you my driver."

Ranma looked at him, and sighed. Rising to his feet, he turned to his wife and said, "You so owe me a good dinner."

"I'll even throw in a massage,"Akane whispered, huskily.

Ranma's eyes lit up as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

Akane eyed him suspiciously and asked, "What was that all about? You like shopping with me."

"Guys aren't supposed to like to shop. It isn't manly," Ranma replied, straight-faced, in an extremely portentous tone.

Akane stared at him for a moment, before starting to giggle.

Ranma attempted to keep his composure, but finally cracked a smile.

* * *

Watanabe quickly skimmed through the sheaf of papers in front of him and nodded. "This is what we agreed to, is it not, Mrs. Saotome?" he asked, passing the contract over to the young woman.

Ukyo read each page carefully, noting all of the terms and conditions. "Yes, this is what we discussed," she said, taking a pen and signing each page before handing them to her husband.

Konatsu merely signed the forms before handing them back to Watanabe, who then signed them as well.

Once the contract was signed, Watanabe rose slowly to his feet, and said, "I'll have Miss Mitarashi make copies."

Ukyo rose from her chair, bowed politely to her opponent and said, "Thank you, Watanabe-san, for several things. One, going easy on me during these negotiations, and two, teaching me how to be a better businesswoman."

"The pleasure was all mine, Mrs. Saotome," the elderly gentleman said, returning the bow, "You are a worthy opponent, and I expect to hear great things about you and your endeavours in the years to come. Please, follow me."

The three of them left the conference room, moving slowly in deference to the elder man's years and entered the reception area.

"Yes, Watanabe-san, what may I do for you?" the young woman asked, her eyes wild.

"We need two copies of this document made, one copy for Mrs. Saotome, and the second copy for Mr. Saotome. The original should be returned to me for my files," Watanabe replied, handing her a thick sheaf of papers.

"Of course, Watanabe-san," the receptionist said, as she quickly fled her domain.

"I wonder what is wrong with her," Watanabe said quietly, "I've never seen her so flustered."

"That's probably my fault," a pleasant soprano replied from near the door, an amused note in her voice.

Watanabe turned to find Akane and a red-haired girl sitting quietly on the overstuffed leather couch next to the door, their arms around each other's waist, with the red-haired girl's head nestled on Akane's shoulder.

Ukyo snickered and asked, "What did you do, sugar?"

Ranma replied, "I simply told her that I had noticed her checking me out and wondered if she wanted to spend the afternoon with me and Akane, that's all." She smiled evilly and added, "And then I poured some cold water over my head to force the change."

"That wouldn't be enough to do that," Watanabe muttered.

"Oh, then I bent over and kissed her cheek and said she would be just fine now that I had changed," Ranma added with a smirk. She chuckled for a moment, and added, "She suddenly lost interest in me, imagine that."

"Serves the bitch right," Akane muttered.

"Behave, Akane," Ranma said quietly.

Watanabe asked in a slightly high-pitched voice, "Was your shopping trip unsuccessful? I don't see any bags."

"Ah, we stopped by the station before we came here and put everything into a locker," Akane said, "Didn't see much point in bringing everthing here."

"And it was only a 'few' things, anyway," Ranma said, grinning, as she batted her eyes at the somewhat disconcerted attorney.

"It's one thing to hear about the change, as your mother called it, but it's quite different seeing it for oneself," Watanabe finally managed to state with some aplomb.

Ranma giggled and said, "You should have seen it from my side, the first time it happened."

"I don't even want to imagine what you were thinking," Watanabe admitted.

"Well, actually, I had a yearning for some panda steaks," Ranma said, with a smirk.

"I bet that was the fastest your father had ever moved, when you came out of the water after him," Akane added, slyly.

"Naw, not even close. I remember one time, we were walking down a street in a small town one day, and he spotted a guy wearing a signboard reading, 'Free food and beer for the first ten customers' outside a small restaurant," Ranma said, "Talk about fast. I swear he broke the sound barrier."

"Now, that I can believe," Watanabe said, chuckling.

"Best part about it was he was customer number eleven," Ranma said, with a wicked grin.

* * *

Akane slouched gracelessly in the comfortable lounger, idly twirling one foot, while she watched her eldest sister glide amidst the rooftop garden. With a heartfelt sigh, she took a sip of wine from the glass in her hand, relishing the sweet taste of plum.

Kasumi smiled indulgently at her sister, and clipped a flower from one of the plants, sliding the stem into her hair. "While I am glad that you came to visit, why are you here?" she asked.

"What? Can't I just wish to visit my sister and see how she is settling into her new home?" Akane asked in return.

"Of course you could," Kasumi replied as she sank down daintily onto the other louhger, and picked up her glass of plum wine, "But that's not why you are here."

"I'm shocked. Shocked and appalled that you would think that I have an ulterior motive," Akane retorted, a touch of colour in her cheeks.

"And you're a lousy actress," Kasumi said, straightfaced.

Akane stuck her tongue out and drew down one eye at her sister.

"That extremely mature response still didn't answer my question," Kasumi said, grinning at Akane.

Akane smirked back at her sister and then sighed deeply. "I'm concerned about Nabiki, actually," she finally replied.

"Why is that?" Kasumi asked, sipping some more of her wine, and then topping off her glass. She raised an eyebrow at Akane in silent enquiry, and then topped off the offered glass.

"She's had several setbacks lately, I guess is the best way to put it," Akane admitted, "First, you and Tofu leaving, without her even having an inkling of an idea that you had that planned, much less the work that had to go into getting this flat redone. She missed all of that, and it struck a large blow to her self-image. You know how proud she is about knowing everything of importance that goes on in Nerima, and you snuck this past her. And she also doesn't handle change very well, it seems. She never expected you to leave the house, and while she won't admit it, she misses you a great deal."

"You know why we left," Kasumi said, sternly.

"Of course I do, and I understand your reasons. The two of you need a chance to finally get on with your lives, without the interference from all of us. There are times when I wish Ranma and I could simply disappear for awhile, for much the same reasons. And Nabiki actually understands why you left, but it still bothers her," Akane replied, "And while she will get over that, then she had the misfortune to work with that agent of Watanabe-san, and found out how little influence she really has in Nerima. Another blow to her self-image, since she obviously thought she was a real mover and shaker. She thought she was getting Ukyo a good deal for that new building, but the agent walked in and showed her what a good deal really is. The only bright spot in my opinion was that the agent was another woman, so Nabiki can't use gender as an excuse for why her deal wasn't as good."

"A little humility will do our sister a lot of good," Kasumi said, "She has fancied herself a rather large player in Nerima business circles for several years now, so it should help her to see what a real operator is like."

"It still upset her a great deal, though," Akane said, her eyes dancing with ill-hidden mirth, "And then, of course, the final blow to her self-esteem. She tried to redeem her self-image by attempting to arrange for the remodeling crews for the new space, only to find out that Konatsu and Ukyo had more to do with getting the workers to start working as soon as they did. In fact, a large portion of the work has already been done, enough that Akemi's flat is almost ready for occupancy. She couldn't even expedite the permits for the work, until the clerk down at the town hall realised that she was your sister."

"Oh dear, she has had several bad weeks, hasn't she," Kasumi said, unsympathetically. She smirked at her sister and then asked, "So why come tell me all that? What do you expect me to do?"

"Oh nothing really, unless you have some suggestions for what we can do to get her to feel better about things," Akane replied.

Kasumi shook her head and said, "I imagine Souta would be the best medicine for what ails her, unless things have gone sour on that front."

"No, not that I am aware of. He's been pretty busy between school and helping his grandfather around the shrine, so they can't get together as much as either of them would like, but that's about all," Akane replied, thoughtfully.

"In that case, there is something that I can do to help," Kasumi said, "I believe they should come here for dinner one night, just the two of them."

Akane looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. "I like that, they could use a little 'us' time that they can't get eating at our home what with all of the crowd," she said.

"And how about you, little sister? Are you getting enough 'us' time with Ranma?" Kasumi asked.

"I think so, we spend a good deal of the day together after all," Akane replied, "And he has been good about giving me time to be with my friends or by myself."

"And I won't bother to ask about your nights," Kasumi said, with a serene smile, "That's another reason why I'm glad we built this place. Those walls between our bedrooms were just too thin."

"Sound travels both ways through those walls, big sister," Akane said, her cheeks reddening.

"Now that we've been moved out for a few weeks, how are you doing?" Kasumi asked, quickly.

Akane snickered for a moment, and then said, "It's okay to tease me about my sex life, but it bites when it's on the other foot, doesn't it?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Kasumi said, with great dignity.

"Oh please, 'take me, take me!' does that ring any bells?" Akane asked.

Kasumi stared at her in shock

"You know, it's always the quiet ones, you never suspect them of being a pervert," Akane added, straight-faced.

The two women looked at each other and then burst out in laughter.

Finally, Kasumi managed to sober up and said, "Okay, little sister, I won't tease you about your sex life and you won't tease me about mine. But, my last question still stands, how are you doing?"

"Fine mostly. I'm doing well in school, our students are doing well. I must admit I was surprised with Nodoka, after she found out that Ukyo was expecting. I anticipated some pressure for us to join Ukyo in the pudding club, but even Daddy hasn't pushed for an heir. So from that standpoint things are good," Akane replied, "On the other hand, while I understand why you and Tofu had to leave, I'll admit to being selfish, and that I miss you. And I do insist that you come by for dinner at least once a week. I'd ask for more, but I don't want to be greedy."

"We don't intend to be strangers by any means," Kasumi said, draining her glass, "And I miss you and Ranma, too. Why don't we trade evenings? You and Ranma could come over once a week and then we could do the same."

"I'd like that," Akane said, "And Ranma misses your cooking."

"That sounds like the beginning of a plan, then," Kasumi said.

* * *

Ranma gazed around the crowded dojo in satisfaction as she watched the various students run through the kata she had just shown them, only to frown slightly as she realised that two of her students were missing once again from the training session.

Akane stepped over to her husband and asked, "What's bothering you, Ranma?"

"Where are Hinako and Kurumi?" Ranma asked, "This is the second time this week they've missed a session, and the sixth time in the last four weeks."

"I'm not sure," Akane admitted, "All Sayuri said was that they had told her they had something come up after school and they wouldn't be here. In fact, they said they wouldn't even make the evening meal."

"What could they possibly be doing?" Ranma asked.

Akane frowned at her and replied, "Is it really any of our business?"

"Kurumi is my sister, and Hinako is more or less yours," Ranma retorted.

"Kurumi is sixteen, and Hinako is physically the same, though I'm not sure where she is either emotionally or intellectually," Akane shot back, "And, in any case, they are both old enough to take care of themselves. Heaven knows, they did that for long enough before we took either of them in."

Ranma raised both hands, palm forward, and said, "Okay, I get the picture. Doesn't mean I'm not going to worry about them though."

"And you wouldn't be Ranma if you didn't," Akane said, relaxing.

Ranma smiled ruefully and replied, "Yeah, I wouldn't be Ranma if I didn't."

"And on a different subject, what was in that note that Ukyo slipped you after class?" Akane asked.

Ranma chuckled, and replied, "I only skimmed it, but it was just a status report on our investment, basically."

"And?" Akane asked.

"The work crew has worked miracles. Akemi's flat is now complete, and she's ready to move in. The additional bedrooms and bathroom for Ukyo and Konatsu are nearly finished, and the rest of the first floor is roughed in. The downstairs remodeling has started, with the furo being the first priority," Ranma replied, "They expect to finish the ground floor in another month, and then they'll cut out the doorways in the common wall to combine the space."

"Sensei?" Sayuri called, "What should we do next?"

"That still sounds weird, being called sensei," Akane said as she moved over to that group of students.

"Better get used to that, and it's appropriate in this place," Ranma muttered.

* * *

Konatsu swept the last of the debris into the street, and took down the banner indicating that the restaurant was open. Re-entering the restaurant, he closed and locked the door behind him, and carefully folded the banner and stowed it away in its cubby by the door. Setting the broom aside, he moved over to his wife and gave her a gentle hug from behind.

Ukyo leaned into her husband, enjoying the brief respite, before sighing heavily.

"What's wrong, Ukyo?" Konatsu asked, quietly, "I thought things went rather well for the first day."

"Actually it did," Ukyo admitted, "Aside from the normal bumps and bruises that come with bringing a third person with an entirely different brand of cooking into the mix, it went much better than I expected. I'm just tired, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and I haven't even started showing yet."

"I glad you think it went well, as I did too," a third voice said from the kitchen, as Akemi joined them, shrugging out of the apron she had been wearing, "But right now, I think you need to let that cute husband of yours take you upstairs and get you into a hot bath."

"But there's still all of the cleanup to do," Ukyo objected.

"So there is, and Konatsu and I can take care of that. For now, take your cute arse upstairs and start soaking," Akemi ordered.

"Should I be worried that you think my wife's arse is cute?" Konatsu asked, semi-seriously.

"Well, not really, I think your's is cute too, now get her upstairs, and comfy. I'm going to go to my room and change into something more comfortable, and then I'll start washing all of the dishes," Akemi retorted.

"I can't leave it all to the two of you," Ukyo protested.

Akemi growled, "None of that missy, you need to get off your feet. While you don't look like you're carrying a bowling ball around yet, since it's still too early for you to show since it is a first pregnancy, you've been standing up far too long. And don't give me any nonsense about you being pregnant, not sick, you do need to take care of the two of you. I'll also have something for the three of us to eat after you soak for awhile."

Ukyo looked at her husband and saw that he was in total agreement with the bossy redhead. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?" she asked plaintively.

"Not in this lifetime," Konatsu said, smugly.

"It was easier living with when you were still subservient," Ukyo muttered.

"That may be true, but then you wouldn't be in this condition either," Konatsu said, smugly, as he helped her up the stairs.

Akemi chuckled lightly as she followed them up the stairs.

* * *

Konatsu moved gracefully into the kitchen, and then screeched to a complete stop as he spotted Akemi washing dishes in the large wash basin. "You know, when you said you were going to get into something a bit more comfortable, I sort of figured on shorts and a jumper," he said, "Not knickers and an apron."

Akemi turned her head and said, "Didn't want to get my robe dirty, and beside I'm most comfortable in just my skin, so get used to it."

Konatsu shrugged and said, "I was raised as a kunoichi, this really doesn't faze me at all. Now, Ukyo, she may have a comment or two when she comes back down."

"I thought you had gotten her soaking in the tub," Akemi said, rinsing another dish and setting the plate in the large drip rack.

"She remembered that she needed to do the books," Konatsu said, walking over and grabbing a towel to begin drying the dishes that were in the rack, "So she was going to change, come back down and get that done first."

The two of them worked in companionable silence for a few minutes, until Akemi asked, "A kunoichi? Why were you raised as a female ninja?"

"Long story, but basically that is how my stepmother and sisters raised me after my father died, and it was a family tradition," Konatsu said, after a moment.

"But you're a boy!" Akemi exclaimed.

"True, but I didn't know that then as they carefully never explained the difference between boys and girls, and since I never saw my step-sisters or step-mother without their clothes on, I just thought I was a bit underdeveloped compared to them," Konatsu explained, calmly, "I honestly believed that I was a girl until I came to get my vengeance here in Nerima. Still a bit uncomfortable for me to dress like a boy."

"So I guess that's why you still dress up female when you wait the tables," Akemi said.

"Yes, that's why," Konatsu replied.

"Wait a minute, sparky, vengeance?" Akemi asked, "What have I got in the middle of?'

Konatsu chuckled grimly for a few minutes, while Akemi stared at him nervously. Finally, Konatsu replied, "I came to Nerima to find whoever had destroyed my family inn and kill them. I came here and was taken in by Ukyo, who I mistook to be a boy because of how she dressed and acted. One that I fell in love with because of her kindness towards me. But still my need for revenge drove me. Unfortunately, that meant I came up against Ranma. I will admit that I am a genius kunoichi, the best in generations, but he was able to defeat me. He simply refuses to lose. And because of him, I discovered that there was no need for any vengeance, I was just being used by my step-family, and also by that time, I had realised that Ukyo was female and I believed my love for her was forbidden. My step-family tried to attack us, and in the attack, it became apparent that I wasn't female, but a boy."

"Just a classic story of the little country girl that comes to the big city and finds true love, then," Akemi said, with a grin.

"Something like that," Ukyo said from the entry. She stopped and stared hard at Akemi, noticing her lack of attire.

"I didn't want to get any clothes dirty while I was cleaning up," the other woman said, defensively.

Ukyo snorted in amusement and then shook her head. "That almost makes sense," she said, finally, "I can see that it will take some time to get used to you, but I expect I'll end up benefiting by your choice of casual wear."

Akemi snuck a look at Konatsu who was trying to avoid looking at her, and said, "I suspect you may be right."

Ukyo shot a grin at her, and then added, "But I hope you intend to dress for dinner."

"I brought a robe with me," Akemi said, pointing with her chin at the table.

Ukyo snorted in amusement, and said, "Not much of a robe, though. At least it looks translucent instead of transparent." Shaking her head, she moved to the table, dropping the heavy till onto it, before collapsing into one of the chairs. She began counting the various coins, stacking each of them in groups of ten as she did so. Meanwhile Akemi and Konatsu continued with the dishes, though Akemi did take off for a brief moment to turn on the radio, and dialed it in to a station she liked. After several minutes, Ukyo began counting the bills, stopping in surprise when she found several ten thousands. "Did we have a big party that I missed?" she asked.

"There was that one group of ten that ordered quite a lot of alcohol," Akemi replied, "Fortunately they were well behaved."

"Ukyo's reputation sort of ensures that," Konatsu said.

"Your's too, sugar," Ukyo retorted, "Not to mention that Ranma and Akane are our relatives. That tends to keep the rabble quiet."

"That reminds me, Ranma is supposed to be teaching me tai chai, starting tomorrow," Akemi said, "So I'll need a little time in the afternoon."

"That shouldn't be a problem until I start looking like I swallowed a bowling ball," Ukyo said, with a shrug. She added some figures into the small ledger and bundled up the paper bills and most of the larger denomination coins, and swept them into a bag. "We'll need to do an inventory before we go to bed, so that you two will know what needs to be ordered from the suppliers," she said, "But this was a very good day. Looks like everyone enjoyed the expanded menu, though we'll need to keep an eye on what is the most popular over the next few weeks."

Akemi said, "I know I made a lot of stir-fries, and I could barely keep up with the demand for yakitori. I kept good records for today, and I'll keep maintaining them until we know what is working."

"Sounds suspiciously like a plan," Ukyo said, "Now, I think I'll find that bath someone was threatening me with earlier, and get a load off."

"Be back down in about an hour, we should be done in here, and have something ready to eat besides the leftover soups," Akemi said.

Ukyo waved in acknowledgement as she made her way out of the kitchen, taking the till and the bag of money to secure them in the safe.

Konatsu finished drying the plate he was working on and stacked it with the rest of the clean plates. "That's the last of the plates," he said, "And all of the bowls are put away."

"Still have the cups and all of the cooking utensils we used left to do, not to mention all of the soup spoons and the handful of forks because of the few foreigners that came here and couldn't handle chopsticks," Akemi observed.

"Twenty more minutes on the rest?" Konatsu asked.

"Sounds about right, then you can sweep, and such, while I throw something together for the three of us," Akemi replied, "But you need to keep an eye on her. Make sure she eats enough and gets plenty of sleep."

"Always do, Akemi, always do," Konatsu replied, "Ever since I came to work here, I've looked after her. Getting married and her carrying our child didn't change that."

"You're a good man," Akemi observed, setting the last cup in the rack, before starting on one of the pots.

Konatsu reddened, and muttered, "Perhaps."

"So how many people did we have today?" Akemi asked, handing him the pot, and starting on the next one.

"Well, there's a total of twenty tables, of which four seat two, and the rest seat four, then there's the eight stools at the grill, so max capacity is eighty people. We started serving at 11:00, and most of the time we were packed during the noon meal, then it tapered off about 2:00, and then picked back up again at night starting at 4:30 until we closed at 8:30. So figuring eighty people, staying about 45 minutes on average, between eight and nine hundred guests. Yes, that feels about right," Konatsu answered.

"And we're about to what, triple the size of the restaurant when we open up the new space?" Akemi asked.

"Pretty much, to about three hundred people," Konatsu replied.

Akemi shook her head and said, "The three of us were busy just keeping up with this space. How are we going to handle it when it gets much larger? Especially when Ukyo has the baby!"

Konatsu chuckled for a moment and then replied calmly, "We've thought about that. I'm a little surprised it hadn't worried you before now."

"I didn't realise exactly how much work there was involved. I mean I did some of the cooking and serving at the strip club, but I wasn't the only one, so it didn't occur to me until just now what I have gotten myself into," Akemi replied.

Konatsu grinned at her and replied, "Well, I expect that the family will chip in. Natsume and Kurumi have already said that they would come back and help, though we'll have to keep an eye on Kurumi to make sure she doesn't eat more than her help is worth, so we'll have more wait staff at least. Ranma told me that he would cut back on their training during the week so they could help out. Mom was going to join us in the kitchen once the new space is opened, at least until the baby comes, then she'll mostly baby-sit. Ranma or Hinako will help out as well if we find out we need more help."

"A real family affair then," Akemi said, with a chuckle.

"Pretty much," Konatsu said, agreeably, "Of course, we will still have to do a lot of the prep work in the morning before we open up just as I was doing before. Start the soups, get the rice cookers going, chop up the veggies and meat, that kind of thing. That'll fall mostly on you and me while Ukyo finishes class, obviously. Luckily, she was able to convince the school that she didn't need to take home economics, or gym, so she's off in the afternoon about 2:00, so she'll be able to help us get ready for the evening rush."

Akemi glanced around the small room, and said, "That looks like everything except the leftovers simmering on the stove."

Konatsu nodded as he put the last pot down where it belonged, and added, "I'll be glad when we expand the kitchen, and get some more space."

"Yes, we definitely could use more preparation space," Akemi said, agreeably, glancing around the small space.

"And the industrial dishwashers will be more than appreciated," Konatsu added, looking at his companion's wrinkled hands.

Akemi smiled ruefully and said, "I know that I'm looking forward to that as well. Shame that's almost the last thing that gets done before we open up the new space."

Konatsu carefully folded his towel over the drying rack, and found his broom. "Well, I have my next assignment well in hand, so I'll leave you to yours," he said, slowly beginning to sweep front dining area.

Akemi washed her hands and then dried them carefully, before heading toward the large refrigerator tucked in one corner to see what was available to go with the already prepared soups.

* * *

A hulking figure moved through the shadows in one of the seedier parts of Nagawa, avoiding the street lights that were attempting to light up the area until it reached its destination, a small, poorly maintained tavern, in what probably was the centre of the crime district. An area where the local police refused to patrol in anything less than eight man teams, it was so dangerous. Slipping through the door, the figure, now covered completely by a cloak, walked quickly to the bar, and asked, in a quiet voice, "I am here to meet Kawajiri."

The blowsy barmaid pointed to a table discretely located in one corner where a somewhat menacing person sat staring at a snifter of amber liquid, and said, "He is over there."

"I'd like an Asahi Super Dry," the anonymous figure said, "In a clean glass." A few minutes later, the figure left with a glass of beer and a few yen poorer, and stood next to the table it had been directed to. "Kawajiri, I assume," a quiet voice asked.

"Yes, I am Kawajiri. Please, take a seat and let us finish this business, a most bizarre charter I must admit," the formidable figure said.

The mysterious figure sat down, took a sip of beer, and then asked, "Bizarre, or not, were you able to complete the first part of the task?"

Kawajiri glared at the shadowy figure and said, stiffly, "I take great pride in completing my assignments, so if I had not completed that task, you would have not received the note."

"Fair enough," the figure said, sliding an envelope across the table, leaving a hand holding it down. "As we agreed, half now, half when you provide proof of completion."

"That was the agreement, and I, at least, am a man of my word," Kawajiri said, as the envelope was relinquished to him. Without any sign of embarrassment, he opened the envelope and counted through the bills within.

"It is all there," the figure said, slightly affronted, as the beer slowly disappeared.

"I'm sure it is my friend, but you do have a reputation as well, one that says you aren't as honourable as one might wish," Kawajiri said smoothly.

"That was in the past, as it happens, I am attempting to turn over a new leaf, as it were," the figure retorted.

"Can a leopard really change its spots?" Kawajiri asked, rhetorically, as he placed the envelope smoothly inside his jacket, a hint of amusement in his voice, now that he had determined that the requisite amount of money was in place.

The figure slammed down the now empty glass, and said, "I expect to here from you soon." The sound of the glass shattering stilled the otherwise noisy room, as the mysterious personage rose from the table.

"If all goes as planned, the transaction will be complete in the morning, actually," Kawajiri said, evenly, waving one hand at one of the bruisers sitting a few seats away, who had also risen.

The figure glanced over at the alleged muscle, and shook its head. "You need a better class of bodyguard," was all that was said, a palpable sense of menace arising from the cowled figure. Then the moment passed, and the figure swept out of the bar without a backward glance.

* * *

Konatsu finished mopping the floor of the dining room, and placed the mop into the bucket, then turned to glance around the now spotless area. All of the chairs were upside down on the otherwise spotless tables, the wood floor glowed from the cleaning he had just completed, and the grill sparkled. Well, except for the small area where his wife did most of her cooking, which had turned from the heat and now had hints of red and yellow in the stainless steel. As he headed toward the kitchen, his wife pushed through the curtains which blocked off the view of the stairs leading to their rooms, and stopped as she entered, dressed in her red nightgown.

Ukyo glanced around the room, and nodded to Konatsu, while she looked at the small pile of spatulas that she still needed to clean for the next day's cooking. While she was appreciative of her husband's help, and now Akemi as well, cleaning **her** tools was still her job, something that had taken her husband longer than it should have to realise.

As Ukyo slinked into the room, Konatsu smiled in appreciation as he realised that his wife had taken a leaf out of Akemi's book, and indeed was likely the only thing under her gown, based on how it hung on her figure. "You look like you are feeling a bit better," he said, moving toward her, pulling the mop bucket behind him.

"Yes, getting out of that uniform helped, and then soaking for all of that time," his wife replied, "Though, unfortunately, I had to get out before I started pruning up."

"Akemi and I have the rest of the kitchen cleaned up, and she was banging around in there a bit, so I imagine we have some food to get wrapped around before you need to worry about your tools," Konatsu said, "And I'll bring them in, so you just find a place at the table and rest for a little longer."

Ukyo gave him an irritated look and snapped, "I'm just pregnant, you know. I'm perfectly capable of getting my own tools and cleaning them."

Konatsu rolled his eyes and repeated the tired old argument. "Yes, I know you are merely pregnant not an invalid, but you are also the only child of your mother, who had several miscarriages, and then died giving birth to you, or don't you remember telling me all of that?" he growled, surprising her with his forcefulness, "So, we'll follow the doctor's orders, and make sure you don't strain yourself. Now that I've found you, I'm damned if I'm going to lose you. You can still wash those blasted spatulas, I won't keep you from that, but I will make things as easy as possible for you when I can. And you will have to take things easier when it is a school day, since you don't need to do a part day of class, work in the restaurant, do your homework, and still try to do most of the cleanup. Bloody hell, that's what you have us for."

Ukyo sighed for a moment, and then slumped against him, trusting in his reflexes to catch her, which, of course he did. "I'm trying, but I was on my own for so long," she said, only to yelp as her rear was swatted lightly.

"How many times are we going to have this discussion?" Konatsu asked, with a grin, as she moved away from him and towards the kitchen, where she had to admit, interesting aromas were wafting toward her.

"Obviously at least once more," Ukyo retorted, as she reluctantly sank down at the table.

"I assume the patient is not following her doctor's orders," Akemi said, as she turned from the cooktop.

"Not you too, it's bad enough that I have to endure Konatsu's mothering," Ukyo said, with a sigh.

Akemi grinned at her and said, "Unlike your husband, I actually have the correct gender to mother you, and unfortunately for you, your husband told me what Yoshida-san said to the two of you at your last appointment, so get set for a lot more mothering."

Ukyo rolled her eyes, and muttered to her husband, "Next time you get to carry them."

"Fortunately for me, I'm not like Ranma, since I don't have the appropriate plumbing, even if only occasionally. Therefore, I'm afraid that you'll have to have however many children we decide to have. And I'm perfectly willing to reconsider the number," Konatsu said, with a grin, "After all, I was going to be content with merely two. You were the one talking about a football team."

"Hey, only child here, didn't want our kids to grow up that way," Ukyo retorted, with a matching grin. She sighed for a moment and then added, "Well, if you can't have them, you get to have the midnight change of nappies, and feeding." She sniffed the air, and finished, "Something smells good."

"Thanks," Akemi replied, "I just grabbed some of the leftover meats, shrimp, chicken, pork, whatever, and did a stir-fry. Plus, there were a handful of yakitoris left over in the refrigerator as well. I tossed a small salad also, since we can't have too much green vegetable."

"Looks like you were planning of feeding a small army, or is Ranma coming over?" Konatsu asked.

"No, this is just for the three and one-half that are here," Akemi replied, "As I said earlier, I remember what you told me about that last visit. I remember you telling me that the doctor wasn't real happy with Ukyo's weight gain, and wanted her to eat a bit more, so I made a little extra for her."

Ukyo sighed heavily, resigned to the fact that she now had another meddling female in her life.

Akemi smirked at her and said, "Face it girlie, Konatsu and I are in violent agreement. We want you to sail through this pregnany without a hiccouph, cause I like spoiling little children, and can't wait to see the two of you as parents, and, well, frankly he'd be completely lost without you if something went tits up."

Ukyo raised her eyes to the ceiling for a moment as if to seek inspiration, not incidentally stretching her robe tightly against her body, and then sighed once more. "Okay, I give," she said, "I can't fight you both, and even if I could, you'd probably bring Mother Nodoka in on it, anyway. I swear, that woman, much as I care for her, can wear me out."

"By the way, it looks like you've come over to the dark side," Akemi smirked.

Ukyo looked at her in surprise.

"No bra," Akemi explained.

""I certainly wasn't going to put one on after that long bath," Ukyo retorted, "I don't much like wearing them in the first place, and even though it isn't really time for it to have happened, I've noticed that my breasts have gotten very sensitive."

"Bigger, too," Konatsu said, with a grin.

"You **would** notice that," Ukyo said.

Konatsu waggled his eyebrows at her and said, "I have very well-trained hands."

"And I have something for the sensitivity," Akemi added, "Though I'm not sure if I should give the cream to you or to Konatsu."

Both Ukyo and Konatsu rewarded her with a blush.

Ukyo recovered her composure, as Akemi placed a large plate of food in front of her, and pointed her chopsticks at her husband. "You need to take Akemi around the marketplace tomorrow and introduce her to all of our suppliers. Just because we are going to be expanding our menu, I don't want to shortchange the locals if we can at all help it. Even if we have to go shopping every morning, I want to continue to have as much fresh ingredients as we can," Ukyo said, "And don't forget to drop off that deposit at the bank."

"Did you leave enough in the till to make change?" Akemi asked.

"I left about the same as usual," Ukyo replied, "So unless we have something odd happen, things should work out okay."

* * *

Sayuri giggled, and said, "Hands above the waist, Hiroshi. You know what I promised mom."

"Can't blame a man for trying," Hiroshi said, completely unabashed, as they continued to ignore the movie playing in the darkened theatre, but then they were not alone in following the honourable tradition of making out in the back of a movie theatre.

"Not really, but you aren't going there until we are married," Sayuri shot back with a smile.

Hiroshi gave an exaggerated sigh, and then raised his hands above his head. "I promise, my hands will not go where no man has gone before, at least until we are married," he said.

"You goof," Sayuri said, swatting her intended, "Only you would use a Trekker reference like that. Should I ask you what your five year mission is, James Tiberius Kirk?"

"Besides getting you out of your pants?" Hiroshi quipped, waggling his eyebrows.

Sayuri rolled her eyes, and shot back, "Since we are intending to get married after we graduate from Furikan, that's not much of a goal. Still leaves you about four more years to do something."

"Aside from us not becoming parents, since that would make it a bit more difficult for both of us to get our degrees," Hiroshi said, sobering up, "That's really all I have, going to school, learning to live with each other, that kind of thing. That's about all I've got, at least right now."

"I can live with that, at least for the next few years, but we do need to eventually develop something resembling a long range plan," Sayuri said, only to sit straight up as a couple a few rows in front of her got her attention.

"What is is?" Hiroshi hissed.

"Isn't that Kurumi and Hinako?" Sayuri asked, pointing to a pair of heads.

Hiroshi looked for a long time and then replied, "Maybe, it looks like them. So what about it?"

"They sure look pretty comfortable with Hinako laying her head on Kurumi's shoulder, and that sure looks like an arm around Hinako," she replied.

"Is it really any of our business?" Hiroshi asked.

"Hinako is more or less my sister," Sayuri replied.

Hiroshi shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Still doesn't make it your business, though. If that's what makes them happy, should you interfere? Or even let anyone else know about what may or may not be going on with them?"

"Doesn't mean I shouldn't worry about it, though," Sayuri replied.

"No, of course not, but it's not like they aren't the only same sex couple in this theatre, assuming, of course, that they are a couple," Hiroshi pointed out, " And your family isn't the most traditional one in the world, anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" Sayuri asked.

"Not that is anyone's business but their own, but don't you think Ranma and Akane have explored things with him as a girl. And Ukyo and Konatsu aren't terribly normal, either," Hiroshi pointed out, "Not that it makes any difference to me one way or the other. I'm pretty much a live and let live kind of guy, myself."

"I suppose," Sayuri said, "Though are you sure the idea of girl on girl action isn't appealing to you."

Hiroshi took quite a long time to consider his answer, in fact long enough that Sayuri was starting to get a little worried. Finally, he said, "I'm pretty sure about that, since I've never really considered sex a spectator sport."

"Good answer," Sayuri said, as she moved closer and pulled him to her.

* * *

The young doctor opened the door to his clinic, and chuckled at the somewhat sour expression on the face of the two girls standing at the door, though only one of them was soaking wet. "Hello Ranma, Akane," he said, "Looks like you could use some hot water and some dry clothing, Ranma."

Ranma sighed, pushing her red hair away from her face, and said, morosely, "Yeah, Doc, I sure could."

"What happened this time?" Tofu asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ranma said, glaring at her wife while sliding her shoes off with a squelching sound. Sourly, she placed the shoes next to the cubby that was dedicated to his sister-in-law, and also peeled out of her socks.

Tofu shook his head and said, "I'm sure I can find something for you to wear, a gi at least, but we need to get you out of those clothes as cool as the night has gotten."

"Sounds like a damn good plan to me," Ranma said, "I can already feel my sinuses clogging up."

Tofu stepped away for a second and returned with a large towel, which he handed to Ranma, who promptly wrapped herself up. "I can toss everything in the washer when we get upstairs and get you changed, so at least you'll have something to wear back home," he said, leading them up the stairs to the new flat. He pushed open the door, and allowed Ranma and Akane to walk in before following them into the main room of the flat.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, from the small kitchen that was tucked in one third of the room, "Looks like someone had a bit of misfortune."

"If you'll show Ranma where the washroom is, I'll find some dry clothing," Tofu said.

"Of course," Kasumi said, glancing at what she was cooking.

"I know where it is," Akane said, knowing that her sister really didn't want to abandon her preparations for dinner. She pushed Ranma toward a door in the wall opposite, while Tofu headed up the stairs toward the bedroom, and his wardrobe. After Ranma entered the room, Akane joined her sister and plopped down on a stool.

"What happened?" Kasumi asked, as she adroitly tossed the stir-fry she was making.

"It's sort of embarrassing," Akane replied, "And it's basically my fault." She sighed, then, and continued, "We were running down the street paralleling one of the canals, with both of us up on the chain-link fence, when I stumbled. Well, Ranma, of course, managed to grab me before I fell, but all he could do was push me off the fence toward the street. Well, that would have been the end of it, except I wasn't quite expecting that either, and I hit the sidewalk wrong and stumbled again, and fell hard against the fence. That was enough to shake it just as Ranma ran by there, and it moved the wrong way on him, and he slid down the embankment and into the water."

"Oh my," Kasumi replied, barely hiding the amusement in her voice, "So is he upset with you?"

"No, not really, he knows that this kind of thing happens," Akane anwered, as Tofu walked by and handed a bundle of clothing through the partially opened door, and received a corresponding damp bundle, now wrapped in the towel.

"I'll take this upstairs and put them in the washer," Tofu said, "Good thing we bought the matching dryer." He promptly disappeared up the stairs, but quickly returned, while Ranma joined them, now dressed in a gi.

"Did everything fit?" Kasumi asked.

"More or less. I did have to tighten the belt on the trousers a bit, since my waist is apparently a little smaller than Doc's," Ranma replied, "And, of course, he is taller than I am." He grinned at the mock glare that Tofu sent his way, and then said, "Thanks for inviting us to dinner, it's sure not the same without the two of you at home. But I can certainly understand that the two of you want your own place. And I'm looking forward to the guided tour later."

"So what all did you do to the flat?" Akane asked.

"Well, several things," Tofu replied, sitting on the other stool overlooking the kitchen, "Originally, the flat only occupied one half of this floor, consisting of a small kitchen, bedroom, and bath, with the rest being convalesent rooms. The upper floor was all convalesent rooms, for longer term care. Now, this space is a larger kitchen and living area, while we converted all of the upper floor to bedrooms, and a study, plus added a full size bath, and a laundry space. Then we redid the balcony area that was connected to what once was the bedroom, and converted the roof to a garden area."

"So you did what, triple the size of the flat?" Ranma asked.

"About that, I guess," Tofu replied, "Instead of the one bedroom, it now has four, and three full baths, counting the one down here."

"And I like the study since that gives us both an area to work in, and then the garden is something that I am sure that I will enjoy," Kasumi added, as she tasted the soup. With a slight frown, she gave a negligent shake of salt over the pot, and then tasted it again. The frown disappeared at that taste. "I think everything is ready now," she added, "So if you would sit at the table, I'll bring everything over."

"Are you sure you don't need a hand?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi smiled and replied, "I suppose I could use a little help. If each of you take a bowl of soup to the table, I can plate the stir-fry and bring that over on a tray."

A few minutes later found the four of them sitting at the table, bowls of soup, another of rice, and plates of stir-fry in front of them. After giving thanks for the meal in front of them, and spending a few minutes of silence feasting on the bounty in front of them, Kasumi asked, "So how are things since we've moved out?"

"Well, as you probably expected, Yumi, Sayuri, and Hinako basically stepped up and took over the household, not that I am really complaining," Akane said, with a grin, "Even though I've gotten better, I'm still not as good a cook as any of them, much less you. And, to be honest, neither Ranma or I really have the time to spend taking care of things, what with the classes we are teaching and the training that we are doing outside of that."

"You do need to be careful with that, after all, it is your house now," Kasumi chided.

Akane glanced at her husband and then replied, "It's just the day to day things that they take care of. Anything major comes to us for decisions. We know this is a short term solution, and hopefully something that will only last until we get most, if not all, of our college education taken care of."

"Though if I am reading things correctly, Yumi may have something else to occupy herself in a few months," Ranma said, with a wide grin, surprising all of them.

"What?" Kasumi asked, for all of them.

"Well," Ranma said, blushing slightly, " I would rather she see her doctor first to find out if I am right. But, if I am, she wasn't the one having issues with getting with child, instead it was her ex-husband."

"I still don't understand," Akane complained.

Ranma replied, "I can sense ki, not to Doc's level, but reasonably well, something that you are getting close to doing. And today, when I was with Yumi in the kitchen, I could sense two different ki's. And while I haven't been around any woman who is expecting, that's the only thing that makes sense to me."

"That would be nice if it is true," Kasumi said, "She has been very good for Daddy, but I could tell he was still sad. This will perhaps allow him to finally forgive himself for Mommy's passing."

"That **would** be nice," Akane added, "Especially if it gives him something else to focus on instead of me or Nabiki."

"The other piece of news is that Ucchan's is beginning to expand. Our new partner, Akemi Ropponogi moved in a few days ago once her rooms were ready, and they have already begun to grow the menu beyound okonomiyaki," Ranma said.

"Ropponogi, you say? I knew a family by that name," Tofu said, "Mother, daughter and son, if I remember correctly, lived near my home as I was growing up. I wonder if they are related. Mother died about the time I headed off to college, and I never heard what happened to the children."

"Akemi is a little younger than you, I think," Akane said, "With red hair, looks a little like Ranma when he's a girl."

"Don't think it's the same girl, I would have remembered red hair, I think, since it isn't all that common," Tofu said, "Where'd she come from, do you know?"

"Well, Pop found her performing as an exotic dancer in some bar," Ranma said.

"A dancer, I didn't know that. Maybe she can teach me some moves," Kasumi said, innocently.

"Um, Kasumi, an exotic dancer is a stripper, someone who takes their clothes off while dancing," Akane, "It's pretty erotic."

Kasumi stared at her for a moment, her eyes wide, and then said, "Akane, I do know what an exotic dancer is. I'm not **that** naive."

"B-but," Akane began.

"Always the quiet ones, right Doc?" Ranma asked, grinning at his friend.

"So, I suppose she's shaken up Ukyo and Konatsu a bit then," Tofu said.

"Not really, according to Ukyo," Akane said.

"Well, Ucchan did snicker a little when she described the first night after they closed. Apparently Akemi thinks that knickers and an apron are the best things to wear while washing dishes," Ranma said, with a grin, "Plus, her robes apparently don't hide much of anything, either."

"I'm surprised Ukyo didn't have a fit, then, with Konatsu working with a mostly nude woman," Tofu said.

"Naw, she just said that she'd probably be the one who benefited the most from him being 'bothered' by Akemi," Akane replied.

"Have they finished the conversion already?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma replied, "No, they haven't even touched the ground floor at all, and still need to finish the expansion of the flat on the first floor. The plan was to get Akemi's rooms done first, get some of the expansion completed, and then start the ground floor conversion, before getting back to finishing the first floor. They want to get the restaurant expansion done, so they can have a big opening before Ukyo gets too far along in her pregnancy, and they don't really need the extra space upstairs until near the due date."

"I hope they didn't schedule things too tightly, babies come when they are ready, after all," Kasumi said.

Akane replied, "I think the plan was to have everything completed about six weeks before."

Ranma corrected her, "Actually, it was eight weeks, to complete the living space. The private dining rooms, and small office, those I think were the six weeks."

"That should be safe enough," Tofu said.

Kasumi still looked concerned, and made herself a mental note to talk to the foreman.

* * *

Ukyo finished giving Konatsu a set of unnecessary instructions, especially since they were mostly a repeat of what she had been telling him for months, while he masterfully avoided rolling his eyes at her. With a heavy sigh, she glanced over at Akemi, who was grinning at her. "Hush you," Ukyo said, "Try to keep each other out of trouble while I'm at school."

"I'm sure we'll manage," Konatsu said, straight-faced. Then he bent down and kissed her, giving her a full body embrace. "There, that should get you off to school in a good mood," he added, as she looked at him slightly dazed. He handed her school bag to her, and then gently turned her toward the front door.

Ukyo shook herself and looked back over her shoulder. "I'm sure you're proud of yourself now, aren't you?" she asked.

"If you don't get going, you'll be late," Konatsu commented.

"I'm going," Ukyo said, opening the door, and stepping through, only to cry out in shock.

Konatsu burst through the opening, followed closely by Akemi, to see Ukyo staring at a yatai. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It can't be," Ukyo said, as she knelt to the ground and looked beneath the cart. "Oh my God, it is. There's my name, and Ranma's right where we put them!" she exclaimed.

"There's a note," Akemi said, as she stepped forward and grabbed the paper that was pinned to the okonomiyaki cart. Glancing at it quickly, she handed it to Ukyo, saying, "It's for you, of course."

Ukyo rose to her feet, her hands shaking too badly to read the paper.

Konatsu snatched it out of her hands, and read the note aloud, "Ukyo, while I know that we have satisfied your honour with your marriage to my son Konatsu, I decided to return your dowry to do with as you will. Genma Saotome."

"What should we do with this? We can't just leave it on the street," Akemi asked.

"Why would he do this?" Ukyo asked.

"I haven't a clue, but Akemi-san has a valid point," Konatsu replied.

"I can't deal with this now, maybe you can take it into the alley behind the restaurant for now, and then when I get home from school, maybe I can think about it then," Ukyo said.

"This doesn't change anything, you know, you are still my wife and the mother of our children, so don't let this get you in a frenzy," Konatsu said.

Ukyo stared at him uncertainly, and then nodded. "I'll see you this afternoon, and now I really have to run," she said.

"Not this many months pregnant," Akemi warned, "You'll go safely, or I'll walk you to school."

"But I'll be late," Ukyo complained.

"Tell them you had a pre-natal checkup," Akemi suggested, "They'll cut you some slack when you tell them that. If your homeroom teacher is female, she'll likely sympathise, and if it's a male, then he'll want to get as far away from that subject as he can."

"You're a bad girl, aren't you?" Ukyo asked.

"As bad as I want to be," Akemi agreed, watching as her young friend headed down the street.

"Should I follow?" Konatsu asked, after a moment.

"If you can keep her from seeing you," Akemi replied.

Konatsu looked at her affronted.

"Oh, right, forget I said anything," Akemi said, shamefaced.

Konatsu literally vanished from her sight.

* * *

Author's Note: Another chapter in the ongoing saga. Yes, I FINALLY update. Sorry for the delay, real life decided to interrupt. On the good side, I did manage to get a far piece into the next chapter of Am I pretty. As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed and encouraged.

Until later

Kayemsi


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